Beyond Top Secret: A Zach Taylor Adventure Read online

  When the last of the supplies they ordered had been delivered, it was time to put their plan in motion. Timing was critical, so Zach created a somewhat complicated list that he sent to the team. Team members made last-minute adjustments, checked their gear and fastened night vision goggles to their heads. At precisely zero one hundred hours the team moved as a unit to their target. Ten meters from the clearing the group stopped.

  They watched as Phil climbed a predesignated tree and set up a tree stand. Pressing the butt of the rifle into his shoulder pocket, he looked through a high powered scope and located the front door guards. With a thumbs up, Phil let the team know he was ready. With Phil in position, Zach told the men to head out and signal him when they were in place. Splitting up, the team members crept through the jungle. They struggled to move vegetation impeding their way, without making a noise. Unable to be completely silent, they relied on the sounds of jungle nightlife to mask their progress. With no reaction from the kidnappers, they each settled into place satisfied their stealth abilities seemed adequate.

  Ready signals started coming in while Zach was still pushing forward towards his spot. Hidden in the jungle at the midpoint along the back of the building Zach knew he would reach his position last. By the time he arrived at his location the only ready signal that had not come in was from Justin. That was expected since Justin had to set up the NLG (noise light generator). As long as it worked as advertised, it would be a marvelous device. They tested its functionality at a low power setting in camp, but this would be the real test. The unit had a baffle system that directed all its output to a small forty-degree angle. Anyone outside the immediate proximity would only hear a muted thud, which resembled a falling tree. To the kidnappers, it would sound like a massive explosion with the accompanying light a bomb would emit.

  While Zach waited for Justin’s signal, he watched as the patrol passed his location. Zach started a timer. For the past three days, it took the patrol four minutes to make a clockwise rotation of the circular grounds. At the midpoint on each side of the building, a lookout tower was nestled against the edge of the jungle. Zach signaled Shawn, under the right tower and Barry, under the left tower, he wanted a time check when the patrol passed by their location’s. As he verified the timing, Zach also watched the lookouts to make sure nothing had changed. When the patrol was anywhere along the back half of the circle, the sentinels were faced towards the front. When the patrol reached the front half, the lookouts watched the back half.

  At fifty-nine seconds Shawn signaled Zach that the patrol just crossed the right side midpoint. The lookouts orientation shifted, everything was going as planned. The lookouts had turned and were now watching the back half of the area. Barry should be signaling me in two minutes, Zach thought, as he waited impatiently. Zach soon realized, alone, squatting in silence, in the jungle, in the middle of the night turns two minutes into a very long time. The wait was interrupted when Justin signaled to indicate he was ready with the NLG. That meant they could go on Barry’s signal or was that too quick? Deciding now was the time Zach sent Barry a quick message, “Send to all, mission go on your signal.” In a matter of seconds, they would test their plan, Zach thought, as he tried to dry his sweaty palms.

  Barry’s signal came in. Off like a sprinter out of the blocks, Zach rushed to the building, took a clump of corrosive putty from his pocket and pressed it against the wall. He carefully inserted the activation pellet, mounted the casing and sprinted back to the cover of the jungle. Zach checked his watch, twenty-eight seconds. Right on schedule, the patrol walked into sight. The casing was doing its job, there was no odor or smoke in the air, but inside the covering, a hole formed where the corrosive dissolved a small piece of the wall.

  As soon as the patrol had turned up the right side of the building, Zach rushed the building again. Ripping the casing off the wall, he inserted a pipe through the hole and turned the valve on the attached canister. From the cylinder, a knock out gas filled the interior of the building. The gas would render the occupants unconscious in less than five seconds. Zach moved along the back wall to the right corner.

  An ‘explosion’ reverberated through the clearing precisely two minutes from Barry’s signal. In a flurry of activity, Chris and Ray raced to the left front corner, the patrol turned at the sound and made a dash for the back, both guards by the door sprinted towards the building’s left side, and Barry and Shawn paralyzed the two lookouts with their dart guns.

