Then, after arrival in Asadabad, they would be leaving their escorts behind and would supposedly be dropping Missy off at a secret location in the city where she’d be staying for several days. Forty minutes later, Les and Mike would rejoin their escorts and they’d all return to Kabul. No one would know Missy had actually gotten out earlier, during one of those stops they’d made. And, Major Flament would only know that one member of this strange party that he was responsible for was away for a while; he didn’t need to know exactly where or why.
-----
Dec 25, 2018
Missy was about as thrilled and excited as she’d ever been in her life. All her senses were experiencing new things, very different from any of the mountains she’d been in before, but with many similarities as well. The pine trees and the snow and the rugged rocky terrain … so much to explore. The scents all around her were what she was noticing the most. She’d been moving for hours, working her way westward from where she’d left Mike.
That had been at their third stop, just a few kilometers before Narang and about twenty kilometers from Asadabad. She and Mike had gone into the woods where she’d stripped naked except for her GPS collar and had Changed. Mike had picked up all her discarded clothing. Then, she’d waited while Mike checked with Marsha, who verified the GPS signals were still coming through just fine. Then, off she’d gone. She and Mike had already talked about everything and had said their goodbyes during the drive from Kabul. Now it was time for them both to focus on this crazy assignment. What a way to be celebrating Christmas!
The Kunar Province had over a dozen districts but -- based on the Intel concerning where the kidnapped German engineers were probably being held -- the area for Missy to search was north of the Narang Valley, west of the Kunar River and south of the Pech River. This was in the Pech and Chapa Dara Districts. Further west and north was Nuristan, but the road from Chapa Dara to Nuristan was impassible this time of year, which made that area less likely. The road from Asadabad to Chapa Dara followed along the Pech River and was being maintained and was still passable.
This area of the Hindu Kush mountains was well over four hundred square miles, with at least fifty villages scattered in the valleys, surrounded by mountain ridges rising to over ten thousand feet. Typically, the valleys were down at three thousand feet. A lot to cover in just ten days. Missy intended to grab a few hours sleep during the daytime periods and would do most of her moving around and exploring during the night. She really loved being in the mountains, running wild and free in her cat form.
According to the Intel which “P” Branch had obtained, both from the U.S. military and the CIA, there was supposedly some sort of Taliban base that had been established in this area after the U.S. withdrawal of its troops in 2014. With only the minimal security forces that the U.S. military and NATO had left behind to assist the Afghanistan army, the Afghan government had not been able to prevent the resurgence by the Taliban and al Qaeda. The unmanned Predator drone aircraft that had continued to spy on this area, flying at twenty thousand feet, had provided a lot of films and photos. And, the U.S. government photo analysts had been able to confirm activity in the area, activity suspected to be that of Islamist extremists. However, they had not been successful in pinpointing just where the suspected base might be located.
While finding three kidnapped engineers would indeed be looking for a needle in the haystack, perhaps finding where this new base was located might be something feasible. That’s what her “P” Branch buddies had actually considered she could accomplish, which would indeed be a significant finding. Odds were only fifty-fifty on whether the kidnap victims would be there, but that was far better odds than any other plan for finding them.
So, Missy was searching and exploring. It was freezing cold but, since this was also winter time back home, her fur was thick and protecting her over here in these mountains just as it would be had she been in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. She had checked out four villages so far, but there was no evidence of anything other than farmers and herdsmen with mostly cattle, goats and sheep being kept by these sedentary villagers. No electricity, no vehicles, no activity to suggest the presence of anyone else. And, nothing was going on up on the surrounding mountain sides. When she’d reported all this to Mike, his feedback had indicated this was as expected. No one was outside at this time of night and the smells and scents were easy to categorize.
Missy was now very hungry and went up into the higher ridge regions, above the valley, searching for game. As the dawn began to break, she located where some wild goats had been spending the night. An hour later, with her belly full and what remained from her fresh kill hidden for another meal later, she finally crawled into a small cave. Get some rest, Mike. And, Merry Christmas to all! Ten minutes later she was sound asleep.
-----
As he watched Mike get up, stretch and head off to get some rest, Les looked over at his wife and said, “You should try and get some sleep now, too. I’ve got things covered here.” He had slept for four hours earlier but Marsha had been up with Mike all night. She had also been marking up the detailed maps of the area Missy was searching, showing GPS location coordinates for each of the time intervals when Mike had been recording the messages he’d been getting. This time and place info, along with the transcripts of what Mike was recording, was all being processed by their “P” Branch team back in Washington.
Then, Intel reports from their “asset” would be getting sent out. If and when something significant was found, proper clearances were already in place for taking direct action. When Drew Martinson had outlined what his team believed these reports might reveal, there had been a lot of interest on Capitol Hill. There also had been a lot of skepticism. But, the Secretary of Defense was one of the officials who knew “P” Branch was monitoring supernatural individuals, some of which were rumored to have incredible powers and abilities. When Drew had confirmed one of these “assets” had volunteered and could provide reliable firsthand information about this area in Afghanistan, possibly even locating the base rumored to be out there? The Defense Secretary had made sure there would be full support.
