Special Talents

by J. B. Tilton

  "That would depend on the team," said Jeremy. "Ordinarily, I might agree with you. But these people have spent the last few weeks working together and getting to know each other. And people always work better with others they know and get along with. I can tell you that each of these people gets along very well with the others."

  "Sure," said Porter. "Sitting around having a drink. Or going out to dinner or something like that. I can tell you from personal experience, doctor, it is considerably different in a combat situation. And let's not fool ourselves. It is very likely the people may be in a combat situation sooner or later. Even Assistant Director Scarborough realizes that. It's no different from a police officer or a soldier. Sooner or later there's going to be a fight. I'm not convinced your 'team' is up to that challenge. And if things fall apart at a critical moment, people could die. A lot of people."

  "I'll give you that, General," said Jeremy. "And I'll admit this team isn't a finely honed military unit that you're probably used to working with. They'll probably even make mistakes from time to time. Everyone does.

  "But I believe they will all do their best to justify the confidence we've put in them. Each one of them is committed to doing the best they can for us. And I think they'll do just that. Sure, there might be some rough spots in the beginning. But that's true of any new group, even those in the military. But I think in the end you'll be pleased with their performance."

  "Good intentions are fine," said Porter. "But it does very little when it comes right down to how they perform. Even people with the best of intentions can come up short when they're under fire. Only after intense training and the installation of discipline can you really begin to count on those under your command. I've seen it happen."

  "Everything you say is true," said Jeremy. "And I'll admit they are, as of yet, untested. No one can predict how they're going to react under fire. Until it actually happens. And it is important to find out just how these people are going to perform when it's necessary."

  "You have a suggestion, doctor?" Napolitano asked.

  "A test," said Jeremy. "Something that will satisfy the general and show what these people are truly capable of."

  "What kind of a test?" Porter asked.

  "Well, now, General, that's your field of expertise, isn't it?" Jeremy asked. "The military is constantly performing drills and 'mock' battles to prepare their soldiers for the real thing. You're concerned about how the team will perform. Why don't you suggest something that will satisfy you?"

  "I'm used to working with soldiers," said Porter. "Men and women who I know what they've been trained to do and I know their strengths and weaknesses. Our 'mock' battles are designed to test that training and identify weak spots so we can improve on them.

  "I know next to nothing about these people except what's in their files. Any test I design would be based on my military experience and I can tell you you're people are more than likely to fail at it."

  "I have an idea," said Scarborough.

  "Go ahead, Assistant Director," said Napolitano. "You've been working with these people from the beginning. And you're not a military man like the general. I'd be very interested in hearing your input on the situation."

  Scarborough stood up and walked over to one of the bookcases in Napolitano's office. He reached up and took an item off the bookcase. It was an award of some type made of clear plastic with an oval shape atop a rectangular base. Engraved in the oval shape were two "W's" interposed over each other. Scarborough walked over and sat back down in his chair.

  "If I'm not mistaken," he said, "this is the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service. It's awarded by the Smithsonian Institute to individuals in both the public sphere and business who have shown an outstanding commitment to President Woodrow Wilson's dream of integrating politics, scholarship, and policy for the common good."

  "That's right," said Napolitano. "It was awarded to me in 2006 when I served as a member of the Democratic Governors Association Executive Committee. I'm very proud of it. Please, be very careful with it."

  "As if it were my very own, Madam Secretary," said Scarborough. "Here's what I propose. General Porter puts this some place secure. And it will be the team's mission to get in and get it out."

  "That's all?" questioned Porter. "Break in some place and steal that statue? Well, that should be relatively easy. You do have some professional criminals on your team."

  "It would seem that isn't much of a challenge," said Napolitano.

  "More than you might think, Madam Secretary," said Scarborough. "General Porter can choose any location he wishes. He can use whatever security measures he deems necessary. And the team has to get in, get the statue, and return it here to your office."

  "Any security measures?" questioned Porter.

  "Any ones you want," said Scarborough. "Call the statue some classified material. The team plays the role of a terrorist cell that is tasked with getting that information and returning it to their superior."

  "Making me the leader of the terrorist cell," said Napolitano, smiling at Scarborough.

  "Forgive me, Madam Secretary," said Scarborough. "But only for the purpose of this mission."

  "And when you fail to retrieve the statue," said Porter, "you'll admit I'm right and that these people aren't qualified for this assignment?"

  "Assuming we fail," said Scarborough, glancing at Jeremy, "yes, I will. But if – when – the team returns the statue to this office, you have to agree they are amply qualified. And stop voicing any concerns about them."

  Porter thought for a moment. He had no doubt that a team of highly skilled and qualified soldiers was more than a match for this haphazard group of civilians.

