by Larry LaVoie
“Margaret, Margaret, Margaret,” the president interrupted, “this is why you’re doing the nuts and bolts work, and I handle the politics. If Fox News gets hold of this, they’ll try to run me out of office. There’s no way to put a good spin on terrorists smuggling a nuclear weapon into the country, let alone detonating it. And as far as Yellowstone is considered, the public would have my ass in a sling if they knew we didn’t warn them about the impending danger.”
“But you saved Yellowstone. It turned out all right.”
“Again, you show your political ignorance. If the public gets wind of how close we were to being destroyed as a nation, and I gave them no warning...I think you get the picture. Some things are better left unsaid. It’s like watching your guy fumble the ball as he’s crossing the goal line. After you’ve won the game, you’re not going to give it up on technicalities, are you?” He grinned and nodded his head. “I think this time, we’ll have to bask in our inner glory. Deny, deny, deny anything that gets out concerning Yellowstone, that’s our mantra. Nothing happened at Yellowstone Park except Mother Nature doing her thing.”
FBI Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
FBI Director William Howell leaned back in his leather chair. He slid his fingers across the glossy surface of his Philippine mahogany desk. There were a lot of unsung heroes in the FBI. Many of their pictures were hanging on the walls of the long corridors. Seldom were they looked at by the many personnel passing by. Unsung heroes were what made the country great. To be certain, in this day of electronic gadgetry, it was growing harder to keep secrets, but if that was what President Merrill wanted, it would be done. He pulled his copy of The Yellowstone Brief from his desk drawer, and page by page fed it into a shredder. When he was finished, he called Agent Renfro into his office. “Have a seat, Matt.”
There was an uncomfortable silence as Matt wondered why he was called into the director’s office.
“Agent Renfro, do you remember The Yellowstone Brief?”
“Yes, sir.” Renfro cocked his head, wondering what Howell was up to, asking such a ridiculous question.
“Wrong answer. The Yellowstone Brief never existed. Not ‘for your eyes only’, not filed under Top Secret, nor Classified. It never existed.”
“But, sir, you can’t erase two months of history. Lives were lost, our border security was compromised, you can’t bury that.”
“It never happened. If you or your team have any documents pertaining to operation Greenback, The Yellowstone Brief, The Brothers of Abadan, or anything that hints of what went down in Yellowstone, I want it delivered to my office. I expect full cooperation. Nothing left behind.”
Renfro didn’t ask the question on his mind. He already knew the answer. Leaking a document that the department claimed did not exist would make him look like a fool, the department would make certain of that. Of course, for it to be treason, he would have to leak something that did exist. There was no percentage for him to do something that foolish this late in his career. “I’ll get right on it, Sir.”
Two Weeks Later, Yellowstone Park
“Care if I make the rounds with you?” Nathan Langford asked.
Henry turned from his desk and looked up at the park super, surprised at the request. “I’m going to be out all day. You sure you’re up for it?”
Langford put his hand on Henry’s shoulder. “It’s about time I found out what you do around here. With no tourists for the rest of the season, I want to learn everything I can about this place.”
“Great,” Henry said, rising to his feet. “You may want to grab a hat...and a pair of gloves.”
September 6th, Florence, Oregon
“Nice of Clayton to give us a month off with pay,” Trick said. “I’m heading out tomorrow morning and meeting Tanya in Unalaska. Her dad is getting out of rehab.” Trick lifted his beer and clicked his longneck bottle against David’s glass of Johnny Walker Black Label Scotch on the rocks. “You don’t think they are really going to be able to keep this thing quiet, do you?”
“Keep what quiet?” David gave Trick a silly grin.
“Very funny.”
David shrugged, “Are you going to leak it?”
“Are you kidding. I just got into good graces with Clayton. I’m not going to screw that up. I’m a married man, I can’t throw my career away.”
“You answered your own question. I’m going for a walk along the river. Should be a beautiful sunset tonight.”
“Let me grab another beer and I’ll join you.”
The doorbell rang. “Who could that be?” David asked, as he headed to the door.
Standing there with a big smile was Heather Martin. She was wearing a light blue windbreaker over a cotton, button-down blouse tucked into faded blue jeans. David had never seen anyone as beautiful in his life. “Heather, I can’t believe my eyes!”
“Are you going to just stand there gawking, or can I come in?”
David opened the door. “Actually, Trick and I were going for a walk along the river, would you like to join us?”
Heather entered the house, and saw Trick with his mouth wide open. “Trick, I thought you’d be in Alaska, by now.”
“Actually, I’m leaving to join Tanya tomorrow morning.”
“Good, I was hoping you could fill me in on some details on The Yellowstone Brief.”
