First Day On the Job

At six the next morning, Todd and Lenny rise and do a quick shave and change into some fresh clothes.  They know Maggie opens at 6:30 for breakfast and they plan to be her first customers today.

Entering Maggie’s establishment, they take a seat by the front window to notice what happens in town this early.

Maggie walks around from the kitchen and is a little surprised to see them.  “Are you two going to accept the positions?”

“Effective today, we’re on the payroll,” says Todd.

“Oh my god, this is wonderful.  You don’t realize how everyone in town is going to feel knowing the two of you took the jobs.  Not only do we have a sheriff but a deputy as well.”

Riding Into Town

Todd and Lenny stroll over to the saloon.  Inside the bat wing doors they see one man behind the bar and three men sitting around one table chatting.  They are not playing cards just having casual conversation.

Both men walk to the bar.  “Are you Jake?” asks Todd.

“Yes, I’m Jake what can I get you?”

“We’re Todd and Lenny, Peter suggested we get a drink before Maggie opens for dinner.”

“Gentlemen, whatever you want is on the house.  I suppose Peter told you about our meeting this evening.”

“Yes, we are aware of it.  We’ll be there.”

“I understand you spent three days at Tyler’s place,” says Jake.

“We’re old friends!” said Lenny.

“How about pouring us some beers!” says Lenny.

“Coming up, is there anything else you want?”

“No, except we might need a refill on these before Maggie opens,” says Lenny.

Next morning

Carlos looks over at Joan and dares to say, “Would you like to join me this morning when I head out to your dad’s ranch?”

“I would enjoy that.   I’ll be ready to leave in about fifteen minutes.”

“I’ll saddle your horse for you.” 

“Carlos, we’ll have lunch at the S&R.  I can handle my own saddle.  One man dotting over me is enough right now,” as she glares down at Tyler.

Todd and Lenny pick up on her comment, but let it drop.

Tyler gives her his big smile from across the table.

Todd, Lenny and Tyler are the three left at the table.  Drinking coffee, Lenny says, “Do I really have to go into town, I want a job here.”

Tyler laughs and says, “Yeah, and in six months you would be bored silly.  I know you better.”

Todd and Lenny arrive

“However, that’s not the big news of the day.”

“So share with us what did you learn in town.”

After he is finished talking, the three women are shocked that this happened around Silver Lake.”

“I cannot wait for your two friends to arrive after hearing what has been going on in this town.”

As Joan makes that statement, Tyler hears horses entering the yard and rises from the table.

Looking out the window, Tyler says, “Todd and Lenny just arrived.”

Tyler and Joan walk out of the house onto the porch.

Todd and Lenny dismount and give Tyler a big smile.  Todd is the taller of the two but only by a couple of inches.  Both men have mustaches and have broad shoulders with big hands.

Tyler walks down the steps and greets both men as they walk around their horses.  He grabs a hold of each one and gives them a hug.

Leo's Office

When Peter enters the office, Leo stands.  “Peter, this is Seth and Jonathan from a Salt Lake City investment firm.  They just informed me the stage was robbed and four men were killed. The gold the stage was carrying is missing.”

“Leo, why wasn’t the town council informed this shipment of gold was arriving?”

“We were trying to keep the shipment a secret,” remarks Seth.

“Somehow, someone found out about it.  I’m sure it wasn’t from anyone here in town.  It seems no one even knew about it.  Henry just told me he only learned this afternoon, there was gold on today’s stage.”

“Have a seat, Peter,” says Leo.

Frustrated, Peter sits next to Jonathan and asks, “What happens next?”

Robbery Scene

It took forty-five minutes for Seth and Jonathan to get close to the scene. They see buzzards circling.  Seth says, “Shit, I knew we would find a mess.”

They ride closer and see the horses tangled together lying on their sides, two trying desperately to get upright, the stagecoach overturned, and four bodies nearby.

Jonathan is the first one to dismount.  He checks three of the bodies while Seth checks the fourth.  All four of the men are dead from gunshot wounds.

Jonathan turns to the horses.  “Seth, help me, we definitely have two dead horses and the middle two might have to be put down.  I think we can save the third pair.”

Stagecoach Ambush

Herman lifts his telescope when he sees a cloud of dust coming around the bend created by the team of running horses.  To his surprise, and pleasure, there are two men sitting up on top of the coach.  One is the driver and the other is holding a shotgun.

Herman sends Clyde to tell their brothers the gold is on this wagon and to make sure they follow the plan.

Clyde gets back into position up on the ridge and they wait patiently for the stage to come near their ambush.

