Decency

by Rex Fuller

  “Mr. Pierce, if you will allow me, sir, the power and phone are coming back on in minutes. Your food won’t spoil. And I must tell you, your house will be sealed off for a while until the FBI can be sure it’s safe, cleared of evidence, and cleaned up. I have sent transportation for you and from where you stand right now, you can be here in three hours. We have accommodations for you, and clothes. Please, sir, as a favor to me, come and see me. We will get you back just as soon as you need to be.”

  “Mr. President, my wife is nodding her head and I want to say, yes, we can come…but, there’s some men here who’ve been workin’ pretty hard for us today and it’s the decent thing for us to give ’em a bite to eat. If we can do that first, then we can come, sir.”

  “Mr. Pierce…that’s the most kind thing I’ve heard in a long time. Tell you what, those people work for me. It wouldn’t be right of me if I let them come and eat your food if I didn’t have them bring some things. Would that be all right, sir?”

  “Well, yes, that would be fine. Just have ’em come to our cafe in town. They can’t miss it. We’ll be there. And they’re welcome to what we have. We sure appreciate what they’ve done and what you’ve done.”

  “All right then. Don’t you start cooking until you see what they bring and then you’ll know what needs to be cooked and nothing will go to waste. After they’ve eaten, we’ll do the cleaning up and watch your store, and your house, and your vehicles. They’ll bring you to the school parking lot and a helicopter will pick you up. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.”

  The line went dead.

  It was 8:02 Eastern.

  33

  Rufus Youngblood and his live-in girlfriend Carmel Andrews dropped by the cafe to see what might be going on in general. Rufus and Carmel were both surviving spouses. He was seventy one and she was sixty eight. They liked to flaunt “living in sin” and fancied themselves stud and starlet. Most people thought it was ridiculous. Rufus and Carmel also liked to busybody. Not mean, it was just something to do.

  “Hey Kathy. Hey Harlan.”

  “Well, Rufus and Carmel, how you two doin’ tonight?”

  “You know, just warmin’ it up.”

  Rufus winked at Carmel and she grinned at him.

  “Say, you folks hear about a rock band playin’ over by your place and some explosions?”

  “Heard about it, yes.”

  “Well them rock concerts can get bad. Small wonder there was explosions…”

  “What would you folks like?”

  “Oh, I guess we’ll have a couple longnecks…Hell, they ought to of blowed up the band!”

  Rufus chuckled like he had performed worthy of emceeing the Tonight Show and Carmel followed suit.

  At 8:37 Eastern a CH-53 helicopter landed on the school parking lot east of town. With the blades easing to a stop the FBI and State Patrol vehicles filed into the parking lot. One of the FBI pickups backed up to the open bay doors.

  White coated stewards rolled hot carts containing forty meals of turkey and mashed potatoes and a ten gallon urn of coffee onto the truck. When you cooked ten thousand meals a day, as the Offutt Mess did, sending forty of them on a helicopter ride was nothing. The only problem had been the reimbursement regulations for government meals given to unauthorized diners. Admiral Beckman, the JCS Vice-Chairman, paid the $281.56 from his own pocket for his “guests.” The stewards rode along to steady the cargo and handle the serving.

  The vehicles filed out of the lot west to the main drag and headed into the parking slots in front of the cafe.

  Sandoval got out of his pickup alone and entered the door.

  “Hey, Mr. Sandoval, come on in.”

  Rufus and Carmel, the only ones other than Harlan and Kathy in the cafe, turned to see who “Mr. Sandoval” was. Carmel declared to herself this was one of the handsomest men she had ever seen. His face was so kind and warm and when he spoke his voice was just like butter.

  “Hey, Mr. and Mrs. Pierce. Are these friends of yours? If they are, they’re friends of mine!”

  Barely breaking between sentences he stepped right up and shook their hands.

  “I’m Santos Sandoval. Pleased to meet you.”

  “I’m Rufus Youngblood and this here’s my woman, Carmel Andrews. Nice to meet you.”

