by Dale Brown
“And over an unsecured telephone,” Jefferson added. “Half of New York and Washington could have been listening in. I’m surprised there wasn’t a news crew out there in Abaete covering the battle live.” He swore silently, then impaled Jason with an angry glare. “Dammit, Richter, you never should have gotten a reporter involved in this. Task Force TALON has been blown wide open. The whole damned world will know what we’ve done by the time we get back to Cannon.”
“I don’t think it was Kristen or SATCOM One that leaked our whereabouts,” Jason said. “I think it was someone in Washington—maybe even someone in the White House.”
“How do you figure that, Major?”
“Sir, I didn’t trust this whole setup right from the beginning—something smelled from day one,” Jason said. “This whole thing was doomed to fail right from the start. I’m positive of it now.”
“This task force was formed by the National Security Adviser himself,” Jefferson said. “Chamberlain has been our strongest and probably our only supporter.”
“Then someone in his office, sir…or someone right here in this plane, has sold us out,” Jason said. “Someone involved with the project right from the start…”
“The only other ones involved early on have been…Special Agents DeLaine and Bolton,” Jefferson said.
“And you, Sergeant Major,” Kristen pointed out. Jefferson glared at her but said nothing.
“DeLaine and Bolton were working on the GAMMA angle when we first had the demonstration at Andrews Air Force Base,” Jason said. “Ari and I intercepted Kelsey’s cell phone conversations with her office, before and after the demo, and they talked about Brazilian terror groups then. She never liked me from day one, and she and Bolton have done everything possible to exclude us from their activities. I threw a monkey wrench into her entire GAMMA investigation, something she and her office had been working on for months.”
“Chamberlain certainly would’ve informed Kelsey of what we were up to in Brazil,” Jefferson said. “There could be a leak in her office…”
“If she hurriedly tried to pick up the pieces of her investigation into GAMMA and gotten operationally sloppy, she could have tipped off sources in the Brazilian government or PME…accidentally, I mean,” Kristen said. “How well do you know this person? Could she be a snitch or on Zakharov’s payroll?”
“No way,” Jefferson said. “She’s a well-known and respected FBI agent. She’s the deputy special agent in charge of counterterrorism in Washington, for Christ’s sake…!”
“Doesn’t mean she can’t be dirty, Sergeant Major,” Ariadna said.
“I don’t think it’s Kelsey,” Jason said. “It has to be someone higher up…”
“All right, that’s enough,” Jefferson said. “We’re not getting anywhere arguing about this. Once we get back to the States, I’ll have a full investigation launched. We’ll find the leak and shut it down, I guarantee it.” He picked up the satellite telephone. “I’m going to notify Chamberlain’s office of our arrival and what happened…”
Jason shook his head. “Sir, what if…?”
“Major, I heard what you said, but I don’t have the authority to launch an investigation of this magnitude,” Jefferson said. “We need the FBI, CIA, Defense Intelligence, Homeland Security, andU.S. Northern Command in on this—Chamberlain will have every investigating agency possible working on this. They’re going to work separately, independently, to get answers. No one office or individual can influence every one of them.” No one had enough energy to argue.
Several hours later, shortly after dawn, the SATCOM One jet landed at Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico, closely monitored by Patriot antiaircraft missile batteries and Avenger short-range air defense units surrounding the entire base. The Amarals were taken away in separate vehicles by the FBI, while the others were piled into Air Force blue Suburbans. Heavily armed Security Force Humvees escorted the passengers to the task force training area. They were met by each and every member of the task force…and by National Security Adviser Robert Chamberlain himself.
There was only one way to describe the mood of the place: funereal. Jason never expected a celebration on his return, but he didn’t expect so many glum faces either. Chamberlain was obviously here to deliver really bad news.