Trick backed away with his two index fingers crossed in front of him. “We’re not supposed to talk about that. I’m surprised the FBI hasn’t buried it by now.”
Heather looked up at David. “Did they threaten you with your jobs?”
“Come on, the sun will be setting any minute. You don’t get to see this side of nature everyday.” David took her hand as they strolled along the river. “Right here,” he said, as they approached a worn, gray, weathered bench. “Have a seat.”
The three of them sat on the bench and watched the western sky as pink and red wisps of clouds lit up as the sun disappeared behind a sand dune across the river. A fisherman in a small boat had left his line in the water until the last minute. He reeled it in, turned on his running lights and motored upstream. A lone seagull trailed the boat, seemingly hoping for a handout.
“Beautiful,” Heather said. “You said it was the prettiest place on earth. I can see why you believe that.”
“Come on. The wind is about to pick up, and it’ll make a liar out of me.” David stood and turned back up the path.
In silence, the three of them leisurely strolled along the path, retracing the way they had come. Trick was the first to speak. “You’re not really here to check on whether we are going to keep The Yellowstone Brief a secret?”
“Not officially,” Heather said.
“What do you mean, not officially?” David asked.
“I quit my job.”
David stopped. Heather was sandwiched between him and Trick. “You didn’t. You should have gotten a medal for what you did. ”
Trick moved in closer with his arms out. “Group hug.” He pulled her and David into a tight huddle. “You no longer work for the suits! I’ll tell you everything I know about The Yellowstone Brief, but you have to promise not to use my name in any of it.”
“Deal,” Heather said.
“You have my support, too,” David said.
“You wouldn’t happen to have an extra room?” Heather asked, looking at David.
“Sure, but I could get you a hotel if that would make you more comfortable.”
Trick slugged David on the shoulder. “Dude, she’s hitting on you.”
“Hello,” Heather said. “I’m right here. Actually, I’m trying not to leave a paper trail. I cleaned out my bank account in D.C., took it all out in cash. You’d be surprised how difficult it is to get a room without a credit card.”
“You’ve got a room as long as you need it,” David said.
Epilogue
Nine months later
Richard Magic and Tanya settled down in Anchorage, Alaska. Tanya continued to work in Prudhoe
Bay, Trick was often called on assignments to remote parts of the world as a consultant for the USGS. Often he and David would be sent on the same assignments.
President Merrill encouraged congress to pass a bill to regulate the internet, making certain any who abused it would be held accountable. A new candidate for President was calling for a more open administration, and promised, if elected, her administration would be the most transparent in American History.
Heather Martin settled in Florence, working in her new job as Chief Detective for the Florence Police Department. In her spare time she edited, Truth Underground. an Internet paper that promised to get to the bottom of Internet conspiracies.
Henry Evans moved to Hawaii to work in the visitor’s center at the Kilauea volcano.
Nathan Langford prepared for Yellowstone Park’s new season opening, which promised to be the busiest year in the park’s history.
Margaret Ames was found dead from a gunshot wound. The public was told it was self-inflected, but the internet scuttlebutt was that she was about to leak a story of a terrorist breach on the southern border that had been buried by the president.
Dr. David Wayne continued to reside in Florence, Oregon. He took a walk along the river and sat on the bench facing west where he hoped to catch a glimpse of the setting sun. His cell phone rang, and he looked at the picture of Heather smiling at him. He smiled. The message read, I’ll be home for dinner. Don’t start without me.
####
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About the author
Larry LaVoie was born in a small town in Oregon in 1942. He lettered in football and track in high school. In the summers, as a teenager, he worked in the fields around Dayton, Oregon. Larry graduated from McMinnville High School in 1960 and joined the Oregon National Guard in the fall of 1960. He completed basic training in Fort Ord, California. He spent much of his career as an engineer in the aerospace industry. He has traveled extensively to several European countries. He has lived in several small towns in Oregon and along the Oregon Coast, which is reflected in some of his novels. He now lives in the high desert country of Eastern Oregon. He likes golf and bowling and has participated in several bowling tournaments over the past several years. His writing mainly has a flavor of his small town roots, although a few of his novels take place in larger cities such as Los Angeles or Portland, or foreign countries. His writings reflect much of his own experience as an engineer and as a person who loves sports and politics. His writings include mystery, thrillers and action adventure set in interesting places. While many of his novels are written for a mainstream adult audience, he has also written for young adult and Christian readers.
"I write mainly to entertain," Larry says. "When you read one of my books I want you to enjoy a good story through the eyes of the characters in the novel."
http://www.larrylavoieauthor.com
Table of Contents
THE YELLOWSTONE BRIEF
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
About the author