As the coach approaches Clyde takes a shot at the lead horse in front of the driver.  Immediately the right front horse is shot from the gulley by Ernie.  Both horses fall and momentum causes the remaining four horses to topple over the two fallen animals.  The coach is lifted upwards by the momentum and rises on top of the horses.  There is nothing the driver can do; the stage topples on its side.  Two horses are probably dead and the other four might be injured.

The driver and the man riding shotgun have been thrown to the ground and two men riding inside of the coach are desperately trying to get outside. 

Checking the sites for a holdup

While Herman rode along with his brothers to get an idea of how to set up the ambush he felt pleased with their three choices.  Each one had its advantages and disadvantages.  After reviewing the three sites he made a decision.  It was the last of the three sites they looked at.  Herman saw the third site gave them a good field of vision towards the route the stage would be coming to Silver Lake.  It had a rise off to one side which gave him the height to keep a keen lookout and crops of boulders to set up behind to fire down at the coach.  The opposite side of the route had a gulley about ten yards from the road.  It would be perfect to hit the stage from both sides of the road without being seen.  It also had some trees at the other side of the rise they could picket the horses and the mules.  The only issue they had was there was no water and they would have to carry in their own each day.

Planning the Stage Robbery

That night while eating dinner at their campsite, the Stevens brothers talk about the three possible ambush sites they feel are good places for a holdup.

Herman listens as each of his brothers gives their personal opinion on which one they feel they should use.

When his brothers are through Herman says he’ll think about each site and when they ride out tomorrow he will select one of them to station themselves on. 

“Are we going to wait in the sun all day for the stage?” ask Dick.

“No, we have an idea of the time frame the coach should arrive.  We’ll get there a couple of hours earlier each day.”

Shooting in Town

Clyde walks through the swinging bat wings and moves up alongside a young cowboy at the side of the bar who seems to have had more than his share of liquor.   He positions himself with the cowboy to his left side.

Clyde orders a beer and begins small talk with the gent on his right.  A half hour later the man on his right exits the bar and Clyde follows him outside.

As the man begins to walk towards his horse Clyde yells out, “What did you say you dirty bastard?”

The man is startled by what he just heard and begins to turn around.

“Don’t you draw on me you son-of-a-bitch,” Clyde draws and shoots the man in the middle of the street.

The shooting draws a crowd from the saloon and Clyde runs towards his horse.   No one is paying any attention to him.  They are in shock.

A local shopkeeper is lying in the middle of the street shot through the heart.

“Jesus,” says Jake.  What the hell happened out here?”  I heard yelling then a shot.

Stevens Gang

Herman Stevens sets up the second part of his lawman study about the security of Silver Lake.  Clyde, his brother will go into town in two days and incite a fight between himself and someone at the bar.  He will aggravate a situation to force the man to draw on him.  Of course Clyde will win over these locals. 

With a robbery and a killing happening Herman wants to see how much spine the town council has.  This will give him the idea on how to hit the stagecoach.  Herman picked up word of the gold shipment back in Salt Lake City, now the plan must be how to hit it when it comes through.  That is, if it is really coming through.  However, Herman didn’t feel it was merely a rumor.

Joan Looks At Tequila

Joan is looking towards the corral through the screened porch door.  Tequila is lying down but she is squirming around acting very uncomfortable.  Joan exits the doorway onto the porch and heads for the corral.  Tequila is due to drop her foal anytime.  It will be her first and she might be starting now.  Joan looks at her through the rails and she is sure she will be delivering soon.  Turning back to the house she enters and tells Adriana and Katiana to go out to the corral to comfort Tequila.  She heads for the barn and saddles her mare to go and locate Tyler.  He wants to be here when she delivers.  She thinks she remembers where he was going.

Seeing Tequila beginning the birthing process forces Joan to realize what she will be going through in a matter of months.  Joan rides at a gallop to find Tyler.

Back to Camp

Mid-afternoon Ernie, Tom and Dick ride into their base camp where Herman and Clyde are waiting for their return.  The three men dismount and remove their saddles, blankets and bridles from their horses.  They stake the horses out in areas where they can graze.

Herman is the first to speak, “What did you find out?”

Tom replies, “There is no sheriff and won’t be one for at least three to four weeks.  The town has two men coming from Nevada for interviews and isn’t planning to talk to anyone else until they meet these dudes.”

Clyde says, “So we have three to four weeks to make our move before there is any official law in town.”

“It looks that way,” said Ernie.”

