Retribution: Chain of Deceit

By D.A. McIntosh

Gold bound for the Third Reich that never made it is now on the salvage ship Phantom heading to England. Renegade Irish Republican Army members want that cargo to buy a nuclear device to destroy London. They have killed several members of the Royal Family and are aiming for more. Unknown to Davin Pierce and his team is that they would do anything to get their hands on that cargo. Meanwhile in the United States there is an FBI investigation of an international black-market ring and its possible connection to the death of the President.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 24, 2002
• ISBN: 9781453534083

D.A. McIntosh

D.A. McIntosh is a retired Army Military Intelligence First Sergeant with over 20 years of service. He is, among other things, a pilot, scuba instructor, amateur photographer, father and grandfather. He also teaches graduate programs in computer and telecommunications technology and management at a local university. Living in Arizona has provided a multitude of experiences in flying, photography and camping, but not much scuba diving, without travelling to the coast. He is the author of ‘Chain of Deceit’ published by Xlibris. When not writing he spends time flying around the southwest, camping and combines his photography with everything he does.

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PRELUDE

Sutter’s Mill, California

Gold discovered in River

January 24, 1848

James Marshall, foreman for the saw mill owned by John Augustus Sutter, while walking along the river beside his mill, looked down and saw a small shiny rock. The rock was gold, a discovery that was ignored by most and was not given any more than a four line comment on the back of a San Francisco newspaper. A store owner named Sam Brannan decided to investigate the find and returned with a bottle full of gold nuggets, shouting that he had found it in the American River. Even with this discovery, the only people that took notice were the nearly 450 residents of San Francisco, almost all of whom headed for Sutter’s Mill to cash in on the discovery. The idea of getting rich quick was on everyone’s mind and soon claims sprang up all around the river.

It wasn’t until 1849, when the government asked the Army to investigate, and President Polk told Congress that the accounts of gold in the territory of California were of such an extraordinary character as would command belief. This started the Gold Rush of 1849, hence the name forty-niners. And greed was a factor that came into play more times than not. Claim jumpers and murders were not uncommon in the hills of California Territory. Soon gold was discovered in the Arizona Territory, Colorado, Nevada and all over the west.

Ever since then, man, woman and child has had a taste for gold and the riches it provided. People have died to attain it, murdered to get it, gone to extraordinary lengths to acquire it. Yet with all the misfortune that befell those who went after it, we still go for the gold. Greed and the power that gold brought would drive a good man to evil and did.

As the rush for gold grew, so did many towns springing up all over the west. And once the gold ran out, silver or copper was mined until that ran out or it became unprofitable to continue. Many of these towns are Ghost Towns now and some are lost forever to the wilderness that surrounds them. Some have a history as being too tough for most and a good person should stay away. Some like Tombstone would never die, towns like Gleeson or Ruby, Arizona are there only in spirit. The town of Bodie, California grew to a population of 10,000 and averaged roughly one killing a day. Bodie was considered the roughest, toughest mining camp anywhere, with 65 saloons, two cemeteries and a mine that produced $75 million in gold over the years it was in existence. But, like most of the others, the only reason to be in Bodie was the gold and when it ran out, so did the population. Gold fever drove people to live in a harsh land, to kill or die for it and love gold more than a good woman.

Over the years that followed, gold never lost its allure. It became more valuable and the country built its economy on it.

Gold had such an appeal that the government would use it to buy favors from other countries. Instead of sending paper money or coins, gold bullion was transported to the nation that was selling something that the United States wanted. This worked well for many years.

