The Hope of the South: An SPU Adventure

By Bruce Thomas

It's 1865, and the writing is on the wall: the end of the Civil War is coming, and the South will not win this fight. A group of Confederate officers have acquired some serious spoils of war, and they decide to hide it. Together, they will one day rebuild the South... Almost a century and a half later, the Special Projects Unit is hunting down a terrorist mastermind planning a widespread attack on American cities. The SPU must work to stop the madman from activating another 9/11 type of attack. When a letter addressed to the President of the United States from over 100 years ago is found, the team embarks on a present-day treasure hunt. These two events are woven together into a captivating read. Author Bruce Thomas, a retired military fighter pilot and current commercial airlines pilot, has written a page-turner of a historical mystery. Readers will delight in the fact-based story that also takes them on an escapist journey of codes, riddles, and a treasure hunt that has become a true matter of life and death.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Outskirts Press
• Release date: Mar 11, 2020
• ISBN: 9781977225207

Bruce Thomas

Bruce Thomas was born in the north-east of England and moved to London as a teenager to become a professional musician. He is known principally as the bass player with Elvis Costello and the Attractions, having recorded and toured internationally with the band since 1977. He is also a sought-after session musician. He trained with the late kung fu master Derek Jones at his school in west London.

Book preview

Chapter 1

EARLY WINTER 1864

Colonel Augusta Smith was a member of the Army of Northern Virginia of the Confederate States of America. The American Civil War had been raging for over three years. Born in Alabama, he never dreamed he would find himself camping in the Rocky Mountains during the American Civil War or commanding a select team of engineers and soldiers. His degree in Engineering from the University of Virginia prepared him for this specific operation. But it did not prepare him for the hardship the elements presented. As he peered into the blowing snow, the jagged mountains provided little color to his eyes. He longed to be back home in Virginia, even though he knew that his current assignment would never let him return to his pre-war home. Augusta would be required to return to his father’s house in Alabama when this mission was completed.

Everything in this cold, barren territory was brown or gray: the ground, the bushes, and the mountains. The only change had been the miserable white snow, which had started falling two months earlier and was increasing in frequency.

Growing up in Alabama, he had enjoyed his life on his father’s large plantation. Cotton and other crops were grown and sold to wealthy Northern buyers. He had moved to Virginia when he was seventeen. Living with distant relatives, he attended school and college. He wanted to make a difference in his life. Farming was not in his blood as it was with his father. He planned to construct bridges and buildings in America’s largest cities. The country was expanding and growing, and he wanted to get in on the progress. He dreamed of a big construction job in the North.

That dream ended when his beloved South withdrew from the United States. He was not happy with that decision, but he understood the realities of the war. The Confederation of States had to make its stand against the Northern Ultimatum. They, the people of the South, had no choice. With the passage of the Missouri Compromise in 1820 and the so-called Compromise of 1850, the Northern States had set in motion a way that would erode the Southern States’ delegates and power in Congress. When the Crittenden Compromise of 1860 failed to pass through Congress, it was just a matter of time until the South HAD to resist the North. People of the North had been writing that the War was not about the slaves. They were dead wrong, and when President Lincoln declared the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862, the Southern States could only say, I told you so. The Civil War was everything about the slaves. The South would not have their way of life without the slaves to accomplish their labor.

At six feet, two inches tall, Colonel Augusta Smith was taller than most of his men. The poor diet for the last three years had decreased his weight to just over 165 pounds. He knew he was too thin for his height, but the food was tough to obtain for his men, and there was no way he was going to eat a share more significant than his hardworking soldiers. With brown hair and brown eyes, Colonel Smith was very normal-looking. Even his short beard and mustache hid a tanned face. All his soldiers had long ago burned their uniforms and were wearing regular clothes for a survey team.

He missed green grass and trees with real leaves. He longed to feel the warmth of the evening breeze in his hometown of Haymarket, Virginia. Did his hometown still exist? His beautiful old town had been under constant assault by the Union troops for over a year.

As he looked out over the campsite, his eyes were stinging from the cold north wind. The weather was working its way through his thin clothes. He was so tired of being cold, and the weather was continuing to get worse. The sun would soon be setting over the mountains to the west. Another long day had ended. The defused sunlight faded until the only visibility was produced from the small campfire and candle lanterns around the camp.

