Chapter 16
The day came where Number 362 would present her information to the officers of the KCD as well as Sector V. Number 274 had to make a decision as to the direction that they were going to take. They all took their usual places at the table around the situation room as Number 362 readied her presentation at the front of the room.
Number 1 walked in at the last. The rest of his team wasn't required to be present as Number 274 was trying to get everyone used to the idea of the Sector bases, which he was referring to as "tree houses", instead of being at the HQ all the time. They were trying to allocate the Donut Shop as the headquarters; dispatching Sectors as needed and relaying information to the Sector leaders. The organization had been steadily growing under Chad's leadership. Sectors were being established at other universities around the country through a "college promotional" group that visited high schools to recruit future students. Number 274 was using this traveling team, of which he was leader, to promote the KCD on the side to these same high schools and it was working quite well.
Rachel smiled and winked at Nigel as he walked in and took his seat.
"Ok guys," she said with a spark of energy in her voice, "Thank you guys for being here. This is basically an intelligence update from the information that we have learned from the raid at Mr. Frosty plus what small Intel we gathered from the mission at the Tasty Taste Ice Cream Factory. We need to process this information before the end of this week and the deal at the docks goes down. We are going to set a new milestone before we leave today."
Each of the officers looked over the paperwork that Number 362 had left at each of their places. It contained numbers, bullet points, and other useful information. Number 362 had the projector light up with a slideshow that cycled through each of the "stockholders".
"The images you see before you are a profiles of a group of men that I refer to as "stockholders" in the paper work. I refer to them in this manner because I believe that they fulfill an investor's role in this grand scheme. They are all participating in a large financial scam that is being coordinated by this man…"
The images shifted to the picture that Number 5 had taken of the cigar smoking man in the shadows. There was stillness in the room as the image switched over to this new, diabolical character. Even though they were looking at a photograph, the oppressive nature of the character seemed to change the atmosphere in the room.
"It was discovered at the Tasty Taste Ice Cream Factory that this man is a key player in the operation that is unfolding before our eyes, most likely running the operation at the request and direction of those who hired him; the stockbrokers. We know absolutely nothing about him as of right now except that the ice cream men refer to him as "The Boss" or "Mr. Boss". You will notice that he is referenced this way in the notes."
She switched the image back to the slideshow.
"In short, Mr. Boss is running a "Ponzi" scheme, for lack of a better term, that is allowing these stockholders to juggle their investments through loopholes in federal stimulus spending and they are reaping a hefty windfall without being traced or directly involved. If they have no other connection, they are connected by generating this wealth through their companies."
"So, it's a "get rich quick scheme" we've uncovered?" asked a stern but tired looking Number 274.
Number 362 glanced at Number 1, "No, actually, through astute observation, it's believed that this is simply a method to get money out of the system with little attention and no paper trail. This money would then be used for a purpose that has yet to be determined. The mechanics are in the notes, if you want the details."
Number 274 waved his hand and leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head.
"Anyway," Number 362 continued, "We have yet to determine what Mr. Boss and these stockholders have in mind with these profits other than a mysterious cargo that is apparently coming on a ship set for Morgan and Brothers Shipping Company in a few days. We will need to be there to find out what that cargo is. It might clue us in to a reason behind needing all of that cash."
Number 274 nodded and started to get up.
"Is there anything that we can do right now, in the mean time?" Number 1 asked curtly.
"Actually," Number 362 said, prompting Number 274 to sit back down, "I noticed something else in the info. There is a particular stockbroker, let me see if I can find him in the slideshow, who is acting peculiar."
She stopped the slideshow on a man that was certainly older, thin, and had a long face, a thin sheet of white hair covering a wrinkled head.
"The stockbroker seen here has a monopoly on oil. His companies own a greater share of the domestic production in this country. The strange thing is, he has a company, listed in his assets, that specializes in environmental restoration."
Number 274 shook his head, "You'll have to clarify Number 362; I'm having trouble seeing what is strange about that. There is a big push from the federal government to get oil companies to clean up after themselves. It would be a good bone to throw the hippies for this guy to have something like that running on the side."
