In 1975, the Vietnam War may have ended, but the Cold War was still going strong. Men and women were not only needed to work in laboratories, but also to analyze what was happening on the other side. The men were rather vague in describing exactly what they needed from Tim, but they continued to stress nuclear deterrence. They concluded their sales pitch by telling Tim that men like him were the future and that the safety of the world would be in his hands. Tim asked where he would be working, and they replied that, after training, he would initially be working in the Washington, D.C. area—but after that, anywhere in the world. The thought of “anywhere in the world” was what convinced Tim there and then to sign up.
That decision did not sit too well with Tim’s girlfriend Sarah. She was a holdover from the Berkeley of the mid-sixties and the protests that went with it. The thought of Tim even considering working for the government was more than she could stand, and she moved out of the apartment at the end of that week. Tim left for spy school the following month.
How green the state of Virginia was, Tim thought to himself as his unmarked bus took a special exit off of Interstate 64. Tim was used to the tall redwoods and yellow fields of Northern California and had never seen such dense green foliage. He had done some research about the area and discovered that he was not far from the first permanent English settlement at Jamestown. He thought about what a strange wilderness this all must have been back then.
The bus stopped at a guard’s gate, where two Army MPs boarded. The MPs stopped at each passenger and examined their IDs. Tim noticed that the MPs had pictures of each person on the bus on a clipboard.
After the MPs were apparently satisfied that everyone was who they said they were, the bus continued down a tree-lined road, which opened to a clearing. Spy school looked pretty much like any small college campus, with a large expanse of grass, buildings with classrooms, and dorms. There was also a dining hall and a gymnasium. The bus pulled in front of the gymnasium, and the man who was acting as a kind of proctor announced, “All right, kids, this is home.”
Everyone made a single file line and entered the gymnasium. There were ten rows of ten folding chairs, but everyone ended up sitting where they liked. Pam was sitting directly in front of Tim. Her hair was much longer in those days, almost reaching the small of her back. She wore what smelled like patchouli oil as a fragrance, which seemed to go well with her turquoise jewelry. Pam turned, smiled, and asked if Tim had an extra pencil. He did have one and gladly gave it to her. Tim had already fallen in love with her.
Speaker after speaker spoke about what would be expected of everyone, including what offenses a student could be dismissed for. One speaker, a woman, told the class that fraternization between the men and women of the class was prohibited. She also mentioned that there were more women in this particular class than ever before. The government had made an effort to recruit more women into the FBI and CIA and had even gone so far as to set up phony schools for airline flight attendants in order to give the agencies opportunities for vetting. Pam had told Tim that this was how she had been hired, although Tim was never really sure if that story was true or just another Agency myth. There were quite a few Agency myths.
Although he saw Pam from time to time during school, there was never a good opportunity to get to know her. Eventually, however, Pam and Tim did have some classes together, and they always sat next to one another. Tim was never athletically inclined and initially had trouble with the various obstacle courses. Pam was a natural athlete and had not had trouble passing any, and she took the time to work with Tim. During one such session, while Tim was doing push-ups, they began to kiss each other right in the middle of the football field—but that was as far as it went. Before either of them knew it, they graduated and were given different assignments. They promised to stay in touch but were unable to keep the vow. Tim had no idea where Pam had gone or what assignment she’d been given. Tim was assigned as an Analyst based at CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia. It was not until almost two years later that Tim was finally able to ask Pam on a date, when they happened to meet by chance at the Langley cafeteria. They were married a month later.
As Toby crossed the Baltimore County and city line, Tim thought again about the Agency recruiter telling him that he could be assigned anywhere in the world. He wondered if that included downtown Baltimore. Baltimore was a city that was always on the cusp of revitalization, yet never seemed to quite get there. This was still apparent from the number of vacant storefronts Tim could see as they traveled down Lombard Street.
