The Krakow Klub (36 page)

“Not yet, but I got the name of the boat. It
will be simple for Maxxine to identify the owner. Right now, I’m
concerned that the next attempt might be by air. I’m going to have
the remote fix me up with a dense cloud cover just in case. I’ve
also set up a system that will prevent anyone from spying on us by
satellite. It’s quite
clever
if I do say so
myself.

“I’ve also launched an additional remote to
monitor five miles out in every direction. Right now, I think that
we’re safe from any intrusion.

“You will be pleased to know that Julia and
Sylvia are just fine. I informed them of the
incident,
and they thanked me very nicely for my
actions.”

John also thanked him profusely, saying,
“Tell the ladies that Jim and I are safe and hard at work. With a
little
luck,
we’ll be coming home
tomorrow.”

“Will do, Boss, Over and out.”

Within a few minutes, Maxxine had a report
for them. “I’ve identified the man in the boat for you, and you’ll
be most interested in what else I found out. This man met with
Number Eleven, a very dangerous member of the Krakow Klub. The two
met at a seedy bar in Key West. I reviewed their conversation and
determined that she was pretending to be a reporter doing a series
of articles on Key West. She pumped him for information until she
found out about the purchase of Scott Key.

“The man is no danger to you. He was just
used to gain information and then promised payment in return for
spying on you. Forget him. He is of no importance whatsoever.

“Number Eleven already knew about Dr.
Slater’s key role in the Situation Room meeting and has been
searching for him ever since. I have to assume that she now also
knows your identity. With that, she was able to track Dr. Slater to
your island. That means you are both in danger, and so are all
those on your island.”

She continued, “Their knowledge is still
probably quite limited. I would guess that she knows that John is
the person in contact with the space ship. Also, by now, they have
probably pressured someone from the White House meeting to talk. If
so, then they know about the interstellar transporter and possibly
about Maxx. I doubt that they know about me as yet.”

John thought for a minute, “This doesn’t look
good. What else have you learned about the Krakow Klub?”

Maxxine filled the screen with a giant image
of Erik Stoellar. “This is Erik Stoellar, also known as, Number
One. He is a billionaire many times over and a political zealot of
the first magnitude. He is ruthless in business and will likely be
even more so in politics. He was the primary founder of the Krakow
Klub and has been the de facto leader since its inception.

“The financial resources of the Krakow Klub
are enormous. All twelve members are extremely rich. Their current
annual budget is more than two billion
dollars,
and they already control several small
countries. Their power base can be summed up as money, politics,
blackmail, and extortion. They are quite formidable opponents.

“The military might of the United States,
compared to any other single nation, is, at this time, the
overwhelmingly superior force. If the organization gains complete
control over the military, they could easily defeat any earthly
opponent
and,
therefore, be well on their way
to world domination.

“Our best strategy would be to foil
the
plot to take over and use the military.
That is the most important step in their strategy. If you can
prevent that from happening, then you can succeed. If not, I’ll
sell you some cheap tickets to Mylea.”

John answered, “On that bright note, let’s
call it a day. I’m exhausted. Tomorrow will be a long day for us.
Jim and I need to relax and recharge our batteries for the task
ahead. We’ll resume our conference tomorrow at 8:00 AM sharp.

“
And last, but not least,” John
concluded, “Maxxine, handle any little things as you see fit during
the night, but if something really big happens, you are to wake
me.”

“
Yes,
sir. Have a good
night’s rest.”

****

The first military attack on Scott Key was
ordered. The attack was to begin early Wednesday morning.

The squad of Special Forces, the transport
helicopter crew, and the two F-16 fighter pilots assigned to the
operation all met in the briefing room at Key West Naval Air
Station. The meeting started promptly at 0700 hours.

General McGowan, via CCTV,
briefed the group.
“Good morning, gentlemen. For those of
you who don’t know me, I am General Lew McGowan of ARRCOM. The
mission you are about to embark upon is top secret and vital to our
national security. As you all know by now, our country has been
under attack by
terrorist
groups, who are as
yet unidentified. They have been able to assassinate the president
and have staged numerous other attacks on our government.

“Today, you are to
perform a
recon
mission on a small island fifty miles or so from Key
West. This island is named Scott
Key,
and you
have been given the precise coordinates. It has
been
reliably reported
that this island may be the headquarters
of
the group responsible for the terrorist
strikes. Therefore, it is vital that we secure it at once and
arrest all personnel there. All persons on the island will be flown
to the Key West NAS immediately for interrogation.

“A portion of the landing party will be
assigned to guard the island pending further orders.

“Two F-16s will be overhead during the entire
operation and will be available for air support if needed. They
are there to protect you and are armed
with
air-to-surface missiles. However, the missiles are only to be used
in the event that you
are attacked
.

“In this mission, surprise is essential. You
are to proceed on the assumption that anyone on the island will be
armed and dangerous. However, capturing alive as many of them as
possible should be your priority.

“Once you have secured the island and have
the personnel in custody, you are to contact me immediately for any
additional orders.

“I am confident that you will perform
your
duties with skill and to the best of your
abilities. You have all
received special
training
for just such a situation.

“Thank you, and Godspeed.”

Within a few
minutes,
the roar of jet engines could be
heard,
and
the large transport helicopter lifted off, followed in short order
by the two F-16s.

The helicopter would be in the area of Scott
Key in little more than twenty minutes. The F-16s would already be
there, high overhead.

