The lockup in east-coast Beaumont was down near the Neches River, in the rundown shipbuilding area that was once a thriving industry. A well-built brick building with secure metal double doors, it was ideal as a holding area for the launcher. Summa drove the automobile slowly down the road towards the lockup. The place was deserted and dirty. Litter was strewn along the street and on the left side of the street opposite the lockup a rusted old Ford truck abandoned years before, remained defiantly. No doors, no tires, no seats just a rusting shell.
“
It's down here on the right, opposite that Ford, about a hundred yards," commented Freeman, pointing to the general location as Summa leaned forward to see the road ahead and steer away from the broken glass.
“
That's it!
”
shouted Freeman, in his excitement. Summa pulled the automobile over in front of the lock up and cut the engine. The shabby dark blue up-un-over door was solid enough and securely locked with a large padlock.
"Yeah, this is it," said Summa, lighting a cigarette and inhaling deeply. He felt for the key in his pocket and smiled. "I've dreamed about this moment for a long time."
Once in the street they both looked around to see if anyone was about but the place was quite and deserted. Only the sound of squabbling gulls on a nearby factory roof broke the eerie silence.
Summa bent down and put the key in the lock and it sprung open with a loud reassuring click. Freeman grabbed the handle and pulled the door upwards, creaking as it hesitantly opened. Once inside they flicked on the lights and closed the door behind them.
Summa's face was like a child at Christmas time seeing the presents around the tree for the first time. Stacked against the back wall some thirty foot away in a wooden box marked 'Property of the Canadian Armed Forces' was the rocket launcher. Without hesitating, Summa had the lid off, in seconds.
"This is one hell of a baby," he said, caressing the 107 cm long anti tank rocket launcher with trembling hands. "It
’
s a CG and was standard issue for the Canadian Land Forces." He said excitedly. "This particular M3 lightweight version is built on a steel liner which carries the rifling, which itself is covered with a carbon fibre winding. Look here. It
’
s fitted with a two power optical sight that has a 17 degree field of view. All the external parts are made of plastic and the four weapons are what they call in the trade the HEDP kind, that stands for High Explosive Dual Purpose and designed to destroy fortified positions. Their effective range is 500 metres, well within the range of the hotel. I just had to have it as soon as I saw it. Help me try the fishing rod case for size. Look at that, It fits in as if it
’
s been designed for the job and there
’
s room each side for the rockets. Perfect. Are we going to make these sinners pay." Summa said, struggling to contain his excitement.
The twelve-hundred room Intercontinental Hotel had been chosen for its close proximity to the Ellington Building. Booked in false names, Freeman and Summa were able to watch the comings and goings of the various staff, from their east facing rooms on the twenty-fifth floor. Only two hundred yards separated the buildings across the busy plaza. The hand held launcher could be fired from the veranda and inflict untold damage on the offices of Project M13. The location was perfect. The plan was to fire three rockets at different floor levels. The fourth rocket would be fired at a practice run, before the main attack took place. (Somewhere in an isolated spot yet to be chosen by Summa). Nothing would be left to chance, they would only get one opportunity and it had to work. After the attack they would leave the launcher in the room and make their getaway by car to the airport. Good timing would have them on a flight back to San Francisco within two hours.
The next few days were productively spent photographing the team members as they entered the underground parking lot. Vehicle makes and registrations were noted because it needed to be a full complement, as Summa called it, when the damage was inflicted; everyone on the list, already made out at the back of Freeman
’
s pocket book, had to be present.
The glass-building was no defense against such armory and Summa tried to imagine the kind of damage it would inflict. Would the building totally collapse or would floors twist and mangle before the entire workforce burned to death in the distorted wreckage? The thought excited him and he rubbed his hand in anticipation.
"We must assume ten-seconds between each rocket launch," said Freeman to Summa.
“
I will wait in the elevator at the end of the corridor with the doors held open. I want you, at precisely six pm to count to thirty, that
’
s the time to load and launch three rockets, then meet me at the elevator. We stop the watch at the parking lot. We also time the trip back to the airport, so that way, we leave nothing to chance."
