Special Talents
Page 22
"You left them in there alone?" Porter asked, his temper flaring. He turned and head toward the building. "Get that door open right now. Colonel, you have no idea what these people are capable of doing. They're unlike any opponents you've ever faced."
"Sergeant," ordered Green to one of the guards, "open the door."
The sergeant punched in the key code and the door opened automatically. Porter, Green, and Phillips stepped into the building and looked around. The sight that greeted them chilled Green to the bone. Instead of the prisoners he had left handcuffed to the chairs, all that was in the building were the chairs and the handcuffs placed neatly on the seat of each chair. Porter and Green looked around the building and found nothing else. It was completely empty.
"Damn," swore Porter, stepping outside. "We had them."
"Sergeant," said Green, "has anyone gone into the building since the prisoners were locked in?"
"No, sir," replied the sergeant. "The door hasn't opened even once. I've been here the entire time. So has Private Pasqual, sir."
"I don't understand it," said Green. "The building is solid concrete. So is the foundation. There are no other doors or windows. They couldn't have escaped."
"You said you had the placed bugged," said Porter.
"Yes, sir. Sometimes we can find out things by listening to the prisoners talk among themselves when no one else is around."
"Did you record their conversations?"
"Every second of them."
"Where's the radio room?"
"This way, sir," said Green leading Porter back into the headquarters building.
They entered the radio room and found a soldier sitting at the equipment with headphones on. He seemed to be listening intently to them.
"Private," said Green, "did you hear anyone else in the confinement building besides the prisoners after I left?"
"No sir," replied the private. "They kept talking about 'Phase IV', whatever that is. They were never very clear about it. About ten minutes ago it became real quiet in there."
"That must have been when they got out," said Porter.
"They couldn't have," protested Green. "There's no way out of that building."
"There is for these people," said Porter. "Private, did they say anything that might give an indication where they were headed?"
"Earlier they mentioned something about having a truck waiting on the other side of the Anacosta River. They said all they had to do is swim the river and they'd be home free. That's about it."
"That's where they're headed," said Porter. "They'll have to be stealthy to prevent being recaptured. It's possible they haven't made it to the river yet. If we can get there ahead of them we might yet salvage this night."
Green turned and ran out the building, calling to the sergeant who was standing guard at the confinement building.
"Get all of the men and head to the north side of the compound," Green ordered. "Search everything, including the river." He turned back to Porter as the sergeant ran off issuing orders into his radio. "I'm sorry, sir. I take full responsibility. I have no idea how this could have happened."
"I do," said Porter. "The statue? Is it still in the building?"
"Maybe we'd better check it."
Together the two men hurried to the building where the statue was being kept as soldiers ran from all over the compound to the north side. When they got to the building two men stood guard outside the building.
"Private," said Green to one of the guards. "Has anyone tried to get into the building in the last half hour?"
"No, sir," replied the private.
Green stepped up to the key pad and punched in the code that opened the door. As the door swung open the two men stepped inside. Even from the door it was clear the statue was still there. It sat on a pedestal with lights shining on it from the ceiling. The general sighed a sigh of relief.
"Well, at least they didn't get their objective," he said. "Colonel, I want four guards inside this building for the rest of the night. No one in or out for any reason."
"Private," Green said to the guard, "call the First Sergeant and have four men report here on the double."
"Yes, sir," said the private.
"Colonel," said Porter, "I want you to remain in this room until those four guards arrive. At zero seven hundred I want you to personally come and get the statue and bring it to Secretary Napolitano's office. No one, and I mean no one, enters or leaves this building for any reason. Is that understood?"
"Perfectly, sir," replied Green. "I don't know how the prisoners escaped but they won't get that statue. You have my word on that."
"Good," said Porter, looking at his watch. "I need to get going. I have to be at Secretary Napolitano's office at zero seven hundred. Dr. Sloan may have escaped his confinement but he didn't complete his objective. I told him he wouldn't. I'll see you at approximately zero eight hundred, colonel."
"Yes, sir," said Green, saluting the general. Porter returned the salute. "And again, my apologies for having failed you sir."
"Don't give it a second thought, colonel. If you knew all the specifics about this you'd understand better."
Porter went back to his van and got in. As Colonel Green waited for the interior guards to arrive, Porter drove out of the installation and headed back into D.C.
It was 7:45 a.m. and Secretary Napolitano and General Porter were in here office. Scarborough was also there. They had all been there since 7:00 waiting for Jeremy to arrive with the statue. They had been discussing the normal business they had to contend with on a daily basis. They were also discussing if Jeremy would complete the assignment and place the statue on Napolitano's desk as agreed. Porter was still sure he wouldn't. Scarborough told the general not to count them out yet. Suddenly the phone rang and Napolitano answered it.
