Jack showed her the master bedroom and bath. Kathy shook her fist at him and said, “Don’t tell me we have been living in your crowded apartment when we could have been sleeping in this wonderful room. Your father seems to have had a taste for master bedrooms with luxurious baths attached. I can’t wait to try the tub and the bed.”

“Come with me and I’ll turn on the hot water.”

Kathy said, “Do you really own this?”

“Yes, and all the land as far as you can see from the front porch. The furnishings are a bit Spartan. My father liked simple things. And no woman was ever here to provide a softening touch of color and beauty. There, did I say that right?”

“It’ll do. But how long does it take for the water to get hot?”

“Not too long, but come on back to the bedroom. I have something I want to show you.” Once back in the bedroom Jack asked Kathy to close her eyes. When he told her to open them, the wide door to the hidden portion of the cabin was open. Kathy put her hands over her face and said, “I can’t believe this. It’s either a great dream or a nightmare. Please wake me up.”

“Not yet. I have more things to show you. This is my father’s counter terrorist center. I believe everything we need is here. This is my first time in this hidden room. I never knew it was here. My dad gave me instructions about this place a few weeks before he was killed.”

Kathy walked around the hidden computer/armory room, taking everything in. “Jack, this is unbelievable. Oh! I wish we could stay here for at least a month or maybe until next Christmas. Jack, keep this place secret. Nobody but Anita ever has to know. Okay?”

“I’m happy you like it. I was afraid just maybe you would be spooked at first.”

“Of course I am. Aren’t you a little spooked by this room?”

“More than I want to admit. But get settled and have lunch. I want to see Anita’s reaction to the hidden room of lethal stuff. It will be like another toy store to her.”

Finally, Jack called time for lunch. He set out thawed wheat bread, canned tuna fish, canned tomato soup and peanut butter for those who passed on the tuna fish.

Kathy said, “Well at least this kind of a lunch doesn’t need much of a cleanup, but you can’t keep a growing girl on this kind of nourishment.”

Anita and Shadow came in as Kathy was looking over her choices.

Anita said, “It looks like the counter terrorism business has taken a step back. A snake bites me. A road trip from hell and now half-rations of a questionable background. Where did all the opulence go? I turned my back and it is gone.”

Jack looked hurt and said, “Bitching troops are happy troops. Unless we go shopping, supper may be worse.”

After lunch Shadow pawed at the front door, telling Jack he wanted to go for a walk. Jack said, “Show Anita the special room and get her settled while I take Shadow for a walk.”

Kathy laughed at Anita’s look of puzzlement and said, “Come with me, my warrior friend.”

Walking into the master bedroom, Anita said, “Man, Jack’s father knew how to live. Is this ever a neat retreat?”

Kathy said, “You haven’t seen ‘nothing’ yet. Just watch.”

Kathy walked up to the center bookcase section and reached in back of the books on the fourth shelf. “Okay, close your eyes.”

Turning the receptacle clockwise activated the opening mechanism. As the section swung open, she said, “Okay. You can look.”

Anita, with a shocked look, said, “I don’t believe it. This is something out of an action/adventure movie.”

“Come on. You have to see inside.”

The doors to the gun rooms were open, and Kathy motioned for Anita to go inside. Anita stopped in front of the handgun display and said, “My God! This is an incredible selection. Nines, .38s, .22s, Magnums and 40 Calibers. Is this all Jack’s?”

“Yep. His dad put this collection together for his own use. Now this cabin and the mountain valley as far as you can see is part of his inheritance. Jack wants you to know what is here so you can fit the weapons to the mission. He also wants to move the stuff Frank gave us up here. Oh, and you can treat this as a toy store and take anything you want.”

They spent the next hour and a half going through the weapons section, planning to come back to check out the computer work station and map selection. Jack hadn’t shown Kathy the tunnel exit, and she was as surprised as Anita when they opened the door at the end of the room and found themselves staring down a dimly lit tunnel. Kathy stepped back and said, “Can you believe this? A secret escape from a hidden weapons room! This is spooky stuff.”

While Kathy and Anita explored the secrets of the mountain cabin, Jack and Shadow enjoyed their first real outing together since Shadow was wounded. The spring foliage had made its appearance since then. Other than a few overgrown logging roads, no access roads cut through the area. No great trout streams were nearby. Most of the mountain streams were still suffering the results of runoff from both strip and deep mining for coal. Deer and black bear were common on the mountainside, but this wasn’t hunting season, and with one mountain side resembling another in this stretch of the Alleghenies, little drew urban backpackers.

***

Buy “Justice Beyond Law” on Amazon, as well as the rest of the Jack Brandon series and other books by Barry Kelly, a former CIA agent and adviser to President Reagan. 