"What is strange about it," Number 362 continued, "Is that while his restoration company is currently cleaning up several abandoned oil sites, it is also buying up old military sites like they are going out of style."
"It would make sense to diversify your clients if you specialize in such a narrow field such as environmental restoration." Number 65.3 piped up; trying to impress 362 with his close notes.
Number 362 turned slightly to face him, "That is true, but these aren't just any military sites. While, they have bought several training facilities, barracks, and old firing ranges, it is the old Cold War missile sites that they are burning through cash over. Some of the missile sites they've bought were sold for almost twice what they are worth."
"So you think that this shadow group is using this environmental restoration group as a way to acquire missile sites without being noticed?" Number 1 asked confidently.
"Yes," Number 362 said glancing in his direction, "I have no idea why they would want missile sites, especially abandoned ones, but they are certainly overly interested. "
"This is pretty impressive Number 362," Number 274 said at last, "How did you know to look for that?"
Number 362 looked startled; caught off guard, "Well, it took a little bit of hacking and deduction but it stemmed from looking more into these stockbrokers and their companies, what it was that they valued the most."
"Well great," Number 274 said curtly, "So we're finished?"
"Well," Number 362 said looking around at the other officers at the table, "I think we should investigate these sites. I think that Sector V needs to make a trip to a few of them to discover what they are up to."
Number 274 spun his chair around to Number 1.
"I can have my team ready to go by tomorrow," Nigel said promptly, "We'll get a list of possible targets from Number 362 and we'll gather some equipment together. We'll figure out what they are up to sure enough"
"Good, I want a full report in two days!" Number 274 blurted out, "So then we're finished!"
Number 362 began to shut the projector down as they all started to file out of the room.
"Be careful Number 1," she said as Nigel was leaving, without glancing up at him, "I don't know what you'll find out there."
Number 1 smiled through his black shades, "We'll find what we should find, and they better be careful when we do."
A day later, they had everything they needed to make a short reconnaissance trip to Montana. The list that Number 362 had given them contained several sites ranging from New Mexico to South Dakota but Sector V decided that they only needed to investigate a couple considering the short time frame until Mr. Boss's ambiguous cargo arrived at the shipping dock; that was the more important mission.
Number 5 had astutely suggested that they visited some of the older ones first since they would be nearer to completion on whatever project might be underway.
Number 1 stood at the podium that was on the make shift stage at Sector V's tree house. "All right team," he said, standing proudly, "KCD Headquarters has located missile sites in conjunction with our villains. It's up to us to find out what is going on out there. It's possible that we might face danger no less than what we have faced before, but if there is one thing I'm confident in, it's you guys. This is the best team that the KCD could have assembled and I'm certain will find what we are looking for."
The rest of the operatives from Sector V were seated in a large circle style couch in the middle of the room that bordered a holographic projector that Number 2 had built. All four of them listened to Number 1 intently. The holographic projector glowed green as it projected a small scale reproduction of the missile sites based on the satellite photo.
"These missile sites," Number 1 continued, "are sparsely located in remote areas of desert. It is assumed that there is something going on at the missile sites within the veil of environmental cleanup. Satellite footage has witnessed several large trucks enter into an underground door periodically over the past few hours, so something is going on."
The holograph projector zoomed into a perimeter fence as well as buildings that looked like barracks.
"Intel suggests that the bases located in Montana are the oldest, so we will start there," Number 1 continued, "Due to the short amount of time we have, we will observe two missile sites from the air and attempt to use sonar to determine any underground activity. However, the base that you see in the projector will require us to get inside and see for ourselves what is going on."
"What do we do," Number 4 piped up, "if five out of the three bases end up with hostiles on them? Will they be alerted to our presence? If so, what do we do?"
Number 1 stared at him, confused at his misunderstanding of ratios, "Well, we don't anticipate any of that, but it is always a possibility. We really need to make sure that we don't alert anyone at the base to our presence, we can't have anyone suspecting that we know about the operations at the missile sites or it might compromise our position. The wreckage at the Tasty Taste Ice Cream Factory was enough, but you didn't hear that from me."