“Clyde and I were thinking while you were away.  In a couple of days we want the three of you to go back into town and do a robbery.  We want to see what kind of local citizen action that generates.  It will tell us a great deal about how much resistance we could face if we rob the stagecoach.  We are wondering if they would form a posse to come after us.  We also need to find out when the money run comes in.”

Dick replies, “We should have something planned before we leave camp so the three of us know what we intend to do and there is no foul up.”

“Good idea,” says Herman.

Feeling Things Out

After lunch, Tom, Ernie and Dick walk over to the saloon.  As they enter through the bat wing swinging doors they notice there is no one inside of the saloon except the bartender.  They walk over to the bar.

“The lady in the restaurant told us the owner of this place is on the town council.  Will you be that person?” says Tom.

“Yes, I am on the council, what can I do for you?”

“We came into town to see if the sheriff’s position is still open.  We heard you didn’t have a sheriff when we were up in Salt Lake City,” remarks Ernie.

“Right now it’s not filled, but we have two candidates coming in from Nevada and until we meet with them we aren’t speaking with anyone else.”  Jake doesn’t have a good feeling about these characters.

Joshua Returns

Meanwhile in Carson City the telegraph office’s delivery boy brings a message to the sheriff’s office.

Todd reads it and says, “Well I’ll be damned.  Listen to this Lenny," and he goes on to read the message.

Lenny says, “I never thought we’d hear of Tyler Martin again.  Damn it sounds as if he’s done real well for himself.  Good for him.  What do you want to do Todd?”

“The interesting thing is we’ve given the city council ninety days to find a new sheriff.  We have four deputies here besides ourselves, so we could take the time off to meet these dudes from Silver Lake.  If Tyler recommended us, I suspect it would be a good fit for us.  I’m getting tired of deputies who do nothing and whine and cry. 

Getting the Names

Returning to the table Tyler said, “The last time I spoke with these men was when I lived in Nevada.  They were the law in Carson City.  Todd Sherman was the sheriff and Lenny Baker was his deputy.   Whether or not they are still there is what you need to find out and possibly they might be looking for a change.  I sensed both of them were getting the itchy feeling of moving on because Carson City was getting to a size they were uncomfortable with.  The trouble is that was almost two years ago and they could be anywhere right now.”

“We’ll send a wire to the sheriff’s office in Carson City and see what we come up with.”

“Joshua, did Peter get the council to raise the pay level of the lawmen?”

“He told us what you said and we voted on it knowing we need to do something before real trouble develops.  It was approved.”

In Silver Lake

Inside of Maggie’s, the two women are hugging each other.  Maggie has tears in her eyes.  “I am so happy for you,” Maggie says.

“Tyler is so happy he is beginning to treat me like someone who is going to break.”

At that moment Tyler enters the restaurant.

“Well look who it is the new expectant papa.”

Tyler turns bright red from the attention.

Maggie walks over to Tyler and gives him a hug.

“Lunch is on me as a special present.  Have you told Jessica yet?” 

“No, I wanted to see you first and then to stop over to the boarding house.”

“Jessica is going to be as happy for you as I am.  My god woman, of the three of us you are riding high.  You caught a good man and now you are going to have children.”

Council Meeting

When everyone is seated, Peter begins.  He explains how Jake came to the hotel this afternoon and described what one of his customers saw through the window and where his remarks led.  

“Jake do you want to add anything to what I said?”

“No, I believe you covered everything just the way I told you.”

Randy says, “So why are we sitting here in an emergency meeting?”

Henry remarks, “Sounds to me like you expect this bunch to rob the bank.”

Doc Keller asks, “Didn’t we discuss that the building of a bank in town could cause robbers to try and steal the money? And cause havoc of unknown proportions.”

Jeff replies, “Yes, we did discuss it and I am the first to say we have been lax in creating a plan to insure our monies are safe, because we have been hoping to hire a sheriff.”

Joshua continues the conversation, “You expect one lawman to stand up to a gang of five or more.  I don’t think that is realistic.”

Prologue

Due to the railroad line passing through Salt Lake City, Silver Lake is also growing.   

On the positive outlook, the town is growing in population numbers.  Three additional shops and a bank were established over the last year and most of the community seems content with its growth.

  

Content until the day the Steven’s gang rides through.  There are five of them.  Herman Stevens, the oldest, is riding center with Clyde Stevens riding on his right and Ernie to Clyde’s right.  Tom and Dick are on Herman’s left.  The five of them ride abreast down the center of town.  Their rutty appearances set off many townspeople wondering who these men are.  Their looks set off instinctive fear in civilized peoples’ souls.

