TSUNAMI STORM (10 page)

Office of Covert Operations, the Pentagon

Billingsly studied the large map of fault lines that covered the planet like an intricate spider’s web. Very few places in the world were immune to earthquakes. It was just a matter of where and how devastating they would be.

“Okay,” Billingsly said quietly to himself. “Sichuan, China was too obvious, so something smaller. But it has to be close to something nuclear. I don’t want them to miss the message.” He cross referenced Iran’s nuclear facilities with the fault lines. He chuckled to himself:
Iran has dozens of fault lines that run through the country, many of them perilously close to their nuclear facilities. How smart did you have to be, after all?

He reminded himself that our own San Onofre nuclear power plant was built right next to the San Andreas Fault line. It was currently being decommissioned, but it ran for decades where it could have been easily damaged or destroyed by an earthquake. Back then, of course, no one knew how to artificially trigger an earthquake, but Billingsly knew exactly how to do that now.
Hindsight always paints a much clearer picture.

Iran claimed that all of its nuclear ambitions were for peaceful, civil purposes, yet Iran had only one civilian nuclear power generating plant, and that was built by the Russians. No other civilian plants were being constructed.
That incongruence needs to be brought forcefully to Iran’s attention
. He went through the data on each of the fault lines calculating how far the fault line was from the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, how deep the rupture zone would be, and what amount of damage would result. The area had a 6.7 Magnitude earthquake late last year in Kaki, 60 miles away, but it was too far from the Bushehr Plant to cause any damage to the plant itself.
No. This would have to be closer
. His finger followed the fault line across the map that was closest to the Bushehr Plant. It entered the sea at the city of Bandar Bushehr. He tapped his finger on the map and smiled.
This will do
. The target area was sparsely populated but the main effect would be felt where the Bushehr Plant was located. There and in the gulf city of Bandar Bushehr. He prepared the encoded document for the A4 facility in Alaska with the usual directions to destroy any record of the operation immediately after executing the order. He sent the order and went about the rest of his day.

* * *

Billingsly woke to the alarm set for 2:45 AM. Jessica rolled over and looked at him, sleep still heavy in her eyes.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Shhh,” he said quietly, “it’s nothing. Go back to sleep, I’ll be right back.”

She rolled back over and he went downstairs and tuned the TV to the British News. This had become a ritual for him. He knew the U.S. media wouldn’t carry the news immediately after the event and would do only a minimal job of reporting after the fact. The British News, however, had interests in the area and would provide sufficient coverage of the earthquake. The event would take place at noon in Iran, which would be three in the morning in Washington, DC. It would be eight in the morning in London and would hit the prime time news slot for the British News.

At 3:07 AM, the first mention of the earthquake hit the British News desk. Billingsly chuckled. He felt very satisfied being able to wield this kind of power. He called it Thor’s Hammer, named after the mythical Norse God whose hammer could cause earthquakes. At 3:13 AM, the first mention of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant was made. Some damage to the power plant was reported.

“Yes,” Billingsly shouted as he clapped his hands together. “Message delivered.”

He smiled as he watched the rest of the news. Initial reports indicated seven people were dead and up to thirty people were injured.

“Okay,” Billingsly said. “Now they will take negotiations with us more seriously.”

Billingsly rationalized what he was doing. After all, when France and Germany pulled out of the NATO operation in Afghanistan, he had used the A4 facility in Alaska to punish them by moving the Jet Stream so it would bring polar air down over Europe. That’s why they’d had record cold and heavy snow fall there for the last three winters.

Billingsly smiled and spoke quietly to himself, “When you are the only Super Power, you don’t have allies – you have minions. That’s what real power is all about. You don’t negotiate, you don’t compromise, you
dictate
, and you punish those who don’t comply.” Billingsly turned the TV off and headed back up to the bedroom.

Dolphin Beach, Oregon

Willa and Jason spent Sunday morning setting up traffic cones where expected debris fields would be. Willa had to borrow 500 orange cones from the Oregon Department of Transportation. DO NOT CROSS police tape was strung across the Village Center, marking it as a dead end zone. Jason marked arrows on the streets and sidewalks with blue chalk so people could follow the evacuation route more easily.

At precisely one in the afternoon Willa watched people come out of their homes and follow the blue arrows. That’s also when she saw Frank and his followers appear carrying signs and shouting, “Hell no. We won’t go.” Frank and his followers stood across the narrow part of the evacuation route and blocked the entire street so no one could pass.

“Frank, what are you doing?” Chief Dolan asked.

“I’m saving the city money,” Frank responded. “This whole thing is a waste of time and critically needed funds. Nothing is going to happen; I can guarantee it.”

“You can guarantee it?” Chief Dolan replied.

