Rival of Atlantis

XV

AMID ALL THE FIREFIGHTAND the chase, Ron has already dialed a call for help on a sat-phone. His call was connected to their office at San Jose, Costa Rica which handled the tapping of local authorities. Operatives from the Puerza Publica scattered around the mining compound a couple of hours after the firefight.

Later in the dawn, Gillian was surprised to see that the Dirección de Inteligencia y Seguridad or DIS and Organismo de Investigación or OIJ responded to the incident too. They wear bulletproof vest on top the black uniform with letters of their acronyms printed in gold at the back. She just knew that the rescue they have accomplished and m******e that was averted are more than what it seemed. The DIS is more like the FBI counterpart in Costa Rica while the OIJ is another intelligence service outfit under the ministry of justice.

Representatives from the Fuerza Publica, the local police force, DIS and OIJ took turns in interviewing Ron, Gillian, Summer and Ensign Thomas and they all gamely imparted their points of view of the story. Only the DIS agents interviewed Charlie.

Before the sun came up, the investigation was done and cannot be concluded with a single lead. It will be up to the DIS or OIJ later. Gillian heard from the doctor attending the bullet wound on her calf and few abrasions over her body that the DIS intends to tap International Police to identify the dead assailants. He also learned before sunrise that Ron and Charlie skipped the information about the mysterious aircraft in the mines in their testimonies.

Later in the morning, while the authorities are collecting additional evidences and are cleaning the area with the bodies of the dead, a Hughes MD 500 Defender helicopter landed next to the Eurocopter. The men who jumped out from the aircraft are from the US Navy. The US government wanted to do a parallel investigation and has acquired a green light from the right channels of Costa Rican government. All of them were questioned again.

It is about noon when Ron suggested the girls to get some sleep at their temporary room after bidding goodbye to Ensign Thomas when all the US aircraft left the compound. It is already sunset when all local authorities have left the area with nothing to go on but a bunch of spent ammunition capsules and bodies of unidentified men. It is almost at the same time, when about 50 guards that are armed to teeth came in the mining compound. Ron had requested them from the big bosses of the company.

The sun is sinking when Gillian and Summer came to Ron asking if they can be dropped at the nearest SAR office. Ron fast-assembled a convoy made up of the three finest vans in the facility’s fleet of vehicles wherein the lead and tail vehicles will carry ten guards each with the instruction of killing anyone who plans to intercept them. Charlie and Ron personally came to send off the ladies.

"I am really deeply indebted to you two," Ron said as he gave the girls handshakes. "You save me twice on the same day from inevitable death."

"I just thought on how you can repay us," Gillian held on and did not let go of Ron's hand when he is about to.

"We're for profits now?" Summer asked curiously.

"Still no," she looked at Summer then back to Ron, looking at him by the eyes. "The mysterious plane that you intently did not include in your testimonies." She also gave Charlie, who is beside Ron, a look.

"Ahm, yeah, about that. We promised to take you there. But isn't it that you two are in a hurry to leave?"

"I am not talking about seeing it today." She looked at the direction of the mining tunnel.

Ron looked at the same way too. "My people said they can reopen the tunnel in a week. Another couple of weeks for the installing the supports to prevent it from collapsing again. Then another week to control the flood. They believe the assailants placed a bomb and perhaps hit an underground stream by accident."

"A month?" She let go of his hand as they looked at each other again.

"Give or take a week."

"Deal." She said and turned around. A step away from the van and she turned around again. "SAR San Jose office, they know how to reach me."

"Right."

Ron and Charlie gave Summer a handshake too as they bid pleasant goodbyes. She jumped in the vehicle and a facility employee closed the sliding door behind her. They all watched the convoy depart with Ron admiring Gillian's personality while at the same thinking she is too much for him to handle. As he walked towards the main building, her admiration for Gillian quickly diminished.