"Yeah, that sounds good to me,
”
replied Summa, enthusiastically.
The drill was performed three times and each run down to the basement was within ten-seconds. They knew that approximately three-minutes and fifteen-seconds after the last rocket had smashed into the Ellington Building, they would be leaving the parking lot of the hotel in a rental car, heading for the airport. The flight home would be a time for quiet prayer.
Vicki was looking forward to a shower after a long hard day. During the afternoon she had visited the prenatal clinic for a check up and breathing exercises. According to the doctor all was well with the baby, which pleased her of course and although in good health she was now beginning to feel more tired by the end of each day; but then that was only to be expected at seven-months pregnant. As Vicki walked into the shower the phone rang.
"Can you answer the phone Rob, I
’
m in the shower," she said turning on the water.
"Yeah, sure," he shouted, coming in from the veranda wearing only running shorts and a towel around his neck. He was hot and perspiring from a muscle toning session he often did whenever he found the time.
"Hi, Rob, speaking.
”
"Rob, this is Richard in San Francisco."
"Richard, how are you?"
"Not too good at the moment I
’
m afraid, Vicki
’
s father has been taken ill."
"Is it serious?"
"We don
’
t know yet, but it looks like a heart attack."
“
Who is it, Rob?"
"It
’
s Richard to say your Fathers been taken ill."
Vicki immediately came to the phone, her face full of concern. "Rich."
“
Hi, sis. I
’
m sorry to call you with bad news but Pops has been taken into hospital with a suspected heart attack."
“…How bad is it?"
"I really don
’
t know. I
’
m here at the hospital waiting for any news but they
’
re still doing tests at the moment."
"How
’
s Mom?"
"She
’
s here and a bit concerned as you can imagine."
"Yeah"
"Could it be the angina again?"
"I don
’
t think so. It was different this time sis, he was in a considerable pain and the medics were very concerned. It happened at the store when he was shopping for Mom."
"I think I
’
d better come home, it sounds bad."
"Before you do that wait until I know something. Give me a chance to talk to the doctors."
"Yeah okay," Vicki sounded upset and she started to sob gently. McPherson put his arm around her to give her some comfort and she held his hand tightly.
"I
’
ll call you back when I know more. Don
’
t worry I
’
m sure he
’
ll be okay, you know how tough the old soldier is."
"Thanks Rich." Putting the phone down she hugged McPherson and cried. "I think I need to go home Rob, it sounds serious to me."
"Sure, I
’
ll come with you."
"There
’
s no need for you to come darling, you
’
ve got the project to think about right now. And, besides this is not the first scare we
’
ve had with Pops. You know he suffers from angina don
’
t you?"
"Yeah, he told me on our visit to the Bay. So what
’
s happening?"
"Richard's going to call back when the details are known."
"Lets hope it
’
s not too serious."
"I want him to live to see our baby, Rob, I want him to be a proud Grandfather. It would be awful if he died without being able to hold our new born in his arms." Vicki broke down in tears again.
"Come on now don
’
t talk like that. He
’
ll see the baby all right, believe me, your Father isn
’
t going anywhere just yet. I know."
The phone rang again and Vicki quickly picked it up. "Vicki here."
"Hi sis, it
’
s me again. Well, it looks like Pops will be okay."
Vicki
’
s whole body visibly relaxed.
"It was a mild heart-attack but nothing that he won
’
t recover from they say."
"Thank God. Can I speak to Mom?"
"She
’
s at his bedside at the moment. I
’
ve come outside so I could call you."
“
Okay, don
’
t worry, I
’
ll speak to her later."
"They want to keep him in for observation for a least a week, sis."
"I
’
m coming home to see him as soon as I can Rich. Tell him that I love him and that I
’
m thinking about him will you?"
"Yeah of course."
"Rich."
"Yeah"
"Thanks...I love you too you know."
"Yeah."