  Zach clubbed the patrol when he turned the corner, rendering him unconscious. The two guards met the same fate when they came face to face with Ray and Chris. Just like that, it was over. The men began to gather at the front door waiting for Phil to make it down from the tree before they entered the building thankful that Phil or Clay did not need to engage. It would have meant casualties, Zach was pleased with himself and the team. When Phil arrived, they burst through the door with the same thrill children display when escaping from the school building at recess.

  Inside two staff members sat displaying yellow dots, meaning they were incapacitated but not killed. Leaning against a chair was a life-size facsimile of Joe that had no dots. Grabbing Joe, they exited the building and were greeted by five more staffers all wearing yellow dots. Several minutes of handshaking and congratulatory remarks were shared amongst the team and the staff. Triumphantly, they carried the cardboard replica of Joe back to their camp. Throwing together a makeshift stand, cardboard Joe was put on display to showcase their accomplishment. More mental than physical exhaustion took hold and the men all retired to their tents for the night.

  With what was now a routine wake-up alarm the men all patted cardboard Joe as they made their way out of the tents. As a team, they decided it was right to bestow Zach the honor of carrying cardboard Joe into the mess hall. When they arrived, not only was Tom there but Joe had joined him.

  Joe said, “Congratulations men you finally completed your first assignment. Sorry to burst your bubble, but there are a couple of things I want to point out. First, I assigned this mission during your first class, and it took you over a month to complete. Secondly, the staffs timing was scripted to give you windows of opportunity. Still, you deserve kudos for pulling it off without a single casualty. That shows a level of understanding we don’t always see in the beginning. Finally, the easy mission is over, from here on out they will become more complex and difficult. Your skills will be put to the test over the next several months. For now, take the rest of the day off and enjoy yourselves. We’ll have beer available this afternoon if you feel like celebrating.”

  Chapter 12

  Amazon Rain Forest

  Over the next three months, the team faced an array of missions that amazed them as much as challenged them. Early on they learned the clearing where the missions were conducted was extensive and more of a Hollywood sound stage than a jungle clearing. In a matter of days, it could be completely transformed. The team kept a list of the most amazing transformations, a luxurious neighborhood with streets and mansions, a sprawling compound in the desert filled with sand, a high rise office building, and an airport terminal.

  With the increased complexity of the missions, not every attempt was a success. On occasion, Zach’s resolve would be tested. He took on every challenge like it was the real thing and not a training exercise. When a mission failed, that was disappointing, but when there were team losses, that was devastating. But, over time the mission failures and team casualties were becoming rare, and all it took was a successful mission to snap Zach out of his funk.

  During this same time, the team evolved, and a different structure took shape. It was no longer eight men all being a part of every mission. The skills each man brought to the team were crucial in different assignments, Zach now understood that and why such a diverse group was put together. While he made a point of trying to make each team member feel important, there were a few he relied on more than others. If he needed a computer hacked, Chris was a clear choice. Sheer brawn would al
ways point to Clay. When diplomatic finesse was required, Phil was the answer.

  Near the end of the three month period, it had become a certainty at least one of those men would be part of every assignment. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there was Barry, he felt he should be on every mission and got his ego bruised when he wasn’t assigned. Zach had lost count of the number of times he had to massage Barry’s ego and reaffirm his importance on the team.

  With their latest mission completed, Zach headed to Joe’s quarters to learn of the next operation. When Zach entered, Joe said, “Just the man I was looking for. By the way, great job on that last one even if it was a little touch and go. Anyway, getting right to the point, there aren’t any missions planned for the next month. What I do need is for the team to put up another tent. I don’t think she would be comfortable sharing a tent with two men, in the middle of a jungle, that haven’t seen a woman in four months. She is the last member of your team, but has a different purpose than the rest.”

  “Do you think it’s a good idea to have a woman as part of a team like this? If training is any indicator, we aren’t always going to be in the most pleasant environments. I’d also like to point out that I’m not working with a team of eunuchs.”

