Chapter 2

They arrived promptly at 10:00 at Admiral Johnson's office for their meeting. Sandy, the admiral's secretary, greeted them.

"Hi Commander, Janet, how are you?" she asked politely. "I know the admiral is expecting you but he is on the phone right now. Please have a seat. I'll let him know you've arrived"

"Hi Sandy, we're fine," Janet replied back with a smile remembering what Sandy told her the last time she was here regarding Lee. She never did tell Lee about that because her last trip here was pretty upsetting.** She wasn't surprised that Sandy was there on a Saturday; if her days were anything like Janet's she would even work on Sunday if needed.

After a few moments Admiral Johnson came out of his office and invited Lee and Janet in.

"Thank you for coming so quickly," Admiral Johnson said. "I know I didn't tell you very much over the phone. Before I tell you any more, I'm waiting for one more person to show up. You'll have someone working with you on this assignment besides Janet," Johnson explained.

There was a knock on the door and Sandy showed in Jason Weldon. He greeted Admiral Johnson then Lee and Janet. All of them were surprised that they would be working together. Jason knew Lee and Janet from a previous mission.

"Good to see you again, Commander and Mrs. Crane," Jason said as he shook Lee's and Janet's hand.

"Good to see you too," Lee replied, "But if we're going to be working together, from now on its Lee and Janet."

Admiral Johnson handed the three of them a dossier on the gentlemen they were looking for.

"His name was Devin Shelby. He's been selling guns and ammunition to the pirates operating off the west coast of Africa mainly from Nigeria but sometimes Angola. He has acquired a Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD)*** used to disorient people with its high pitched sound. The guns have been traced back to Russia. He buys AK47's, various types of pistols, machine guns and assault rifles. The Russians also developed the LRAD. We need you to find his warehouse where he stores the guns and ammo, but most of all the LRAD." Johnson explained. "We need you and Jason to remove the weapons from the warehouse and bring back the LRAD with you when you return.

"This LRAD we need to bring back, it must be similar to the one our government has developed to use against the pirates to stop them from raiding the boats that come to close to their shores," Lee said. "The admiral and I were just talking about it a couple of weeks ago."

"Yes, we think it is, so the government wants to compare ours to theirs. It is very important we get this weapon."

"What do you need Janet to do," Lee asked quickly. He was not thrilled with the fact that she would be involved with guns, ammo and LRAD.

"Before she does anything, I need you to sign off on this waiver, giving your permission for her to do this mission," Johnson told Lee as he handed him the waiver for him to sign.

"You want me to sign this before you tell me what she will be doing," Lee said annoyed.

"We need her to distract Shelby while you are in the warehouse removing the weapons."

"Admiral, if I'm reading and understanding this information correctly, this man is a playboy. He's been with some very famous and beautiful women and you want me to distract him," Janet said seriously.

"Intel has it he when he goes to Monaco he doesn't like to be noticed. So he looks for someone not famous or well known to go out with," Johnson replied. "Monaco is the only place he prohibits any photographers from taking pictures of him and who he is with. So there is no chance of any of you being recognized."

"Just great," Lee said tersely. "So you are using my wife as his date du jour."

"Commander, watch your tone," Johnson warned. "Please sign it. I don't have another female agent available right now. With Liddy Novak in prison and the other female agents tied up on other cases, I didn't have a choice but to use your wife. I realize she is not a trained ONI operative but she has helped out before so she does know a little bit about this. Besides she has you and Jason for back up."

"It's up to Janet. If she wants to take this on I will sign the waiver. But if she doesn't you are out of luck. I will not force her to do this and you can't either," Lee said firmly.

All eyes were looking at Janet. She was pretty sure she could do what they needed.

"Lee, I'll help out Admiral Johnson on this. You can sign the waiver," Janet told Lee.

"Sweetheart, are you sure? Don't be afraid to say no. I don't want you in harms way or to get hurt," he said protectively.

"I'm sure."

Lee signed the waiver and gave it to Admiral Johnson. Lee wasn't so sure he just did the right thing.

"Thank you, Janet," Johnson said relieved.

"What will our cover be," Jason asked after Lee signed the waiver.

"Lee will be David Howard and you are Kevin Howard. You're cousins working together in a family real estate business. You're hoping you can convince Shelby to rent space from you. Janet will be Elly Hayward. She is David's sister who is divorced but works with you in the real estate business too," Johnson said. He handed them their passports, ID cards, business cards and telephones they would need for the mission.

