Half Staff 2018 by John Morse

Author:John Morse
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: political thriller international conspiracy global, domestic terrorism, terrorism attacks, future thriller, terrorism thriller, political extremism, power and ambition fiction, military seal spy espionage black ops adventure thriller, military action adventure suspense
Publisher: John Morse

Chapter 64

West Virginia

January 30, 2018

Alive with activity choreographed over the years into a mindless process involving massive trucks waiting to be loaded with tons of ore-laden earth taken in huge fifty ton mouthfuls by electric rope shovels, the Starwood Mine’s on-site grading and processing cycle ran like a finely tuned machine.

A joint FBI and IRS team arrived at the rendezvous point just two miles from the strip mine at 09:00 a.m. Loaded into two large, black SUVs with tinted windows fitted with bullet-proof glass, the team drove at a steady pace, past countless pick-up trucks that looked like they’d been spared from the junkyard only because they would have required heavy washing first to remove the thick layer of dirt and accumulated grime. Most of the trucks’ windows were left open and exposed to the constant dust storms that the excavation produced.

Reaching their destination, the agents, bulky and slow in their tactical vests, fanned out around the double-wide trailer that served as the operations center. The door to the trailer opened before the lead Agent had a chance to knock and announce himself. He held up an official-looking document at the hard-faced man who looked like he’d come right out of Appalachia. The sight of the Agents and the official license being waved at him seemed to have no effect at all.

The man led them into the trailer and made himself comfortable. “What can I do for you fellas?” he asked, leaning back in his desk chair and showing the well-worn bottom of his work boots to the agents.

The lead agent responded, “I’m Special Agent Sands from the FBI. This is Examiner Stubbs from the IRS. We have a search warrant signed by Judge Wilmot that we are executing today and just wanted to let you know that we expect your full cooperation, Mr.”

“My name’s Curtis, son. Melvin Curtis. We’re not used to having any visitors here at the mine. If I’d known you was coming, I’d have dressed up in my Sunday best. Now, just what kind of cooperation are you asking for?”

“Well, Mr. Curtis, there was a drilling machine manufactured in Switzerland that was sent here that we are trying to track down. We recovered parts of that machine at the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay and believe it may have been used in that tunnel catastrophe last summer. We also understand that a couple of your heavy bulldozers were taken just before Christmas last year.”

“Yep, I couldn’t believe that someone would actually steal those dozers. They took them over the weekend and must have brought their own transports to haul them out of here. Where’d those dozers end up? Will we get them back?” He continued without waiting for a response. “I don’t know about the drilling machine. We don’t keep much paperwork here on the site, but we can certainly show you what we do have if it will help.”

“Thanks. We’d like to look at whatever records you have here and will follow-up if required.”

Curtis addressed a man whose desk was covered in paper.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.