GO TY By Mike Austin
nasstop@yahoo.com
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IV.
Mac was on the secure company cell barking out directives to Kirk and Pete as they entered the base gate. All security measures were in place and all entrants were double checked before being allowed entry. Kirk took a special interest in two marines in full gear and briefly imagined them showering after their duty period. Mac was insistent that the operation had been compromised and to abort and not risk any further lives, but Kirk and Pete were both committed to this now and barring death, they wanted these bastards brought down and brought down hard. Kirk noted to Pete as they sped to the opposite end of the base to the secure room complex, "we're in this together bud to the end if need be, but we have to commit and I need to know you are there and have my `6'." "Roger that" came Pete's reply. The secure room was open wide and staffers either sat focused on their displays, keyboarding as fast as possible, or scrambling with info and materials throughout the area. There was no time to grieve the loss of their boss Lipman. Kirk assumed the lead role and began directing teams to coalesce and maximize info and resources. Pete was assigned military ops and called into logistics detailing. The liaison officer Greg Macguire became Kirk's aide and the pair would be inseparable over the next days. Mac flooded the team with fresh Interpol data, showing a major effort was about to play out by the conglomerate and would involve hundreds of trafficked people flooding New Orleans and overwhelming police resources as a diversion to slip contraband upriver, unnoticed. The Governor alerted the State National Guard, but gave no details other than to deploy to various locations along the river. Some of these deployments were decoys, while others were expected live fire points. "The next 72 hours will be all hands on deck" Kirk announced to his team, as other security and military teams formed under the direction and guidance of Kirk, Pete and Greg and with Mac at The Hub.
Kirk's personal cell squawked as he sat reading new intel data and at first he ignored the call. The cell stopped then resumed showing the same unknown number and this time, Kirk answered abruptly. It was Terrazon and his normal suave sultry Latin expression was gone and relayed "you have them scrambling with action and don't know the links from your operation to this group, but someone has leaked your plan, be careful" Terrazon hung up. Kirk gripped the phone with fury and summoned Greg and Pete. "Gents, our ops may be blown I've just learned and I want you two to know if you are the mole, tell me now or when I find out and I will, I'll make your death more painful and lasting than your wildest fucking dreams can imagine." The pair of military-trained studs went blank and pale then agreed that they were not compromised and not the mole. Kirk stared into each pair of eyes and got a sense of honesty from them and began to alter his plan. Each of their sub groups would be told only so much intel about a change of strategy. This would be Kirk's method of isolating the mole and leak, as some of the intel was bogus and others had veracity; but not any sub group would get enough intel to draw a link about Kirk's new strategy. A portion of that same approach was relayed to the Governor, again without any hint of the new strategy planned by Kirk and his direct reports to stifle any operation leak downstream. Kirk also kept info shared with Mac to a minimum, and as such to the peer-federal operations teams as there may be a mole at The Hub; and that may have been the mole that relayed Ty's findings and got him killed and Kirk wasn't risking that end of the operation being the leak source either. He, Pete and Greg were pretty much at the helm and weren't tipping their hand to anyone. For the next 24 hours the leak-testing effort went in full force. Kirk saw no evidence of change or leaks so he elevated the change factor to roll out just a bit more sensitive data as a snare to catch the mole. This time blips on the testing appeared; one set of feedback from one of the Governor's operation leads and another from an on-base source that monitored the river radar operations for the port. Kirk had his leaks, at least locally; but he needed to be sure and test further so he amped up the info release for another 12 hours and this time, a leak appeared to originate from the intel provided at The Hub. Three sets of compromised individuals was clear evidence to Kirk that he could now finalize and implement his plan and would do so while releasing one set of action plans for "general consumption" while maintaining his real plan of action in reserve and in stealth mode.
