“We wanted to see if you could do this type of job and we’ve come to the conclusion that you will do just fine if something comes up. Blue will walk you through the high points and low points of the mission.”
I turned to face Blue who had resumed sitting on the couch. I was having a bit of trouble hiding my feelings but I managed to suppress the scowl when he started speaking.
“You did great. I’m thoroughly impressed. ‘One shot, one kill’ is exactly what you did.” He paused. “First of all, let me explain a few things to you. The new laser sight I installed for you was actually how we knew where your bullet should have hit and of course, the bullets were blanks. You had mentioned seeing sensors on the targets face and that’s exactly what they were. They were placed all over his body to capture your laser when you fired your gun.”
“That explains why he fell before the bullet should have reached him,” I interrupted, momentarily forgetting my anger.
“They were rigged with an alarm and he was to drop as soon as he heard it go off. We’ll have to work on that for future testing.”
Red cut in, “Not only that, the fact that you doubted the identity was a good thing. We will have to add that to the testing, too. A sniper should be, without a doubt, sure of who his target is.”
“One thing I don’t understand,” White waited until we all turned to him. “I don’t understand why you didn’t ask more questions during the briefing. Why didn’t you ask who the guy was and why didn’t you ask why you were going to kill him? This is a man’s life after all.”
White and I had become very close over the past few months. I’d had only one friend my entire life, Colin DeLange. I never imagined I’d be as close to anyone like I was with Colin. Yet, somehow, White and I had forged a strong friendship and were rarely apart. If we weren’t training or on a mission you could always find one by finding the other. But, with his last utterance, I hated him. I had been thinking the same thing since I first stepped onto the chopper to leave for this mission. He was right, I should have asked questions, but I trusted him. My poker face slipped and my feelings showed through. I let him have it. I’ve always had trouble hiding what I’m really thinking around White. If he just hadn’t said anything, we probably would have all been happier people.
“I suppose I trusted you. Which is something I’ll have to reconsider. I don’t appreciate being tricked. I knew there was something wrong with this whole picture and it really makes me angry that you would take advantage of me in this way.” I ranted for a little while longer before Red cut me off.
“Ms. Grey!” The shock of him yelling stopped me in mid sentence and he continued in a quieter voice. “This was not intended to trick you… well, not in the manner you interpret it. It was meant to test you and there is no better way to test you than if you think you are trying to complete a real mission.” His voice was somewhat apologetic, but I couldn’t tell you what his face looked like because I was staring at White. The corners of his mouth were turned up just enough for me to realize he was enjoying this, which made me even angrier.
My nostrils flared as I turned to look at Red. He didn’t have the smirk White did, but he didn’t show any regret in his face. I looked at Blue and he had the same expression. No remorse for what they had done to me. At some point in my rant, I had stood and that’s what I was doing now. Standing there, with my fists clenched, fighting the urge to physically lash out at these men. I either had to try to kick their asses or relax and discuss this with them. They obviously thought they had done no wrong and maybe they hadn’t. It was me who hadn’t asked the questions. That wasn’t like me. I always had questions to ask. Granted I didn’t always ask the questions that were looming in my mind but when it came to something like this, I should have.
I gave each of them a glare and sat back down. I took a deep breath and waited for someone else to speak.
“Alex,” White broke the uncomfortable silence, “this is how we do most of our training with our men. In fact, there were only a select few at the compound that knew you were out there. Not only were we testing you, we were testing some of our men. There is a valid reason behind this type of testing. We want our guys to do their best at all times. If they don’t know it’s not real, they will always try their best. We don’t want anyone to get complacent. Do you understand that?”
“Yes, sir.” My chin jutted out in defiance as I reverted to my Chief Slade training.
Red broke in, obviously trying to alleviate some of the tension. “Well, all in all, you did an excellent job. You completed the mission, you were not apprehended and they should still be searching for you if you covered your tracks the way you should have. But for now, this concludes the briefing. White has some info that the two of you should go through.” He and Blue were obviously relieved as they left me alone with White.
Red had done some to pacify my ill temper, so after they left the room I was more open to hear what White wanted to say. In the short time since my outburst I’d thought of why they left me in the dark and realized my aggravation stemmed mainly from what I had failed to ask.
As White got up and went to the file cabinet in the corner of the office I told myself I wasn’t really mad at him, I was mad at myself. The venom in my veins had subsided and then I became aware that White and I were alone. I’d become much more comfortable with White in the past months but my temperature always rose a few degrees when we were alone. Today was no different. I took a couple of deep breaths to calm myself even more. This helped and I was back to my normal outward self by the time he came back to his desk.
“So, how do you feel about the company, Ms. Grey?”
“Fine.” White using my company name while we were alone was not lost on me. It was unexpected and had me a little worried. That aside, my reply was an understatement. I’d given some thought to going back to my former job but only because I missed the comforts of home, not because I wanted out. I loved the company. I am a restless person and the company scratched all of my itches. I was able to do things I would never have had the chance to do anywhere else.
