Time Skip

by Craig L. Seymour

  It was his intention to make his way to Sudan that year to personally kill Bin Laden. He knew the odds were pretty long. He didn’t yet know how he was going to find him, let alone get close enough to him to do the job. Working in military intelligence, he would not be receiving the Special Forces or sniper training he might need. And he wasn’t as smart as everyone thought. Sure he was a bright guy, but he wasn’t the guy people thought he was. He had cheated his way into his position. It isn’t that hard to look brilliant when you’re studying courses for the third time.

  In this life he needed fast cash. He expected to have to have to work through the black market when he was in Africa, and cash was king. He concentrated his efforts on his gambling, being much more sure of his picks this time. He also made a killing in the market with the Black Monday crash of 1987. By the time he left college his bank account would be more than adequate to his needs. He was anticipating enough trouble without having to worry about money.

  He wasn't at all sure of how he was going to get to Sudan when the time came. He had no reason to think his service would ever cause him to cross paths with his quarry. He also had no real reason to expect to be able to kill Bin Laden even if he had a chance. He would be one man against what he imagined would be a not insignificant inner circle surrounding his prey. And, he certainly couldn’t expect to come away from such a confrontation alive if he ever did get the chance.

  Despite all that, Lovelle knew that Bin Laden would be more accessible during his time in Sudan than he ever would be again. The terrorist’s vulnerability would diminish gradually as his infamy grew, and exponentially after the first time he was linked to an attack on an American target. If Bin Laden was going to be vulnerable, it would be before he made it onto America’s national radar. It would be before he began targeting Americans abroad. But there was no way to convince the government that they should assassinate the ‘potential’ terrorist while they had the opportunity. That left the job to him, whatever the odds. So he intended to do whatever it took to get to him, and being in the military would get him much closer to his objective than twiddling his thumbs back in the U.S.

  Lovelle was also quite aware that killing Bin Laden might prevent nothing. No one could really say how instrumental he was in any of the plotting of Al Qaeda. But there was no question that he was not only the glue that held the organization together in those early years, but, he was also the reason the organization was so focused on the United States. Although Islamic fundamentalists in general had no shortage of ill will towards the United States, Bin Laden seemed to have a particular ire towards it. Previously, attacks had not focused on the United States. Bin Laden was the reason the organization began to focus on U.S. targets. And, regardless of how effective it might or might not be to cut off the head of Al Qaeda, one thing that was certain was that the terrorist deserved to die, and Lovelle had no qualms about hastening that process if at all possible.

  Lovelle would maintain his contingency plan, of course. He would thwart the Oklahoma City bombing and establish his credentials as a tipster. If he failed to achieve his objective in the Middle East, but survived the ordeal, he would go ahead and try to stop the 9/11 attacks through Rosewood. Only this time he would be able to wait. He already knew the things he had been looking to find out in Germany, and he could give the FBI everything they would need without exposing himself. He could even let the plot develop and step in at the last minute. If the government saw it as a close call, and didn't have a clairvoyant to depend on for future tips, maybe they would be more diligent about preventing another tragedy.

  And if he didn't survive, Lovelle had a third plan. He had written down everything he knew about future world events. That letter was in an envelope addressed to Agent Rosewood, which was in turn placed inside a larger envelope labeled “Open in the case of my demise”. That envelope was inside Lovelle’s safe deposit box, whose key was in the possession of his mother while he was away. He knew she would not pry into his business, but, also that she would retrieve the contents if he were to die or disappear. This method might not prevent the Murrah bombing, but, once that prediction proved true, the letter would certainly be taken seriously in regards to the 9/11 and 11/6 attacks.

  *****

  With College and Military Intelligence School behind him, Lovelle’s first assignment was as a Human Intelligence Collector in Kuwait. The country had been liberated from Saddam Hussein, and the Army was mopping things up. Lovelle could not have been happier with his assignment. This was the position he had been aiming for. He had excelled academically with all of his repeated courses, including his Arabic. Although he had never used it after college in life number two, it was easy enough to pick up and appear to be a ‘natural’ at languages, which he certainly was not. He had also planned his studies to carry him through an extra semester. This later graduation ensured that he would not end up fighting in the Gulf War himself. No one else could have known what he was doing, but, he knew full well what the timing would be.

  Lovelle was not trying to avoid putting himself in danger. Being in danger was, in fact, integral to his plan. But, getting himself killed fighting the Iraqi Republican Guard, would simply be a waste of the information he was carrying around in his head. Besides, this go around in the gulf was a virtual walk in the park by military standards.

  Despite all the anticipation, Lovelle arrived in Kuwait and found his work to be drudgery. After the boredom that was his College career, he thought that Intelligence work would be sufficient to keep his attention. Wasn’t it supposed to be all intrigue and danger? Spies, counter spies and all the stuff off of the big screen. Maybe it was that way for some people. But that wasn’t the way the Army handled things. Not that he was about to complain. It was important enough work alright. But, it wasn’t very interesting. The same stories told a million different ways. And typically more danger from a passing bus than from anything else.