  “Well first off, it’s your responsibility to keep the non-eunuchs in check. Also, based on her role she may have more comfortable accommodations than the rest of you. Oh yes, I forgot to mention, I believe you know her. Linda Carter.”

  “Linda, of course, I know her, but you already knew that. What the hell is she going to do as part of this team?”

  “Same thing she’s known for doing, producing and narrating your hair-brained adventures. Zach, listen, this gives us the perfect cover for most missions. Rather than a lot of cloak and dagger crap, you fly into an area to document your latest adventure. That means you need Linda and her camera and sound crew to accompany you. Once on location, your team does their thing at times, and also acts like your filming an adventure at other times. For the next month, your team will become immersed in camera and sound operations. They will need to learn all the jargon, different types of equipment out there and what to use when. By the time the month is up, I expect your team to be able to interact with other camera crews and be believable. Any questions?”

  “Just one, when will she be here?”

  “Fifteen hundred hours.”

  Zach left and headed back to the tent area. When he explained what the plan was, he doubted if they heard a single word after the new person was referred to as being a woman. The men stood around looked at each other and shared cartoonish, whimsical, and downright vulgar expressions. “Men, I expect you all to act like civilized human beings. Now get started on the tent. I am more than confident you will make it as comfy as possible in this environment,” Zach said, with an intended sternness. Zach wanted to get his thoughts together regarding Linda’s arrival and headed for the clearing to walk around and sort things out.

  While he knew that at one time, Linda was as attracted to him as he was to her, nothing ever became of it. The actual adventures were his paramount concern when she was around and the reason nothing ever developed. All he would do now was monitor the progress the team made with her as their instructor. There would be no adventure to focus on and keep his mind off her.

  Jake was behind this that he was sure of, and what was his real motive, none of the other RRT’s required an elaborate cover. All interesting observations, but what Zach needed to do was determine the best way to deal with Linda’s presence. The possibility of causing problems between the team and himself, if he didn’t handle this correctly, was what had to be avoided. For Zach, the only option was to be polite but otherwise distance himself from her, at least that’s what made sense at the time. With that gloomy thought, he walked back to the tents.

  The men had finished erecting her tent and asked Zach if he wanted to see their handy-work. Almost giddy the men escorted Zach to their creation and flung back the flap. Zach burst out laughing at the interior of the tent. They had been here four months, and no one had thought to add any of these features to their tents. There was a giant canvas fan attached near the top of the structure moving back and forth without any visible form of assistance. A serving tray from the mess hall had been polished and lashed between two poles for a mirror. There was a basin sitting inside a steel drum. The drum had a hole with a pipe running outside near the bottom. A ten-gallon water jug was somehow mounted above the basin with a valve to let the water run into the bowl. They had even thrown together a small table and chair.

  “Not exactly sure where you got half this stuff and not sure I want to know. Overall you deserve a big kudos, extremely ingenious, men, but keep in mind the water bottle does not come out of our hundred gallon supply. So, who’s the lucky one that gets to be Ms. Carter’s tour guide?” Zach intentionally used her last name to create a sense of formality, or so he hoped.

  Justin raised his hand beaming, and said, “That would be me, and we all agreed an extra eighty pounds of water a day was no big deal.”

  With fifteen hundred hours quickly approaching the men fussed and primped in preparation for her arrival. Zach watched and thought he was looking at a bunch of teenage boys getting ready for their first date. The men gathered in front of the mess hall anxious for the jeep to arrive. With the rumble of the engine, excitement levels swelled inside the men.

  There it was, the carriage with its precious cargo pulled into the camp. Upon seeing Zach standing among the men, Linda leaped from the jeep before it had even stopped, ran over, jumped into his arms, and planted a kiss squarely on his lips. Hoots and hollers took hold of the men, only to quiet down when Zach gently pushed Linda back a step.

  “Ms. Carter welcome to Zebra Two. We look forward to your training.” The ‘Two’ reminded Zach he still needed to have a conversation with Joe.

