Mid-West Campaign
Session Thirty

Sunday, 10 December 2000 (continued)

Back in Casper, the agents contact the emergency services and evacuate all near-by houses. Marcus Wood, the chief of police, arrives to supervise. Sergeant Lambert of the bomb squad arrives and determines that the bomb is very large indeed. A further three city blocks are evacuated.

Dominic receives a telephone call from Dr Jones at the local hospital informing him that Benedict Oaxaca has suffered a severe heart attack. He died, but was eventually revived. His chances of survival are given as 50/50. Dominic expresses concern, but informs the doctor that Benedict has no next of kin. He asks to be kept informed.

Lambert seems rather nervous for a bomb disposal operative, and is extremely worried when the team expresses concern that uranium may be involved in the bomb. Eventually he is persuaded to continue his work. He says the bomb is enormous, but is obviously an amateur job put together with professional equipment. At 20:00 a hole is cut in the kitchen wall to allow a bomb disposal robot (RCV-3) to enter. The bomb is successfully diffused

The agents enter and conduct a forensic search of the home. Trip wires and motion detectors had been set up to activate the bomb. The bomb is made up of seven crates of mining explosives from Ward Industries. it is very heavy and was moved into the lounge by trolley-jack through a connecting door into the garage. Two people with wet feet wandered around this place, but they are not the same people who were at James's and Watson's homes. However, radioactive poison is detected in the kettle and in the brandy. Artemis does not think the Rosses were ever planning on returning to this home. The question is, who set up this bomb and who was it designed to kill? The agents visit Benedict in the hospital and then return to their hotel for much needed rest.

Monday, 11 December 2000

Benedict Oaxaca 'dies' again in the night, although the cause is still unclear. Results of the finger prints taken at the Ross's house reveal what is probably the Rosses themselves and also Bryce and Randall (who have minor criminal records). Rocaan and Bruce head to Chugwater to pick up the PDA found with Calvin Powell, while Black and Drake canvass the Ross's neighbours in case they saw something.

Drake has no people skills and discovers nothing, while Artemis smarms all the necessary information in two minutes, and is offered several slap-up dinners. He discovers that Powell and the Rosses were very chummy. On a weekend in mid-December Powell delivered several boxes of pine furniture to the house. Artemis knows there was no pine furniture inside the house, and so assumes that this is when the explosives were delivered. The Rosses therefore had the explosives for some time.

The agents discuss several theories regarding what might be happening - including that thought that Powell is the murderer, but they get nowhere. In the end Artemis and Drake decide to check up on Bryce's next of kin. Bryce's sister is Doris Kelley (who is also the wife of Barry Kelley). Doris didn't like her brother always avoided him when possible. She says that he was being more generous with money in the weeks before he died. All of Bryce's stuff is in the Kelley's shed - except items Bryce inherited from his mother, which Doris has taken back. They search through Bryce's belongings but find nothing of value. Artemis and Drake go to Bryce's house.

Inside Bryce's house the pair discover a nasty smell and shortly, afterwards, a gun-toting Oscar Ross who has been hiding out in the place. Ross disarms the pair and holds them at gunpoint. There is a musty collection of old mining clothes in a pile waiting to be shoved into a box. Ross tells the agents that he fears for his life and that of his wife, and he is in too much trouble for them to help him. Black tries to talk him around, but Ross takes exception to Black's tone and shoots him in the chest. Black's body armour absorbs much of the impact, and a scuffle quickly ensues. Ross is very nearly killed by an over-enthusiastic shot from Drake, but Artemis manages to stabilise him. Ross is the only reliable witness they have, and they must keep him alive.

Black telephones Rocaan and Bruce who are on their way back from Chugwater with the PDA, and tell them they are taking Ross to the hospital (and checking themselves in). Meanwhile in the hospital, Benedict Oaxaca recovers in better health than he has ever been, although he feels somehow diminished. This is the after effect of his exposure to the green rice, although it is not immediately apparent that this is the cause.

Returning to Casper, Dominic and Bruce see the Ukrainian attack helicopter heading for the hospital. Dominic calls in SWAT and the national guard, and orders Bruce to crash his car into the hospital foyer to make sure they get there quickly. But before the pair arrive all power is knocked out to the hospital and Drake, Benedict and Artemis are plunged into darkness.

Realising what is happening, a badly wounded Artemis Black rushes to Oscar Ross's room. He is being kept alive by a nurse working a hand-pumped respirator. Taking Ross, his nurse, Drake and a doctor Artemis leads the way down the stairs to the morgue where he hopes they can hold the commandos off until help arrives. Benedict meanwhile runs up the stairs to the roof.

On the third floor landing Benedict encounters a group of six white clad commandos. He is shot repeatedly and, though still conscious, feigns death to save his live. Bruce and Dominic rush up the stairwell and meet with Black just as the commandos throw a grenade at them. The agents, nurse and doctor survive but Oscar Ross is killed in the blast. A badly wounded Drake and Artemis head for cover as Rocaan and Bruce return fire, killing two commandos. However, the work of the soldiers is done and they retreat back to the helicopter. Bruce Campbell-Robson advises Dominic not to pursue them, as it would be suicide.

Artemis Black telephones the air force and succeeds in getting jet scrambled. By the time it overflies Casper fifteen minutes later, the helicopter is long gone. However, photographer Bernie Price got some nice shots (after Benedict tipped him off). Artemis phones Eisenstein and appraises him of the situation. Eisenstein is angry at first, but realises Black had no choice. He is glad that this case seems to have no supernatural elements to it. He warns Black that between the military, the CIA and NEST (Nuclear Emergency Support Team) and NSA the team is going to be tied up in Casper for weeks.