  Lovelle worried that, because he had cheated his way into this position, he wouldn’t really be up to the task. Instead, he found himself even less challenged than in college. He was busy enough, but, intellectually he was bored. At the same time, his down time was truly down. He was able to leave the work behind, which left him time to think about home. And that was something he did not want to do. Any pull in that direction was counterproductive to his mission. As driven as he was to complete it, he could not get around the fact that he was afraid of the consequences. Afraid of what might happen to him. Afraid that he might fail and somehow actually make things worse. Afraid that he might succeed and find that it had been another useless undertaking. And those doubts left him worrying that temptations from home might test his resolve and find him lacking.

  The primary temptation would be Charlene. Not that Lovelle didn’t desire to be with his family again. But, this being his third life, there was no sense of urgency. In fact, whatever the outcome of his endeavor, he thought it reasonably likely that he would be around for a fourth try, and more. That was especially true if he failed. Charlene, however, was something new for him. Lovelle was in love, but he had denied himself the pleasure of her company. For quite some time he had tried very hard to temper his feelings. It had been a struggle, but, he had not let himself become as fully entangled with her as he had with his past loves. And now he was spending most of his free time thinking about her. He badly needed a distraction.

  This search for a diversion led to the formation of his first new friendships of this life. Once Lovelle opened his mind to that possibility he found that he was no longer surrounded by immaturity. He was among young men who had faced war. For some of them, at least, this had ripened them. Although war could bring out the worst in some men, it wasn’t hard to find those in whom it had brought out the best. And one particular event led Lovelle to become a part of a small clique of soldiers who took their work very seriously, but, also knew how to set it aside when that was called for.

  The unofficial leader of this group was Captain Will Morris.
He was the senior member in both age and rank, and the type of man that others flocked around. Lovelle was sure Morris would have a similar circle around him no matter where he found himself, or what he was doing. In this case he was a Special Forces officer with a loyal group of soldiers from both inside and outside of his own operational detachment. He led the men not just by virtue of his rank, but, by the strength of his personality. Morris possessed the type of leadership skill that officers cannot be taught. He inspired and instilled confidence in the men under him. Morris would be a General someday, if he chose to make a career of the military.

  Lovelle first came into contact with the Captain while doing a routine reconnaissance sweep. Morris was leading a patrol in the same neighborhood when an altercation between Iraqi sympathizers and their neighbors started to boil over. Morris’ detachment was trying to control the situation before it turned violent when Lovelle and his escorts happened along. The interpreter for the Airborne unit was a little green, and was in over his head. He could not seem to get to the crux of what was happening and was about to have Morris commit his men on the side of the sympathizers. Lovelle quickly saw what was happening and took the Captain aside.

  “Is your ‘terp new?” Lovelle questioned, referring to the interpreter.

  “Yeah, just got him last week.” Morris stated this almost as a question.

  “Well, I don’t know what you’re planning to do here, but, I thought it might be helpful if you knew that those bastards over there…” Lovelle nodded towards the sympathizers. “…were informants for the Republican Guard. At least that’s what these other people are trying to tell you.”

  “Christ!`` Morris exclaimed and then barked some orders to his men.

  Lovelle stuck around until the situation had been diffused, then he and his team quietly went on their way. A few days later, at the makeshift base the soldiers were using, He ran into Morris again.

  “Lieutenant.” Morris called to Lovelle as he was entering the mess hall. Lovelle turned. “I never got a chance to thank you.” The Captain continued.

  “Just doing my job.” Lovelle answered dismissively.

  “Yes, well, you could have bypassed the whole situation. I appreciate you taking the time to see if you could help.”

  Lovelle was uncomfortable with the praise, but knew the encounter was likely to continue as long as he refused it. He decided he could best extricate himself from the situation by simply accepting the thanks and moving on. “Your welcome.” He answered. He would normally have simply walked away at this point, but, being in front of a superior officer, he felt compelled to give the man a chance to have the last word, and just hoped that would be it.

  “Could I ask you to do me another favor?” Morris continued.

  “Of course.”

  “Would you mind working with my interpreter. I think his confidence is a little shaken since the other night. If you helped him out a little I think he’d respond to you. I’d rather not get into a scrape over another misunderstanding.”

  Lovelle helped the young man get his feet back under him, and quickly found himself a part of the Captain’s entourage. Although he was a late comer to the group, Lovelle seemed to be the closest thing to second in command they had in their informal organization. This was not a function of rank, since Lovelle was not the only, or even the senior, lieutenant in the group. It seemed to him that the Captain had unofficially designated Lovelle as such. He had taken to calling Lovelle the old man, despite Morris being three years his senior. The other men followed suit and gave Lovelle both the title and the due deference that went with it.