  “Mr. Youngblood and Ms. Andrews, I know it’s not my place, but would you be so kind as to bear with me little and come outside a moment.”

  Sandoval winked at them as though he wanted to share a secret and, of course, that was interesting enough to pursue.

  Carmel giggled back to Kathy and Harlan. “If we’re not back by morning send our mail to Paris.”

  Sandoval brought their bottles. Outside the cafe, Rufus was not quite sure what to make of the armada of hardware. Sandoval told them he was there to spring a surprise party on Kathy and Harlan, given by friends from a long time ago and out of state, and as they could plainly see everything was set to go right now. Would Rufus and Carmel mind terribly if they could just go ahead and spring the planned surprise?

  “Well, of course you can. We’d like to help if we can.”

  “Normally, of course you could, but this surprise involves a gift that they are to get and it would not be polite for me to presume that Harlan and Kathy would want me to say something that might spoil their chance to give you the news.”

  Rufus was not at all sure he had followed this. But the surprise party was starting to get under way anyhow with the people getting out of their trucks. Plus, he felt sure he did not want to hang around all of these people in black jump suits no matter how nice they were. It would probably be better to discuss this with some others instead of trying to crash the party. Carmel, smitten, would have agreed to whatever the gorgeous Mr. Sandoval suggested. So, they capered off to find new adventure.

  Kelly was the next into the cafe.

  She hurried up to her clients to quietly explain this strangeness. “Harlan, Kathy, these folks are tickled with your invitation. But their job requires them to keep their identities hidden. To put it bluntly, terrorists and drug dealers have put prices on their heads. Mr. Sandoval is the only one who works in the open. He is in charge of the FBI office in Chicago and commanded the operation today. With that, can we get started?”

  “Why sure, come on in.”

  The State Patrol team hung a large tarpaulin over the front of the cafe to block the view from outside. Then the teams filed in.

  Sandoval astutely picked the first team member to greet Harlan and Kathy.

  “Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Pierce! I’m a ‘Cathy’ too. I’m with the State Patrol.”

  The team members introduced themselves as “Dave, FBI,” and “John, State Patrol,” on down the line. Kathy and Harlan greeted each one of the twenty five.

  Then Kathy announced so they all could hear, “Harlan, they’re so young!”

  Sandoval replied, “And hungry.”

  That completely broke the ice. The stewards brought in the hot, metal covered plates, heaping with turkey and mashed potatoes and insisted to Kathy that she was allowed only to provide greens and desserts to any who wanted them. Most did. Kathy’s on hand big pot of green beans and then for dessert, five gallons of ice cream, quickly disappeared.

  Each of the three women on the teams and nearly all of the men made it a special point to tell Kathy and Harlan how thoughtful their invitation was. To Tom Koonce, Kathy confided it was good that he was part of it. Before everything was eaten, the whole scene evolved into genial friendship. No speeches. No tears. Just a good time.

  Sandoval spread the word the time for good byes had come because the helicopter was waiting for the Pierces. He confided to Kathy and Harlan that the team members had families they needed to get back to. Otherwise, the party might have lasted a lot longer.

  Kathy and Harlan personally thanked each of the members and Sandoval. The stewards refused to allow Kathy to clean up anything. Kelly got Kathy’s coat and they drove in Kelly’s car to the giant bird.
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br />   “Harlan, I believe this is as big as our house.”

  “I believe you’re right, darlin’.”

  Kelly started to tell them good bye and Kathy scolded her, “Do you honestly think I’m going to see the President without you, Kelly?”

  “Kathy, this is your time. Not mine.”

  “Well if it’s mine, then I’m making it yours. Get your briefcase counselor.”

  Kelly chuckled. “Since you put it that way.”

  Although the big machine was noisy and drafty, the flight to Offutt only consumed a little over fifteen minutes.

  When they arrived, armed Air Force Security Police escorted them directly to a beautiful Gulfstream G-4, Air Force designation C-20. They climbed the stairs and immediately behind them the door sealed shut and the Rolls Royce engines spooled up. As soon as they sat and buckled, the plane taxied, turned windward, lifted and glided into the east.

