by Jack July
Amy nodded and said, “Okay, I can understand the need for it, I can even understand the benefits, but how? How do you do something like that? How do you change who you are?”
“Everyone is different, you must find your own way, and it takes time and discipline. You can do it if you want to do it. The lives of others depend on you to be able to accomplish just that.” After a moment’s thought, Tatiana added, “The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said, ‘Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.’”
Amy nodded and said, “I have heard that.”
“Yes, well, I can assure you that, as with most academics and practitioners of the arts, he neither had the occasion to battle monsters nor had he ever stared into the abyss. Other monsters should hear your name and recoil in fear. As for the abyss? Swim in it because the abyss is the only place that will be big enough to allow your power and will to roam free. Questions?”
Amy nodded and said, “Can I carry my Desert Eagle?”
Tatiana smiled and said, “Sure, as well as a few other things.”
CHAPTER 25
November 21st 8:30 a.m., Langley, Virginia.
Tatiana did not use the main entrance to the CIA Headquarters. They went toward the truck and delivery entrance then through a separate gate followed by two checkpoints and then to an underground garage. T used her ID to gain access to the elevator. When it opened she was checked in by armed security followed by a long walk through a labyrinth of offices and hallways until they came to their conference room.
Amy saw her flip the switch, the switch from Tatiana to T. It was a bit unnerving. Her very essence went dark. “Okay, time to go to work. From here on out I am T and you are Elle. Do you need anything? Have any questions?”
Elle shook her head no and took a seat. T hooked up her computer to the three monitors situated across the wall then turned them on. Stan the mail boy knocked and T opened the door. Stan handed her a manila envelope and left. T dumped its contents on the desk, began to sort and, and quickly picked out an envelope for Elle. “What’s this?” Elle asked.
“Next of kin paperwork. If you don’t come back, we need a place to send your benefits,” said Tatiana.
Elle nodded and said, “And the body.”
“No, the Government will deny your existence and won’t accept it. What’s left of your tortured beaten body will be incinerated or dropped in some mass grave. Don’t get captured,” said T callously, still sorting through the mail.
“Nice,” said Elle under her breath.
Another knock at the door, it was Cody. T gave him a long hug and said, “It is so good to see you again.”
Cody nodded and said, “I never thought I would be back here. Thank you T.”
“You are very welcome, here you are,” She had an envelope for him too.
Cody opened it and read, then his big body seemed to relax and he let loose a little chortle. He would finally be taking his wife and children to meet his parents. All Elle could see was the seal of the POTUS on top of the paper; whatever it was, it made this giant of a man very happy. Moments later the center monitor came on and Danny and Edie reported in.
“Any sign of Bogus?” T asked.
“Who?” said Danny.
Suddenly sirens began to wail and lights began to flash. Edie started hitting buttons on the console and said, “T, we are in a state of lockdown. It appears someone has landed a large helicopter in the courtyard of the Village.”
“Dammit Bogus,” T said under her breath, after which she said, “Edie, call the General and tell him that is Boguslaw Zielinski, he’s part of our op, please don’t kill him.”
“Yes, right away,” replied Edie.
Yet another knock at the door: a Langley security officer and three other men. One was dressed in an orange jumpsuit with shackles on his wrists and feet. T momentarily froze as the security officer left the room. T began to lose control. “What are you doing? What are you doing? Get those cuffs off of him, GET ’EM OFF NOW!”
The gray haired man held out a clipboard and said, “You need to sign this.”
The sight of Brandon chained in the orange jump suit engaged behavior in her that a normal person would never want to see. “I said get those off of him NOW, RIGHT NOW,” T growled.
“I ain’t takin’ nothin’ off this piece of shit ’til you sign this,” demanded the gray-haired prison warden.
