"We exchanged fire with them from the bridge, but by the time we got down to the docks, they were gone."
"And this bombing disrupted the prisoner executions?" Viceroy Dick was just about frothing at the mouth.
Muss nodded glumly. "They blew the docks and started firing on us," he said.
"We didn't know the extent of their strength, so we withdrew and postponed the executions."
Viceroy Dick pounded his desk top once-hard.
"You have no idea what could happen now, Colonel," he shouted. "If those goddamn Russians get wind of this, they can make big trouble for me. And that means big trouble for you, Muss."
Viceroy Dick took a minute to regain his composure. He wished he was within snorting distance of his cocaine bowl.
"Now who planted those bombs down at the docks? And where the hell did they come from?" he asked Muss sternly.
"It's hard to say, sir," Muss stumbled. "They probably had a boat and came across from the Illinois side. As to who they were, I guess they were saboteurs . . ."
"You guess they were saboteurs?" Viceroy Dick asked, his voice rising in anger. "And do you guess that they were also responsible for blowing up the Executive Club?"
"I ... I really don't know, sir," Muss admitted.
"We lost twenty seven officers last night," he told Muss. "Twenty seven men who were very close to the inner-workings of our army. Their knowledge and expertise will be sorely missed when it comes time for us to make our move ...
"Now you're responsible for the overall defense of this city inside and out, Colonel. That's why when I ask you for answers I'd better get some!"
"I've increased patrols around the city from downtown to the docks," Muss told him. "We'll triple the number of soldiers on-duty in the streets by tonight.
And we've increased patrols along our western border. We're also in the process of doubling the buffer zone minefields between us and them and we've in-90
creased our NightScope capability up and down our line."
"This is just standard bullshit, Colonel!" Dick screamed. "Just track down those saboteurs . . ."
Muss bowed to the waist. "Sir, believe me," he said.
"We will. And we will also accelerate the executions starting tonight. This part of our plan will not fail . . ."
Viceroy Dick simply stared at him. "It had better not, Muss," he said.
"Because if it does, you'll go over that bridge railing right along with the rest of the scum . . ."
91
CHAPTER 16
It was just past midnight when Hunter found the spot in the catacombs closest to the underground storage area he had spotted on the radar imager the night before.
Using the imager printout as a guide, he was able to determine that the storage area was four feet in from a particular junction of two tunnels on the very northeast section of the network. Confident that he had the correct location, he unstrapped the shovel from his back and started to dig.
It took him less than an hour to break through the clay soil, but once he did, he came to a thin, metal heating shaft which passed right through a thin concrete wall. Using his jack knife, he was able to chip a hole in the wall large enough for him to put his eye to.
It was completely dark on the other side of the wall, which was just the way he had hoped to find it. Working patiently for another half hour, he was able to cut a hole in the heat shaft wide enough for him to 92
squeeze through. Climbing into the shaft, it wasn't long before he came to a grate, which he quietly kicked out.
Only after he had passed through the grate opening and had his feet on solid ground did he unhook his flashlight and turn it on.
It was a parking garage, an old one that had been recently, and rather amateurishly, reinforced. But the construction of the facility wasn't what interested him. It was what it held. When he had viewed the area through the radar imager he had guessed it contained boxcars. It turned out he was wrong-but not by much.
The garage held more than one hundred tractor trailer trucks.
"And this bombing disrupted the prisoner executions?" Viceroy Dick was just about frothing at the mouth.
Muss nodded glumly. "They blew the docks and started firing on us," he said.
"We didn't know the extent of their strength, so we withdrew and postponed the executions."
Viceroy Dick pounded his desk top once-hard.
"You have no idea what could happen now, Colonel," he shouted. "If those goddamn Russians get wind of this, they can make big trouble for me. And that means big trouble for you, Muss."
Viceroy Dick took a minute to regain his composure. He wished he was within snorting distance of his cocaine bowl.
"Now who planted those bombs down at the docks? And where the hell did they come from?" he asked Muss sternly.
"It's hard to say, sir," Muss stumbled. "They probably had a boat and came across from the Illinois side. As to who they were, I guess they were saboteurs . . ."
"You guess they were saboteurs?" Viceroy Dick asked, his voice rising in anger. "And do you guess that they were also responsible for blowing up the Executive Club?"
"I ... I really don't know, sir," Muss admitted.
"We lost twenty seven officers last night," he told Muss. "Twenty seven men who were very close to the inner-workings of our army. Their knowledge and expertise will be sorely missed when it comes time for us to make our move ...
"Now you're responsible for the overall defense of this city inside and out, Colonel. That's why when I ask you for answers I'd better get some!"
"I've increased patrols around the city from downtown to the docks," Muss told him. "We'll triple the number of soldiers on-duty in the streets by tonight.
And we've increased patrols along our western border. We're also in the process of doubling the buffer zone minefields between us and them and we've in-90
creased our NightScope capability up and down our line."
"This is just standard bullshit, Colonel!" Dick screamed. "Just track down those saboteurs . . ."
Muss bowed to the waist. "Sir, believe me," he said.
"We will. And we will also accelerate the executions starting tonight. This part of our plan will not fail . . ."
Viceroy Dick simply stared at him. "It had better not, Muss," he said.
"Because if it does, you'll go over that bridge railing right along with the rest of the scum . . ."
91
CHAPTER 16
It was just past midnight when Hunter found the spot in the catacombs closest to the underground storage area he had spotted on the radar imager the night before.
Using the imager printout as a guide, he was able to determine that the storage area was four feet in from a particular junction of two tunnels on the very northeast section of the network. Confident that he had the correct location, he unstrapped the shovel from his back and started to dig.
It took him less than an hour to break through the clay soil, but once he did, he came to a thin, metal heating shaft which passed right through a thin concrete wall. Using his jack knife, he was able to chip a hole in the wall large enough for him to put his eye to.
It was completely dark on the other side of the wall, which was just the way he had hoped to find it. Working patiently for another half hour, he was able to cut a hole in the heat shaft wide enough for him to 92
squeeze through. Climbing into the shaft, it wasn't long before he came to a grate, which he quietly kicked out.
Only after he had passed through the grate opening and had his feet on solid ground did he unhook his flashlight and turn it on.
It was a parking garage, an old one that had been recently, and rather amateurishly, reinforced. But the construction of the facility wasn't what interested him. It was what it held. When he had viewed the area through the radar imager he had guessed it contained boxcars. It turned out he was wrong-but not by much.
The garage held more than one hundred tractor trailer trucks.
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