-ROA-

SPECIAL AGENT DYLAN MIRACLE STAYED up too late in his office at Federal Bureau of Investigation Headquarters at Washington. He is finishing a report that is to be submitted before he goes home and finally stretch his aching knees that are too tired in sitting behind his desk. As a special agent assigned in the International Terrorism Operations Section II under the FBI's Counterterrorism Division, one of his tasks is to keep in touch with International Police. That includes giving or taking information from the international police cooperation world. A lot of times, the job is a gateway to travel the world.

Still young at twenty-nine, he went into service using his degree in paralegal course, hoping that somehow he lands as one of the FBI Police operatives or a member of their SWAT team, but he was given a better position. He leads a skeletal team which is tasked in collection of data through any means necessary that may lead to intelligence about potential terrorist threats against US and her allies.

International Terrorism Operations Section II also known as ITOS II is tasked on monitoring global terrorist actions of non-Al-Qaeda groups including those on the rise. Once intelligence is gathered by his team, one of his tasks is to feed information to the international police cooperation which in turn warns the country at risk. His team in return gets information that may be of value from the International Police network. He can also lead a squad which is often backed by reinforcement from the FBI Police and SWAT.

A young bachelor from the capital of United States of America, Dylan's physical features may be mistaken as a priest's. He gazes through calm blue eyes and his brown hair is cropped in military crew cuts. His face is round and faceless. He stands 6 feet and 4 inches in a frame that weighs 250 pounds of pure muscle made by enduring stays in the gym. Capitol ladies are often attracted to his electrifying personality. But, the real Dylan is gorgeous and dangerous at the same time.

Trained to fire any known weapon on earth, he can also assemble and disassemble any of them. He is a known marksman and often times lead the team on the field instead of staying in a control or command center. But, amid all the talents and potential he has, he is still yet to come across a break from the ITOS II that will define his career as awesome. As of this moment, his job involves taking and giving information with a small number of arrests done here and there against suspected terrorists or accomplices in which most of them got out of jail and roam free around.

A manila envelope was dropped at his desk. Special Agent Amanda Nicholas let it free fall a feet high from the surface of the desk. Dylan gazed up from his typing job from the laptop to the beautiful face that is staring at him from above the monitor.

Agent Nicholas maybe small in height by western standards, but if she lacks in height, her beauty can be considered majestic as a picturesque scenery. She only stands 5 feet and 2 inches and weighs only 120 pounds but the contour curves of her body will make every male's mouth watery. She got a pair of red and pout lips and stares through icy blue eyes under the thin arches of brown eyebrows and citadel of curly lashes. Her hair is wavy and is usually tied on a ponytail. And like Dylan, her appearance can also be deceiving. Being Dylan's partner in monitoring terrorist groups that is on often the rise, she is a marksman too and at the same time has experience in demolition and bomb disarmament jobs from her years serving in the US Army with the rank of Specialist.

"That came through Interpol," she uttered in crisp melodic voice that seems always accompanied by a spell that will send anyone instantly asleep. She waited until Dylan get the contents of the envelope out then he looked at the pages of colored pictures. "Interpol can't ID them. Says we might take a look if we know them."

"Do we?" He asked in a voice that is a mix of gravel and ground glass.

"You and I, no."

"You toss this to one of our IT boys and see if you can ID them."

"I already did that."

"I thought you said we don't know them?" It dawned on him that his partner is too technical when it comes in the use of words. If anyone wants a healthy conversation with Amanda, they have to use the appropriate words. "So who are they?"

"It turns out they are dead people."

Dylan laid the pages on the table. It is in fact photos taken by Costa Rican authorities in the mines. The printed pictures were of the dead assailants. He gestured on them as if saying it is obvious that they are dead.

"That one," Amanda pointed at the topmost page. "Navy Seals Captain. Was sent to Mindanao, Philippines in a mission that does not exist. Turned out missing in action after the squad pulled out. No body and no nothing. Just missing."

"A mission that does not exist, that means it is classified. How do you know that?"

"They just declassified it at least to our level."

