Plus, Missy seemed to know everything about Sal’s organization. He and Sal still couldn’t figure out how she’d learned all of these things but she obviously had. She’d revealed things about every aspect of their operation, both business and personal, and Sal had no intention of testing or challenging her. Especially since she now seemed to be getting limo rides and airline tickets and hotel rooms and who knew what else, all from some mysterious source. She was a witch with supernatural powers. So, if that source wasn’t the government, then the alternative was perhaps even worse.
Thus, at least for now, the only way Ben and Sal knew how to manage and control things was by giving Missy whatever she wanted.
Sal said, “This Alice? She’s won’t be going around telling people that her friend is a witch, will she? Or, complaining how we got rid of her stepsister? Should I be worried?”
“No. She seems totally focused on all these girls we’re paying for. She wants to make certain they aren’t being abused by any family members and that social service agencies are really paying attention. She may even start arranging for psychologists. Stuff like that.” Ben had a very strong suspicion that Alice may have been abused herself, by her stepfather Tony, but he didn’t bring that up with Sal.
“So, how can I be relaxed about that? What’s the risk of someone thinking I’m a soft touch? What’s this gonna look like to the other families?”
Ben said, “Look, this whole thing is set up as a big tax write-off thing for us, okay? We’ve established this fund, and we have people giving out the money. If that money goes to disadvantaged young women, social services and whatever? We can always say we’re only doing that to counter what the press keeps accusing us of doing. Prostitution and drugs and loansharking? Nope, that’s not us. We’re just legitimate businessmen. See? We even give to charities. And, if anyone should interview this Alice? She’s only going to explain how wonderful we are and what a great thing we’re doing, giving back to the community. Blah, blah, blah. She almost has me believing her about how wonderful we are.” He laughed.
Sal stared at him and said, “Almost, huh?”
“Yeah … if she hadn’t also told me, right up front, how Missy tells her everything? She even hinted how her close friend Missy could do even more supernatural things … more stuff than we could ever dream of. I pretended I had no idea what she was talking about, just in case the phone call was being bugged. And, she was pretty careful in how she said things. But, you know what I’m starting to think?”
“What?”
Ben smiled. “As big as your organization is, Sal? Maybe this witch Missy McCrea is part of something bigger. A lot bigger. Why else would someone like her be going to West Point, anyway?”
-----
Jan 19, 2019
It was late morning and John was waiting for Tracy at the Visitor Center. She had Walking Privileges, fortunately, but she wasn’t free until after all her normal duties were done. He had come down for the three day weekend but he wasn’t sure just how much time they’d actually get to be together. The weather was not cooperating so they would have to stay somewhere inside while the snow continued to fall, blanketing the grounds with white layers. Looking out the windows at the raging storm outside, it was difficult to even see the Hudson River.
Since Tracy would have to sign back into the barracks every night and there were only so many places she was allowed to go to, with Walking Privileges -- all right there on academy grounds -- he was figuring this visit, like all his earlier visits, would have to be strictly platonic. Oh, well!
At least he had managed the four hour drive down without any problems, arriving at his hotel late the night before. The snow hadn’t really started to come down until that morning and the Friday evening traffic hadn’t been too bad. John’s thoughts didn’t really dwell for very long about the snow or the drive down, but were filled instead with all the recent emails that had gone back and forth. Those had not been platonic. Things with Tracy had indeed moved to a whole new level, one he had never experienced before. He’d never dreamed a relationship like this was even possible.
Then Tracy walked in and he rushed over to help her remove her long grey overcoat. She was wearing her dress grey uniform underneath but all he noticed were her warm brown eyes, which were clearly happy to see him. “Hey, beautiful one, love of my life, girl of my dreams … foremost forever in all of my fantasies … paramount in my pursuit of a permanent paramour … wonderful winsome witch who … umm … maybe I should stop with all my windy wordy ways, huh?” Tracy was laughing at him and looking around to make certain no one else was listening to any of his nonsense.
“John, let’s find a place to sit and talk for a bit. Then, we’ll grab some lunch. I think you’ll be pleased with our plans for later today.” She led him over to one of the conference rooms and they found a couple chairs in a convenient corner, where they could chat without anyone else hearing their conversation.
As they sat down, she said, “Missy sends her love. She’s busier than ever, of course, shooting at a pistol match today, playing basketball at an away game tomorrow, and who knows what she’ll be doing on Monday. She just has no time for Mike to come down and visit. She’s almost jealous that you and I are seeing each other.”
“I doubt that. My sister has been talking to Mike non-stop … she’s always inside his head now. Poor guy!” John laughed. “I talked with him just yesterday … if she’s not participating at some extreme physical level in one of her many activities or else asleep, then she’s constantly talking to him.”
Tracy giggled. “Missy tells me she now feels his emotions constantly as well, and they can almost have actual conversations. She’ll play twenty questions and can quickly get his feedback so she knows exactly what he’s thinking about stuff. Yeah, they’ve finely honed their communication skills … she’s thrilled.”