During the drive when Anita was sleeping, Jack and Kathy talked about their relationship. Kathy told Jack, Anita knew she was involved with him and said, “I really don’t care if people know. Our personal business is our own but I don’t want to flaunt our emotions in front of others. And I want you to know I do not do one night stands and I do not share. You mean a lot to me, but neither of us has to make any commitments now.”

Jack said, “Day to day is a good course, but I won’t try to hide our relationship. I care too much for you to lie about how I feel, but I am willing to be discreet, most of the time.”

Kathy said, “I’m not finished yet. The work I do now is what I’ve been trained to do. I love it and I love to live on the edge. Do not try to protect me or keep me out of danger. Okay?”

“Does that mean I can’t worry about you?”

“No, dummy, you can worry as much as you want. Just treat me like you do the other troops!”

Jack told Kathy they weren’t going back to the apartment. He was going to take her someplace special. But no questions. It will be a surprise.

They could not possibly drive straight through. Jack used OnStar to reserve rooms for all in a pet friendly motel in Richmond, VA. With the stops Shadow and Anita needed to stretch, it took them ten and a half hours to reach Richmond. Wanting to avoid the morning rush hour around Washington, DC, they waited until nine o’clock to get started after a good breakfast and a walk for Shadow, who was almost back to his old self. With a little help he could easily get in the back of the SUV.

Six hours later Kathy, following Jack’s directions, was driving west on Route 30 in western Pennsylvania. Coming down the west side of the Allegheny Mountains, Jack told her to turn right at the next intersection. Kathy made the turn at Kingston Dam and gave Jack a quizzical look, like where are you taking us.

Jack laughed and said, “Be patient for 15 more minutes.”

Kathy said, “Is it a surprise?”

“More than you will ever guess.”

They drove in silence for the next 20 minutes until Jack said, “Okay. Now slow down. Way down. Turn right just where the big spruce tree is leaning away from us.”

Kathy made the turn, but told Jack, “This doesn’t look good. If you want to have your way with me there is no need to go to all this kind of suspense.”

At this point Anita woke up and said, “Where on God’s green earth are we?”

Jack laughed and said, “Everything in due course. Now get ready to stop. A locked gate is around the next bend.”

When the car slid to a stop, Jack jumped out and to Kathy’s astonishment produced a key, opened the gate and motioned for her to drive in. Then, locking the gate behind him, Jack let Shadow out and got back in the car, trying hard not to laugh at the consternation on Kathy’s and Anita’s faces.

Jack told them they were almost at the Allegheny Mountain counter terrorist center. On either side of the road new foliage limited the view to ten or fifteen feet. Kathy put the window down to breathe in the fresh mountain air.

She pulled into the circular parking place and stared at the cabin tucked into the mountain side. Jack knew his father would approve of this. He enjoyed surprising people he loved. Jack got out and opened Kathy’s door. He had never seen her so quiet. He helped Anita out with her crutches and said, “Come on, you two. I want to show you our secret retreat.” Anita said, looking at Jack and Kathy, “You go inside. Let me stay out here with Shadow for a while. I’ve always loved the Allegheny Mountains. My home is not far from here.”

Kathy got out, took Jack’s arm, and after Jack had disarmed the alarm, they went up the steps. He opened the door, swept Kathy up in his arms, and carried her across the threshold.

Kathy said with an impish grin, “Does this mean we’re married?”

“Aren’t we supposed to get engaged first? That threshold carryover was in honor of the first woman ever to enter this cabin. My father built it many years ago and kept it a secret. I was here a few times as a teenager. Dad used this place to teach me compass reading, tracking and shooting. When I came from Pittsburgh to join him, he told me some secrets about this place. Now, we are about to see the secrets together. Let’s start in the bedroom.”

***

Buy “Justice Beyond Law” on Amazon, as well as the rest of the Jack Brandon series and other books by Barry Kelly, a former CIA agent and adviser to President Reagan. 

That evening Kathy and Jack were enjoying coffee and watching the news after an excellent chicken curry dinner. They both leaned forward when the anchor said the FBI and New York Police had arrested a major terrorist group in New York City. Two of the terrorists had been killed in a gun battle, one is in custody and the fourth is at large. The Director of the FBI stated this group had planned several major bombing acts in New York City. Explosives and detonators, as well as several weapons and a large sum of money, were discovered in a small warehouse rented by the terrorists. Their names are being withheld as usual in the case of an ongoing investigation. Details describing the fourth bomber will be released to the public shortly, and the NYPD asked anyone with information about this person to please call a hotline number.

Kathy said, “It’s a slam dunk the escapee was Yuri’s New York cell leader, the one he calls Primus.”

