with the BOLO, but we need to limit it. Nothing over the radio. I don’t want somebody on a news desk with a scanner picking any of this up.”
“We can send it via the mobile data terminals in the patrol cars.”
“Go ahead and do it, then,” said Harvath.
If Bao Deng’s only reason for coming to the United States was to kill Wazir Ibrahim, he would already be on his way out of the state, and possibly even out of the country by now.
But something told Harvath that there was more to it. Much more.
CHAPTER 39
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The self-storage lot had been chosen well. It was a mom-and-pop operation on a quiet road without a lot of traffic. It was the exact type of location Cheng would have chosen himself.
Driving the lanes between the rows of outdoor storage units, he studied the numbers. When he found the one he was looking for, he brought his vehicle to a stop parallel to the door and killed the engine.
He had already done one slow loop around. No one was there. He was completely alone. Stepping out of the Navigator, he walked around behind it and over to the storage locker door. He double-checked the number against the slip of paper in his hand—26. He was at the right spot.
With a small flashlight, he searched the frame of the metal roll-up door until he found it. It was a clear, tamperproof decal no one would have noticed had they not been looking for it. It was still intact, telling Cheng that no one had entered the storage unit since the items had been placed inside. Turning his attention to the heavy, high security combination lock, he rotated the five wheels on the bottom into place and the lock released.
Removing it from the hasp, he bent over and pulled the door open high enough to slip underneath. At the back of the unit were several boxes, two of them about a foot wide and almost five feet tall, all stacked upon a faded wooden pallet. He approached the boxes cautiously. Using his car key, he sliced the tape and opened each box to verify the contents and make sure everything was there.
He began with the tallest box and worked his way through the pile. Except for the heavy metal cylinders, everything was contained in its own hard-sided storage case. There was one case in particular that Cheng did not want to open. He took little comfort in the assurances Colonel Shi had given him that it was perfectly safe. After removing its locks, he lifted the lid and looked inside. He had been shown a picture of it before leaving China, but somehow he had thought it would look different. Instead, it just sat there looking rather benign. It was amazing to think that something of that size had the potential to end so many lives.
Closing all of the lids, he relocked the cases, and placed them back into their cardboard boxes.
He had a roll of packing tape in the SUV and he returned to get it. Opening the Navigator’s rear door, he reached across the seat for the plastic bag containing his supplies. As he did, he heard a car nearing. Unless it was someone retrieving a boat to go fishing in the morning, it wasn’t a good sign.
In an instant, Cheng made his decision. Leaving the bag, he stepped onto the backseat and then grabbed the roof rack to pull himself up. After quietly closing the Navigator’s door from above, it was a simple step onto the metal roof of the storage unit.
He lay down on his stomach, slid back several feet from the edge, and waited.
When the car came down his lane, the first thing he noticed was that it didn’t have its lights on. Another bad sign. He removed the suppressor and threaded it onto the barrel of his Smith & Wesson.
No sooner did he have it affixed to the front of the pistol than a bright searchlight began sweeping both sides of the lane below. Was it some sort of private security service, or was it the police? He doubted a private security service would drive around with their headlights off. Their job was to present a visible presence in order to deter crimes. It had to be the police.
The vehicle came to a stop a couple of car lengths behind his SUV. Cheng lay completely still. He thought he discerned the muted squawk of a police radio