Story Autumn in the Cascades

C

Chapulin

Veteran Member
Post 1
My current project isn't anything special but it has its own share of quirks. My name is Paul and I designed a metal Quonset with 8 inch core integrated concrete form (ICF) ends and sides lined with shipping containers for a small industrial use. These buildings are normally termed Quonset huts, but the large models over 40 foot wide and 100 feet long hardly qualify as a hut. Since the concrete truck and pumper would be onsite anyway I specified a shotcrete and rebar exterior above a layer of water proofing. Thanks to the Pandemic most of my work is remote and the rewards have been many. The current project included getting the building functional with outside security and regular utilities. I had specified a fresh water storage tank and 2 storage tanks for fuel and a diesel generator, instead of a solar rack, for a rural site. The specifications were 6 regular staff and as many as 40 others short term visitors which translated to 6 3/4 bathrooms in the residential side and a 3/4 bath in the shop side. It was to have an automobile/aircraft maintenance shop with metal working equipment with an overhead hoist and a wood shop. Inside I went with a walk-in freezer and a small arms locker instead of the wine cellar. I knew nothing about the final owner or its actual location in the Washington Cascades, but the contractors lived in the Wenatchee valley.

Pete is my contact and the intermediary with the company I was working for. I had a feeling this was a black ops somehow connected to the Federal Government. The pay was timely and my cameras on the site showed progress was nearing completion and early deliveries had started.

I headed home and the calm shattered when I saw a probable tail. I take a couple of turns and they followed. Going home was now out of the question and it wouldn't work to head to an out of town casino to get lost in the crowd. I needed defense and figure out if I was being hunted or observed. The first test was the approaching hotel. The white BMW behind me continued on the street when I turned into the local hotel. I decided to check in and plan my next steps taking most of my gear up to the room. In my room I could see the BMW was now across the street and the Internet showed a suspicious black Ford Escape in front of my home from the Ring system. This felt like a planned effort because they were watching me and they knew where I lived. My death appeared a couple of notches lower tonight. Using my work phone I contacted Pete who didn't pick up and I noticed the web cameras at the Cascades site were down. Now I was happy I had asked for 2 rooms across from each other during checkin and my conceal carry permit was current. This isn't my first rodeo and planning ahead for a morning check sounded like a reasonable step. But there were still tasks for tonight.
 
C

Chapulin

Veteran Member
Post 2

My first task is to head home on foot which shouldn't take more than an hour. I circle a block on my way home to verify my tail hasn't followed. When I get in my tree lined neighborhood the Ford Escape in front of the house has moved on, but my front door is ajar. They had made sure I would see my house was tossed. I spot my primary desktop on the floor and its hard drive is gone. Luckily most of my papers were in my truck today. It also was apparent they had taken my first weapons cache. So long to an M1A, an FN SCAR 20 S and a Browning 20 Gauge semi-automatic.

Changing from my city clothes to my back-country clothes and boots. I did swap the spare hard drive into the security video system and pocketed the one I had removed. Luckily they hadn't found the second weapons cache and I grab my Winchester 357 lever action with a 20 inch barrel and 3 boxes of shells. It wasn't the best defensive weapon, but it matched caliber with the Coonan automatic that I carry. I filled a backpack with gear and the clothes I had changed out of. I called the police pretending to be a neighbor that couldn't sleep. Hopefully the police will lock the door and won't check who really called.

As I headed back to the hotel I considered calling Nancy, but she had her own job tonight. My wife was away flying a Coast Guard MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter along the coast tonight. It is anybody's guess if she had someone across from the base this evening, but I plan to call Nancy when things settle down here and I could expect her to be in the mess hall. When I got back to the hotel I checked out my Ford Explorer and noted the BMW across the street was gone. Apparently nobody had bothered to break into my Ford Explorer, but my run flats showed they had been hit with a jagged edge to the driver’s rear. Another task for morning. I set my alarm and grabbed a 20 minute shuteye. Next is using my laptop and connecting with the cloud for my files and copies of site photographs I had uploaded for documentation. The geo stamps on the electronic pictures gave me the information I needed. It is not widely known that electronic picture formats store the longitude and latitude of the camera when a picture is taken. I may not have known where the building site is in the Cascades, but the photographs have given me a big hint. A few minutes on my laptop and I knew my route would be up highway 2 between Stephens Pass and Leavenworth, WA.