Sebastian told Toby to drop him off at his hotel and then take Tim back to his condo. This would be the first time Tim and Toby would be alone together, and Tim wondered if Sebastian was doing that on purpose.
Sebastian turned to Tim as Toby entered the driveway of the hotel. “Take a look at the textbooks tonight, Tim. In the morning, I’ll tell you what our mission is about.” With that, he exited the SUV and headed into his hotel.
Before Toby started to drive again, he turned to face Tim. “Would you like to see a very funny video?” he asked.
“Sure, Toby,” Tim said, almost happy that Toby seemed to be acting friendly toward him.
Toby handed Tim his iPhone. “Just press the start button,” he said as he began to drive the few blocks back to the condominium.
In the video was a woman with dark hair in a kitchen, washing dishes in a sink. Suddenly, a man wearing a ski mask that covered his entire face appeared. The man entered from behind and grabbed the woman by her neck, placing her in a chokehold. He next forced the woman onto the floor, where he produced a coil of rope. He bound the woman’s hands and feet, then hog-tied those together. The masked man then produced a roll of duct-tape. He shoved something into the woman’s mouth and began to wrap the duct-tape several times around the woman’s head. He next pulled down the women’s top to expose her breasts. The masked man then left the frame, leaving the woman to roll around on the floor.
“Gosh, Toby, do you get your rocks off watching bound and gagged women rolling on the floor?” Tim asked with a fair amount of sarcasm.
“I’m always interested in women who are willing to be humiliated,” Toby replied. “For example, look at the woman in the next video.”
The next video featured what looked to be the same woman, but this time she was already bound and gagged, naked while sitting on a couch.
“Take a closer at look who it is,” Toby said, and Tim placed his finger on the pause key for a closer look.
It was Mary Ann Layback, and so was the woman featured in the first video.
Tim handed the iPhone back to Toby. “So, Toby, is there a reason you’re sharing this with me?” he asked.
Tim knew that this was just Toby’s method of trying to psych him out. This was actually one of the first things Tim was taught in spy school. Recording subjects in compromising sexual situations used to be one of the most effective ways for agents to control their assets. Frankly, it was just plain old-fashioned blackmail, except that the sexually compromising situations were no longer as effective as they had been, especially in regard to homosexuality. Now that many men and women had “come out of the closet”, recording a man receiving a blow job in a restroom no longer had the impact that it once did. Even catching men dressing up in women’s clothing no longer had the same damning effect. This was not to say that pictures of subjects in sexual situations no longer had any value. For example, a man or even a woman with an underage person would be career-ending, if not a criminal prosecution. But people just having sex was no longer the big deal that it once had been.
“So, what’s your point, Toby?” Tim repeated. “What should I garner from your bondage videos?”
“I think you really need to know the kind of person you are letting share your bed, Tim.”
Toby actually sounded sincere, as if he was concerned about Tim’s wellbeing. “Mary Ann is a compulsive liar,” he added. “Sometimes, she doesn’t even know when she is telling you t
he truth. It took me a year to understand that, which is why we are no longer together, although I’m still in love with her.”
That was certainly a mouthful, Tim thought. Was Toby really trying to tell Tim that he was still in love with Mary Ann despite the fact that she was a known liar? Over the years, Tim had become pretty good at evaluating people, or “subjects,” as the Agency called them. The word “subjects” kept everything impersonal, and Tim often looked at Mary Ann as a subject as opposed to his lover. He knew that Mary Ann might be dangerous and was most likely capable of cutting his throat while sleeping, although he felt that the chances of that happening were slim. Tim had met a number of men and even a couple of women who were programed to kill with little remorse, but Tim felt that the lack of remorse was something that typically had to be trained. It’s not personal, it’s just part of my job. I may not like doing it, but there is a reason it needs to be done was the mantra that was taught in the classroom. On the other hand, sociopaths and psychopaths (Tim really did not distinguish between the two) were basically just plain selfish people who were working solely for their own gain. In Tim’s opinion, Mary Ann was a somewhat complex and confused person, whereas Toby was just a run-of-the-mill psychopath. Toby was attempting to manipulate Tim to his side by pretending that he and Tim had some mutual affection for Mary Ann. Toby was certainly up to something, but Tim could not figure it out—at least not at this point.