  “Zach what’s wrong with you, when did you become so stuffy? You always used to call me Linda.”

  “Just trying to establish a protocol, Mr. Valdez will be showing you to your tent.”

  “Protocol schmotocol,” then turning to address the team, she said, “If you don’t use first names, I will ignore you. Understood?

  A choir replied, “Yes Linda.”

  “Now who is Valdez?”

  Justin stepped forward and raised his arm. “You can call me Justin, Linda.”

  “Good, nice to meet you. What do you say you give me the grand tour, and we let the rest of the men tag along? All but Mr. Stuffy Pants, he can follow protocol and carry my bags to Ms. Carter’s tent. Oh one last thing,” turning away from the men, “screw you, Zach.”

  Linda walked over to Justin and reached for his arm. Taking the cue, he bent his arm and Linda settled her hand in the crook. They wandered all over the camp, Justin took his time, and the rest of the men walked ceremoniously behind them. Every detail, whether significant or not received a lengthy description. Justin was relishing Linda’s undivided attention and was in no hurry to get to the tents. With nothing left to show her, he reluctantly headed towards the sleeping quarters. The tents amenities would be Justin’s last big hurrah. He knew his role would revert to just another one of the team after showing Linda her tent. No, Justin thought, he wasn’t going to let that happen, he delighted with having Linda on his arm.

  Kicking himself, Zach knew he screwed that up royally. He needed to pull Linda aside and explain his actions, which in hindsight were stupid. When the men approached, he tried to catch Linda’s eye. She saw Zach’s look, but rather than acknowledge him; she intensified her focus on Justin. “Linda, can I speak to you for a minute?” Zach asked.

  “Oh, what happened to Ms. Carter, Mr. Stuffy?”

  “Linda, please, just give me five minutes to explain.”

  “Fine. Thank you for the tour, Justin.” Linda planted a soft peck on his cheek.

  The men watched as Zach and Linda walked away from the tent area, all the while ribbing Justin about the kiss. Once Zach was
sure they were no longer in the men’s line of sight he reached for Linda’s hand. She jerked her hand away. “What the hell.”

  “Sorry, I thought you might like to hold hands.”

  “Geez Zach, you are one confusing man. We did six shows together, and you barely gave me the time of day, despite sometimes excessive flirtation on my part. Then I get here, and you act like you hardly know me. What gives?”

  “Sorry, I thought with all the men here it might be best to keep things strictly professional. Probably not the greatest of plans.”

  “You think?”

  “Linda, since we first met, I’ve had feelings for you and wanted to get to know you better, but when I was getting ready for an adventure that’s all I focused on. Then, as soon as you finished shooting, you were always in a hurry to leave.”

  “So let me get this straight, you like me, but plan on ignoring me in hopes the rest of the men will do the same thing. Did I get that right?”

  “Well, when you say it, it sounds kinda stupid.”

  “Ever hear the saying, no shit Sherlock? For the record your plan isn’t working, none of the men are ignoring me. In fact, the way Justin was looking at me tells me you have some competition, and I happen to think he’s handsome.”

  Zach had no idea what to say, and eventually just said, “Probably should be getting back to camp.”

  Linda shrugged and followed Zach back to the tent area. The men were all waiting for them. It was time to see what the cook had on the menu for tonight. They all sauntered to the mess hall laughing and exchanging quips, all that is except Zach. He trailed behind the rest unsure of his next steps. When they reached the mess hall, Justin rushed in to see what was on the menu tonight. Then hurried over to the table, pulled out a chair and motioned for Linda to take a seat.

  He volunteered to bring her dinner and asked how she liked her steak cooked. Justin cut in front of the line, to no objections, and asked for two medium rare steaks. To avoid long waits, the cook had already prepared all the steaks to a perfect rare. Turning them into medium rare was just a quick sear on each side. Justin sat down next to Linda and handed her a plate; bacon wrapped filet mignon, loaded baked potato; and asparagus topped with a hollandaise sauce.