Dark as Daylight Ch. 10

"Asshole, do you ever think you can listen to someone else's instructions, because they know more than you do about their equipment?"

Gordon joked, "Probably not Andrea, I my father's son, and I refuse to believe anything is not possible, until I've done it myself. Now that I've done it, I probably won't do it again."

"In other words, I should've let you fall on your face."

"No, that would've hurt. You would've had to take another MRI of my head, and we would be back where we started nearly an hour ago."

"I'm going to call Zoey. I'm going to tell her to give you the beating of your life, because you don't know the difference between what's best for you, and what's best for the people who depend on you, inside this ship."

"I'm that same person, Andrea, just give me a problem, and I'll work my ass off to solve it."

"Then drink this rehydrated pomegranate juice, and get your ass going to find that damn bomb Aubrey left us, as his final present."

"Everyone on the ship is working on that problem. They're going through their own rooms, from top to bottom, and then they are switching rooms, with their neighbors, and going through their rooms to check again. We realize it's intrusive, but it's the best way to check every nook and cranny on this ship, without being stuck in space, for years, and only having engineers looking for that thing. It took more than 7 years to build this spacecraft, and I'm not going to let that man kill it, while I'm still breathing."

"How was the juice?"

"What juice?"

"The juice you just finished drinking."

"I don't remember."

"Boy am I good. I do that to all my patients. The juice is very good for them, but it tastes like shit. I get them talking about something they are interested in. They drink it without thinking about it. Then I asked him the same question I asked you, and I get the same answer. I'll get rid of that stuff within a year, and then I'll start giving out the good stuff."

"You're too smart Andrea. You should be a doctor."

"Jody Hathaway is first, I'm after her. We're going to be up here for a very long time, and we need physicians for the long haul. Every nurse will be upgraded to Doctor status as we move along. As the children grow up, they will be aptitude tested, to see which ones can be trained into nurses. As they progress, they will be trained to become doctors.

Doctor Finch is a very smart man, and Doctor Daniels is the proof of it. As years go by, we will be able to operate, but he will be able to stand up over us as we do, and give us instructions as we do his job in the future."

"That was my dad's idea. That's why everyone on board was tested. We needed people who could fit certain profiles to make sure we had everyone that could move forward in their chosen fields. I couldn't be prouder than I am, to be his son."

"I'll see if either of our doctors are free, and we can check the results of your MRI. Don't fall down, please."

"I won't Andrea; I promise."

****************

Rita was flying the helicopter, while Paul, wearing the infrared goggles looking for a beam of light focused into the air. They were flying at 200 feet, above ground level, and air traffic control was keeping a close track on their maneuvers, because of their proximity to the runway.

"There it is Rita. 10 o'clock, three quarters the mile."

"Call them, tell him to switch to white."

"Hen house, this is rooster over."

"Rooster, this is hen house, go ahead."

"One half mile, switch to white."

"Switching to white."

"I have them Paul, tell them to light up the landing area."

"Hen house, light up the LZ."

"LZ is lit."

Paul laughed. "You have to love these corporate guys. Look at the size of that landing pad."

"Citibank has all our money; now we know where it went."

Rita settled back on the throttle, kept her eyes on the windsock, and lowered the one-year-old helicopter into the center of the landing area. She didn't relax, as Paul jumped out, and opened the passenger side door, in preparation for their special guests.

She watched the limousine roar out of the garage, and unbelievably onto the landing pad itself. She had never seen that happen before. It stopped clear of the rotors, and guards were everywhere. They escorted 2 women carrying two infants into the helicopter first.

Paul secured them in personally.

As he turned to get out, two more women got into the helicopter, and he recognize Jemma Zabo immediately.

"Good morning Mrs. Zabo, the flight will be nice and smooth all the way to Glens Falls."

Jemma laughed. "I guess that means you and Rita won't be fooling around on the way up there."

"No, we had to stop doing that. The FAA nearly pulled our licenses, because they thought we were drunk, while we were flying. We kept gaining and losing altitude, and they couldn't think of any other reason for it. We told them neither one of us drink or use drugs. We let them take blood tests, take pubic hair, and went through a full physical. They couldn't explain why they were getting these returns from our aircraft. So Patty pulled a fast one on them. She bought a new one. We've been good since then."