John said, “She’s always telling him her thoughts while she’s in class, out of class, on her way to wherever she’s going or coming back from wherever she’s been, probably without even realizing it now. Those two weeks they spent during Christmas break? She doesn’t know how to turn it off. And, he says he can’t think straight anymore without her doing it. When he’s trying to study or take notes in class or do well on an exam? Rather than her thoughts being a distraction, he says his brain actually does better. He’s more focused, more alert … he can recall things better … whatever energy she’s using and sending to him? He now needs that. Crazy, right?”
“Actually, I get it. I do. While I can’t compare myself to Missy, we do share in our both being witches. We use and control energy in ways most people can’t. That’s our gift.” Tracy laughed. “You think my using energy is something? With all my fire and lightning? Your sister can do so much more. And, besides, it’s really all about our control … you know that.”
“Yes, I watched her for years doing all that mixed martial arts sparring. She had to control herself so they didn’t realize she was supernatural. She masked her super strength and super speed and allowed herself to get all banged up, just for training. She both needed the extreme physical exercise as well as the training on how to control her abilities.” John stared at her. “I suppose that’s also what you’re relating to, right? You somehow have always trained yourself … your control … you do stuff too. Only, you do different stuff since you’re different from Missy.”
“You mean like my dance classes when I was a little girl? And, now, here at the academy, with my fencing?” Tracy smiled. She had started fencing in high school, back when her powers had begun really manifesting themselves. Controlling energy was a whole body experience and, for her, thrusting and parrying with her saber had been what she’d found most helpful.
John nodded his head and smiled at her. “Yeah, like that. I finally figured you out. You and Missy and the rest of you wonderful witches. First, you draw in all this energy. Then, you magically do stuff with it. Since you’re all supernatural, the stuff you do can be quite spectac
ular. Now, tell me about our spectacular plans for later today? You promised I’d like them.”
“Oh, yes! And, this actually goes along with my fencing, which I just mentioned. My fencing coach, Mr. Fargarson? He’s also my sponsor here at the academy. He lives right here on academy grounds and after lunch, I can sign out to go spend the day at his house. We’re invited there for dinner.”
John asked, “And, I’m liking this plan why?”
“Because, his wife and I have talked … she’s going to drag him off to some last minute social gathering that he doesn’t even know about yet and leave us all alone for most of the afternoon. They’ll still be there later on for dinner but we’ll have to entertain ourselves at their place while they’re gone. I don’t suppose you can think of any ways we can spend our time that might be … well … spectacular?” She giggled as she watched the big grin slowly spread across his face. He indeed was obviously thinking of some ways.
Chapter Sixteen
Jan 21, 2019
Martin Luther King Day. No classes. Once again Missy and her team were staying at a hotel after their basketball game the night before. As usual for these away games, she was sharing a room with Sharon. They both had slept late, since the entire team was being given some extra time that morning before they needed to get back on the buses returning to the academy. Coach Borovsky liked to reward them whenever they won. And, having this extra time was indeed a special treat since they rarely ever enjoyed the luxury of a leisurely breakfast and being able to just relax.
Missy and Sharon took turns using the bathroom, with Sharon going first. When Missy came out and began getting dressed, she and Sharon continued talking about their big win the night before. Sharon had scored thirty-two points, her most ever, and she credited Missy for assisting with many of those. They had really teamed up well on several fast breaks and Missy had also managed feeding her some nice passes at other times as well.
Missy had scored eighteen points with ten of those from sinking foul shots. She had also scored two of her jump shot three pointers. Sharon said, “You know … you could probably have scored much higher, Missy, if you weren’t always passing the ball to me or one of our other teammates, letting us make the shots.”
Missy said, “Hey, we’ve talked about this before. I’m not interested in how high I can score as long as our team does well. I’m pretty sure Coach Borovsky agrees. She has me in there playing for most of every game now, after all.”
“That’s because you never seem to get tired like the rest of us, Missy! Sheesh! I don’t know how you do that.” Sharon laughed. “Especially since returning from Christmas break … what the hell did you do, then, anyways? You’re bigger, faster, more energetic … more everything!”
Missy giggled but didn’t say anything. Lately, she had indeed found it more and more difficult to mask all of her abilities, after spending so much time in her cat form. She realized she would need to focus harder and control herself better. Being confined for several hours each day in their classroom activities was a challenge. Her body needed the extreme exercise. She decided she’d have to increase her training sessions at the gym, whenever she had a chance. She also needed to eat more to gain back some of the body fat she’d lost.
As Missy looked over at Sharon, she realized this actually was the first chance the two of them had been able to talk very much, now that they were no longer rooming together at the academy. She had missed talking to Sharon … they’d grown quite close as friends during the past few months.
Sharon asked, “How do you like your new roommate?”
“Sally and I are getting along great. If she wasn’t on the swim team, she probably would have tried out for basketball. Remember Barbara from my soccer team? They were roommates last semester.”
“Sure, I remember Barbara. And, I know how you helped her when those third year assholes were giving her demerits.” Sharon paused and studied her friend. “Missy, I heard you’re now helping Sally with that as well. Ginger told me you really need to watch your back with those Caesar Club guys.” Ginger was a basketball teammate of theirs, in her second year, and she had recently shared a lot of interesting info with Sharon.
