Patriots Betrayed

by John Grit

  She looked across the seat at him. “Oh, that’s how it is now. Not that I blame you, but I don’t believe it.”

  He started the van and put it in gear. “You don’t believe what?”

  “That you don’t care. You love this country as much as anyone; it’s why you joined the company in the first place.”

  Checking the traffic before pulling out of the drive, he asked, “And why is it you know all of that?”

  “Because you told me.”

  “I lie for a living, or did.”

  “So did I. But we don’t lie to each other.”

  He took his eyes off the road for a second and turned to her. “No. I’ve never lied to you. Never had to.”

  She didn’t say anything for nearly a minute. “The woman you left back there, when you left your new life behind… do you love her? And don’t say there wasn’t anyone. I know you, and you wouldn’t live without a woman for long.”

  He flinched. “That’s dirty, Carla. We were through when you left the company, and for all I knew you had married. As I recall it was you who insisted we stop seeing each other. You said it was time for you to leave everything behind, including me.”

  “Don’t get mad. We’re adults. I was just asking because I don’t want her pulling you back.” She wiped her face. “It’s starting to feel like we never separated, like those years apart never happened. I just don’t want to be hurt is all.”

  He reached over and took her hand. “If you’re afraid I’ll hurt you like you did me, don’t be. I’m not the kind to leave someone unless staying means her death. I think she and I were more like close friends, but I wouldn’t have dumped her if it didn’t mean her life. I had to leave everything behind, especially her, for her own safety.”

  “But now that you’ve left her and you’re with me, what does that mean?”

  “It means I’m with you, unless you run me off again.”

  She squeezed his hand. “Did you ever think about why I had to ‘run you off,’ as you put it?”

  “Every day for a long time.”

  She lifted his hand to her face. “Company’s orders. It was one of the conditions of my retirement. They didn’t trust you keeping new secrets from me.”

  He found a place to pull over, so they could talk. “I suspected they knew about us, but there was no way to know for certain.”

  “So you didn’t hate me as much as I hated myself?”

  “Of course I didn’t hate you. A woman has the right to end a relationship, especially a CIA spook. You know, I contacted you because you were in danger. I didn’t mean to drag you into this.”

  She forced a smile. “I wonder what made you think that. All those killers outside my apartment?”

  “Yeah. Just crazy I guess.” He pulled out into traffic. “Now that we’ve cleared the air, I would rather not see any more tears.”

  “Right. We’ll keep the topic on less painful stuff, like how not to get killed.” She looked out her window. “I’m sure that’s less scary for you.”

  “True.”

  ~~~

  President Riley flung the morning’s newspaper in the wastebasket. “Another series of reports raging against me and the CIA. Congress is buried under letters, emails, and calls demanding my impeachment. I’m starting to feel like Nixon must have when his own party turned against him.”

  CIA Director Dulling sat in the Oval Office and sipped his coffee. “This Tea Party nut, Senator Sandy Mann, has been in the opposition forefront, calling for your resignation.”

  “Yeah,” President Riley said, “so I’ve noticed. I sure wish that bastard would fall off a cliff and disappear.”

  Trey pretended he didn’t hear the president suggest the assassination of a sitting U.S. senator.

  “What do you think, Trey?” Dulling asked.

  Trey stopped examining the intricate artwork on the ceiling long enough to pretend to answer. “I’m certain that Senator Mann’s parents were married. Therefore technically, he’s not a bastard.”

  Dulling almost spit his coffee on the carpet. “I was asking about the Sand Man, as he’s called by his friends, falling off a cliff.”

  Trey couldn’t hide his distaste with the subject. “Do me a favor and don’t ask questions like that. I want no part of it. There’s no evidence to suggest Senator Mann is a threat to national security, so he’s not on my radar. The president’s political problems are not part of my job, and unless Senator Mann has become a spy for a foreign nation or has joined a terrorist group, there is no reason for me to put him on my radar.”

  Dulling leaned closer with a devilish smirk. “You didn’t vote for him, did you? The Tea Party’s full of racists and anti-Semites. Everybody knows that.”

  Trey rolled his eyes. “Even if it were true, that doesn’t fall within my job description. There is no evidence the Tea Party is a national threat. They’re actually less violent than the Democrat Party.”

  Dulling seemed surprised. “You being black, one would think you’d be more sensitive to such things.”

  Trey grew tired of the games. “I appreciate your concern for my blackness and sensitivity, but this conversation is going nowhere. Stop the shit. The fact is the president is in hot water because of you and the CIA, so stop the bullshit.”

  Dulling started to reply, but was cut off by President Riley. “Trey’s got a point. My falling off a cliff comment was rhetorical.” He pointed a warning finger. “Do not touch Senator Mann, James, or any other senator or congressman. I’ve had enough of your trigger-happy shenanigans. I’m also beginning to think I should call you off those two former agents. They’ve done all the damage they can do anyway.”

  Dulling grew serious. “The rogue agents can still do immeasurable damage to national security. They know too much.” He glanced at Trey and back to the president. “If you want a more detailed report, we’ll have to have some privacy.”

  Trey stood. “Mr. President, you have my written report on the top ten current threats to national security, so if you have no further need of me, I would like to get back to my office.”

  President Riley checked his Rolex. “Certainly. It’s getting late, anyway. And I apologize for James’ uncouth bullshit.”

  “Oh, I apologize too.” Dulling stared at Trey, a smirk on his face. “I was just joking.”

  Trey suppressed a frown and turned his attention to the president. “Good night, Mr. President.” He left the Oval Office.

  Dulling motioned toward the door with his head. “He’s trouble. All that shit about duty; honor; country they pumped into him in the military.”

  “I don’t believe he ever went to West Point,” Riley said. “But I catch your drift. He’s not a team player, you’re saying. The thing is he’s good at his job.”

  Dulling’s eyes became slits. “What if the rogue agents killed him?”

  Riley seemed to lose patience, almost rolling his eyes. “Just keep an eye on him.”

  Dulling nodded. “I’ll start working on it and get back with you later today with a plan.”

  President Riley’s angry voice bounced off the walls. “Don’t be so damn eager. Trey is a good man.” He raised a finger in the air. “Don’t even think about it. What makes you think your way is always the answer?”

  “Of course, I’ll do what you say. But you do know he has contacted several military veterans’ organizations? The ones who’ve been protesting and sending letters to Congress.”

  Riley stormed around his desk and got in Dulling’s face. “Do nothing without my approval! No. Scratch that. Just don’t touch him, period! Don’t even go near him except in this office and keep your people away from him and his family! Do you understand?”

  Dulling nodded and quietly left the room.

