The Vaults of Heaven (AU)

[Matt Wiser]

I was wondering when D'Agostino would show up, though one might have expected the other lead agent, Andrea Price, to show as well.

[Poohbah]

20 June 1988
Ritz-Carlton
Philadelphia, PA

D'Agostino heard the radio call. "Timberwolf moving to helipad."

She looked south, and saw the VH-3D approaching.

"Bullseye, this is Nighthawk One, inbound."

She put her best casual voice on, falling back on her undercover work against counterfeiters. "Copy Nighthawk, I have you in sight."

* * *

SCREWTOP 04
Over the Chesapeake

Commander John Latimer glanced to his left at the District of Columbia, and once again worked to restrain his anger.

And now going up against domestic enemies. As if we don't have enough on our plates.

He focused on flying the E-2C Hawkeye.

* * *

Lancaster County Jail and Sheriff's Office
Lancaster, PA

Josh Mantell watched the coverage of the race for Democrat superdelegates as he ate breakfast.

* * *

Chief Walton looked over his men and women carefully. They were dressed as members of the Lancaster County Sheriff SWAT team, wearing dark blue flight suits. He looked at Sheriff Booker, who nodded.

"All right, any questions about the assignment?"

Sophie Henrix asked, "What makes you so sure that the real AFOSI isn't going to show up?"

"Well, ma'am, they've been briefed, about this, and they aren't coming. They're ready to arrest the group at McGuire that's been impersonating them, as soon as we give the word."

* * *

Near Lancaster, PA

"What's the hubbub about this Mantell guy?"

"Boss doesn't like him getting caught so close to our hootch, so he wants us to pick him up."

"Yeah. Why such a damn fired hurry?"

"It's happening today."

"Well, shit. Guess I ain't getting any coffee."

* * *

Southwest of Philadelphia

D'Agostino felt the helicopter turn to the right. She reached into her left pocket and clicked the device there.

* * *

SCREWTOP 04
Over the Chesapeake

LCDR Charles Taylor watched as the target's IFF went blank. The skin track was there. The vector indicator turned toward the west.

Suddenly, the contact lit up with "7600."

Taylor keyed the secure radio and said, "Operation HOLA JUAN is go."

* * *

Sophie's earpiece crackled. "HOLA JUAN is a go."

Three minutes later, she heard, "They're arriving. Three in the vehicle."

Sophie held up the cuffs. "All right, Josh, these cuffs have quick-release levers here and here." Sophie pointed.

"What good are cuffs you can get out of?"

Sophie grinned. "Let's just say I had them in my naughty drawer."

Josh felt his face heating up. "That's more than I needed to know."

"Anyone tell you you're kind of cute when you blush?"

"Yes, actually."

Sophie stepped behind Josh and put the cuffs on. "Good. We're ready for the daring, dramatic escape scene. Can you channel Stallone?"

Her earpiece cracked. "Two getting out, one staying with the vehicle, Air Force blue Crown Vic."

"You're going to have to get past the AFOSI car."

"Got it."

* * *

The lead "AFOSI agent" sniffed. "He doesn't look that tough. Why'd you cuff him?"

Booker said, "We didn't want to take chances."

They walked into the cell. Mantell sat in his camoflauge uniform, a thousand-yard stare on his face.

One of the "agents" snapped his fingers in front of Mantell's face.

No reaction.

"Mister Mantell, I'm Special Agent Robert Foster, Air Force Office of Special Investigations. You're under arrest on suspicion of murder."

"Foster" grabbed Mantell's shoulder and picked him up.

* * *

Mantell rolled to his feet, unresisting at first, and then, once Foster was off-balance straining to pick up his dead weight, pushing into him as hard as he could and sending him flying across the cell. He flipped the levers on the cuff as he spun towards the second man.

Mantell flicked the cuffs away, and Booker shouted, "HE'S LOOSE! TASER TASER TASER!"

Mantell brought his knee up in front of his face and gave the second "AFOSI agent" a heel stamp to the face, bouncing the man's skull off of the concrete side wall of the cell.

Mantell then dropped and rolled on the floor through the open cell door,then swept Booker's legs out from under him, even as the Air Force special operators tased both AFOSI agents.

Booker landed on his side with a load "OOF!"