Chamberlain stepped up to the door of the Suburban as it came to a stop. Sergeant Major Jefferson was the first out of the vehicle; Chamberlain extended a hand and shook his warmly. “You’ve had one hell of a time in South America, haven’t you, Sergeant Major?” he remarked, smiling at his own joke. Jefferson said nothing. Chamberlain shook hands with Richter, Vega, Kristen Skyy, and her crew. “I’m sure you guys are tired, but we need to get the debriefing sessions out of the way as soon as we can. We have teams from my office inside waiting to speak to you.”
“I need to get in contact with my network, Mr. Chamberlain,” Kristen said. “Jefferson wouldn’t let us use the phones on the jet—he said it was per your order—and…”
“The chief of the debriefing team will let you know when you can make calls, miss,” Chamberlain said. “You won’t be unduly inconvenienced, but they have an investigation to run. Your network has been advised that you’re safe and that you’re in the direct care of my office. Have a little patience while we get all this sorted out, and everything will be fine in a very short time. You will eventually be allowed…”
“Excuse me, Mr. Chamberlain, but that’s not acceptable,” Kristen said. “We’re not allowed to make any statements to any law-enforcement or government agencies without a SATCOM One News attorney present if the incident involves our work. I understand you’re in charge of a very important investigation and that it concerns national security, sir, but the network takes our First Amendment rights very…”
“Miss Skyy.” Chamberlain now had turned his whole body toward the SATCOM One crew. Kristen was no shrinking violet, but she was clearly starting to wither under the slow but definite change in Chamberlain’s mood. “We’ve unfortunately gotten off on the wrong foot here. I’ve apparently failed to make myself clear, and for that I apologize. Let me start all over again, and I’ll try to elucidate my thoughts better:
“You are all material witnesses in an investigation into the terrorist attacks on Kingman City,” he said sternly—all traces of friendliness and relief that the team members were home alive were completely gone. “You will be questioned by various government authorities. You will be held as material witnesses for as long as necessary, and obviously if you refuse to answer, to protect your First Amendment rights or any other damn fool reason, that will just extend the time you’ll be held by us…”
“You don’t have to do it this way, Mr. Chamberlain,” Kristen said. “We can sit down with our execs and attorneys and work together to get you the information you need while preserving freedom of the press. We’re all Americans too: we want to see the ones who planned the attacks brought to justice. We can do this without trampling on the Constitution or the Bill of…”
“You may be an American, Miss Skyy, but I don’t believe for an instant that you care more about America than you do about your network’s shareholders, ratings, reputation, or bottom line,” Chamberlain interrupted. “I used to be a corporate executive, and I know how big companies go into self-protection and disaster-prep mode when the government is involved. I’m not saying that’s evil, but it certainly doesn’t help the government’s investigations. There are lives at stake here, Miss Skyy. Protecting the American people from another attack trumps the press’s right to report a juicy story.”
“Mr. Chamberlain, I’m telling you, we can work together on this,” Kristen maintained. “Call my network—they won’t shut you out, I guarantee it. We’ll agree to sit on the story for as long as necessary until you catch Zakharov, Khalimov, and whoever is financing or supporting them. We’ll turn over every scrap of tape and notes we have to…”
“Miss Skyy, every scrap of tape, video, recordings, or notes will be turned ove
r to us immediately, or we will take them away from you by force,” Chamberlain said. “The chief of the investigation team has a briefcase full of warrants for the information, and he has a federal judge standing by ready to issue more warrants twenty-four-seven. I don’t need your network’s permission or coordination to get the information. And if there’s any information that you’ve already transmitted to your network, that will be turned over to us as well, or we’ll shut down your entire network on the spot.”
“Don’t do it, Mr. Chamberlain,” Kristen insisted. “You’ll have the entire country turned against you once it comes out that you’ve done this. The world press will condemn you…”
“I really don’t care about the world press, Ma’am—I only care about the United States of America,” Chamberlain said. “And you obviously have no idea about the mood of the American people right now. They want to do everything possible to stop this wave of terrorist violence sweeping this country, and they’re doing everything necessary to help accomplish that. They’re donating their money, time, and most important their full support to the cause, and they don’t think kindly of folks like you in the press who think they have some special privilege. You have information that can help us protect this country, and you will turn it over to us immediately and completely or we will take away your freedom and your rights as citizens until you do. It’s as simple as that.”