What started as an early summer trip into the great west was now a late winter trip into a cold Hell. The wind was blowing snow from the northwest, and it was well below zero most of the nights. Snowdrifts built and formed and moved by the minute. As he looked toward the mountains to the west, he could barely make out the peaks above. The group had arrived when the weather was warm and sunny. It was now cold and dark. With each day, the winter became more unbearable. It was easy to see why this part of the territory had so few settlers. This Nebraska Territory was undoubtedly not for visitors, especially Easterners. Nebraska Territory! Now that was a term that surely would change very soon. Why was HIS country at war? The North was admitting free states at a quickening pace. The death of the Southern States’ way of life was sure to follow. Once the North gained a Northern majority in Congress, the South would be forced to agree to their demands. The Nebraska Territory was being redrawn almost yearly. For all he knew, Colonel Smith might now be standing in the Oregon Territory.

Colonel Smith, do you want me to feed the men now or wait until the snow stops? said Private Lee, the youngest member of the company and the company cook. He stood directly in front of Colonel Smith, the pride in his commander, evident by his stance at attention, while the blowing wind whipped his coat.

I don’t think the snow will stop until April Cookie; please feed the men now.

The cook turned and retreated to his tent down the hill from the commander’s quarters.

Colonel Smith entered his tent and sat down next to his small cold cot. He wondered if the mission he had been given would ever make a difference. So many lives had been lost in the War, on both sides, and the end was not in sight. Could the South protect its way of life? Would the essential slaves really be freed as President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation stated? The only item left in his task was to send the coded message to President Jefferson Davis. The codeword for SUCCESS would be included in the text. The actual location of the cache would not be included in the message. The South could not risk the letter falling into the hands of the Union troops. He penned the letter in large block letters and hid within the text the one word that would tell President Davis that his team had been successful in protecting the treasure. He finished the letter and put it in an envelope addressed to CSA President. Augusta placed the packet inside his pack, and he would mail it as soon as he thought it was safe to do so.

Travel in the Rocky Mountains was always hostile, with this travel being deadly. Already two members of his battalion had been killed during the operation. One while crossing the Great Plains to an Indian attack, the other from a fast-moving illness that could not be stopped. A doctor was not part of the company. The fewer people who knew about the plan, the better. The cold climate and hard work had weakened the second soldier. The accident that started the medical problem was such a fluke, his leg being lanced open by the wheel of their wagon. He really didn’t have a chance to fight off the sickness in the cold climate. But these soldiers were on this trip because they retained valuable knowledge of construction. A combination of the high altitude, relentless weather, and short days was causing problems for the colonel’s team. The team members knew there were only a few more days until the project would be finished. They were all ready to return to the east with their secrets.

Smith was amazed and proud that they had completed the task at all. The excavation and construction of the storage area was a testament to the professionals of Engineering Battalion #3. The structure was quite remarkable, made slightly easier by finding a natural cavity in the hard granite rocks. The concealing of the entrance was completed, using the natural dirt from a small landslide to fill in the depression in the rocks. It was now time to move his company out of this cold climate. The breakup of the group was required to protect the mission from discovery. Would the members of the group keep the secret of what they had hidden here in the Nebraska Territory? He believed they would, at least until the time when they were old and telling their war stories.

Tomorrow would begin the journey for the battalion members to their new lives. Returning to the South was going to be tricky, but his orders were clear. They all were to start new lives. His new life would resume in Birmingham, Alabama. He was the one person who could not move without disrupting the plans to rebuild the South. Secrecy was the cornerstone of the rest of their assignment. Their mission could not be discovered until it was time to reform the Confederation of States. The whole plan was designed because the CSA was participating in a losing war. That timeline had not been set in motion, and he was not sure it would ever be implemented.

Chapter 2

BUCKLEY AIR FORCE BASE, CO PRESENT DAY

William Wild Bill Eddy was flying low over the flat terrain on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains. His Fairchild Republic A-10C Thunderbolt II was currently traveling at 350 knots indicated airspeed (KIAS). The new, recently installed, General Electric TF-34-800 engines could effortlessly provide more thrust and more speed, but an increased speed was not required for this test flight. The new engines, which were finally installed on the A-10C after years of procrastination by the Air Force brass, were quieter, more powerful, and consumed less fuel than the older engines.

