Sandra added. “The people they are going up against are highly trained in hand-to-hand combat. They are a tough bunch. We must not underestimate them.”
Sandra’s phone buzzed. “Sandra, Director Alvarez is on the line for you.”
Sandra’s heart raced as she picked up the phone. “Sir? Yes sir, I will put you on the speaker phone.” Her eyes rapidly made contact with everyone in the room as she pushed the speakerphone button.
The voice of Director Alvarez was very clear in the speaker of the phone. “Team, I am sorry to have to do this, but there have been some new developments. A significant terrorist threat has been detected in Atlanta. We are going to level Orange. We almost went to Red. We are scrambling everything we can get into the scene. This one really caught us with our pants down.”
Sandra glanced once more around the room. “Sir, how does that affect us in our current situation?”
“We have to pull all of the assets currently en route to Oakland. You can only keep what you currently have on the ground. But, you have 24 hours to verify what you have been telling us to be able to keep the critical response team. We may need them to move to Los Vegas. And Derek, you need to check with your people, this may also apply to you.”
Sandra sat up stiffly. “Sir, we have already had violent skirmishes between the two sides. At least one person has died. If the additional resources are pulled, I am certain that a lot more people are going to die. I respectfully request that you reconsider.”
“Sandra, I wish that I could fill you in on the full magnitude of the threat that we are facing in Atlanta. But if the terrorists that we have identified are able to follow through with their plans to use crop dusters with anthrax, thousands, maybe tens of thousands of innocent people will die. Do your best to contain the Oakland situation. You are very capable and have a very capable team. I will see if there are any backchannels where we can get you direct military assistance.”
Sandra answered, “Yes sir, we will do our best.” Alvarez hung up.
Alex walked down the street from the house of Volo and his assistants. He had to admit to himself that Paris and Volo’s other women were very effective in their craft. How had they administered drugs to him again? Somehow they had given him something to break down his resistance along with his inhibitions. Then Paris and the other girls had their way with him. Again and again. The deep sexuality of it all was overwhelming. He had become and performed almost like an animal in rut, and some of the drugs must have included vascular enhancers. For a while, he had totally become a sexual being. He now felt quite drained by these ladies. The term vampires came to his mind. The information on the Al Quaeda cell in Rio sounded authentic. He would check it out. As he walked, he suddenly realized that if not for his special training and conditioning, Volo’s people would now have a tremendous level of control over him after only two meetings. Their techniques were very effective. His feelings were mixed and he actually felt a little fear as he remembered that there would likely be more meetings and he would probably have to continue with these “treatments”.