"Your flight from Washington to New York leaves at 4:00 P.M. Your flight from New York leaves at 7:15 P.M. and flies directly to Nice arriving at 11:05 A.M. There will be a helicopter waiting to take you to Monaco. You have reservations at the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel and Resort. There are two connecting rooms reserved for you. Lee and Janet you will have to be very discreet about how you spend time together."

"Admiral we realize he can't know we are actually married." Lee replied sharply.

"Lee, please relax," Janet told her husband calmly. "Admiral Johnson please don't worry he will not find out. Do we know where Devin Shelby stays when he is in Monte Carlo?"

"Shelby will be staying at the Hotel de Paris. We have confirmation he has reserved a room there. Janet will need to distract him from going to the warehouse until after the weapons and ammo have been removed and you have the LRAD. Once the weapons have been removed, you will need to get him back there so we can arrest him. There will be agents there to take him into custody."

"Admiral, how are we going to remove the weapons and ammo from the warehouse? We will need a truck," Lee asked.

"There's an agent, Craig Somers, working as a desk clerk at the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel and Resort. He will be your contact. There will also be an agent posing as a room service waiter at the Hotel De Paris. His name is Dale Wade," Johnson said showing them their pictures. "They will also have pictures of the three of you."

"How will he know when to get the truck?" Jason continued.

"When you have found the warehouse and made sure the LRAD along with guns and ammo is there, you will contact Craig. He will go with you to the warehouse and help you load the weapons. The other agent will stay at the hotel and keep an eye on Shelby in case Janet can't keep him occupied."

"Do we know how many guards are at the warehouse?" Lee asked.

"No, we don't know how many guards are there. You will have to find that out. Any more questions? If not, you better get ready for your flight to New York. Good luck all of you. Please let me know when you have completed the mission." Johnson told them.

"Admiral, one more thing, how are we going to get out of there?" Janet asked quietly.

"Seaview will be there in the area and FS-1 will pick you up. It will land in a secluded part of Port of Fontvieille. It is a smaller and less congested harbor than Port Hercule. We need that LRAD as soon as possible that is why Seaview will be there. As soon as you are on Seaview, call me and let me know when you will be leaving on FS-1 to bring me the LRAD and be debriefed on the mission."

All of them breathed a sigh of relief when Admiral Johnson told them FS-1 and Seaview were their ticket home. The briefing complete, they left Johnson's office and decided to get some breakfast before heading to the airport to catch the first of their flights.

((()))

After the three of them left Admiral Johnson's office, he made a call to Admiral Nelson to update him on the mission.

"Harry, they just left. How soon can you leave for the Strait of Gibraltar?"

"We are leaving tomorrow and will get there as soon as we can. I will let you know when we are in position."

"Thanks Harry for taking the back up on this," Johnson said gratefully. "We don't want anything to happen to that weapon."

"No problem Gerald, I don't want anything happening to my captain and his wife."

((()))

They found a diner not too far from the airport, ordered breakfast and were talking about the mission arrangements.

"We are taking a helicopter from the airport in Nice to Monaco," Janet asked anxiously. "I've never been on one."

"Sweetie, don't worry about it. You will be fine. Maybe I should let you hold Jason's hand. You can break his instead of mine," Lee said grinning as he ate his toast.

"Very funny," Janet said sarcastically while Jason stared at the two of them totally confused.

"Lee, I wouldn't mind holding her hand, but how will she break it," Jason questioned.

"She doesn't like to fly especially during takeoffs. She squeezes your hand until after you're in the air," Lee continued. "You won't be able to move your fingers after she lets go."

"As much as I would like to hold her hand, I think I will pass," Jason replied smiling as he ate his bacon and eggs.

"Are you two done making fun of me," Janet said grinning as she ate her pancakes.

They finished up their breakfast and left for the airport to catch their flight to New York. They boarded their flight to New York and took off. Jason watched as Janet grabbed Lee's hand and squeezed until they were in the air. He saw Lee flex his hand when she let go. He felt sorry for Lee as they still had two more flights to go. If Lee was lucky his hand wouldn't be broke by the time they were done flying

((()))

Their flight landed in Nice on time. They got off the plane picked up their luggage and went through customs with no problems. Lee could tell Janet was very nervous about the helicopter ride.

"Sweetie, please calm down. The ride is no different than riding on FS-1," he told her calmly.

"I know but you're not flying the helicopter," she said nervously.

They found the heliport and boarded the helicopter with Janet sitting between Lee and Jason. Lee grabbed her hand and could feel it shaking. He felt sorry for her that she was that scared of the short helicopter ride. Jason could tell she was scared too, so he grabbed her other hand. When the helicopter took off, they both thought she would break their hands she was squeezing them so hard. They all hoped she would never have to fly on a helicopter again.