Bill Eddy was the only son of Tom and Sandra Eddy. William, only his mother, called him by his real name, was a third-generation military pilot. His grandfather flew P-38 fighters during World War II, and his father flew C-130 cargo planes in the 1970s and ’80s. He grew up in central Iowa, playing basketball and baseball in high school. An only child, he attended the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and graduated with a major in Electrical Engineering. He was of normal height, five-foot-eleven, and weight, 185 pounds. His brown eyes and hair produced a very ordinary look, which helped Wild Bill melt into situations without drawing attention. But it was clear that Bill Eddy was always in charge of his surroundings. He was a born leader.

Control, this is Surveyor One, Bill transmitted over his UHF, ultra-high-frequency radio.

Go ahead, Surveyor One, this is Control, answered Mark Vector Jones, Wild Bill’s ground-based assistant during this test flight. Vector was stationed in the control room for Flight Operations at Buckley Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado. He was watching a direct feed from Wild Bill’s onboard targeting pod. Currently, the pod was showing the area directly in front of the aircraft, the ground rushing by at 350 KIAS, and only 1,000 feet below.

The newly developed Ground Mapping Radar (GMapR) was being carried on Station Number 2, on the left-wing. This device was being tested by Wild Bill and Vector as part of the Special Projects Unit. An eight-foot-long targeting pod was installed on Station Number 10 on the right-wing. Even though this A-10 was only carrying these two external devices, many more weapons could be taken into combat. The A-10 was slicing through the clear blue air at a leisurely pace. The sun was bright at this noon hour, and shadows from nearby objects were almost nonexistent. This Colorado day was perfect for the test flight. The temperature was seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit at takeoff time with light winds for the area on the east side of the Rocky Mountains.

The GMapR was a new development. This was the first test flight of the brand new radar, and all system performance was proceeding without a problem. The real intent of the test flight was to see if Mark Jones’ brainchild really worked. The GMapR, in theory, would show items on the surface and up to fifty feet below ground level, depending on the type of soil. At a speed of 350 KIAS and a planned test flight altitude of 1,000 feet above ground level, the radar could scan an area of 1.5 square miles in three seconds. Any aircraft could have been used for the test flight. Wild Bill and the SPU had access to every military aircraft currently being flown. The A-10 had been determined to be the best flying platform for the GMapR due to speed and dual electrical redundancy. A faster aircraft would reduce the radar’s time to scan a given area and could reduce the possibility of detecting deep targets. A single-engine airplane lowered the electrical power available, and a large cargo plane was too expensive to fly empty.

One of the best features of the GMapR was the internal discriminator, which could interpret the signals and highlight likely targets to the pilot. These highlight target areas would be directly fed into the targeting pod and the GPS navigation system for further evaluation. This process allowed the pilot to visualize the target on his MFD (multifunction display), a big TV screen in the cockpit, and to decide if another pass over the target was warranted. Mark had been leading the research and development for the GMapR and was directly responsible for today’s test flight.

This flight was just one of many projects currently being worked on by the Special Project Unit (SPU)—an off the books group of civilian and military personnel who pursued tasks and objectives without the typical bureaucratic issues of the Pentagon. Established in 2011, Bill and Mark were the first two members of the SPU. Wild Bill, as the director, was responsible for all projects. Mark, as the assistant director, worked to ensure the progress and fulfillment of the SPU’s core goals. The SPU’s mission was to provide state-of-the-art material, knowledge, and security for projects of National importance. A very vague mission for a very secretive unit.

Surveyor One, we are ready to go; secure voice communications, Vector broadcast to Wild Bill.

Going secure, Control, Wild Bill said. They both moved their radio switches to the secure position and heard the normal two-tone beep. Surveyor One is secure; how do you read, Control?

Sitting beside Vector was a radio operator whose responsibility was to make sure classified radio transmissions were not allowed to go out clearly. The radio operator confirmed the conversation was indeed secure. Unlike older radios that scrambled the outgoing communication and required the incoming radio to decode the signal, still allowing the enemy to hear static and garbled transmissions over the open frequency, the new SPU secure radio totally wiped the air of the broadcast, placing the outgoing signal in a cell phone type of spectrum, totally silent until the inbound radio captured the message and decoded the transmission. Now Surveyor One and Control could talk about the mission without revealing any classified information.

Mark relayed to Bill, Secure confirmed and tested. We are ready for you to turn on the GMapR. Request Simple Mode One at first.

