by Len Marshall
He was ordered to confiscate everything there and get his unit to send it to the nearest US Air Force Base from where it was to be shipped back to the US.
Quite quickly, one wounded person was airlifted. It was Anton Sergei. He had two serious bullet wound injuries, one in his left leg and the other in his chest. Nathan and his team left the desert after loading everything they had found in the tent including the other three wounded persons.
The raid had been carried out by a unit of US Navy Seals to capture a Russian spy who had played a key role in the latest major cyber-attack on the US. His involvement was unmasked by the capture of another insurgent who was interrogated in Syria by the CIA. He was one of the original four. It was Abu Salem who was now working against the insurgent groups backed by the United States. During his interrogation he was offered freedom if he could lead the US military to a specific target. He gave up Anton Sergei in an instant and told them about his future plan which included a similar cyber-attack on the Pentagon.
This information caused serious panic and major misgivings within the US military leadership. They had seen what BreachX9 had done to the Waverley Davis network.
Abu Salem was released by CIA after he promised that he would become a federal agent informant and that he would lead them to other targets as well. However, as soon as he was released, he leaked information about the US military raid on the operation in the open desert. This would be an ideal scenario for insurgents to catch US soldiers in open desert territory. He was correct in his tactical thinking but the insurgents failed because of one serious miscalculation; they had ignored the massive aerial firepower of the US Air Force.
The life of Anton Sergei was saved against all the odds thanks to the tremendous efforts of US military doctors. He disclosed the role of Ken Fellows in their last attack. The US leadership was disgusted to learn that the patent of Project Xerox had been compromised. The CIA recruited Anton Sergei as one of their agents within FBS and he was tasked to recover the original patent and replace it with a fictitious one. The patent switch task was successfully completed by Anton Sergei two months later.
***
“Could you ever forgive her?” Ajay asked Neil about Jenifer.
“Is that what you really think? Should I forgive her, do you think she’s worthy of my forgiveness?” Neil asked.
“You see, I am not asking for her sake but yours,” he replied. “A wise man once taught me that we cannot live in harmony and peace if we cannot forgive others and ourselves. A person who always thinks about taking revenge on others remains in perpetual pain.”
As Ajay spoke, Neil continued to look at him. His mind was trying to process what Ajay had just told him. No person prior to that had ever explained to him why ‘letting go,” was so important for us all.
“Neil, forgiveness is among the biggest virtues, the greatest source of good karma. Every time we forgive someone we earn grace, it is priceless,” he said. “We pay for our mistakes and other wrongdoings by forgiving. Please, try to understand this in the broader context. I’m not implying anything about you. If we haven’t done anything wrong to any other person, Nature gives us a second chance for any potential mistake we might made in future. Similarly, when we forgive anybody, we give him a second chance,” Ajay said. Neil could not disagree. His education from Ajay had begun once again. He did not say anything. Ajay looked at Neil’s face. He was clearly trying to reach on a conclusion.
“Remember, Neil, grace is essential in The Law of Attraction. Think about it but after disconnecting from this place,” Ajay said.
Neil could not understand what he was being asked to do. I don’t get it he thought, “Disconnecting from this place,” he repeated Ajay’s words with some astonishment.
Ajay smiled. He put an envelope down on the table and asked Neil to take it. Neil picked it up, inside was an air ticket to Brazil with hotel accommodation as well. He had always wanted to visit Brazil; it was a pleasant surprise for him. Ajay got out of his seat and wrapped both his arms around him. Neil was the only person in Waverley Davis, other than Jacob, that afternoon. “Here, you must call this number,” he said, and handed the cell phone number to copy into Neil’s mobile memory chip.
“Whose number is this?” Neil asked.
“Go to Brazil and see yourself. She’s someone I know. Hopefully, you’ll love her company,” Ajay said. Neil left for Brazil the next day, a tourist destination which he had always wanted to explore.
Jenifer’s plan for Teresa, had worked perfectly.
She had sent her there knowing that Neil would love to go to Brazil on vacation. Then, she had given Teresa’s number to Jacob and asked him to tell Neil to call her. Jacob knew full well that Neil would never call that number if knew it had come from Jenifer. So he took Ajay into his confidence and they hatched a plan to send Neil there.
Neil and Teresa found each other.
They became friends instantly but becoming lovers took them a little bit longer.
***
Jenifer was moved to a secure location from her cell. This was not freedom but a transfer she had agreed to. She had listened to Jacob. He wanted to move on with his life. Jenifer was a hurdle for him. “Perhaps this transfer will help us both to move on with our lives,” she thought stepping into one of the black SUVs that was there to pick her up the night after she had agreed to the terms of her new employer.
She was taken to a secret training ground where Major General Vice and a female officer, the one who had visited her in prison, were there to receive her. She saw a few armed military men around as well and she was not surprised by this environment. She had expected all this during his transfer from prison.
“Welcome Ms. Jenifer Robertson,” Major General Vice said.
“What is this place?” Jenifer asked.
“Before answering your question, let me please ask you one first,” Vice said.
“OK. Ask away.”
“Do you really want to take this job, because once you’ve confirmed you do, you’ll be owned by the US Navy. We’ll tell you where to go and where not to go. What to say online and what not to say. We will...” Jenifer intervened.
“Yes, Officer, I do want to take this job. Once assigned, I take my work very seriously. So don’t worry, I’ll follow every command of yours. Just tell me where I can start working and who my target is,” Jenifer said hurriedly. Vice was taken aback and the female office tried hard to suppress a smile.
“That’s not how the US military operates. First you’ll be trained so that you can adopt our standard operating procedures and understand our way of working. We’re here to secure our homeland, not to destroy others,” the female officer had spoken for the first time. Her name was Lieutenant Lisa Starbuck.