"I'm sure you two were devastated."

"It's very hard for us to keep our hands off each other."

"I know what you mean, William and I have the same problem, and so do Gwen with Junior."

"I can see the evidence of that Gwen."

"When you fuck around, things like this happen Paul."

"My best wishes to you and William Junior; we will keep you safe up there."

"We have no doubt about it Paul."

"Okay, let's get this thing back in the air, fill her up, and follow the rest of the protocol."

A final member got into the aircraft, as Paul stepped out. A guard, with a long-range rifle, and every gizmo possible attached to it, got in, sat beside Gwen, and buckled himself in. He was an unexpected guest inside the helicopter, and Jemma asked him who he was and why he was here.

"My name is Domos. I am a former Special Forces Sniper. When we get to Glens Falls, we will not be landing in the normal landing zone, because it is too far from the main house. If the people there do not give the correct signal for us to land, I will kill them, and we will go to our alternate landing zone, which has never been mentioned to anyone except to me, and our pilots.

Mister and Mister Valentino should be landing in Albany by early morning. Your husband tried to keep her away from this, but Mrs. Valentino told him she wouldn't miss this for the world. When they started to argue over the phone, Mister Valentino pulled it away from his wife. He asked your husband when was the last time he was able to reason with his daughter. That's when the discussion ended, and why I am here."

Jemma shook her head. "That's Patty, she will never change."

"And you will mom?"

"That's not fair Gwen, I married into money, she earned hers."

"You've been friends for how long?"

"Oh no you don't young lady, that was a very cute way of trying to find out how old I am."

"Mom, you're 63 years old, and you look 35. Women would die to have your genes."

"My son is a dead man."

"Which one?"

"Which one told you how old I am?"

"I'm not going to tell you."

"Bitch. I'll bet you it was Patrick. He acknowledged he uses the computer in my room to go on the Internet. He probably stole the information from there."

"You should see my husband with a computer."

Paul said, "Prepare for landing."

As the helicopter was touching down to fill up with fuel, the armored limousine already covered 38-miles north bound on Interstate 87. Screaming along at 110 miles per hour, on a nearly deserted road, with lights flashing, was easy for the big beast and its huge, modified, engine.

Then there were blue lights flashing behind them, and a pair of blue lights on the roadway, moving fast, using both lanes of the highway, northbound. They were moving fast, but not fast enough for the limousine.

"Pull over, and stop your car," came the warning from the police car behind them.

Without delay, Davis slowed the limousine down to a safe speed, and then pulled over to the shoulder of the road. As soon as it was safe, they stopped the vehicle, got out of the car, and placed both their hands on top of the limousine to show the officers they were no threat to them.

The officer from the rear vehicle had his automatic weapon in his hand as he approached them. The officers from the front, had their shotguns in their hands.

The Sergeant asked, "Are you armed?"

"Yes we are. In my right breast pocket, there is a fax I would like you to read. We have to get back on the road instantly. Please read it."

"We give the orders here, not you."

"If you want to be employed tomorrow, read the fucking fax."

"Joe, if either one of them moves a hand from the car, shoot him."

"You got it Sarge."

He approached slowly and slipped his left hand into Heaths' breast pocket. He moved back to a safe distance, opened the fax and shined his flashlight on it. The fax read,

"To all law enforcement agencies in the State of New York: The men holding this note are on a personal emergency mission for me. In no way will you interfere with them. You will assist them in any way possible, without interfering with your own duties. If you have any questions about the authenticity of this note call me on my private cell, regardless of the time of day. Signed, Andrew Cuomo Governor New York State. (518) 666-- 9999

"No fucking shit. Put your weapons away, and go back to your cars. Sir, here is your fax. How far north are you going?"

"Glens Falls."

"I can take you as far as Albany, and I will try to get you an escort further north. Slide in behind me, and no one will disturb you for the rest of the way."

"Thank you Sergeant, what's your name?"

"Bill Stevens."

"Bill, thanks for your help. If everything turns out well, in a few weeks, you and your 2 friends will receive an envelope full of cash. It's not a bribe, it's a thank you for your help this evening."

"It's not necessary, it's our job."

"Trust me, you are going over and above your job tonight. Let's move."