Jack said, “Damnit! I wish they hadn’t missed him. If he’s fanatic enough, he may still go through with part of the bombing plan.

“You can bet this killer has a backup plan and a hole to run to. If this guy is the professional of the group, the cops and the FBI aren’t going to find him in time. By now he has changed his appearance and identity. We need to get involved.”

Kathy thought for a moment and said, “I’ll check over everything we have in Yuri’s records. Maybe we can set him up.”

Jack said, “We need to head north soon. If al-Qaeda has my father’s name, they can locate this house. I’ll put it on the market and get the Minhs out of here. They have earned their retirement.”

Kathy said, “Anita can travel tomorrow as long as she can stretch out her leg. Her doctor said she should watch for a late blooming infection. Anyway, he wanted her out of the hospital. It’s too easy to pick up an infection there. We need a bigger car. How about a Cadillac SRX? I always check the car ads. A big GM Cadillac dealer is in Jacksonville. I’m sure they will give us a decent trade-in. What do you think?”

“Go for it, as long as you do the dealing. I’ll give you a blank signed check. Make sure the car has a good place for Shadow.”

The Minhs were charged with closing up the house. Jack emptied his father’s secret closet and used long screws to seal the bookcase door to the empty arms closet. He boxed up the weapons with some office equipment and sent them with the moving van. The small amount of C4 remaining was burned. The furniture Jack wanted was marked for the moving company to put in storage in McLean. Everything else was left for the Minhs to use or sell.

The next morning Kathy went to Jacksonville to buy a Cadillac and to pick up Anita at the hospital, while Jack helped the Minhs pack up the house. It was almost noon when Kathy and Anita pulled up in a black Cadillac SRX. Jack was ready to go.

Anita moved pretty well on her new crutches. She gave Jack a hug and told him now she really hated snakes. Jack loaded Shadow and Anita into what Anita called the walking wounded wagon. Kathy slipped in behind the wheel for the 12-hour drive north up Route 95.

***

Buy “Justice Beyond Law” on Amazon, as well as the rest of the Jack Brandon series and other books by Barry Kelly, a former CIA agent and adviser to President Reagan. 

Kathy was back in time for a late lunch. While Anita was glad to see her, she said she felt like a mess and worse. An earlier look in the mirror confirmed she was not fit for visitors. It was too hot to have her leg under any covering and it looked like a beached dolphin lying on top of the bed. “What girl wants to be seen looking like that?”

The medical news was much better than the appearance. The doctor said she was doing well with no infection so far and barring any surprises, she could go home the day after tomorrow.

For the next two days the Brandon household enjoyed playing tourist. They rented kayaks and launched them from Walker’s Landing, an Amelia Plantation community boat launching ramp. The kayaking was great, much better than the fishing. Jack told the Minhs the fish weren’t dumb enough to be caught by noisy, laughing, splashing and otherwise sorry fisher people. They both got a little too much sun and ate too much at the several good restaurants on the island. The food at the Brandon house was better than eating out, but it was fun to get out and around.

On Sunday morning they ate brunch at the Ritz. Kathy was impressed. She mentioned that of all the brunches she had eaten around the world, this was the best. No buffet lines, just different food stations, Oriental, primarily Japanese, unlimited smoked salmon and beluga caviar garnished with mild chopped onions and capers, made-to-order omelets, crepes or any style of eggs with excellent bacon and link sausage, porridge and other cereals, pastry for every palate, melon, fresh fruit and excellent coffee served like magic at the table. Good eaters, they made several trips back to the food stations.

Jack wondered how Kathy kept her magnificent figure with her appetite. He was thinking too much about her. The employee/employer relationship bothered him. He wanted to make decisions without being influenced by the growing feelings he had for her. Romance and operations never seemed to work out, but he knew the more time he spent with Kathy, the more he wanted to be with her. He was afraid he had fallen for her, but he wasn’t going to make the first move.

Jack and Kathy spent the afternoon body surfing and returned with sand and salt water in every crevice. As Jack was getting ready to say see you at dinner time, Kathy took his arm and said, “It’s not night, but I want to come up with you. A hot shower will make a new woman out of me.”

Jack led her into the master suite. His father had designed a master bath opening off the sleeping area with no door. Instead, the walk-in shower was set at an angle with a curved wall providing privacy from the entrance way. Italian tile in desert colors flowed around the walls, surrounding a large garden tub set in copper colored Corian. Framed mirrors hung over the twin basins set in the same Corian.

Kathy took one look and said, “This is opulently magnificent! I can’t wait to get into the shower. Turn on the water.”

Jack laughed and spun the dial for the multiple heads. In seconds the water was warm, and Kathy was naked in the shower waiting for Jack.

She said, “You’re going to have to wear less clothing, if it takes you so long to get out of trunks and a shirt.”