World War II, 1942-1943

The United States wanted to end the second world war with Germany and did not have a solid plan to do so, but several members of Congress, high ranking Military Officers, and several enterprising men had a plan to do so. It was a two phase operation and only a limited number of people knew the complete plan. If the first did not work, the second more drastic measure would be implemented. They were prepared to carry out either plan to its success or failure. Early in 1942 they started what would become a nightmare for some and make others very wealthy and even more powerful. The first plan was to buy the services of several high ranking German officers that were close to Adolph Hitler. This was to be done with ten thousand pounds of pure gold bullion. The officers were to assassinate Adolf Hitler, with hopes that with their leader dead the war would end. The money would be used to rebuild their country and start new lives for themselves. If this plan did not work, the planners were prepared to drop an Atomic Bomb on Berlin or whichever city Hitler was reported as being in. The United States considered this to be a test of the bomb, and if it worked as planned, then the drop on Japan would go as planned.

In January of 1943 a freighter, the MaryJean, departed New York with several large crates and a squad of Marines to guard them. She never made it to her destination, sinking in one hundred and twenty feet of water. Due to some strange happenings envolving a German U-boat and an American Gato Class Submarine along with a ships Captain that had some plans of his own, the ship, cargo and some of the crew never saw land again. The bomb, gold and ship disappeared. The exact location of the gold was unknown until the German U-boat and the remains of the MaryJean were found, not more than one hundred yards apart. The gold had been found, the bomb was discovered to have been sold to a third world country which attempted to detonate it in the United States but fortunately failed. The United States never dropped an Atomic bomb on any German city. The bomb was recovered and distroyed by the US Navy.

The gold had been a secret of several high ranking government officials since 1943 and now the secret was out. Greed will again cause many to die and many more to suffer. Many had died in 1943 to protect the gold from capture by the wrong people and others had died to keep it a secret.

It is now more than fifty years since her disappearance. A small team of divers have located her and are now working on recovering the gold and other artifacts from the freighter MaryJean and the German U-boat.

CHAPTER 1

MISSION COMPLETE

Bridge on the Salvage Ship Phantom II

July 27, 1900 Hours

Davin, I think we’re finished here, everything below is secured and all the equipment has been accounted for. I guess it’s time we headed for home, what do you think? asked Capt. John T. Packard, as he scanned out over the open ocean toward the setting sun. Captain John as he was known to his crew had recently retired from active duty Navy and took command of the Salvage Ship Phantom II, based in Jacksonville, Florida. The ship took contracts from the Navy and anyone else that had the money to afford a top of the line salvage operation. His ship was a converted frigate, deactivated from the Navy four years earlier. After some modifications and a few days of sea trails she was ready for work and work she did, recovering wealth and history from some of the most noted wrecks, both ship and aircraft. They were credited for locating several ships that had been considered lost forever.

I do believe you’re correct my wealthy friend. What is it, about four days to dock? Davin Pierce responded from across the bridge, then standing, he walked out on the bridge wing to look at the sunset, thinking, `We’ve been lucky, good weather, no accidents, damn lucky.’

Yea, plus or minus. The seas are not too rough and if the harbor master doesn’t give us too much grief. John replied as he walked over to the chart table to recheck their proposed course. We should be at the dock, oh roughly, ten in the morning on the first of August. Yea, get a little breakfast at the Rusty Shed and load this pig with food and fuel, then ahhhh . . . maybe a little party then head for the States.

Well I guess we have been here long enough. Setting foot on dry land will be a pleasure. Davin said, as he scanned the horizon. Two weeks of diving on the MaryJean and the U-49 has been great but I’ll feel more comfortable once we have departed Portuguese waters. If they knew we just retrieved ten thousand pounds of gold ingots from their coastal waters, they would be a little upset with us.

Hell Davin, you should be used to it by now. Having people mad at you seems to be what you are most famous for. John replied then directed his attention to his first mate. Prepare to hoist the anchor and get under way, Howey. Let’s go look at another piece of ocean, I need a change of scenery.

