by Bella Juarez
“May I help you, ma’am?” the admin asked politely but firmly, looking her directly in the eye.
He’s just as arrogant as his boss. Do they all have an attitude? Anna just knew she wouldn’t like it here. All these men were so…macho. Was the entire Navy like this? There was way too much testosterone in this office for Anna’s comfort level.
“Yes. I was told to report to Captain O’Malley,” Anna answered quietly.
“Ms. Santiago? Yes, ma’am, the captain is expecting you,” the young man said, getting up from his seat
Gales of laughter erupted from the captain’s office. Anna just knew the laughter involved her. The admin limped into Captain O’Malley’s office. He returned shortly with Mac following close behind.
“Hello, Anna. We’ve been expecting you all morning,” Mac said warmly as he held his hand out, waving her into the office.
“Master Chief,” she said, walking toward him.
Mac stepped in front of her.
“You don’t get to pass until you promise you’ll call me Mac.” Anna smiled in spite of her doubts. She really liked Mac because he had a way of putting her at ease.
“Okay, Mac.”
Captain O’Malley was coming from around his desk as Anna and Mac entered his office.
“Anna, welcome aboard. Have a seat,” Captain O’Malley said, motioning to the chairs in front of his desk.
“Thank you, sir,” Anna said quietly
“Have you been to see Colonel Jackson?” Captain O’Malley asked.
Anna simply nodded.
“He’s explained to you why you’re here?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I believe you can help us,” Captain O’Malley said, coming quickly to the point. The captain assumed a relaxed position as he sat on the edge of his desk. Even relaxed he was intimidating. Anna’s instinctual dislike for him increased. “You will be working directly for Mac and myself. Your office will be right next to Mac’s. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to find one of us.”
“If I may, sir. I understand I’m being placed here for an unspecified amount of time?” Anna asked more impatiently than she’d intended.
Captain O’Malley made her so uncomfortable. Anna felt as if a panic attack would seize her at any moment. It was becoming increasingly difficult for her to breathe.
“That’s correct,” Captain O’Malley said, and she noticed a slight smile played around the corners of his mouth. The bastard was laughing at her. Now, Anna was really getting irritated.
“That being the case, sir, can you please tell me what my duties are?”
“I want you to work on that virus you’re so familiar with.”
“Specifically, sir. What does that mean?” Anna asked sharply.
Mac turned and looked at her in surprise as her tone registered with both him and the captain.
“I want you to find this thing and take it apart. I want to know everything about it,” Captain O’Malley said, slightly narrowing his eyes.
“Sir, with all due respect, you have the wrong person. I’m not a programmer. Viruses are computer programs. I don’t know how to do what you’re asking,” Anna snapped.
“Then you’d better figure it out,” the captain snapped back.
Captain O’Malley stood and it was clear that he was no longer amused. Anna started to shrink back into her chair. She realized she may have been disrespectful and gone too far with him. Mac cleared his throat.
“Anna, we realize you don’t know everything. We have people who can assist you on this project. Just tell us what you need.” Mac paused as Captain O’Malley relaxed a bit and resumed his casual seat on the edge of his desk. “Anna, you seem to be the only one who knows how to deal with this. And by the way, this happened at another base,” Mac added.
Anna looked at Mac. “What?”
“That’s right, and it was also a headquarters base. Now can you see why we’re so…” Mac paused and looked at Captain O’Malley. “…Anxious?”
“We’re not like any other organization you’ve worked for. We work outside the usual chain of command and all of our work is classified. I’ll expect you to keep secret anything you see, do, or hear. Do you understand?” O’Malley asked.
“Yes, sir,” Anna said, directing herself to Captain O’Malley.
“We’re glad you were able to figure it out and happened to be on the same base with us,” Mac added.
“I don’t understand. No one has been able to figure this out…Why here?” Anna asked quietly.
“I don’t know, but I can tell you we’re here to support the new Joint Cyber Command and you just made our job a lot easier. There are some really bad guys out there trying to steal some very vital information. Let’s just take for example what you did for Manpower and Assignments. Imagine what would happen if the enemy got a hold of troop movements. They’d know where we’re going before we got there and plan accordingly. A lot of people could get hurt or even die,” Mac said.
Anna returned her stare to the wall behind Captain O’Malley’s desk. That virus had been ridiculously easy to figure out and that’s why she was still suspicious. While she’d been fooled initially, anyone with a command of the Windows operating system would’ve known how to resolve the problem. She couldn’t believe she’d been the only one to figure this out. Surely someone else, many people, could’ve done the same, and she was concerned there was more to this than she’d discovered.
“Think about what’s at risk here. Do you think you can help us?” Captain O’Malley asked gently.
“Yes, sir, of course I will. I’ll do my best,” Anna replied.
“Good! That’s all we can ask. Mac, show her around,” O’Malley said, dismissing both of them.
“Will do, Rock,” Mac said, rising.
Anna stood, grateful to be finally leaving the tension in the captain’s office. She followed Mac out and stopped as Mac paused in front of Captain O’Malley’s admin.
“Friday, this is Anna Santiago. She’s our new go-to computer lady here,” Mac said.