Book Signing Event

Joe Smiga will be doing a book signing at Barnes and Noble book store at 1741 So. Willow Street Manchester NH 03103 on Saturday, September 20th from 1:00 to 3:00 pm.  This is Joe's seventh book and the sequel to his western "A Cowboy's Vengeance."  The title of the sequel is:  "Silver Lake's Transformation."  If you like the westerns from television you will love these books.

One Came Back

The seventy two previous excerpts you may have read if you read all of them come from the third book to the Behind the Lies series.  It's title is:  One Came Back.  You are in for a grand finale ending of the series when you read this one.

Epilogue

Ten days later, Yosef Bergman knocks on the door of Ariel Wattenberg. 

He hears Ariel say enter.  “I’ve got some information I think you should know about immediately.” 

“Come in and sit down, what do you have that has such a high priority?”

“Our people in Saudi Arabia are hearing the royal family has drawn a line in the sand with Iran.  There is talk they plan to respond to the assassination attempt on the Prince and it might be a large scale operation.”

Assassination Attempt Failed

Anoush turns on his television set and prepares to have his dinner while watching the news.

He sees the headlines of how the Saudi prince was ambushed in downtown Houston.  He wonders how this happened.  Who would be dumb enough to attack a member of the Saudi Royal family? 

He is sure of one thing.  When the Saudis find out, there will be hell to pay.

Entering Main Strreet

The prince’s escort heads down the ramp onto Main Street.  Agent Johnston notifies the helos the procession is close by.

Inside of the Prince’s limo he says to his aide, “We will need to have a tour of this new refinery.  Is it arranged?”

“Yes, sire, it is arranged.  They are very proud of this new venture.  Based on the figures I saw they will be processing more Saudi oil and quicker than before.”

“Good, we need to build plants such as this one as well.  Do you know who constructed it for them?”

“I have it all in my report but I didn’t want to submit it to you until we confirmed it by this trip.”

*     *     * 

The helos fly over Main Street one behind the other.  Helo one says, “One shooter on the parking garage roof.  We will make a second swing to spot the other one.”  They head away and turn around to cross the path again.  Helo two says, “Second shooter on the roof of the insurance building.”

“Let’s head out again and come back in side by side.  The procession is getting close.”

As they near the scene a third time, smoke is discharged by grenades.

Washington DC

In the CIA director’s office, Allison McDonald is speaking with Kevin, her field agent.  “The Saudi prince is due into Houston at eleven.  I know the FBI has plenty of agents working this scenario.  I feel nervous about how this is going to go down.”

“You’re positive that it is going to happen aren’t you?”

“Ninety-nine and nine tenths percent positive.”

“If something happens to the prince, the political fall-out will be disastrous,” states Kevin.

“That is putting it mildly, Kevin.”

Houston

Mehrak and Javid timed their trip so they didn’t arrive in Houston until four in the morning.  They pulled up in front of the insurance building.  At that hour there was no one on security because of the specialty locks on each unit in the building. 

Mehrak and Javid remove the dolly from the SUV and then load one of the RPG crates onto the dolly which they cover with a heavy blanket.  They enter the entrance way and take the elevator to the top floor.  They make sure their faces are not visible to the security monitors on the wall.  On the top floor Javid and Mehrak proceed up one flight of stairs to the rooftop. 

Mehrak says, “These suckers are heavy especially going up flights of stairs.”

Javid teases him, “You’re just getting old Mehrak.”

“Bullshit.”

The entrance to the rooftop does not have an alarm.  They move the dolly to the front of the building overlooking Main Street.  Mehrak removes the screws from the cover of the crate except for two of them.  He moves the crate into the corner and covers it with the blanket.  The whole process took them twenty minutes.  Javid and Mehrak leave the rooftop taking the dolly with them.

A Week Before

The seven Iranians are meeting in the white cottage they met in before for one final time, before they depart for Houston.  Mehrak tells them the locations of where each member will stand on ground level to blockade the Prince’s procession of vehicles.  He and Javid will be on the rooftops opposite each other.

The FBI rented a van with tinted windows to park near the cottage.  When they arrive they don’t have access to a parking spot as close as they would have liked to use.  Agent Reynolds was familiar with the listening equipment but the unit wasn’t functioning well.  The harder he tried the worse it seemed to operate.

“Damn it,” Reynolds said.