"Thanks, Sheriff, that was a nice breakfast."

And then he was up and running for the access door to the Sheriff's office. Booker drew his revolver and fired a shot into the acoustic tile.

* * *

A deputy keyed in the combination and shoved the door open, then barely got out of the way as Mantell cannonballed into the admin office.

* * *

Mantell saw the Crown Vic, parked directly in front of the doors, and his mind improvised a plan on the spot. He picked up a chair and used it as a shield for his upper body as he dove out of a plate glass window.

* * *

The first warning RamDyne Employee of the Month Darryl Hobbs had that things had gone wrong was the sound of breaking glass somewhere to his right rear. He turned and saw a man in ABUs somersaulting over an office chair.

He was moving, not bothering to spend time contemplating what was happening. He knew that violent action executed immediately would always beat a perfect plan five minutes later.

Unfortunately for Hobbs, Mantell knew that rule as well.

Mantell raced towards the Crown Vic, ignoring the motorcycle coming down the street that had been the original plan. He leaped onto the trunk and jumped down as the driver's door came open.

* * *

Hobbs felt something grab his arm and spin him against the left passenger door.

And then something hit his lower back, and the worst pain he'd ever felt stabbed through his body.

It quickly became the second-worst pain after another blow hit on the other side of his spine, and then his head got smashed against the B pillar and he was mercifully unconscious.

* * *

Mantell signaled the motorcycle rider that he was taking the Crown Vic, got a nod in return, and took off at full throttle.

* * *

Booker looked at his watch. Less than two minutes.

Chief Walton smiled. "Holy shit, even I'm impressed."

Booker said, "Guy even took the time to thank me for breakfast."

Sophie Henrix said, "Now that's just showing off. All right, Falcon Team COLUMBIA, on me!"

Another woman said, "Team SACRAMENTO, on me!"

"GO-GO-GO!"

The "SWAT team" raced out of the building.

Two men came in with Hobbs.

"Where you want him?"

"In the cell with the other two."

* * *

Mantell raced West on 462, then drifted the car onto Centerville Road, followed by the SWAT van in apparent hot pursuit.

He tuned the police radio to 155.685MHz. Just be there, Adam.

[jemhouston]

A little complicated, but hope it works.

[Wolfman]

A little complicated, but hope it works.

You and me both, Jem.

[Poohbah]

20 June 1988
Sporting Hill, PA,

Adam Lodge watched the farmhouse from the south treeline. A broad lawn provided a landing zone. Somewhere nearby, there had to be a barn, but he couldn't see it.

His operator instincts had selected this spot. Close enough to Philly for a quick dash to unload the cargo, far enough out that without a positive radar track, finding the helicopter could take hours even if it was in the open. If hidden in a concealed barn, it could take weeks.

A man stepped out onto the porch, looked around with brisk, efficient motions, then went back inside.

Bingo.

He got onto the radio. "Proceed Route 2 to White, approach from green. Charlie yellow."

* * *

In the Crown Vic, Mantell made a fist pump. Got him!

Route 2 was North Eisman Road, White was Susquehanna Parkway, and green was from the north. "Charlie yellow" meant that Lodge believed the hangar was concealed to the northeast.

* * *

Marine One

D'Agostino stared at the Marine One crew chief, who smirked at her while aiming his Beretta at her.

"Don't do anything stupid, you'll be fine."

D'Agostino kept herself silent.

* * *

Mantell watched as Miller led Team SACRAMENTO north in noisy "pursuit" of their "fugitive," then turned back.

Sophie said, "Let's go!"

They moved quickly and silently through the woods, reaching a point only ten yards from the back of the house.

Mantell carefully scanned the windows. "We're clear." He picked up the sledge and looked at Sophie. "Ma'am?"

"Go."

Mantell ran up to the house at an angle intended to minimize observation. As he reached the edge of the garage door, it suddenly lifted up.

He felt his mind and body flow into the unexpected opportunity. An ambulance was parked in the garage, and he rolled across the hood to reach the man working the garage door opener.

The man had barely enough time to register the unexpected visitor when Mantell brought the sledgehammer onto his head.

Sophie came up behind him with the rest of Team COLUMBIA. She whispered, "He ain't walking that one off."