For Les and Marsha, being part of all this actually happening -- a first for any such venture -- was beyond incredible. They’d only been talking about “what might be possible someday” and, suddenly, that day was actually here and now. Today. Yes, it was Christmas but it was also “day one” for Missy’s ten day search and -- so far -- everything was going as planned.
Marsha said, “I don’t think I can sleep yet. I’m still wired from all of this. You know?” She sighed and studied her husband. “Did you actually sleep okay?”
“Well, I tossed and turned for what seemed forever, but then I did finally sleep for a while.” Les smiled and shook his head. “You really need to rest while you can. How’s Mike holding up? This has to be really stressful for him.”
“Oh, it is but you’ll never hear him complain. Not unless Missy gets into some kind of trouble. That bond of theirs? He told me it was strange for him, at first … the way she’s constantly inside his mind, sharing her thoughts and feelings throughout the day. But, he explained what initially had seemed a bit of a distraction soon changed and became a drug for him, an addiction he can never get enough of. And, that was months ago, long before all this.”
Les said, “So, is it different now? With her sending him reports?”
Marsha said, “She’s telling him stuff but then she pauses after every couple of sentences. She knows he’s then repeating what she tells him into the microphone and so she waits. They have a sort of rhythm together. He listens to her and then he talks into the mic, listens and talks, listens and talks. It’s rare to see him get frustrated, which sometimes happens if they do get out of sync. Then, there’s some back and forth where she’s asking him questions and he’s giving her either yes or no answers. He’s not talking then, of course, but you can see it happening; it’s a lot of effort for him.”
“Y
es, she can’t read his mind but she can experience his feelings. They told me how that works during that drive out to where we dropped her off.” Les shook his head, thinking about them. “She’s as addicted to experiencing him all day long as he is to hearing her words in his mind. They’re really something.”
Chapter Nine
Dec 26, 2018
It was still two hours before dusk would descend, but Missy roused herself and went over to where she’d left the remains of another wild goat. Time to get going again. She’d finished checking all the villages in Narang Valley prior to settling down for her nap but now there was a ridge to cross and four more villages on the other side. She wanted to finish checking those, along with all the shale and rocky terrain surrounding them, and then be well on her way towards the Shuryek Valley by dawn.
She planned to spend one or two days working her way up that valley towards the Pech River and then start back down the Korengal Valley. She’d spend three full days working her way southwest through the dozen or so villages in that, checking both the villages and the surrounding mountain slopes. Yeah, the Valley of Death.
Having been at West Point for six months, Missy had heard various military quotes all basically stating, “Yeah, though I walk through the valley of death, I will fear no evil; for I am the meanest, baddest ‘vulgar-expletive’ in the valley.” Recalling these quotes, she mentally smiled to herself. With all the bears in hibernation, she indeed was the biggest predator out there, other than the humans. Any wolves or snow leopards she might encounter would be smaller. Even so, she needed to avoid any wild animal packs. And, of course, she wanted to avoid being seen by any humans.
Finally, if she hadn’t found anything in that Korengal Valley area, she’d go over to the Chapa Dara Province, where she’d spend another two or three days. Then, she’d get herself out and back to Kabul. Plan the work and work the plan.
Hey, Mike! I’m up again and will be heading out soon. Let me know when you’re ready to record some more of my reports. When she felt him respond, she finished her meal. Then, as she headed up the ridge, it began snowing again. Soon, her reddish brown coat was covered and had anyone been watching, she would have appeared mostly white, blending right in with her surroundings. But, no one else was out there and as she trekked on ahead, climbing onward through the lonely, desolate surroundings, even her tracks were quickly filled in leaving no trace of her at all.
-----
Mike entered their office and when Les looked up, he said, “Hey, Les. It’s snowing out there where she is right now. But, she’s moving again.”
“Yeah, I’ve been marking her progress for the last half hour … she’s crossing that ridge right there.” Les pointed to the map to show Mike where she was.
“Having her merely send in all these negative reports is really worthwhile, huh?” asked Mike.
Les said, “Oh, yes. No one really expected she’d find much in Narang Province but it’s good to have that confirmed. And, I’m being told that her descriptions of each of these villages so far has agreed very well with what was known about the area. That is giving her a lot of credibility so folks getting these reports can all see that our ‘asset’ is really out there, providing firsthand observations.”
“I guess credibility is really important, since you guys at “P” Branch haven’t ever been a source for any military Intel before, right?”
“Exactly. Before this, the only involvement we ever had with any supernaturals was having them help us with identifying and monitoring other supernaturals. And, on rare instances -- as you know -- we have assisted where needed to avoid their exposure or else to cover up for them. The general public isn’t really going to want to deal with any real witches or werecats, after all.”
Mike nodded, recalling a conversation he’d had with Tracy’s Mom. Real witches did not openly admit to the rest of the world that they were witches. Too often, over the centuries, that had turned out badly. Even though none of the witches convicted in Salem back in 1692-1693 were real witches, those trials and executions clearly illustrated how hostile and prejudiced many people could be, and those same sentiments still existed today. There weren’t really that many true witches and they were careful to keep their covens and witchcraft very secret.
