The Initiative: In Harm's Way (Book One)

by Bruce Fottler

  Safe House - Westford, Massachusetts

  “I understand,” Neil concluded his phone call with Colin. He disconnected and glanced to Sam with a look of exasperation.

  “Did Mr. Drake flunk the drug test?” Sam asked.

  “Worse, he's clean. Just like your test, by the way. They're on their way over.”

  “Should I put away the breakables?”

  “Whatever we discuss, it's very important that you don't ever talk about Susan or The Watchers.”

  “You really don't trust him, do you?”

  “Oh, I trust him, but only to put The Initiative above everything else.”

  “Isn't that what he's supposed to do?”

  Neil nodded and sat down in a living room chair. “Yes, and that pretty much sums up my problem with him. Any information you give him is subject to exploitation for the sake of The Initiative.”

  “Something this important must mean that he's got to make sacrifices.”

  “Sure, and that sounds perfectly logical. But what if one of those sacrifices included, say, Susan?”

  “He'd do that?”

  “Sam, he'd sacrifice anyone in a heartbeat. Nothing is really sacred to him other than The Initiative. Don't you ever forget that.”

  “That's why you've never told him about The Watchers?”

  “I've never once regretted not telling him. I shudder to think what could happen if he ever knew about them.”

  Sam took a peek out the front window. “How long did you know my father?”

  “Since before you were born. He was selected for that secret committee at my recommendation. Smart guy, but unfortunately had a drinking problem. It eventually caused him a lot of trouble with us. He ultimately had to be dismissed from the committee and all record of his involvement was expunged.” Neil paused, noticing Sam's fading expression. “Sorry to stick it to you like that. It would've been easier for me not to share the ugly details, but I want you to know the truth. He was a good man with a bigger problem than he was willing to admit. That problem ended a promising future with us. Addictions like that can quickly burn down what took years to build. I think it's important you understand that so you can be careful.”

  Sam sighed. “I sort of knew about his problem. I've always wondered if it had anything to do with the accident. The police actually checked his blood-alcohol level, which told me he had been suspected of drinking. It was under the limit, but it was still enough to make me wonder about it.”

  “I'm sorry, Sam. I really liked him and your mother. You know, you look more like your mother than him.”

  Sam gave a feeble nod in reply. Neil picked up a newspaper and started reading. A few minutes later, they saw the headlight beams from Colin's car pull into the driveway.

  “Game time,” Neil resigned himself.

  “Hank's with them,” Sam noted as he peeked out the window.

  “Are you going to hang around?” Neil asked while yielding to a big grin. “This should be something to see.”

  “I'll do whatever you want,” Sam replied as he unlocked the front door.

  “Hey, kid,” Hank greeted as he entered. “Staying out of trouble?”

  Colin nodded followed by Merrill, who had a dour expression. He looked at Sam and a smile surfaced.

  “Hello, Sam,” Merrill said as he stretched out his arm for a handshake. “I hear you've been very busy again. I'm sorry you can't seem to get away from all the trouble. I thought it would be years before I'd be saying this to you, but welcome to The Initiative.”

  “Thanks. I seem to remember a promise that I was going to have an interesting career at Blanchard.”

  Merrill laughed. “It's good to see you haven't lost your spirit. I'm relieved to hear that your sister is safe. Is she doing okay?”

  “She's fine, sir.”

  “Good. Please let us know if there's anything we can do for her.”

  “Thank you.”

  Merrill stepped further into the house and caught sight of Neil sitting. Hank and Sam exchanged raised eyebrows.

  “You just couldn't really walk away, could you?” Merrill asked Neil in a snide tone as he sat down opposite from him.

  “Lord knows you needed the help,” Neil retorted in an equally snide tone.

  “Colin filled me in,” Merrill continued. “I underestimated you, Neil. I always thought there was a coward hiding behind that religiosity. I suppose my thanks is in order for helping us along.”

  “I would've done it with or without your thanks. The Initiative comes first, right?”

  “Are you really going to rub my nose in that again?”

  “I'm not here to dredge up old disagreements. In case you missed the point of Colin's briefing, we have some serious problems.”

  Merrill let out a deep sigh. “We do.”

  “The drug tests are clean on about half the board of directors, so far,” Colin interjected.

  “So what happens if we find someone on the board working with them?” Neil asked.

  “We keep that person in play and use them,” Merrill immediately replied.

  “And if they're close to the six-month point?” Neil asked.

  “It makes no difference,” Merrill rebutted. “You should know that. We're way behind the curve and need to exploit any advantage we can get.”

  “And here we go again,” Neil fumed.

  “Oh, come on, Neil,” Merrill retorted with increasing irritation. “Even you'd have to agree that anyone working for them is finished with us, no matter what.”

  “So much for old age mellowing a person.”

  “You would seriously trust someone who's been compromised by this drug?”

  “Oh, for Christ's sake!” Sam angrily interjected, which startled everyone. “Will you two please stop the bullshit? I didn't go through those shit-storms to watch two cranky old bastards have a pissing contest! You're just giving the enemy what they want!”

