by Ann Massey
Debrief! What debrief? This was the first I’d heard of it. It was becoming more and more obvious that I was on the way out. I took a calming breath. I ought to be sure I’d been excluded before I blew my stack. Jenny may have merely handed a copy of the report to Carter and then to boost her own importance elevated what was little more than a one-on-one conversation. “What did the general say?” I asked, fishing.
“Not much!” She shrugged, “At least General Lee understands it takes two to tango.”
“I don’t follow.”
Jenny rolled her eyes. “Communication takes more than one person. How am I expected to make contact when Bennet hasn’t fired up her computer for over a week?”
“That long? I wonder why?”
She turned to go. “I’m all out of ideas.” At the door she paused, “Do you still want to catch up after work?”
Right now all I wanted was to get the hell home. But it wasn’t her fault that I’d been sidelined, and from the sound of it she’d had a bad day too. “Sure thing.” I forced out a smile. “I’m meeting up with Caden at Wild Bill’s at six. Why don’t you join us?”
I hadn’t actually arranged to meet my Kiwi counterpart, but I knew he’d be there and I needed support. I couldn’t think of anything worse than spending an evening talking shop with Jenny when all I really wanted was to get plastered.
“Sounds good. Is it all right if Ruth comes too?”
“Course, the more the merrier.”
* * *
As soon as she left, I picked up the phone. “Put me through to the general, Otis.”
“He’s not in, Sir.”
“In that case I’ll speak to Wing Commander Carter.”
“He’s out too.”
I glanced at my watch ... 4:45 PM. General Lee wasn’t the kind of boss that engaged in long boozy lunches.
“Will he be back today?”
“He said not, but I wouldn’t put it past him to put his head in. You know what he’s like.”
I was about to hang up but Otis might have construed that as churlish. Ordinarily we’d shoot the breeze. I didn’t want him thinking I was getting too big for my boots.
I said, “I’m meeting up with Caden and a couple of girls from the writing pool at Wild Bill’s after work. Why don’t you join us, Otis?”
“Caden won’t be there. Sounds like you’ve got the wrong night, Mo.”
“Don’t tell me he’s got a date?”
“Er ... actually he’s at the departmental planning meeting with the rest of the Five Eye chiefs.”
A departmental meeting was taking place without me! I felt like I’d been hit in the guts by a wrecking ball. I swallowed back my resentment. “In that case, Otis, it’ll be just you, me and the girls.”
“I’ll have to bail out. Man, am I zonked! That Carter’s a slave-driver.”
Tough old Sergeant Kramer zonked. I didn’t think so. My face worked in a way that was beyond my control. Boy was I glad I hadn’t face-timed him. Seeing pity in his eyes would be the pits. “Fine ... I’ll paint the town red for the rest of you.”
Blue would be closer to the mark, I thought when I ended the call. I sighed and poured myself a stiff one. Normally I don’t drink on the job but right now I needed one, big time.
One of the perks of being top brass was having both a drinks cabinet and a bar fridge in my office. I tossed down a double and filled the glass again. What was wrong with me? Why did I feel so low? Hadn’t I bitched about being here and prayed to be back flying missions. Yet now when it seemed as I was going to get my wish, I was put out. By rights I should have been turning cartwheels. I pushed my glass away and reached for the report.
I was perusing the section on Bennet when the phone rang. It was Otis. He said the general wanted to see me immediately. This is it, I thought, tightening my tie, the axe is finally going to fall.
Sixteen
As Kramer ushered me into Lee’s office, I glimpsed Commander Carter sitting next to him in the meeting area. “Take a seat, Lieutenant and you too, Sergeant,” said the general without looking up from the file he was reading. Sergeant Kramer sat down next to him. I took the vacant seat opposite Carter. Inside I was seething. Firing me was fair. If I’d been in charge, I’d have sacked myself weeks ago, but dismissing me in public was intolerable. No wonder Otis knocked back my invitation; he must have known what was coming.
Finally the general looked up. “Lieutenant, I’m convinced that Elizabeth Godson is Elizabeth Bennet.”
