Story Winter in Astoria

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Chapulin

Veteran Member
The first chapter is Story - Autumn in the Cascades

Post 1 second chapter
The bomber team received the 20 foot container with a layer of underwater contact mines and a layer of IEDs under bales of lavender. They had rented a small house with a car port on the Washington side and a house and a separate drive in warehouse space on the Oregon side. The contact mines would be deployed with a couple in low chance areas adding a couple in very likely areas over 2 weeks. After the first week IEDs would start being deployed and triggered on area highways. The bombers’ ability to avoid capture would determine the plan on this side of the plan. The US has a distributed alert system and the organizations may be slow to piece together that they are under attack by land and by sea.

My name is Nancy and I fly helicopters with the US Coast Guard out of Air Station Astoria in Warrenton, OR. We fly 3 medium range Sikorsky MH-60 Jayhawks and have 100 people on base. My previous experience was flying UH-60 Blackhawks with the US Army in the Middle East.
Our crew chief Andy is new to the station. He came up from Hawaii and asked about the Bar last week. He said, “I understand we have a number of events at some bar, tell me about it?”

I started, “It is like no nightclub you have ever been in.” “Even in May there can be storms that backup the Columbia River as it flows into the Pacific.” “Then you add fog during fishing season.” “It takes away the visual watch just when there are hundreds of non-professional pleasure craft on the dance floor.” “Jetties have been added to flush sediment out of the shipping channel, but there are still shifting sand bars.” “The area has become known as the Columbia Bar.” While it can be serene in the spring and summer, wind and waves in the fall and winter are regularly known to blow merchant ships off course toward bridge pilings and jetties.”

Chief Andy asks, “What are they carrying?”

I respond, “These are freighters carrying cars, grain and oil products. Even container ships make weekly appearances”. “One of those can take out a bridge piling almost as fast as the Cascadia Fault.
Chief Andy also asks, “Who are the players besides the ship captains?”

I answer, “River pilots are hired from all the experienced Ship Captains.” “They are sent out to drive every large ship through the Columbia Bar.” “Pilot boats take pilots to ladders on the side of ships or helicopters lower pilots to the shifting deck.” There is an operational center that keeps track of all the movement and coordination. Our CG Air Station Astoria has 3 helicopters and CG Station Cape Disappointment has motor life boats that can handle the pounding surf.

Chief Andy asks, “Does the Bar ever close?”
I answer, “Amazingly yes.” “Any of the less than 50 river pilots can close the Bar if conditions go beyond dangerous into stupid.” “It doesn’t take a long closure to back up rail lines into the Mid-West.” “Typically bar emergencies means 2 motor life boats from Station Cape Disappointment will also respond.” “There are ocean tugs on call for some of the possible emergencies.”

We finishing a quick lunch when the announcement speaker goes off, “Now hear this.” “Now hear this. A fishing boat has lost power crossing the mouth of the Columbia. Ready copter respond.”

At the Air Station the ground crew is already removing the ground tie cables from our bird. Our team includes a crew chief, a rescue swimmer and the 2 pilots. As active Coast Guard we strap on our Glock 19 Gen5 MOS in 9x19mm Parabellum side arms and our floatation gear.

As we start the engine and spin the rotors, I ask the local tower, “Ready copter requests clearance for take-off.”

Tower responds, “The air is clear, wind is 15 knots, you are first in the air.”

It is a quick trip to the bar and we are first on site with some mild buffeting. I see the fishing boat now grounded with his emergency beacon flashing. We start the radio calls, “Coast Guard Helo 1 is 150 feet over your stern.” “What is your condition?”

The small boat captain, “I am grounded with 2 people aboard, my engine is dead and I am taking on water.” “Power won’t last forever.”

Helo said, “Get everyone in their floatation suits.”

Motor Launch 47 says, “We are 15 minutes out and can see the Helo.” “We aren’t going to make it alongside this one”. “Get your swimmer wet.”

Helo responded, “We are preparing our swimmer”. “We will take the boat crew one at a time upstairs.”
The captain says, “Our first ride is ready”.

Helo said, “Swimmer away.”

We re-position our Helo so our swimmer only jumps about 30 feet depending on the wave action. Chief Andy will lower a line and floatation gear after he is positioned. Our swimmer catches the crewmember in the water and clips himself into the line. He signals the Crew Chief to start lifting.

Motor Launch 47 reports, “Swimmer clear of the water”

Which is our signal to start moving the Helo away from obstacles and up in elevation a little. The whole process repeats for the second crewmember.

Motor Launch 52 says, “We aren’t going to tow this fish cruiser anywhere.” ”CG Boats returning to base.”

Helo reports, “Crew on board, returning to base, please have an ambulance meet us at the base transporting 2 with no visible symptoms."
 
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C

Chapulin

Veteran Member
Post 2
The operations desk will mark the fishing boat on their consoles until it is battered into small pieces and no longer a threat. The small load of fish are lost in the incident and the captain needs to call his insurance company. Our helo requests permission to land and our crew escorts the fishermen in blankets to a nearby ambulance. The cautionary trip to the emergency room makes sure they came through with only minor scrapes.