As the SUV pulled in front of Tim’s condo, he collected the two textbooks from Pam’s library, then looked at Toby. “Well, I do appreciate you sharing the video. It has certainly opened my eyes to a couple of things,” he said.
Tim was referring to deciding that Toby definitely possessed a number of psychopathic tendencies.
Toby made a fist and offered Tim a fist bump. “Anytime, my man,” he replied as their knuckles touched. “We will see you in the morning.”
Tim got out and watched Toby drive away. He quickly reviewed his day and thought about how each new day seemed to reveal more than the day before. He turned and walked toward the entrance of his condo, still thinking.
Chapter 15
“Well, I didn’t think it was a big deal,” Mary Ann said in response to Tim’s inquiry about the bondage video.
Tim had expected that this was what she would say and basically agreed with her, but he didn’t understand how a woman would submit to that level of humiliation.
When Tim put that question to Mary Ann, though, her response was, “Yes, Tim. And us gals all love getting down on all fours and letting you ram us from behind. That’s so empowering.”
The conversation was becoming uncomfortable, so Tim decided to make a drink and offered to make one for Mary Ann as well.
“I assume Toby showed this to you?” Mary Ann asked as Tim handed her a vodka tonic. “Did he mention that he played the part of the masked man? For that matter, he also directed it.”
“He’s a very talented man,” Tim said with a smile, attempting to lighten the mood. “Look,” he added, “I’m sorry I even mentioned this to you. It doesn’t bother me at all that you performed in a kinky sex video, but I thought you needed to know that your ex showed it to me.”
“So, you’re not breaking up with me?” Mary Ann wondered.
Tim sat down and gave her a kiss. “Of course not. I think this is the third time you’ve asked me if I was planning on breaking up with you. Why is that?”
“Because all of my boyfriends have been like Toby,” she explained. “You’re the first guy who’s had any class.”
“Well, I wouldn’t go that far, but thanks. Let’s drop the subject,” Tim said. He was not comfortable about receiving compliments, plus Mary Ann was probably lying.
But she had more to say about the video. “Well, it was Toby’s idea, and it really did pay very well, plus I didn’t have to fuck anyone on camera. We might have done some more videos, but then Sebastian came along.”
Mary Ann began to retell the story about how she and Toby met Sebastian, but Tim’s mind started to wander. He really was not surprised about the video, since Tim knew that Mary Ann was the kind of woman who would be up for just about anything sexual. No, the question was why Toby decided to show the video to him in the first place. But Tim also had a lot of other things on his mind, chemistry being the main one.
It had been a long day, so he took Mary Ann in his arms and fell right to sleep.
Morning came sooner than Tim would have preferred, but he was out of bed, dressed, and drinking his second cup of coffee by the time Mary Ann got up at 9 a.m. She saw Tim sitting at the dining room table reading one of the two textbooks he’d bought home from Pam’s house. “Interesting book?” she asked, kissing the top of his head.
“Not really, but this guy Tim Hall is a fucking genius,” Tim joked.
Tim really was impressed with his book. It wasn’t that he had forgotten that he studied chemistry in college—it was just something that he had not thought much about in the last 35 years. Now, he regretted that he had not continued his career as a chemist. The Agency had originally hired Tim as a Technician II Chemist GS 9, but he’d ended up being asked if he minded taking a position in the Forensic Psychology group. Tim had minored in Psychology at Berkeley and, although the laboratory was his first love, he was also interested in the science of the mind.