  "Okay, I'll take the bet," said Porter. "But it has to be realistic. It can't be like the computer games my grandson likes to play. You don't get to make a mistake and then hit reset and try again. The men I chose won't be told it's an exercise. They'll be told that a credible threat has been learned and that a terrorist cell may try to infiltrate the base where the statue is being kept. And they'll be using live ammo."

  "That's not fair," said Jeremy. "Someone could get hurt. Or worse. This is supposed to be a test."

  "My point exactly," said Porter. "You think the terrorists are going to give your team any leeway? You think they won't shoot them just because they're civilians? They won't care. The danger on this test has to be as realistic as it would be on an actual mission. Otherwise it doesn't prove a thing. You did say for me to choose something that will satisfy me."

  "Okay," said Jeremy. "But your men have to have orders to take the team alive. I don't want some trigger-happy soldier trying to make brownie points by killing a terrorist."

  "I'll give the orders," said Porter. "But if things get out of hand you can't blame my men for defending themselves against what they consider a viable threat. They'll use whatever force is necessary to subdue your team."

  "Well, if you want realism, then you also cannot tell your men that the team has any special talents," said Jeremy. "You can tell them it's a specialized cell but nothing else. Just as they would be for a real mission."

  "That seems fair," said Napolitano. "Ordinarily we wouldn't have any foreknowledge of special abilities terrorists might have until they strike."

  "Agreed," said Porter. "But Dr. Sloan has to personally set the statue on the Secretary's desk. Just as if he were personally delivering it to his supervisor."

  "I can agree to that," said Sloan.

  "Okay," said Porter. "I'll need a couple of days to pick an appropriate place and get the security measures in place. I'll let you know when I'm ready."

  "How long is this going to take?" Napolitano asked. "I can't be sitting around here waiting for Dr. Sloan to deliver the statue. I do have other responsibilities, you know."

  "We understand, Madam Secretary," said Scarborough. "How about this? Once everything is in place, we pick a day that's convenient. At 8:00 o'clock that evening, we meet here and General Porter let's Dr. Slo
an know where the statue is. Then, Dr. Sloan has to deliver the statue to this office by, say, 8:00 o'clock the next morning."

  "Why 8:00 o'clock in the evening?" Napolitano questioned.

  "Any infiltrators into a government complex would most likely do so at night," said Scarborough. "If this is going to be a test of their abilities, and their ability to work as a team, it should be as realistic as possible. Which means we need to infiltrate the location where the statue is the same way real infiltrators would do it."

  "I see," said Napolitano. "General, do you have any objections?"

  "None at all, Madam Secretary," said Porter. "Day or night I seriously doubt Dr. Sloan's team is going to be successful."

  "Let's say he is to deliver the statue here between 7:00 and 8:00 a.m.," offered Napolitano. "I can't be sitting here all night waiting on you, doctor. And I'm usually in my office at that time anyway."

  "I can agree to that," said Jeremy.

  "Well, assuming Dr. Sloan doesn't have any objections," said Scarborough, "I'd say we have an agreement then."

  "Fine," said Porter. "I'll make the arrangements and let you know when I'm ready. But let's be clear on this, doctor. The agreement is for 8:00 o'clock. If it's even 8:01, then your team fails."

  "And once the team passes this test," said Jeremy, "they'll be ready for the real thing."

  "Doctor, if you can pull this off, even I'll agree your team is ready," said Porter. "But you really don't stand a chance."

  "We'll see," said Jeremy.

  "Well, gentlemen, if you're through spraying my office with testosterone, I have a meeting I need to be getting to," said Napolitano. "Doctor, I'll look forward to seeing how your team performs."

  "I'm sure you'll be pleased, Madam Secretary," said Jeremy.

  "Well, that's a fine kettle of fish," said Scarborough to Jeremy as they left the Secretary's office. "You know if we don't pull this off they'll probably just scrap the whole plan."

  "Then I guess we need to make sure we don't fail," said Jeremy. "But I really think they're ready. We just needed this test to prove it."

  "I hope you're right. We made some promises to those people and if this falls through we won't be able to keep a lot of those promises. That's going to disappoint a lot of them."

  "Well, like I said, we'll just have to make sure we don't fail."

  Jeremy and Scarborough got into Scarborough's car and headed out to inform the team of their upcoming test.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  "So all we have to do is break into some place and steal a statue?" Simon asked. "I thought you said this test was going to be hard? That should be a piece of cake."

  "Don't kid yourself," said Scarborough. "Porter is probably going to have a specially trained, elite anti-terrorist unit protecting the statue. And he's probably going to have state-of-the-art security on it. This isn't going to be easy by any stretch of the imagination.

  "And the soldiers protecting the statue won't know it's an exercise. As far a they're concerned you'll be real terrorists trying to steal real classified material. And they're going to be armed with live ammo. Which means they'll do whatever is necessary to safeguard the statue. You all need to be prepared for that."