Five Weeks Before

Mehrak and Javid are meeting for lunch.  Javid has the go ahead to order the RPGs.  After lunch Mehrak will give him the money for the deposit.  Mehrak says, “I need your contact’s name and the way to get in touch with him.  This is merely a precaution.  You never know what can happen.  I also want to know where you will be storing them.”

“I understand your caution, Mehrak.  However, I would suggest so long as I am in the picture you let me handle everything.”

“I agree, this is too big for mistakes and I am trying to cover all the bases,” says Mehrak.

“I don’t have a problem with what you are saying.  You are the team leader and have a right to know.”

When the two of them are finished with lunch Javid follows Mehrak back to his vehicle.  He enters the passenger side and after five minutes he leaves with a satchel.”

The FBI agents assigned to both men are taking videos of the transaction.

Main Street

Mehrak travels to Houston using cruise control.  He doesn’t want any record of him being stopped by police heading to Houston.  After this is over he is planning to return to Iran.  He realizes things are going to get very hot around here and he’s not referring to the weather.

Three hours later he drives into the parking lot for his downtown hotel.  His plan is to relax the remainder of the day and tomorrow.  Sunday he will wander around downtown, hopefully without many individuals walking around.  He wants time to select a location where the buildings would accommodate RPGs being fired from the roofs.  His other criteria are there must be cross over traffic for his people on the ground to perform their tasks.  Third, there needs to be close exit availability for them to get away.

RPGs

Four days after the suspects met, Javid calls Mehrak and says, “We can obtain as many RPGs as we wish.  They are only a couple of years old and will cost $3,000 each.  Half of the amount must be paid when ordering, and the balance on delivery, which will take one week.”

Mehrak replies, “Good, tell whoever you are dealing with we will order two next month.  Javid do you have a place to store them until we need them?”

“Yes, I can arrange for them to be stored.”

“Since that is arranged I will plan to leave for Houston next weekend.  I will drive there.  After we hang up I will advise the others of your find and tell them I am leaving for Houston to scout what portion of Main Street is best suited for us.”

Both men hang up.

Next Day

The seven suspects are sitting around the living room in almost the same seats they did two weeks ago.  Mehrak smiles knowing how it seems to be human nature to keep picking what is familiar to you instead of trying new things.

When the men are settled and the chit-chat is over with about the trip to Houston Mehark begins the meeting.  “What did each team learn?”

Alborz spoke for himself and for Feroze.  “We found that there are enough overpasses the procession will travel under where we could use some RPGs. We know the car will be armored but roofs of armored cars are their weakest portions.”

“Sounds interesting,” replies Mehrak.

Gabr spoke for himself and for Babak.  “We felt we could arrange an accident on the highway to block the procession and attack the third vehicle from both sides with fifty caliber weapons.  We don’t feel bullet proof glass will hold up very long under fifty caliber bursts.  Then we take him out when the glass is down.”

Javid speaks for himself and for Ebrahim.  “We like the idea of blocking the procession but not on the highway.  We feel that is too vulnerable for us and leaves too much to chance.  We want to block the procession along Main Street in Houston.”

Mehrak looks around the room and pauses a moment before continuing, “I like the idea of using the RPGs if we can get two of them.  Causing the whole procession to be stuck

Houston

The three FBI agents following the three Iranian drivers didn’t need to be directly behind their cars because of the tracking technology.  It is close to one hundred fifty miles to Houston.  Knowing they wouldn’t lose the vehicles made their surveillance a little easier.  

Arriving in Houston, the agents learn the suspects checked into a Holiday Inn.  Because of the different departure times from the suspects neither of the other two agents arriving in Houston knew there were others doing the same thing. 

Each agent called Tom Johnston to inform him of where he was.  Tom has the address of the Holiday Inn Mehrak is located in.  It is the same location.  He advises his agents to give him some time to think this out and will call them back.  Tom directs the six agents traveling to Houston for backup to where the Holiday Inn is located.

Finding Three More

Three days later the agent tailing Mehrak calls Tom Johnston.  “Mehrak pulled into long term parking at the Austin airport.  Do you want me to follow him inside?”

“Yes, see what he does and if he purchases a ticket I want you to go to that airlines office and identify yourself to management.  We need to know where he is headed.”

Dave Harrigan quickly makes a second swing around the parking area so he can park in short term parking.  He gets out of his vehicle and he spots Mehrak heading into the terminal.  It will not be difficult to tail him.

Mehrak walks up to the Southwest terminal holding his carry-on bag in his left hand.  He purchases a one-way ticket to Houston. 

After he leaves, Dave follows Tom’s instructions and makes his way to the office of Southwest Airlines.