****

The weather
throughout
southern Florida and the
Keys
was
forecast to be mostly clear with scattered clouds and
a light wind from the west. There should be no problems with
visibility,
but that was of no importance as
the invading forces were well equipped to handle any adverse
weather conditions that they might encounter.

The first hint of trouble
came
from
the pilot of the lead F-16. He noted a dense cloud
cover
surrounding
the island that descended
all the way down to water level.

The troop helicopter was advised of the
situation as it approached from the direction of Key West. Soon, it
began to encounter heavy turbulence and to lose power in one of its
jet engines. He made every effort to continue but was forced to
turn back. Almost immediately after making the turn away from the
island, the turbulence
abated,
and the second
engine returned to full power.

The helicopter made two additional attempts
to approach the island, each one with the same results.

Finally, the helicopter pilot hovered at
about five miles out and radioed for orders. He was told to stand
by until the F-16s could reconnoiter the area. The lead F-16
immediately went into an attack dive and roared, jets screaming,
into the cloud bank. His wing mounted cameras,
infra
red equipped, would record everything on the
ground.

He should have reappeared in a few seconds.
He didn’t.

The second pilot and the NAS made repeated
attempts at contact but received no response.

The second F-16 was now ordered to fly into
the cloud bank. The troops on board the transport helicopter
watched in shock as the same thing happened to the second
jet
. He disappeared into the cloud and did not
reappear. There was no further communication from either jet. It
was as if they had vanished from Earth.

The helicopter pilot was ordered to return to
base immediately for debriefing. Needless to say, he was more than
grateful that he hadn’t been ordered to fly
into that
mysterious cloud
himself.

After a quick debriefing of the pilot and his
men, the
report
was relayed to McGowan by the
acting base commander. Two planes had
disappeared,
and the mission had
been
aborted
.

General McGowan immediately contacted
Stoellar,
and it wasn’t a pleasant call to
make. Stoellar was beyond furious. He berated the commander, the
Navy, the Special Forces unit, the helicopter
pilot,
and everyone else that he could think of at the
time.

Truth, be known, Erik Stoellar was
frightened. He had not been frightened in a very long time. And he
did not like the feeling. He
was genuinely
terrified
that his carefully laid plans might be unraveling
before his eyes.

****

Back on Scott Key, Mister T was also not
happy. He had orders from John that no one was allowed on the
island. But he also had standing orders not to take a single life
of a military person unless it was necessary.

Mister T faced a major dilemma. An F-16
fighter was diving directly into the protective cloud bank. The
second would surely follow. What could he do to prevent the jets
from flying over the island without destroying the planes and
killing the pilots? He had no time to evaluate his options and no
time to contact Maxxine or John.

He acted immediately and ordered a remote
monitoring the island to bring the jet to a complete halt as soon
as it entered the cloud bank. A sudden stop at such a speed would
have normally killed the
pilot,
but Mister T
deftly controlled the situation with a gravity field. Then, he shut
off the engine and used the gravity field to place the plane on the
island. The plane
was gently deposited
on a
fairway of John’s new golf course.

As a final thought, he placed another gravity
shield on the plane’s canopy to prevent the pilot from exiting the
fighter jet.

The second jet had then
approached
the island, and Mister T followed the same
procedure. He sighed with relief. He had succeeded in neutralizing
the threat without harming the planes or the pilots. As a last
thought, not wanting to terrify the pilots, he beamed in hypnotic
signals through their headsets making them drift off into a relaxed
sleep.

Now, he had to figure out what to do with his
captured men and planes. He had to talk to the boss. But first, he
would check on Julia and Sylvia and inform them of the events that
had unfolded.

The ladies were having breakfast and talking
quietly out on the veranda. They waved at Mister
T,
who gave a robotic sigh of relief. They suspected
nothing.

He calculated that John would want them
informed
of the morning’s events and gave them
an abbreviated report of the attempts at reconnaissance. Both were
angry and expressed their frustration at not being involved in the
protection of the island. Right then and there, he decided to give
them the job of watching the monitors in John’s office for any
further intrusions.

He would also teach them how to use the
communication system that connected John with Mister T and Maxxine.
The two were most enthusiastic about having an important role to
play. He was impressed by their fearlessness and courage and
decided that human females must be a very strong force indeed.

Mister T contacted John immediately and
outlined the startling events. He described how he had secured the
two fighters and their pilots and then noted that the large
helicopter was probably transporting troops with the intention of
occupying the island.

John interrupted, “What do you mean by
‘secured’ the planes and their pilots?”
John's
voice had a definite edge to it.

“It was quite simple. I just had the remote
shut off the engines. Then I landed them on the golf course. The
pilots are sleeping peacefully inside their canopies. The
helicopter has returned to Key West. By the way, don’t worry about
the golf green. Not a single blade of that new grass was
injured.”

Both men were shocked at the size and scope
of the military action at Scott Key. John thought for several
minutes before conferring with Maxxine.
Maxxine
suggested that Mister T allow the pilots to remain asleep while he
reversed the process that he had used to land the
planes.

John told Mister T, “Take the
jets up to high altitude and place the planes to a location twenty
miles from Scott Key. Then use their radios to broadcast the signal
for them to awaken and take control of their planes.
While
you’re at it, include a subliminal message that the island is
off-limits to the
military,
and any further
attempts to take over Scott Key may result in our use of lethal
force. They will remember the message at debriefing but will not
know who sent it.”