  ~~~

  A week later, just after dark, Trey stopped on the way home from work to pick up a few things, so his wife could cook dinner. He emerged from the store with a bag of groceries and headed for the parking lot. It had been another hot day in
Washington in more ways than one. He squeezed the electronic key and unlocked the doors on approaching his Cadillac. A moving shadow in a dark area on the edge of the lot caught his attention. He pretended not to notice, but changed course, moving quickly to his left, putting an SUV between him and potential danger. He had been expecting an attempt on his life for weeks. The president knew he wasn’t in agreement with certain crimes committed under color of authority, and the constitutional violations were intolerable to his mind. Even more dangerous, Director Dulling knew he wasn’t a ‘team player.’

  Echoing footfalls tapped on concrete, and a man emerged from the shadows, rushing toward him. Trey dropped the bag and ran, knowing he was about to be killed. Two quick shots rang out, sounding almost as one, from farther away and from a different direction than he expected. Trey hit the ground and crawled under a pickup. As he did, the distinct sound of a pistol clattering on concrete reached his ears. He stopped crawling long enough to look out from under the pickup and see the gunman lying dead next to his pistol, thirty yards away.

  Boots hammered concrete, and Trey could tell there was more than one man. His heart raced.

  A familiar voice yelled out. “Trey, you okay?” It was Ken Linder, Trey’s friend from his Special Forces days.

  Trey got out from under the pickup and stood, astonishment on his face. “Ken? What the hell?”

  Linder and another man ran up to him. Linder scanned the area for threats, his pistol ready. “Come on. Leave your car. We’ll get you out of here.”

  The three men took off on a run, heading for the street and a waiting four-wheel-drive pickup with oversize mud tires. They piled in and Linder burned rubber.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” Trey asked.

  Linder kept his eyes on the road, when he wasn’t checking the mirror for a tail. The other man had an M4 in his lap. He scanned the sidewalk and intersections on his side of the pickup for trouble.

  After he was certain they weren’t being followed, Linder said, “We’ve been keeping an eye on you for days. It’s obvious you’ve pissed some high-ups off, so we expected you to disappear soon. Some of us from the old unit decided we wouldn’t like that, so we’ve been watching you and your family.”

  Trey grew angry. “You should have asked me first. I’ve been thinking I was getting paranoid, knowing I was followed every day. It was you guys I’ve been seeing.”

  “No.” Linder shook his head. “You were being followed. We were following your followers. It wasn’t us you saw; we’re too good for that.”

  “I want to see my wife and children,” Trey demanded.

  The other man hit a speed dial button. “There’s been a failed hit. Get ready. We’re bringing him in.”

  Trey turned to Linder. “Bringing me where?”

  “Your home,” Linder said. “We have men protecting your family, but you really need to pack and come with us. We’ve got a safe house for you and your wife and kids.”

  Trey slammed his right fist into his other hand. “Shit! It was Dulling who ordered it. The son of a bitch! Either he knew I’ve already talked or was afraid I would sooner or later.”

  Linder’s eyes rounded. “The CIA Director?”

  “Yep,” Trey said. “You’re in the deep shit now. I can’t say I’m not grateful for you saving me tonight, but you guys have really stepped in it.”