Within two hours of Kirk releasing his "general plan" his cell lit up and it was Terrazon again, indicating they knew his plan and were adapting to it. The trap was sprung and when asked, Terrazon admitted to not knowing details of any change the conglomerate was planning but that one would be rapid, of that he was sure. Kirk held off his real plan and began to execute the bogus general plan, but slowly, biding his time and hoping for Terrazon's call again to announce a new strategic move by the conglomerate. Before either man or team could act, there was an explosion at the upriver Atchafalaya Spillway that controls the downriver flooding and swamp overflow. Emergency teams form the State and Federal Corps of Engineers, scrambled their recovery teams to the Spillway site to begin mitigating the potential massive flooding. Kirk made sure to withhold any river radar related directives that might tip off the conglomerate of radar scanning operations change or intervention. Pete and Greg had been directed to secure a satellite review of vessels entering the Port over the last 72 hours to ensure they were inspected and cleared and were then scanned for any contraband and manifests closely verified. All but one vessel had made it through the security and inspection gauntlet and was now entering the upriver passage in the river. Greg and Pete presented their findings to Kirk who smiled, stared at the satellite image and tapped his finger on the display, "that's our bogey guys" he whispered softly but firmly and continued "let them ease upriver a bit more and alert me to any offloading or change in course and get me the vessel owner and operator, country of registry, current ship's captain and who is serving as pilot for this upriver sailing." Kirk's directs attacked their laptops for the requested info. Kirk's cell rang, Terrazon began to speak then hung up. Kirk worried that his own informant had been found out. He had bigger fish to fry as Pete and Greg began flooding Kirk with his requested details about the ship. The details included, vessel owner "Donaman International", operator "Donaman Enterprises", country of registry "Panama", current captain "Caesar Terrazon" Kirk's light went on, current pilot Replacement- George Minot and Pete had provided additional background on Minot, a former Army Corps of Engineers retiree who was a station chief at the Atchafalaya Spillway for 5 years before retirement. Kirk read the details, turned to stare at the action plan wall and felt tears well up in his eyes as he realized that Carl Donaman, Beth's husband and Ty's brother-in-law was involved in Ty's murder or at least was complicit. Kirk wondered if Beth was also involved; wondered too if she knew of Carl's role in the operation and/or in Ty's murder? He blinked away the tears as his cell began squawking again. Terrazon was brief, "I am headed to Baton Rouge on the Airline Highway and am not being followed. I will meet you upriver" and hung up. The noose was tightening, as Kirk watched the slow progress of "The Delta Moon" vessel inch up the river on the satellite image. "What are you waiting for Kirk" came Pete's request?
Unknown to either of his direct reports, Kirk had arranged for the Coast Guard Chief of Staff to fly down to Baton Rouge and bring the Group Commander that oversees the ports of Baton Rouge and New Orleans and be prepared to prevent an action against the nation to which they are sworn to protect and defend. GC Garret was only brought onboard to the operation while in flight to Baton Rouge. Chief of Staff Melancon was a college roommate of Kirk's and a lifelong personal friend and as eager to bust this ring as was Kirk. One of the breakout points was Baton Rouge and it was to this group that CoS Melancon took personal command and assigned GC Garret to river command under him. Garret's river force included two Sentinel-class and one Reliance-class Coast Guard cutters and four Patrol Boats. Melancon's forces included twelve NAVY Seals, a squad of Ranger assault helos and 35 Marines. None of the Governor's National Guard force was deployed to Baton Rouge as a last minute change. Kirk could now be assured of the reliability of his support. Kirk had instructed Mac to send 8 agents to the Donaman home, retrieve and remove Beth to a secure location and if Carl was home to detain and remove him to a separate site. Simultaneously, agents were dispatched to all local airfields alert to any effort by Carl Donaman, to flee. Mac had also directed FBI teams to the Base and to the Governor's staffer having operational control of the compromised data. The trap was set and as Kirk refocused the image of the "Delta Moon" on the display, he picked up his cell, dialed the preset call group and gave the homage to his lover command, "GO TY". Agents were at the Donaman home and entered to secure Beth. Carl was not home. Barret gave the green light for his assembled force of cutters and patrol boats to encircle the "Delta Moon:" and instructed them to prepare to be boarded as Melancon's helos circled the ship and teams repelled onto the deck below. Kirk, Greg and Pete watched the close-up satellite imagery as the boarding and take over ensued.