Mantell opened the interior door of the garage slightly and quickly gestured, signaling south, room and east, hallway. He pointed down, then made a fist. Tile floor.

Sophie swept a knife hand forward. GO!

The team slipped into the kitchen entry; Team SACRAMENTO followed directly behind, then broke east down the hallway.

Sophie and Team COLUMBIA moved through the kitchen to the other door. Sophie signaled Josh to open it, and he did so.

* * *

Carson Pye looked up to see three very annoyed-looking SWAT officers pointing guns at him and the rest of his crew.

Suppressed gunshots came from the east end of the house. "Two down, CLEAR!"

Within minutes, the RamDyne operatives were all flex-cuffed and secured.

Mantell looked out the window--and saw a net festooned with foliage just southeast of the house.

"Sophie?"

Sophie came over and said, "Well, that explains why we didn't see a barn."

Five minutes later, the barn was secure.

* * *

Marine One

The landing was "zip-lip," without any radio comms.

* * *

Mantell drove the tow tractor out to the VH-3D, and hooked up the towbar just as he'd done with Super Stallions at Tustin. The rotor blades were folded back, and Mantell towed the aircraft into the barn.

"Prentiss" opened the stairs and hatch, and stepped onto the stairs . . .

. . . just in time to get punched in the groin by Mantell.

* * *

Lancaster County Jail and Sheriff's Office
Lancaster, PA

A man wearing an Air Force uniform with a single star on each epaulette stepped into the jail and walked up to the cell with the three "AFOSI Agents."

His voice was soft, with a hint of his Georgia youth flavoring his vowels.

"Any of y'all know who I am?"

Dead silence.

"Well, let me enlighten y'all. I'm Brigadier General Alfred Wheeler, the Director of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations."

The three men's eyes grew wide.

He smiled broadly.

"I come from a long line of lawmen, which means my entire family tree requires me to inform you of a very important fact. Boys, y'all's in a heap o' trouble."

* * *

Mantell felt himself deflating as the backup bird arrived, surrounded by a flock of VH-1Ns and VH-60Bs.

"Chief Mantell?"

Mantell snapped to attention and turned to face the President.

"Yes, sir, Mr. President?"

"You all right?"

"I'll live, sir." He paused, then said, "If Major Barzanian had survived the war, I would've married her."

Bush nodded. "She was . . . a remarkable woman, among the best America had to offer." He sighed. "I've said that too many times."

"Same here, sir."

D'Agostino hustled Bush to the chopper.

Mantell prayed silently. God, I know you and I ain't exactly on speaking terms. But I thank you for not making me drink from the cup President Bush must drink from every day. Grant him strength to see this through to the end, grant him compassion that the blood being shed does not harden his heart, and let him live long enough to see our nation rebuild itself to be, once again, that shining city on the hill.

Sophie asked, "You OK, Mantell?"

"Not really. But I have miles to go and promises to keep."

Sophie punched him lightly on the shoulder. "That's the spirit." She went to the phone jack in the kitchen, took a Toshiba laptop out of her backpack, and plugged it into the phone line. She fired up the computer and called up a diagnostic program used by the phone company to detect fraud and assist in proper billing.

After a few minutes, she said, "You gotta be shitting me."

"What?"

"This is a WATS line."

"Then it's getting billed to--"

"Quantaris Investment Fund, in downtown Philly, only two blocks from the Ritz-Carlton."

* * *

Qantaris Fund Office
Philadelphia, PA

Sophie and Josh swept into the reception area.

"We want to see the boss."

The secretary gave Sophie's BDUs a disgusted look. "Do you have an appointment, ma'am?"

Mantell walked to the CEO's suite and unslung his M18 shotgun.

"We do now."

Mantell switched the feed to the left tube and chambered a Hatton round, and fired into the hinges on the double door, then kicked the doors down.

He stepped into the conference room, took in the dozen people at the table, and smiled. "Why, as I live and breathe, it's Billy Greenberg! I've been looking for your ass since that hot LZ you shoved me into back in '85!"

Sophie came in and blinked. "The guy at the head of the table? That's Greenberg?"

"Yeah."

"Funny, I thought his name was Nicholas Korff."

"My name is Patrick DeMont, and I have no idea what you're talking about."

Two men in conservative suits stepped in behind Sophie and Josh. One was a tall white man closing in on 50; the other was a younger black man.