As dawn broke I carried the duffel bag and pack back downstairs and checked out of the hotel without incident. Driving slow on a damaged run flat tire I was in front of a bay at the local tire shop when they opened. I am getting a new set of tires all around and I thanked the world for the modern convenience of wifi everywhere, but the site cameras were still down and Pete, the intermediary, still wasn't picking up. We weren't exactly friends but he was responsible and this lack of contact set my neck hairs on edge.

The string of towns on Highway 2 is well known to regulars: Startup, the Index turnoff, and Skykomish up to the summit, but it was the wrong season for skiing and too early for fall color. The drive up had been uneventful except for _bagos and campers creeping over the pass on the 2 lane road. Coming down the eastside of the mountain the gunshop on the side of the road told me I was getting close. A nondescript road to the right was labelled Merritt, but little of the town remained. My cameras had been somewhere down that road.

I continue on to the Nason Creek Rest Stop before Leavenworth. This was a widening of the road with restrooms and a stretch area for the highway users. It gives me a place to park and transition to walking where I wouldn't be so noticeable. I hide the long gun in my backpack and start out. I moved my pistol to a holster on my hip. Moving slowly I am back to the metropolis of Merritt in about 2 hours. I wasn't sure what I was going to find around "my" Quonset and getting an overview was a good starting point. I survey the valley including the new road for trucks that had been recently added. I was surprised to see 3 of "my" Quonset huts arranged in a cul de sac. For a company that dumped me I should have expected them to cheat me out of my fees. This did tell me the company was sly enough to have multiple sets of accounting books. Parked in the cul de sac was a black Ford Escape which may have been in front of my home last night. You can bet I wasn't going to knock on the front door like a lost backpacker.
 
Sportsman

Sportsman

Veteran Member
Okay. Great intro. He's savvy, pretty well prepared, and expecting anything. It's going to be a long wait between chapters!
Thank you.
 
C

Chapulin

Veteran Member
Post 3

I get a short break at the lookout while I look around. I stay alert in case there are roving guards, but I only see the one vehicle. I am giving myself 90 minutes to survey the perimeter of the site starting with the construction fence laying across the road. I hid my pack and took the rifle. The project schedule had a slack time/catch up period for the next couple of days, which meant fewer people on site, but I don't have the luck to expect nobody was here. At this point it felt like I was going to be here a few days and I want to track who is coming and going. I went up to the Merritt Lake Trailhead and only found 3 cars in the parking area. A lot of damn streams to cross, but the cabin count was pretty low. I timed my crossing of Hwy 2 when cars weren’t present, I didn’t need to increase the reports of Big Foot with a rifle. In the same way the WSDOT camera is further down the hill. I didn't see any other activity on the site and the lights are on in the front Quonset in the shop side of the structure. The cameras were no longer on the posts which explains their 404 code. Back at the lookout, I shoulder my pack and go down to an area on the backside of the site. This is a more protected area where I can still be in earshot, but was more defensible if it came to that.

Mid-afternoon I suddenly hear a vehicle turning into the site. Rifle in hand I take off back to the lookout. A white BMW similar to the one tailing me 36 hours ago is on the entrance road. Maybe my luck is improving. I need to get closer if I am going to be useful, but I need to see what happens first. 2 people came out of the Quonset structure walking past the Ford Escape. What appeared to be a bolt action was in the hands of the taller male. The shorter guy was putting on a pair of gloves. The white BMW had stopped about a 100 feet up the approach. The driver hopped out leaving the door ajar. The driver stormed toward the other pair closing the gap quickly. I heard an angry tone say something about "This wasn't the plan." "Why didn't you join me last night?" The driver had swung for the shorter guy and the taller male brought up the bolt action. The driver swings through and lands on the ground and then the bolt action barked. The pair threw the body on the hood of the BMW and started digging in his pockets.
 
Sportsman

Sportsman

Veteran Member
Look forward to more of this. Sounds like one of those projects where they hire out-of-town people to build the site then kill them all off to protect their privacy.

Thank you.
 
