Chapter 36 Operation Spider Web
2606words
The team hopes that the occult will bring the professor and his daughter to the park as he predicted. This will be a golden opportunity to follow these people to their den. The team knows the occult has an apparatus that interferes with the drone's signals; thus the only way is to follow them by foot first and then with agents with alternating cars. A helicopter is on standby to help them from very high up so as not to be seen by the enemy. Everyone is well prepared and ready. Nico suspects that the team leader, Morrison, ordered Francois to watch him ensuring his orders are carried out meticulously.
The radio crackles and Nico hears Heinrich's strong German accent from the flat. "A black BMW has just parked down under at the entrance of Brickmakers Kloof on the grass. I'm now zooming in and will take the registration number for later. The windows are tinted, so I can't see how many occupants there are. Over."
Nico answers: "We copy and are ready. Over."
Alex speaks with his strong British accent from his car in Target Kloof. "Here also a black BMW stopped in the Target Kloof parking area with tinted windows. Over."
"Okay, we are ready. Over."
Morrison speaks quickly in his strong American accent from their control centre: "They are probably monitoring the radio frequencies, so, silence until someone emerges from the cars."
Nico and Francois are silently lying and waiting. Is it a coincidence that two identical BMWs arrived or is one carrying the professor and the other one his daughter? They will find out soon.
Eventually Heinrich's voice: "Action! Target 2 is being accompanied by two men and on their way from Brickmakers Kloof! Over."
Then also Alex's voice: "Target 1 is also on his way from Target Kloof with two men! Over."
Target 2 is Martie and 1 the professor. Martie and the men are parked nearer and should reach the picnic spot first. Francois searches through his binoculars and finds Martie and two sturdy men on either side of her while they are walking down to the place where Nico and Johan met the first time. He enlightens them in his heavy French accent: "Target 2 is in sight."
Nico focuses his sniper scope on the cove and the picnic table and waits. Francois puts his binoculars down and assembles his long-distance listening device. He puts on his earphones and focuses just like Nico on the picnic table. The apparatus looks just like a sniper rifle with a thin pipe that resembles a very long barrel of a rifle. Upon reaching the table one of the men sits down with Martie while the other one scrutinizes their surroundings. Nico lifts his head and again ensures that all glass is covered to make sure that the sun's reflection would not give them away and wreck everything and he sees Francois is also doing the same.
Morrison asks: "Spider Web 2, do you have eye contact and sound?"
Nico answers: "Eye contact on target 2. We are waiting for target 1."
Francois focuses on the man who is waiting with Martie. He turns up the volume on the enhancer of his listening device. He smiles when he achieves success and pushes a button and the voice of the man suddenly sounds loud and clear so that all of them can hear him over the radio.
"Your grandpa is on his way, Martie. He quickly took a break from his busy schedule in our underground laboratory to see you briefly before you move to your next home. I hope you have enjoyed your holiday very much."
Martie is excited: "Yes, it was super, uncle, but I can't wait to see my granddad again. Why can't he move in with me and go to work every day like with his old job? And why are we guarded so carefully?"
"Martie, dangerous terrorists want to prevent him from helping us to save the world from extinction. And you are his granddaughter! Thus; we must protect you both all the time. He will shortly explain everything to you. He will be here soon."
Nico speaks: "Target 1 is here! He is accompanied by only one man. I think one stayed behind as sentry watching out for traffic from that side of the park. One man sits at the table and two watchmen are scrutinizing the rest of the park."
Martie's voice sounds excitingly over Francois' device as she jumps up, rushes to Johan and hugs him tightly.
"Grandpa, I missed you terribly!" Nico feels sorry for the poor man.
He hears Johan's voice: "Martie, my darling, let's sit down at the table. Then you tell me everything about your holiday."
"Granddad, they tell me you are the most important man on earth and that is why I am protected. They say some terrorists want to prevent you from saving the world from extinction. They explained to me that the world will lose oxygen and water from next year on and very soon the earth will be dry and barren like Mars without life! Is this true, Grandpa?"
"That's correct, my dear, but first tell me where you were and what did you do on holiday."
"I went on holiday with the children of the people that work with you. We are going to live with them in one town that is barricaded against the terrorists who want to destroy the earth. We flew in a private jet from one merry-go-round to the other and we rode the biggest roller coasters together. I'm mad about my new friends. They came from all over the world and are brilliantly clever. They all attend a special school where they are specially educated and become clever enough to one day explore the universe. They say we are going to one day colonize the Milky Way when the new world starts. We are going to live in a round, superficial earth in space. The earth will supply us with organic material with which we are going to travel through the Milky Way and start new life on the nearest planets in our superficial earth. They told me many things and I learned a lot. I am so excited, Grandpa! You must finish your work in the laboratory quickly so that we can start our new life with our new family! I can't wait!"
"I promise I will do it as quickly as possible, my love. You are everything in my life."
Nico suddenly sees a boy in his telescope passing while the bodyguards watch him carefully.
Johan rises. "Sorry, my dear, just wait here. I have to relieve myself and is going to do it in the bushes next to the cliff."
Nico speaks excitedly: "Target 1 is probably going to plant the egg." ‘Egg' is the code that will tell them where the professor is detained.
Morrison sounds excited: "Let's hope so. That will be a breakthrough."
One of the bodyguards looks back when Johan rises and watches him carefully when he walks in amongst the bushes. He looks suspicious and approaches Johan who seems to be ignorant of the bodyguard.
Nico shares his fear with the others. "Damn! That man looks suspicious. I don't hope he catches him out."
Morrison sounds anxious. "What is going on?"
The man's Indian accent suddenly sounds loudly over the listening device.
