A New Threat Emerges

Opening scene which introduces the main character, Matthew Stone. Matthew is a member of a special CIA task force known as A.T.O.M. which stands for Anit-terrorist Tactical Operations & Management.

A New Threat Emerges

 

 

 

Friday, May 4th, 2012 at 2040 hrs: The murky darkness of the naval harbor disappears, replaced with clear green-hued images of ship hulls, fish and the ocean floor as Matt Stone swims towards his target. The lowlight imager built into his diving helm illuminated the hull of the nuclear missile Submarine Calamar.

President Emilio Juarez recently succeeded Hugo Chavez, who died unexpectedly from a heart attack. He quickly made friends with Igor Bogdanovich, President of Russia. Bogdanovich gave Juarez the Alexander Nevsky, rechristened the Calamar, a Yuriy Dolgorukiy class ballistic missile boat, as a gift from the Russian people. She arrived in Venezuela fully loaded with sixteen Bulava sub-launched ballistic missiles each armed with six one hundred and fifty kiloton nuclear warheads.

Matt reaches into the pack strapped to his waist and removes the GPS transmitter specially developed for the Central Intelligence Agency to track enemy vessels. He flips on the power switch and the wallet-sized unit starts transmitting. He swims down under the hull of the sub, removes a protective cover and attaches it by a powerful waterproof adhesive on the underside.

On the surface, Cabo Primero infante de Marina (Marine 1^st Corporal) Rafael Delgado walks his patrol along the deck of the sub carrying his AK-47 at port arms. As he nears the port side of the sub, he cradles his rifle in his left arm and pulls out his flashlight and turns it on, training its light on the surface of the water. The special red filter on the lens allows him to see just below the surface. Down below, his mission complete, Matt turns to swim away. His raft lay about three hundred yards out at sea.

Cabo Delgado is sweeping the water’s surface when he spots a slight reflection underwater. He steps closer to the edge to see but slips, loosing his grip on the flashlight. It falls into the water just above Matt, clearly outlining his form. Delgado’s eyes widen when he sees the diver next to the hull. “Intruso, Intruso en el agua!” he cries out. He quickly brings his rifle to bear, flicks off the safety and fires. Below, Matt hears the flashlight hit the water and sees the red glow around him followed by the pops of bullets hitting the water around him. Matt angles himself downward and kicks hard with his flippers to descend deeper into the bay.

Seeing the intruder fading from sight, Cabo Delgado slings his rifle over his shoulder and pulls a grenade from his belt. He grips it tightly in his right hand, yanking the pin out with his left and then tosses it into the water just ahead of the point where he saw the intruder disappear. The grenade hits the water with a loud splash just as the other patrols approach Delgado’s position.

Matt hears the plop in the water and realizes something larger than a bullet just entered the water. He reaches his hand to his chest and turns a switch mounted on his rebreather’s chest strap. A small, powerful motorized propeller mounted on his back under the rebreather kicks on and pushes him swiftly forward through the water. Three seconds later, the grenade explodes sending shock waves and shrapnel through the water.

The resulting concussion hits Matt like a sledgehammer, knocking the wind out of him. He is stunned momentarily and goes limp, causing him to slump. The motor starts pushing him even deeper towards the bottom. A few seconds later, Matt’s head clears and he regains control, narrowly missing a collision with the ocean floor. He levels out and shuts off the motor. He reaches into his pack again and removes a canister. He twists the lid off and removes a watertight pouch filled with twelve black spheres slightly larger than golf balls. As he opens the pouch, water floods into it. The spheres begin floating up. Contact with the water completes a circuit in each sphere, activating depth gauges inside. Each sphere is filled with a highly explosive binary liquid. They rise quickly towards the surface. Matt switches his prop motor back on and speeds away.

Above the water, four of the Marines quickly deploy a small powerboat moored near the sub and head towards the location of the explosion. As they reach their destination, the spheres surface next to and under the boat. One detonates, touching off all the rest. The boat disintegrates in a ball of fire, killing the Marines and hurling them into the sea.