“OK. So when are we going to start training?” Jenifer asked.
“Right now, after completing some more paperwork,” Lt Starbuck replied with a warm smile. She took Jenifer into an office then, after some formalities were completed, she was shown to her room which was just a little bigger than her prison cell but a lot more cozy. She jumped on the bed as soon as Lisa left. She wanted to fall asleep but as soon as she closed her eyes, Jacob’s face emerged in her mind.
“Not again. Not now,” she muttered. This was not the first time this had happened to her.
She jumped out of bed and start doing push-ups on the ground. She had discovered this method of making herself tired through an aggressive workout helped her to sleep without thinking about Jacob. But even this method was not one hundred percent perfect. It worked that night and she slept tight.
Jacob was not able to sleep that night either. He wondered what had happened to Jenifer. He had gone to visit see her again the following morning but was told that there was no one with that name there, at least not anymore. He had left the prison with his head spinning.
As
he left, a senior policeman told him that she had been moved to some other place by the USA military authorities but he had no idea where. Jacob just wished that he could see her one more time.
***
Some months later, Jacob was representing Waverley Davis at a military conference and exhibition. Senior military leaders, foreign delegates, foreign services chiefs and ambassadors were there from all over the world. Waverley Davis had a large booth there presenting a vast array of military solutions and hardware applications.
It was the final day of the exhibition and Jacob had been really busy meeting with delegates. He had asked Ajay to join him so that they could meet more people and secure some promising more orders. Ajay had fulfilled his son’s request and had also come along. The US Army and Air Force chiefs had already visited their booth. Soon Jacob announced that the Chief of Naval Staff would also be visiting their stand. He was excited as the US Navy was the biggest customer of Waverley Davis.
Ajay received the CNS of the US Navy and started to brief him. Many senior officers accompanied the Naval Chief. Jacob was standing a few rows back to give room to the guests. That was when he heard his name spoken by a voice which he could recognize in millions of voices. He froze but had to turn around when he heard his name once more, a little louder this time but not too loud to attract the attention of others. He turned around and there she was. Jenifer.
It took Jacob a few moments to recognize her. She had a slight smile on her face. As soon as Jacob recognized her, she started to walk away from the Waverley Davis both towards a less crowded corner of the conference hall. Soon she was behind a giant advertising stand. Jacob walked behind her like he was in some kind of trance. Soon both were standing in front of each other, quiet. Not saying anything, perhaps waiting for the other to say something first.
“OK, why not just tell it like this,” Jenifer thought as she grabbed Jacob and planted a big kiss, wow smack bang on his lips. Jacob was not ready for this assault but as soon as he realized what her intentions were, he gave in and responded to Jenifer’s kiss.
“Please tell me more,” he said because now Jacob wanted to know everything that had happened to her. Why and how are had she come to be in the in the Forces. “I love you, Jacob.” Jenifer had not even listened to those other questions and said those three magical words he had waited for such a long time to him right there.
“I love you too, Jenifer.” The reply came from the depth of his heart and he kissed her once again.
“I have to go now, duty calls. I’ll let you know everything as soon as I visit New York next week during my monthly leave,” she said. Grabbing a pen from Jacob’s pocket, she wrote her number on his hand.
“Wait, I want to know now,” Jacob could say this much before he received another passionate kiss from Jenifer.
“You know, I’m too important to them and my absence will be noticed if I stay a minute more here with you and I don’t think Waverley Davis can afford another scandal like this either,” she said. Jacob stood there having serious doubts about the reality of space and time around him. He had craved for everything that had happened during the last ten minutes behind that advertisement stand but he had never imagined that it would happen so sudden and so unexpectedly.
Both were together once again a week later. Jenifer told him about her agreement with the State and then her inclusion in US Navy’s Cyber Command. She told him how she had met with an entirely different breed of human being in the naval services who inspired her, gave extraordinary courage and confidence to her and most importantly taught her the meaning of cherishing life as long as she was alive. It was being in that company that had changed her life. She learned how to be positive under any circumstances and how to fight for good together.
Then she shared her experiences of getting clues and signs that she would be with him eventually. Jacob was amazed to hear this, as it had also happened to him but he had ignored the feelings considering them to be the result his overthinking about her. Now both understood that actually they were holding two ends of a string called love, whenever one of them pulled his end, the one holding the other end always felt it.
They remained together until Jenifer left for San Francisco where she was posted but, before she left, Jacob gave her most beautiful surprise of her life.
Jenifer had no idea what Jacob and Ajay had planned for her when she received a call from Jacob asking her to visit the Waverley Davis offices because there was some indications that a similar attempt was being made on their network again by Chinese hackers. She felt duty bound and rushed to the Waverley Davis building with the intention of assessing the situation and then reporting her findings. But once she stepped into the building she could not believe what she saw.
The entire building was decorated for some party. A massive banner read “Happy Birthday Jenifer,” but no one was there. She was trying to fully understand this surprise when she heard the crowd singing a birthday song for her and Jacob emerged from his office and walked towards her. Kissing her, he suddenly went down on one knee brought out a ring and proposed to Jenifer. She was stunned and flattered but said yes instantly. They married soon after and finally Jenifer and Jacob became each other’s forever. All thanks to the Law of Attraction.
Jacob took over control of Waverley Davis which continues to prosper under his masterful tutelage and his spiritual vision.
A month after their marriage, Ajay left Waverley Davis and retired to India where he wanted to visit his native town of Tiruvannamalai. He had a wish to see his native homeland once again and to spend some time in those spiritual lands and find the sanctuary he had always missed in the busy life of Manhattan.
He yearned for and got a peaceful life, a spiritual life;
All this thanks to the Law of Gratitude.