Throughout the morning and into the afternoon Jim’s team determined that the compound closely resembled a prison camp, despite the fact that no prisoners were observed in the fenced yard. In fact, they had seen no one at all except the two-man patrol teams until two military-green trucks arrived. The trucks stopped outside the main gate for a minute, probably for verbal clearance, and then the gate opened by a remotely controlled electric motor.
The trucks entered the fenced compound and stopped outside one of the four main complex buildings. As uniformed guards removed the covers over the beds of the trucks, a dozen men from each truck jumped out and lined up. More uniformed and armed guards appeared from inside the nearest building, suggesting that these men were prisoners, not volunteers. Their clothing suggested they were native tribal men, and none appeared either older than 40 nor younger than about 17 or 18.
The guards marched the men at gunpoint into the building. As the door closed, the two drivers climbed back into the trucks and departed.
“So, that’s what we know,” Jim concluded. He was reviewing the events with his team while also briefing Peter, Todd, Gary, Ethan, and Hamaad. It was late afternoon, and the sun would be setting in an hour or so.
“You said the compound resembles a prison camp. But why aren’t there any prisoners out in the yard? You should have seen some people, even if only for a short time. What is the point of a secured yard if the prisoners are kept locked inside the building?” Todd inquired.
“Perhaps the fence is a second layer of security… you know, in case someone escapes from their cell inside the building?” Bull offered.
“I don’t think so,” Peter added. “In fact, the notion that this is something resembling a maximum security prison makes no sense to me at all. Why here? We’re a long way from anywhere. That compound is designed to be very low key. Whoever built it and runs it doesn’t want the facility to be noticed. There are no marked roads, no signs, nothing.”
Jim nodded agreement.
“And another thing,” Peter continued. “You said there are two large backup diesel generators in addition to the main power generator, right?
“That’s my conclusion since only one generator was running. The other two must be backup,” Jim said.
“Agreed, but why would they require such a high degree of redundancy?”
“Simple. In case the main generator goes down they need power for lights and air conditioning,” Bull answered.
“One backup is good enough for that.”
“Okay. The cells have electric locks and if they lose power they don’t want the prisoners to walk out of their cells,” Bull was not easily giving up the notion that this was a prison.
Peter was shaking his head. “No, that’s not the case at all. A two-dollar lock keeps the cell door closed and secure. Why would anyone use electronic locks on prison cells out in the middle of nowhere… too expensive and, as you pointed out, too unreliable. No, there has to be a better reason for the backup generators. Buying and maintaining that equipment doesn’t come cheap. Those machines are here to make certain they always have electric power—and a lot of it—for some other critical load.”
“If you ask me, they’re running some electrical or electronic equipment—maybe computers or something—that they can’t afford to have go down. Maybe they have a super computer down there; I hear those need a lot of power.” Todd offered.
“Makes a certain amount of sense,” Jim said. “So, the question is: what is the purpose of that complex? I’d bet my paycheck that we smelled burnt flesh this morning as smoke began coming out one of the chimneys. They could have been destroying laboratory animals used in experiments. If this is a bio-lab, then they would want a backup generator to keep sensitive equipment running.”
“Maybe it’s a re-creation of a Nazi concentration camp?” Gary suggested in all seriousness.
Both Jim and Peter turned to look at Gary, a spark of insight flickering in each man’s eyes.
“My God…” Peter’s voice trailed off. He was shocked and horrified by the concept. “Maybe the lab specimens they’re destroying are more than little white rats?”
“There’s only one way to be sure,” Jim replied. “Tonight we’re going to infiltrate that facility, and I will report back to Colonel Pierson what we find.” Jim looked around the men gathered in front of him before continuing. “We’re going in lean—less chance of getting caught. Ghost, you’re in.”
“Yes, sir!”
“And since I don’t have T-Bone and Sulu, that makes you our resident expert on this sort of technology,” Jim said addressing Peter. “I want you along as well.”
“All right”.
“Coyote, Homer—you will be our lookouts from the ridge. I want you in position an hour after sunset.”
“Roger.”
“Everyone grab some chow and rest. It’s going to be another long night,” Jim said as his way of dismissing the troops.
“What about me?” Gary inquired.
Jim turned and stared blankly at Gary.
“You need a computer expert. No offense, but that’s not Peter.”
“None taken,” Peter admitted.
“What makes you think we need a computer expert?”
“You said it yourself. You think there’s critical scientific equipment in that facility—stuff they would use in biological experimentation. Just where do you think all that data is stored? The hand-written laboratory notebook is a thing of the past. If they’re running experiments, they will have terabytes of data stored electronically. It’s going to be password protected and likely even encrypted.”
“And you can help us access it?” Jim probed, not able to hide his skepticism.
“Look, I’ve been a programmer for the last two-plus decades, and my wife and I run a computer security consulting firm. Yes, I can bust through just about any firewall. I can get that data. You need me.”
Jim studied Gary, contemplating what he had said and, more importantly, considering what it might mean to the mission.
After a long pause, Jim sighed. “Okay, you’re in.” Then he mumbled, “I just hope I don’t later regret this decision.”
Jim turned away from Gary. “Bull!”
Bull jumped to his feet and was standing in front of Commander Nicolaou. “Sir.”
Nodding toward Gary, he said, “Make sure his bandage is tight and the stitches haven’t pulled loose. I don’t want him leaving drops of blood for anybody to find, especially within that facility.”
“Yes, sir!”