Meanwhile, the bomb team had collected underwater contact mines from Navies around the world that still had inventories, it was a lack of interest that some of this history was still in inventory. The bombs had protective caps over the spikes which made them safer to transport. The team had contracted with a Middle Eastern bomb maker for highway IEDs. They changed the IEDs to conserve explosives and replaced the triggers with IOT devices. The campaign was to cause economic damage to the United States. The IEDs needed to fire every time, but didn’t need to maim and kill. The US mainland targets would be unarmored and disabling vehicles would create the necessary media concern. Taking it to a maiming/killing level meant wasting a focused resource. Five team members making a billion dollars apiece in crypto currency would pay for 3 months of work.

Meanwhile, the ready copter designation passes to the second crew and our helicopter is fueled, cleaned, supplied and tied down. The helicopter was put through maintenance and a readiness flight. I am back in the crew area writing up our reports and thinking about supper. We file our daily reports and hit the showers as we change to go back to quarters.

Our crew in Astoria were hoping for an easy shift following the storm and fishing boat incident the previous shift. The next day starts like most. We arrive at work dressed for PT and work out with a shower before we get in our flight suits. We review commentary on our reports from yesterday and check for updated orders. We check the logs for our helicopter from the last crew that flew it. We take one of the helicopters, which is back from service, on a shakeout flight before it goes on the operational line. We go up Highway 30 for a couple of minutes. I was passing the new Hotel area and the small industrial park when something caught my wondering eye. It looked like an old WWII underwater contact mine on a forklift between a warehouse and a truck. Looping the Jayhawk was out of the question as was alerting the rest of her crew with no certainty. We went over Camp 18 in Elsie and turned around for base coming into town on the other side of the river. Back at base we cleaned up yesterday’s reports and hit the showers before the end of the day.

Year around we handle calls for lost hiker pickups and boat accidents between the bar and Portland, OR. We also provide emergency medical pickup from the coastal hospitals back to Portland, There are USCG cutters based on the river in Astoria that monitor the fishing industry and occasionally deal with drug runners. Our side arm is more a safety tool and their small arms tend to be used offensively.

As for me, I’m renting a small 1 bedroom that works out well for me. There is parking for my brown Explorer and I feel safe leaving my mountain bike on the porch. I stop by the local market for items for breakfast and head for home away from home. My days off in the middle of the week have me joining my husband Paul in the Northgate community of Seattle. He has been an architect and energy guru, but is currently a Facilities Manager with a Military base in the Cascades.
 
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Lake Lili

Lake Lili

Veteran Member
Hi @Chapulin
Thanks for the new chapter! Appreciate the level of detail.
I am finding that there the sudden shifts in the story are making the flow a bit of a challenge to read. For example, you are coming to the end of paragraph 1 with a few scrapes... only to suddenly be with a bomb team. Perhaps the insertion of a simple marker, like "oo00oo" or "----//----", might clue the reader into the shift without disrupting the flow of your writing.
Looking forward to Chapter 3.

Lili
 
C

Chapulin

Veteran Member
I have been using the new scene location as the first text of a paragraph. The bomb team, The Ops desk. I can easily move to a keyword Meanwhile, the bomb team ... if that would help?
 
Griz3752

Griz3752

Retired, practising Curmudgeon
Truthfully, for me, there's more character/situation building in the last paragraph (I’m renting a small 1 bedroom .....) than pretty much all before but I'm a patient guy; I'll wait to see where it all goes.
 
C

Chapulin

Veteran Member
Post 3
The next morning I pack up the Explorer for a quick trip to Seattle. It is good to see Husband Paul. He was cooking a new vegetarian casserole recipe and we took our glass of wine to the back deck.
Paul said, "Anything new at work?"

I replied, "More of the same.” A new crew chief that is trying to learn the area." "The Coast Guard has caught the Cascadia Fault bug, there appears to be some new research to incorporate."

Paul said, "Our Merritt facility has been studying that as well." "On another subject, George, my new assistant is really starting to help." "It may be time to start talking about our next move."

I answered, "We should host a get together with George." "I guess our next plans should be creeping into the 1-3 year picture." "You have been working on a house plan and energy analysis for the Newport, OR area." "What if we adopted those plans for us and looked between Newport and Lincoln City on the coast?"

Paul replied, "My plans are good enough people seem to copy them with ease." "Or at least a recent client thought so." "Those towns sound like useful goal posts." "You could be looking for a 3-5 acre location with decent ocean views and a south facing house site." "We would need power and paved road access to the lot line." "We would be looking for a small city that has adopted the State of Oregon building codes and would embrace short term rentals with a well and septic field."

I added, "So that gives me a set of criteria to start looking for." "You could start adopting the plans for more reasonable bug out requirements and defenses that wouldn't take a tank company to implement that are in the current plan." "I want windows to look out not shooting slots in the walls." "The castle parapets and crenels are negotiable."

Paul answered, "I know how we live versus the contracts I get." "I think we have our marching orders."

I said, "Back to the current. The most interesting sighting this week was what appeared to be an old style WWII mine on a forklift." "It didn't seem to be any kind of official truck." "I am planning to spend a little time researching it."

Paul responded, "A contact mine is a little hard to hide and move at 400 pounds or so." "Don't invite it for dinner." "Speaking of dinner our smells like it is almost ready." "Care to put our plates out?"


The next day we got up and ran for 2 miles. It feels good to run in this neighborhood. We grabbed an early lunch and I headed south to Astoria while Paul ran some local errands before heading up the hill to Merritt.


Bomber Sanchez is our dark web guru and wasn't in Astoria yet. Bomber Billy called him, “Is the Dark Web account setup?”