"The S.C.A.M.P.E.R. is ready to go, Number 1!" Number 2 said with a large smile.
"Excellent," Number 1 nodded, "All right team, let's go."
They all got up and filed towards the hangar, grabbing their pre-packed gear as they went. The S.C.A.M.P.E.R. sat, waiting, in the hangar. The lights that came on when they walked into the hangar glistened off of the dark olive paint and the bright red jet engines that were strapped to the back. The door slid open when Number 2 clicked the button on his key FOB that he pulled out of his pocket.
He smiled as Number 5 rolled her eyes.
Each of the operatives took place in seats that lined each side of the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. The driver and passenger seats had been removed to allow for a makeshift cockpit where there were added shelves and an enlarged dashboard to fit all of the computer equipment that Number 2 had constructed for a control array. Number 2 powered up the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. and the jet planes on the sides of the vehicle began to whine as they came on-line. The new home for the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. was a tiny, makeshift hangar that sat in the back of the lot for Sector V's tree house.
Number 2 began to push a sequence of buttons on the far right of his console that began to peel back the hangar's automated roof. The jet ports on either side of the S.C.A.M.P.E.R.'s front end began to smoke as they ignited. Once the two jet engines on either side of the back end of the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. rotated to push against the ground, they would be combined with the jet ports to generate the thrust necessary for a vertical takeoff.
Number 1 sat down in the seat behind the cockpit and fastened his seatbelt. Flying in the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. wasn't too bad at all, but the takeoff was a little rocky. The forward propulsion system for the aircraft relied on the three single engine jet plane bodies that were strapped to the back of the mobile home. The jet engine body on the top was the main source of thrust while the two that were strapped vertically to the side were responsible for maneuvering. Number 2 had calibrated these engines to be able to rotate full circle in addition to using their thrust levels for steering. This gave them additional maneuverability than a typical set of jet engines; super high speeds, vertical takeoff and landing as well as sudden stops were all capable with Number 2's revolutionary design. All in all, Number 1 found it quite impressive.
"You know," Number 1 said as he strapped his self in, "I'm thoroughly impressed with this vehicle Number 2. I can see why HQ wants to mass produce these for every Sector."
"Yeah," Number 2 responded as he cycled through the pre-flight checks, "The blueprints I gave them are for the Mark 6 model S.C.A.M.P.E.R, the latest model with my stamp of approval; I've worked out all of the major bugs since the prototypes and the model I used at Mr. Frosty. I probably need to give them the "silent mode" upgrades but it would require special training to pilot and after all piloting is an art form. The Mark 6 can be piloted by anyone who takes a basic pilot training course. I want the rest of the Sectors to use them because I've got something special in mind for our Sector. We don't need to be bused around, saving the day in a shabby camper. We need something far cooler, and I've got just the thing!"
The rest of the team began to secure surveillance equipment, gear, and themselves into their seats as Number 2 began to finalize the S.C.A.M.P.E.R.S. systems for flight. The engines began to whir loudly as they began to drink fuel. Number 5 reached over and shut the door, locking it with the pressurized lock that Number 2 had installed. Number 3 was trying to buckle up her Rainbow Monkey in an extra jump seat next to her. Number 4 looked as though he might get sick.
Number 2 continued push buttons, finishing the pre-flight tests, with one hand as he typed the coordinates for their destination into a laptop with his other.
"Ok team," he said at last, "Here we go!"
The S.C.A.M.P.E.R.'s engines roared to life as the two jet plane bodies on either side of the camper swiveled to face straight down. Simultaneously, flame began to spit out from the jets in the back and the two exhaust pipes sticking out of either side of the front of the camper. The S.C.A.M.P.E.R. began to lift high in the air, lifting out above the tree house and reached towards the vast blueness of the sky. As the side engines began to swivel at an angle to achieve forward momentum, the upper jet engine roared to a deafening roar, igniting to life.
Number 2 smiled with pride as he slammed forward the thrust lever and they launched towards Montana at record breaking speeds.