C

Chapulin

Veteran Member
Post 4
I just witnessed one of the far ends of possible interactions. I moved quickly toward the residential end of the back Quonset. The pair drove the BMW toward the back Quonset and opened the 20 foot x 20 foot roll up door. They parked the BMW inside the shop area and closed the door as they exited. Why had they taken the body off the visible area of the restricted site? The goons appeared to be using the site and not necessarily being authorized to be here. I had as much right to be here as these supposed guests and they were walking across a large empty space back to their car or “my” Quonset. I am no longer observing but intending to hunt. Between trespassing on the site and killing one of their own this was a take no prisoner scenario I was comfortable with. Easy enough to pick off the tall male and reduce the threat of his rifle. The short guy took off like a jack rabbit, but didn't outrun my bullet. My aim was worse on the jack rabbit and a third shot stopped any movement. I hope the gun fire hasn't attracted attention and stay on the perimeter for several minutes. Eventually it is time to check my work.

The tall guy had the keys for the Ford Escape and the BMW and I picked up the spare rifle, a Remington model 700. One thing I have learned is finish each task to avoid loose ends. Time to return to the back Quonset and retrieve the BMW minus the first body. I find a back hoe I could use in the shop, but the BMW will be quieter. Since the first body is still on the hood I lay out a construction tarp in the bucket of the backhoe to catch any blood before moving the body. I also record the VIN of BMW. This building feels different with a much larger shop area. Back out to collect 2 more bodies as hood ornaments for the BMW. I take cell pictures of my victims while we are out in the late afternoon sun. Back in the shop I leave the additional bodies on the hood and collected all the phones, wallets and keys. The tall male has an apple watch that looks familiar which I also take.

I trot back to the Escape and take a quick look around. Eureka, the back area of this black Escape held the contents of what had been removed from my home last night. I left the captured bolt action with my discovery and slung my rifle just in case. I was feeling exposed on somebody else’s property with 3 bodies in the back shop. Most of my weapons were in a vehicle I didn’t own and my own vehicle was parked in a public rest stop.

I approach the entrance of the short shipping container which is the front door in the middle of the Quonset facing east. As I reach the front door I draw my semi-automatic 357. My eyes adjust to the lighting of the new space and I take a right into the shop area. Most of the specified equipment is already in this space, and then I see a body swinging from the overhead hoist. It doesn’t take me long to see why Pete hasn’t been answering his phone. His body has signs of torture and was probably hung afterwards. My luck has returned to its marginal level and I have lost the only contact I have with this company.

I leave Pete where I found him and go check the rest of the spaces including the living quarters on the other end. I didn't find anyone else and I return to the shop area. I did find the missing cameras and the fiber networking gear on the kitchen counter. The gourmet kitchen looked pretty complete. A momentary pause back in the kitchen to check outside and take a sip of water with a handful of nuts. I moved the hoist and dropped Pete to the forklift. I looked, but Pete didn't have any identification or cell phone when he died.
 
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C

Chapulin

Veteran Member
From Post 1: Pete is my contact and the intermediary with the company I was working for. I had a feeling this was a black ops somehow connected to the Federal Government. The pay was timely and my cameras on the site showed progress was nearing completion and early deliveries had started.
 
C

Chapulin

Veteran Member
Post 5
I decide to bury the bodies. I go back to the small arms locker for an MP5/10 and a Glock 20 with a couple of magazines and leave my 357 based weapons with the Ford Escape. It was good the construction crew had set all the codes to the agreed upon numbers until occupancy. I look like a more regular caretaker without the Wild West factor of course the meter for legal charges is spinning like a fan if this ever goes to court. Safety first, they say.

I put all my gear and collected evidence in the black Escape and drove it to the shop side of the back Quonset, opening the overhead door. It was time to verify nobody was in the back Quonset. Besides a smaller living area and larger shop the rest of the rear Quonset appeared to be a copy of my design. The smaller living area didn’t take long to check, just as well given the racket of the overhead door. For completeness I also scanned the middle Quonset and found the measurements closer to the front structure but it had more to do to finish it. I found a discarded lighting fixture box to hold all the loose evidence I was collecting. This Quonset felt more like a fortress, but I don’t have time to analyze that now.