T’s hand went for her SIG; Elle’s left hand shot out and grabbed her by the wrist. Everyone in the room froze as they locked eyes for a very long five seconds. T’s arm relaxed and Elle let her go. Then she took the clipboard and signed it. The warden looked at her and said, “If he is not back in his cell when you are finished, you WILL be taking his place.” The cuffs came off then the Warden turned and walked out.
T was fighting like hell to get her emotions in check. She had no idea she would feel this strongly and be that out of control. She turned to the group, a little flustered and certainly not very calm and said, “Yes, well, this is Brandon Bolin, he, um…he is a contractor that is part of our team. His specialty is organizations, so, uh, let’s welcome him. Please Brandon, take a seat.”
“Thanks T,” he smiled a little smile and made his way to a seat next to Cody. Oh, how T loved and missed that smile.
The door opened one more time and in walked Virginia, carefully leading Larry to a seat. Larry sat and Virginia set two figurines in front of him, toys from a Dr. Seuss book. Larry sat and held them, staring at them, occasionally moving one or the other. Virginia looked at T and in a rude, impatient tone said, “Here we are; what do you want?”
T pretended not to notice the attitude and said, “We will begin in a moment, as soon as…”
Without notice a new face appeared on the screen next to Edie and Danny. “Hellooo, good people, I am Bogus,” he said with an almost British accent, a big smile and a magician’s wave.
“You are late--do you have a fucking watch?” T asked while looking at the screen.
Bogus smiled and shot back, “Yes, as well as some celibate ones.”
Danny pushed the mute button and said, “Not now.”
“What?” asked Bogus.
“She’s pissed,” said Danny.
“Oh, oh my, well…” Danny released the mute button and Bogus said, “I am very sorry for my tardiness as well as my inappropriate levity. Please continue.”
Elle looked around the room while T made introductions. What am I in the middle of? A woman Uncle Jack called an assassin’s assassin, a giant man from lord knows where dressed in animal skins, someone who has clearly been just let out of prison, two people dressed as cartoon characters, a couple that looks like they are on their first date and what is probably the most full of crap but movie star handsome man I have ever seen, Oh…My…God!
T launched into her presentation just as she had done at Booger’s Café. Edie got up and headed for the door. Danny turned, forgot to hit the mute button and said to Edie, “Where are you going?”
Edie looked back and said, “I’ve seen this once, I do not want to see it again.”
T looked up at the screen and said, “That’s fine, Edie, go ahead.”
T got to the part where she started the video and Elle didn’t look. Unfortunately, it would have seemed unprofessional to put her fingers in her ears. As it progressed, a sound of people in the room trying to catch their breath was heard. Larry started rocking, slowly at first then faster. Virginia looked at T and said, “Turn it off, turn it off, T.”
Larry started screaming, “HUWT GURL HUWT GURL.”
Virginia screamed “GOD DAMN YOU, T, TURN IT THE FUCK OFF!”
T reached over and hit the button while Larry was having a full-blown autistic episode.
“You bitch, you fucking bitch, how could you?” said Virginia, tr
ying to escort Larry from the room.
T would have been angry for the rebuke, but she did feel bad for doing that to him. Virginia and Larry left and T turned the video back on. She made them watch the whole thing. When it was over, she let what they had seen stew for a bit. By the looks on their faces they all had suffered trauma to some extent. She would have no problem getting them to deal punishments accordingly.
After the planned presentation T said, “Elle and I will work in CONUS--Continental United States--on the kidnapping end. Bogus, Brandon and Cody, I want you to turn the porn or whatever industry in Europe upside down until you find who is distributing these. I have a few names you can start with. We will work our way to the middle and somewhere in between, hopefully, we will find Kristy Wilson and bring her home. Danny, you and Edie will be our safety blanket. You will monitor and pass on all communications. Stay awake and stay alert.
Virginia walked back into the room. T said in a quiet voice, “Look um, I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to do that to him. If we could—”
Suddenly the center screen flashed the presidential seal and a man’s voice said, “Stand by for the President in thirty seconds.”