  “Harlan, this is a wonderful airplane.”

  “Sure is. I recognize it. Oil companies use these all over the world.”

  The cabin steward advised they would land at Andrews in two hours and two minutes.

  Harlan figured, “I don’t think you can do it any quicker.”

  “You can’t, sir, without a fighter jet. Plus, your airplane has an advantage.”

  “What’s that.”

  “The President designated you a Code 2 and cleared the airspace all the way to Washington. That means no one other than a head of state has priority over you. Your airplane is first in line all the way to touchdown. No, sir, there just isn’t any faster way to get there.”

  Kelly saw that Harlan was both impressed and a little troubled. He was not sure all this money should be spent on him and his wife. Kelly knew it would not help anything to try to dissuade him.

  34

  Their suits were well cut and fitted, but more modern than the Pierce’s were used to. Harlan, in a Hart Shaffner & Marx, and Kathy, in an Ellen Tracy, were trying to relax. At 9:00 a.m. sharp, their doorbell rang at the Guest House at Andrews.

  When Kathy opened the door she drew a quick breath.

  “Oh, my…”

  The image of the General in sparkling dress uniform at her door was quite literally breath-taking. Her first thought was,

  …Harry Bellafonte is in the military…?

  But she remembered he was much older now.

  “Good morning, Mrs. Pierce, my name is Thurston Martin. It is my pleasure to escort you and Mr. Pierce for your meeting with the President.”

  Major General Thurston Martin was the pilot with the most total time, and the most combat time, in the F-117 Stealth Fighter. He led the initial attack on Baghdad. He was one of the youngest to reach star rank in the history of the Air Force. People who did not know his record, press speculators mostly, suggested that his rank had to do with his father, the President. A slender six foot three and possessed with natural charm, General Martin was often tapped for protocol functions. This was one of those.

  “Well, General, you are a sight for sore eyes, do please come in. You look absolutely wonderful.”

  “Thank you, ma’am.”

  Harlan happily thrust his granite hand forward.

  “I’m Harlan Pierce, General. Proud to meet you, sir.”

  “The pleasure is mine, sir. I understand you were provided with these clothes. I guess we’re all sort of dressed the way they told us to.”

  Harlan and Kathy both smiled broadly and felt immediately at home, the officer having put himself in the same boat with them.

  Kathy said, “General, I’m sticking with you.”

  Harlan was ready to just get it over with. “General, we’re as ready as we’ll ever be. Lead on.”

  “Let’s do that. I’ll try to point out some sights but if you have questions on the way, I’ll do my best to answer them.”

  In the car to the helicopter, Kathy asked, “Is there any special etiquette we should know about?”

  “Mrs. Pierce, ‘protocol’ is just a fancy word for good manners. You’ve already shown me you have all the manners any rules require. As far as where to sit and stand, they’ll let you know that at the White House.”

  Having hit it off so well, and with seemingly nothing to worry about, Kathy and Harlan chatted amiably throughout the helicopter ride all the way to the South Entrance where Kelly was escorted to meet up with them when they debarked. Scanned and cleared in, they all walked together to the place to wait for the President. It proved to be no wait at all. Kathy, Harlan and Kelly were ushered to the Oval Office. Once more, the General made them feel better.

  “I’m not invited. Only dignitaries go in there. I’ll be out here for you.”

  The President greeted the three immediately. “Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Pierce. Thank you so much for coming. It is a true pleasure to see you, and you as well, Ms. Hawkins.”

  The President’s handshake was firm and unhurried.

  Harlan was the first of them to speak.

  “Mr. President, your invitation was as generous as the way you have treated us. Thank you, sir.”

  “You are very kind to say that, Mr. Pierce. Now I want to introduce the others I invited here today. May I present the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Honorable James Edwards, the Majority Leader of the Senate, Senator Carlisle Hutchinson, and a special guest, Senator Jean Paul Charboneaux, the ranking Minority member of the Senate Intelligence Committee.”

