Years ago, a division of Knight Gruppe had purchased a subsidiary of Portland Cement that operated a plant just outside town on Lake Shannon. It was a legitimate business that had generated a nice profit for the international conglomerate. However, an economic downturn caused a slowdown in the demand for concrete products. This was followed by a trend toward using mobile concrete plants that were more flexible and easier to transport, rendering stationary facilities like the one in Concrete obsolete. As a result, the plant was shut down and largely abandoned.
That was when it took on the nickname the Devil’s Tower. The abandoned complex, which included a seven-story-tall concrete mixing structure overlooking the entire facility, had fallen prey to young people who’d trashed the interior of the buildings and painted graffiti throughout. Large parties were held there, drawing teens and young adults for miles, in which drugs were taken and drunken brawls were encouraged.
Over time, the hollowed-out remains of the cement plant had been consumed by the forest. Trees and vegetation overtook the structure, and it was now covered in moss in many places. It was also taken over by something else.
The Atomwaffen.
Similar in ideology to the Nordkreuz in Germany, the Atomwaffen was considered to be a small group of extremists who hoped to use terroristic violence to collapse America’s government and to further advance their racist goals.
The word atomwaffen could be loosely translated to mean atomic weapons in German. With cells across America, mainly in Washington, Texas, Florida, and Virginia, their numbers had grown far beyond the eighty to a hundred presumed by organizations like the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center. This was the case because the Atomwaffen differed from their German counterparts, the Nordkreuz, in this principal respect. They were funded and guided by Odessa via Wagner.
Wagner learned early on those affiliated with Nordkreuz were nothing more than miscreants who wanted to cause trouble and pilfer valuables in the process. The Atomwaffen were true believers in the ideological goals Odessa espoused. Their brand of national socialism, achieved through the breaking down of society, would lead to a race war, after which they intended to construct a new society based upon Nazi Party political principles.
Despite their name, they did not have access to atomic weapons. They were adept at using violence and terror to instill fear in their direct targets as well as society in general.
Wagner’s first steps in taking control of the loosely formed Atomwaffen organization was to install his trained operatives into the positions of leadership. In essence, he bought his way in. Once that was established, with anyone who resisted eliminated, he set about recruitment. Social media was the best method of reaching young men and women who shared their Nazi beliefs.
Those who were the most committed were then encouraged to join various branches of the United States Armed Forces to obtain access to weapons and combat training while staying underground. Once their enlistment was over, they were incorporated into the Atomwaffen cells with a paid salary and other benefits.
Wagner also strictly enforced the silence required of the Atomwaffen’s members to continue being a part of the organization. “We are not braggarts,” he’d admonished his top lieutenants at an early meeting at the Devil’s Tower that became the central meeting location for the Atomwaffen. “There will be no published videos or posts claiming responsibility for our activities. This leads to evidence for the FBI. If we stay off their radar, they won’t be in our business.”
On several occasions, Wagner heard an FBI spokesman state the FBI does not and will not police ideology, but they will investigate the criminal activities of extremists. Over time, Wagner proved to the Atomwaffen, whose actual numbers totaled nearly ten thousand, that the results of their operations were sufficient to advance their cause. Their silence ensured the ability to conduct the next operation.
With the embassy attack dominating the news, Washington’s expected knee-jerk response was to focus their intelligence efforts on protecting other embassies and consulates around the globe. Wagner had bigger and better plans right here in America.
Concrete, Washington, was logistically perfect for the next phase of Odessa’s escalation of terror. The town was barely fifty miles from Canada across the rugged terrain of Mount Baker and Mount Shuksan. Wagner could easily smuggle his operatives into the States without fear of border patrol guards or roadblocks.
In addition, Concrete was within fifty miles of the obscure, rarely used ports located in Bellingham, Washington. The Department of Homeland Security focused the bulk of their monitoring efforts on the high-profile ports located from Los Angeles to Portland to Seattle. The Bellingham Shipping Terminal was often used by Wagner to smuggle in shipments of weapons and other assets used by the Atomwaffen in their terrorist activities. Furthermore, the terminal manager was on Odessa’s payroll.
Wagner arrived in Bellingham via Alaska Airlines under a false passport. He immediately traveled to the port to supervise the offloading and transport of a single shipping container that slipped through customs following hefty bribes to underpaid DHS agents. While the town of Concrete was bustling with activity in preparation for their Cascade Days Festival, Wagner and his band of Atomwaffen were busy preparing and planning for the single largest terrorist attack on American soil in history.
To date, anyway.
Chapter Thirty-Five
The Devil’s Tower
Concrete, Washington
“This is our target,” began Wagner as he addressed his sixteen top operatives, who’d be on the ground when the attack occurred. He pointed to a portable projector screen displaying images from a slide projector connected to a laptop. The Power Point presentation was being run entirely off electricity supplied by a portable generator sitting outside the concrete shell of the former administrative offices of the concrete plant. Once Wagner’s team had been dispatched to their respective duties, the remnants of the facility would be scrubbed of any evidence of their presence.
“That’s the 49ers stadium in San Francisco,” commented one of his top lieutenants.
“Santa Clara, to be exact,”
