Nano Surveillance (Dave Henson Series Book 1) (27 page)

Chapter 71 (March 28, Thursday 3:30pm Mountain Daylight Savings Time)

As Dave drove towards the airport a beige sedan was pulling up to the flight services facility, or FBO, at Cut Bank Airport. In the sedan were two men. Both had large hulking frames, and looked as if they may have been athletes in their earlier years. Though they looked to be in their early forties, they appeared extremely fit and polished. Each was dressed smartly wearing Giorgio Armani sports coats over stiff collared dress shirts. However, they were not FBI agents, and nor were they associated with the Department of Homeland Security. They had received a phone call two nights ago from someone in Washington D.C. tasking them with finding and terminating a Dave Henson and a few of his NSurv associates. They were also to retrieve any information or materials that were found with the NSurv personnel.

Over the past thirty six hours they had searched the NSurv headquarters in McCall, Idaho, and had visited four airports that were northeast of McCall. So far they had come up empty. No one that they had spoken to had seen anyone that resembled the NSurv personnel or vehicle descriptions. It was as if they had vanished.

The two men stepped out of the sedan, and while still standing next to their vehicle, did a quick survey of the airfield and buildings. The flight service center appeared open, and there was only one additional vehicle parked in the parking lot. A few additional hangars were aligned adjacent to the flight service center, and several small general aviation aircraft were tied down along the ramp near the hangers. There were also a few vehicles parked next to a couple of the hangars. Overall, the place looked like a ghost town as all the hangar doors were closed, and there was no sign of life around the airport. The two men proceeded to walk to the flight service center to speak with the attendant inside and to see if he or she might have any knowledge of any aircraft that may have flown into the airport recently. 

Two minutes after the two men walked into the flight service center, Dave drove into the airport’s entrance and passed the flight service center and FBO hangar. The two men that had just walked into the flight service center did not see him pass by as they were engaged in a conversation with a young blond female FBO attendant. Dave proceeded down to the hangar at the far end of the airport and pulled up on the back side of it and parked his car. As he drove by the front of the hangar he noticed his old friend’s beaten up Chevy pickup truck parked outside. “Well it looks like Ed Clemons is home,” he thought fortunately to himself.

Dave walked up to the side door entrance of the hangar and rapped on the door several times loudly. Ed had lost fifty percent of his hearing while serving in the Air Force and most of the time neglected to wear his hearing aids. After what seemed to be a five minute wait, the service door to the hanger opened up slowly. As it did, a rough old voice said, “Who the hell is banging on my door so loudly?” As he finished the sentence and his eyes adjusted to the bright sunshine he recognized Dave’s face. “Dave, well I’ll be dammed. I haven’t seen you in three months.”

“I’ve been pretty busy lately and haven’t been able to get up here as often as I’d like to. I’ve really missed getting in some backcountry flying.”

Ed reached out and gave him a hardy handshake and said, “Well come on in. It’s great to see an old friend.”

Dave walked into the hangar and saw the Skylane he was hoping to borrow sitting in the back of the hangar. Toward the front of the hangar was a Cessna 172 Skyhawk that was pulled apart.

“Don’t mind the mess,” said Ed as he led Dave around the disassembled aircraft and to an office area in the back of his hangar. “I’m in the middle of an annual inspection on this 1977 Skyhawk.”

“Is that an N-model Skyhawk?”

“Yes, indeed it is. It flies as well as any of Cessna’s other Skyhawk models, but that 0-320-H2AD engine needs constant pampering. The guy that owns this one apparently forgot to use the right fuel additive. He’s not going to be too happy when I tell him that his camshaft is shot.”

When they made it to the back office Ed offered Dave a cup of coffee from a filthy coffee pot that looked like it hadn’t been washed in years. Nevertheless, Dave accepted the offer to be polite.

As Dave stirred in some powdered cream and sugar into his coffee, Ed cleared off some stacks of aviation parts list catalogues from a couple of old stuffed fabric chairs so the two men could sit down.

“So what brings you out to Cut Bank today?” asked Ed as he sat down with his cup of black coffee.

“Well, I came up to do some maintenance work on my hangar and to take the Piper Super Cub out for some backcountry flying.”

“Ah, you can’t go wrong in a Cub. They’re a fantastic aircraft. I flew that plane for years after I got out of the Air Force. I did contract work for oil companies and ranches inspecting pipe lines and counting cattle herds with that aircraft.  They are fun planes.”

“Agreed, however, I was looking for a favor from you,” responded Dave.

“Tomorrow I need to pick up a woman friend of mine in Spokane, Washington and she has quite a bit of luggage.”

“You’re a lucky man Dave.”

“I know, but I find myself in a bit of a bind. My Super Cub is too small to go pick her up with and the Citation is overkill for the mission. I was wondering if you’d let me borrow your Skylane for the day. Of course I’d compensate you for the use of the aircraft.”

