Chapter Twenty-Six

Both ships had become silent. The passengers walked around the decks quietly while their skin crawled in anticipation of the next thing that would happen or had to happen.

Trapper waited and watched the water ripple by, however impatiently and becoming more and more agitated by the hour. They would soon be on Turkish soil, waiting again for word of where Manning was taking Leah. Then everything they had trained for would begin, and hopefully he'd have Leah back, safe and sound. But would she really be sound? What would Doug have done to her to get what he wanted? Would he break her resolve or kill her before they got here?

On the yacht where Leah was being held, it was much the same. Doug had gone ballistic when he read Leah's list of equipment and software she would need. "A satellite dish I can understand. But storage and RAM in terabytes? High speed modems? A power system separate from the yacht's power system. And why do you need two terminals? This list is overkill. You're stalling."

Leah snorted calmly. "That list is the minimum I'll need. Think about it, Doug. The DOD isn't a fly-by-night organization. They'll see the first incursion into their systems within seconds. What we have to do is try to make it look like a legitimate inquiry which means we have to find computers or terminals that are already authorized. Once that no longer works, we have to make sure they can't trace the queries back here, because I promise you they will respond with deadly force. That means we have to access sites all over the world...everywhere but where we are...to cascade an inquiry into their system with dead ends along the way to keep them off track, and we have to be able to drop paths and redirect as they get close to us. We have to be more than one step ahead of them or they will find us. I'll need Mark on a machine watching our pathways and disabling them as they're found while I establish new ones."

She'd never seen Doug as deeply angry as he seemed now. The difference this time was that his anger wasn't directed at her.

He had not anticipated the complexity she had just explained, but instinctively he knew she wasn't exaggerating. He'd have to be careful procuring all that equipment, and it would likely take time he didn't have. "What else?" he growled.

"I'll need time. I have to find the correct frequency and trajectory for a satellite used by the DOD, and then create telemetry that bypasses the satellite monitors at CIT. Then I have to identify the pathways and test them before we take the first shot at the DOD."

"Exactly where do you expect to find those kinds of connections?" Doug asked as he passed Leah's list to one of his men.

Leah stood and stretched. She was beginning to relax, knowing she had just given Albert and Trapper more time to find her. "One of the main vulnerabilities will be the Fed through any number of less secure or non-proprietary systems. Then there are the friendly governments. Next will be hospitals, universities, banks, and finally up and coming technology companies like Microsoft and IBM who are beginning to build networks all over the world...unsecured networks. You see, we don't really need direct access into their systems. What we want to do is intercept packets of transmitted data and piggyback on them, routing from one packet to another until we find a DOD friendly packet."

Doug smiled at Leah, coveting what he thought of as a machine. He considered her his finest creation. His smile faded however, as he remembered the procurement of the equipment she would need and the time required to install it on the yacht might delay his delivery of the plutonium and schematics for weeks, making his buyer less than satisfied. Perhaps it was time to make contact. If the buyer already possessed such a network, it might mean an earlier than agreed upon delivery...or perhaps a delivery of a different sort.

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The catamaran carrying Albert's extraction team eased up to the dock at the port city of Antalya, Turkey in the gloaming of their fourth day on the Mediterranean. By the second night, they had received word that Doug had docked at the port at Tripoli, Libya.

It was two o'clock in the morning when everyone was awakened and rushed into a single hotel room. "All right, everyone. This is what we've been waiting for," said Delgado. "We're heading for Derna, Libya. The people of Derna are known to object to Gaddafi's policies. We have a reliable contact there, we have transportation to Tripoli, and we have a safe house in Tripoli as a base of operations." Turning to Trapper, Gonzo and Ernie, he said, "Trapper, Gonzo, I'm sorry, but you'll be going with us. We can't safely get into the port at Tripoli, so you'll be in the safe house. You'll take whatever you think you'll need to keep Leah alive that you can carry or pack in a case the size that can be carried by one man. Ernie, you'll stay on the yacht. Once we have Leah, you'll be coming into port with whatever larger equipment we might need once we find her."

Trapper looked back at Ernie. "Will she be in any danger?"

"Maybe," said Delgado. "If the Libyans discover the yacht, all that firearms training will be put to good use." Looking around the room, he had anticipated questions. Of course, none of Albert's team would ask, knowing they'd be told what they needed to know when they needed to know. Trapper, Gonzo and Ernie had questions, but there were so many, none of them knew where to begin.

"All right, everyone, pack your stuff. It's going to take us a day and a half at top speed to get to Derna, so the sooner everyone gets packed, the quicker we can leave. After we dock at Derna, we have another day and a half to travel to Tripoli by truck, so you need to get some rest on the yacht. Once we get to Derna, you won't get any good sleep until the extraction is complete." Taking one last look around the room, Delgado said, "Fall out."