Bomber Sanchez responded, “Yes and I have it ready for Crypto transactions.” “We don’t need a bank on an island with Crypto.” “There are more signs the government can track Crypto transactions and has recovered some of the ransoms.” “I am incorporating a couple of secure transactions they can't watch.”


I have time to put my bike on the Explorer and head for a forest trail around Cannon Beach. I follow some Elk dropping of the herd that has now occupied CB during the year. I have a small pack with water and my 9mm Glock 26 gen 5 in a pocket of the pack. While husband Paul carries a behemoth Coonan 357, I know how to shoot. I manage to get in a 10 mile ride and not bump into anyone or anything. I did see the forest’s dry condition and plenty of fuel on the forest floor. Portland had serious forest fire a couple of years ago that essentially came into the Metro area and we shouldn’t ignore the California problems.

I drive back to Astoria and wave to Ann a good friend who lives across the street with husband Frank. Ann works in the crime lab of the Clatsop County Sheriff. Dinner was a chicken pad Thai recipe with bean sprouts. A good choice for our fall moderate temperatures. It should create 2 more leftover meals.
 
S

seraphima

Veteran Member
More character color in this story is much appreciated, a definite plus.
I got confused by lack of transition or break to the baddies, though. Also, why wouldn't Nancy routinely report seeing a a contact mine to her chief? Thanks!
 
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C

Chapulin

Veteran Member
Post 4
Back at work, we took another training flight this time north to Long Beach, WA and the coast line further north. We didn’t spot any flares and we returned to base without incident. I reported one of our running lights needed to be replaced.

We have a remote training session on the Cascadia Fault. The Cascadia Subduction Zone stretches from British Columbia to Northern California caused by the Juan de Fuca plate being pushed under the North American plate. Major damage has been predicted, new research says quakes of magnitude 9 or 10 are possible. The last quake was in 1700 and they are expected every 250 years. The scenario the USCG is working on is simultaneous response across 3 states and an International border. Unless a plate shatters this won’t be a localized event. Seattle and Portland would lose most of its bridges with the new Sellwood Bridge in Portland having the best chance of survival. Regional planners are concerned about smaller bridges scattered all over the PNW that support reasonably level highways crossing the foot hills of mountain ranges. Routing a third of the area traffic over a continuous ribbon of streets after the quake is a tall order. The slogan about keeping a 3 day supply is quaint at best. The PNW Coast Guard helicopters are being assigned to check major river bridges. We are also looking for non-radio, wireless based communications that will allow more updates from multiple agencies at once. The experts need to create the systems that will be updated and clients and access permissions need to be distributed. Luckily we were able to absorb the whole training without a single alarm.


The bomber team had rented a drive in rental space on the East side of Astoria and a truck had brought their 20 foot container. As they unpacked it they threw out the lavender bundles added to keep sniffing dogs away. They used a forklift to unload the wooden boxes holding the IEDs and stack them to the right side of their space. The forklift also lifted out the contact mines sitting 3 across by 6 rows deep and moved them to the left side of their space. They left a walkway down the middle to finish the preparations on the individual explosives. They were careful who was watching this process and it took nearly a week to bring everything in. The container company took another week to pick up their unit.


I am back home and had a dinner of thai left overs. Paul just sent me a possible building lot in Otis, OR off Highway 10 to Salem, north of Lincoln City. One of the TDYs in Merritt had talked about it during mealtime. It is technically north of our goal posts but close enough to still use our criteria.

Back to tonight's task, I put on a dark jogging outfit with a small headlamp and my backpack with my cellphone, a full magazine and a device for tracking cars. Paul and I were testing if these devices could track aircraft and found they did a reasonable job. My box of research goodies had 3 of these units. I drive my brown Explorer to the warehouses on the other side of town. I narrow the number of warehouse doors to 2, but nothing to tag with a tracker yet. I took some cell pictures. I decided to take a jog since I don’t get out to this side of town often. What was the story here?
 
C

Chapulin

Veteran Member
Post 5
The bomber team loaded their truck with a layer of wooden boxes and threw a tarp over them. They locked up their warehouse and drove to the end of the building. They turned right onto the main road and went through town to the ramp for the bridge to Washington. They were headed for a back street in Megler. The bomber team truck parked in the carport for the night. The bomber team called its first meeting and the Tesla was parked out front. Black, Billy, Barney and Butch attended. First they swapped who was staying where. The Truck with Black and Billy would stay in Megler. Barney and Butch would take the Tesla to Tongue Point. The agreed it was now time to go operational and poke the beast. One change was to deploy mines for 2 weeks and then start the highway IEDs. The truck would deploy 4 contact mines to finish the week. Next week both vehicles would deploy and trigger IEDs on the area highways in Washington and Oregon. Also next week we are deploying 4 more contact mines.


Work the next day involved expected trips and incidents after a Cascadia Fault occurs. This will update some of our existing plans since it requires a quick assessment of a slightly bigger area. Our standard procedure is to send out 2 birds leaving a ready crew for an event or picking up one of the other crews if a flight emergency occurs. We can also bring in MH-65 Dolphins in from the Olympic peninsula, except this scenario guarantees a lack of available resources. Our expected missions are monitoring and triaging the Columbia Bar, water traffic between the Coast and Portland including the major bridges. Flyovers of I-5 and Hwy 101 looking for minor bridge obstructions and collapses from Eugene, OR to Centralia, WA. We take a training flight south along the coast. This will cover the area down to Newport and gives me an opportunity to look for property from the air, while I am looking for emergencies.