Turning on Mode One now. Let me know when you start to receive the transmission. Wild Bill reached over with his left hand and placed the main control switch for the GMapR to the Mode 1 setting. The green on light illuminated on the control panel. The green data light came on about three seconds later. Onboard recording system shows a green light ‘on.’ Data light is also on. Mode 1 allowed the GMapR system to be operational but did not send any signals or messages to the pilot. Data was still sent out via data link to the Control Center. Usually, the data was routed through satellites for over-the-horizon operations.

Surveyor One, we are starting to receive data. All systems go for the test. Mark watched all the parameters that were being sent from Bill’s aircraft directly to his control panel. Not seeing anything out of the ordinary settings, he was satisfied that the test could continue.

Wild Bill flew on a preplanned route from north to south over eastern Colorado. The first part of the flight was to allow the GMapR to stabilize and for pre-test data to be recorded in the Control Center. This first part was flown on a 120-mile route. The profile had twenty minutes before reaching the test range for evaluation on the system in Mode 1. This part of the profile allowed the GMapR system to operate without a specific purpose; they were not looking for anything buried or concealed at this time in the flight. The real evaluation of the GMapR would be on the test range, where multiple targets had been buried to act as test subjects, and Wild Bill did not know specific locations.

After fifteen minutes of flying with the GMapR in Mode 1, Bill noticed a warning light on the new system control panel. Control, I am receiving a warning light from the GMapR unit. The light for an overheat in the sensor array. Wondering if you are receiving the same indication? Wild Bill continued to monitor his altitude and airspeed while he waited for Vector’s reply.

Vector was looking at all the data to confirm the warning light on his screen. This is Control; we are receiving good data at this time, but we also see the warning light. Recommend we terminate the test flight and return to base to evaluate the system. Please turn the GMapR to standby at this time.

Wild Bill was ahead of Vector. He had already started a climb and had switched the GMapR unit to standby when he heard Vector’s transmission. Unit is in standby. I am returning to base. Surveyor One is changing back to normal radiofrequency. See you on the ground, Control. Wild Bill made a right-hand climbing turn to 2,500 feet above ground level and changed his radio to Denver Approach Control frequency.

After landing his A-10 at Buckley AFB, he taxied the aircraft to an abandoned area of the base into an old alert hangar, a holdover from the Cold War. The old door was raised, and the plane was taxied inside. Once the door was closed, the new overhead lights were turned on to reveal a modern working hangar, totally refurbished to act as the base for Flight Operations for the SPU.

Vector was checking the data that had been downloaded from the GMapR during the short test flight while attempting to determine the cause of the overheat light. Scanning the discriminator data, he discovered that multiple areas had been flagged by the GMapR system for further evaluation while they were in Mode 1 of the test flight. He knew he would have to wait until he had access to the actual unit to evaluate the overheat condition. Many perimeters were automatically recorded to the onboard computer.

Suddenly Mark sat up straight. The data he was reviewing was showing multiple indications of something buried deep below the surface in eastern Colorado. The site displayed on his computer screen was fascinating. He checked the data and placed the actual video from the targeting pod of the same location on his side-by-side computer screens. The discriminator showed that the object was made of metal and buried about fifteen feet below the surface. The GMapR had a fantastic resolution of the area, and he did not need another overflight to determine what was hidden in the ground.

Vector had a big smile on his face as he looked at the computer screens in front of him. There was an exciting object buried near the creek to the west of the farmhouse at longitude N39° 27’ 32 and latitude W104° 27’ 15. The GMapR in five minutes of operation was already showing its value as a discovery device.

Chapter 3

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA AUGUST 1863

Colonel Augusta Smith waited impatiently to see the Confederate States of America President Jefferson Davis. He was worried about being summoned for this meeting, and he did not want to be in this outer office in Richmond, Virginia. The weather was hot and humid, typical for Virginia in the summer, and Colonel Smith’s wool uniform was adding to the discomfort. He had been told by his immediate commander, Major General Richard Ewell, to proceed to Richmond for the meeting with President Davis. There were no other details provided, and he had arrived in Richmond two hours ago for the 1100-hour meeting. Travel in the South was both dangerous and hard. He had left his company of engineers two days before for the trip to Richmond.