Once everyone was in their places on the catamaran, and their supplies, equipment and weapons were checked and rechecked, Delgado told everyone to get some sleep with the exception of Trapper, Gonzo and Ernie.

"You all had question marks on your faces at our last briefing. Now that you've had some time to think, any burning questions come to the surface?"

"Yes," said Ernie. "Why the change in plans? We were all supposed to be on the boat out of most of harm's way."

Delgado let out a long breath. "The truth, Ernie, is that we're planning for middle ground...not the best, but not the worst. We didn't think Manning had the balls to deal with Gaddafi. Tripoli is the worst place for us to be. It's the hardest to get into, and it'll be the hardest to get out of. " He looked at all three of them one by one. "The captain of our vessel has standing orders to leave on my command. He will do that without question. That means," he said, looking at Ernie, "there is a possibility you won't be coming into port. " He turned to Trapper and Gonzo. "And that means you may never leave. If it goes bad and Gaddafi finds us, he'll kill us."

"And what is the likelihood of that?" asked Trapper, scowling.

"I'd say our chances are 50/50."

Looking at Gonzo apologetically, Trapper said, "Then Gonzo goes with Ernie. I'll pack in what I might need and deal with Leah's physical issues myself."

"What just a minute, Trapper. Both Ernie and I were told the best and worst case scenarios," said Gonzo. "My eyes were wide open when I agreed to this."

Moving a hand to Gonzo's shoulder, Trapper sighed. "Gonzo, think about it. The chances Leah is going to come out of this and survive are slim. And I can't go back without trying to get her out. Without her, there isn't much of a life to go back to. But you both have your whole lives ahead of you. You have your careers. Ernie, you have your sons. I can't let you throw all that away on the outside chance this is going to work. This isn't Korea, Ernie, and it's not Vietnam, Gonzo. It's not a war or a noble cause." Turning away, he looked at Delgado. "It's a selfish thing two old men need to do out of love and promises. Albert supplied the means to get to her, and I'll be the one to patch her up, if I can. This is the way I want it."

"I'll let you know one way or another in a few hours," said Delgado quietly. "In the meantime, you three get to your bunks." Each looked worriedly at the others before they all filed out of the briefing room.

Delgado, however didn't head to his quarters. Rather he called a meeting.

Pop, Aggie, Frazier and Pauley all sat at a single table. At the head was Eliseo Delgado with five beers. As he passed them around the table, he said, "McIntyre wants to leave Gonzo behind with Ernie. Thoughts?"

"The fewer of them there are, the fewer mistakes will be made, the better our chances," said Aggie. She added under her breath, "Which still aren't going to be great. Albert's asking a lot this time."

"What's stuck in your craw?" asked Pop.

Aggie scowled at him. "Do you have any idea what Gaddafi likes to do to women?"

Frazier downed a swallow of beer. "So don't get too close to him. Just pique his interest."

"She's right," said Delgado. "If he sees her and likes her, he's likely to just take her."

"She knew the risks. This part of the operation is why she's here," said Pop. "Suck it up, Aggie. You've seen worse."

While Pauley shifted his eyes to the ceiling, Frazier puffed out his cheeks and looked away as Aggie and Pop glared at each other.

"It's too late to back out," said Delgado. "We all knew the possibilities when we signed up." He studied Aggie. "Nerves?"

She snorted. "I just get sick at the thought of being urinated on. He doesn't even have to be close enough for me to cut it off."

Snickers came from all around.

Rubbing his forehead with his thumb and middle finger, Pop said, "She's right. Trapper's the Chief of Surgery in a major San Francisco hospital. He didn't get there by chance. He can handle the medical aspect of this by himself. There's no reason to risk Gonzo."

"Is McIntyre emotionally stable enough to handle it?" asked Delgado. "After all, he was going to marry this woman."

"I get the feeling he won't have a problem doing what he has to do," said Frazier. "He's seen a lot. Albert says he's unshakable when he's working." When Pauley shook his head, Frazier continued with conviction. "For Christ's sake, the man worked in a M.A.S.H unit. He's seen more bloody bodies...more death...than any one of us." He glanced up at Delgado, continuing calmly. "I say bring him in alone. He's capable of taking care of her...or whatever's left of her. He'll do what he has to do and wait until it's over to fall apart. There's no reason to put Gonzo in any more risk than he'll be in on the boat," he finished, turning up his bottle of beer.

Delgado looked at each person at the table waiting until he got a nod, a raised brow, or a shrug. "Let's get some sleep."