Jacked Up Part 13

By my last day at the Spa the activity across the valley had dropped to a few sightseers standing by the temporary fencing. The 4X4 had been taken away and there had been forensic specialists clambering over the rubble for a while. It would be interesting to know how much more they had taken from the scene but that was nothing to do with me now.

After breakfast I showered and dressed for travelling, packed my bag and went down to reception to sign the chit that they had. My stay and expenses had already been taken care of. The Bentley and driver were waiting for me and he drove me to the airport where he carried my bag to the first class check-in. I thanked him for his time and he told me that it had been a pleasure to know a true professional. I flew via Sydney and it was late the next day when we arrived in LA, having lost several hours along the way.

When I came out of customs I was met by General Xaviour, resplendent in a civvies suit. He took my case from me and led me to a car which was waiting outside with the engine running. He put the case in the trunk and we both got in the back seat. There were a couple of guys in the front who looked like troopers in civvies but I did notice a small machine gun in the footwell within the passengers reach. X did not say anything and I could see that my silence was also needed.

We pulled up outside a swanky hotel and the General and I got out. He retrieved my case and, as he closed the trunk, the car pulled away. “Good lads, but they don’t need to know everything” he said as we walked into the hotel. He was obviously already staying there and I had a pre-booked room so was given the key card and he took me up in the elevator to my door. When he had put the case on the rack he said “That was a fine job in India, a lot of our friends have taken note and I think that there may be more for you to do soon. Rest from your flight now, and I will see you in the dining room for breakfast. If you are peckish now I suggest that you order room service but there are already the makings of a snack in the room. Goodnight Tina.”

Left to myself I did examine the makings of a snack but stripped off and put on the supplied towelling robe before I made my selection. I had napped on the plane but knew that I now needed a good sleep to rebuild my body. I cleaned off my make-up and had a long warm shower before putting on a nightie and getting into bed, setting the alarm for six. I was just waking when the alarm went off, showing that my inner clock was back on time.

Not knowing what the day would bring I opted for jeans, boots and a loose overtop. I did my make-up as totally neutral and went down for breakfast. X was already at a table with a cup in front of him. When I sat down the waitress asked if he was ready to order now and he ordered the full English for both of us with two cups of coffee. When the waitress had gone he looked at me and said “Good morning Tina, you are looking a lot better this morning.” He then took a piece of folded paper out of his jacket pocket and handed it to me, saying “you do not need to know this but I thought it would strengthen your resolve in the weeks to come.”

It was the official report of an accident that had occurred a week or so ago. It surmised that Major Quinn and Major Jackson had been engaged in a sexual encounter in one of the munitions bunkers at Hurlburt Field and, unfortunately, something had happened to detonate the munitions stored. There had been bits of Major Quinn that were able to be positively identified but Major Jackson was only able to be identified from DNA samples taken from pieces of clothing found at the scene. It was listed as death by misadventure and was signed off by Mac and both Generals.

When I had read it he took it back and gave me another piece of paper. This was an intelligence report on a mysterious explosion in Mumbai that had killed a known mercenary and his entire family. The final paragraph surmised that it had been a mistake in handling explosives on his part and that no operations were current that included him. I handed that back as our food arrived and we both started eating. We had finished the food and sat drinking the coffee when X looked up and smiled. I felt, more than saw, someone come up to the table,

X stood up and gave a semi-salute, saying “Good morning Senator, or should I say Mr Candidate. May I introduce you to Miss Augustina Hamilton-Baker. She only arrived from India last night and I am helping her regain her energy.” I stood and the Senator took my hand and then pulled me to him for a hug, whispering in my ear “I believe that I owe you my life, young lady. It will not be forgotten.” He then stood back, still holding my hand and said, in a louder voice “Miss Augustina, how good to meet you, I believe that your parents were among my earliest supporters, bless their souls.” He looked at the General and said “May I join you for a few moments, there is something I want to say.”

We both nodded and we all sat down, the waitress now bustling about asking if we needed any more drinks. The Senator ask “Coffee?” and we both said yes so he asked the girl to bring up new cups and a hot pot of black with some milk on the side. We made small talk, mainly comparing our two recent long flights and, after the coffee had been delivered, he poured the three cups and then said, quietly “I have no interest in your politics but I do know that both of you are proud patriots, although that is a description that has fallen into bad usage recently. I have called in a few favours since I found out what had been planned for me and I have put together a small team of like-minded people who feel the same as you. I am not sure what your security level is, General, but I have a couple of servicemen who have sat on the General Staff and are able to use more contacts that I would want to know about.”

“I believe that there is another move to foment insurrection and expect that the Proud Boys and the other fascists will feature heavily in the action. I am prepared to bring the two of you into the loop so that we can, together, avert this likely disastrous event. I do not know what the time-line is, yet, but the instigator is not getting any younger or any saner. I want you to know that if I do end up as the Republican candidate I will work with the other side of the house to keep us moving back to civil discussion and good governance.”

He gave us each a business card with his personal contact numbers on it, saying that if we needed to talk to him he would make time, whatever he may be doing. He then rose and gave X another card with the name and numbers of one of the most powerful military men in the country. “General, my man will contact you soon. I think that you will find him very helpful. He does have good things to say about you so don’t let him bluster you when you talk, that is just his way.” We both rose and he shook our hands before he left the room.

We remained standing and X said, quietly “I didn’t expect that! We had not spoken to anyone outside our small group about your actions. I guess that when you are an election away from being the Commander in Chief there are avenues of information not available to us mere mortals.” We left the hotel and took a walk along the street where the traffic noises would limit any eavesdropping. He took my arm and we strolled like a couple and he filled me in on what I was to do over the next few weeks.

He wanted me to use the spook web to look into the fascist militia and any likely places they could meet. “I am sure that one day there will be a rally organised to push them over the edge. It is the sort of thing he loves and I reckon a large crowd of gun-toting men shouting his name would almost make him cream his pants.” I asked if I still needed to look into the eastern terrorist groups and he told me that there were other forces at play at the moment and that when they knew exactly where the bomb maker was, there would be a cruise missile or a drone somewhere close.

His troopers drove by slowly and he held up a finger. “The boys will be back in an hour. We need to get you checked out and they will take you to a secure site with the right communications. I’m afraid that you will have to become an army Major again for a little while but I assure you that your current ID will stand up to any scrutiny. There are also a couple of healthy bank accounts in your name; I will give you the cards when we get back to the hotel.”

Back at the hotel we went via his room where he gave me a bag with an army kit in it and an envelope. He told me to be in fatigues when I went outside and the troopers will look after me. Back in my room I laid out the kit, stripped and had a shower. I dressed, once again, in the uniform and boots. This time the uniform had proper patches as a Major in the Special Forces as well as a weapons specialist badge. My name on the tag was Jacquie Ryan. There was also an ID lanyard and dog tag in the same name. The envelope also contained credit cards with the Tina name on them and I put these, along with my other Tina ID, into the secret pocket of the case, quickly packing the rest of my clothes. I carried the bag down to reception where they told me that everything was taken care of, and then went outside. As soon as I emerged the troopers pulled up and the passenger got out, saluted me, picked up my case to put in the trunk and then held the back door for me as I got in.

We drove to a quiet military airfield some way out of town where my case and I were made comfortable in the back seat of an Eagle F15D fighter and blasted at an indecent rate of knots towards the north. I think my stomach was left behind on the runway.

Marianne G 2021