“W-what ... Beth?” I glanced at Otis. Like me he was stunned and it took a lot to shake that stoic warrior.
“I think you’re wrong, Sir.”
Carter’s eyes widened. For a sergeant to openly disagree with a general was unheard of. When Lee shrugged instead of blowing his top, Carter looked from me to Otis, to the general with a puzzled look.
“The three of us have had dealings with Miss Godson before,” put in our boss.
Dealings! Beth had saved the former President’s bacon and what’s more, Lee wouldn’t be sitting at this desk if it wasn’t for her — or me either, for that matter.
The general intuited my thoughts and silenced me with a warning look. “Footprint identified her.”
“Footprint! What the hell is Footprint?” The remark was directed at the general but across from me Carter froze with his mouth open. “Sorry, Sir,” I said, apologizing for my disrespect, “I thought I was familiar with the latest technology.”
The general glared at Carter. “Why wasn’t Lieutenant Jones informed?”
A précis was included in this week’s report,” he said equably.
I didn’t know what to say. I felt my face redden. I mumbled, “I’m only half-way through it.”
“I expect everyone in the team to keep up,” Lee said with justifiable impatience. “Bring Jones up to speed Carter.”
The Wing Commander cleared his throat. “Footprint is an app designed to identify relationships between individuals by a complex process of pinpointing matching networks...”
“And it identified Beth ... Beth! That’s crazy.” I glared at him. “How in the name of hell did it come up with her?”
Carter glared back. “Remember whom you are addressing, Flight Lieutenant.”
Ignoring the threat in his voice, I appealed to the general. “You don’t really believe Beth is a terrorist, Sir. You can’t. What have you got on her?”
“Too much to ignore.”
“Such as?”
“Carter inform Mo what we have on Miss Godson.”
The use by the general of my nickname threw him. He shifted in his chair uncomfortably. “Seems like there’s something you’re not telling me, Sir. Exactly who is Elizabeth Godson?”
“I can’t say in the interest of national security.”
Carter stared at the general. “Evidently that restriction doesn’t apply to Sergeant Kramer or Lieutenant Jones.”
“Correct,” said the general, shooting his cuffs.
Carter looked crushed. I glanced across at Otis but he was staring straight ahead. The only one in the room who appeared unaffected was Lee. He told Carter to brief me.
Carter pushed his chair away from the table and lumbered to his feet. I had to take my hat off to the guy. When Carter began to speak you’d never have guessed he was pissed off. “We, that is ASP, ran two lists through Footprint. The first was a register of employees of the Western Australian Education Department; the second recorded every person who will be in attendance at a G20 function either as a participant, guest or employee. Elizabeth Godson, a teacher at St. Agnes’s Ladies College, has links to two people listed as attending the opening of the children’s hospital, one of the social events. An Anne Godson and...”
“Hello ... Annie is Beth’s sister. She’s a kid for Christ sake. If that’s all you’ve got, you’re clutching at straws.”
“You think so?”
“You’re damn right I think so.”
Kramer heaved himself to hi
s feet. “Permission to take a piss, Sir.” As he exited, he gave me warning look.
I understood. He’d created a diversion to give me time to simmer down.
The warning brought me to my senses. “Sorry about that, Commander ... it’s just that Beth and I go way back and I value our friendship.”
Carter was known for his good humour. He never lost his temper. At least not publicly. On cue, he summoned up a sympathetic smile. “Sure. It must be tough investigating a friend.”
“Yeah.” I nodded slowly. It was going on for ten years since I’d seen Beth. My circumstances had changed radically. I was no longer a belligerent tearaway and I was guessing she’d changed too. But not to that extent. I didn’t buy it. “Is the school attending the event, Sir?”
“Yes, St. Agnes’s is one of seven schools that have been invited to send a group of students to the opening ceremony.”
“No offence Sir, but that’s not much to build a case against her.”
“True enough and it wouldn’t have rung any bells if she wasn’t linked to a VIP who is also attending the function.” He glanced down at his notes. “Doctor Al-Karim Farouk. He’s the Director of the hospital’s Refugee Trauma Unit.”