I had found an uneven flat area beyond the back Quonset on my initial look around the perimeter. I moved the backhoe next to the BMW and put a second body into the bucket. It felt like a game of musical chairs to open and close the overhead doors each time, but I wanted to keep up appearances that nobody was here for a casual visitor. The fuel system was half full and the digging should be easy. There were some rocks in what I pull out and some soft wood in the corner of the hole. Why hadn’t I found other tree roots? Probably deep enough. Having placed the bodies in the hole. It was now time to drive to the front Quonset and pick up Pete’s remains. I returned to the big shop and loaded the remaining body in the bucket. Because of the blood on the construction tarp I threw it in the hole as well. With the bodies respectfully placed in the hole it was fast work with the bucket to tamp and fill the hole. I found some nearby rocks to scatter and transplanted some local vegetation. If I’m around I’ll keep filling the divot. If I’m not it will look like the rest of the ground soon enough. Back to the rear Quonset and I am thankful that nobody has shown up during the process. I park the back hoe in its place and take a scrape piece of paper and write my work cell number on it signed Mr. Smith and tuck it into the dashboard of the BMW.

I climb up to my look out while I was thinking about my next steps to retrieve my pack. Then back to the front Quonset to lock up. I look at a couple of camera posts until I find one in good condition to plug back in one of my cameras. It looks like they took enough time to unscrew this one and then stripped the connections on the others. Time to return to my green Explorer back at the rest area this time on the road in a nearly new Escape. Why did they kill Pete and leave me unscathed? I wait for dark to settle and I move everything from the Escape into the Explorer Thankfully I followed an Internet site and built a low set of drawers across the back of the Explorer for the guns. There was a laptop in the BMW which I add to my collection in the passenger seat. I also record the VIN of the Black Escape.

Where am I staying tonight? Part of me wants to stay at the site in case there are visitors. Depending on the visitor not everyone would agree I belong here. Part of me wants to get a good night's sleep. The outside security is working and apparently the goons had grabbed a test Apple Watch that made access so easy. The security means only authorized personnel are getting in as long as an Apple watch isn't left by the front door. I did lock up the small arms locker including the 10mm weapons I borrowed. I pick up the plastic construction fence and tip up the Authorized Personnel Only sign and head for Leavenworth for dinner. I finally call Nancy as soon as I get my Explorer back on the road and I reserve an AirBnb in the area tonight. In terms of the site I am a free citizen away from the restricted site as I leave here tonight. Everything is back to normal except for the BMW in the Back shop and a lack of cameras around “my” Quonset.
 
Sportsman

Sportsman

Veteran Member
Thank you. So now it looks like a double cross by someone that knew what was going on. Get the info from Pete, and go looking for Paul. I'm with you so far. But, what for Paul to do next? And the big question.. Who is behind the entire project?
 
C

Chapulin

Veteran Member
Post 6

It is a short trip to Leavenworth and the Sausage Company is still open. Nancy is getting frustrated with the story I am telling and our house break-in in Seattle hit like an unfortunate sideshow. Having a building consulting project turn up 4 dead in 24 hours had the protective mother hen out in full force. The fact her husband had tasted fresh blood took a few minutes to explain. I hung up after sweet nothings and put a tip on the table. Driving back to the Metropolis of Merritt, I am thinking about the gap with my clients. It had been cloudy all day and a medium rain started to fall. My initial plan was to take the Nason Creek cutoff and survey the neighborhood, but the site was now large enough it had most of what anyone would need. The AirBnb was a standalone with an electronic lock with nothing around it. The hot tub won't get used tonight and the bed and wifi were enough to keep me happy. It had been a long day with a couple of answers and many more questions.

Somebody wanted me and Pete out of the way. What were the goons going to do without us or is somebody else taking over? Have I now short circuited something? I have collected some evidence and need time to analyze what has been happening including how do I rearrange communications with a company I might not want to do business with? So far my line has been violently separated from the company. The timeline has my involvement in this project done by the first snow in just weeks. Pete had told me my design and project management skills would probably get a follow up gig in the future. But currently I have a fifth column attacking for unknown gain. My access to the project site remains and somebody has added another week of slack to the online schedule. I confirm the single camera is viewable from my laptop.