Aye, Captain. Howey responded and quickly headed out the hatch to prepare the ship for the trip to Casablanca, Morocco. The sound of his deep bellowing voice could be heard all over the ship as he issued orders to the crew. Howard `Howey’ Gates had been the Senior Bridge Officer on the Phantom for 8 months and gained the respect and admiration of his crew and Captain. Howey was a tall, blue-eyed, all American football linebacker. He played for the Naval Academy for his entire four years and graduated in the top 25% of his class. Assigned to the Phantom for the first and third year after graduation, he instructed at the academy for a couple months, moved over to subs and then finally asked to rejoin the crew of the Phantom. Not knowing what or who to expect he was surprised to see his old commander, Packard. Many things had changed, Packard was now a contract commander for the Phantom and the Phantom was no longer a completely active Navy vessel. She had been converted to a salvage and research vessel that was manned by civilians and Navy together.

You know I never gave it much thought, but isn’t it strange, convenient in a way, that the MaryJean sinks within a hundred yards of the German U-boat U-49. And there was boxes of gold on both of them. Makes you wonder what was really going on. Davin commented as they looked over the deep blue ocean in front of them.

Yea, it is strange. The story you were told really doesn’t fit anymore, does it? You’ll be able to sleep like a baby for the next few nights. Captain John said with a short laugh, reaching for the intercom switch he continued, Hold that thought for a sec then into the ships intercom he ordered, Engine room, fire that baby up, we need full power in thirty minutes. Then back to Davin, We can speculate all day and all night and not really solve the mystery. But one thing is for sure, and that is there was a lot of lying and covering up going on by a lot of people back in ‘43 and even now in ‘98.

Yea . . . . Think I’ll get some coffee, want me to bring you a cup. Davin asked as he stuck his head though the hatchway, and received an affirmative nod from Captain John.

Hay, Davin, bring a couple of donuts too. It’s gonna be a long night! John yelled to Davin as he checked the course home.

Captain John and Howey continued to prepare their ship for the journey to Casablanca, but that was only a short part of the trip that lay ahead. First, Casablanca, then after taking on fuel and provisions, they would head to the States to cash in the bounty of their two weeks on the high seas. He and Davin had already taken special precautions to safeguard their treasures. Each member of the crew had been sworn to secrecy and several were on guard duty armed with Colt AR-16 rifles and had orders to protect the contents of the hold from any unlawful entry by anyone that was not a member of the crew, hence pirates.

If the word got out that the Phantom II was carrying gold ingots, they would not be safe to travel freely anywhere in the world, much less a trip all the way back to Florida. Ten thousand pounds of gold ingots would bring a lot of cash when delivered and sold in the right market. John’s share alone would amount to over 3.5 million dollars. A lot of money for a sailor; especially one with plans to retire, and maybe buy a yacht, and move to Palm Beach, Florida. Yea; that sounded good; after years of searching for the mother lode, he got lucky and his friend Davin Pierce convinced him that this was the one. John Packard had been a treasure hunter ever since the early 90’s, after spending twenty years in the Navy, making it to Captain. Then he retired for a while to join his fathers Treasure hunting expeditions. His father worked with Mel Fischer in Key West for many years and when they hit the mother load he broke off and started his own company. His father’s share of the Spanish gold that Fischer discovered was enough to buy his first boat and equipment. When his father died in an accident in 1994, John decided to keep looking until the money ran out. When it did, he had fortunately been contacted by the Navy to return to service and use his newly formed knowledge to assist in a covert operation called Dragon Fire. Its success led to the Phantom II, a converted frigate, now salvage and research ship with a mission.

John and Davin had been friends since high school days. It was only fitting that Davin, who knew where the gold was but did not have the equipment to go after it and John, who had the equipment and knowledge, got together for a quest of wealth that had been sitting on the bottom of the ocean for more than fifty years.

Davin returned with the coffee about ten minutes later and they sat in silence as the ship prepared to be ready to get under way.

Captain, all is ready for you to give the word. Engines are running smoothly and we are ready to hoist the anchor. Howey reported, about 1930 hours, sticking his head in the bridge hatchway.

Very good, Howey. Let’s get the hook up and take a heading of one-one-zero, make it fifteen knots for now. Lets see how she’s riding with all that extra weight in the hold. Captain John ordered and within a few minutes were under way, leaving the remains of the MaryJean to the fish and sport divers if any wanted to venture this far out just to dive on an old hulk.