The younger man said, "Mister DeMont, I'm Agent Johnson with the FBI. This is Special Agent Johnson. No relation. You're under arrest on charges of stock and currency fraud, attempted kidnapping of the President . . . "

* * *

23 June 1988
Ararat Armenian Cemetery
Fresno, CA

Mantell stared at the headstone.

KATHERINE SUSAN BARZANIAN
MAJOR USAF
BORN 11 OCTOBER 1960
DIED 13 JUNE 1988
BELOVED DAUGHTER AND SISTER

He took a knee before the headstone.

A faint whisper of wind came, and he could feel Kathy's presence.

Why do you look for me here, sireli? I have transcended this life. When it's your time, I'll be waiting for you. Just like I promised.

He whispered, "I love you."

After a long time, he rose to his feet, stood to attention, and rendered a salute that would have made his drill instructors at San Diego proud.

He turned away, and began the walk back to his hotel.

[Matt Wiser]

And don't forget Treason on the charge list.... Stock and Currency Fraud are the least of this guy's offenses.

Well done.

[jemhouston]

Heap of trouble is putting it mildly.

Well done

[Wolfman]

Have a nice trip to the gallows, BALTAR.

[Poohbah]

Have a nice trip to the gallows, BALTAR.

Death is far too merciful a fate for BALTAR.

[jemhouston]

Have a nice trip to the gallows, BALTAR.

Death is far too merciful a fate for BALTAR.

The only double occupancy cell at Super Max, locked in 23/7/365, no other human contact. Inmates ranked higher than BALTAR, sex offenders, child abusers, law enforcement, snitches, and politicians.

I'm trying to figure out the best cellmate.

[Poohbah]

Someone named "Spike," "Mad Dog," or something like "Cyrus the Virus."

[jemhouston]

Someone named "Spike," "Mad Dog," or something like "Cyrus the Virus."

I was thinking of annoying politician or professor, someone who never shuts up.

[Wolfman]

Have a nice trip to the gallows, BALTAR.

Death is far too merciful a fate for BALTAR.

If the sentence was “hung, drawn, and quartered”?

[Poohbah]

Have a nice trip to the gallows, BALTAR.

Death is far too merciful a fate for BALTAR.

If the sentence was “hung, drawn, and quartered”?

Nah. Someone who wanted to inflict that much damage to America?

Let him cope and seethe as America rebuilds.

[jemhouston]

Death is far too merciful a fate for BALTAR.

If the sentence was “hung, drawn, and quartered”?

Nah. Someone who wanted to inflict that much damage to America?

Let him cope and seethe as America rebuilds.

Help him clean up ground zero at NYC, Omaha, or KC?

[clancyphile]

Death is far too merciful a fate for BALTAR.

If the sentence was “hung, drawn, and quartered”?

The only one that would really have a chance of working is utterly impossible in RD+20... because it requires a certain... apparatus in a place called the Aquarium.

And relations are not conducive for that sentence to be carried out.

[Poohbah]

If the sentence was “hung, drawn, and quartered”?

Nah. Someone who wanted to inflict that much damage to America?

Let him cope and seethe as America rebuilds.

Help him clean up ground zero at NYC, Omaha, or KC?

Won't let him live long enough to really cope and seethe.

That, and make sure the late night comedians make him the butt of as many jokes as possible. The Devil is prideful , and cannot stand to be mocked.

[Wolfman]

Nah. Someone who wanted to inflict that much damage to America?

Let him cope and seethe as America rebuilds.

Help him clean up ground zero at NYC, Omaha, or KC?

Won't let him live long enough to really cope and seethe.

That, and make sure the late night comedians make him the butt of as many jokes as possible. The Devil is prideful , and cannot stand to be mocked.

The Devil, himself, wouldn’t take BALTAR’s twisted soul (he’s got a sense of humor after all)…

[Johnnie Lyle]

Death is far too merciful a fate for BALTAR.

If the sentence was “hung, drawn, and quartered”?

Nah. Someone who wanted to inflict that much damage to America?

Let him cope and seethe as America rebuilds.

Point of order.

With modern medicine, hanging, drawing and quartering is not necessarily fatal.

[Wolfman]

It is when he’s also beheaded…