After telling the other 2 patrol officers to resume their normal patrol areas, Bill got into his car, and started out northbound, with the limousine 100 yards behind him. With his police cruiser engine purring away, they were doing 134 miles an hour in no time at all.

"Heath, we had an 8-minute delay back there. Now we are doing 24 miles an hour more than we was doing before. We will pick that up in one hour. How fast does that helicopter go?"

"I don't think Paul is going to be pushing the speed on the way up to Glens Falls, because he knows we have to get their first. Figure he's going to be doing about 180 miles per hour."

"The police stopped us, when we were 38 miles north of Westchester. That left us with 150 miles to go.

"Our guys had to watch the refueling of the helicopter, get food, get back on the road and head north. The helicopter will be arriving almost exactly at the same time we will, if they do 180 miles an hour. The guys will be here 90 minutes later. It would be hilarious if they run into our other 2 friends in blue."

"Yes that would be funny. I'm not sure the police would think it was very funny, but when we talk to the guys, we would all laugh about it.

The timing couldn't be any better though; they could ditch the cars, do a sweep of the property, and be in their defensive positions just before dawn."

"Yeah, I sure am glad we're not wearing suits, it's really nippy outside."

"It will warm up by this afternoon, and we can take this Gortex off."

*******************

Signs for Albany were all over the place. The police cruiser moved into the left lane. Bill made a hand motion that indicated someone would meet them further up north. Then he saluted, and fell behind.

15 miles north of Albany, another state trooper, was waiting by the shoulder of the road, and he saw them whiz by. He hit his lights, roared onto the highway, and within 5 minutes took the lead.

It's amazing how long it takes to overtake a car, if you are going zero, and it is doing over 130 miles per hour.

****************

A few miles south of Glens Falls, Davis turned off his flashing lights and began to slow down. He turned on the GPS, which was preloaded with the directions to Stephano Valentino's home. He took a left on State Road 9 L, away from the city, into the lush, wooded landscapes of the city's verdant suburbs. 10 minutes later, they began taking the meandering roads that led them to the Valentino's 180-acre homestead.

"Pull into the driveway, stop, and leave the lights on. Remember he's here. We will walk in front of the lights, stop, and wait for him to challenge us. Let me answer. Okay?"

"You are the boss; what you say goes."

They stood in front of the limo for three minutes, without a sound coming from anywhere, and not moving.

"Are you sure he's here, Heath?"

"He's making sure we weren't followed. Keep your drawers dry."

It was almost 20 minutes of standing in the same area before they heard, "Identify yourselves?"

"Trumpet. Identify yourself?"

"Hoosick. Welcome guys, I have a surprise for you; turn around."

"Holy shit, where did she come from?"

"Quiet, isn't she."

Sitting on the roof of the limousine, with a sawed off, double-barreled shotgun, was 'Little Bear', dressed entirely in black. She climbed on the car, while it was slowly moving up the gravel driveway, lay flat on its roof, and was watching the men, as a 'Big Bear' made sure the limousine was not followed.

As soon as the men were blinded by the lights, she sat in the lotus position, and kept the shotgun focused on them. She blended into the night perfectly.

"Hello guys, I'm Little Bear, or Kathy. The big guy is my husband, Big Bear, Andy. Welcome to fortress north."

"What do you mean fortress north; the guys aren't here yet."

"Andy that's your job. I only play with my toys."

"That's a lie and you know it. Let's go inside, I'll show you the layout."

As they entered the house, they could smell the aroma of food being prepared in the kitchen.

Andy said, "You have to love Patty Valentino, she thinks of everything. How she got my cell number I will never know, but she called me from her airplane to tell me that Sabrina would be at the house cooking for everyone. You have to see what she's made so far, and what's in the ovens being prepared. If Kathy wasn't such a good cook, and Mister Valentino wouldn't kill me, I would take Sabrina home with me, and have her cook for me for the rest of my life."

Kathy poked him in the stomach.

"This glutton picked up a leg of lamb, and ate the entire thing. Sabrina and I just watched him as it disappeared."

"It was really good, but I forgot to put the mint jelly on it, which would've made it outstanding."

"Can you believe this guy, a 13-pound leg of lamb and he's complaining?"