Kathy put her finger against Jack’s lips, and then she was in his arms. Her arms wrapped around him as she pushed her body against him. Jack’s mouth sought hers. His hands ran over her naked body. Cupping her breast, he brought it to his mouth. Her nipples hardened as he gently and then more passionately took them in his mouth. She moaned softly and lifted one leg up around his waist. Jack slipped his arm under her leg and supported her weight. Kathy took his ear in her mouth and ran her tongue around his ear. She put her arms around his neck and lifted her other leg up around his body, rocking gently against him. She put one hand down and gradually took him inside her.

***

Buy “Justice Beyond Law” on Amazon, as well as the rest of the Jack Brandon series and other books by Barry Kelly, a former CIA agent and adviser to President Reagan. 

The next morning Jack and Kathy were watching the local news, and savoring the excellent coffee prepared by Joseph and Betty Minh. Peter Brandon hired Vietnamese immigrants with a combat background whenever he could. The Minhs, like the Nguyens, were also skilled if somewhat ancient warriors. Jack admitted he was a coffee addict and couldn’t figure out how the Minhs made coffee so much better than he did. He knew it wasn’t the Florida water. The stuff was barely drinkable. Kathy was planning to visit Anita in the afternoon. Anita had made it clear she didn’t want visitors until she felt better. Kathy knew it would be a short visit.

Just as she was leaving, the Channel 4 news alert covered last night’s explosion and fire at Yulee. The news alert stated a mobile home trailer had exploded and burned leaving two fatalities. Fire Department officials said the explosion seemed to originate underneath the trailer. Traces of several different types of explosives and associated electronics were found during the investigation. The news alert also said the Nashua County Sheriff’s office had called in the FBI to assist in the investigation. Police were now searching for the next of kin. The names will not be released until the next of kin have been notified.

The news anchor also said, according to the sheriff’s office, the people who died in the explosion were building a major bomb and something went wrong. They believe others were involved, and a fight had broken out before the explosion. One of the bodies was clutching a shotgun, and two tires were cut on the panel truck loaded with a fertilizer bomb. A neighborhood canvas turned up nothing. A hard rain and high tide since the explosion had wiped out any evidence that might have helped the investigation.

Jack said, “Bottom line is they have no leads, and the investigation is approaching a dead end. I think we can say this case is closed. The sheriff’s office has found or suspected something beyond their laboratory’s capability. The burned dead man gripping a shotgun is enough to cause everyone to take a hard look. They may find the two .22 slugs in Jones’ body and maybe the .22 brass casings under the trailer. Still ballistics will not start a trail back to us. We’ll get rid of the .22 just to be safe.

“Jones’ fingerprints may have survived and a check with the FBI’s fingerprint database will turn up his military record. County documents will also identify both of them. If they do a detailed background check on Norma Carlson, the lack of a family or personal history will excite their interest. The panel truck full of kerosene-soaked fertilizer really grabbed their attention. A check of the truck’s VIN will probably show it is a stolen vehicle. Those facts made it a no-brainer for the sheriff to ask for FBI support. The feds will be all over this in no time.

“I’ve been going over a list of the equipment we had with us last night. I think we can account for everything. Anita left a cut-in-half cottonmouth under the trailer, but the fire took care of that.”

Kathy said, “To start with, I believe the Bureau will, at first, take the simple and obvious position a bomb maker made a mistake and blew up the works. Then, I think they will focus on third-party involvement. A careful search of the perimeter will be made and neighbors questioned again regarding anybody they saw in the area. Did anyone see us going in or leaving? Or note our car parked below the entrance to the trailer homes? More untidy ends than I like. The car could be traced directly to us.”

Jack said, “Let me put my homicide hat back on for a minute. First, I think we should strengthen our cover story by staying here a few days for some beachcombing and fishing. If anyone noted the car parked along the road and called the police with a license number, we could eventually be questioned. So we need a contingency cover story, something like you and I were checking our map for a shortcut to Jacksonville and dinner, but gave up and came back here for a light supper. Arriving back at the house, we found Anita had just been bitten by a cottonmouth while fishing on the edge of the marsh. I really don’t expect the police will question us, but it is better to be ready. Stories made up on the fly seldom stand up.”

Kathy smiled and said, “I can handle playing tourist for a few days. Let’s get on with it. Fishing, playing tennis and beachcombing. I’m ready as soon as I get back from the hospital.”

***

Buy “Justice Beyond Law” on Amazon, as well as the rest of the Jack Brandon series and other books by Barry Kelly, a former CIA agent and adviser to President Reagan. 