“Good. It’s time you learned more about us.” He slid a large manila folder, overflowing with paper, across his desk.
“There’s more to learn?” I picked it up and started flipping through it.
“Much more. You can look through it now or take it back to your apartment. It’s up to you. I’ll understand if you need more time to calm down.”
I had entirely gotten over my anger until he said this and I looked up from the folder and saw that same smirk on his face. “I was calm, but you know just what buttons to push, don’t you?” He laughed at me, which just fueled the flames. “Why do you enjoy making me mad?” I asked him in an even tone.
“I don’t,” his tone was one of total innocence, but he quickly changed back to his serious work attitude. “You will probably have some questions this time around. I can answer any of them, but you might find C.I.C. to be useful also.” Then as an after thought he added, “I’m more than willing to go through all of this with you right now.”
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to go over it by myself first.”
“Sure.” I was already turned away from him but could still hear the smile in his voice.
*****
Chapter Two
I sat on the couch in my apartment reading and rereading the huge file. It was amazing what I didn’t know about this company. I found myself flabbergasted more than once while combing through the material. Some of it seemed so obvious, yet I had let it slide right past me.
At one point a picture of Mr. Green, AKA Seth Caldwell, caught my attention. It was his dossier. It gave a brief background such as his date of birth, place of birth and parents’ names. This information wasn’t anything new. Then it became more detailed with his service record. It told me the date he had enlisted, his prior rank and job in the navy and a long list of commendations. It explained, in detail, his time with the Navy Seals. I flipped through all his info
rmation and came to a sheet labeled TEAM GREEN. Under the heading it read Currently at 110 and this was followed by a long list of names. I started counting the names and decided the 110 meant people. I finished glancing at the names and moved onto the next file. Each partner was profiled and each partner had a team named for their color. I tallied up the numbers under the team headings and came up with over 1,000 people. Was this the size of the company?
White and Associates was a huge endeavor. It wasn’t a company; it was an army. I had thought the company consisted of just the partners and some guys on the side who did the little jobs for us when we were busy or the jobs not important enough for us to get involved. Flipping through this material showed me how wrong I was.
I came to my dossier and there wasn’t much on it. It simply stated my date of birth, place of birth, parents’ names and “Trained under Master Chief Slade.” I was a little ashamed to not have as good a resume as the others but at least I did also have a sheet titled TEAM GREY. Of course, there were no names on it.
I specifically looked up TEAM WHITE and was greeted with nothing but the partner’s names. I decided it made sense so I continued to read the information in front of me. I noticed everyone’s military rank as I read about him. I’ve never been good with military ranking but I did notice the chain of command. White had been the highest rank, then Black. Red and Blue were the same rank under Black, then Brown and then Green and finally me, with no rank at all.
I was fascinated by the material in front of me. I resisted the urge to call White because my previous outburst now had me feeling a little foolish. Instead, I got myself some paper and a pen knowing I wouldn’t be able to remember all of my questions. I spent some time writing but eventually decided to give in and just call White.
He was available and at my apartment within minutes.
“So, got you interested, didn’t I?” He uttered as I opened the door, a big grin on his face.
“Yeah,” I grinned back at him.
The two of us sat on the couch and went through some of my questions. Before long, White suggested we make our way down to the War Room. That is what they affectionately called C.I.C., which stands for Central Intelligence Center and it was located in White’s apartment. It housed several computers all linked to the national government and many other fun gadgets.
“Why do we have to go there?” I hadn’t been in my apartment much for the past few months and was reluctant to leave it.
“We can call up satellite pictures and I can show you real time views of our compounds.” He had talked me into it and we left my apartment and went to his.
White and Associates had several compounds in addition to the cabin and the building that housed our main office and our apartments. They all varied in size and location. I had White print out a picture of each compound so I could study them further.
After looking at the various compounds and having their purposes explained to me, I asked about the assorted teams I’d found in each partner’s file. White went on to explain everyone had their specialty and each was assigned teams with the same strengths. For example, Blue was the company doctor so all the rest of the company doctors fell under him. Then White said that was a bad example because the doctors weren’t always available to the company. They all had other practices and took jobs only as they were offered. A better example would be TEAM BROWN. Brown was an expert mechanic and pilot. Also, something that was news to me, Brown was an expert at demolition work. Therefore he had teams of mechanics, pilots and demolition experts at his disposal.
“But Blue is a sniper, too. Does he have sniper teams?” I had an interest in this due to my recent sniper training. I have to admit my mother’s background played a part in my curiosity. I’d given the sniping test some thought and if killing was my only choice, I’d rather do it from a distance.
White’s grin suggested he knew I’d ask about snipers. “Yes, he has twenty sniper teams consisting of two men, a sniper and a spotter.” White described each partner’s teams after that in full detail and then went on to tell me why I didn’t have a team yet.