"Next one," she picked the report, turned the page and laid it down again. "US Army sergeant, sent to Iraq in 2003. Killed in action by an RPG. The other two guys, both from the US Army and was killed in action in Afghanistan in zero-one."

Dylan looked at Amanda by her eyes. "Partner, we are counterterrorism division and the issue of dead men walking zombie is out of our league."

"They attacked a mining facility in Costa Rica," Amanda went on. "The failure of their attack was caused by two scientists from UNESCO's Special Advanced Research and a US Navy soldier."

"Okay so they terrorized a group of miners and failed. Are they members of a newly founded terrorist organization in Costa Rica?"

"Far from that," Amanda said clearly and proudly.

"So? What is CTD got to do with them?"

"Read on."

Dylan picked up the sheets as Amanda slid to a nearby desk that was not hers. She watched him read with interest as he made frequent meeting and rising of his brows. Amanda found delight that she further pushed her partner into puzzlement. After reading the papers, Dylan settled it down.

"A mining tunnel collapsed which turned out to be a suspected sabotage. A dinner party was attacked by five men in masks. Two guards killed and another couple of US Navy soldiers are dead. Scientists fighting for their lives and killed four. What's all this got to do with us?"

"I bet you can read, partner, but is failing to comprehend. Last page, the only testimony given to Costa Rica's DIS."

Dylan picked up the papers again and read the last page as Amanda had suggested. "An aviation engineer, friend of COO was invited to the facility. I am not getting the point."

"Did an ID check on all of the five. Turned out the scientists are former combatants. Gillian Brown, doctor of biology from big schools, held a rank of captain in US Air Force. Pararescuer and has seen action as pilot in major conflicts 'round the globe like Iraq and Afghanistan offenses during her time in service. Summer Santos, mechanical engineer, former combat engineer of Philippine Army; held a rank of major before getting under SAR. US Navy Ensign Thomas turned out to be just a soldier. Ronnie Madison, COO of Index Mining, which has just bought the rights from the previous outfit, a sister company of Index Heavy Industries and Ordnance. Then there is this Charlie Alistre, aviation engineer. He worked under a mysterious project under Universal Defense Corporation and is also a friend of Leo Amarillo."

"Engineer Leo Amarillo of Universal Defense Corporation?"

"Your missing guy in the MH370 passengers list. Same and one."

The names struck him like in horror. Universal Defense Corporation holds various patent rights to war vehicles and armaments design. They are capable of producing their own products such as warships, battle tanks and ordnance but they are also known in the war and defense manufacturing world as a company that can be tapped to obtain rights for various designs. They partnered with various defense companies around the globe that produced the war machines of earth. Whenever there are government deals with a particular company to produce these and those products for defense and war purposes, it will be likely that the outfit that has won the deal will tap the Universal Defense.

Universal Defense is also a mother company to various others and all of them are posing as corporations well in fact that if someone traces the web, that involved various dummy and straw corporations, it all fell down in the pockets of a lone man, Rudy Cayetano.

Dylan was pushed back. For four years, he has been studying the mysterious disappearances of the MH370 passengers and was puzzled when a victim did not appear on the list of victims when Malaysian Airlines released the names. For a long time, he was convinced that the MH370 incident was related to some global terrorist organization but top brasses in the FBI disregarded it as pure conspiracy. Since then, it became his obsession and one day he hopes he can prove them all wrong.

Even though out of the box of his job as a part of ITOS, he often pressed his team about the information surrounding all the employees of Universal Defense under the mysterious project. Since they departed from the project that is yet to be launched in the global market, people involved are dying like flies against insecticide. It seems someone is making so much effort in covering their tracks.

"You think we can reach the guy over a lunch or something?"

"He is in Costa Rica and I bet is not going anywhere too soon. What I think will hinder us, is people up the ladder won't approve your chase with the imaginary clandestine terrorist group. Plus whoever the top brasses of the mining company may hinder you too from reaching him."

"Then we are doing it on leave and find some way to reach him."