This week I’m staying in town for errands and exercise. With my schedule the middle of the week is my weekend and try to make it to Seattle every other week. Today I decide to have lunch at the Rogue Public House on the east side of Astoria, the same exit as the warehouse I want to investigate. Paul called and wished me a good day for shopping, if he only knew. I’m in luck that there is a truck and the forklift busy today and I have identified the warehouse door at this point. Pallets of wooden boxes about the size of a cubic foot are being lifted into the truck. I get license plate information and write down the description of a flatbed medium duty truck with an orange cab over. It would be useful information to know where the truck was going and I have time to sit in my Explorer and play with my cell phone. I see them park the forklift in the warehouse/garage and drop the overhead door. Two swarthy guys tie down a tarp and hop in the truck. The truck drives to the other end of the row of buildings. I wait for them to come around to the exit and they take a right turn into town.

One advantage of smaller towns is the ease of following someone. Going west their destination is either in town, across the bridge to the north or the roundabout to head south on the coast. I stay a block back and dodge the tourist campers getting confused with the lanes through town. I see the orange cab ahead turn onto the bridge approach and I can calmly follow. The bridge has 2 lanes each direction and the local pelicans are flying next to it. I can stay 10 or 12 cars back. Now in Washington they can go left for Long Beach or right for Megler. They take the road less traveled and go toward Megler. They take the first left in town and head into the foothills with a right after the second block. Now I need to be careful. Not being detected is more important than finding where they are going. I skip their turn and go another block. I am now on the edge of town and take my right. In 2 blocks my road ends and I turn downhill. At the next intersection I see the truck backed into a car port 3 houses from me and on the downhill side of the street. The pair are carrying the wooden boxes into the house. I drive past and head for home after I write down the street address and verify the truck license number.

The next evening I decide to return to Megler and repeat my previous trip until I am past the house with a carport. There are no neighborhood dogs as I approach the house on foot. I see the truck and a Tesla parked in front. I attach a tracker in the front wheel well of the driver’s side of the truck and get back to the sidewalk and add a second tracker on the right rear of the Tesla. I walk past the house and the front curtains are closed. I continue to the end of the street, cross to the uphill side and walk back to my Explorer. Just as I am leaving a car turns into the house next to the one I am watching.

Once home I document which vehicle has which tracker. I want to separate visited locations by vehicle. I know the warehouse and the Megler house, and I’ll update the coordinates as the vehicles start moving around. I am still perplexed by the single sighting of a contact mine. The Megler house wasn’t the typical candidate for a weapons collector.
 
C

Chapulin

Veteran Member
Post 6
Back at work we studied Hwy 26 and 30 from Portland to the Coast as the major East/West roads. Seaside Oregon has recently sold its schools that were built in a Tsunami zone and the Long Beach Peninsula in WA also needs Tsunami collection points. We develop a plan to start with 1 bird on either side of the Columbia with planned activities and forecasts for immediate needs. Our regional focus is developing the knowledge of getting emergency vehicles around the area with the quickest reroutes assuming the volcanos stay dormant.

We start reviewing our flight segments for the Cascadia Fault and adding in Lahars and specific bridges. Through Government contracts we can get satellite updates for those areas, but locating traffic jams will be faster than evaluating before and after satellite images when the event happens. The big caveat is most of the Washington volcanoes have radio monitoring, but if they go active it will trigger new geography across the Western US. The Washington feeling is their volcanos are nearer big populations than the string of volcanos in Oregon. Even if one or two of the volcanos are triggered into activity by the rupture of the Cascadia Fault, most of the planning will be round filed because it focused on clawing back versus starting over. In a sense our Coast Guard flights will directly inform which method of recovery should be implemented. The Feds need to be focused on the region while states and counties will have more local focus including whether the volcanos have triggered or stayed dormant.


The Bomb team needed to train on the IED, The one known as Black had been the Project Manager/Owner of this phase, "This is a modified TM62 anti vehicle mine with a remote trigger." "We were considering pressure cooker bombs, but pressure cookers are targeted toward personnel damage." "I want to take everyone up a highway away from town and fire one of these off." "I want to test the wireless trigger with the distances we are expecting." "It will be a prototype with the most recent communications package, but only half of the explosive load."

Butch asked, "Why do you have concerns?"

"Even today there are pockets without cell coverage in this area." "Butch if you are willing to drive the Tesla we can all take a little trip." "Once we are operational, each vehicle will decide its own locations." "The driver will drop the field worker near the site at least an hour before we plan to trigger it." "They will place the bomb near the roadway." "After crossing the road they will go at least 150 feet into the brush." "After the attack move another 100 feet further from the road and start hiking a half mile away from the scene and get close to the road." "An hour after the attack, call your driver to pick you up." "The pickup point needs to be easy for the vehicle to pull off and enough cover for the field worker to hide until the vehicle is there."


Next I start building a sample of their travels. I have coordinates for Megler and the warehouse and a location further out in Tongue Point from the truck. Historically Tongue Point is known as a campsite for the Lewis and Clark expedition and later a naval pier.

I plot another set of coordinates are up Highway 26 toward Elsie and an apartment in Astoria. A quick trip with my Explorer and the mountain bike found a turn out on Highway 26 and a small burn area about 200 feet off the road. I photograph the general area and I bag up some the man made remainder at the burned area. The burned area wasn’t big enough for a marine contact mine and didn’t have any wood fibers. So far I only have 2 vehicles and 4 locations.