Smith was a member of General Ewell’s construction battalion. He was the commander of Engineering Battalion #3 of the Army of Northern Virginia. He had been in command of EB3, as he liked to call his unit for six months. He supervised railroad and bridge construction in areas with Union troublemakers and routinely had to fight off Union soldiers while constructing Confederate structures. Known as a get the job done Officer, Smith’s mission was always his primary focus. He would take a small company of soldiers and engineers and complete his mission without input from Generals above his position. He showed daily that he did not need supervision to complete his assigned task. For this reason, he had been summoned to Richmond today. He was not aware of the reason for this meeting, and it was causing him to expect the worst!

The male secretary for the president of the Confederacy was determined to control his little piece of the world. He was dressed in a gray suit with brown shoes. He was approaching thirty years old and handled all the daily correspondence with Jefferson Davis. He looked over at his guest, who had just entered his outer office area. Please have a seat, Colonel. The president will see you soon. I hope you had a good trip to Richmond. He said it as a statement, not a question. Colonel Smith remained quiet and waited for his meeting with the leader of the Confederate States of America.

After five minutes, the door to the president’s office opened, and Jefferson Davis walked directly to Colonel Smith. The President extended his cold boney hand and shook Augusta’s hand aggressively. Augusta noticed that President Davis was just slightly taller than he was, even though he looked very frail. His black suit hung on his body, and his hair was combed straight back. I hope you had a good trip to Richmond, Colonel. I did not want to keep you too long from your duties? This was a question from the most powerful civilian in the South.

Not at all, Mr. President. I was honored to be able to attend this meeting. Even though I have no idea why I have been asked to Richmond today, Col Smith reported.

Please come in, and we will explain our need for you, Colonel.

Augusta Smith immediately thought, WE. Did he say we? There were so many thoughts moving through his head. Ever since he received his orders from General Ewell, Smith had pondered the reason for his attention from the president. He was not aware of any operational missteps within his engineering unit. Had he built a bridge that had collapsed? Had one of his men been found out to be a traitor? He hated trying to find the flaw in this unit. This was silly; he trusted his men with his life.

As Colonel Smith entered the president’s office, he realized that he was attending a meeting with five men in total. President Davis told his personnel secretary to go to lunch as he posted a guard in the outer office and closed the door behind the colonel. Proceeding behind his desk, President Davis turned to find Colonel Smith standing at attention facing the desk. At ease, Colonel Smith. Let me introduce everyone to you. Starting from his left and continuing around the room, he said, I know you know General Ewell and General Robert E. Lee. This is Vice President Alexander Stephens from Georgia. I don’t think you know Secretary of the Treasury Christopher Memminger. Head nods were received from all the individuals when they were introduced, but no one offered their hand toward Colonel Smith.

President Davis eyed Smith, then asked him to have a seat in the middle of the room. Everyone obtained a chair where they were standing and were seated. Smith was sure that the temperature in the room was now close to the boiling point. Sweat was running down his face. Why was he in this meeting of the most powerful men in the South?

The president said, Please relax, Colonel Smith, I promise you are attending this meeting for what you CAN provide to the Confederacy in the future, not what you have provided in the past.

General Ewell then said, Augusta, I have been pleased with the projects you have completed! Many in very austere conditions, with very little supervision. I have laid out to these individuals your credentials and your credits. I have recommended you for the mission you are about to hear. General Ewell turned his head toward General Lee.

General Lee added, I am sure you heard about the results of our battle at Gettysburg in July? Our three days in the Pennsylvania town were awful for the South’s cause!

Colonel Smith said, Yes sir, we all heard about Gettysburg. I also heard that the soldiers of the Army of Northern Virginia were fearless and almost won that battle, sir. We were all proud of your position to take the war into the Union homeland.

Thank you for saying that, Colonel. But we failed in our mission to force the Union to sue for peace. We wanted this war to end before more of our brave soldiers were sacrificed. We failed in our quest. The North is now even more ambitious than before. They are using the cry of ‘Gettysburg’ to recruit and build a stronger army. I fear we might fail in our attempt to win this war. General Lee said the last part while looking down at the floor.

It was easy to see in this great general that he was losing the inner battle with the war. The stress of what he was asking brave men to accomplish was falling on his shoulders. He was not defeated, but the fight was taking its toll.

President Davis continued. "We, and I mean the South, need a fallback plan. One that will allow the Southern states to rebuild and confront the Union later if needed. If we fail in our current quest, we need YOU to provide that fallback plan! It is quite clear that the current Union administration is attempting to place more anti-slavery states in the Union. This will result, over time, in a pro-North Congress. Under these