“Caesar Club guys? Caesar as in Julius Caesar, the Roman general? That Caesar? That’s a new one … I haven’t heard about any club like that here. Which guys are in it? And, why do I need to watch my back?”
“Oh yeah, having an unofficial club named after a famous Roman general sounds cool, right? Especially here at a military academy. And, if anyone investigates them, that’s what they’ll say their club is named after. But … these guys are now all third year cadets … they started this so called club last year. And, what the club name really means? It’s actually a play on words and it’s for their so called motto … seize her, squeeze her, hump her and dump her. Get it? The Caesar Club? Seize … her. Ginger told me one of her roommates last year? She didn’t come back because of them.”
“You’re kidding, right?
“Oh, no.” Sharon shook her head sadly. “You already messed with Cadet Quigby in Beast Training. Now you’re messing with Cadet Bernhard, the big football player who’s been harassing Sally. He’s the reason this girl that Ginger knows about ended up quitting. She was a plebe last year. Now she’s gone.”
“You need to fill me in, Sharon. What happened?”
“These guys love to harass the female cadets. Plebe girls are fair targets, as you know. Bernhard likes to hand out demerits and, when a girl finally gets really tired of that? Well … then he offers her alternative ways of spending her Saturday afternoons. Rather than walking tours for hours at a time, she can agree to service him instead. At first, it’s only hand jobs and then blow jobs. But, by the end of the semester? She’s fucking everyone in the club and she can’t even complain she was raped or assaulted.”
“That’s terrible! Really? I’m not sure if I can believe that!”
“Oh, believe it, Missy. There are a few girls still here. But, they’re the ones that were dumped, so they don’t have to keep doing favors any more. That’s what the new plebe girls are for. It’s all a game with these guys. They compete and keep score and everything. And, you’re messing things up. First, Barbara and now Sally. Bernhard likes the big, tall girls … probably since he’s such a big bastard himself. You’ve interfered with his plans. Twice now. Ginger has heard some things. You’re next on his list.”
Missy had heard rumors that the climate at West Point was hostile, with ten or twelve female cadets getting forced out every year after being raped, assaulted or abused. But, this was even worse. Rather than merely some random act, fueled by alcohol, this was planned and systematic … and, once compromised? Once any girl might give in, even just a little bit? Then they would be preyed upon until gradually succumbing to more and more. They would be subjected to attacks where they had no defense, blackmailed so they couldn’t refuse, all the while knowing the guys would never be punished. They had no choice but to accept it and keep quiet about it. Or, quit.
These Caesar Club guys were clever cowards. And dangerous.
Missy asked, “What did Ginger hear, exactly? And, who are these guys, again?”
-----
Jan 22, 2019
The Defense Secretary looked around the room. Once again, this group had assembled to review what had been learned about the Taliban base in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. In addition to the nineteen individuals from the first meeting, six more had joined them, all having the same high security clearance. This time, it was the military and CIA giving most of the presentations.
Drew Martinson from “P” Branch had little to contribute. His final report had been distributed a week earlier but that hadn’t contained much that was new. The others had all been working with the earlier “P” Branch reports as well as the additional information obtained from the three kidnap victims. The German engineers had been fully debriefed by Captain Grimes and the Special Forces Intelligence Team he’d brought with him.
Some very clear photos and surveillance films had now been obtained. Knowing where to look had been very helpful. And, since the Taliban knew their secret base had somehow been compromised, getting additional documentation had not been that difficult to acquire. It was no longer any secret to the U.S. Special Forces.
The Taliban were still in a bit of turmoil, allegedly, concerning the escape and rescue operations which they’d not yet managed to fully understand or explain. How the Special Forces had penetrated their base, extracting the three Germans the way they had, was still quite a mystery to them.
The CIA briefing included some rumors that had leaked out to their sources in Kabul. Two CIA operatives had managed to learn some interesting facts. Although some of these facts were conflicting, many were similar enough and thus corroborated each other, so these were then considered as probably accurate.
Deputy Secretary of State Ted Hanson asked, “So, there’s absolutely no physical evidence that any U.S. forces were even there? What about that body that was found. How was he killed, again?”
Charles Winword from the CIA explained, “If our Special Forces guys hadn’t claimed credit at those press conference briefings, the Taliban would never even know of our involvement. They still haven’t located that Hancock landing site where our helicopter set down. They did find the body of one of their soldiers, near a ventilation shaft, which is where they figure the Germans climbed out. But, the trail then sort of disappears up in the mountains.”
General Blake said, “They realize we must have picked the Germans up that same night, but they don’t know where. Or, how we would have known to fly up there to get them. There are plenty of rumors about how our guys managed all that but there’s no evidence.”
Winword said, “According to some of the rumors over there … maybe the Germans broke their own chains, killed one man, climbed up a twenty-five foot shaft, and then vanished … all on their own. But, it’s a complete mystery. And, since the U.S. is claiming victory for this and the Germans are singing our praises, we obviously now know about the Taliban base. So, we’ve poked a stick into the hornet’s nest. Now we need to decide what to do next.”
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