Aye, sir, Howey responded and rushed out on the wing to signal to the anchor wench operator to raise the hook. Once satisfied the hook was on its way up, he returned to the bridge and spoke into the intercom, Engine room, give me revolutions for fifteen knots and engage when ready. Grabbing the wheel he spun it right until he had the bow and compass on a heading of one-one-zero degrees. This was his favorite part, he had always wanted to drive the big ships, and well, this ship at two hundred and forty feet was considered big by some.

‘I guess we were lucky, she was so far out. Not many divers knew she was here and for sure they didn’t know what was still in the cargo hold. If so, we would not be carrying out all this gold.’ Davin thought to himself as he watched the ship come alive for the transit to Casablanca. The mystery surrounding the MaryJean was a whole story in itself and what seemed a life time ago; he almost lost two close friends and came close to being killed himself. Sitting there on the bridge he could not help thinking about Connie Young and of course Stephanie; both played an important role in getting to where they were right now. And both were down below in the galley having dinner and talking about what they were going to do with their share of the treasure. Two remarkable women and one very happy man, what more could you ask for, except maybe continued good weather and a safe voyage.

John, I guess we will never know exactly what happened between these two wrecks, but finding that skeleton that was obviously tied to the bulkhead was unsettling. Why was he left to die like that? Davin commented between sips of coffee.

Maybe something in the safe will help tell us who he was and why he was left like that. After we get settled here, we can go down and see if they got the thing open.

Sounds good.

An hour later Captain John Packard, Davin, Connie, Stephanie and several of the divers were standing around the MaryJean’s safe. The door was open and Davin was carefully pulling things out. The safe from the U-49 was also there but had not been opened. They had decided to contact Germany to advise them about the wreck and advise them they were opening the safe.

Look at this, a German Lugar in near perfect shape. Glad this safe was water tight. Hey, its still loaded. Connie set this on the table. Here’s an envelope, John its marked Secret. Do you think they care, go ahead and open it . . . . Let’s see, another envelope, damn, its full of money. All large bills, fifties, hundreds, got to be a couple grand in here. Not much else, Some jewelry, ships papers, log book that’s it. Davin commented then looked at John, who had just opened the envelope.

Well, this explains why that skeleton was there. He was a German, here’s his ID, that must be his Luger. Seems he was caught attempting to sabotage the ship, shot a couple of the crew. Let’s see, his name and rank is Major Hans Gustav, attached to the SS and well it gets a bit sketchy. Well part of the mystery’s solved, how did he get on board, and what did he really attempt to do to the MaryJean?

1945 Hours

House of Parliament, London England

It had been raining all day; the roads wet and slippery. A black car drove slowly down the street in front of the House of Parliament, and stopped a half-block from the main entrance. The driver sat and stared at the entrance to the House of Parliament, as if he were waiting for someone. The sweat was dripping off his forehead, his mouth was dry; he continually sipped from a bottle of Irish Whiskey. The bottle was almost empty. After glancing at it several times, he tried to consume all of it in three swallows; it took several more. His eyes were red with rage and alcohol, sweat was dripping off his chin and mixed with some spilled whiskey. He wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his coat. The engine in his small car purred softly as he sat there, waiting.

Moments later the car accelerated, slipping and sliding, but headed directly towards the main entrance. Within seconds the car bounced up the curb, straight up the few small steps; slammed into the entrance, and exploded with a force equal to a 500 pound bomb. The two guards, six staff members and the Duke of Westchester, third cousin to the Queen and Director of Health and Welfare for the Commonwealth were instantly killed as they exited the front door.

Not far away in the Buckingham Palace, the Queen and Prime Minister were discussing matters of state when the explosion occurred; the palace rocked, knocking glasses over and rattling pictures on the wall. The members of council immediately stood and with a look of disbelief on their faces stared at each other for a moment. The Prime Minister picked up a phone on the desk beside him, dialed, and calmly said Hello Bentley, will you find out what that awful noise was. Thank you.

