Act of War - Brad Thor Page 0,114
the rest of his national security team. Harvath and Carlton had decided to remain at the NCTC, so they could continue working until the op launched.
Now, noticing the time, they exited the conference room and walked out onto the Ops Center floor.
CHAPTER 50
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The floor of the Ops Center fell eerily silent and the tension was palpable. The large flat-screens that hung from the second-story catwalks displayed a variety of images. Aerial drone footage showed the storage facilities from above, while the cameras mounted on the team members’ helmets gave on-the-ground POVs. The same secure images being viewed inside the NCTC were also being beamed to the Situation Room at the White House.
The only sounds on the floor came from the overhead speakers and the disembodied voices of Ops Center Command—the NCTC mission commander seated at the largest workstation on the floor—and the strike team leaders in Las Vegas, Dallas, and Des Moines.
“Deadbolt Four, this is Ops Center Command. Do you copy, over?”
“Ops Center Command, this is Deadbolt Four. We copy, over.”
“Roger that, Deadbolt Four. Stand by. Over.”
“Roger that, Ops Center Command. Deadbolt Four is standing by. Over.”
The conversation was repeated two more times as Ops Center Command reached out to the remaining team leaders to make sure they were in place and ready to go.
“Smokestack, this is Ops Center Command. All teams are in place and ready to roll. Over.”
There was a pause and then the voice of General Johnson came through the speakers overhead from the White House Situation Room.
“Ops Center Command, this is Smokestack. You are cleared for launch. Repeat. Ops Center Command is cleared for launch, over.”
“Roger that, Smokestack. Ops Center Command is clear for launch. Over.”
Even though Harvath wasn’t on the ground with the strike teams, he knew what it was like, and he could feel his pulse quickening.
“Cellophane, this is Ops Center Command,” said the voice as he hailed his counterpart at the NSA. “You are clear to commence operations.”
“Roger that, Ops Center Command. Cellophane is clear to commence operation. Stand by.”
Everyone in the room watched the images of the CCTV feeds from the storage facilities. Seconds later, they were replaced with an error message.
“Ops Center Command, this is Cellophane. Grizzly is down. Repeat. Grizzly is down. Stand by.”
“Copy that, Cellophane. Grizzly is down. Ops Center Command standing by.”
Seconds later, the CCTV cameras came back online.
“Ops Center Command, this is Cellophane. Bag tie. Repeat. Bag tie.”
The camera feeds had been commandeered and the looped footage was now successfully playing.
When NCTC personnel had confirmed to the mission commander that the NSA had successfully looped the feeds, he said, “Roger that, Cellophane. Ops Center Command confirms bag tie. Repeat, Ops Center Command can confirm bag tie. Over.”
“Good luck,” replied the voice from the NSA. “Cellophane out.”
It was time to send in the strike teams.
After checking all of the feeds, the voice said, “Deadbolt teams, this is Ops Center Command. Prepare to launch. Over.”
“Deadbolt Four, copy that.”
“Deadbolt Five, copy that.”
“Deadbolt Six, roger that.”
“Deadbolt teams, this is Ops Center Command. On my mark. In three. Two. One. Deadbolt teams, go.”
There was a chorus of “Go! Go! Go!” from the team leaders as they leaped out of their vehicles and poured into the storage facilities.
The strikes played out almost identically across the screens. In Dallas and Des Moines, the units directly behind the storage units in question were tackled. In Las Vegas, because it was a lone row, the unit next to the unit in question was tackled.
First, nuclear, radiological, chemical, and biological levels were taken. When nothing registered, bolt cutters were used to snap off the padlocks. Once the doors were opened and levels were taken again, boxes, furniture, or whatever else was in the way was moved so that operatives could gain access to the common steel wall separating the units.
Standing on a ladder, an operative with a very small drill bored a hole through the partition near the ceiling, and a small “sniffer” was fed through. When no threats were detected, it was pulled out and a tiny fiberoptic camera was fed in.
Harvath, along with everyone else at the NCTC, watched as each of the fiberoptic feeds came up on the monitors. They all showed the same number of boxes, identically stacked.
Roe, who was standing next to Harvath, said, “Bomb parts?”
“Definitely doesn’t look like baseball cards.”
One by one, the team leaders reported in, requesting permission to go to the next phase. As they did, Ops Center Command gave them authorization.
The next phase involved