“I can guarantee it,” Frank reaffirmed. “Look, everyone in the city is going to be long dead and buried before anything happens to Dolphin Beach. Everything you and Willa are doing is a waste of time. The city can’t afford to be doing this, and look at what it’s doing to our tourists. Not only are you spending money we don’t have, you’re costing every business in town customers by disrupting our tourism and businesses with this farce of a tsunami scare. It’s irresponsible, Dolan. It’s criminally irresponsible.”

Willa stood on the sidelines and fumed. By agreement with Chief Dolan, she was letting Dolan handle any confrontation with Frank.

“You can’t block the street, Frank. Clear out now or I’ll have to arrest you,” Chief Dolan said in a loud voice, “and everyone else who blocks the street,” he said, shouting at the crowd holding signs. “Clear the street, NOW.”

Willa grew more anxious as Frank stood directly in front of Chief Dolan and stared directly into his eyes.

“Okay, Frank, have it your own way,” Chief Dolan replied as he took out his handcuffs and arrested Frank. Willa glanced at the two young deputies as they arrived. She wrung her hands together as another person took Frank’s place in the center of the street. When he was arrested, another man stepped up. As he was arrested and placed in handcuffs, no one else took his place in the street. Willa breathed a deep sigh of relief. The crowd parted and the people of Dolphin Beach continued their trek, with the crowd shouting, “Hell no. We won’t go. Hell no. We won’t go.” She watched nervously as the people of Dolphin Beach and some of the tourists followed the blue arrows up the hill and to the picnic the City of Dolphin Beach had provided.

Willa could feel the heat in her face. She shook slightly and stared at the street in front of where she was standing. “This was a disaster,” she said quietly.

“Actually, it wasn’t,” Jason said.

She hadn’t realized Jason had been there. “How can this not be a disaster?” she asked.

“I’ve been counting people,” Jason replied. “Even with the confrontation, you’ve got two out of three people following the evacuation route. This is a success.”

“Well, it doesn’t feel like a success,” Willa replied. “It still feels like a disaster.”

“Come on,” Jason replied. “Let’s go to the picnic.” He took her by the hand and headed up the hill.

At the picnic, Willa’s daughter and granddaughter quickly cornered her. Chelsea was wearing a flowered dress and Dakota wore her faded black jeans and black top decorated with silver beads and shiny threads in a swirling design.

“Gramma, is Dolphin Beach really in danger?” Dakota asked. She looked very worried.

“Tell her everything is fine, mom,” Chelsea interjected. “She doesn’t need to be obsessing over this, too.”

“I’m not obsessing.”

“Yes, you are,” Chelsea replied. “Tell her there’s nothing to this earthquake thing, mom.”

“If there was nothing to it, why would the city hold a practice run?” Dakota asked, defiantly placing her fists on her hips.

“It’s just something cities do, that’s all. Mom, tell her there’s nothing to worry about.”

“All my friends say Dolphin Beach is going to die,” Dakota replied in an accusatory tone.

“Nobody is going to die,” Chelsea insisted. “Tell her, mom.”

“I can’t take this,” Dakota said, placing her hands on the sides of her head. “Nobody is listening to me. I can’t take this anymore. Everybody’s going to die. I can’t stand it.” She turned and stalked off.

“Now see what you’ve gone and done?” Chelsea said to Willa with anger in her voice as she turned and followed Dakota.

“Family?” Jason asked.

“What gave it away?” Willa replied. She looked over at Jason. “A lot of people are scared by this. Dakota isn’t the only one.”

“I know,” Jason said. “I am, too.”

* * *

After the picnic had concluded, Willa entered the police station. She looked at Frank and his two minions sitting in the one and only jail cell.

“You can let them go,” she said to Chief Dolan.

“Nope,” Chief Dolan said, sitting at his desk with a broad smile on his face.

“What do you mean ‘no’,” Willa asked.

“Disturbing the peace, blocking public access; these are criminal offenses.”

“But don’t you have discretion in things like this?” she asked.

“Sure,” Chief Dolan replied. “My discretion is whether to arrest someone or not. Once I arrest them, it’s up to the magistrate.”

“Chief, this can’t be that serious. This is a very minor thing,” Willa said.

“Well,” Chief Dolan replied, “you’re partially right, it is a minor thing, but it’s also serious. These people are charged with a misdemeanor, which means it is punishable by one year in jail or less. Felonies are punishable by more than one year in jail. That’s the law.”

“I can’t believe these people are going to spend time in jail for this,” Willa replied.

Chief Dolan stood and escorted Willa to the door, opened it, and motioned for her to exit. She reluctantly complied. Chief Dolan then stepped outside with her.

