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Book: Wet Desert: Tracking Down a Terrorist on the Colorado River by Gary Hansen
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Authors: Gary Hansen
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vans were gutless on the highway."
The guard looked skeptical but finally nodded and waved him through. "I'll be down in a minute to open the doors."
He started down the road again. In his mirror he saw the guard swing the gate back and lock it. He drove down the short access road and onto the dam itself. He turned left and headed toward the west elevator shaft. Looking east across the dam, he could see a gate blocking access to the east side of the dam, and about a half dozen cars parked on the dam itself. He knew that they used the east side of the dam and the east elevator shaft for workers and kept the west side accessible for tours from the visitor center. He didn't expect to encounter anyone else on the west side during off hours.
When he reached the west elevator tower, he drove past it, then backed the trailer right up to the door, leaving only enough room to open the trailer doors. He waited while the guard walked down to open the gate. So far, so good.
He was out of the truck and waiting when the guard arrived. The man rummaged through a huge key ring for the proper key, then opened the large metal door. The skinny man stepped forward and used a shim to block it open. Both men walked into a small room, where the elevator doors sat. Instead of a button to call the elevator, it required a key.
The guard looked back at him, at the same time twisting another key off the ring. "I'll leave this one with you. You'll probably need it. If you go down to the bottom, be sure to take it or you won't be able to get back up." He made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "I'm sure you know all about that."
When the security man opened the elevator, he looked down at the floor and ran his foot over the seam. "It looks fine to me."
"It might be intermittent. I'll run her up and down a couple of times and see. If not, I'll adjust the switches anyway. That should fix it." His research on elevator maintenance suggested that adjusting the switches was the answer to almost everything.
The guard nodded, then handed him the key. "All right, I gotta get back to my post. I'll come back to check on you occasionally." He started off, then stopped and turned. "By the way, what'd you say your name was?"
The skinny man froze. He forgot the name he was supposed to use. The name "George" floated through his head, and he almost popped it out, which would have been a disaster since it would not have matched what was on the work order. The name was not George, but it sounded similar - Jerry, John . . . He suddenly remembered and blurted it out. "Jim. Nice to meet you."
The security man didn't seem to notice anything strange. "Good luck, Jim. Let me know if it starts looking like you won't be done by eight."
He nodded, and watched the guard walk away. He clenched his hand around the elevator key. He was in. Now the hard part.
* * *
5:00 a.m. - Page,
Arizona
By 5:00 a.m., he had the control panel open in the elevator, exposing the wires. He placed cones around the back of the trailer to discourage anyone from walking in. He hoped the guard wouldn't come back until he finished what he needed to do.
Out of the tool belt on his waist, he pulled a disassembled cell phone that had been wired into a small circuit board. He had already tested the phone back in Vegas, and he knew his modifications would work. He placed the phone up high, almost to the ceiling of the elevator, then duct taped it to the wall. He checked the signal strength and saw three bars, which was good enough, something he had worried about. Sorting through the wires from the control panel of the elevator, he found the two he was looking for. He bared some of the insulation from the two wires and then clipped a wire to each from the circuit board. He then quickly replaced the control panel. After close inspection, he saw that everything looked normal except for the two wires connected to the cell phone and circuit board. If anyone looked up, they would think it was a bomb.
The guard looked skeptical but finally nodded and waved him through. "I'll be down in a minute to open the doors."
He started down the road again. In his mirror he saw the guard swing the gate back and lock it. He drove down the short access road and onto the dam itself. He turned left and headed toward the west elevator shaft. Looking east across the dam, he could see a gate blocking access to the east side of the dam, and about a half dozen cars parked on the dam itself. He knew that they used the east side of the dam and the east elevator shaft for workers and kept the west side accessible for tours from the visitor center. He didn't expect to encounter anyone else on the west side during off hours.
When he reached the west elevator tower, he drove past it, then backed the trailer right up to the door, leaving only enough room to open the trailer doors. He waited while the guard walked down to open the gate. So far, so good.
He was out of the truck and waiting when the guard arrived. The man rummaged through a huge key ring for the proper key, then opened the large metal door. The skinny man stepped forward and used a shim to block it open. Both men walked into a small room, where the elevator doors sat. Instead of a button to call the elevator, it required a key.
The guard looked back at him, at the same time twisting another key off the ring. "I'll leave this one with you. You'll probably need it. If you go down to the bottom, be sure to take it or you won't be able to get back up." He made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "I'm sure you know all about that."
When the security man opened the elevator, he looked down at the floor and ran his foot over the seam. "It looks fine to me."
"It might be intermittent. I'll run her up and down a couple of times and see. If not, I'll adjust the switches anyway. That should fix it." His research on elevator maintenance suggested that adjusting the switches was the answer to almost everything.
The guard nodded, then handed him the key. "All right, I gotta get back to my post. I'll come back to check on you occasionally." He started off, then stopped and turned. "By the way, what'd you say your name was?"
The skinny man froze. He forgot the name he was supposed to use. The name "George" floated through his head, and he almost popped it out, which would have been a disaster since it would not have matched what was on the work order. The name was not George, but it sounded similar - Jerry, John . . . He suddenly remembered and blurted it out. "Jim. Nice to meet you."
The security man didn't seem to notice anything strange. "Good luck, Jim. Let me know if it starts looking like you won't be done by eight."
He nodded, and watched the guard walk away. He clenched his hand around the elevator key. He was in. Now the hard part.
* * *
5:00 a.m. - Page,
Arizona
By 5:00 a.m., he had the control panel open in the elevator, exposing the wires. He placed cones around the back of the trailer to discourage anyone from walking in. He hoped the guard wouldn't come back until he finished what he needed to do.
Out of the tool belt on his waist, he pulled a disassembled cell phone that had been wired into a small circuit board. He had already tested the phone back in Vegas, and he knew his modifications would work. He placed the phone up high, almost to the ceiling of the elevator, then duct taped it to the wall. He checked the signal strength and saw three bars, which was good enough, something he had worried about. Sorting through the wires from the control panel of the elevator, he found the two he was looking for. He bared some of the insulation from the two wires and then clipped a wire to each from the circuit board. He then quickly replaced the control panel. After close inspection, he saw that everything looked normal except for the two wires connected to the cell phone and circuit board. If anyone looked up, they would think it was a bomb.
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