Anita was in the best position to watch the activity at the panel truck. She reported it had no rear plates. Putting plates on the truck would be the final tipoff a departure was imminent. Lights were on in the trailer. Anita was thankful no dogs were in or near the trailer. Dogs were extremely hard to fool, especially when the wind shifted abruptly and you found yourself upwind from the dogs. This evening the area was quiet. She could make out a TV playing in one of the trailers distant from the Carlson trailer. Most of the trailers were dark.

While Anita was watching the panel truck, Jack moved up and took a position at the edge of the palmettos. “As soon as they move inside, ease up and plant one device in the stack of tins and the other under the trailer’s kitchen area. I’ll disable the panel truck as soon as they are inside the trailer. I’ll stay here and clean up. You head back to the car and get ready to move out. If I don’t show up in 15 minutes, go back to the house. I’ll either join you there or call for a pickup. Everyone stay loose. This could get complicated. Understand?”

Kathy answered, “Got it.”

Anita broke in, “They’re heading back to the trailer.”

Jack said, “Give them ten minutes inside then do your thing.”

“Roger.”

Ten minutes later Anita said she was on her way. Jack, moving fast and low, headed toward the panel truck. He quickly looked inside and smelled mixed fertilizer and fuel oil. He made a quick deep cut in the side wall of each front tire. When both tires were flat, he took up a position twenty feet from the truck where he could watch for Anita’s return. Anita stopped in the shadows against the side of the trailer and listened for movement inside. She could hear voices and a TV tuned to what sounded like a sitcom. She decided to put a one ounce charge of C4 among the cans and another three under the trailer. She reached under the tarp and checked the cans. They smelled of kerosene. Some of them felt full.

She concealed her charge in the center of the stack and set a 15-minute detonator. She picked a hole in the broken, flaking, grey-white lattice trailer skirt and, with her combat knife in hand, she crawled through a hole in the rotting lattice work, cursing quietly at the spider webs draping over her face. Her clothing caught on a loose lattice slat causing a loud snap as she moved toward the center of the trailer.

Cursing herself for being careless, Anita cleared her mind and focused on the activity just over her head. She froze as the porch light came on followed by footsteps on the wooden steps. Pulling off her night vision glasses she could clearly see the shadow of a figure carrying a rifle or shotgun walking quietly around the trailer. She eased her .22 out of her holster. Anita was sure the shadow was Stanley. As he neared her entry hole in the lattice, he squatted down and shone his flashlight under the trailer. Anita was tracking him with her silenced handgun and, when the beam swung toward her, she shot him twice in the chest. The flashlight rolled out of his hand and he slumped to the ground.

She watched the downed man for ten seconds before slowly dragging him under the trailer. He still had a faint irregular pulse.

Leaving him to die, Anita was stretching up to place her charge when she felt movement behind and to her right. As she spun around, she felt a sharp grabbing stinging sensation in her right calf. She saw a large snake and slashed at it with her razor edged combat knife. At the same time her knife struck the snake, she felt it strike her leg again. This time she could see it had a viper’s head and the thick body of a cottonmouth. Her knife strike cut the writhing reptile almost in two.

Anita was sure Norma Carlson would hear the thrashing noise. Hurrying now in an almost automatic mode, Anita secured the charge and reset the detonator to go off in five minutes. With a last look around, she hurried through another break in the lattice skirt in the back of the trailer. Anita tried to run, but her leg was numb and getting worse. She kept telling herself to stay cool, otherwise the venom would move much faster through her system. She was 30 feet from the trailer when her leg tightened, and she stumbled and fell. Willing herself to keep moving, she started dragging her leg in a half crawl. Anita called Jack.

When he answered, she said, “I’m in trouble! Can’t run! Fucking cottonmouth snake got me twice in the right leg! Moving fast as I can toward the truck. I need help. Had to shoot the man. The charge is set to blow in five minutes.”

Jack heard Anita’s call for help and ran to help her. He could see her scrabbling along the ground as fast as she could. She was keeping to the dark shadows. Anita was crawling when Jack picked her up. He said, “I’ve got you. Relax.” With Anita over his shoulder Jack raced deep into the pine grove and put Anita on the pine needle-covered ground.

The outside flood lights came on. Anita and Jack were well beyond the arc of light. She was conscious but obviously in pain. Jack spoke softly into his radio and told Kathy what was happening and that he was carrying Anita to the car. She needed medical treatment.

Anita grabbed Jack’s leg and told him the bomb under the trailer should be going off in the next minute. Jack cut Anita’s camouflaged right pant leg open. He saw two sets of puncture wounds one in the back of the calf and the other deeper one in the front of her thigh. Jack fashioned a bandage from his bandana and tied it high on her thigh above the twin fang puncture wound, making sure he could insert a finger under the bandage. Looking at Jack, Anita said, “Sorry, Boss. I never saw the damn snake until it bit me, but I did kill the sorry bastard. That’ll teach him not to mess with a lady Ranger, even if I am retired. I’ve always hated snakes.”

