“If you’re okay, I’m okay,” laughed Tracy. Then after a brief pause, she said, “You get that, right?”
Missy rolled her eyes and shook her head in mock exasperation. She recognized the reference to that famous self-help book ‘I’m okay -- you're okay’ and knew Tracy was once again attempting to make a pun.
Chapter Two
Wednesday, Mar 4, 2020
The top WIJO leaders were once again meeting in Kabul, once again reviewing an attack of theirs which had failed. And, as Askar-Samar Karimi was explaining, once again the reason for their failure was because of demons. WIJO was the Worldwide Islamic Jihad Organization comprised of former Al Qaeda and Taliban extremists from Afghanistan and Pakistan. And, the known demons Oliver Bessom and Missy McCrea had both been observed in London, interfering at the last moment. Abdullah Jawara and all eighteen members of his team had been arrested attempting to poison the water supply.
Bessom had appeared out of nowhere, right in front of the vehicle carrying the deadly toxins which would have been used. These toxins had been smuggled into the U.K., hidden in shipments of saffron which Karimi had sent from his fields in Afghanistan. Bessom had extended his arm and caused the vehicle to stop. Moments later, the authorities were there. It turned out the WIJO team members had all been under surveillance for several days and once these toxins were seized, the British authorities had plenty of evidence proving their guilt.
Then Missy McCrea had materialized right inside Karimi’s hotel room. She had demonstrated some of her demonic abilities and admitted to having repeatedly thwarted WIJO’s attacks. She promised she would continue doing so and told Karimi to explain that to the WIJO leaders. After giving him that warning she vanished, leaving to go burn down several warehouses containing more shipments of Karimi’s saffron, thereby destroying all additional supplies of WIJO’s toxins in England.
“Can you describe how she disappeared?” asked Shahid Omar Aziz. He was one of the top three WIJO leaders, along with Mullah Ahmed Kahtar and Mohammad Nabir. Karimi had been reporting directly to him concerning Bessom and McCrea, ever since identifying them as demons three months earlier.
“Yes,” Karimi said, looking around at everyone. “She was wearing a blanket over herself with only her head and her hands sticking out. After warning me she would interfere if WIJO attempted any further terrorist attacks, there was a shimmer of light and the blanket simply dropped to the floor. She was gone.”
“And, why do you say she was responsible for those fires?” asked Kahtar.
“Because she told me she’d be starting them. She held out her hand right there in front of me and made a ball of fire appear just above it. She spoke to me in Pashto. As I said, she had suddenly walked into the room and made the television disintegrate. Then she pointed at the debris and made all the particles move through the air. She deposited those in a wastebasket and asked if I planned to present that as evidence she was using supernatural powers. She was mocking me, of course, knowing I had no proof which I could show to convince anyone about demons. All I have is my own testimony of what I saw and what she said.”
“What about those fires, then?”
Karimi exclaimed, “Ha! There is no real evidence on what caused those. At one location, it was reported several lightning bolts may have dropped from the sky. Lightning bolts? It was her. Those fires are very similar to what happened at that Kushk village when Candace Axtell was rescued. As you will recall from that presentation I gave in December, circumstantial evidence suggested McCrea and Bessom were involved in that. Back then, I could only speculate about them and about their being demons. But now I’ve seen McCrea with my own eyes and she admits to everything.”
Nabir said, “We should have sent assassination teams rather than merely sending surveillance agents. These demons need to be stopped.”
“No, no. Karimi is right. These demons are mocking us now,” said Abu Habib. He had flown over from Washington D.C. to be at this meeting. “You can’t fight against demons! They cannot be killed. And, look at what happened to Bassaym Al-Bari and his team when they were watching Bessom in the U.S. He stopped their cars just like he did in London. He also tossed fire balls at them. Then, he followed them over to London where they’ve all been captured. And this McCrea girl? I doubt any assassination team could stop her.”
Karimi nodded and said, “Let Abu Habib tell you what his spy in Congress learned about her. It was in the report I sent to Shahid.”