He turned to Jefferson, Richter, and Vega: “Of course I expect the utmost cooperation from you three. Major, Doctor, you two face very serious criminal charges, but your cooperation in our investigation is more important right now, so you will not be charged with a crime. That means you can be held indefinitely as material witnesses. The criminal charges will be addressed after the investigation is complete, which could take a very long time.
“Needless to say, Task Force TALON’s future was in serious question as of the day you three left this base to go off on your own,” Chamberlain went on. “I haven’t been specifically ordered to shut down the task force, but I doubt if the President will allow it to continue if its commanders are found guilty of a crime. I’m afraid it’s out of my hands. I’ll do everything I can to keep it alive, but I’m sure I’ve lost all credibility with the White House as far as you’re concerned.”
“Sir, we have got to sit down with you and tell you what we learned in Brazil,” Jason said. “We have information that will prove…”
“It’s too late for that, Major—you should have come to me immediately,” Chamberlain said wearily. “We could have taken this right to the White House. In less time than it took you to organize this stunt with Kristen Skyy, we could have mounted a full frontal assault on all the suspects you were after—it would have been fully sanctioned and supported by both the American and Brazilian governments. We could have descended on all those locations at once and set up an airtight trap for those Russians. It would have been Task Force TALON’s first and best operation, an example of what a true military-civil cooperative team could do. Instead, you decided to go off on your own, and now we’re all paying for your mistake. You blew it, Major—it’s that simple.”
He glared at Richter suspiciously, then shook his head sadly. “This is the most egregious, the most outrageous, the most foolhardy example of abuse of power and authority I’ve witnessed in all my years of government service. You were America’s best hope to track down terrorists all over the world, Major Richter. I trusted you. I wanted this thing to work, and I was hoping that technology like your CID unit would be the key. Unfortunately, you thought you didn’t need to work as a team. Not only will you and your fellow teammates, but all of America, pay the price for your lack of judgment. I should have provided better leadership.”
He looked around at all of the assembled task force members and said, “This training area has now become your detention facility, folks. All of your weapons will be impounded here and used as evidence. You are all material witnesses, and you will be held here indefinitely until our investigation is complete. You will retain your current rank, pay grade, and privileges until formal charges are levied against you. Until then, I expect nothing less than your full cooperation.” And with that, Chamberlain walked away and into his waiting vehicle and drove off.
After he was gone, the others started to drift away, murmuring comments quietly to one another, until eventually only Jefferson, Richter, Vega, Skyy, Kelsey DeLaine, Carl Bolton, Doug Moore, and Kristen’s camera crew remained.
Moore was the first to approach Richter. “I trusted you, sir,” he said simply before he walked away.
Kelsey walked over to them, looked at the wounds on Ariadna’s face with a look of concern…then turned to Richter and slapped him hard across the face. “You stupid jerk!” she shouted. “You egotistical ignorant childish bastard! You not only destroyed this task force but the careers of each and every person here!”
“You guys still don’t get it, do you?” Jason asked. “This is a setup. We’re being framed…”
“We’re not listening to you, Richter!” Bolton interjected. “You’re nothing but a crazy-ass flake. I’d sleep with one eye open from now on if I were you, buster, because folks are going to realize that their lives would be pretty much back to normal if you got yourself fragged.”
“That is enough!” Sergeant Major Jefferson shouted.
“Hey, Sergeant Major, I’m not going to listen to a damned thing you have to say either!” Bolton retorted. “You could have stopped Richter before he left the country with the CID unit! Then, when you got your clearance to go to Brazil, you over-stepped it by going to chase down that other GAMMA terrorist. You have absolutely no right to be ordering us around. You’re just as responsible for us getting shut down as he is…!”
