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"Operation Thunderclap"

scifiguy3553




  Phyllis Lund is a lawyer with her own firm out of Minneapolis. She also has a night job, as it were, fighting for environmental causes.

  This time around, she and her retired investigative reporter friend have found a story much bigger than they're used to...one that involves a military secret, and a trap they can't see. A trap built specifically for them.

  Minneapolis, Minnesota. Present Day. Lund & Associates law firm...

  "Phyllis, you have a call from some guy from DC," Erin, Phyllis' secretary intern, called out to her as the young woman walked by Phyllis' office. It was the start of the day and the small law firm was expecting some new clients to stop by. Lund & Assoc had to put on a show for them.

  Phyllis frowned to herself. She didn't do a lot of business with people out East.

  "Did he say he was looking for someone to represent him in court," she asked the disembodied Erin--she was, now, somewhere in the back of the small office; getting things set up for those new clients coming in. "I have to focus on the Hapshaw account! I won't have time to do it...have Ed take it."

  Phyllis could hear Erin talking to the person from Washington, DC as she tried to pass him onto one of Phyllis' junior partners. For a short while, Erin went quiet--listening to the person on the phone.

  "Something about the Yucca project? And something about those bastards did it?" By that time, Erin had walked into Phyllis' office; the cordless phone yet up to her ear. Apparently she was waiting to see if the man on the line had anything else to say and whether or not Phyllis would even take the call!

  For a while, the middle-aged Phyllis just sat at her big, modern desk; trying to figure out the message...then it hit her!

  "Oh, my god! I'll take it," she said to Erin as she actually got up and snatched the cordless from her. She then gently pushed her intern toward her office door. "Get Deborah, too, will you? Have her take over for me today."

  Erin shot an agitated look her way before Phyllis shut the door to her office.

  "Andy...?"

  "Yeah, it's me, kiddo," an elderly man's voice affirmed.

  "Oh, my god...so they actually did it?"

  "Yep, I'm afraid so...only, these days, now we have fracking to complicate it!"

  "No!"

  "Yep..."

  Phyllis' eyes were searching her executive office; more out of feeling helpless than for a need. "How bad?"

  "Mmm, something like a two-pointer. May be bigger!"

  "Oh, god..." Now Phyllis froze on the spot. "Where?"

  "Several miles south of Kingman, Arizona--"

  "Might as well be across the street!"

  "Yep...The governor gave the fracking industry the green light to drill all they want, and this is what happens."

  "We told everybody this," Phyllis said tersely; more to herself.

  "Yeah, we did, Phyl...don't blame yourself. You were just a law student at the time. Besides, they would've found some other legal martial arts to get around whatever environmental roadblocks we put up anyway!"

  Silence, as the two thought.

  "How much did they put into Yucca so far," Phyllis' finally asked.

  "That I'm not sure about. But according to some tv news reports and an article I read online, the media suspect something like a couple of thousand tons--so far."

  "I knew those idiots in Congress would slip Yucca through some congressional rider or something!"

  "Besides telling you about this, there's another reason why I called...the Team is going to get together again and try to tell everyone in Nevada. In fact, some of our hacktivists are already on it on social media right now!"

  "Good," Phyllis said with a determined nod. "We may have to help some of the citizens out there relocate."

  "Yeah," Andrew said with some pain, "we were hoping to avoid that. But it sure sounds like we may have to consider it. With this new crop of ideologues in DC and their allies in the governor mansions throughout the US, I don't see those poor people getting help from our very own government!"

  A short, silent spot.

  "This shit's getting deep, Phyl. Things may get a little--dirty. We'll need some good lawyers to cover for us...you interested?"

  "Andy, you know better than to even ask me that!"

