Jacked Up Part 8

I sat, in a state of shock, and he allowed me a few moments to consider what he had said. “My parents were certainly no threat” I said “They were loyal, unlike myself. Being given that permit was a joke, a party piece for the in-crowd. It did stand me in good stead in the CIA as it allowed me to be privy to a few things better left unspoken about.”

“I certainly did not expect to have the skills I have been given and it was a shock to the system to be shot at this morning. I think I learned that if you ignore incoming it won’t hit you and, if it does, it really doesn’t matter after that.” I took a sip of my own coffee and carried on “I gather, from what you have said, that every bombing that took place will have to be looked at to pinpoint someone who had been a threat.” He nodded. “We are not allowed to look into this as he is still covered by the trappings of his previous office, whether he walks a golf course or languishes in a prison cell. Any orders he may have given during his time in office would have gone through cut-outs and double cut-outs. Not even he knows who it was that did the deeds, just that the deeds got done. There are a lot of us who would like to see justice prevail before we die of old age.”

He then finished his drink and we both stood. I did salute him this time and, as he returned it, he said “I will see you at times while you are here, Major, and I will answer any questions that I can. It is now up to you to figure out what questions you want answered.” He then left me to finish my drink as the mess orderlies came back to clean up and ready the mess for the lunch crowd. I left my cup for them and went out into the sunlight with so much going round in my head that it seemed like I may burst. To think that my fathers’ friend killed my whole family as ‘collateral damage’ in order to eliminate someone who may embarrass him. I was angry at first but, while walking to the base library, I calmed down and started to think like an investigator.

The first thing I needed was a list of bombings and other ‘accidents’ that took place in the period and I decided to go beyond the dates to see if they carried on. Once I had that list I would need to get a full list of casualties and then eliminate all those who had no direct links before delving deeper into the backgrounds of those who may be the target. The hard part would be to try and find out where and when any bomb may have been planted and try to check hotel lists, travel lists and airport arrival and departure lists to see if I could create a list of my own. It was a daunting task and I would need to wait for the CO to give me his briefing before I could get into it.

I did manage to start with the first list by going through the papers of the time and noting all of the terrorist bombings on one side of the page and all of the unexplained accidents on the other. It was quite a lot of names and places. There would be hardly any chance to go any further if they had kept to simple assassination but I suspected that each death would need to be very public in order to keep waverers in place. If it all stemmed from the White House just the audacity of it all should convince anyone to stay true to the cause.

I had often wondered why some Senators had remained rusted on when all around them things went pear-shaped. Maybe they were just scared they could be next. Several came across as either stupid or brainwashed at the time, repeating what the Yellow Peril spouted as if it were gospel. None of it seemed real at the time and even less believable now, years later. I had a sandwich from the machine in the library for my lunch and worked through the afternoon. When I went to the mess for my dinner I was joined at my table by a couple of troopers who showed me photos on their phones of two Generals with livid patches on their chests, “Taken by their orderlies on the sly” one said. They turned out to be good company and regaled me with ‘war’ stories and some funnier ones that had taken place on their very own ‘playground’.

When I left the mess I had turned down several requests for a date and even two proposals, one of marriage and the other wasn’t, but was close to it. I told them all that I was here to work, not play, and said that when I had finished what it was I needed to do, I would be happy to reconsider. I went to my quarters alone and with a smile on my face. It is nice to be wanted, especially nice if you want what they wanted as well. When I reached my quarters I found Quinn sitting outside with a bottle in his hand.

“I thought we may be able to celebrate your outstanding success today” he said, “I know there are more than a couple of glasses in your room; that is, if you invite me in?” I considered it for a few moments and said “Of course, I would love to have a drink with you, Major. If it wasn’t for you I would not be as popular as I am tonight.” I opened my door and ushered him in. Of course, we didn’t get around to opening the bottle until much later and it was lovely to sip the drink while sitting up in bed, naked, and laying my head on his shoulder. “It’s a good job we are the same rank” I said “Otherwise we would not be allowed to fraternise.” “Is that what we did” he laughed “There I was thinking that we were having sex.” I said “Well, now we have the sex out of the way, why don’t we put these glasses down and make love.”

He dressed and left around midnight and I just went off to sleep as I lay. At O Six Hundred I woke up and went to wash the stickiness off my body before dressing and going to the mess for breakfast. I was not the centre of attention now, thank goodness, and realised that I may have had my few minutes of fame. At Ten Hundred I presented myself at the office of Major General ‘Mad Bull’ Johannsen to receive my briefing. In his office I was amazed to see a framed picture of his bruised chest and he asked me if I would sign it for him. “When handed lemons” he said ‘one needs to invent a cocktail or else everyone says you are just mean. Both M and I have decided that we were stupid to put ourselves into the position where we could have died. It taught us both that we are past playing with fire.”

He then opened a file and took me through a number of occasions that I already had on my initial list. He did have a break-down of the casualties with notations of their links to the administration. He also had a list of known terrorists of the time and their estimated locations in the week before and after each bombing. This was all good but I thought that I really needed to know if any CIA operatives were around at the time. It also struck me that it may be good to expand that thought to include Homeland Security.

When he closed the file he said “Major, I have been told to give you the following task. You are to investigate all of these bombings and, if you can discover who was responsible, eliminate them. I have been told that it is an operation of retaliation and revenge and, as such, I am to give you all the help I can. As such, you will get a crash course in Arabic that would be enough for you to read any paperwork you see. I also have people here who can give you details when you want them. You will also be given more time shooting and some unarmed combat. I will provide an office for you with computers that link to both the internet and to our own software and records of all police forces and security forces that we have. You will have a wealth of information to mine and I suggest that you keep everything close to your own chest.”

I thanked him and he shook my hand before we saluted. “Thank you again for not killing me” he said “I have faced the worst of the worst but none were as good as you at their trade.” “Thank you, Sir” I said “the pleasure was all mine.” He smiled as I left his office with the file under my arm. His orderly showed me my office and powered up the equipment. He gave me a key to the door and suggested that I go to the PX and buy myself a padlock of my own to make sure everything was kept doubly secure. After he had closed the door behind him I sat and contemplated my position. I was not a friend of the Yellow Peril and the notion that all of the death came home to him was not an unreasonable notion. After all, he had no qualms at allowing close to half a million of his own populace to die while declaring that it was a political stunt that he blamed on everyone else.

I had to make a decision. Was I looking for a mastermind Jihadi or was I looking for a fellow-traveller doing a favour for money. I decided that I would compare the second lists I expected to generate before I moved one way or another.

Marianne G 2021