I have a number of desires for the restricted site. But my actual list of responsibilities is pretty small. I will use the fiber networking kit from the kitchen and re-establish the rest of my cameras. If Hell rains down on me the offense will be reasonably small. Time to pack up and take my Ford Explorer back to the site after I thank the AirBnb host electronically.

I take down the construction fence over the road, drive through and put it back up. I drive down to the entrance and park where the Black Escape was Saturday. A quick threat scan and then focus on my task of rewiring the remaining cameras. It is amazing how long that takes including waterproofing the new connections. Locals and regulars know to head back to Seattle by 2pm on Highway 2 so I get in line. The highway sign says zero days since the last accident so the local rescue squads have been busy. I stop by Anderson School Pub in Bothell for a late lunch and head home. A quick scan of home shows Nancy isn’t home yet. I get the Explorer out of the driveway and into our garage. I reestablish my first weapons cache including a thorough cleaning before they are racked. I include the bolt action with my collection and clean the lever action. I replenish the rifle for the 3 shots I took yesterday and it can go back to my alternate cache. I found an empty box at the site and have filled it with the loose evidence. I bring the box into my office. It is time to charge my cellphone and empty the rest of the SUV. I clean up the rest of the house and start a load of laundry. It is time for the boots to come off and my house sandals on. I have time to throw dinner on the grill and wait for my wife to return. Do I have to say I wasn’t tailed on the trip home?
 
C

Chapulin

Veteran Member
Post 7

I rebuilt my primary desktop with the recovered hard drive and it actually booted. Time to catalog what I have collected so far. I have IDs and cellphones from 3 goons that messed with me in Seattle and the bolt action from the site. I have video of who broke into my house and I have a laptop from the BMW. I need to check the web cameras from the site including any local pictures that didn’t get uploaded.

My wife and I have been married for 10 years, no kids and no pets. She was ROTC going through college at University of Idaho and ran the normal Middle East route with the helicopter option. We met on a jet boat ride down the Columbia and sealed our partnership with a tour of the Walla Walla wine district. She is a health nut who guided for Mt. Rainier summits and hunts in the fall. She migrated to a local Search and Rescue and works with local helicopters from law enforcement and the military in a volunteer basis. The USCG duty is a training contract gig as long as she wants it. The current cycle has her working long weekends and home in the middle of the week pulling up lost hikers and people from sinking boats. I hear her Brown Explorer parking in our garage. We exchange hugs after her long drive home and she checks out the house and a few things she cherishes. We grab beverages from the fridge and start a talk on the back deck. She wants the whole time line and starts commentary on better methods as I start. My debrief takes an hour and we go through her last round of duty with me as commentator. She understands my role can change with a phone call or email, but my plan is to dig into the evidence tomorrow and stay in town most of this week. She leaves Thursday night for 3 days this week. We eat dinner and head for bed instead of the couch.

You don’t get anywhere near the Coast Guard without writing reports so she starts on those this morning after we get back from our morning run. I disappear into my office and the box of evidence. First I type up the catalog I started last night and add the personal details for the tall male and the short guy including phone numbers from their devices. Then I add the driver of the BMW and a bunch of question marks for Pete. I have a phone number and an email address versus the address and legal name for the goons. I use a map application to visually locate these 3 addresses. Searching for these names is a quick run into a bunch of questionable address sites. A good chance these are aliases and experts can dump the phones and the laptop. I complete Pete’s last name from online sources and find a number of records related to the phone number including his address in Yakima. I grab the bolt action and record the serial numbers and details for it and the BMW laptop. I also list the VINs and info on the 2 cars in the operation. Pete has some social media presence but a lack of employment records. I hope fingerprint details aren’t required. I rearrange my system and start watching the home security videos.

About 8:30pm the home quiet is broken by the home invaders, noise of the front door frame shattering and footsteps back to the kitchen area. I catch the tall male carrying a blanket from the bedroom and short guy emptying the gun rack and filling the blanket on the floor. A mystery man goes into my office apparently to grab the hard drive. The tall male takes the blanket bundle out the front door and short guy goes to help mystery man in my office. The hard drive is put on the kitchen counter and 2 of them start checking the kitchen while the third heads to the garage. It is now about 9:15 and they pick up the hard drive and knock over an end table on their way out. A little unease creeps into my mind evaluating the third man at the house, it wasn’t Pete and I do a screen capture with a fairly clear face picture and put his height as between the Tall male and the short guy call it an even 6 foot. While I have this on screen I also capture good face shots of the other 2 goons.