Ed laughed and took a sip of his coffee. “No problem whatsoever Dave. Just fill her up when you’re done is all I ask.”

“Thank you Ed. I should have her back by late afternoon.”

“I’m not going to be here tomorrow morning as I have a doctor’s appointment to check out my bum knee again.  I’ll also probably not be around when you get back with your woman tomorrow evening. So just tie her down on the ramp and I’ll put her in the hanger in the morning.”

Dave looked over his shoulder at the Skyhawk. “With that Skyhawk out there in pieces, would you like some help pulling out the 182?”

“No, don’t sweat it. I’ll put her out tonight before I leave and make sure her tanks are full and the oil topped off. I’ll leave her keys under the doormat outside the hangar.  Just put them back there when you’re done with her tomorrow.”

“Will do, and thanks again Ed. I much appreciate it.”

“No problem. It’s good to know I’m still appreciated.”

“So other than your knee how’s the rest of your health.”

“At my last flight physical the doctor said my heart is strong and I still don’t need to wear glasses, though my hearing is pretty well shot.  But other than the knee and ears I can’t complain. Still passing the physicals and that’s all that counts at my age.”

“Well you’re an inspiration to me Ed. I hope I still have the energy and health that you have when I get to your age.”

“Oh, knowing you, I am sure you will,” laughed Ed.

Dave stood up from his seat and said, “I better let you go now so that you can get back to your work.” He went over and rinsed his coffee cup in the sink. Ed stood up and continued to chat with him as the two walked out of the office and across the hangar floor. Though Ed was a recluse, if he liked someone, he couldn’t stop talking to them. It was another five minutes before Dave was able to separate himself from Ed and get into his car and head back to the NSurv facility.

As he drove away from Ed’s hanger, two men were walking out to the beige sedan parked outside the FBO office. Passing by them, they seemed to fixate on his vehicle. They didn’t look like official law enforcement, but they seemed to be in search of someone. Dave slouched down deeper in his car seat and looked straight ahead as he passed by them. They turned away from him as he passed.

The two men looked at each other questioningly before one said to the other, “Did he look like Henson?”

“I couldn’t get a good read on him, but I don’t think so. Based on what that blond just told us it seems like this airport’s yet another dead end.”

The other man continued to look at Dave’s vehicle as it exited the airport and drove east down the road. A sixth sense was going off in his head, but he had no real information to corroborate it with. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Let’s continue on to the next airport on our list.”   

The two men jumped into their car, with the one man questioning his sixth sense getting behind the wheel. He started the car ignition quickly and gunned it out of the parking lot and airport entrance. Like Dave, he turned east after exiting the airport. Due to the fact that the road was straight as an arrow, and the adjacent land was not very wooded, he could see down the road nearly a mile. In the distance he could see Dave’s car make a right hand turn. The two men continued down the road with the driver still trying to reconcile his feelings with the vehicle that had just left the airport and turned off the road ahead of them.

As he neared the intersection where the S60 Volvo had turned right, he came to the conclusion that there was no supporting evidence to make him want to pursue the vehicle any further. With the decision made, the two men continued on down the road they were on to their next airport destination.

Chapter 72 (March 28, Thursday 7:00pm Mountain Daylight Savings Time)

After returning from the airport and briefing everyone on his meeting with his old buddy Ed Clemons, the team finished their preparations for tonight’s video. This evening’s video would feature the President and the Speaker of the House, courtesy of the bugged Chief of Staff who had participated in the meeting. Tonight’s video was critical. The Speaker of the House had to be removed and replaced by someone in Congress that was not, in effect, an administration lackey. Without the removal of the current Speaker of the House the President would not be impeached. So tonight’s video featured not only the most damaging parts of the conversation between the President and the Speaker of the House in the Oval Office the other day, but also a montage of public domain video news clips recorded over the years showing the close and friendly relationship between the two men.

While the team had broken for dinner an hour earlier, Dave had pulled Ron aside and mentioned that he had seen a couple of suspicious looking men at the airport. He suggested to Ron that they both keep their handguns on their persons at this point, just in case the men happened to pay a surprise visit. So far, however, the video sensor alarms along the length of the driveway had been silent.  

At 8:00pm sharp NSurv interrupted national television broadcast services again, and hacked into the three major internet news aggregator websites, to broadcast their video of the recent conversation between the President and Speaker of the House. As the nation watched, they saw the two most powerful elected political figures in the country, and arguably around the world, discussing blackmailing and extorting other elected federal congressmen to achieve the President’s end goals. The statement from the President telling the Speaker of the House that “
All that video did was show how the executive and legislative branches of the government have always operated,
” was the most damning. The collective sound of disgust could be palpably felt around the nation, in every home and business, when the President uttered those words from their television and computer screens. Effectively this is the way our country is run was the collective conclusion. By a polluted process of our own elected officials extorting and blackmailing one another, and by extension, the people that they represent.