Habib said, “Yes, I have a girl sleeping with Congressman Nolan Miller. He described to her how this girl … they didn’t actually name her but it was Missy McCrea … they had her call into this special meeting which the Secretary of Defense had scheduled. During that session she told them she’d demonstrate how she could do things while invisible. Then she pulled Congressman Barrows away from the conference table, lifted him and his chair off the floor and floated him all around the room.”
Karimi said, “Arvind Pancholi, the spy who represented that Homeland Security traitor Philip Arnold from whom we obtained so much good information … he warned me the U.S. government was using demons with special powers and abilities. Even so, I never anticipated the extent to which these demons have demonstrated they can interfere with us.”
“You told us Missy McCrea killed him when he got too close to her,” said Aziz.
“Yes, and I accused her of that to her face when she appeared in my hotel room. She did not deny it. The only reason she did not kill me was she wanted me to return and give you her warning, as I’ve explained.” Karimi looked at everyone there and shrugged. “She says she knows who you are, where you are and warns she might decide to visit you as well.”
The discussion went on for quite a while but no one could think of any way to deal with demons. It was decided to not attempt any attacks in the U.S. or the U.K. for the time being. They still had Habib’s spy who might obtain something helpful from Congressman Miller. And, they had some ongoing activities in a few other countries and would see how those played out.
-----
Robert Ulrey looked around the conference room at his team and was now somewhat concerned. They had been discussing both the recent success at stopping WIJO and the fact that, for the moment, things were going well. They were at Hanscom Air Force Base in a building which had now been designated solely for use by his FBI Psychic Division. His team was really a special task force which included members from several other government agencies and the military, all cleared to know his so called psychics were actually supernaturals. Witches.
The team had grown rapidly during the few months since he’d been asked to start it up and lead it. Hence their being provided with their own building. They also had recently been provided with two Black Hawk helicopters so they wouldn’t need to keep borrowing helos from the National Guard.
While Drew Martinson’s Paranormal Branch continued to monitor supernaturals around the world, the US government had realized it needed to partner with those supernaturals who were willing to provide assistance and make contributions. Robert’s team processed the unique Intel gained from their help and provided them support when direct actions were needed. They also worked to keep such actions well hidden or else under the umbrella of psychic activity, something the general public was more or less willing to accept as possible.
Some of Drew’s “P” Branch members were on Robert’s team, of course. Les and Marsha Gooding had been especially helpful. The team’s interference with WIJO’s plans had saved countless lives, both in the U.S. and, most recently, in the U.K. Naturally, that had led to requests by others to be included. However, Linda Rayburn had joined them that day for a different reason. And, it was Linda who was causing Robert to be concerned.
Linda was the “P” Branch member who monitored the New England werewolf pack. She lived in Boston and had asked to come and brief the team about an issue which she’d just become aware of. Two of Robert’s team members had recently relocated from the embassy in Afghanista
n to live in nearby Peabody and they were werewolves. Since Gene and Amanda Tremblay were not members of any pack, they would be viewed as rogues.
Dale Hewson, their Homeland Security member, had listened to Linda’s introduction to the team and explanation of why having rogue werewolves amongst them was a potential problem. He also was concerned and said, “I admit I’m new and have been playing catch-up, learning about supernaturals and how important a role they play in our task force … but, let me get this straight. You’re saying there’s this group … this pack? They don’t even know we know about them being werewolves. So, we can’t contact them or anything. But they’ll maybe find out about Gene and Amanda and might then cause problems?”
“Exactly,” said Linda. “The Tremblays can’t admit that anyone knows about their being werewolves. That’s not allowed. This is just like your local witches not wanting the general public knowing about them, only more so. That’s why Robert’s team is calling them psychics. We at “P” Branch monitor supernaturals without interfering. We don’t make contact or get involved with them unless absolutely necessary. And, up until now, we’ve never had any reason to approach Brody Billiscombe or any of his pack members.”