Having drafted up the evidence I want to take the time to create my standard site report given where I have been. I leave out all the backwoods stuff getting to the restricted site and start with the fact I’m there. I spend some time discussing the special Apple Watches with custom 3DES encryption and encrypted media that are the physical key for the site security. The fact one was apparently left out of the secure building will get somebody fired and a reassessment of when weapons should be added to a site. Part of the military wants panic access to a full site as early as they can and others don’t want the touchy bits added until they have possession. I mention my contract was for quantity 1 Quonset and I saw quantity 3. Checking my submittal I also compare what I noted in terms of completeness with in the specified unit and then the bonus units. I also mention the down fence over the road and tipped over authorized sign, but mention vandals are the likely cause. This site is very near a major road and I have not been included in discussions whether the site will be patrolled and gated or more of an open campus shunning outsiders. Guard towers by the entrance will also attract attention. I do mention hunting season is starting soon and an open perimeter is hardly conducive to a clandestine secret site. What is the correct approach?
 
Sportsman

Sportsman

Veteran Member
Hmm. You have us hooked, now you have to listen to us whining for moar all the time.

Who is he reporting to? That'd be my first order of business now and the key to his safety.
Thank you.
 
C

Chapulin

Veteran Member
Post 8

Tuesday started like many others with a run in the morning before breakfast. Nancy left for the gym and I mowed the back yard, the weekend finally feeling like a past event with a bad taste. I clocked a couple of hours working on a house and energy plan for a client in Taos, NM. I noticed my camera on site had recorded a semi truck entering the complex and leaving with its load intact 20 minutes later. Apparently I’m not the only resource separated from the company.

I had errands to run around lunch time and decided to check out the goon addresses in the area. I couldn’t find anything useful and get home just before 3pm and my work phone ringing. It started plain enough when they asked for Paul. We exchanged pleasantries and then they asked if I had heard from Pete. I explained that was a need to know item and they confirmed they were in the company managing my Quonset project. They had a request and asked if I could be on site Thursday morning. I explained Pete was dead and I didn’t favor the same outcome. Could they tell me where the site was and how they would be arriving? They mentioned the old community of Merritt and they would be in a helicopter. To add to my safety I could bring an associate of my choosing for an 11am appointment Thursday. My bowels squeezed tighter and I was suddenly wishing for a Sharps 50 modified for full auto.

Nancy came home from the gym with groceries and dove into the shower to clean up. I suggested a drink on the deck and she followed me out. She almost spit her drink out when I started with who had called. I padded the discussion with the questions I had from the weekend and I could see her wheels spinning between her ears. When I mentioned the associate and my tendencies to be a lone wolf she was ready. Why didn’t I call Bosun Rick from the Coast Guard, he is between assignments and doesn’t feel the day is complete without getting in trouble at least once. It was Nancy’s turn to make dinner and I stayed on the deck and called Bosun Rick. I suggested dinner Wednesday night for a proposition for him. He immediately agreed. Time for dinner tonight, some sort of Thai dish Nancy found. We watched a little news and talked about precautions and possible threats for Thursday before bed.

Nancy had a reading group Wednesday morning after our run and I started looking at a project on the coast of Oregon, near Newport. I drove up to DD meats in Mount Lake Terrace and grabbed 3 steaks for tonight and fresh corn from a nearby market. I opened a bottle of Barrel Thief Red by Dusted Valley and got the grill heating. Nancy seasoned the meat and wrapped up the corn. Bosun Rick knocked at the front door and I stepped out in the front yard with him. He has that military frame that wasn’t so large he couldn’t sprint with the best of them. His eyes got big when I started into last weekend and then narrowed when I suggested he tag along for a meeting in the Cascades with a party showing up in a helicopter. I showed him the rifles in my first cache and he decided to bring a civilian version of the bear gun he uses in the arctic. We agreed to leave from my house about 7am Thursday morning.
 
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