When the video ended and normal broadcast and internet services were restored, the majority of the nation’s public who had just observed the video sat or stood in their homes, at bars and restaurants around the country, or in business offices, stunned into a momentary silence. All were quickly coming to the same conclusion that they had been duped by the President himself and the news media. That this man, along with the Speaker of the House and many of the other politicians in Washington, were rotten to the core and had to go. And that they were not representing the public and the nation’s best interest, but instead their own.

After the initial stunned response, people around the entire country began to leave their homes and businesses and gather in their local streets. Mob protests began to break out in many of the major cities with protesters shouting and demanding the immediate impeachment and removal of the President and the Speaker of the House.

Speaker of the House Bob Daniels sat alone in his home staring despondently at a news anchor half heartily attempting to discredit the video and suggesting that it was a fake. After watching the pathetic attempt to protect the President and his administration, the Speaker of the House got out of his chair and went to a closet and pulled out a revolver and a box of bullets. He slowly inserted a single bullet into one of the chambers in the cylinder and aligned the chamber and round with the hammer and barrel. Then, without any hesitation, he placed the gun to his temple and fired the single shot.

At the White House the President raged with anger after watching the video. He had already called his Chief of Staff, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Directors of the CIA and FBI to the situation room located underneath the White House. Reports were coming in from cities all over the country of riots and protests breaking out. He needed to restore order to the country before things got completely out of his control. To do so he had already decided to declare martial law and deploy the military to every major city where the riots and protests were occurring.

Thirty minutes after the President called the emergency meeting in the White House’s situation room the men and women he had called were seated in front of him awaiting his direction. Each had come prepared with initial field reports.

The President stood and summarily reported to the men and women assembled in front of him that the nation was under attack by an internal terrorist group that was intent on destroying the country. And that due to the effects of their latest actions this evening, he had no choice but to declare martial law.

“Tonight tens of thousands of people, in all of our major cities around the country, are out in the streets rioting and protesting the federal government. Though the ability to protest is protected by our constitution, which is a right I fully support, there is a time, place, and a way in which it should be conducted. What we are witnessing tonight doesn’t meet any of these criteria. Instead, we are seeing nationally, a spontaneous eruption of unbridled emotion that if not brought quickly under control, could lead to the massive loss of life and property damage. Consequently, I have no choice but to temporarily declare martial law to protect the public from itself.”

Several of the men and women facing the President showed questioning concern with his announced decision.

“Mr. President, do you really think instituting martial law at this time is the most prudent action to take,” asked the Director of the FBI, Cynthia Groven. “Shouldn’t we allow the local law enforcement in each city time to react to the protests? The information I’m receiving from our field offices is that so far the protests have been very benign in terms of violence and looting. Overall, the protests, and rioting if you will, have been mostly civil so far.”

“So far,” interrupted the Chief of Staff mockingly. “So what happens when the protest mobs become even larger and become violent? Do we want to be caught flatfooted? No. I agree with the President. We need to take swift action to prevent the protesting from getting out of hand.”

With the objection to the Director of the FBI shot down by the President’s top right hand man, the remaining questionable faces staring back at the President changed subtly to those of resignation and submission.

Seeing no further arguments to his decision the President said, “So with that settled I will announce to the nation my decision to declare martial law at 11:00pm this evening. However, before we break, I’d like the Director of Homeland Security and the FBI to report on their progress on locating this terrorist group.”

Eric McDonald, the Director of Homeland Security spoke first.

“Sir, we currently have over ten thousand agents deployed all over the country working to locate this terrorist cell. As you already know, we are positive the group is associated with the small company called NSurv, a company that is a leader in the field of nanotechnology. Unfortunately, they’ve gone silent and deep and we’ve been unable to make any significant progress locating them.”

“Gone silent? Are you kidding?” shot back Ken Hardy. “Did you see their latest video tonight? You call that silent?”

McDonald looked at the Chief of Staff and said, “I understand your frustration Ken. We are doing everything we can to locate and terminate this group.”

“And how about you Ms. Groven? Any better luck in the FBI locating this group?”

“Along with the Department of Homeland Security we’ve made significant progress ruling out false leads and tightening the noose on where these people are.  However, we too are struggling to find a fresh trail of theirs.”

“Well we have limited time,” responded the President sharply. “I fully understand all of the ramifications of instituting martial law. The public won’t put up with it for long before things get really ugly around our nation. You folks need to find these terrorists quickly before our country crumbles before us. I will not let this happen under my watch. Not in this way.”

With that, the President excused himself from the situation room with his Chief of Staff following in hot pursuit. As the two left the room, Ken Hardy’s cell phone began to ring. The remaining men and women in the room looked at each other, both in quiet dismay and confusion on what they were doing, and the President’s decision to declare martial law.