Twenty minutes later, Bentley, the Prime Minister’s aide burst in with tears running down his checks.

Sir, I hate to disturb you but in light of what just took place, I felt I must. the aide said, between sobs, nearly yelling, as he crossed the large room.

Calm down, calm down. the Prime Minister urged, but still sympathetic to Bentley’s tears. Now, what has happened, Bentley?

Sir, I must speak with you privately, he said, drying the tears in his eyes. He waited for the Prime Minister to get up and met him halfway. As the Prime Minister reached Bentley, he continued in a hushed voice. Sir, the Duke of Westchester has just been killed in an explosion, along with two of his aides, John Wilkes and Charles Hewlett.

Damn! the Prime Minister said, cursing for the first time in years, but this was a time that even he could not hold back. Now calm down, Bentley. The Duke was a cousin to the Queen. Were there any other injuries? Tell me what happened. He stressfully said while he walked further away from the Queen, heading towards the door Bentley had entered.

Yes, Two royal guards and four members of his staff. It was a car bomb, sir. Driven right up the steps and then exploded, at least that is what the Scotland Yard is saying. Bentley responded, getting better control of himself, wiping his tears.

OK, I’ll tell the Queen, you alert the rest of the Royal families and staff. the Prime Minister said, then continued, Notify the next of kin of all the victims and, ah, have the commander to the guard report to my office in thirty minutes.

Yes, sir. Bentley said as he turned and rushed out of the room.

The Prime Minister just stood looking at the door after it closed for a moment before he turned back to face the Queen, who had stood and was slowly walking toward him. He wasn’t sure how to tell the Queen of the death, but he knew he had to quickly, because if this was a terrorist attack, he had to institute measures to protect the rest of the family.

Ten minutes later he was heading for his own office. The Queen had taken the news very well, all things considered. What was going to happen next was anyone’s guess, but for sure he had to increase the guards around the royal family and to check all their schedules to ensure they did not put themselves in a position that could cause another death.

CHAPTER 2

MOVERS AND TAKERS

Rodeo Drive,

Hollywood, California

Same Day

Good afternoon, Miss, how may I help you today? the clerk asked the tall, slightly overweight lady that had just entered his store.

Just looking, sir. Just looking. She said as she walked around the store, glancing into each of the jewelry cabinets. OH, that is nice. May I see it?

Yes, which one are you referring to. He acknowledged then unlocked the cabinet and reached inside, first removing a dark blue cloth which he spread on the glass counter top. Then he reached in again and removed a diamond studded necklace and laid in on the cloth. Very nice piece, three hundred and sixty diamonds with a total weight of forty-six carats. The two larger stones are two karats apiece with each one around them a half karat. Quarter karat stones up the neck to the eighteen karat gold clasp and the chain is also eighteen karat.

How much? she asked as she studied the stones under a loop.

Well, Miss. This is on consignment to us from one of our regualar customers and she said if we were to sell it she needed to get at least sixty-five.

Sixty-five dollars, I’ll take it. The lady stated and reached into her purse.

No, Miss you don’t understand. That is Sixty-five thousand dollars. He restated.

No, you don’t seem to understand, sir. She said as she pulled a Walther PPK 9mm pistol out of her hand bag. I said I’ll take it. I didn’t say I would pay for it. Now hands up and back away from the counter. I don’t want to shoot you for pushing any damn alarms, so don’t do anything stupid. I don’t want to use this thing on you. That would get a little messy and you wouldn’t want that, would you? Didn’t think so. He acknowledged by stepping back away from the counter and put his hands up.

She reached around her back again and retrieved with her left hand a small radio.

OK, boys, come on down. It’s party time. she said into the small radio, then dropped it in her purse. A minute later, five men walked into the store dressed in business suits and carrying brief cases.

OK, just the high price spread and leave the silver, just gold and diamonds. Now move, time is ticking away and we are on the clock. She ordered.