Anna looked at the name plate on the young man’s desk. Petty Officer Second Class Steven Montgomery.
“Ma’am. It’s nice to meet you,” Petty Officer Montgomery said with a smile.
“Nice to meet you, too, Petty Officer Montgomery,” Anna said, returning the smile.
“Steve or Friday, Ms. Santiago,” Petty Officer Montgomery said, gently correcting Anna.
“Anna, Steve,” Anna said.
Mac led her down the hallway to the office that she now shared with him. Mac opened the door to a small room next to his office.
“Here you go, welcome home,” Mac said.
Anna blinked a couple of times. It was her desk. It was if they’d picked up her desk and moved it from down the hall. Everything was just as she’d left it. She looked at Mac.
“It’s my desk. How…?”
“We just picked it up and moved it down the hall,” Mac responded seriously.
“Of course you did.” Anna laughed.
Mac didn’t see the humor in what they had done. Anna walked in and seated herself. She looked down at her desk. It was perfect, she noted, and nothing was out of place. Mac stood in the doorway, making sure she knew it was indeed her desk and nothing had been left behind.
“Is there anything else? What’s the plan for the rest of the day?” Mac asked.
“Speaking of, it’s protocol when someone leaves an area that their access be removed and granted according to their reassignment. Since I’ve moved, they’re changing my access to the systems. Colonel Jackson said due to the circumstance of my loan, he wanted Captain O’Malley to make the call,” Anna said.
“I don’t think he’ll want to change anything right now. If anything, you’ll get more access than you already have. But, I’ll go ask.”
* * * *
Jack was reading an e-mail from Dixie about his upcoming TAD. It would be postponed a day due to this new situation. Mac entered Jack’s off
ice without a sound. Jack never looked up.
“Was it me? Or, did baby girl try to cop an attitude?” Jack asked.
“Baby girl? I never thought I’d say this about any woman when it comes to you…” Mac said with a smile. Jack looked up expectantly. “I don’t think she likes you.”
“What did I do?”
“I don’t know. Maybe she’s got you figured out. Maybe you don’t fool her and she’s not blinded by that dashing charm of yours.” Mac chuckled.
“She’s not my type, Mac.” Jack turned back to his computer.
“Uh huh. Oh, by the way, she said they’d be removing her access from the systems because of her move and then be reestablishing it accordingly. Jackson told her you needed to make that call.”
Jack sat back in his chair and considered the situation for a moment.
“Grant her full access to all the systems she needs. Get one of our comm guys to monitor what she does with that access. Someone you know and trust, Mac.”
“Most of these guys are tadpoles. You sent Lieutenant Gamez down south two weeks ago. He’s the only one I really know and trust, Rock.”
“He’s on his way back and should be here by Wednesday. Give her some busy work until then.”
Before Mac could answer, Friday walked in and interrupted.
“Sir, I’m going to BAMC for PT,” Steve said.
“Okay, Steve,” Jack said.
“How are you doing, Steve? I see you’re not on crutches anymore,” Mac observed.
“Was glad to get rid of ’em,” Steve said with a smile.
“It could’ve been worse,” Mac said.
“Bastards! I got even, Mac. Jihad works both ways. About six of ’em are with their seventy-two virgins right now, in hell.” Steve spat.
“Take care, Steve. I’ll see you in the morning,” Captain O’Malley said with a chuckle.
“Aye, Captain.” Steve faded from the doorway.
Chapter 13
Randolph Air Force Base, Texas
US Naval Special Warfare Group Five
Office of the Command Master Chief
August 1, 2008/1247 Zulu
Anna sat behind her computer studying the server logs when Mac entered and took the only seat in the corner of the small office.
“Good morning, Mac,” Anna said with a smile.
“Buenos días, Anna,” Mac said.
“¿Usted habla español?” Anna asked.
“Sí hablo. La mayoria parte de nosotros aquí hacer.” Mac responded that all of the men in the teams did indeed speak fluent Spanish.
“Hum. Why is that, Mac?” Anna asked in kind.
“Because of where we operate. It’s required.”
“What can I do for you?” Anna asked, returning to English.
“Come on, Anna. I need the practice.” Mac winked. “I was hoping you could help me with a little project I need to get going.”
Anna had been keeping her distance since she was reassigned. Mac seemed to want to draw her into the fold. Maybe he just wanted many of the new guys to get to know one another. Since they were a new unit, they got a lot of brand-new SEALs as well as personnel that had never worked together. The more-seasoned SEALs and personnel came from a cross section of groups, and many of them had never even met, much less tried to work together.
“What would you like for me to do?” Anna asked, glancing back at the log she was studying.
“Well, I was hoping you would cook.”
Anna looked up sharply and her eyes narrowed. “What makes you think I can cook, Mac?”
“I know you were a chef. What was it? Executive chef, I think it was. What do you think I did Saturday afternoon when I came back to my office? Someone had to check you out. Would you rather have the XO do it?”