Everyone looked at the screen. Exactly thirty seconds later, the same voice said, “Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States.” Everyone stood as the President looked everyone over in her monitors, then said, “Be seated.” She was not what they were used to. The normally happy, bright eyed, perfectly made up and smiling woman was replaced by a serious woman whose eyes and smeared make up suggested she may have just been crying. There was no teleprompter or written speech, but this was definitely more of a one-way address than a conversation. Just an angry President who was preparing to exact revenge on those who had been far too abusive for far too long.
“I want to thank you all for volunteering. This is a search for a child and a rebuke of evil foisted upon the American people. By that I mean, the murder of our children.”
She sat quietly for a few seconds and then said, “What I want you all to know is this mission is greater than that, if you can imagine. This is the first salvo of an American foreign policy that no longer tolerates the looting of our country by foreigners. We will no longer tolerate the targeting of American citizens anytime or anyplace around the globe, or the torture, rape and murder of our children. Moments ago, I spoke to Kristy Ann Wilsons’s mom and dad—ya know, they have names, Connie and Al, real people—and I assured them that all the resources available to the United States will be used to help find their child…I meant it.”
She paused and made eye contact with everyone who watched her, then said, “In the past, intelligence services have been given a flyswatter and a pair of boxing gloves to fight the wolf at the door. When they went above and beyond, enemies within our own walls sought to persecute them. That will not happen anymore. I will give up my good name, my job…or…even my life if necessary to protect you. You are an extension of me. I have a hammer, I expect you to swing it. God bless each of you and God bless America.” The large monitor in the center went dark.
T met the gaze of each person in the room; they reminded her of racehorses just locked into the starting gate. They all felt what she did. Time to turn them loose. “The way I see it, we probably have less than a week to find Kristy or, well, you know. Let’s get busy.”
T walked out into the hall and called for Kim, her in-house admin, “Okay, Kim, escort Cody and Brandon to wardrobe then the armory. And Cody,” she called.
Cody looked over at her, and T said, “They have new toys for you, enjoy.”
Cody smiled and nodded.
T pulled Elle to the side and said, “Thanks, good job in there. Follow Kim to the armory then we have someplace to go.”
Elle whispered under her breath, “You weren’t really going to shoot that guy, were you?”
“I guess we’ll never know.”
Elle nodded, sighed, then turned and walked away.
T turned her attention to Virginia and asked “How is Larry?”
Virginia replied, “He’s calmed down a little. I don’t know what you were thinking but…”
“Yes, I know,” T interrupted. “Once again, I am sorry. I think you have seen enough to know what we are trying to do. I was told he was the best, I was told he could help us.”
“What’s in it for us?” asked Virginia.
“You mean what’s in it for you?” asked a suspicious T.
“Cancel the last five years of my slavery to this shit hole, I will get him to do whatever you want” said Virginia.
T sighed and said, “How about you do what we ask or you go finish your twenty-year federal prison sentence? I hope you didn’t confuse this little meeting with a negotiation?”
“You can’t do that,” said Virginia with a smarmy little grin.
T picked up the phone, hit an extension and said, “I need to speak to Director Dotson, this is T.”
“Okay, Okay, I’ll see what I can do,” said Virginia.
“Never mind Janice, I’ll talk to him later.” T turned her attention back to Virginia and said, “Good, we find the girl, I’ll see about knocking off a couple years.”
Just then, Larry appeared with one of his assistants. T motioned to Virginia, as if to say, “Can I talk to him?”
Virginia nodded and said, “Yes, he hears and sees everything. Just don’t expect an answer.”
Larry was looking down and to the right rocking back and forth just a little and T asked, “Larry, will you help us find the little girl?”
Fifteen seconds went by. Virginia shrugged her shoulders. T smiled at Larry and prepared to walk away when Larry said, “Larwy hewlp, Larwy hewlp gurl.”