The next day I walk the box with bags of charred remains over to neighbor Ann across the street.
"Thanks for letting me in." "Do you have a minute?", I started.

She replied, "Shouldn't you be headed to Paul this week?"

I said, "This should be my week to head for Seattle, but Paul is staying at Merritt and I have more to do here than there." "I found these off of Highway 26 toward Elsie." "Could you treat these as a suspicious nature and run them through the Clatsop Sheriff Lab?"

She continued, "This can't be my first priority, but I can work them in pieces."

As I was leaving, "Thanks, I don't have a deadline." "Talk to you later."

Back home, I look at the property being sold outside of Otis, OR. It just came on the market and the price is fair. I will take a look at the satellite views getting a general fee for neighbors and scoping out nearby shopping possibilities. I will also locate the nearest concrete plant and find some recommended contractors and subs for the general area. If it still looks good I can suggest Paul come down to visit the site.
 
Sportsman

Sportsman

Veteran Member
Thank you. All this is happening without any official sanctions. Wonder when they'll bring in the officials?
I like the reading style as well!
 
O

Old Gray Mare

TB Fanatic
Sportsman said:
Thank you. All this is happening without any official sanctions. Wonder when they'll bring in the officials?
I like the reading style as well!
Click to expand...
I understand the need for informal ways of getting things accomplished by the most expeditious method. This is needed when dealing with larger, inefficient or inept institutions. In this case I'm left wondering why?
 
C

Chapulin

Veteran Member
Post 7
I have started driving out to the Warehouse and Tongue Point locations after the truck tracker showed a pair of trips to between them. My third night I am rewarded with the truck on the Tongue Point dock and an older small ocean fishing boat next to it. The truck tarp is covering something about the size of 2 contact mines, but that is just wishful thinking. A quick look shows 3 or 4 guys moving around in the light rain. The blue Tesla is parked back in front of the house on the hillside. The coordinates I wrote down end up being a house on the bank that leads out to the Peninsula. It looks like a run down 2 or 3 bedroom with a garage.

My problem with repeating this route every night at Tongue Point is being seen too often. What the cop shows call "making their tail". The Washington side is too far away even with a decent pair of binoculars. I start wondering if I can get a tracking unit on the boat, the devices supposedly have a water proof cover. On my day off I drive to Tongue Point and park near the pier. It is a safe bet that deploying contact mines is not a daytime activity. It is time to photograph the boat and I have a story about looking for a boat to rent for a deck party. 2 slips from my target is someone working on their motor.

“A nice day for chores.” I say.

The boater replies, “I can think of worse places to be.” “What brings you out here today?”
Here comes my line, “I am looking for a boat similar to that one to rent for a party out on the river.” “Any idea how many she would seat.”

The boater says, “That one is more of a workhorse, but it should carry 10-12.” “You could look at its load plate.” “I have heard this one is rented for the next month.”

I respond, “Thanks I will take a look at the steering console.”

Which happens to be where its load plate was and a perfect opportunity to hide the tracker. I thanked the gentleman working on his motor and took down the registration of my target in the afternoon sun. Best guess is they had at least 1 trip without my tracker but the direction and distance are unknown. The news that night had the Oregon Patrol dealing with a log truck with an exploded wheel on Highway 26 to the coast. The driver was taken to the hospital and a load of logs is spread across the roadway.

The next morning, I called a site prep contractor Nerd, "We are considering a building site near Otis, OR."

I said, "What parts of site prep do you bid?"

Nerd replied, "A road from the street to your site." "Parking areas for the construction crews and their Sani-Can." "Underground utility trenches along the driveway." "Including trenches with a well and septic fields and where they enter the foundation system." "We remove invasive plant growth, such as blackberries, and bring in gravel." "We have a concrete pumper truck and work with the local concrete yard." "We have the construction equipment for building knockdown and regrading." "We advocate for not building during nesting season, especially on coastal sites."

I said, "Thanks for the complete answer." "We need to finish the purchase and we will be back in touch before next season."


The Bomber Team had practiced with their IED and dropped off Billy and Black in Megler and the Orange Cab Truck. Their target was on Washington's Hwy 101 between the communities of McGowan, Chinook and Stringtown. It was the major truck route between Astoria, OR and Long Beach, WA. Billy and Black loaded a pair of IED boxes for the evening. It didn't take long and Black dropped Billy and an IED outside of Chinook and continued into Seaview to wait about 90 minutes. He was rewarded with the volunteer fire department activating in about an hour. Billy had headed up the bank into the forest thankful it was dry and shouldered his pack to disappear into the brush, he watched the sunset paint the sky orange over the Pacific Ocean. He made it back to the road and picked a location with plenty of view north and south on the highway. He found a good location with soil close to the roadway.

His hand held pick hit about 15 whacks and then he had to duck out of view when a car approached. Back on his shallow hole he cleared the material and set his device. One more pickup forced him to stop and duck. He found some leaf material to cover the device and packed up. He went back to his spot on the hill and waited. A truck with what appeared to be a haul trailer came in to view going a little faster than they should be. When the truck was about just in front of his device he pressed a button on his cellphone screen. There was a flash and the dragging axle showered the area with sparks and then a boom and the scrapping noise of the truck coming to a stop.