  "Speak for yourself," said Simon. "They won't be able to touch me."

  "Assuming you know they're there," said Jeremy. "If they come up behind you and you don't know it, you may not have the opportunity to phase."

  "You've got a point," said Simon. "So, will this count as our first mission?"

  "No," said Scarborough. "It's merely a training exercise. Your first mission won't come until the Secretary authorizes it."

  "Okay, just checking," said Simon.

  "What does this statue look like?" Mariah asked. "It would be nice to know what we're going after."

  Scarborough pulled out a photograph and laid it on the table for everyone to see.

  "Is that it?" Mariah questioned. "I could make something like that in less than an hour. Why not just have me make one and take it to Secretary Napolitano?"

  "Because this is supposed to be a test of your ability to work together as a team," said Scarborough. "If we were to do it your way it would prove nothing. And General Porter would insist on disbanding the team since we couldn't even complete a simple task."

  "Well, this is extremely important for the team but it's also going to be extremely dangerous," said Jeremy. "I don't want anyone going who isn't fully behind this. If you want to bow out now, say so. Nothing will be said if you do.

  "But I just want you all to know I think you can do it. I have complete faith in you. You've all come a long way in the past few weeks. And now's your chance to prove to General Porter and Secretary Napolitano that their faith in you is justified. And you'll prove to yourselves that if you can pull this off, there's nothing you can't do."

  "It sounds like fun to me," said Simon. "Count me in."

  "I can't back out now," said Mariah. "Bobby's about to get the treatment he needs. I can't let him down. I guess I'm in, too."

  "I'm not really sure how much help I'm going to be," said Frank. "But if we're going to be a team I guess we should all be involved. I'm in."

  "It will give me a chance to practice my telepathy on someone besides you guys for a change," said Conrad. "Guess you can count on me."

  "I can see possibilities in this," said Wil. "We'll get them so confused they won't know if they're coming or going. I'm in for that."

  "Well, I didn't want to say anything until the rest of you had made your decision," said Kamalene. "But as Richard and I are the only two real agents for the department, I kind of feel it's my obligation to go. So you can count me in, too."

  "Well, Janet, I guess that just leaves you," said Jeremy. "You're a civilian like the rest of us. You don't have to do this if you don't want to."

  "And just who's going to watch your sorry behind if I don't?" questioned Janet. "We both know you all ready know I'm going."

  "Well, I guess that does it then," said Scarborough. "Since this is to be a test of the team, I won't be with you. I wish I could. But this test is to show the general – and the Secretary – what you can do with your talents. I don't have any so I won't be going along."

  "But you're a member of the team," protested Jeremy. "You should be there."

  "Then it wouldn't be a true test," said Scarborough. "If I go with you, General Porter will claim that the test was tainted. That it wasn't a true test of your abilities. No, Jeremy, I have to stay out of this one."

  "I guess you're right," said Jeremy. "But it's not going to be the same."

  "I know," said Scarborough. "I guess now all we need is a plan. Like most plans, you'll probably have to improvise some. But we can at least decide how we're going to attack the problem. And we need to come up with something they aren't going to expect."

  "I might have an idea," said Jeremy. "But as you said, it's going to take some planning."

  "Well, let's hear it," said Scarborough. "We have to start somewhere."

  It was more than a week before Jeremy and Scarborough were summoned back to Secretary Napolitano's office. Both were a little apprehensive. General Porter was a professional military man. They knew he would design a test for them that would be very trying.

  They entered the office at 7:30 p.m. As they entered the office, Napolitano was there, of course. And as always, Porter was sitting in his usual spot next to her desk. There was also another military officer sitting next to Porter. His rank insignia identified him as a full colonel in the army. Jeremy and Scarborough walked into the office and sat down in the chairs opposite Napolitano's desk.

  "Welcome back, gentlemen," said Napolitano. "This gentleman," she indicated the colonel, "is Colonel Green. General, why don't you fill Assistant Secretary Scarborough and Dr. Sloan in?"

  "Certainly, Madam Secretary," said Porter. "Gentlemen, Colonel Green is in command of one of the army's elite Special Forces units. His unit has special training in anti-terrorist tactics
and they are very good. He's seen action in numerous countries around the world. Some of it highly classified. Colonel Green and his men have been tasked with protecting the statue you are supposed to get."

  He handed a folder to Scarborough.

  "The statue is located at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, formerly Bolling Air Force Base. It's located in Southeast D.C. and serves many functions for the military. Colonel Green is aware that this is only a training exercise, but his men have been told it's the real thing. That folder contains all the necessary information that our analysts say is most likely to be known by an enemy infiltrator.