"That lamb would've served 10 people, Andy."

"So what, I'll do more sit-ups in the morning. Let me show you what I have laid out for our special guests, when they arrive."

"180 acres is a lot to defend."

"That's why we are not going to defend the whole thing. We are going to defend only 40 acres around the main house and the barn. The mains floor of the house is expendable. They can have it if they want it. They can burn the sucker down to the floor, and they won't get any further. Beneath the fancy wood flooring is 18 inches of 4600 psi steel reinforced concrete. That's followed by a one-inch plate of copper titanium steel, like the door at NORAD's defense center in Colorado. There is another 8 inches of steel reinforced concrete below that, which finishes off the top, and sides of the safe room. It's 40 feet long, 30 feet wide, with enough computing power to run half the country. It sleeps 20; it has 2 independent power sources, plus battery backup that will last for 10 days. It's air-conditioned, and vented underground. Hot and cold running water, and bathroom facilities. To get in, you have to put in a code, a handprint, and a retina scan. I have no idea who she was protecting herself from, but they weren't getting to this woman anytime soon. That room must of cost $50,000,000 dollars to build, and I don't even want to guess what those computers cost."

"How did you get in to see all this, Andy?"

"Sabrina had me wait upstairs, while she did all the work, and then called me down and let me in."

"So if you're the enemy, all you have to do is get the code out of her, and you're in the bunker."

"No, not at all. Once the bunker is occupied, they turn the system off. They have cameras everywhere, and if they see anyone is under duress, they won't turn the system back on to allow them in. She tells me there's one other thing that will keep intruders out of the bunker, but it's too secret, and only 6 people know about it."

"She's as paranoid as her father."

"Is the colonel paranoid, or is the Colonel prepared for every eventuality?"

"You're right, I served the Colonel long enough to know too many things can pop up that can get you caught flat-footed."

"Do you remember the story the Colonel tells about the men he lost, because he was out of position?"

"Yes, every time he tells that story to newbies, you can still see the pain on his face."

"This is the place he lost them. It's not going to happen a second time, not with me here, it's not. If I am the last man standing, those women are going to live."

"I'm going to be right by your side, big bear, me and my mini-gun."

"Look at her Davis, the rounds for the mini-gun weigh more than she does."

"Don't you two make fun of me, he makes me lift 10 pound weights before breakfast."

The 3 men cracked up, and Andy picked her up with one hand and threw her to the ceiling, as if she was a bag of potato chips, and caught her on the way down.

"Show off. You're supposed to be showing those 2 our defensive layout, and not playing with your wife. If you don't take care of your business, I'm going to cut you off for 2 days."

"You couldn't last that long baby."

"I can last longer than you and your snake can."

Davis said, "I love these intimate family conversations."

"Yeah, me too. 2 days in a row without sex, I'd probably go blind."

"Okay guys, no more funning around. I brought a complete armament package. Everything from Claymore's to 'Bouncing Betty's' for minefield, RPG's if they bring vehicles up close, 8 - 50 caliber machine guns, with 10,000 rounds each. 4 mini-guns, 4 SAW's, grenade launchers, grenades, teargas, and smoke grenades: red, green, and blue. I also brought up extra 7.62 millimeter ammunition to make sure everyone has enough."

"My God Andy, how many people are we expecting?"

"According to our latest intelligence, upwards to 150 highly trained, extremely well paid, and motivated mercenaries: Chechens, Serbs, and some Croats. We are not looking at a walk in the park."

"How the hell are they going to get here unnoticed?"

"That's not our problem, that's their problem, and they probably have it figured out. They will be here, and I will be happier, when the rest of your team gets here, and we can get the minefield laid out. The computer already has that laid out for us.

The guys who are fighting from the garage will come under heavy fire from the street first. After they lay down their initial fire, and throw out some smoke, they will go into the underground passageway, use explosives to make it impassable, and retreat to the house. They will use more explosives to make the entrance to the house impassable.

The houses' fallback position is the barn. The barn is where the Colonel's men made their last stand. Only 3 guys' made it out alive to tell him the story of the men that were left behind. Every person they were sent to protect made it out alive. The mission was classified a success, except for the scar it left on the Colonel's heart for not being there with them.