“Look,” he said quietly, “Frank was partially right. This is costing the city money, or at least it was.”

“What do you mean ‘was’?” Willa asked.

Chief Dolan smiled. “Frank and his two followers will spend the night in jail. They deserve that for interfering with a proper city function. Tomorrow they will go before the Magistrate where they will be given a choice: a fine, or thirty days in jail. Frank may not like it, but he and his two friends are paying for Dolphin Beach’s picnic.”

* * *

At nine o’clock on Monday morning, Willa ventured over to the court room in the other half of the City Offices. Handcuffed, Frank and his two followers were ushered into the court room by Chief Dolan. Frank’s face was red from the anger he was experiencing.

“You can’t do this,” Frank shouted. “This is un-American.”

“Mr. Gillis,” the Magistrate calmly replied. “Let me remind you that you are in a court of law and proper decorum is required. Chief, you can remove the cuffs. What are the charges?”

“Disturbing the peace and interfering with a proper function of the city.” The Chief removed the cuffs. Frank rubbed his wrists, glaring at the Magistrate.

“Mr. Gillis, how do you plead?”

“Not guilty.” Frank shouted.

“Mr. Gillis, a last warning about maintaining decorum in the court.”

The Magistrate looked at the next person in line. “And how do you plead?”

The man lowered his head and looked at the floor. “Guilty, your honor,” he replied quietly.

“Guilty?” the magistrate asked. You’re going to have to speak up.

“Yes, guilty,” the man replied.

“Two hundred dollar fine,” the magistrate said. “Pay at the City Clerk’s office. You are dismissed.” The magistrate looked at the remaining man who watched his friend leave.

“Guilty,” the man replied. “Two hundred dollars?” the man asked. The Magistrate nodded. The man turned and left. Willa had to smile. Chief Dolan understood people better than she did. This was working.

The magistrate looked back at Frank. “Trial will commence on the matter of City of Dolphin Beach versus Frank Gillis. Mr. Gillis, you have the right to have counsel present and advise you of your rights. Do you understand those rights?”

Frank was boiling over with rage. “You can’t do this. I have the right to protest against what the city is doing. This whole thing is wrong. Just plain wrong.”

“Mr. Gillis, this is your opportunity to retain counsel. If you do not ask to have counsel present now, I will have to assume you do not wish to be represented by an attorney.”

“I know my rights” Frank yelled. “You can’t do this. I have the right to assemble and the right to protest against the city. You can’t stop me from doing that.”

The Magistrate looked at Frank. “You are only partially right, Mr. Gillis. You have the right to
peaceably
assemble and
peacefully
demonstrate. You do not have the right to block public access, nor do you have the right to disturb the peace. Five hundred dollar fine for contempt of court. You were warned about proper decorum Mr. Gillis.”

Willa couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Screw you,” Frank shouted. “I’ll appeal this to the State Supreme Court.”

“Which is your right,” the Magistrate calmly replied. “An additional one thousand dollar fine for contempt of court, Mr. Gillis.”

Frank shut up and just glared at the Magistrate.

“Chief Dolan, what did you observe in regards to Mr. Gillis yesterday?”

“I observed Mr. Gillis blocking the practice evacuation route, which was an approved city function. He was shouting and being disruptive.”

“Any witnesses present?” the Magistrate said looking directly at Willa.

She stood. “I saw exactly what Chief Dolan reported.”

“Mr. Gillis, do you deny that you were present at the location in question?” the Magistrate asked.

“I’m not admitting to anything,” Frank said, unable to quell the anger within him.

“That’s not a denial,” the Magistrate replied. “Do you deny blocking the street yesterday?”

“This is stupid.” Frank said in a loud voice.

“Well, this response certainly is,” the Magistrate replied. “An additional two thousand dollar fine for contempt of court. The defendant does not deny he disturbed the peace. Do you have any witnesses to bring forth to prove you did not do what you are charged with?”

Frank stood ramrod straight and stared back at the Magistrate, anger still etched on his face. He at least didn’t say anything else to place him in further contempt of court.

“Having concluded testimony, I find you, Frank Gillis, guilty of disturbing the peace and interfering with a proper city function. Two hundred dollar fine and fifty dollars court costs. You can pay your fines at the city clerk’s desk, at which time you will be free to go, otherwise you will be remanded to the city jail until your fines have been paid – your choice, Mr. Gillis. We are adjourned.” The Magistrate handed the Chief his written court order.

Frank fumed at Willa as Chief Dolan led him over to the City Clerk’s desk. Frank pulled out his checkbook and wrote the city a check for $3,750.00. “This isn’t over,” Frank said to Willa. “Not by a long shot.”

Willa just couldn’t stop laughing.