He’d figured that anything he did not know could be learned on the job, and he was correct. He spent the next year visiting a number of secret Agency camps known to the public as “Black Sites,” where he learned enhanced interrogation techniques. This was a term that had become a euphemism for torture, but Tim never thought that any of the interviews he conducted were torture, unless one considered boredom a form of it. Most of the time, he would ask a question to a detainee, and the detainee would then tell him a lie. Tim had had the advantage of knowing when someone was lying, since he usually knew the truth. But in the current situation, he had no clue why Sebastian and Pam had bought him back from retirement.
“Would you like some scrambled eggs?” Mary Ann called from the kitchen.
“Yes, I would,” Tim replied as he stared at her backside.
Mary Ann was really a piece of work, he thought to himself. She had been lying to him since the moment they met. He thought back to their first date and about how Mary Ann had told him that she once owned a dental lab. Could that possibly be true, or was it just part of a running story Mary Ann was making up as she went along? Most lies Tim had encountered through his enhanced interrogations where attempts to cover up something, usually some kind of plot or conspiracy—but most of these liars could be tripped up by pointing out the contradictions in the stories they were telling. However, in Mary Ann’s case, her entire life seemed to be a contradiction. Nevertheless, Tim felt that they had made a strong connection. He also felt that Mary Ann needed to be protected. Tim sensed that Mary Ann had most likely stumbled into a very dangerous situation with no clue of the possible consequences. Tim knew that he was also in danger, but he was aware that neither Pam nor Sebastian would go away empty-handed, so he would have to stay around long enough to figure out their plan.
The buzzer buzzed in Tim’s condo, and he looked up to the clock. 10 a.m.; it must be Sebastian and Toby time. Tim went into his bedroom and came back with an overnight bag. “I may be gone for a couple of days, Mary Ann, so hold the fort,” he murmured.
Mary Ann was surprised at this news. “A couple of days? What’s going on?”
Tim noticed that Mary Ann actually seemed disappointed that he might spend a night without her. “I don’t know yet, but don’t worry. Everything will be okay.”
There was a knock at the door, and Tim opened the door to meet Sebastian and Toby. Tim beamed at them. “Good morning, guys. Are we ready to hit the road?”
Sebastian looked surprised to see Tim ready to go. “By all means,” Sebastian replied as he nodded to Mary Ann, who was standing behind Tim.
Tim turned and kissed Mary Ann goodbye. “Don’t worry
,” he repeated. “I’ll see you in a couple of days.”
As Toby drove them out of the city, Sebastian motioned to him that it was time to put in his earbuds. When Sebastian could hear Guns N’ Roses come out of the earphones, he turned to Tim. “So, do you remember any of your chemistry, Tim?”
“Actually, I remember quite a lot more than I thought I would, but you know I wasn’t a chemist with the Agency. I was an operations guy like you.”
Sebastian once again seemed pleased that Tim now recalled his time as a spy. “Yes, an operations guy. I always enjoyed your terminology, Tim. So, here’s the question: what do you remember about making poisons?”
Poisons? Tim wondered. These two are taking me out of retirement for poisons.
“Well, Sebastian, I certainly know enough to be able to concoct something to put our friend Toby to sleep, but I don’t think I know enough yet to cure cancer.”
Sebastian gave Tim a funny look, but then he got the joke. “Besides,” Tim continued, “you have enough real chemists at Langley and Quantico to develop anything you need...so why are you asking me?”
Sebastian thought for a second, then answered, “Suppose you had a mission that only a handful of people were aware of, and you needed something created. Something that could not be traced back to Langley. Who would you turn to?”
Though it was long and somewhat rhetorical, Sebastian’s question told Tim what he wanted to know. Pam, Sebastian, and whoever else was involved wanted to keep the operation tight and bringing in a bunch of chemists from Langley was not the way to accomplish that.
“Okay, I get it, Sebastian. You and Pam want me to develop some sort of poison...but why?”
Sebastian responded without hesitation. “There is a current world leader who is creating havoc, and our analysis is that if this person continues unchecked, it could affect the world as we have come to know it.”
The Adults in the Room Page 9