Richard stood in the corridor and tears filled his eyes, Vicki had never said that to him before, and the realization rocked him. Was God wrong this time in thinking she was an evil sinner? Should he try and stop the rocket attack and let her live? His head spun and confusion rolled through his mind. His senses were lost in a thick dense mist, like the ones that rolled into the Bay.
"Good morning, Wayne, it
’
s Hunter here."
"Good morning, Mr. Williams, sir. I was just about to call you with the latest on Black."
"Ah good, what have you got for me?"
"His wife finally decided to take a suicide note that he had written into the police."
"And?"
"It was blackmail all right. Samuel Black had a well-kept secret that only he and Hudson knew about. Hudson decided some time ago that he was going to make Black pay, and the ransoms started about 5 years ago."
"What did he have on him?"
“Black, accidentally killed a girl with drugs when he was in university. Hudson was there and helped him dispose of the body in a lake."
"Samuel Black killed someone?"
"Yeah, and in a desperate attempt to stop Hudson
’
s blackmail demands Black gave him the details of M13. Of course, that wasn
’
t enough for Hudson because now he was greedy, living a lavish lifestyle with expensive girl friends, boat parties and fast cars. Not content to make a killing with the exposure of M13, he continued to demand money from Black. In the end he couldn
’
t take any more and the rest is history."
"Poor bastard he didn
’
t deserve that. He wasn
’
t a murderer; he was just unlucky that
’
s all. Did the note say anything about the project?"
"No details, it just mentioned a secret project he was involved with, that
’
s all."
"That's good news.
”
"Keep it out of the papers please, we don
’
t want a conflict with the press release."
"Sure thing, Mr. Williams, sir.
”
Putting the phone down on Wayne, Hunter stood up to visit the control room, as he did his phone rang. "Hunter here.
”
“
Sir, it's Vicki."
"Hi Vicki, what can I do for you?"
"I had some bad news last night. My father has had a heart attack."
"I
’
m sorry to hear that. How serious is it?"
“
They say it
’
s not life threatening and he should recover."
"That
’
s good to hear."
“
Yeah. The reason for the call is that I want to go to home this weekend to see him and I
’
d like to take the following Monday off. Rob
’
s okay with it, so long as I get my workload cleared by Friday. Is that okay with you?"
"Of course, if Rob
’
s cleared it. I
’
m not aware of any reasons for you not to go."
"Thank you sir."
"Good luck and accept my best wishes."
"Thanks, see you on Tuesday."
"Tuesday it is."
Adam Domaradzki had arrived at the Church fifteen minutes later than planned that evening and when he entered the Long Room everyone was there waiting for him.
"I
’
m sorry I
’
m late,
”
he said, to the group of twelve, but offered no reason of explanation.
"Everyone
’
s here Father," said Summa.
"Good, then lets get down to business." Opening his brief case he removed a plain blue file and opened it on the table in front of him. Looking around at the members he began speaking. "Gentlemen the day of reckoning is approaching and I want everyone to be aware of the plan. Summa and Freeman have done all that was asked of them and we now know what is required to carry out God
’
s work." Richard sat at the table with his head lowered, listening to his every word. "It's now November and four weeks from now Downtown Houston will see the hand of God deliver fire and brimstone like nothing ever seen since Sodom and Gomorrah. The result will be complete destruction of the scientists of Satan. Summa and one of you, here tonight, will on that day of reckoning witness with your own eyes the power of God and you will rejoice in his glory. Is there one of you here that wants to be a servant of God?"
Richard looked around the table at the other members who were sitting in silence; stomach cramps like prodding knives racked his body. A voice from opposite him said. "I do." It was his friend and fishing partner Jack Freeman. "I will help Summa."
"Thank you, Jack,
”
said Adam Domaradzki. "What you are doing is for the good of mankind and every decent living person in this world. Be assured you will be blessed with eternal life." Jack Freeman smiled and lowered his head in gratification.
"Listen carefully. This is the plan
…”