Rocaan, Drake and Bruce now head back to Bryce's house to see if they can find any trace of Elaine Ross. They realise that the reason why the commandos knew what they were doing was because they bugged the team's phones. There is no sign of Elaine at Bryce's house, and a further interview with Janice Henderson reveals no more information.

Bruce gets the PDA working, and it turns out to be Oscar Ross's (it is assumed that Ross was with Powell when he crashed his truck). Dominic tries to trace Ross's calls to see if they can find Elaine, but to no avail. They do find out that Oscar Ross booked into a motel in Colorado Springs, Colorado on 6 December. Ross was carrying his passport and $10,000 in cash. It is possible he left the country on the boat with his wife and then returned. Bruce also thinks there is something suspect about Elaine Ross's birth certificate. They head back to the hospital to show it to Benedict.

At the hospital, Artemis has a visit from Colonel Hawthorne of the USAF who demands to know why Black had one of his jets scrambled. Artemis explains the situation, and Hawthorne agrees to a joint investigation between the USAF and FBI as long as Black keeps the FBI and other agencies out of the colonel's hair. Hawthorne agrees to his men searching the mine for any sign of elicit digging.

Benedict looks at Elaine Ross's birth certificate. It is a fake. This "Elaine" died as a child - so who is Elaine Ross? The agents discuss new theories that mark Elaine as the villain behind the entire operation. Was she the mastermind behind the plot to remove uranium from the mine for another country? How does this explain why those commandos were trying to kill her?

Late in the evening the CIA arrive and interview Black. It becomes apparent that Eisenstein was right and that between all these various agencies, and national security issues the team will be lucky to be out of Casper by Christmas. Although, over the following days more information comes to light. However, in the evening Artemis, Benedict, Dominic and Drake agree to unanimously pass Bruce Campbell-Robson. Dominic was particularly impressed by Robson's show of forebearance. Artemis decides to recommend Bruce for evidence response.

Tuesday, 12 December 2000

Meanwhile in Santiago, Chile CIA agents confirm that Elaine Ross is not present on that cruise ship. Shipboard records show that she transferred her ticket to an elderly American called Edna Andrews on the day the ship sailed. One hour earlier, her husband got a refund on his ticket (which is probably where the $10,000 in his wallet came from).

In Casper the coded message in Cyrillic script beamed by the commandos out of the Mary Estate is finally cracked. The language (and therefore the probable nationality of the commandos) is Ukrainian and not Polish as was originally thought. The full text of the message is as follows:

This message causes excitement and consternation in the CIA. Is Elaine Ross the "White" discussed in the message? This combined with her forged birth certificate points to her being a spy - but a spy who has double-crossed her employers.

Wednesday, 13 December 2000

Meanwhile in Casper, forensic analysis on the damp clothing in Oscar Ross's bag places him inside Calvin Powell's truck. Ross was definitely present in the truck when it crashed into the lake at Chugwater.

Also on this day, the army, under the direction of Artemis Black finish searching the Copperhead mine in Casper, Wyoming. They discover illicit mining was taking place in the shaft directly above Shaft 43, and that this mining created an instability that caused the accident that killed Bryce. It seems clear that Bryce's death was a genuine accident, and also the catalyst for Elaine and Oscar Ross to get out of town. The reason why Bryce was so eager to halt the legitimate mining was because he knew about the problem.

The army also discover the presence of uranium in the mine in great enough quantities for the government to take over the mine. All the miners are to be made redundant and then re-employed on better terms.

Friday, 15 December 2000

Dr Elijah Hart of San Francisco comes back to Artemis's team with more information about the dead Alex Long. The thorium oxide found under his fingernails is the result of radiation poisoning. Long was killed in the same manner as James and Watson.

Also on this day, the green rice held by Benedict Oaxaca decomposes into a granulated silicon. By this time, Benedict has put together that the 'rice' was the reason for his physical changes. However, there is nothing connecting it directly with the Copperhead Mine besides the fact that the team received it whilst in Casper. All the Ukrainians wanted from the mine was the uranium (probably). The identity of whoever sent the rice to the team remains a mystery.

Saturday, 16 December 2000

Meanwhile in Casper, Benedict does a little more digging into the mystery of when the Copperhead Mine was actually open. He discovers that the mine was working from the 1950s onwards. Profits from this period were not declared by the local council. Benedict is thrilled that he has found evidence of corruption and takes the necessary steps to prosecute the council.

Sunday, 17 December 2000

Also on this day, the investigation in Alex Long's life assurance (and those three cheques) reveals some disturbing news. The assurance was taken out by Long's daughter. However, Long didn't have a daughter, so the agents assume this person was Elaine Ross. Elaine is now coming across as a cold-blooded killer. Long's assurance was actually her 'insurance policy' should anything go wrong. Long was not her only victim in San Francisco. She murdered several other elderly people in the same manner. She actually collected more than $8,000,000 in insurance.

Tuesday, 19 December 2000

In Casper, forensics experts analysing of the bomb from the Ross's house make an interesting discovery. A hair belonging to Oscar Ross has been found on the circuit board. It now seems certain that he rigged the bomb at his own house with the resources to hand. This agrees with the opinion of Sergeant Lambert of bomb disposal.

Analysis of Powell's truck (that is finally dragged from the river today) reveals the reason for the crash. A sniper's bullet to the rear axle caused it to go off the road.

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