Course Decision

Last Friday Anoush checked on classes with the art institute in the city.  Watercolor painting classes were booked.   The decision he needs to make is should he wait until the next round of classes begin or should he try acrylic painting.  He debates the issue in his head. 

Before making his decision, he stops by the school at the end of Monday and hopes to see his art instructor who taught him to do watercolor painting.  At the front office they tell him, the professor has not left the building and he could find him up in his room.

Anoush walks up the stairs to the second floor.  The office told him which room the professor would be in.  He walks down to the door and knocks on the door molding to make his presence known.

“Anoush how are you?  I remember you saying you would be away.  When did you return?”

The art professor is a short fellow with bifocals to aid with his vision. His hair is balding and he could use some exercise looking at his stature.

“I returned last week.  I contacted the school last Friday and found your next series of classes is booked.  I’m glad for you.  I need to make a decision which I am uncomfortable with.”

“What decision do you need to make, are you going away again?”

“No professor, I learned while I was away how much I missed painting and don’t want to wait until the next set of classes to begin painting.”

“Then what do you want help with, what kind of decision needs to be made?”

“You made me feel comfortable with painting with watercolors.  I am tempted to try an acrylic painting class.”

The professor looks into the serious set of eyes Anoush is broadcasting.  “You are a talented artist, you don’t realize it yet.  You have a gift, not everyone has.  My first suggestion is if you are not comfortable taking a different art medium, you should continue to paint on your own with watercolors.   My second suggestion is you should take an acrylic class.  You may find that you like it.  That doesn’t mean you have to give up something you like such as watercolors.  It means you have two mediums to paint with.”

Hiking

As they walk along on their hike Anoush says, “I have a question for you?”

“What is your question?”

“Since I’ve come into a great deal of money I would like to do something for Kamil’s parents and also for my own parents.  I have been thinking of sending them a sum of money but I don’t want to place either of them in any jeopardy.  Nor do I want anything to come back to me.”

“How much money do you want to send them?”

“I am thinking of a large sum equal to one hundred thousand dollars each.”

“Most countries are tied into systems to monitor large cash transactions.  That amount would be a red flag.  How old are your parents and Kamil’s?”

“Mine are close to sixty and his are likely to be around the same age.”

“Do you know what trusts are?”

“Yes, and there are different kinds.”

“Let me suggest you set up a non-reconcilable trust and have the money transferred into a separate bank account in Switzerland.  You can even use a different bank.  Let the trust send them small amounts of money anonymously every year for twenty years.  By using a different bank there is no ties to your account.  The bank will disburse the money according to the instructions of the trust.  At the end of twenty years they can divide any amounts left in the account.”

“That is an excellent idea.”

Planning

Inside the white cottage, seven men are seated around the living room.  Each of the men gives his opinion on how the plot should be handled.  After two hours of emotional discussion Mehrak holds up his arms and says, “Right now we have four different approaches to the task.  This is what I want to do.  We are going to send three teams of two into Houston after I go there myself and find what route the prince’s procession will take.  Alborz and Javid will be one team.  Babak and Feroze will be the second.  Ebrahim and Gabar will be the third.  I want each of the teams to meet me at the hotel I will be staying at.  When I give you the route of the procession I want each team to ride the route up and back three or four times.  Then we can meet back here afterwards and make definite plans on what the teams have concluded.  Do you have any questions?”

The Weekend

Anoush is clearing some small branches that fell while he was away.  He hears a vehicle approaching the house and looks up to see Edina coming up the driveway.

When her car is parked she reaches into the back seat and carries a large grocery bag in her hands.

“What is all this?  Are you moving in?”

Smiling she says, “I would if you owned the place but I have my own home.”

“I’m saved by a lease.”  She pokes him in the arm.

“Do you want some help with the branches?’

“I’ve got most of them the rest can wait for another time.  Did you show everyone in the office your pictures yet?”

“Yesterday, they loved them.  As a matter of fact the other two agents were drooling over them.”

Anoush laughs at her comment.”

“So tell me what’s in the bag?”

“Come inside while I unpack and you will see what I am cooking for dinner.”

They head inside into the kitchen.

Back to Work

Inside of the Oval Office, John begins explaining to everyone the reason for the prompt meeting.

“When Allison gave us her report about what might be transpiring in Austin,  I remembered we were monitoring one individual for a month.  Near the end of that month we recorded a call that was rushed and the receiver acted as if he didn’t want any part of it.  What got me curious was it wasn’t too long afterwards the oil refinery exploded.  Was he involved, I have no idea.  But I placed a special watch on him which brought no results.