That knocked me for six. I automatically thought terrorist. I recovered quickly. “You can’t condemn the guy just because he’s an Arab.”
“Actually the doctor’s an Australian citizen ... but as he was born in Egypt, he has dual nationality.”
“How does he know Beth?”
Both Farouk and Godson were volunteers at Hagadery, a refugee camp in East Africa.”
That came as no surprise. Doug kept me up to date with Beth’s activities. I appealed to Lee, “You know what Beth’s like, Sir ... always trying to save the world. I can’t see her getting mixed up in anything like this. What about that doctor? Does he have terrorist links?”
“No, not that we know of ... but that doesn’t mean he’s clean.”
“I agree,” put in Carter. “He’s probably a sleeper, and he’s been grooming her. Homegrown terrorists are on the rise and these two fit the profile ... an alienated Arab Australian and a misguided do-gooder.”
“Oh yeah! You’ve got nothing. You’ll have to come up with something more than supposition and coincidence to convince me.”
“Convincing you isn’t necessary.”
“Fuck you.” As soon as the expletive left my mouth, I knew I was in deep shit. I could be court martialled for disrespect to a senior officer. Thank goodness Kramer was still out of the room. Insolence directed at a superior in the presence of an enlisted man couldn’t be ignored, even if Carter was prepared to accept an apology. And from the colour of his face that seemed unlikely. But I had to take a shot. “I’m sorry, Sir ... I was out of order.”
“Damn right...”
The general raised a hand. He spoke soothingly to Carter. “Take it easy, Lewis. It’s not worth making an issue over.”
The Commander’s mouth fell open. “If you say so, Sir.” He forced out a smile. “I daresay we’ve all blown our top sometime or other.”
“No doubt,” said the general, “but that doesn’t mean it’s acceptable.” He turned back to me. “You won’t get far in the service, Lieutenant if you don’t learn to hold your temper.”
As reprimands go it was mild. Carter must have thought so too for his initial fury gave way to bewilderment at Lee’s response.
Frankly, I was surprised too. When General Lee brought Carter in over the top of me, I thought it was a signal that he no longer considered himself indebted to me. So why had the stickler for protocol brushed aside my insubordination? Did he think it was necessary to keep me sweet? Did he believe he had to buy my silence?
I was still steaming when Carter said to me, “I understand how you feel about being replaced. If I were in your shoes I’d be livid. However, heading up ASP is no place for an unqualified amateur.”
Carter’s blunt assessment of my ability to run ASP was accurate. At any rate, he respected me enough to give it me straight. “You’re not telling me anything I don’t know, Sir. I apologise for what I said earlier ... I’ve behaved like a real jerk.”
“It’s okay, apology accepted.”
From my point of view, it wasn’t okay. Advancement doesn’t count unless you win it fair and square but if I said that I’d attack the general’s integrity. After all, it was he who’d selected me for the job. I was about to offer my resignation when Kramer returned with coffee and sandwiches.
* * *
I reached for another sarnie[19]. “So you’re absolutely certain Beth Godson is in on this?”
Carter shook his head. “We won’t know for sure until we confiscate her computer. When we’re through here, I’ll phone the Commissioner of Australia’s federal police to arrange her arrest and her accomplice, Dr. Farouk”
The sergeant and the general exchanged a glance. The what-the-hell-do-we-do-now expression in Lee’s eyes was mirrored in his sergeant’s.
Otis shrugged. “Well it’s your call, Commander, but have you considered that they might not be working alone? If we jump the gun the rest of the gang could get away, or worse carry out the plan regardless. You know how fanatical these extremists are.”
Carter frowned and was silent. A moment later Lee said, “The sergeant has a point. Mo, I think you should be the one to contact her. Don’t your parents live in Perth?”
I nodded.
“Perfect. Tell her you’re on leave and thought it was time you caught up. After all you used to be close.”