Within three minutes, the gold and diamonds were gone and she was emptying the safe that he had so carelessly left open.

Thank you. Ah . . . what is your name, sir? she asked.

Jeffrey Higginbotham, I used to own this place. Now the insurance company will never insure me again, so I may have to become a thief like you.

Well if you do, Higgy. Look me up. I am always in the need for a good honest jeweler. She said after insuring her men had departed one at a time as planned then she turned and started for the door, stopping briefly she turned and said. Higgy, don’t be stupid, pressing the alarm will only get you killed. Wait till I am gone, then push it. They will not catch us anyway, so go ahead and push it now. I won’t shoot you. Got to go, see ya.

Isolated IRA camp in Sierra Desert, North Africa

Jake, did you hear that Ernie finally got a member of the royal family? Tomas McGillicuddy asked his friend and comrade, as they sat in the shade of the tent they shared, drinking a cup of coffee.

What did the fool do this time, skydive into Buckingham palace? Jake asked joking, scanning the darkened horizon.

No way. He didn’t know how to skydive. He stole a car, loaded with some kind of bomb and drove it right into the House of Parliament main entrance. And then, BOOM! Tomas said, using his hands and arms to show a large explosion by abruptly raising them in the air.

How do you know all this? And when did he do it? Jake questioned the validity of what Tomas was saying. He was the leader of this group and he would have been informed about any attempt on a member of the Royal family and he had not heard anything.

Jake, you may be the Commander of this little army, but I have many informants all over England and one of them called me about an hour ago on the cell phone and gave me the details. Tomas admitted, then added, They really called for you, Jake, but you were off with Dr. McKinley doing something or other. Well, he got the Duke of Westchester with a car bomb. And, well, Ernie won’t be a coming home real soon, my friend. At least not until they find all of him. They said he must have had five hundred pounds of plastic explosives in the back of the little car. They will be working on the rebuilding of that place for a long time, left a deep hole in the sidewalk, and most of the front of the building fell in, too. Besides killing six, about forty were injured and several are still not accounted for.

Damned fool. If he had just waited we could have done the same without losing one of ours. Jake Mitchell commented as he lit a cigarette. Damn it’s hot out here. Let’s get the men together in the main tent; we need to plan our next move. It’s time we were back in Ireland, this desert is not safe anymore. Too many satellites and unexpected visitors. referring to the Liberian raiding party that attacked them last week, killing two of his men and stealing some of his supplies.

The raids were a common event out here. There were camps of terrorists from almost every 3rd world country as well as a few camps of organized crime. All to train their people in weapons, hand to hand combat and many forms of destruction. Occasionally a few would get bored or cocky and decide to raid one of the other camps for practice and/or just to replenish supplies. Whatever the reason, Jake did not like living like this.

Jake Mitchell’s camp was with the Irish Republican Army and he, along with his 43 men and women, were training as soldiers, not terrorists. He had no desire to be labeled a terrorist, but that came with the territory. Jake was known as a Brigade Commander among his counterparts, and he had a total of three hundred seventy-five loyal members under his command. Ernie Carmichael had been one of them, he was just a little crazy. Now he was dead and so was a member of the Royal family; this could only make things worse. Or could it end the war? ‘Maybe Ernie did us all a favor and convinced the Queen to give us the freedom we want, maybe.’ Jake thought as he stood and looked across the vast nothingness of the desert.

Time to go, Tomas. We have work to do. Jake said sadly, then stood and walked toward the main tent, about twenty yards from his own.

Right, Jake. Tomas said and followed Jake, removed his tan Bush hat and wiped the sweat from his brow with an already soaked handkerchief, before leaving the cover of the tent. Tomas walked past the main tent, heading toward the sleeping tents of their little army. Within minutes, he had everyone heading to the main tent. Some were complaining about the heat, others just complaining.

"OK, OK quiet down. We have some serious planning to do. But first, earlier tonight Ernie Carmichael did kill the Duke of Westchester and in doing so he lost his own life. Good news for us, but not for