Virginia’s eyes got big and she said, “Wow, he doesn’t often answer to strangers. If he says something, he means it.”
T smiled and said, “Thank you Larry, thank you. Now here is what I want you to start on…”
CHAPTER 26
November 21st, 7:00 A.M. Black Oak, Alabama.
Uncle Jack opened Leon’s front door and hollered in, “Anybody up?”
“In the kitchen. You want some coffee?” asked Leon
“That’ll work.” Jack picked a couple of biscuits out of a baking pan on the stove, stuffed a sausage patty in each and sat down. Leon did not look good. “Where’s Amy? Still in bed?” Jack asked with a grin.
Leon frowned and looked down and said, “She’s gone, Jack.”
“Gone where?”
“Washington D.C., I think. I don’t know what happened.”
Jack was part hurt and part angry that she didn’t see him before she left. “Did she say anything, I mean, why?”
Leon shook his head and said, “It was the damnedest thing. One minute she’s relaxing on the couch, then a news report came on about a kidnapped little girl, and Amy said the little girl’s name before they did. I asked her how she knew and she locked up. She got that crazy look in her eyes, you know, the look. Then she told me she had to go. She made a phone call, I took her to Rock Creek, she got on one of them jets then she was gone.”
Jack bowed his head, closed his eyes and rubbed his temples; he looked back up and said, “Did she say anything else, anything at all?”
“She said she was goin’ fishin’, that was it, fishin’. She said she would call when she got back and tell me if she caught somethin’. She said ‘tell Uncle Jack I’m goin’ fishin too.’”
Jack knew right away that message was for him. He and Amy had read and discussed the book, 90 Minutes at Entebbe; they also watched the movie Victory at Entebbe where Jack pointed out the inaccuracies. Before the raid, Lt. Colonel Yonatan Netanyahu, brother of the future prime minister, had called his father and told him he was going fishing. Just like the colonel’s father, Amy’s uncle knew the code: she’s jumpin’ straight into the shit.
“Leon,
I wouldn’t worry ’bout it. You know how she feels about children. Besides, I told you she’d want to run. Maybe she just needs time. You know, she’s made some powerful friends; maybe she just needs to talk. Private jets are nuthin’ to them people.” Leon nodded but Jack knew better. He also knew that Yonatan Netanyahu never made it home.
November 21st 1:00 P.M.
Tatiana merged onto the GW Parkway, hit the fast lane and opened it up. There was very little traffic on Sunday morning. It would be a quick trip to rural Maryland. Elle sat in the seat beside her. She had a question but she wasn’t quite sure how to ask it. Amy would tap dance and try not to confront the issue. In other words, be polite. Elle decided she didn’t have that problem.
“Do you want to tell me what that little episode with Bolin was about?”
“No,” Then after a moment Tatiana softened and said, “I will, give me some time.”
Elle nodded, then Tatiana said, “Grab that file in the satchel and read it. Study it. I want you to know that man like you know your own brother. You have about half an hour. We do that a lot. Time is always running out so you need to make every moment count. It’s the difference between success and failure.”
Elle took the file, opened it and began to study. Arturo Ramos, thirty-three years old, five foot ten inches, two hundred pounds, and heavily tattooed. Most prevalent among the tats: a black panther across his chest and a long stemmed rose that climbed up his side and along his neck until it bloomed under his jaw.
Born in Mexico City. Never knew his dad. Unusually dark skin made him a pariah amongst his peers. Started boxing at eight, fighting for local championships at thirteen. Became involved in a local gang stealing and dealing drugs. Arrested as an accessory to murder at seventeen, served six years. Got out, left Mexico City for Nogales. Became involved with human trafficking, running workers and drugs across the border. Arrested on the American side, served just a year, released, and shipped back to Mexico. Promptly stole a semi-tractor trailer rig, loaded it with 57 men, women and children. Charged them $200 each for transport across the border. Parked the rig in the Mexican desert in the middle of July and walked away.