  Harlan stepped to each in turn and shook their hands. Kelly imagined the politicians, accustomed to milquetoast, thinking Harlan could easily club them senseless with the rock he offered them. Kathy and then Kelly followed. Brief amenities passed, except that Kelly and the Senator exchanged a few more words of appreciation of each other’s help.

  “Please, everyone, sit down.”

  Having gotten reasonably comfortable in their strange clothes, Harlan and Kathy looked to the President. “Mr. and Mrs. Pierce, I truly am honored to have you here. The courage and tenacity that your daughter and you have shown set an example for all of us. Now, in the legal case that you brought, as we all know, the motion that Mrs. Hawkins filed and argued made it clear to the Chinese leadership that the work of one of our FBI agents on their behalf was about to be discovered. It apparently also made it clear to the agent. He was arrested and is awaiting arraignment on charges of espionage and is being investigated for the murder of your daughter.

  “My purpose here is not to dwell on those matters directly, but on Samantha Pierce. Her work was crucial in identifying and making it possible to arrest this double agent who was an extreme threat to the country. Mr. and Mrs. Pierce, speaking as President, on behalf of all the people, we owe her an incalculable debt of gratitude. A grateful nation thanks her and thanks you for standing up for her.

  “She should never be forgotten. She should be remembered for the brave and bright and good person that she was. Mr. Pierce I was particularly touched by you referring to her memory as ‘stained.’ I want to make sure that her memory is clean and permanent.”

  Harlan felt a lump rise in his throat but said what he saw as his duty. “Mr. President we are grateful that we were able to live to hear you say that.”

  “Mr. and Mrs. Pierce, there are some specific matters that I want to put before you.

  “First, I have ordered the Attorney General to withdraw from representing Dr. Cochran and Mr. Fitzgerald in your case. If you choose to maintain your lawsuit, the United States government will not oppose it in any way.

  “Second, as we say in the military we take care of our own and, on my watch, we mean it. Your daughter was one of our own. The Speaker and these Senators are here to assure you that a private bill will be passed by the Congress compensating you for your loss.

  “Third, I have ordered that no psychological evaluation can be requested by anyone other than the head of the agency nor can any be used for adverse action unless it was performed by a practitioner independent of the agency.

  “Fourth, the
Congress will designate the NSA headquarters building as the ‘Samantha Pierce Federal Building.’ Appropriate recognition will be given to her actions and permanently affixed to the front of that building. Every person who ever walks through its doors will know the sacrifice she made for the country and its inspiration to us all.

  “Lastly, with your consent, I intend to designate her gravesite as a National Monument to be preserved in perpetuity.

  “These matters may require you to consult with your counsel and I am not asking you to respond to them now. I want you to know the depth of feeling that all of us have for your daughter and that we share your sense of tragedy at her loss.”

  The Pierce’s looked at each other, a little overwhelmed. However, no hint of acceptance surfaced. No words passed between them. None appeared necessary.

  Harlan turned again to the President. “Mr. President, we thank you for recognizing our daughter’s contribution. We will cherish your words as long as we live…but, sir, we don’t want the taxpayers’ money.”

  “Mr. Pierce, I told our other guests here that your generous heart would lead you that way. I’m afraid I must insist that you at least accept compensation for the expenses of your case and some amount in addition, if for no other reason than you will probably have an economic burden associated with people visiting your daughter’s grave.

  “It will be known throughout the world that your daughter was solely responsible for saving this country from increasingly grave national security damage. For some time to come, there will be plenty of distractions from your farming. You should not bear the brunt of it. Mr. and Mrs. Pierce, please, let us take care of our own.”

  Tears have begun to well in Kathy’s eyes and she said, “Thank you, Mr. President, we will be grateful for that and all that you have done.”

  “There is one more thing. Kelly Hawkins, it should go without saying, but you did one fine job here. All of us here believe that Tom is very, very proud of you right now and we deeply wish he could be here with you to tell you himself.”