Billy followed the route he had scouted earlier toward Chinook. He dropped into town on the south side as he heard the sirens pass. When he crossed 101 to a view turn out he could see the tail lights of emergency vehicles heading to his accident on the coastal road. Billy ducked into the brush closer to Chinook and waited for his ride as traffic started backing up on the south bound lane. An ambulance passed him in the northbound lane with their emergency lights flashing. A while later the backed up traffic started slowly flowing again and the orange cab truck came by and pulled off to the view area. Billy tucked a hitchhiking sign under his arm and trotted out to Black and the truck. On their way home they passed the accident which had involved a grain hauler. Given the ocean side the bombers hadn't followed protocol to pick up Billy south of the accident site.
 
C

Chapulin

Veteran Member
Post 8
The Bomb Team has 18 M-08 Russian (Pre USSR/in 1908) contact mines which have been imitated in certain parts of the world. The Hertz horn is protected by a protective metal cap during transport and storage. The horn has a vial of electrolyte/conductive liquid inside the spike made of a weak metal such as lead. It doesn't take much of a contact with the ship side to break the vial and which starts a chemical reaction which detonates the mine. More improvements have gone into blocking false detonations of the cheap hardware than improving the explosive with dirty bomb ingredients.

I called someone that has been between appointments in the Coast Guard. Bosun Rick answered on the second ring. I start, “Could you come to Astoria next Tuesday night?” “I have a side project and need to take a boat on the Columbia.” “I could use a kayak but 2 sets of eyes would be better.”

Bosun Rick answered, “I happen to be in town with my brother.” “You were going to be my next call.” “How about dinner at the Wet Dog?”

I said, “Haven’t been there for a while, how about we meet for supper in an hour?”
Bosun Rick answered, “Sold”

I had time to package up my findings and drove into town noting the scattered clouds. The fishing boat tracker is away from the dock and a 50 percent chance we could see it from the restaurant.

I brief him on my past activities, “We were flying over the warehouses in Astoria and I swear I saw an old contact mine.” “That led to a truck with a load of wooden boxes going to a house in Megler, WA.” “I have used a couple of mobile trackers that Paul and I played with.” “Which got me out to a second house with a Tesla and a fishing boat out in Tongue Point.”

I checked my cellphone and just north of us the fishing boat was coming south. I continued, “Their rental boat should be coming into view under the evening clouds.”

Bosun Rick had his camera out, with a medium telephoto lens, “it just stopped and there is activity on the stern.” “They are doing something in the water”. “They just high fived.”

I said, “I have the coordinates of where they stopped.” “Are you up for a boat trip tomorrow?”
Bosun Rick replied, “I’ll bring a snorkel and my diving suit.” “You rent a boat from the John Day Boat Ramp.” “I will meet you there about 2:30pm.”

We finished our dinner and went our separate ways. The news that night included a truck that suffered an explosion that blew off the right front tire. The driver had a full load of grain which she brought under control by moderating her speed. This was on Highway 101 near McGowan Washington. Nancy hasn't noticed yet, but the truck with the orange cab stopped in that area an hour or so before and after.

In the morning I call Ned a builder working around Otis, "We are interested if you have heard of the Fastfoot foundation system?" "It uses a high density polyethylene fabric and much less wood than a traditional foundation."

Ned said, "We started to use it more." "We find its faster and integrates with Integrated Concrete Form walls with the Fab-Form Monopour."

I said, "My husband says you need to sell me on ICF, Integrated Concrete Form, walls."

Ned started, "We find ICF is a much tighter construction." "Most people think of walls with openings such as doors and windows and then the roof areas above." "The skill of the builder and his crew control the unintended infiltration and gaps that really impact your energy bill." "Do you have bathroom fans blowing out heated air through an uninsulated pipe?" "Do you have a ventilation system using a single external inflow with a single external outflow?" "We run our Model J sizing of HVAC using the sub system and not individual rooms." "It shows you where to invest your insulating dollar based on the coldest temperature for your location."

Ned added, "We prefer the 6 inch concrete core with a final 13 inch wall for the coastal areas, but have done some 8 inch cores with a 2 inch insulation sleeve inside the insulation block for a 14 inch finished wall." "You still have approximately 6 inches of concrete strength but add a third more insulation in the walls." "That can almost be required if your site drops to 0-10 degrees in the winter."

I said, "You can still pass rebar through the block to tie in patios and walkways?" "What is your preferred roof system?"

Ned said, "Yes the external features tie right back into the wall and slab." We have been using metal trusses and hanging 4 inches of insulation board below which provides a continuous minimum of 2 inches of insulation from the vertical wall to the horizontal ceiling." "We ask for an energy foot and can easily put the current 50 inches of blown insulation and still have ventilation below the roof deck." "Any ventilation tubes are buried in insulation until they reach the house exterior." "The whole inside is covered with drywall like most current interiors." "You should be able to use any kind of external wall material you can think of."

I enthusiastically said, "That all adds to what Paul has been explaining." "Thanks for the detailing your experience, we will be in touch."

This finished my search for contractors and building supplies. The town of Otis has adopted the Oregon building codes as their own. I spend the morning online looking for other property on the Oregon Coast. A number of good sites have been claimed as RV parks on the coast line. Three connected lots just over an acre each with a small older cabin toward the middle would be a good start with an existing well and old septic field. I will check in with Paul as I get a break in my current tasks.