  A chuckle from the older man. "Great...well, I'm at Baltimore-Washington right now. I should be landing in Vegas by afternoon. Think we could meet you out there today? I know you've been busy with your firm and all--"

  "No, I'll be there. I just need to reschedule a bit here...I do think it's important that we're both there, though. You never know, it could just be more disinformation from DC--"

  "Or the corporate boards that get the federal contracts on these projects," Andrew interjected. Indeed, Phyllis had forgotten about that angle.

  She had a sudden thought. "Think we're being bugged?"

  Another pause. Then Phyllis' connection to Andrew was cut.

  ......................

  Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The Exploratory Studies Facility, for the proposed national spent nuclear waste dump project...

  Phyllis and Andrew watched as the maintenance crew packed up their gear and hopped into the white, government truck and drove off from the North Portal of the Exploratory Facility. Since both had driven down from Las Vegas several hours ago in one of Andrew's local friend's car, it was the best shot they had to go into the facility--but not through the North Portal, but by following the maintenance crew! Surprisingly, there were actual tours given at the Yucca Mountain facility, but not in the evenings. So the subversive lawyer and her retired, black listed reporter friend had to think of more creative ways to get inside. They figured every facility will always have some kind of maintenance crew on the clock--even after the US Congress halted the Yucca project due to political pressures and priorities.

  The duo had gone on foot. They were able to keep up with the maintenance workers, as their truck slowly made its rounds and frequent stops for checkups. Being dark on a Fall evening helped cloak Phyllis and Andrew. Finally, the workers drove up to one of the Exploratory's twenty-five foot, gaping boreholes that had two giant conduits poking out of it...and that was their break!

  After both ran into the shadowy entryway, Phyllis and Andrew found hiding spots against the facility's support structures. Looking down the house-sized tunnel, they were able to see those two same conduits running the entire length of the system, but on the ceiling. They waited until the maintenance crew were completely gone before they made their move.

  That same friend of Andrew whom lived in Las Vegas that had supplied the car also gave Phyllis and Andrew a set of night-vision goggles for both of them. He was one of those so-called survivalists. Phyllis was not comfortable around him. For his types of politics were the total opposite of her Progressive views. But Andrew Stahlman had a lot of connections from his old days as an investigative reporter. He tended to make a lot of friends during those days, and they ran the entire political spectrum.

  Finally, after nearly an hour of sneaking around in the same stretch of tunnel, they saw a hallway that connected to other areas of the Exploratory facility. The two had split up by this time, should one or the other get caught, that person could always claim they acted alone.

  Phyllis was using her own smartphone to record her experience in the facility. Andrew was a bit too old school for that, so he left the recording to her. He did have a smartphone, but Andrew brought it along mainly to text Phyllis whatever it was he found
or some other information. He had already gone down one of the other industrial hall way, so Phyllis had to act as her own watch and pointperson...

  Still recording as she went on another fifteen minutes or so, Phyllis saw a small room just off of the main hallway. It looked like a spot for visitors, but she ventured there anyway; not expecting to see much. And not surprising, the basic door was unlocked...what would be the need to lock a tourist cove?

  'NOT SEEING ANY EVIDENCE OF A NUCLEAR FALLOUT OR EMERGENCY FROM THE EARTHQUAKE IN ARIZONA! ARE YOU?' was Andrew's text to Phyllis.

  'SAME HERE! WERE WE FED DISINFO TO TRAP US?' she texted back to him, as she slid into the small room; panic slowly starting to bubble in her!

  'HOPE NOT!'

  'GOING DARK FOR A BIT,' Phyllis informed.

  'K.'

  There was nothing but the large windows to parts of the facility in that visitor cove, so she left it after a few minutes. While waiting in the shadows of one of the Exploratory facility's other sections, Phyllis saw a worker exit from what appeared to be some type of control room...she made a break for it!

  ...and saw the director of the facility!

  "I was wondering when you'd finally make it here," the young thirty-something said to Phyllis. She wore a white coat that so many of those industrial complexes tend to have. She was not wearing a hard hat like every other person Phyllis had seen