As Jack was finishing the placement of the bandage, an explosion and fireball split the night’s darkness. Jack eased Anita over his shoulder and, making sure he had both weapons and two sets of night vision glasses, he set off for the car. Protecting Anita’s face from the palmetto thorns and being careful to avoid leaving a clear trail, Jack moved through the edge of the marsh.

Kathy had already called the emergency room at Saint Vincent’s hospital on her cell and arranged for immediate medical treatment. Anita was still conscious but verging on shock as Jack put her in the back seat.

He got in the front seat with Kathy, and she moved the car smoothly out on the road. A hundred yards behind her, she could see the first emergency vehicles streaming into Citrus Drive.

Kathy pulled into the emergency entrance of St. Vincent Hospital in Jacksonville. As soon as she stopped the car, a gurney appeared and Anita was lifted on to the gurney and rushed inside. An hour later they were allowed to see her. She had been given the proper antidote but was still quite sick. Her right leg was badly swollen and painful. If all went as expected, she would be discharged in a day or so. A full recovery was expected.

The doctor credited her coolness, the absolute identification of the snake and the rapid move to the emergency room as factors lessening the danger of a double injection from a cottonmouth. The doctor also believed the venom from the first strike went mostly on the fabric of her trousers. The doctor told Kathy pit vipers often mistime the release of their venom. He was a bit curious as to how Anita killed a good-sized cottonmouth with a knife after being bitten not once but twice.

***

Buy “Justice Beyond Law” on Amazon, as well as the rest of the Jack Brandon series and other books by Barry Kelly, a former CIA agent and adviser to President Reagan. 

Using the same communications gear they had used to take down Yuri, Jack called Kathy. She answered the radio check, reporting no traffic had gone in or out of Citrus Drive. Light was fading quickly as Jack and Anita reached dry land. He still couldn’t figure how Anita led them to the exact place they had picked from the aerial images and topographical maps, in the fading light, no less.

He and his father had made a sport out of orienteering and recon training that required heavy emphasis on reading terrain, but Anita’s skills were awesome. After making their way through the cypress knees, Jack called a halt before entering the narrow fringe of loblolly pines. A few minutes later they were moving through the stand of pines bordering the east side of the trailer park. The going was much easier. The downside is anyone can move quietly in a pine grove, and there wasn’t much cover. Jack thought what the hell. Life is full of tradeoffs. Just don’t expect them to always be on your side.

He wanted to be in position to watch the Carlson trailer before the light was totally gone. He judged they needed about five more minutes. So far they had made no tentative moves. In combat, tentative moves could get you killed.

The plan was simple. Watch the trailer to see if the occupants were settled in for the night or moving about outside. If they were moving around outside, the action would be more complicated, especially if they were armed. Shoot first and sort out any problem later. These were not the type of people who deserved a chance. They knew they faced life imprisonment or execution. Carlson and Jones had nothing to lose by putting up a fight. Given a chance, they would fight.

Anita moved on ahead toward the trailer. She planned to slip up to the lean-to shed next to the trailer and plant a charge of C4 with a ten-minute fuse in the stack of fuel tins stored under the tarp and another under the trailer. If the terrorists were in the trailer, they probably wouldn’t be able to get out if the cans were filled with kerosene. They didn’t know yet where the fertilizer was stored. Perhaps it had already been mixed and was in the panel truck. In that case, the police and fire investigators would probably believe somehow the bomb makers had made a mistake while making the detonator and had died because of it.

Jack’s radio came to life with Anita’s voice as she told him, “I’ve reached the edge of the pine grove and can make out the trailer about 40 yards due west of my position. Do you have me?”

“No. Not yet. Stay put until I move up.”

“Roger that.”

Another five minutes and Jack moved to the edge of the pine grove. He saw Anita 20 yards to his right and said, “Okay, I have you. Move up closer.”

A patch of palmettos edged the cleared land around the trailer. Jack found a concealed position there and settled down to watch the trailer. Ten minutes passed and with the failing light, they shifted to night vision. Five minutes later Anita said, “I have movement at my two o’clock.”

Jack checked and said, “I have them. They are both out near the panel truck.”

Anita replied, “I think they will wait for darkness to load the panel truck with the fertilizer bomb. A mixing box, like cement workers use, sits right behind the truck.”

Jack came back, “I cannot see from my position. Will they have to move the truck tonight, or can it sit in the heat tomorrow?”

“That stuff is very stable. It could sit there for a week, but some of the fuel may evaporate if it gets too hot or sits too long. I don’t think they will move the truck tonight, but they might. Better tell Kathy to block Citrus Drive if they start to move.”

