The Isle of Devils HOLY WAR (6 page)

Here we go Again

The duo left the pub ready to call it a day. As the two walked down Front Street, a long black limousine with Saudi flags on each front fender whisked by them leaving town in a rush.

Storm turned to Savage and said, “Did you see the limo that just went by? Where in the hell do you think they’re going?”

Savage threw up his arms and yelled as he stepped out into Front Street, “Oh bloody hell. We’re out of the frying pan and into the fire.” He then stepped in front of a pair of tourists on a rental scooter signaling them to stop as he showed them his badge.

Storm laughed and said, “I thought you were on holiday?”

Savage replied, “Shut up, mate.” He turned back to the tourists and said, “Sorry folks, but this is police business. I need to borrow your scooter. Oh, I also need your helmets.”

The nervous tourists parked their scooter next to the curb and gave Savage and Storm their helmets. Storm thanked them, pulled out his wallet and gave them twenty dollars to pay for a taxi.

Savage added, “When you get back to your scooter rental shop tell them Officer Smith borrowed your scooter and will return it tomorrow.” The tourists, still a bit confused, nodded their heads and walked away very quickly.

Storm stood there scratching his head and said, ”Why the hell did you tell them you were Officer Smith?”

Savage laughed and replied, “Do you know how many Officer Smith’s there are on the police force? By the time the Commissioner ties this back to us, the case will be over.”

Storm yelled, “Give me five you, sly old dog.” Both slapped their hands together and put their helmets on.

Storm sat down on the scooter first leaving room for Savage to sit as passenger.

Savage snapped, “What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing?”

Storm replied, “I’m driving dude. If you don’t like it, Officer Flat Foot, you better get walking.”

Savage turned blood red and said, “Alright, alright.” He climbed on the back of the scooter and said, “Let’s get after these Arabs before they lose us.”

Storm replied as he hit the gas, “Roger that.” They shot out on to Front Street as fast as the little fifty cc scooter would take them.

Savage started screaming, “You bloody idiot! You’re going to get us killed. You’ve got us on the wrong side of the street.”

Storm swerved the scooter over to the left side of the street and said, “Sorry, I forgot you Bermudians drive on the left hand side of the road.” After getting the scooter back under control the duo zoomed down the street after the limo.

By the time they reached Broadway the limo was in sight. They continued past the round-about and on to Trimingham Hill. To Savage’s surprise the limo went east on South Shore instead of west. Storm would have bet they would have gone west on South Shore towards the Dockyard. Savage yelled out, “What the hell are they going that way for? Don’t lose them, Storm.”

Storm yelled back, “Don’t worry. As long as they don’t go over twenty five miles per hour we have a chance. This toy scooter can’t go any faster.” The duo followed the limo all the way past the airport.

Savage now thought the Arabs were going to St. George’s, but once again he was wrong. The limo turned off the round-about in the direction of St. David’s Island. Savage was bewildered. There was nothing in St. David’s that would interest terrorists. Savage tapped Storm on the shoulder and said, “Don’t lose them now, mate. They’re running out of real estate. There’s basically one way in and one way out of St. David’s.

Storm snapped back, “Alright, quit telling me what to do. I won’t lose them.” The duo kept back at a safe distance, making sure that the limo was not going to lose them. Savage was shocked to see the limo enter the old US Navy base which ran parallel to the Bermuda International Airport.

Savage thought to himself, “What in the world are these Arabs going to do now, hijack a jet?” The limo did not stop at the airport, but instead circled around the end of the runway and made its way on to Cooper’s Island.

Storm yelled back to Savage, “Where are they going? All I see is a tourist beach ahead of us.”

Savage yelled back, “You’re not going to believe what’s on the other side of that beach, and I bet that’s where they’re going.”

Storm asked, “So tell me, what’s there.”

Savage replied, “It’s an abandoned NASA communication tracking centre. It might be loaded with old equipment.” Savage was right. For years this NASA base had tracked rockets and the space shuttle as they launched from the Kennedy Space Center. The extra long runway in Bermuda was always an option for the space shuttle to make an emergency landing after liftoff. A few years after the US Navy closed their base in the Bermuda, NASA decided to close their tracking centre. As the limo turned the last corner before nearing the NASA centre Savage tapped Storm on the shoulder and said, “Pull over here. If we get any closer they’ll see us.” Storm pulled the scooter off the road and they hid it behind some bushes.

The duo ran alongside of the road. As they rounded the curve they could see the limo stopping in front of a huge gate that spanned across the entire road. Savage stopped and said, “Well mate, that’s about the end of the line for those Arabs. That’s an electronic gate, and I’m sure the power to the centre has been shut off for a couple of years.”

No sooner had Savage quit talking then a window rolled down in the limo and a hand came out of the window holding a small controller box. Within seconds the gate began to open. Storm said, “So much for it being the end of the line my brother.”

Savage snapped back, “Alright, but we better get moving before the gate closes.” The two went on a dead run on the right side of the road trying to get there before the gate closed yet hoping not to be seen. As the limo passed through the gate entrance, it stopped and let one of the Arabs out. Once out, the limo continued on out of sight. The gate continued to close. It was now apparent to Storm and Savage that the Arab was left at the gate to guard it.

Both men moved over behind some bushes. Once out of sight Storm asked, “Now what? The gate closed, and there’s an Arab probably with a gun guarding it.”