Close! A series of snapshots flashed before my eyes. Beth whacking Willie Hogg over the head with a spade when he was about to bury me alive, the pair of us hanging on to each other when we were trapped in a flooded cavern, our first kiss. We had so much damn history. If it came to bringing her in; I don’t think I could.
“I can’t see her spilling the beans, Sir. She’s never said a word about...”
The look he gave me shut me up.
Carter said, “I agree with Mo. You’d be far better off getting the feds to keep her and this Farouk jerk under surveillance.”
Lee almost snarled. “We’ll do both.”
Carter was shocked. He’d never seen our poker-faced boss lose his cool. “Hey, Sir, it’s your decision.”
The general gave us both a hard look. “Damn right!” He glanced at his watch. “Mo needs to fly out tonight. Contact Andrews, Carter. Tell them to have a pilot and a plane ready to leave at 1800 hours.”
1800 hours was cutting it fine. Off peak, it took forty-five minutes to get to the base and at this time of the day, the highway would be clogged with commuters. I got to my feet. “I’ll go pack my bag, Sir.”
“Kramer will see to that. There’s some priority information I want to go over with you in private.” He looked pointedly at Carter. I felt sorry for the guy. I knew what it felt like to be excluded.
* * *
When we were alone Lee gave a sigh and said, “It was a mistake not to supervise that girl more closely.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“She wasn’t considered a security risk.”
His slight emphasis spoke volumes. Obviously, a respectable station owner’s daughter could be trusted unlike a convicted delinquent. It was a shock. I’d thought his patronage stemmed from admiration of my courage and resourcefulness in a tight situation. But now, I saw he’d considered me a wild-card whose movements had to be monitored. And short of locking me up, where better than the military!
I ought to be mad. But I’m no longer a resentful kid. And besides, piloting an F35-35A stealth fighter jet was a dream come true.
Inwardly I shrugged. “So let me get this straight, Sir ... I’m to bring her back here?”
“No way. Fly her directly to the military prison at Guantanamo Bay.
Seventeen
General Lee was adamant. No one must learn that the US had abducted an Australian citizen. He went on to say that getting the target to go with me willin
gly was crucial to the operation. Under no circumstance should I involve the federal police. My hackles rose at what I perceived to be a criticism of my country’s police force. But the general set me straight. “I know Aussie security is second to none, Mo ... but no organization is without its whistleblowers.”
I didn’t swallow his explanation. Around the globe potential terrorist plots are regularly uncovered as a result of increased surveillance. The threatened country’s courts deal with the perpetrators and the public are informed. In fact, exposing a national terrorist threat is perceived as a feather in the cap by the government of the day. Usually it’s front page news. The secrecy attached to this operation was over the top. I guess General Lee feared the ISS cover-up might come to light if Beth was questioned by the federal police. It took some doing but I steeled my heart.
“How do I get Beth to come with me, Sir?”
Otis will provide you with a pistol.”
“Beth would laugh in my face. She’d know I never use it.”
He opened a drawer and took out a pouch wrapped up in clear plastic. He handed it to me. “Then use this.”
“What is it?”
“Scopolamine, more commonly known as a rape drug. If you blow a little of the powder in Beth’s face, she’ll comply with any request.” I must have looked appalled for he quickly said, “It’s harmless. She won’t suffer any ill effects.”
I wasn’t so sure. I spent the flight to Oz, trying to figure out alternative methods of abducting her. Subterfuge seemed the most promising. Like me, Beth was fond of Doug McLeod. I was certain she’d jump at the chance of a complimentary flight to Wooroloo, particularly if I told her we could be up and back in the same day. Of course, she’d wonder what the hell was going on when the HC-130P/N used by the US for special ops headed east, but it would be too late. She’d kick up a stink once she cottoned on. So would the general if I blew the operation.
I hadn’t had to field any awkward questions on board from the pilot. It was common practice for service personnel to hitch a lift on a military command flight or a MAC, as it was more familiarly known. Shortly before landing, I changed into civvies. I concealed the air force issue pistol under my hoody in a heavy-duty elastic holder. Secretly I was thrilled ... I felt like James Bond.