“We haven’t decided your specialty. You show exceptional talent in many areas and it’s hard to class you. However, with or without a specialty, you will be assigned a team.”
“When?”
“Immediately.”
“But if you haven’t decided my specialty how can we assemble a team?”
“All the partners have teams with nothing but their specialty. We assemble squads as needed, for particular jobs. However, we should make these squads more permanent. The men will work better together if they’ve worked together in the past. I’ve decided to set up teams under you that encompass all the specialties,” he paused. “You’re teams will be,” again he paused searching for the right words. “I suppose you could say they will be our elite.”
White went on to explain my responsibilities to my teams. I was to make sure they worked well together and kept up on their training so they’d be prepared to take on jobs. Also, I’d be the one the rest of the partners would come to when they needed a team recommendation.
We spent the remainder of the night in C.I.C. going over my questions and wouldn’t have known it was time for breakfast had Black not shown up at White’s apartment. The room was windowless and time seemed to stand still inside.
“I’ve been trying to call you.” He directed this at me as he walked into C.I.C. “Did you want to go to the gym today?”
“What time is it?” I began to notice my fatigue.
“A little after seven. I’m getting a slow start today.”
“Can it wait a few hours? I haven’t gotten much sleep these past few days.” I yawned.
“We’ve been up all night going over the company business.” White told him.
“How about tomorrow morning?”
“Sounds good. I think I’m going to go home and get some sleep.”
When I reached my apartment I looked longingly at the shower but decided I was too tired and went straight to bed. I didn’t wake until close to two in the afternoon. I immediately went in to shower, remembering how many days it had been.
As I showered I thought about the company and how differently I saw it now. I should have known there was more involved than I had been shown. My father was, after all, the reason the company was created. I should have known it wasn’t a small operation.
Admiral Robert S. Stanton was not a man of small things. If he were involved, it had to be big. I began to kick myself once again for not realizing what I had been dealing with. I knew my father and these men well enough to know that this wasn’t just a hobby. I had been given all the evidence and I didn’t put it all together. “I should have known,” I told myself over and over.
I thought back to the first time I saw Malone. I was twelve years old and my father had invited him and my best friend, Colin, and their fathers over to talk about possible military careers. My father has a high rank in the Navy and was friends with Colin’s and Malone’s fathers who were also military men. I’ve since learned that the talk that ensued that day was not only about getting Malone and Colin into the Navy, it was also about laying the ground work for White and Associates. That alone suggested something larger than my limited view of the company.
I’d thought of that day many times before, but in a different respect. That day, in my parents’ back yard, I watched Malone and had my first epiphany. He had to be the man I would marry. I didn’t see him again until that fateful day I walked into White and Associates to apply for a job. I hadn’t forgotten the young man in my parents’ back yard but didn’t recognize White for who he really was until shortly after I started working with him. That was the direction my thoughts took every time I thought about that day. I made a conscious effort to connect the dots and knew I would think of that day very differently from now on.
When I applied for the job at White and Associates I didn’t know what I was signing up for. I even thought the ad in the paper mi
ght have been for a cruise line. After I got the job, I learned that White and Associates is a PMC, or Private Military Corporation. Becoming a partner has been life changing, but I’m happy I’ve done it. It keeps me busy and interested, which can be a challenge. I am easily bored and that could be because I’ve been pampered all of my life.
Well, pampered might not be the right word, and I’m usually so good with words. All right, I’ll call it like it is, even if I don’t want to use the appropriate word. Spoiled would be more accurate. My parents have money and always have let me do what I want. For example, I’m an accomplished chef as well as proficient in many forms of fighting, thanks to Master Chief Slade. Mom and Dad’s money paid for any training I was interested in and the training they thought I needed.
I went to college for computer science and walked away with a degree and the ability to do almost anything with a computer. I like to think that helped with me getting a job with White and Associates. I’ve always worried that my father, being a founder of the company, is why I’m now a partner, but that’s not entirely true. Mr. White is aware of my father’s involvement in the company but is the only partner with such information. If any of the other partners had objected loudly enough, I wouldn’t be a partner. I might have a job, but I wouldn’t be a partner.
I am the only female partner and that also played a role in my quick elevation. The men needed a woman and I happened to be one. Again, my last name helped with their acceptance of me, but brought special emphasis to my skills. With the fact that my father’s a high-ranking Naval Officer and very well known among the military community brings with it an expectation. He is now considered a civilian, but only for those who don’t know what he really does.
He really works for the National Security Agency or NSA. That little realization didn’t come to me until I took the job with White and Associates. But my father’s job didn’t come as much of a shock as my mother’s true job. I always thought she was just my mom and my father’s wife, but I was so very wrong about her.
Reflections of Grey: Book Three of the Alexis Stanton Chronicles Page 2