When Matt reaches his raft, he turns his motorized prop off and climbs aboard. Once in the raft, he removes his diving gear and fires up the outboard motor and quickly heads to rendezvous with a waiting ship. About an hour passes before the U.S.N.S. Impeccable appears on the horizon. Chief Warrant Officer Robert Winslett steps into the launch recovery area. “Welcome aboard Mr. Stone! How can I be of assistance to Central Intelligence?” Matt smiles and clasps the Captain’s extended hand and shakes it firmly. “A shower and a hot meal would be nice.” Captain Winslett smiles back and nods. He turns to Ensign Michael Barnes, standing nearby. “See to Mr. Stone’s request, Ensign.” Barnes salutes the Captain and replies crisply, “Aye Sir!” The Captain returns the salute. Ensign Barnes turns to Matt and gestures towards the door. “This way Mr. Stone” and leads Matt to his quarters. Captain Winslett returns to the bridge. He looks towards the forecastle and says, “Helm to three-one-zero, ahead two-thirds!” The Impeccable docks one week later at the Mayport Naval Station in Florida. Chief of the National Clandestine Service, Director Carl Blankenship, greets Stone as he disembarks. “Welcome home Matt! How were the Margaritas?” Matt grins widely as he walks down the ramp. “Adequate but I’d kill for a Bourbon and Coke right now” he replies. Carl chuckles as Matt walks up and drops his bag on the dock and shakes Carl’s hand. “I’m sorry Matt, but the B&C will have to wait.” Matt nodded. “Well, it’s good to be home Sir. How’s our birdie?” Director Blankenship turns as Matt bends down, grabs his bag, following the Director to a waiting car. “Great, it’s singing loud and clear. In fact, the Calamar put to sea just two days ago and was last seen headed for Cape Horn.”  They reach the car and the driver takes Matt’s bag as he holds the rear door open. Director Blankenship climbs in, slide across the seat to the other door. Matt climbs in after and sits next to him. The driver places the bag in the trunk, engages a special secure lock on the trunk lid, takes his place behind the wheel and drives towards the airstrip. Matt and the Director rode in silence until they arrived at the airstrip. Once there, the driver stops the car. They all exit the vehicle. The driver releases the security lock, opens the trunk, retrieves Matt’s bag and hands it to him. Matt and Director Blankenship walk towards a waiting Gulfstream Jetliner. They board the plane and as soon as they’re seated, the plane takes off. Once in the air, the Director looks at Matt and says, “We have a situation and we need you on it.” Matt c***s his head inquisitively towards the Director. “A situation sir? What sort of situation?” Director Blankenship laced his fingers and lowered his head a little; a gesture Matt knew meant the problem was dire. Director Blankenship spoke in a low, somber tone. “We have intel on an impending terrorist strike aimed at the U.S.” Matt nods and asks, “What part of the U.S. Sir?” The Director looks Matt straight in the eye. “The entire United States, Matt.” The enormity of the concept causes Matt to lean back in his seat. “Do we know how Sir?” Director Blankenship nods. He stands up and moves in front of a cabinet next to his seat. He opens the drawer and withdraws a manila envelope. He turns and hands it to Matt. “It’s all in here. We need you to locate the organization and sabotage their plans. I’ve assigned Agent Daniel Edwards to assist you.”  Matt smiles. Dan Edwards is the best agent in the Company when it comes to hacking into computer networks and defeating encryption. He’s also a close friend of Matt’s.

A couple of hours later, the Gulfstream lands at Langley Air Force base. Matt and Carl Blankenship de-plane and hop into a waiting limousine. They quickly speed off towards CIA Headquarters. Upon arriving, Blankenship says, “You have the night off Matt. I know you have business to attend to tomorrow night.” Matt nods, smiling. Tomorrow is Saturday, May ninth, the day of his Masonic Lodge’s regular monthly meeting.