“And, this Brody Billiscombe is in charge of this New England pack. You called him their Alpha. And, he might object to the Tremblays being in his so-called territory. I’m still not seeing it. How would he even know they’re here, anyway?”
Robert laughed and looked at Gene and Amanda. “Go ahead and explain to Dale how the local werewolves will know you’re here.”
Gene said, “We will be identified soon enough, by our scent. We spent the last ten years working overseas at various embassies, to avoid other packs. But, since there are werewolves in New England, it’s merely a matter of time. Amanda and I noticed the scent of a couple werewolves at that state forest in Andover we have been using. The scent wasn’t that recent, but it means there are others going out there to Shift, just as we did.”
“We were planning on going back there in five days when the moon is full again,” said Amanda. “But it’s inevitable we’ll meet other werewolves at some point since, as Linda has explained, there are quite a number here in the New England area. We really do need to present ourselves to this Brody Billiscombe.”
Dale nodded and said, “Okay, okay. And, when you do present yourselves, you’re guessing he’ll insist you join his pack?”
“Well, according to Ms. Rayburn …,” replied Gene. He looked at Linda and asked, “You’re sure he doesn’t allow rogues, right?”
Linda said, “Brody will either accept you into his pack or else force you to leave his territory. He’s been the pack leader here for many years now and has taken over many other packs. He lives in Plymouth and most of his pack members run with him at the state forest down there. But he has expanded his territory to most of New England and allows his wolves to run elsewhere, on occasion, as Gene has noticed.”
Amanda said, “One problem, which I’m sure is why Linda has brought this up, is that we can’t become members of Brody’s pack without telling him what Robert’s team is doing. Once we swear allegiance to Brody as our pack leader, we won’t be able to keep secrets like that from him.”
“And, from what we know about Brody Billiscombe,” said Linda, “he isn’t likely to agree to all the necessary non-disclosure stuff which “P” Branch requires. He also is not going to be happy knowing we’re aware of his pack and monitoring all his pack members. So, this is quite a dilemma, I’m afraid.”
The team discussed the problem for another fifteen minutes but could not find any real solution. They asked Linda to continue participating as a team member while they searched for some way forward and she agreed to do that.
The topic then changed to Robert’s upcoming wedding. He and his ex-wife Constance had gotten back together and were getting remarried in eleven days now. Ed Collinsworth, another FBI member on the team and Robert’s right-hand man, would be the best man. Most of the team were planning to attend and the mood quickly became one of anticipation and excitement about that.
Chapter Three
Friday, Mar 6, 2020
Since it was Friday night, Missy and her friends were gathered at Cullum Hall to celebrate the end of the week. On prior evenings, when available, they’d all been either helping Kelsey with her Kelsey’s Korner tutoring efforts or else getting some assistance there themselves. Several big exams were coming up, with spring break only a week away, and hundreds of cadets were now relying on what Kelsey and her team could do to get them prepared. She’d been able to expand her program each semester and it now was benefiting not only yearlings but plebes as well.
Kelsey said, “I’m glad we agreed not to run any tutoring sessions tonight, guys. We all really do need a break. And, thanks for volunteering to help this weekend. I think I’ve got coverage for pretty much everything I’ve scheduled.”
“Well,” said Tracy, “since we’ll all be heading out a week from now, we’re not using any passes this weekend and are pretty much available. All except for Missy and Sharon tomorrow, of course.” Army was number seven seed and would be hosting the First Round for the Patriot League Women’s Basketball Championship.
Sharon said, “Yeah, but we’re available Sunday since our game is right here and we won’t need to travel. If we win, however, don’t count on us after that; we’ll be going up to Massachusetts for the Quarterfinals on Monday.” Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts was the number two seed that year and had already qualified for the Quarterfinals.
“Yeah, and if we win up there,” said Missy, “we’ll be away for the Semifinals on Thursday. Then, I’ll be in Kentucky for the NCAA Rifle Championship on Friday and Saturday.”
“What happens if you win the Semifinals?” asked Mitch.
Missy said, “Sharon and I will play in the Championship game on Sunday.”
