Alpha Threat (54 page)

“Security.”
 

“Maas here.
 
I want you to pay particular attention to any radio transmissions detected within our area.
 
I don’t care how many there are or whether or not you can specifically get the transmission recorded.
 
I want the frequency on which the transmission was encountered,” he ordered.
 
“I also want a location.
 
I want a personal report of all of them immediately.
 
Do you understand?” asked Maas.
 
He was ready to explode if there was any indication of issues or problems the security personnel might encounter.
 

“Yes, sir,” came a crisp acknowledgement.
 
“All transmissions will be recorded, located and noted, regardless of any issues.
 
I will report each transmission to you personally.”
 

Maas liked what he heard.
 
He wondered if Boehm already cracked the whip.
 
It sounded so.
 
He was in no mood to hear any backtalk.
 

“Very well,” snapped Maas.
 
He hung up the phone and sat there contemplating his next move.
  
After a few minutes, he decided to check on his visitors.
 
He got up and left his office, headed for the elevator.
 
He reached into his pocket and retrieved his keys and found his elevator control key.
 
He entered the elevator alone.
 
As the door closed, he inserted the control key and turned it.
 
A small sliding window silently slid open.
 
A keypad was exposed.
 
Maas typed in a five-digit code and the elevator began to drop.
 
He was on the way to his private security areas at the lowest levels of the Fortress.
 

When he arrived in the holding cell area, Dana and Randall were brought down and placed in a cell.
 
Maas strolled down the dank, narrow passageway and into a large dungeon–like room.
 
He called it his play room.
 
The 20-by-10 meter room was as large as some ballrooms.
 
The stone walls were damp in some places due to the room being essentially a sub-basement of the Fortress.
 
It had a smell of a cross between a furnace room and a gym locker.
 

Few people other than Maas’ personal guards even knew this place existed.
 
It was his private place to handle those that did not follow the rules.
 
Kaete Grimme’s father and grandfather used to frequent this hellhole but Kaete was hardly aware of its existence.
 

The room looked like a twelfth century dungeon.
 
The low ceilings were held up by large stone pillars and arches.
 
Over on one side of the room a large fire burned in a fireplace.
 
But this fireplace did not look like the inviting ones in many homes.
 
It was foreboding.
 
It looked menacing with its fire turning the stone wall red and orange with its flickering light.
 
It had the look of a torture chamber.
 
That’s because it was.
 

Maas’ guards snapped to attention at his entrance.
 
After bidding them at ease, he conferred with two of his guards.
 
They broke up laughing.
 
Maas was smiling; a very rare occurrence.
 
He walked back down the passage stopping only for a second outside the Finleys’ cell.
 
He peered into the small opening in the door and saw the two Americans sitting against the far wall.
 
Maas smiled.
 
He loved this.

He decided to check up on his latest issue, Grübner.
 

Monday, July 18, 2011

Fortress Alpha;
 
5:45 a.m.

Dana awoke to a sudden noise outside the cell.
 
It was a man screaming in the distance, clearly in pain.
 
She panicked and immediately looked over to the other bunk.
 
Randall was still there.
 
She sighed in relief.
 
At least it wasn’t him, thank God.
 
They had been brought back down here yesterday; for what reason they did not know.
 
The guards were like eunuchs.
 
They did their jobs and said absolutely nothing.
 
Step out of line and they would brutally put you back in place.
 
You certainly were not getting any information from those sons-of-bitches.
  

The screaming died down.
 
Dana got up and stood by the door.
 
She listened.
 
She heard someone talking but could not make out the conversation.
 
She heard scuffling and a few muffled yells.
 
Then everything went silent.
 
That’s when she heard the footsteps of a guard coming down the corridor.
 
The footsteps stopped in front of their cell.
 
She stepped back against the back wall to hide.
 
Randall was startled awake and sat up.
 

They heard the keys turn the heavy lock in the cell door.
 
Slowly it opened.
 
Both of the Finleys stared wide-eyed, not knowing what was going to enter.
 
To the relief of the Finleys, a guard entered carrying a tray of food…breakfast.
 
As always, the guard said nothing.
 
He merely placed the food on Dana’s bed and backed out of the room.
 
Within seconds he returned with two canteens of water and then walked out, slamming the cell door behind him.
 
The Finleys heard the heavy bolt lock the door again.
 
Hell would continue.
 

“Good morning,” said Randall weakly.
 
“Anything new?”

“Nothing, Babe,” said Dana quietly as she came over and sat next to Randall.
 
They had been captives for at least a full week, although they were not really sure what day it was.
 
Other than the first day of the beatings and the killing of Manolo, they were treated relatively well.
 
Their wounds from the beatings were almost healed except for the lost teeth.
 

“They brought food and water?” asked Randall.
 
“Let’s eat.”

“Sure,” cooed Dana.
 
“We can have a feast together here.”
 
She got up and brought the tray over to Randall’s bed and then picked up the canteens.
 
“I did hear something interesting earlier, just before you awoke.
 