My next task is reserving a medium size fishing boat for later in the day. I know too many recreational boats would be out first thing in the morning and closer to the heat of the day will discourage most of them. I get dressed for being out in the sun and replace the hiking boots with general running shoes. I add an underwater camera and a couple of snacks to my backpack. I drive through Tongue Point and the tracked boat is in its slip at the end of the pier and none of the vehicles are around.
 
C

Chapulin

Veteran Member
Post 9
Bomber Sanchez had plotted long and hard on how to announce their demands. It was a little old school but sending an email to an open fax gateway with the fax number of an Idaho Senator ended up being the right way to announce the ransom and the penalties for not acting. Sanchez could hide his identity and the accounts he used could be throw away assets he would no longer need.


I make it to the John Day boat ramp and pay for the rental. I get the boat introduction and run through a basic safety check. I fire it up and move it to a pier area as Bosun Rick finds a nearby parking place. He brings a fishing pole, a camp cooler, and a duffle bag. He is also wearing what can only be called a goofy fishing hat. Since he is regulation Coast Guard he also runs through a safety check as we get underway. We have a couple of GPS units to get near our dive site. It takes us 90 minutes to go around the point and get downtown Astoria in view. We see light pleasure craft traffic in addition to some large bulk freighters that are anchored in the area. Rick has changed into his wet suit and organized what he is taking down including my camera. The fish finder is showing an anomaly above the bottom of the river. If we didn't know any better we could probably cruise right over the object. Given our backgrounds we decide to stop a little ways away from it. I take the goofy fishing hat and the pole to the bow of the boat while Rick prepares his dive at the stern. We arranged this as a light reconnoiter and don't have radios between us.

He starts the dive slowly and tugs an all clear on his rope. A few minutes later and Rick gives it another tug indicating to me that he has visual with the object. In the shadows of the dark water is an eerie sight most sailors haven't seen in a couple of decades. More recent sailors would give it something like an Oh Crap. It strikes Rick as ominous and heavy in the cold water. It has the traditional spikes and is tethered with a weight on the bottom. The top of it is 8 feet under the water surface. Rick collects some basic measurements and takes a couple of pictures with different orientations. Now it is time to get to the surface and spread the alarm. If the USCG Cutter is docked near the Astoria Ship museum it would be a good starting point otherwise getting the operations center involved is a good start. This will probably end up on the task list of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Detachment NW at the Seaplane base at the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station from Washington.

As Rick surfaced he exclaimed, "Bingo, got one." "I need to get this reported."
Feeling excited I responded, "Great, I am glad we found one." "I have another place to check." "The perps appear to take 2 mines per trip and there have been at least 2 trips." "This location isn't in the shipping channel yet." "We need to survey a point about half way back to Tongue Point."

I grabbed a notebook and started taking notes with coordinates and date/time spotted.
I also calculated the half way point back to the Tongue Point dock and this mine. We were taking a straight path and not pretending we were locating fish. I gave ourselves 10 minutes over the half way point and we found an anomaly closer to the shipping channel. We decided we had enough without a second dive and high tailed it back to the John Day Ramp as the wind picked up. I took over getting our boat back to the dock and Rick changed out of his diving suit and repacked the duffle bag. He got a cold water out of the cooler for each of us. We returned the boat, unloaded our gear and got our deposit back after a quick inspection. We decided both us would drive to the Columbia River Maritime Museum and regroup there. Rick had contacted the USCG Cutter Steadfast (WMEC 623) at its dock. We found a picnic table and invited the Captain down for a discussion.
 
Sportsman

Sportsman

Veteran Member
Now we're moving! But, that's just two. There are two more, and who knows how many IEDs. Plus, what's going on with the building programs.
Thank you, please keep these chapters coming.
 
C

Chapulin

Veteran Member
Post 10
The Captain joined us at the table and Bosun Rick introduced me to the Captain. I picked up the conversation, "We were flying over the warehouse area down the street and I think I spotted a WWII contact mine on a fork lift." "I have been following a truck and spotted what looked to be 2 mines on its flatbed next to a boat at Tongue Point." "I invited Rick for dinner last night and we saw the same boat release something upriver of the Wet Dog." "Rick and I rented a boat and surveyed that area this afternoon." "Rick can you show the Captain what we saw?"

Rick said, "I moved the pictures to a thumb drive and we can see them on this laptop."

The Captain said, "Give me minute, I need my leadership here."
Into his radio the captain called, "Have leadership join me dockside."

We had 3 others joining the Captain in quick order. The pictures quieted the group and I added the details I had recorded, including the second set of coordinates. I will have to run through all of this with the Air Station, but this security cutter was closer to the edge of the spear for this type of incident.

The Captain questioned me, "You say you estimate they have taken the boat out 3 times with 2 mines apiece?" "We suspect we know only know the location of a third of them."

I confirmed for the Captain, "That is my best information." "I would recommend the ship add a watch to the warehouse." "I think I can activate some shore resources to get the search warrant."

The Captain directed me, "Get your resources moving." "We should alert the operations center." "At this point the public shouldn't be at risk, but deeper assets need to be careful." "It would be a good idea for the operations center to activate some pilot boats to scan for anomalies." "Send your pictures to this address" and he provided a contact list.

I called neighbor Ann as the table emptied, "Hello Ann, this is Nancy." "I need some help." Can you get the Sheriff to get a warrant for a warehouse with probable explosives on the West side of town?" "I have elements of the Coast Guard watching it, but your team should open it up."