  Sam stormed out to the family room. Hank shook his head and followed.

  Colin remained and offered a burning glare to Neil and Merrill. “That kid had every right to blow off on you two like that, and he paid much more than he should have for that right. Merrill, sorry to dump this on you, but too many people in this company are fucking tired of working around your pointless bigotries. You don't want to know how many reports on Sam I sanitized because you probably would've tossed him out early on. Then there's Neil, who's been our best resource since he left.” Colin paused as he turned to Neil. “And you need to get over how Merrill's been able to get it all done. It's the greater good that's being served, like it or not. So, gentlemen, it's time to man up, gear up, and solve this.”

  * * *

  Sam dropped into the couch in the family room. Hank followed him in and leaned against the wall.

  “Jesus, Sam,” Hank said with a laugh.

  Sam chuckled and looked up to Hank. “Sorry, I just fucking lost it.”

  “Don't apologize. Someone needed to say it.”

  “But did it help?”

  “It helped me,” Hank retorted with a laugh.

  “I'm just so tired of it all.”

  “So am I, kid. This whole thing is CATFU'd.”

  “Is what?”

  “CATFU'd - Completely-And-Totally-Fucked-Up. I've got to teach you the brevity codes if we're going to chase bad guys together.”

  “Don't bother. I'm probably going to get fired after that outburst.”

  “Hey, Sam, you had the cred to blow off to them. No way they’re going to shit-can you over that. I'm just glad Eva took that Glock away from you.”

  “Have you ever lost your cool in front of your boss, or is it superior officer?

  “That's S-O. And yes, I've done it more times than I like to admit.”

  “So, what did you really do before working for Colin?”

  Hank grinned. “Oh, no. Sorry, kid. We might share the deep dark secrets of Blanchard, but what I did for Uncle Sam is another story. I'll just say I've been there, done t
hat, and bought all the fucking tee-shirts.” Hank paused as he grew more serious. “I never got the chance to say this before, but I'm real sorry to hear about your girlfriend. Hell of a thing to have happen.”

  Sam leaned back, wrestling to subdue his boiling frustration. “Hank, I want to find these people.”

  “First order of mission, Sam, is that you can't make it personal.”

  “How do you not?”

  “FISHDO, buddy.”

  “Again with the lingo?”

  “It means Forget-It, Shit-Happens, Drive-On. The mission comes first and you've got to learn how to leave the baggage behind.”

  “Baggage? How can you--” Sam stopped as he saw Colin emerged from the hallway.

  “I just got word. We got a hit on the drug test. Christine Haynes.”

  “The hot little dorm-slut running HR?” Hank asked.

  “Come on,” Colin replied with a grin. “Time to get back in there and figure out a way to un-fuck this situation.”

  * * *

  “She's a one-thirty-two on the drug test scale,” Merrill reported from his cell phone as Colin led Sam and Hank back into the living room. “Whatever the hell that means.”

  “She's on the six-month cusp,” Neil interpreted. “But a fairly recent recruit.”

  “Plenty of time for her to place other assets around the company,” Colin added.

  “We'll need to test all new hires over the past year just to be safe,” Merrill said.

  Colin nodded in agreement. “But neither she, nor anyone she recently hired, has nearly the access to get at specific information about the Dignosco test flight. There has to be someone else up higher to get that kind of access.”

  “Shit, that points to the Senate oversight committee,” Merrill grumbled. “Can we test them?”

  “You want me to test a panel of U.S. Senators?” Colin asked incredulously.

  “And their aides,” Neil added.

  Colin sighed. “That's going to take time and a lot of finesse.”

  “Do what you have to,” Merrill urged. “Until then, we all go back to work as usual. Everything has to return to normal. We'll keep Christine in play and watch her very closely. Hopefully, she'll get careless and give us some useful intelligence.”

  “What about anyone else she hired?” Neil asked.

  “Perhaps it's time to implement that zero-tolerance drug program our HR consultants have been pushing,” Merrill replied with a cunning grin to Colin. “You know, the one that requires annual blood and urine tests?”

  “That would need to be cleared by legal,” Colin said.

  “I'll task Christine to that,” Merrill replied with a chuckle. “I like the irony.”

  “Colin, what do you think their next move will be?” Neil asked.

  “At this point? They'll be looking to pull back and exploit an easier target. We've increased protection on all variable targets, so it has to be something fixed and easier to predict. I'd put money on the next Dignosco test flight in September.”

  “Are you certain?” Merrill asked. “They've been acting awfully rash lately.”

  “Nothing is certain, but I'm guessing since they've already fucked-up twice against Sam, it would be insane for them to continue pressing it. If I were them, I'd settle things down and focus on something I already knew was vulnerable.”

  “Will the September test-flight give you enough time to test the oversight committee?” Merrill asked.

  “Do I have a choice?”

  “Probably not,” Merrill replied. “I want to use the test-flight to lay a trap, but we first need to be clear about who is working with them.”

  “I understand.”

  Merrill turned to Neil. “Are you comfortable continuing to work with us in the shadows?”

  “I'll do whatever you need,” Neil replied with a nod.