Jack replied, “They won’t be leaving. We are going to stop them. It’s too dangerous to have the truck bomb on the road. Too many variables if they get under way. Make a couple of C4 explosive packages with 15-minute detonators.”

“Roger that. Can do.”

Jack called Kathy and said, “Did you copy?”

“Yes, I copied and can set up the road block. Just give me the word.”

***

Buy “Justice Beyond Law” on Amazon, as well as the rest of the Jack Brandon series and other books by Barry Kelly, a former CIA agent and adviser to President Reagan. 

The next morning from their stake-out position along Route 17, Anita and Jack picked up surveillance of Norma and Stanley Jones as they left Citrus Drive at 11:00 with Stanley driving. Anita called Kathy and told her the coast was clear. After shopping in Fernandina Beach, Stanley and Norma stopped for lunch at the Palace Bar in downtown Fernandina. On the way home they stopped at the Radio Shack for 40 minutes. Anita could not see what they bought, but they came out with a number of plastic bags. Later at the Loews Store on A1A, they were observed buying 500 pounds of fertilizer in bags. After that stop they went directly to their trailer.

Jack used his cell to tell Kathy to go back to his house. The pickup truck was headed back to the trailer park. Kathy replied she had had a good look at the trailer and general area and, while casing the trailer, noted a number of red two-gallon cans marked with a yellow K in a lean-to on the end of the trailer. An old white Ford Panel truck without plates, sat in the back of the lot under some trees. The truck looked to be in running shape. Tire marks looked fairly new. There were no obvious signs of occupancy in more than half of the trailers.

Jack said, “Okay, we have enough. Meet you back at the house.”

Sitting around the small table in the study, surrounded by maps and computer prints of Kathy’s pictures, Jack said, “Anita, you’re our bomb expert. What’s going on in the trailer park?”

“You know damn well what’s going on. Our two senior citizen terrorists are making a fertilizer bomb or two.”

Jack asked, “What about the timing?”

“I don’t think they want all that fertilizer and kerosene sitting around. Too many people may notice it. I guess they will mix it today or tomorrow. The items from Radio Shack may be for some sort of a timing or remote detonation device. So we don’t have much time. I think these might be the ones who killed the Secretary of Commerce.”

Jack said, “We go tonight.”

After a late lunch of curried soup and grilled cheddar cheese sandwiches, Anita and Kathy arranged images of the trailer park into a panorama of the target. The panorama clearly showed the trailer park area, the surrounding marsh and wood stands, primarily of loblolly pine. The panorama when coordinated with the map gave them all they needed to plan the mission.

Jack looked at Anita and said, “Kathy will drop us along Route 17 South near Citrus Drive. We’ll move cross-country to the trailer park.” Jack pointed to a small tidal stream running fifty yards east of the trailer park.

“I’m sure we can follow the edge of the marsh to within striking distance of the trailer park.”

Anita said, “I don’t know about you two, but I would like to have something other than my knife.”

Jack laughed and said, “My father always kept a small stock of explosives, communications equipment and weapons hidden in his house. Come with me. I’ll see if I can remember my dad’s directions.”

Jack led them over to a bookcase in the living room and said, “Watch this.”

Pressing a section of the center section, he swung the section out, exposing a door flush with the wall. Opening the door, he led Kathy and Anita into a four-foot deep space the entire length of the bookcase.

Anita said, “This is like a warrior’s toy shop. Look at this stuff.”

Jack said, “It’s a free store. Take what you’ll need.”

After inspecting the weapons and supplies, Anita selected four ounces of C4, night vision glasses, two compasses, flashlights and canteens. She liked the greater fire power of the Glocks but selected a .22 High Standard fitted with a noise suppressor. She said, “If you can shoot a handgun with accuracy, a hollow point .22 long rifle cartridge has enough stopping power. No need to carry a canon.”

Jack and Kathy picked .357 Dan Wesson revolvers, a revolver was much less likely to jam up if exposed to water and sand. Just after dusk Kathy dropped Jack and Anita along Route 17 South one hundred yards south of Citrus Drive. They pushed quickly through the palmettos, being careful not to get cut by the palmetto thorns or to leave any evidence of their passing.

The mosquitoes were out in full force. The repellant Jack smeared on his face, neck and hands seemed to attract every mosquito in the marsh. Anita used no repellant. She told Jack to suck it up, the mosquitoes here weren’t bad, and repellent always had a giveaway smell.