“We are seeing some small traffic from Iran to him.  It is encrypted and we need to sort it out.  However, I want everyone to be aware of this, because after the call I previously talked about, we did try to monitor the guy for another thirty days and that gave us nothing so we gave up watching him.  My gut feeling is this guy is a player in an Iranian cell.  Was he involved in the refinery job, I have no proof.  But I don’t want to be caught short again.”

The president says, “Mark, what has your team found out so far.”

“Sir, I’m sorry to say it’s a dry run so far.  We have nothing to report.”

FBI

Tom wants the four agents to ride by the house of the man they will be doing surveillance on.  “I want each of us to recognize the house this person lives in. We know where he prays and where he works we will drive by those locations as well.  Tomorrow we will rent another vehicle and rotate drivers and cars when we rotate surveillance.  This way there is less likelihood of anyone noticing us.”

The other three nod in agreement.  They must reach a decision regarding this individual whether or not he is a threat to the Saudi Prince.  Somewhere at the top there is a speculation he is involved in an intended plot.

“Let’s have dinner and take our drive by.”

Portugal

Nearly a week after Allison gave the Mossad the names of the victims in the bombing, Ariel returns her phone call.

“Ariel, do you have something for me?”

“Some of what you are looking for but not everything.  Some of this you will have to piece together with your intelligence.”  He gave her the dates when each agent left their country and when and where they entered Mexico.

“They entered Mexico, not the United States?”

“That is all I have for you.  I am sure they entered Mexico assuming it would be easier to enter your country through the border as Mexicans than flying into your country.  They may have felt they could be on an airport barring list.”

Report Information

Ariel Wattenberg is looking at the information Allison sent him as well as the photographs she sent over.  Yes, these are the two men that were hit.  If this was any other circumstance, he would be totally honest with her.  He knows what happened may have been on United States soil but it was vital to Israel’s security.  This time he will wait a couple of days so when he calls her back it appears the Mossad had to do some digging to get the information she requested.

The Mossad knew exactly when the Hezbollah agent left Lebanon and when the Hamas agent left Gaza.  They knew how they traveled and where and how they entered Mexico and later into the United States.  He knows he cannot give her too much information because she will realize they have files on the two men.  She will also realize how good their network is.  It must be in bits and pieces over a period of time.

Ariel lifts his phone and connects with Yosef.  “Yosef has the seed we planted to leak in Austin been accomplished?”

“Yes, our people dropped hints two days after the explosion that the Saudis may have hit the agents in retaliation for Iran attempting to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington last year.  The word put out was they hired an assassin to do the job.”

“Do you think it will work?”

“I’ll lay you odds that rumor has already been passed into Iran and into Saudi Arabia already.”

My wife's event not mine. I was merely the helper and happy to do it.

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Two Days Later

Arriving in Austin, Kevin learns from the police the name and address of the secretary, who gave them the identities.  At first they didn’t want to give it to him.  He explains that he is under presidential orders to find more details about the men.  He shows the credentials he always carries for matters like this.

Kevin is amazed they really bought the story he just told them.  They never even called anyone to verify his story.

Armed with the address of the office she worked in, Kevin decides to play the role of a reporter covering the explosion, hoping the secretary can provide some information he needs.

Going to the location, he finds the office is closed.  Kevin looks in the front window and finds the office vacant.  “What the hell.”

Kevin goes next door and inquires if they know when the people next door moved out?

The lady at the counter says, “Yeah, I think they moved out two days ago.  We were surprised.  No one said a word and I think they moved out in the middle of the night.  How we found out, the landlord came over to ask us if we saw them leave.”

“Do you know anyone of the office staff?”

“There were two ladies inside who always kept to themselves.  Two guys came in and out a few times a week but that’s all I know.”

Oval Office

President William Egan is receiving his morning intelligence reports from John Walker director of the NSA and Allison McDonald director of the CIA.  At the conclusion the president asks, “Do either of you have any idea of what caused the explosion that recently occurred south of Austin?”

John Walker quickly replies, “We haven’t been following that, sir.  We thought it was a police and possibly an FBI matter.”

Allison begins when John is through, “Since we aren’t supposed to operate inside of the United States we have kept our hands off of the matter.”

The president glances at Allison when she makes her remark because he knows her better.

Ten Days Later

Inside the director’s office of the Mossad, Ariel Wattenberg and Yosef Bergman are discussing the Austin area report they have received from their agent.