Anna had gotten to know Mac and a few of the others well enough not to take offense at the comment. In fact she was enjoying her time here more than she first thought. Captain O’Malley had been gone and the others were friendly and very welcoming. The only one who was beginning to annoy her was Commander Wilson, the XO. The guys who worked here had a merciless sense of humor and no subject seemed to be sacred. The XO’s attraction to Anna was becoming the butt of a lot of jokes.
“When you put it that way, I’m grateful it was you,” Anna said.
“Did you quit because you didn’t want to cook anymore?”
“No I needed a change. As you now know my original degree from college was in computer science. What’s the plan?” she asked.
“I figure on Fridays we’ll do something small, like for breakfast. And once a month we’ll do something for the whole group. Like tomorrow at the park. Hope you didn’t have any plans.” Mac relaxed into the chair.
“Tomorrow! For this group?” Anna asked disbelievingly.
“If you had plans it’s okay. I’ll just go get some barbeque or something like that,” Mac offered
“How many people are in the group again?”
“About six hundred fifty, we’re short some people.”
“You want me to put on a party for six hundred fifty people, plus guests, tomorrow? Mac, I don’t think you’ll find a place that can provide you barbeque for approximately eight to nine hundred people, tomorrow. How are you planning on doing that?” Anna asked in disbelief.
Mac threw back his head and laughed. She was right. Bastard! Anna snapped to herself. He knew he would never be able to get it done this weekend and he was testing her. She tried to keep her head down and stay quiet most of the time. He’d read up on her background and knew she ran very deep. These guys were smart and she needed to watch herself here.
“Okay, next week?” Mac asked.
“I think we need to do some more planning, Mac.”
“Don’t underestimate me, baby girl,” Mac said with a wink.
“I don’t. I’ve seen your boss in action. If he’s any indication of what you’re capable of—I don’t underestimate any of you. I would like to think nothing about this group surprises me.”
“Mac!”
“In here!” Mac called.
Anna recognized the damned New-York-City-accented voice and quickly put her head down, this time giving the logs her full attention. God! Does he always have to talk to Mac? She wanted to avoid what was about to walk into her space.
“Where the hell are you?” the captain called.
Anna could feel her heart race and her palms start to sweat. He was causing a panic attack.
“Hi,” Captain O’Malley said to Anna.
“Captain, sir,” Anna replied, quickly looking down at her work.
“How was your trip, Captain?” Mac asked as he pulled at a thread on his BDUs.
“Just fine. Master Chief, I need to talk with both of you,” Captain O’Malley said.
Anna wanted to groan. She looked up and politely gave the captain her attention, even if she wished he would go away.
“Oh? What’s up?” Mac asked.
“I need to get civilian TAD orders for next week to Coronado, Naval Special Warfare Combat Systems. Can you get that going, Mac? She needs to be there Monday.” Captain O’Malley looked at Anna, who hadn’t caught entirely the meaning of what he’d said. “Hope you don’t have plans for next week. You’re getting an all-expense-paid trip to San Diego.”
Anna quickly looked at Mac, who was staring at Captain O’Malley.
“All right, Captain, I’ll get that going right away,” Mac said.
“Anna, you and I need to talk. You’re dismissed, Mac,” O’Malley said.
“Yes, sir,” Mac said, rising from his chair and walking out of the office.
Anna was dizzy because of her rising blood pressure. She hadn’t felt like this since the funeral for her daughter and husband. She was in the middle of a panic attack. Captain O’Malley took the seat Mac was occupying before they were so rudely interrupted. Anna was glad she was sitting. She went from panic to anger the instant she met Captain O’Malley’s arrogant green eyes. Who in the hell does thi
s guy think he is?
* * * *
Jack observed that the color had drained from Anna’s cheeks and she was looking very pale since he’d walked into the room. Mac had already berated him earlier in the week about their new charge and the fact that she was very skittish of the captain. Jack sensed something deeper but couldn’t put his finger on it. He didn’t believe Mac when he’d suggested that she simply didn’t like him. Jack knew he didn’t have to explain a damned thing to this civilian, but he wanted her cooperation and needed her to trust him so he was about to do something totally against his nature. He would try to be diplomatic. He could be charming when he needed to be and decided on that plan, hoping it would work.
“Anna, I’m sorry for the short notice, and I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t think it was important, but the virus on the hard drive has a time stamp. Apparently, it erases itself after a certain amount of time and it’s untraceable. When you get to Coronado, you’ll be working with Chief Brooks. I think you two have met over the phone?”
Anna seemed to relax when they talked about work. Keep it familiar, Jack.
“Yes, sir,” Anna said quietly.
“She’s also having another problem that you may be able to help her with. My boss and I feel that it’s related to what we’re doing here. You’ll be briefed once you get there. I hope you understand how important and urgent this is. And, by the way, it’s also very classified. Please don’t discuss this with anyone else who doesn’t have a need to know. Understand?”
“Yes, sir. I understand,” Anna responded in her same hushed tone.
Jack smiled slightly as he rose from his seat.
“Good, I’ll have Steve make all your arrangements. If you need anything talk to him.”
“I can make them, sir, through DTS,” Anna offered.
“We have another way we do this, and we don’t want anyone knowing what you’re doing.”