It sounded like a man screaming.
 
I think we have company down here.”

“Great,” smiled Randall.
 
“We must have him over for dinner.”
 
Dana looked at him as if he were crazy.
 
Then she burst out laughing.
 

“Leave it to you to make jokes while we rot away down here,” she said.
 

“Hey, somebody’s got to keep our spirits up.”
 
Randall perused the food.
 
“Hmmm, not breakfast at the Ritz, but meat, cheese and bread beats starving.”
 
He tore the bread in two.
 
“It’s kinda fresh too.
 
We must be on someone’s good side.”

“And the cheese is not moldy,” added Dana.
 
“You may be right for once.”

“Once?” exclaimed Randall.
 
“I’m always right.”

“Mmffph,” grunted Dana as she bit into the bread.
 
They quietly enjoyed their feast without saying any more.
 
Things were certainly bad but they were better, especially over the past several days, at least until they were brought back down here.
 
But they were left alone.
 
That was a huge thing in Dana’s mind.
 
She had a great fear of that Maas guy.
 
He killed so easily.
 
And she feared he could do much more.
 

Monday, July 18, 2011

Outside Fortress Alpha;
 
6:20 a.m.

Dane moved silently through the bushes staying very low to the ground.
 
Hugo was about three yards ahead.
 
It was dusky, reflecting little light from the sky.
 
The jungle bugs and frogs were nonetheless singing their nightly mantras calling for mates or proudly proclaiming their superiority.
 
Dane and Hugo were on the north side of the Fortress along the small open area that was actually a well-designed cover for the heliport.
 

Hugo stopped and Dane came up on his six.
 

“Ready, Boss?” whispered Hugo.
 
Dane replied with a thumbs-up and checked his watch.
 
It was 6:30 a.m. on the dot.
 
He keyed his microphone.
 

The “Bingo Alpha” meant the lead Alpha team was moving in.
 
“Bravo go” denoted the Bravo team was complying and moving in as well.
 

“Bingo, Alpha,” he said quietly.
 
Within seconds there was a quiet reply in his earpiece.
 

“Bravo, go.”

Dane turned to Hugo and motioned him to move ahead.
 
They had previously set up several quick code messages to enable the teams to communicate quickly but only for a second or less.
 
Dane hoped it would be fast enough to keep someone from hearing and tipping off their locations.
 
Dane was glad they were lucky enough to witness the helicopter lift off when they first visited the Fortress.
 
That was the key to them finding a second entrance to the complex.
 
They were very fortunate since Dane believed the original hatch was now heavily guarded.
 
He did not want to have to fight his way in.
 
To their knowledge, no one knew Dane and Hugo saw the heliport.
 
If they could get in undetected, they had surprise on their side.
 

Hugo skirted past multiple huge ferns and was always about three meters ahead of Dane.
 
He was nearing the edge of the faux clearing.
 
He cautiously looked out from under the fern fronds.
 
To his right about eight meters away was a small, low structure that looked very much like the catapult officer’s dome on an aircraft carrier deck.
 
It rose about one half meter above the ground and several darkened glass-encased view ports were clearly visible.
 
Hugo guessed correctly this was an aircraft control bunker for the heliport.
 
He looked over to his left.
 
He did not see any other structures at first, but upon a further look he spotted a similar bunker about twenty-five meters away.
 
He continued his recon of the clearing and picked up a third bunker almost directly across from him.
 
There was no movement nor was he able to see into the view ports.
 
But he suspected there were folks behind those ports.
 
Hugo slid back a bit and met Dane, who moved forward.
 

Using hand signals, Hugo reported the three bunkers and their location.
 
Dane nodded in acknowledgement.
 
He motioned for Hugo to go over to their right toward the closest structure.
 
As Hugo got closer, he froze as he heard a sharp click.
 
He saw movement, barely noticeable, behind the structure and heard voices.
 
He quietly leaned to his left to take advantage of cover.
 

As he watched, a man dressed in black emerged from the ground.
 
Hugo observed silently as the man rose out of the ground, climbing steps from an underground entrance.
 
He heard a slight rustle and turned to see Dane moving up.
 
He held up a fist to signal Dane to freeze.
 
Hugo looked around again and saw the man dressed in black now standing on the ground beside the small windowed structure looking into the trees above.
 
It seemed to Hugo the man was expecting someone; maybe expecting a flight to come in.
 

Hugo turned and signaled to Dane.
 
This was their chance to get into the Fortress.
 
All of the noise and commotion of a helicopter landing should give Hugo and Dane the opportunity to get into the Fortress undetected.
 
Hugo motioned for Dane to join him and they moved behind a group of trees and cover ten feet from the structure and behind the Nazi.
 
They could now see a faint red light glowing from a stairway leading down into the Fortress.
 
Dane looked to the sky.
 
He could hear the faint sounds of a helicopter.
 
As he was listening, there was a deep humming sound as the clearing began to open exposing a huge hangar large enough for several helicopters.