  The man on the right side of the cab extended his hand. “Just call me Bob. And don’t worry; we’ve all been in deep shit many times. This country’s worth being in deep shit for.”

  ~~~

  Raylan lay next to Carla in back of the van, thinking about her in the dark while she slept. Outside, the sounds of a forest night penetrated the thin steel walls surrounding them. The mountain air was cool at such a high altitude, and they both enjoyed the warmth of a blanket. So it wasn’t her choice to dump him all those years ago. It seemed there had been no other man in her life since that day, and he was floored over the thought of that. He was guessing, but from what she said and how she had said it, his feeling was she had been alone since breaking up their relationship. He couldn’t be sure of that, and he certainly wasn’t going to ask. She would probably take it wrong. Of course the fact was he wouldn’t think any less of her. He had expected her to have someone else. No, it was the possibility she hadn’t had another man in her life for so long that floored him. The idea that she was so alone all that time bothered him for some reason. Nearly three years. He almost felt guilty for not being alone himself. Pearl had not been the only one. What Pearl had been was a damn good friend. Someone to talk with and have a good time. The others before her were more about getting over Carla. Dump a couple women and treat them the way he had been treated. It was stupid and immature, but he did it. Now he wished he hadn’t. No one should be used and dumped like that.

  He believed that, in his own way, he loved her. Even if much of their attraction had been physical and professional respect, over time, he had developed powerful feelings for her. When he was a young man, he wasn’t so sure love was much more than physical attraction and friendship. He was wrong. He had been wrong about a lot of things. His worst mistake was working for the CIA. His second worst mistake was believing Carla when she said she didn’t want to see him again.

  They lived in a violent world of situational ethics and constant deception, where allegiances could shift in a heartbeat and nothing was true and everyone lied, even to lovers, especially to lovers. It was a hell of a life, more hell than life. What a price to pay for a decision made while still in college and barely an adult. The CIA recruiter was slick, going heavy on talking about serving your country. If only that one thing were true! It might be worth it if he could actually believe he had been serving the American people, protecting them. But so much of it was a lie. Too much to balance the rest.

  He put his mouth close to her ear and whispered, “There is one person in this world you can trust.”

  Chapter 11

  President Riley fumed. He listened over the phone, as a Secret Service agent reported that Trey had disappeared and had not been seen in days, ditto his entire family. “Thank you,” he said, keeping his rage over Dulling disobeying him contained. Damn it! I told him to keep a low profile for now and to leave Trey alone. The maniac even sanctioned Trey’s family. How did I ever go so wrong? Where was that first step into hell? Dulling! I confided in him about my mistress and the baby and the next thing I know he’s talking me into letting him have Mita murdered. Everything went downhill from there. “Keep me posted on any news.” After hanging up, he put his shaking hand to his forehead, his mind racing through a miasma of confusion. What to do? What to do? Dulling had to go. He was out of control. But how? Dulling knew everything and would surely talk if removed from his post atop the CIA. And who could he find to replace him? He needed someone who could be trusted. Oh God, what am I going to do?

  Riley picked up the phone and punched in a number. He didn’t give Dulling a chance to say any more than hello. “James… get your ass here. Now!” He hung up. He always carries one of those CIA ceramic knives that slides into a slot in his belt. Okay, that’s good enough. But first I had better make damn sure he has it with him. He thought for a moment, his eyes flashing around the room as he formulated a plan. I hate to get my hands bloody, but I’m the only one I can trust to do this and not talk. He went to his desk and pulled a .38 Special revolver out of a drawer. After checking to be sure it was loaded, he slipped it in his right jacket pocket.

  He nearly jumped when his cell phone rang. He saw it was Dulling. “Just get your ass over here now. I have nothing to say until you’re here.”

  Dulling put on a show of calm. “I know what’s eating at you. He’s okay. He and his family have just skipped out. No one knows where.”

  “I have nothing to say until you are here. Remember, you’re not on a secure line. You’re on the airwaves, for God’s sake!” He hung up. He didn’t believe Dulling for a second. Trey was dead and his family too. Th
ere was no way to hide his disappearance from the press. It just might be the last straw that costs him the presidency. The man was well known in the veterans’ organizations. They would be screaming for answers. Damn you Dulling! Now more people may start believing the rogue agents’ accusations.

  Dulling stopped at the White House gate. The guard recognized him and pushed the button. The gate opened and Dulling drove to his usual parking space. At the White House security entrance, Dulling stood and waited for a Secret Service agent to wave him through the metal detector. As he passed through, an alarm went off. He smiled at the two serious-looking agents, one a woman. “Oh. It must be all the keys I have in my pocket.” He pulled out a large ring full of keys and handed it to the woman. Then he turned around and went back through. This time no alarm sounded. He was escorted by the female agent, who left him with the receptionist outside the Oval Office.

  President Riley sat behind his desk, waiting for Dulling to close the door behind him. “James, where is Trey?” he asked, his face stone-cold.

  Dulling threw his hands up. “I don’t know. I guess something spooked him. He’s taken off with his immediate family. We’re watching his other relatives.” He sat in a chair not far from the desk.

  Riley’s expression had not changed from the stone-cold stare he gave Dulling when he walked in. He spoke in a flat, hard tone. “Why would you be watching his family if you had nothing to do with his disappearance?”

  “Well, obviously because I’m trying to find him for you. Neither of us can afford to have a loose cannon like him out there running paranoid. He’s bound to talk and reveal classified information.”

  “You do understand the press and Congress both have me under a microscope and any more scandals could finish me?”