"It's for you," she said handing the phone to Porter.
It wasn't such an unusual event. Many times the two would be in her office when he received a phone call. Since it might be something he would have to apprise her of he would normally take the call.
"Porter here." He paused for a moment listening to the person at the other end. "When? . . . Please escort him to the Secretary's office. And bring the briefcase with you but don't let him carry it."
He hung up the phone.
"Dr. Sloan was apprehended coming into the building about 10 minutes ago," he told Napolitano.
"Apprehended?" questioned the Secretary.
"I alerted security that he would be coming into the building this morning. They were to detain him and call me immediately. They're on their way up right now."
"You play dirty, general," said Scarborough, smiling at him. "You know he's supposed to deliver the statue to the Secretary's desk by 8:00."
"You did say I could use any security measures I wanted," said Porter.
"That was in reference to the location where you had put the statue and I think you're aware of that."
"Well, then you should have been more specific, Assistant Director. I can assure you that the terrorists aren't going to make that distinction."
Several minutes later Jeremy entered the office flanked by two men in suits wearing badges that identified them as agents of Homeland Security. One of the men handed General Porter an oversized briefcase. One that would have been large enough to carry the statue.
"That will be all," said Napolitano, waving the security off.
As the two men left the room, a man wearing a maintenance uniform entered. He had a beard and was wearing a baseball cap. The name tag on his uniform read "Gonzalez".
"Excuse, Senora Secretary," said the man with a thick Spanish accent, "I leave something in bathroom. I get it."
"Yes, yes, just hurry up," said Napolitano, waving the man toward her private bathroom. More than likely he was one of the custodians who cleaned the building every day. She wasn't concerned about him. Everyone who worked in the building was closely scrutinized and a background check done before they were hired.
"But he didn't complete the assignment," said Porter, holding up the briefcase. "I believe you were supposed to put this on the Secretary's desk. You didn't."
"Well, if you hadn't had me arrested when I came in the building, I would have," replied Jeremy.
"You did say any security measures?" said Porter, putting the briefcase on the floor. "I guess now we know I was right. Your people aren't ready for this. They don't have the training or experience for it."
"Training they can get," said Jeremy. "Experience comes with time."
Just then the custodian came out of the bathroom carrying a small case of soap. He glanced down and noticed his shoe was untied. He sat the case on the edge of Napolitano's desk and bent down to tie his shoe. At that same moment, the door to her office opened and Colonel Green, followed by Captain Phillips entered the office. Green was carrying a small satchel.
"Madam Secretary," said Green. "I'm sorry I'm late, general. Traffic is murder this time of day." He handed the satchel to Porter. "Madam Secretary, may I introduce my adjutant, Captain Phillips."
"Captain," said Napolitano, nodding at him once.
"What's this?" Porter asked, looking in the satchel.
"It's the statue, sir," said Green. "As you can see I'm as good as my word. The infiltrators didn't get it and I delivered it as ordered."
"Who ordered you to bring it here?" questioned Porter.
"You did, sir," said Green a look of confusion on his face. "Last night just after the prisoners escaped."
"Colonel, I wasn't at the compound last night," said Porter.
"Oh, I'm afraid that's my fault," said Jeremy. "Things were a bit hectic last night, as the colonel and captain can attest. I thought it would be a good idea if he brought what he was guarding here."
"What's going on here?" Porter demanded. "I wasn't at the compound last night and I didn't give any orders. Dr. Sloan, you were supposed to deliver this statue to this office and put it on the Secretary's desk." He picked up the satchel and held it up. "You didn't do that. Which mean you failed the assignment, according to our agreement."
"Maybe you'd like to have a look at that statue before you start claiming victory," said Jeremy, an odd smile on his face.
Porter reached in and pulled the statue out of the satchel. The general glanced at it and then held it up.
"So?" he insisted. "This was the award that Colonel Green was supposed to protect. It seems he did just that."
"Look a little closer," said Jeremy.
The general looked the statue over again. It took him a moment before he realized that, although it did look like the statue that had been sitting in the Secretary's office, there was one difference. Instead of two "W's" interposed over each other on the oval, there were two "M's" interposed over each other.
"General, that's not my Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service," said Napolitano, taking the statue and looking it over. "It's a very good forgery. Except for the initials engraved into it. But it is obviously not the statue that Dr. Sloan was supposed to deliver to my office."
"That may be the case," said Porter, glancing at the clock on the wall. "But the fact of the matter is, it's now 8:01. And according to the terms of our agreement, your team has failed. You didn't put the statue on the Secretary's desk as agreed upon."