  “Good. We could use some help with our air-to-air missile guidance systems. I think that's our current weak spot.”

  “I agree. I'll start looking over the problem.”

  “Hank, I want you to work with Colin, as usual.” Merrill paused as he looked at Sam. “Sam, I know this will be difficult for you, but I need you to go right back to work as usual. We must project an image of normalcy to everyone. Colin will make sure the appropriate protection is in place for you.”

  “It'll be there,” Colin added. “We're not going to let anything happen to you.”

  “I'll have to brief everyone else on the board with selected details,” Merrill continued. “We can't totally ignore what just happened to Sam or it'll cause too much suspicion. Christine must be kept in the loop, but we'll carefully control the information she gets. It's critical that she thinks she's still part of the team.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Monday, July 24, 1995

  Regal Apartments– Lowell, Massachusetts

  “Hi there!” Susan cheerily greeted with a big hug. She clung to Sam after he released his embrace, but he didn't mind at all.

  “What do you have there?” Sam asked, pointing to her plastic shopping bag.

  “Brought over some of the good stuff. Cherry soda. I figured if we're going to eat in for our monthly dinner date tonight, then I'll do it with style.”

  “I think it'll go good with the pizza,” Sam said as he took the bag and walked into the kitchen.

  “What, no beer?”

  “I threw it all away last night,” Sam replied as he got out two glasses.

  “Why?”

  “Neil told me more about my father, and it got me thinking. I made a new resolution to stay away from alcohol. I want to stop flirting with what screwed up his life.”

  Susan smiled. “I'm impressed, but I don't think you've ever had a drinking problem.”

  “This is so I won't, for sure.”

  “How was it back at work today?”

  “The first hour was rough,” Sam replied as he went to the freezer to fill the glasses with ice. “But I had to go down to the Woburn facility to prep them for a GAO audit. It helped being away from my office.”

  “So,” Susan started in an uneasy tone as she watched Sam pour the soda in the glasses, “now that you've had a little time to let it all sink in, I'm sure you have lots more questions for me.”

  “I certainly do,” Sam replied with a smile as he held up his glass. “But first: to my best friend, who I always thought was interesting and now I know why.”

  Susan laughed as she raised hers. “To a wish that finally came true.”

  “Wish?” Sam asked after taking a drink.

  “That I don't have to hide things from you anymore.”

  “I can see why you had to.”

  “But not about everything,” Susan admitted in a guarded tone.

  “Do you need to confess something else?” Sam asked and tried to look into her eyes.

  Susan looked down to the table, reluctant to make eye contact. “It's not so easy.”

  “Hey, it's me, Sues. Just say it.”

  “Well, you know we were put together so I could keep an eye on you. You know, to make sure you stayed out of trouble. That was just a part of it. Neil also wanted me to report anything you said about your job and Blanchard.” Susan paused and looked up into Sam's eyes. “I hated that part. It's like I was spying on you. I'm so sorry, Sam.”

  Sam relaxed and smiled. “That's it?”

  “You're not upset?”

  “I don't understand why you'd think I'd be.”

  “Because friends don't spy on each other?”

  “True, but we're not exactly talking about simple gossip.”

  “But Neil was trying to gauge your loyalty to the company.”

  “I'm glad he did. How did I do?”

  “Well, fine, actually. You were completely honorable, but it was an unnerving experience.”

  “Unnerving because I was honorable?”

  “No, that you might not have been. I prayed so hard before each dinner that you wouldn't say something I shouldn’t hear.”<
br />
  “Well, it's over now,” Sam said with a smile as he put his arm around her. “Now that you're in a confessing mood, can I ask you something? About Angela?”

  “Sure, but be careful. You might not like the answer.”

  “Out of everything we've ever talked about, you've always been evasive about us living together.”

  Susan frowned and looked down. “You're right, I never liked that you guys shacked up. Please don't get me wrong, because I really loved Angela and miss her so much. She was a friend to me in ways you couldn't be. But here's the difficult part of it. I always thought she was good for you, but I also think moving in together wasn’t your best idea. I understand why you did it and it makes me happy that you wanted to protect her. But Sam, it was too much too early for both of you. It caused you both so much trouble. Yeah, some of it came from people who didn't handle it well, but there's a reason why we believe it's morally wrong.”

  “Morally wrong? That's surprising. I just learned that you come from an advanced and enlightened people, and yet you buy into religion? Wasn’t it just part of your cover?”

  “What makes you think my people aren't religious?”

  “Well, I just assumed you were above it all.”

  “Above it all?” Susan scoffed. “Surprise, Sam. We have Christian churches, too.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yeah, not all of us are Christians, but about half are.”

  “For how long?”

  “It's been that way for a long time. Remember, we've had Watchers on Earth for centuries. They've seen and recorded a lot of your history. They weren’t in the vicinity to see things like the crucifixion of Christ, but one of them traveled with the apostle Paul for a little while. Some amazing things were documented.”

  “Are you messing with me?”

  “Not at all. There are a lot of events in your history our Watchers have been able to corroborate, but they've also recorded many more events that you don't know about. We could write a history book that would turn your world upside down.”