Ann said, "I'm sending him an email." "We need to talk." "That box of charred remains you gave me has kicked over a hornets' nest." "Somebody is putting remote control IEDs on the side of highways and targeting trucks." "The explosive signature from your evidence matches at least 4 other attacks." "The Sheriff's task force wants to know how you found it days before the other incidents."

I replied, "I am more than willing to talk on background."

With the discussions over Bosun Rick and myself were left sitting at the table looking around. It was almost dark when the meeting ended. Bosun Rick invited Ranger Ben to join us at the Fort George pub for an IPA in celebration. During our little party I found out what Bosun Rick and his brother Ranger Ben had done with Paul at Merritt. They told the story with a little more detail than my husband had done. Talk about a story.

A short time later Bosun Rick answered his phone. It was the Captain who said, "You won't guess who showed up at the warehouse." "The orange cab over flatbed." "Our watch was smart enough to let them open the overhead door before they went in." "It is a treasure trove from the dark side." "Mines and IEDs." The Sheriff made the arrest and they are going to dump the cell phones as their highest priority."
 
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C

Chapulin

Veteran Member
Post 11
The operations center manager saw a developing problem with enough smoke. He realized he was in the middle of it and might as well own the responsibility of any fire that would develop. Relying on lists of team members from the Oregon and Washington Earthquake response he could identify officials from affected counties and governments at all levels. He started with a small team of 8 with 3 of his staff members in a remote meeting session.

The manager said, "Thank you for joining me for an update for a developing new regional situation." "Let me introduce Joe to handle the existing case so far."

Ops Joe started, "This article crossed the AP this morning." "It references a $5 billion ransom demand or the area around the Columbia Bar will be in turmoil." "We know the Coast Guard in Astoria and the Clatsop County sheriff has a number of marine contact mines and IEDs captured in a storage locker in Astoria." "We have a number of highway reports on both sides of the river of trucks suffering accidents caused by explosives that have been linked to the captured inventory." "I am going to ask Cindy and Chuck to brief the highway incidents in each state."

What followed was the initial list of trucks, industries and hospitalizations caused on both sides of the river. This presentation was the first to tie the highway incidents in 2 states into a common threat.

The manager then asked, "Would each of the attendees this morning brief their network and see if this is a complete list of incidents and if we have any motives other than economic." "Ops Joe will be my coordination point to collect and distribute new information as we get it." "We will meet again in 48 hours."

When I got back to work, I asked for a few minutes with the Air Station Commander.

I started, "I need to come clean with a few activities that occurred in my off work time." "Bosun Rick and the USCGC Steadfast Captain responded, but weren't leading." "I observed on a recent flight what appeared to be a WWII contact mine." "I added tracking devices to 2 vehicles and a fishing boat." "I also provided some evidence with explosive residue to a friend in the Clatsop County Sheriff lab and located a deployed contact mine in the Columbia."

The Commander said, "I just got out of a new operations center task force meeting that was apparently discussing your escapades." "Do you have anything that would add to the possession charges for the 2 perps from the storage locker?"

I replied, "Treat it as unofficial, but I have tracking times and coordinates that line up with some of the highway bombings and have a couple of locations of interest." "I wasn't certain of the raw sighting I saw, but I have confidence in the developing story." "I also tagged a second vehicle that works more heavily on the Oregon side."

The Commander said, "What do you have on the mines in the Columbia river?"

I said, "I briefed the Steadfast Captain with Bosun Rick on specific coordinates with pictures and a second probable location."

The Commander said, "We'll keep the vehicle tracking as background information, but I would like you to take my seat at the Task Force meeting starting tomorrow." "You need to give Ops Joe and the Clatsop County Sheriff a data dump of what you have collected." "I need you for flight duty, but I'll pull you from the Cascadia Fault effort for this project." "Keep me informed and I'll get you anything you need." "Understand there is a ransom demand that will supposedly stop the bombers." "I will try to get Bosun Rick assigned here to work with you temporarily." "Try to remember you are an information analyst and not a boots on the ground soldier."

I was thinking as my husband says for the range of outcomes that one was a pleasant surprise. We handled a flight to pick up an injured climber on Mt. Hood and I started organizing a presentation for the other data analysts on the task force. I also drafted an email covering the active blue Tesla, the two houses in Tongue Point and Megler and the bombings the Tesla was around for the Sheriff to work with other law enforcement. I wasn't expecting my information in court, but the hints should let them create their own case and it will hopefully explain my initial efforts.


I called Paul, "Do you have time to hear how my week has gone?" "You have probably heard about the bombings along both sides of the Columbia." "Bosun Rick and I went on a fishing trip and made a little history. Now it is a matter of keeping the organizations working smoothly." "Spotting that possible WWII mine has turned into a work project for me." "I don't see flying my helicopter in this scenario, but more of analysis and coordination."

Paul answered, "Well sounds like you haven't gotten in a fire fight." "Stay safe." "I thought you were calling about Otis, OR."
I replied, "So far the bombers don't have an air campaign." "If you promise not to fill up more than a half drawer in your Explorer, you can join me middle of next week, because Otis looks good."
 
Sportsman

Sportsman

Veteran Member
Thank you. Only thing I don't understand is "If you promise not to fill up more than a half drawer in your Explorer" That alluding to heavy weapons?
 
C

Chapulin

Veteran Member
Sportsman, last chapter Paul had built a long gun enclosure on the floor accessible from the back of his SUV. Nancy being more thoughtful doesn't want the whole collection.
 
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