"Actually," said Jeremy, "Dr. Sloan did put the statue on the desk. And well before 8:00 a.m."
They all watched as the custodian stood up from tying his shoe. He pulled of the baseball cap and began to pull the beard from his face. When he was done, Jeremy stood next to the Secretary's desk smiling at Porter.
Confused, Napolitano and Porter just looked at the two Sloans. They looked virtually identical. Suddenly the one that had been escorted into the office closed his eyes. His skin rippled for a moment and he suddenly changed. Instead of Jeremy Sloan, Wil Barnes stood in front of the Secretary's desk.
"Madam Secretary, my name is Wil Barnes. I'm one of Dr. Sloan's' team members. It's an honor to meet you, ma'am."
"I figured you pull something like having me arrested at the front door when I came in," Jeremy said to Porter. "So I had a couple of my people bring this in earlier this morning." He opened the box of soap and pulled out the statue. He then sat it on the desk in front of Napolitano. "It was in the bathroom. All I had to do was bring it out here and sit it on the Secretary's desk."
"Which you didn't," said Porter. "You just now sat it on the Secretary's desk."
"But if you'll recall," said Jeremy, "I sat the box it was in on her desk before 8:00. To tie my shoe. You didn't say it couldn't be inside something. Just that it had to be on her desk."
"That wasn't part of the agreement," said Porter.
"Neither was having him arrested when he came in the building, general," said Scarborough. "It seems you both took some liberties that weren't agreed upon."
"So it would seem," said Napolitano.
"He was supposed to bring it in himself," said Porter. "He just said he had two of his people do it."
"Well, maybe I misspoke," said Jeremy. "I should have said I had two of my people help me bring it in. We do have footage showing me bringing the box in and setting it in the bathroom. So I did complete the assignment. Maybe not as everyone imagined but I did complete it."
"A technicality," said Porter.
"Life is full of technicalities, general," said Scarborough. "What do you think? That the terrorists are going to operate by your timetable? That they're going to follow the rules? If we've learned anything in the past ten years it's that they don't have any rules. They'll do whatever it takes to accomplish their goals. And they don't care who gets hurt or killed in the process.
"Maybe Dr. Sloan took a few liberties. But then, so did you. Those BOLOs on our vehicles wasn't part of the deal. Neither was having Dr. Sloan apprehended when he came in the building this morning. But I'd say that Dr. Sloan and his team completed the assignment to the letter."
"At any rate," said Jeremy, "my team got onto the complex, got the statue, and returned it here just as stipulated. I think, general, you have to admit my team is a lot better than you thought they were. And they've proven they can work together."
"I must admit, general, I have a tendency to agree with them," said Napolitano. "But you were the one who wanted this test. You'll have to decide if it convinces you or not."
Porter looked at Green and Phillips. He thought about it for a minute and then looked at Jeremy. He was used to being in command. And he wasn't used to what he considered subordinates telling he was wrong.
"Well," said Porter finally, "I guess I do have to admit you completed the objective. And Assistant Director Scarborough is right. The terrorist don't play by the rules. They don't have any rules. Very well, doctor. I will concede that your team accomplished the mission as specified. I guess they are better than I had originally given them credit for."
"Thank you, general," said Jeremy. "I'll try to be a gracious winner. Now, Madam Secretary, I would like to go home and get cleaned up. And maybe get some rest. It's been a very long night."
"Certainly, doctor," said Napolitano. "You've earned it. I'll arrange with Assistant Director Scarborough for our next meeting. Oh, and as of right now, you can tell your team they are officially a part of Homeland Security. I think we can now begin to decide how best to utilize them."
"I'll let them know," said Jeremy.
Jeremy and Will turned to leave the office. As they passed Green and Phillips, Wil turned to the captain.
"Oh, by the way, captain," he said, "I thought you might like to know Simon got that gig at the Improv. When he told them you thought he was colonel funny that cinched it. They said that anyone who was colonel funny had to be a headliner. You should come. He's got some great new material he'd like you to hear."
Phillips just stared straight ahead with no expression on his face. Wil could tell he was doing his
best to control his temper. Wil also noticed the looks of confusion on the faces of Napolitano, Porter, and Scarborough.
"Oh, he'll explain it," said Wil, putting his hand on the captains' shoulder. "Captain Phillips and Simon go way back."
Smiling to himself, Wil followed Jeremy out of the office. It took all of Jeremy's self-control to keep from breaking out in laughter.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
"And then," said Scarborough, "Wil turns to the Secretary and the general and says, 'Captain Phillips and Simon go way back'. They had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. I thought Phillips was going to deck him right there."