  Lovelle asked Morris about the ‘old man’ title one night when none of the other guys were around. “Sometimes you seem more like a grandfather than some guy fresh out of college.” He answered. That made a lot of sense, of course, but, Lovelle really hadn’t thought he was acting all that differently from the others. He had known it in High School. Even in college he hadn’t fit in. But here, he had thought he was melding quite well. Not that he was all that concerned about it. If it meant a little extra respect from the guys he hung with, then he was all for it.

  “Sometimes I feel like an old man,” he only half kidded.

  In short order, Morris and he became quite close. When they were off duty, Captain Morris became simply Will. For everyone else, Morris was the natural leader, and they treated him as such. They were all friends, but, the others maintained a bit of distance. The other officers in the clique treated Morris with an extra bit of deference. Only Lovelle was put on the same level. He respected Morris as much as everyone else, but, he never looked to him for leadership. Not because he was any sort of leader himself. It was simply because he alone did not require leading.

  Lovelle knew exactly what he wanted out of the military, and it didn’t involve being led around by military command. That was something he had to put up with, not something he placed any value in. So while Morris provided a sense of direction for most of the people around him, he treated Lovelle as a peer. The Captain recognized that Lovelle was someone he could treat as his equal. Not that there weren’t plenty of people around him all the time who were not only Lovelle’s equal as soldiers, but, were his better in many ways. But, they weren’t seasoned yet. They were smart, but, they were not yet wise. And though Morris had no idea why, he could see the added confidence and competence that Lovelle brought to bear. The fact that Morris recognized this was what made him so valuable to Lovelle. Older officers, the ones who might be his equal in maturity, would only think of Lovelle as a kid.

  For his own part, Morris had wisdom beyond his years. This was due to a combination of factors. He was incredibly bright. He was a very successful West Point grad. But, intelligence and wisdom, while definitely related, were not the same thing. Although it takes some measure of intelligence to acquire wisdom, wisdom is still just that, an acquisition. It comes with time and experience. For Morris, the undue maturity stemmed from two formative events to which he applied his particular genius.

  First there was the death of his father. His dad was a stern disciplinarian, and a military man himself. He had died in a car wreck when Morris was 13, leaving him as the “man of the house”. Although Morris had felt oppressed while his father was alive, as most children would, he quickly came to appreciate the way his father had prepared him for adversity. His grieving mother had leaned heavily on him and he was integral in raising his younger sister and brother.

  Then there was Morris’ first action of the war. His team was on a reconnaissance mission in still occupied Kuwait, when their position was compromised. They found themselves in a firefight, and the recipients of a daring helicopter rescue. “If there was any kid left in me, that got it out.” He told Lovelle one afternoon when they happened to drive by the scene of the fight. “I didn’t think any of us were going to get out of there alive.”

  Morris recounted the tale, explaining how his fear had turned to determination, not only to survive, but, to pull his detachment through as well. With grit and no small amount of good fortune, they had all escaped. After that, Morris had never again felt that sort of helpless fear. “I don’t know if it’s bravery, or stupidity, but, I always feel like we can overcome anything that gets thrown our way.” He confided.

  “I once heard that the definition of bravery is not the absence of fear. It’s the ability to overcome it.” Lovelle stated matter-of-factly.

  *****

  Lovelle knew that Bin Laden was going to be expelled from Saudi Arabia during the war due to his vocal opposition to US involvement in Kuwait, and that he would eventually end up in Sudan. What he didn't know was how he was going to get there too. Even if he thought that there was some chance that he would eventually be able to make his way officially to Africa, he didn't know if Bin Laden would still be there. And if he had to wait until he was free of the military, he was even less certain that it would be in time.

  Lovelle worried that Bin Laden would be on the move again by the time hi
s enlistment was up. His memory of the terrorist’s movements had him leaving for Afghanistan some time in 1994. But, he was not at all confident in his memory on this point. However, he was quite sure that Bin Laden would be in Sudan through the end of 1992. So he was determined to make his move while he was sure where his prey was.

  Even though he was associating with the perfect people to help him take out his target, he had long ago discarded the idea of bringing anyone else on board with his plan. Trying to convince someone of what he knew seemed like a bad bet. Soldiers in the field did not have the resources of the FBI to check out his stories. And what he was proposing could end up in a court martial for anyone involved. He wasn't about to put his mission in jeopardy by exposing himself. However, he made use of the clique in other ways, most notably for combat training. Lovelle only had to express an interest and his Special Forces buddies seemed to fall all over themselves trying to take him under their wings. He received crash courses in hand to hand combat as well as weapons training. He learned to kill in ways, and with things, that he could never have imagined. Between his police and military training, he had thought he knew quite a lot. But, it turned out that he knew nothing.