“I am still in command of this task force…”
“Didn’t you hear, Sergeant Major—there is no task force any more, thanks to you and Richter! There’s nothing here but a bunch of soldiers and engineers in a detention facility!”
“Mr. Chamberlain did not disband this task force—until he does, I retain command of this unit, and we will continue to organize and train as before, with any equipment and resources we are allowed to have,” Jefferson said hotly. “If we’re not given any equipment to use, we’ll use sticks and stones; and if we’re not allowed to use those, we’ll do PT; but we will continue to train.”
“This is bullshit, Jefferson,” Bolton said. “It’s a waste of time. I’m not doing anything you tell me to do.”
“Until I am relieved of command, I am in charge here,” Jefferson said in a low, menacing voice, “and my first directive is aimed squarely at you, Agent Bolton—if you touch Major Richter or anyone else here with the intent of causing them any physical harm, I will personally beat you to a bloody pulp and hang your carcass on the barbed-wire fence. And if you don’t follow my orders to the letter, I’ll make your existence here at this facility extremely uncomfortable. Do I make myself clear?”
Bolton stepped over to Jefferson and stood face to face with him. Bolton was much taller than Jefferson and probably had ten to fifteen kilos on him—it would be a spectacular fight, if one broke out.
But with one look at Jefferson’s icy warning glare, Bolton blinked and backed away. “Tell me, Sergeant Major—why do you give a shit so much about that loser?” Bolton asked in a low voice. “He hasn’t been part of this team since day one; he’s succeeded in getting us all canned and ruining our careers. What do you care what happens to him? If he ends up with his teeth pushed in so he can’t talk anymore, this whole thing would be over, wouldn’t it?”
“Not by a long shot, Bolton,” Jefferson said. “If that happened, I would be extremely suspicious of the guy who did it. It would make me wonder why that guy would want to make sure Richter was permanently silenced.”
“You think I had something to do with Richter taking the CID unit to Brazil?”
“No, I’m sure that was the major’s idea, along with Miss Skyy there,” Jefferson replied. “But I’
m wondering about how we got ambushed so well out there. Someone knew we were coming and tipped off the terrorists…”
“And you think I did it?”
“I don’t know who did it, Bolton,” Jefferson said. “But until I do, everyone is a suspect—and I’d consider the guy who threatens to bump off Richter the number-one suspect.” Bolton looked as if he was going to say something, but thought better of it and remained silent. “Now I’m going to repeat my order just one more time: anyone who harms any other person in this facility will deal with me. Am I making myself perfectly clear?” Jefferson affixed an angry glare on every face around him, then shouted, “I said, do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, sir!” the others responded loudly.
“Until we receive orders to the contrary,” Jefferson went on, “we will continue to study our tactics, develop and refine our TO&E, and maintain our training schedule. Everyone trains, or they will get to experience the feel of my boot on their ass—and that includes you, Bolton. You will all cooperate fully with the investigators…” He turned to Kristen’s crew and added, “and that includes you too…”
“Like hell it does, Sergeant Major,” Kristen said. “We have our orders, same as you, and our orders say we don’t speak with anyone unless we have an attorney present. Just tell us where our quarters are—that’s where you’ll find us.”
“Miss Skyy…”
“And don’t give me that ‘boot up my ass’ crap, Sergeant Major,” Rich the cameraman interjected. “I was a Marine—I can dish it out better than I can take it.”
Jefferson knew there was no use arguing with them—he had absolutely no authority over them at all. “Very well. I’ll see to quarters for you. You will be restricted there at all times except as required by the debriefing teams. I’ll post a guard if necessary.” Kristen, Rich, and Bonnie could do nothing else but shoot Jefferson evil glares and walk away. Jefferson checked his watch. “Pass the word along to everyone else: our training schedule resumes after lunch. In the meantime, I want an update on our training and readiness, and I will brief the staff on what we learned in Brazil. That is all. Dismissed.” Soon just Jefferson, Richter, and Vega remained on the parking ramp outside the hangars.