Yosef speaks, “Our man in the area says that it is quite clear both men were in the vehicle when it exploded.  This comes from media reports that two males were in the vehicle and in checking around neither agent is anywhere to be found.  He concludes that both men who were the targets have been eliminated.”

“So now we close this episode and we pay our man the balance.”

“That is my recommendation,” replies Yosef.

“Do you have any idea where he is at the moment?”

Yosef shakes his head and says, “He’s like a ghost.  He has a way of getting in under everyone’s radar, even ours.”

Ariel laughs and says, “Let this be a lesson to us for the future.  I will transfer the funds to his account in Switzerland today.”

Day After the Explosion

Inside of the CIA director’s office Allison McDonald is speaking with Kevin McCarthy one of her top agents. 

“Have you heard about the explosion that occurred outside of Austin yesterday?”

Kevin replies, “You couldn’t miss hearing about it.  It’s been breaking news since it happened and the media seems to be giving it constant up-to-date coverage.  Why are you asking?”

“I’m not sure but I have a feeling about this.”

“What kind of feeling?”

“I really can’t explain it.”

“Is there something you want me to do, like go to Austin?”

“I want you to go and nose around and see what you can come up with.  Was this a freak accident or a bombing?  Who were the occupants?”

“You know the FBI isn’t going to give us anything.  They’ll be pissed if they know I’m around.”

“Then I’ll leave it up to you to do it without them knowing.”

Kevin rises from the couch he is sitting on and walks towards Allison’s desk.  I’ll leave first thing in the morning and see what I can come up with.”

“Keep me posted when you find something.”

“How much time should I spend on this?”

“That depends on what you find.”

Kevin walks out of the director’s office.

Aftermath of the Explosion

The state police officer at the scene says, “We need to extinguish that fire.  The whole southbound lane is backed up five miles already.”  He calls into his barracks and explains the situation.  His commander tells him to have the fireman foam the wreckage.  They aren’t going to hurt anyone.  Anyone inside is definitely dead.

He tells the fire captain what his commander said and the captain agrees.  The fire truck moves as close as possible and still remain safe.  The heat is very intense.  The captain has two men put on fire hazard clothing and they move forward to try and extinguish the blaze.

It takes thirty minutes for the entire blaze to be put out.  The smoke is finally beginning to clear.

The ambulance is sent back to its center as it cannot be of any use.

Route 183

Anoush asks, “How far away are they from 71?”  He is getting anxious.

“My estimate is around five miles.”

“Let me know when you think they are about one mile away.”

Minutes later, “I figure they are about a mile away now.”

Anoush starts the car and pulls out into traffic to head onto the ramp entering route 183 southbound.

“They should be under us right now.”

Driving down the ramp he says, “I see them.  Now take the binoculars and make sure there are two people inside as I get closer.”

“There are two people in the front seats.”

“Good, now let’s hope some of these cars will get off exits before we hit our first landmark to detonate.”

Sunday Night

A three quarter portion of the C4 explosive is set up on the table with the detonator attached.  It is ready to be attached to fulfill its purpose. 

Anoush is remembering how he and Kamil set up the five terrorist attacks in the United States.  They managed the cells and aided them in selecting targets.  They also provided the financing for the attacks.  However, this time he is actually doing the attack and it feels different.

Anoush and Edina try to go to sleep at 9:30 pm.  The two of them are wound up over what will happen tomorrow.  By 11:00 they decide to have sex not because it is for love even though they love each other, it is to relieve the tension they are holding inside.  A half hour later both of them are asleep.

At 2:30 the alarm goes off and they dress to leave for the condo complex.

End of the Second Week

Thursday afternoon a man wearing a delivery uniform walks into the local mailing and copy center located at the directions he was given.  He tells the clerk he has a package for mailbox number 188.  Handing the clerk the package he asks the clerk to sign for the delivery. 

After the delivery is made the clerk inserts the box into 188.  Never realizing he just handled one pound of explosive.  One thought did strike him though, he had never seen that style of uniform on a delivery person before.  He thought it might be a new service opening up in Austin.

Beginning of the Second Week

As Anoush suspected, the next day, Tuesday, was a repeat of last Thursday.  Tomorrow he expects they will take the ride down route 183 to meet their connection.

That is exactly what happened.  Both men rode in the Ford and traveled southbound to meet with whomever they have to do business with.

Anoush is surprised the United States authorities didn’t take the time to find this out.  Maybe they don’t care.  It wouldn’t be the first time to happen on this planet.

“Gentlemen you just made my day.”  One of the first things you learned in covert operations is never to create the same repetitive pattern.  It is so easy to be eliminated.