"What are you doing? What's that in your hand? Hand it over, immediately!"
"Leave me alone!"
The other bodyguard walks closer to see what is going on while Johan struggles to get away from the first one.
"Leave my arm! It is only Sanskrit that I always scribble! Are you mad?"
"What wrong, Grandpa?"
"Give it to me! Why do you hide it from me? What do you want to hide from us? This man is planning something!"
Nico sees the boy returns and looks at the men to see what is going on. Johan desperately tosses the booklet away from him and it falls right in front of the boy. He picks it up and watches alarmed when the men assault Johan and Martie distressed begins to shout. The man with Martie jumps up and holds her tightly. Nico sees how one of the men draws a knife and he spans his sniper rifle. The plan was not to shoot someone but he is not going to sit by and watch his friend being killed with a knife.
Morrison yells over the radio: "What the hell is going on! Speak up!"
Nico feels the cold steel of a pistol against his neck and he looks in Francois' eyes as the Frenchman warns him urgently: "Pull that trigger and I'll kill you like a dog, okay?"
They now hear the unfamiliar, urgent voice: "No, don't stab him, please!"
Nico ignores Francois and looks in his telescope.
The men look at the boy who stands with the booklet in his hand and then the boy turns around and runs while the men shout at him to let the booklet fall.
Nico swears and enlightens the others.
"A boy who passed the group has just run away with our egg. He is running along the footpath to the uppermost part of the park. Hell, he is fleeing fast."
He sees the two bodyguards are running after the boy.
"The boy is running to the How entrance. Marco, follow him or stop him and take the damn booklet from him."
Morrison now gives instructions: "Marco, race immediately to the How entrance and blocks it with your car before the boy arrives. He must go through a narrow car gate. There are fences on that side."
Nico warns: "Be quick! He is running like hell!"
Nico looks back at the professor and his daughter and he sees the other bodyguard has joined them from Target Kloof and the two men now help Johan to sit down at the table.
Martie's crying voice comes distinctly over the device. "Why have they attacked my grandpa. Are you okay, Grandpa?"
"Yes, I'm okay, Martie. Sorry, my dear, it was only a misunderstanding. The security men are very strict and they thought I have broken a security rule. That's all!"
The man who brought Martie now apologizes: "Sorry, Professor, I don't know what came over them. They have much to explain. It was quite unnecessary to manhandle you in such a way. Sorry, Martie, I will make sure that those two are punished for their irresponsible behaviour. It will never happen again, I promise you."
Nico watches as the man now talks over his hands-free system probably to the men who chase after the boy.
"Where are you now? No, leave him alone, you'll never catch him. Come back immediately and join us at the cars. We are leaving here right now."
He speaks kindly to Johan and Martie. "I'm sorry, but you will have to part for now. I'm so sorry that your little visit was spoilt by my men."
Johan and Martie hug each other. "I will do my best to see you as soon as possible, my dear. Enjoy your new friends. I will see you soon, I promise."
Francois switches his device off, dismantles it and begins to pack it away while Nico informs the others.
"They are on their way back. It is time for Spider Web. Be ready!"
Marco's voice: "The boy hasn't appeared at the entrance. I wonder if he is hiding somewhere in the park."
Nico shakes his head despondently. "No, he ran too fast. I think you were too late, old man. He was probably out before you arrived. Dammit! I don't think he'll take the risk to hide in the park. Rather drive out and look for him around St. Georges!"
Nico and Francois hurriedly get their things together and run to their car parked in Valley Road while they hold their hands-free devices to their ears. In the car, they sit and listen in which direction the two BMWs move as the one agent after the other follow them and relieve one another to trail them imperceptibly. They are ready to help whenever it becomes necessary. Eventually frowning, Nico and Francois look at each other as the BMWs move closer to the same area as if they plan to meet each other.
Suddenly there is total confusion amongst the agents and Morrison asks for explanations: "What the hell is going on?"
Marco explains: "Haasbroek and I are both at Kentucky Fried Chicken in Newton Park. We followed the cars and they are now standing next to each other in the parking lot."
Morrison is furious. "That doesn't make sense. What is going on?"
"We are baffled. One black man got out of each vehicle and these two guys are sitting and eating something in Kentucky. Haasbroek parked next to one of them and he is waiting there. He will be trying to see who is inside. Maybe it was only the chauffeurs that left the cars."
Morrison sounds worried. "It sounds suspicious. Something is wrong. Are you sure it is the same vehicles?"
"Yes, according to the registration numbers."
Morrison gives orders. "Marco, go inside and get something and look out for the two guys and try to listen to their conversation."
Marco replies immediately: "No, wait. They are coming out. They are on their way to the cars. Give Haasbroek a chance to peep in."
Anxiously all of them wait for news from Haasbroek and then they hear the bad news in his heavy Dutch accent: "I have very bad news, guys. The two men got in their cars, lowered the windows and are chatting with each other. The cars are empty. They are the only passengers."
Morrison yells infuriated: "What the fuck! How the hell?"
An uncomfortable silence follows and then Haasbroek speaks again: "Dammit! I thought something was amiss when both cars moved through underground parking lots. One at Green Acres and the other at Moffet on Main. And I was correct. The bastards switched cars quickly exactly at the moment they were out of sight and the tinted windows made fools of us. Shit!"
Again silence follows while they all contemplate the new situation and then Morrison speaks: "Nico, get your ass immediately to the nearest police station and make sure that the inspectors will inform us immediately about any incidence that has to do with the boy who ran away. We just have to locate that kid! The chances are great that the occult will now move their den and your code is null and void but you never know. In any case, that is all we have now. Darn!"