“So, you won’t be starting spring break next Friday like the rest of us,” said Nell. “Sucks to be you!” Everyone laughed.
Tracy looked at her roommate and said, “Have you told everyone how you are staying here all through next weekend?” She looked at the others and said, “Nell’s hanging around to be with Ron. He wants her to meet his father and since he’ll be here for Donald … well … you know!” She wiggled her eyebrows up and down and there were more laughs.
Since it would be Parents Weekend for plebes, Ronald Quigby’s dad was coming there for his brother Donald. Ron was a firstie and would be graduating in May. He and Nell had been dating for the past four weeks and it was looking like they were truly in a relationship now. Ironically, Missy’s roommate Karen had also been dating a firstie, Martin King, for the past four weeks and they also were getting serious. Missy and Tracy had set their roommates up with Marty and Ron for the Yearling Winter Weekend and things had definitely gotten interesting after that.
The conversation continued for quite a while about what everyone was doing for spring break, who was seeing whom, where they all were going, etc. There was a great deal of bantering back and forth, of course, which everyone enjoyed.
When they finally ended the evening, it was on a high note. Missy then pulled Tracy aside so they could talk privately while walking back to their barracks, letting their roommates Karen and Nell along with the others go on ahead. She said, “You know how Colonel Dzierzeski told me there’d be no more classified missions for me, right?”
Tracy chuckled and said, “Don’t tell me something has come up and Colonel Dzierzeski will be getting a call? Will he be getting briefed about us witches being here at the academy?”
“No, but the Secretary of Defense will be asking him to cover for me Monday night and through whenever I get back on Tuesday.”
Tracy was indeed surprised to hear that. “Wow! So, Drew’s actually having his buddy the Defense Secretary make this call? Why not some lesser authority? And, what’s the secret mission?”
“All things considered, it was decided it would be be
st for the colonel to get this request from the Defense Secretary himself. Drew wants me to disappear Monday night, either down here if we lose tomorrow or else after our game up at Holy Cross if we win. He wants me to go meet with the local werewolf Alpha along with Gene and Amanda Tremblay. They want to present themselves to him but don’t want to join his pack.”
“Oh, oh! I never thought about what it might mean to have them move back here from Afghanistan. Pack politics. Hmmm.” Tracy frowned and then said, “So, obviously, there’s a werewolf pack in Massachusetts.”
Missy nodded and said, “Yeah, it’s actually the New England werewolf pack and their Alpha is known to object to any rogue wolves being in his territory. He’ll insist they either join his pack or else leave his territory. Since “P” Branch does not want these other werewolves to know about what Robert’s team really does or about “P” Branch, letting Gene and Amanda become pack members is not an option. They’d have to tell the pack Alpha since keeping secrets like that wouldn’t be possible if they joined his pack. And, it’s preferable to have them stay right where they are in Massachusetts.”
“So, Drew thinks having you go with Gene and Amanda when they explain things might help, huh?” Tracy giggled. “I can see why trying to explain all this to Colonel Dzierzeski would be complicated. Why Monday night, though?”
“Well, that’s the next full moon. Werewolves are compelled to Shift on those nights. It’s also when they hold all their ceremonies.” Missy shook her head and said, “I’m not sure what I can say or do to resolve this but Drew thinks having me there might make a difference.”
Tracy chuckled. “Sure, I get why he wants you there … it’s a Shifter thing!”
Missy headed into Eisenhower barracks and Tracy went off to her own barracks. Up in her room, she found her roommate was waiting for her and obviously anxious to talk.
“You know how Marty says he wants to come out to visit me and meet my mother during spring break, right?” Karen asked. When Missy smiled at her and nodded, Karen continued with, “He just called me. He’s asking if I’ll come back with him to New York after that and meet his parents. I’m starting to freak out, Missy. This is all happening so fast. I mean … I know he’s never introduced any girl to his parents like this before. I’m just so worried about getting my hopes up too much and getting hurt later on, you know?”
Missy Goes to Hong Kong (Missy the Werecat Book 8) Page 2