After long good byes and love you to our mates Ching Lee and I boarded with 10 of our administrators the G5 for Minneapolis. Ching Lee and I had packed enough clothes to get us to Sunday.

I needed to be back Sunday, no matter what happened in Minneapolis. The C5 and all the things were going to Kampala on Monday. All the arraignments except for a couple of things had been made.

Marcy, Lorrie, and Vicky were going to carry Robin and Rachael to get gowns suitable to wear to the Ambassadors gala. I had called Ambassador’s Furnell and Dansky to ask if it was acceptable to bring my guest to the gala after I had explained how many and who they were.

Two hours later we were on the ground in Minneapolis loading our bags into another half dozen SUV’s. I had Andy on the phone getting updated on the activities of the night crew.

Ching Lee and I drove straight to the house Andy was using as a command center the rest of my group went to carry everything to the motel the rooms that had been scheduled last night.

Robert’s latest Intel dump was no better than yesterdays. We were going to have to wing it by being in a total prevent mode.

“The heat sensing scanners had been installed last night at all the entrances and I have assigned one man and a woman to each to learn how to use them,” Andy said. Then he added.

“I found some concrete forms that were designed to hold large trashcans that the equipment fit in perfectly. I rented a van and put at each entrance and the controls and flat screens are in them. I have stopped by a couple times and I am satisfied. When you make your rounds check them out,” Andy replied.

“I brought 10 ladies like you asked they will be here soon we need to make sure they all get time in the van,” I replied.

“For your information Ching Lee and I have to leave Sunday and I need Gordon to come with us. There is a Monday flight to Kampala we will be there a week,” I said.

Andy, Ching Lee and I went to the east side building entrance to look at the new thermal scanner operation. The east side was also closest to the command center. The east side was also the location of the field house/ auditorium and one of the main entrances. The large parking lot was also here for all the sports events that happened.

In the back of the van I watched as the students made their way into the building. The thermals worked better than I had expected. It only took seconds for a student to come into view and be scanned. The scanner was remote control and the operator could follow the student if he wanted a better look.

This was not the same equipment that we had rented from east coast for the political debate this was new and improved and a lot faster developing the image.

I had Ching Lee walk down the walk a hundred feet and walk back. I wanted to see how quickly it would tell that she was carrying a gun and what the image looked like since the system was different. It easily picked up the difference between body heat and the cooler gun and the image was good.

We walked into the security office to find Sherman trying to answer questions from several suits. From behind I did not know them but as I went around the corner of the counter I recognized one of the gentlemen as Kelvin Ackerman, the university Chancellor. He was the one that was easiest to convince that JBG was right for the job.

“I can answer that question for you Mr. Ackerman. We should have everything completed with the security audit, the equipment evaluation and the team will be out of here by Monday or Tuesday at the latest,” I replied.

“Ambassador Jones we did not know you were here,” We would have made an appoint to see you,” he replied.

I guess the ambassador title was going stay with me for ever.

“Ching Lee and I just arrived from the airport about an hour ago to review some of the new equipment that shows some promise,” I replied.

“If you are going to be here on Thursday you are invited to the basketball tournament,” Mr. Ackerman replied.

That was the reason Diya was locked on Thursday – the basketball tournament. I wondered why Sherman had not said anything but I was soon going to find out.

I played politician again for the next hour with Mr. Ackerman and his group. After they left I called Sherman and Andy into the meeting room.

“Why was there no connection to the basket ball tournament and Diya?” I asked Sherman point blank.

“There are events in the field house several times a week and on weekends. All of them are on the public schedule,” Sherman replied.

“Then I wonder what is so special about this Thursday compared to all the other events,” I said.

Sherman brought up the school sports calendar to look for anything out of the way that Diya could zero in on.

After a long search there was nothing. The only thing I could think or was there may be more people since it was part of a tournament. But then the field house would only hold so may people. There had to be another connection.

What was important was that we had a general time frame where before we had nothing.

Andy, Sherman and I walked to the field house to evaluate what kind of changes we needed to make to the plans.

The field house had a road direct from the street that allowed buses to come directly to the field house and unload passengers at the entrance. Andy had put tag scanners that read the tag numbers as soon as the vehicle turned off the street.
The problem for us was that it was a 300 yard straight run towards the building that was a long run if the intention to ram the building with a car bomb.

Over the years to break up everyone trying to jam up the exit leaving at once jersey barriers were extended half the distance from the street to the field house.

I knew what I wanted as soon as we started the walk, “Sherman call the rental equipment company and get a front end loader here and six barriers and several hundred traffic cones” I said then added.

“Wednesday night change the traffic pattern. Push a couple of those jersey barriers into the lane and force all incoming traffic to make a right turn and into the parking lot and then make another turn to get to the front of the building. That will slow anything down trying to make a run at the building.”

We checked the rest of the entrances and made changes at all of them to happen Wednesday night.

The next problem that we needed to figure out was how to deal with the anticipated people wearing suicide vest. The infrared scanners hopefully would help spot them but how to deal with them.

Were they going to try to take out a few people or a lot of people? My bet was they were going to be scattered in the bleachers, wait until the car bomb went off and then detonate the vest. But how many would there be was the question. More than one – I was sure – and hoped that we could isolate them outside the building.

Andy wanted to make another change, “Other than the buses carrying players I want all the other buses to unload far enough back so the scanners can get a good look at everyone. The weather is predicted to be good, almost an Indian summer,” he said.

“You are in charge – make it happen – but wait until Thursday morning to set it up, in case they are still checking things out,” I replied.

I spent the rest of the day in one of the cubicles, first on a call with Frank getting an update on Randolph and his accomplices at the other colleges. The information from Randolph had come to an end. His new lifestyle was limited to solitary confinement in a padded cell and was temporarily under suicide watch.

His accomplices had been demoted one level and pay frozen. Their career would be slow moving forward.

Calls to Robert and Eric provided no new information. A VCATS call to the office meeting left me pissed.

AFL-CIO lawyers had been to the office today demanding a complete employee list and all their contact information, addresses, private email address, home phones and cell phone numbers. They were waiting in the lobby for tonight’s meeting for an answer.

“Invite them up. I will give them the answer myself,” I said.

“Not just no but HELL no. We are not going to give you that kind of information on our security people, especially those contracted to the State Department and CIA. If that information was hacked – and we know it will be sooner or later – and distributed it could put our people, their families and our national security at risk,” I replied then I added.

“We will need guidance from the State department, DHS, CIA, and the FBI and may need approval from every country where they are stationed.”

“The manual with the rules and guidance is over a thousand pages and that does not include the verbal agreements between the foreign countries and the state department. Those agreements are on a need to know only and could take months to get approvals just to look at them.”

“When I get back to the office in three weeks I will begin the process. In the mean time put together an information packet in electronic format and we will see that they will get it,” I replied.

Edit by Alfmeister
Proof read by Bob W.