From time to time a blue heron or a giant egret would take off with its scolding, honking cry. For a time they were waist deep in the tidal creek. Moving in the water was much easier and quieter than dealing with high marsh grass and palmettos. Anita, in the point, slowed and angled sharply into the marsh grass. For the next ten minutes, it was heavy going through the high grass and knee deep water. Jack was good at orienteering but knew he was not in the same league with Anita. She seemed to have an uncanny sense of carrying a map in her head and knowing exactly where she was along the route. The water was cool with a strong marsh smell. The bottom, soft in places, still provided good footing.

Anita was slowing, picking her way through the marsh with Jack five paces behind her. Jack hissed to get her attention and pointed to a six-foot alligator less than 20 feet from them. Anita paled and stopped, breathing rapidly. Jack told her to relax. Let alone, alligators will avoid man unless some dumb tourists have been feeding them. He told her a story where a gator was so used to being fed that it knocked down a kitchen door when no dinner came out.

Anita said, “For Christ’s sake, shut up and let’s get out of here. I hate crawly reptile things.”

“Don’t worry, if he attacks, you can use the pop gun you’re carrying.”

Anita whispered, “I’ll use it on you, if I hear any more of your sick humor about reptiles.”

***

Buy “Justice Beyond Law” on Amazon, as well as the rest of the Jack Brandon series and other books by Barry Kelly, a former CIA agent and adviser to President Reagan. 

Anita took ten minutes to get settled into one of the first floor bedrooms and to get into her bathing suit. Kathy was already in the water unwinding after yesterday’s long drive and a restless night. She had a lot to think about. Her new job and very attractive boss made her wonder if she was ready for another relationship. Why was this sexy, intelligent and rich guy unattached? Was he attracted to her?

Anita arrived at poolside, gave Jack a hug, and said, “If this is how counter terrorists live and work, count me in. This place is gorgeous.”

Jack said, “My dad loved to come here, but the tranquility wore him down after about three weeks, and he had to move on. Now, go get a good swim. In about a half hour, we’ve some serious planning to do.”

Anita entered the pool without a splash and joined Kathy swimming laps. Kathy was sleek and swift in the water, but Anita, using a powerful freestyle stroke, easily overtook and passed Kathy. She moved through the water like a seal, almost no splash, yet she surged up and down the pool. Her flip turn was quick and elegant.

After getting a good workout and taking in some good old Southern sun rays, the two women joined Jack. The tall blonde athlete from a well-to-do Southern lifestyle and the shorter muscular woman from the soft coal area of Pennsylvania chatted and laughed as they toweled off and sat down in the cabana.

Anita said, “Okay, Boss, we’re here and ready. What and how’s this going down?”

Jack said, “Well, we told the FBI about a bombing cell in New York, and until it all plays out, we can’t send them any more leads. They wouldn’t pay any attention to a second report about a bomber who plans to set off a couple of bombs between the first and 15th of May in a different location. In fact, a second tip given to them may even weaken their interest in the first lead.

“If the police and the FBI find our first information accurate and they get the bombers, then we’ll have great credibility and can pass leads to them they will act on. So we deal with this Florida bomb cell and I mean kill them. There is no other way. We have to take this cell out, but leave enough evidence to help the local cops figure out these were bad people intent on mass murder. We need some more info on the Yulee cell.”

Kathy said, “We know now where they live and work. We have their license plate numbers and makes of all the cars. They have two cars, a green 1995 Chevy pickup truck with a Florida tag number BRG 609 and a beige Lincoln Town Car tag number CIT 295. DMV data support our information and confirm full names and addresses. Norma Carlson is the leader of the cell. Since she is 63 with no history I can find, she is probably an original member of the network. She owns a shabby antique/collectibles shop on route A1A in Yulee. The other member of the cell is her long-term lover or common-law husband named Stanley Jones. Jones does have a traceable history and was born in Athens, Georgia, in 1945. Jones served in the U.S. Army in the First Air Cavalry Division in Vietnam. He held the rating of a Spec 4 and was in several actions. I could not get access to his military records without attracting attention. Thanks to Yuri’s records and the internet we have quite a bit of information.

“The couple lives in a trailer park less than a mile south of A1A on U.S. 17. A narrow lane, Citrus Drive, turns east off 17 and winds back about a quarter of a mile to a trailer park with about forty trailers.”

Anita said, “What we need is some info on the terrain around the trailer and a good approach and escape plan.”

Kathy nodded her head and said, “Tomorrow we need to follow them for a few hours and get a look at their trailer. Some good maps would also help.”

Jack said, “We have maps in the study. Dad was a real map person. He had good maps wherever he lived. Tomorrow Anita and I will be one team, and Kathy you’ll be the second team. Your job is to check out their trailer and surrounding terrain. Take a lot of pictures.”

***

Buy “Justice Beyond Law” on Amazon, as well as the rest of the Jack Brandon series and other books by Barry Kelly, a former CIA agent and adviser to President Reagan.