Savage pointed towards the gate and said, “See that phone booth up there in the middle of the road just in front of the gate?”

Storm replied, “Yeah, so what?”

Savage continued on, “You casually walk up to the phone booth and call for backup and distract the Arab while I sneak around the gate.”

Storm started to nod his head in agreement, but abruptly stopped and said, “Are you nuts?”

Savage laughed and added, “Just kidding mate.”

Storm said, “Keep this up and I’ll have to kick your Bermuda butt.”

Savage smiled and signaled for Storm to follow him. He turned to his right and walked through some thick overgrown bushes coming out onto a walking trail. Savage said, “This trail will take us around to the other side of the centre. If my memory serves me right, there’s a low place in the stone wall that we can climb to get on the NASA grounds.” After running along the trail for about one hundred yards they came to the low wall. To Storm’s surprise someone had already placed a couple of cinder blocks at the wall to make it easier to bridge. Savage said, “See mate I told you so.” The two climbed over the wall and stepped down on a mass of concrete over one hundred feet wide and fifty feet in length.

Storm looked around and said, “What is this? This huge slab of concrete is as big as a parking lot and why the twenty degree slope?”

Savage replied, “This is the water catchment for the centre. When it rains, the water flows down the incline and drains into holding tanks. This would have been their source of water. In case you haven’t noticed, Bermuda has no rivers. We have to catch our water when it rains.”

Storm replied, “Thanks for the lesson, but let’s move it before someone sees us in the middle of this water catchment.” The two quickly ran up to the top of the water catchment where they laid down and looked over the edge. They were now looking down over the rest of the complex. They could not see the front gate and the guard from here, but they could see the empty parked limo and a door standing wide open on the main building.

Storm asked, “What do you think these guys are doing here?”

Savage replied, “Not sure, but I bet it has something to do with that weather tracking tower over there.”

Storm added, “You may be right, but the only way we’re going to find out is to go in that building.” Savage agreed and the two climbed down off the water catchment and scrambled over to the building.

By the time they got there, Savage was huffing and puffing. He said, “All this running is about to do me in.”

Storm replied, “Well old man if you want to go wait for me over in that limo I’m sure the Arabs won’t mind.’

Savage replied, “Shut your bloody mouth mate. Let’s go see what these Arabs are up to.” The two went quietly through the doorway not knowing what they would find.

The Secret of Cooper’s Island

Storm and Savage cleared the doorway, and instantly it was clear that the NASA centre had been significantly gutted when the facility was abandoned. They both looked around, but were not having any luck finding the Arabs. Finally Storm grabbed Savage and whispered, “Wait a minute. I think I hear voices down the hallway.” Both men stopped to listen, and sure enough they heard voices. In single file they silently went down the long hallway towards the door where the sound was coming from. Savage was the first to peek into the room. He could quickly tell this had been the NASA command room. The room was large with high ceilings and featured very large tracking screens completely covering one wall. The room was dark, and surprisingly most of the equipment in the room was operational. The duo crawled into the room and hid behind a large desk that was off to one side.

Savage turned to Storm and whispered, “I can’t believe the US government would leave all this equipment behind and unguarded.”

Storm whispered back, “I don’t think they did. I think these rich Arabs smuggled this equipment into Bermuda in one of their oil tankers. It looks to me like they plan on tracking something, but what? ”

Savage replied, “Well, we’re here now. Let’s just watch and listen. Maybe we’ll find out.” From their vantage point they could see and hear everything that was going on in the command room.

Sheik Hooda was in the center of the room talking to three other Arabs. He said, “Men, history is in the making. From this room two of you will be able to track our progress and warn us if any Westerners especially the United States are trying to interfere with our progress.”

One of Hooda’s men turned to him and asked, “With only two of us here and the guard at the gate what happens if the local authorities force their way in here?”

Hooda became agitated. He yelled back, “Do you think I am a fool? First of all, we have a two year lease on the facility with the Bermuda Government. They would not dare enter the complex. And should anyone ever do so, you already know what to do. No matter what, I want no trace of what we have done here. When we are done you know what to do. ”

Savage whispered to Storm, “Sounds to me like this place is already wired to explode.”

Storm replied back, “I think now we can stop calling these guys Arabs and start calling them terrorists.”

Hooda went on to say, “It’s time for me to leave. Get all systems running and began the testing. I will contact you when it’s time.” The two terrorists nodded their heads in agreement. Hooda said something in Arabic and left the room with one terrorist following him. One of the two remaining terrorists closed and locked the door. He returned to the console where the other terrorist was sitting and began typing on the keyboard.

Within minutes the screens on the big wall were lit up showing all sorts of activities. Storm and Savage had no idea what most of the screens represented, but they could make out satellite images of the Eastern United States, the Atlantic Ocean, and Bermuda.

Savage whispered to Storm, “I think we finally have something solid to report to the Commissioner and the FBI.”

Storm whispered back, “You’re right. Can you call the Commissioner now for backup?”

Savage nodded and pulled out his cell phone and tried to call the Commissioner’s office. He quickly snapped his cell phone closed and said, “This room must be made out of nothing but concrete and steel. I’m not getting any bars on my phone.” Savage was right. The command room was solid concrete reinforced with steel. When NASA built the structure they wanted to make sure the room would withstand any hurricane or massive waves. Needless to say the room was noise proof and waterproof.