Mike knew there were even fewer wereanimals and secrecy was always a priority for them as well. But, when it was a matter of life or death, self-preservation was a higher priority. And, that’s where “P” Branch had been helping out supernaturals for the past forty years or so. Helping to avoid bad situations when they could and -- when they couldn’t -- covering up afterwards for those situations which didn’t turn out well.
Mike said, “I know Missy really appreciates all the help you guys have given her.” He smiled, thinking about all that had happened during the last year.
What had started out as Missy simply trying to help protect her friend Alice had eventually led to her being targeted by both the East Boston and New York criminal organizations. And, on her own, there had been a few deaths which she was responsible for. While “P” Branch had agreed those kills had been fully justified, they didn’t want Missy being a vigilante. So, they had her FBI friend Robert Ulrey contact her. He’d told her all about “P” Branch, who they were and what they did. He’d explained how they’d identified her as a werecat and how they would help her deal with those crime bosses. Since then, she hadn’t killed anyone and things had actually settled down.
“I hope this won’t stir things up too much. You know … if they like the Intel reports you guys provide them, what else will they want?” Mike definitely felt he and Missy were in way over their heads.
Les said, “Well, it’s a very fine line we’re trying to follow here. The government officials who actually know there are supernaturals are the ones who’ve insisted on our non interference policy. But, if our funding gets cut -- due to most folks in the government having no idea there are real supernaturals -- the consequences might be rather dire. So, this effort to rescue some kidnapped engineers … and maybe positively locate where this new base might be in the process …”
“Yeah, I know. Missy joked about more ‘birdseed for the little birdie’ during that briefing. I just don’t want my little birdie to be taken advantage of. After all, she’s really a cat and not a little birdie. If they ever figure out she can do more than just provide firsthand observations?” Mike studied Les. He knew from his reaction that the same thought had crossed the minds of those “P” Branch folks. They obviously had wrestled with that but had opted to go forward with this recon plan anyway.
-----
Dec 28, 2018
Missy once again was venturing forth as the sun was dropping down on the horizon. She had napped and her stomach was full, but she was feeling somewhat tired. This would be her fifth night and the strenuous effort was taking its toll. She had covered a lot of ground, just getting to where she was. Now, at the northern end of the Korengal Valley which she’d entered earlier that morning, she was approaching the more likely locations for that new base.
And, she had indeed noted where many more vehicles had been traveling back and forth. Not recently, but there was evidence near Kandagal where some traffic definitely had been present, leaving the main road from Asadabad that followed along the Pech River and going down into the valley. There hadn’t been anything like that in the Shuryek Valley or Narang Province. Earlier, she’d asked Mike to check if this was consistent with what the spy cameras flying in those drone aircraft might have seen. She’d just heard back from him on that question; he’d said yes.
Obviously, the military had not wanted to tell “P” Branch ahead of time about some of the details they had concerning what they suspected. But, as she was discovering these things on the ground, they were now willing to confirm them. Well, okay. That meant there really was some new base and she was probably going to find it somewhere up ahead.
She knew any base would probably need electricity and that meant generators. I
n order to run those, fuel trucks would have been needed, making trips back and forth, filling fuel tanks somewhere and storing an adequate supply of fuel for those generators.
She knew from her briefings how cave complexes had been used twenty years earlier, over in Tora Bora, not too far from the Kyber Pass and about as far south of Jalalabad as she was now north of it. Those caves had housed a couple hundred people and had used hydroelectric power from the mountain streams. But, this time of year, most streams were now frozen so if generators were being used for power, up in the mountains where she was, barrels of fuel would need to have been brought in.
While her earlier travels had not shown evidence of any such traffic, what she was seeing now, coming down from Kandagal and continuing beyond the first few villages she’d checked out, definitely suggested activity somewhere in the Korengal Valley ahead. And, based on everything she’d seen, that activity was far beyond what she now knew was needed by those Pashtun farmers for their cattle, goats and sheep.
Several hours later, after three more villages, she was almost halfway down the valley. And, she found the base. She’d been moving quickly, as the vehicle traffic had clearly been continuing onward, so while she’d been fairly thorough in checking out the villages and the surrounding areas, she’d almost felt like Dorothy following the yellow brick road in the Land of Oz. And, now the traffic evidence had pretty much petered out. She didn’t actually see any vehicles, at first, but she did find several large staging areas. She could understand why spy planes hadn’t really spotted these areas, as they were all very well hidden. Most were protected from view by the large pine trees but there were also some areas with large camouflage netting.
She was able to approach each area easily enough as no guards had been posted. For this time of night, out where the areas were as remote as these were, obviously no one was worried about these staging areas. She worked her way through each of them, providing Mike with detailed descriptions as she went. And, eventually she located where a few vehicles were parked. Soon afterward, she spotted a large cave which had even more vehicles. Yes, there had to be some sort of a military base nearby as this was well away from any village.
Missy's First Mission Page 7
