by Kurt Winans
Once the door had been closed, the President said, “Well Heath, you certainly picked one hell of a way to start the new year!”
Quickly rising to a standing position, he replied, “Yes Mr. President, so it would seem. However having an attempt made upon my life was certainly not my intent.”
“No, I’m sure that it wasn’t. So how do you feel?”
“I’m feeling better sir. The area near my shoulder blade is a little sore, but the doctor at our facility told me that it should heal without too much problem.”
“Well that’s good news, but try not to rush your recovery.”
“Yes sir. And please allow me to apologize for all of this.”
“It’s alright Heath, there’s no need for that. I’m just glad to know that you are relatively unharmed. However I do recall you stating in the past that you weren’t one for much adventure on New Year’s Eve, so last night doesn’t exactly fit your pattern.”
“No sir, it doesn’t.”
“Well, let’s start from the beginning. I would like to know exactly what happened throughout last evening and the early morning hours of today.”
It took Heath some time to explain, but his recounting of the adventure during the previous evening included a thorough description of the attempt upon his life at shortly after midnight by Lieutenant Kristen Royce. Then he reviewed the process which led to the decisions and subsequent actions that took place as a result of her unforeseen effort.
As President Harwell listened to everything that Heath had to report, he took a moment to glance at a copy of the Washington Post that Mrs. Dawson had given him. The newspaper was open to a page which contained a short article, and although there was surely the potential for a more in-depth story to follow within the coming days, the current blurb provided those who read it with the necessary information. Somehow by way of an anonymous tip, a media representative learned of the killings shortly after they had taken place. As a result, the reporter was able to file the initial story minutes before the final early morning deadline. Per the intent of Heath by tipping off the man in the first place, the headline he produced for both print and internet versions contained the desired message. It clearly announced the sad death of a federal Secret Service agent as a result of multiple knife inflicted wounds.
Following the completion of his briefing, steps were immediately taken to build upon the ruse of Agent Bishop being killed. At that juncture it was not yet known if Kristen had acted alone or upon the orders of someone else, so Heath understood and conveyed to the President that caution must be taken. There was the distinct possibility that his apartment could be currently under surveillance, as perhaps there would be no easier method to determine the validity of the reported death than to maintain a watchful eye on his place of residence. Therefore returning to that location for any reason would not be prudent until more detail about the overall situation had been surmised.
In response to that realization, President Harwell suggested that Heath remain at the White House for the time being. His duties as a protectorate would need to be put on hold for an indefinite time, and until it was deemed to be safe, it was best if he remained in portions of the building where contact with people or cameras could be avoided. However that hopeful anonymity would also create an opportunity for Heath, as he would be able to push forward with the ongoing investigation which he had been pursuing.
The President continued in stating to Heath that before his apartment was sealed by the Secret Service to prevent incursion by prying reporters or other individuals, some of his personal belongings could easily be removed and brought to him.
Heath had seen the wisdom in such an approach, agreed that his investigation would be best continued in confidence, and was thankful to President Harwell. For good cause the man fully embraced the importance of what Heath was attempting to prove, and was willing to create an environment which would allow the process to go on unimpeded. Therefore Heath spent the days since New Year’s morning working and sleeping within the confines of a White House basement sanctuary.
For Kristen the long road to where she now found herself had begun in humble fashion. Born and raised in Holton Kansas, a small town in the northeast corner of the state, she had been somewhat isolated from the numerous marvels and pitfalls of the big city or the world at large. Her parents had both worked hard throughout the years to provide for Kristen and her siblings, but there was not the level of everyday comforts which a few of her friends at school enjoyed. Therefore before reaching the age of her high school years, Kristen was already searching for a way out.
She learned quickly that perhaps the best way for her to eventually fulfill that desire and escape Holton would be by increasing her level of education, so with that in mind, Kristen concentrated on maintaining quality grades throughout high school. Then to increase her chances of acceptance to a range of colleges or universities, she also participated in many extracurricular activities. There was the volleyball and track teams for athletic fitness, and perhaps more importantly, the drama club for mental acuity. Although Kristen didn’t realize it at the time, the skills she learned in the drama club had been something which she could, and would, use throughout her adult years.
The process had taken a determined effort on her part, but Kristen was somehow able to convince her parents that Texas A&M University was the right place for her to continue her education. Once at College Station, she loved the surrounding area and all that there was to offer. As a result, Kristen was thriving both personally and academically during her first two years of university life. Then everything suddenly changed. The partial scholarships which she was receiving for academic prowess were not enough to cover the multiple expenses, and her parents could no longer afford to help Kristen with the associated high cost for out-of-state tuition. They informed Kristen that her options were minimal. She would need to either return to Kansas where she could attempt to complete her degree closer to home, or quit school immediately and join the work force.
Although claiming to be apologetic for their ultimatum, Kristen wasn’t totally convinced that they were sincere. However in facing the prospect of no tangible career opportunity in the College Station area without a degree, and in wanting to fulfill her desire of earning a coveted graduation shingle, she returned to Holton while feeling both betrayed and trapped. Kristen subsequently enrolled at Kansas State University in Manhattan to complete her course studies, but she hardly spoke to her parents during those two years.
Then Kristen shocked her family, and many of those within the community who thought they knew her well, by announcing hours after her graduation, “Before we return to Holton for any type of celebration that you may have been secretly planning for me, you should be informed of something. I have enlisted in the United States Navy, and will be reporting for orientation very soon.”
Her parents looked at Kristen in disbelief, and then her mother asked, “Why would you do such a thing dear?”
With coldness in her eyes and voice she replied, “So that I can leave Kansas forever!”
Her time in the Navy began almost immediately, and receiving a posting far from Kansas was perfect for Kristen. She fit in well with the time-honored structure of discipline and order, which led to favorable evaluations from her superiors. Those evaluations, coupled with her university degree, made it possible for Kristen to eventually apply for officers’ candidate school where she once again thrived.
Upon receiving her commission as an Ensign, Kristen was then posted overseas. A few years later she was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade, and with it came a transfer to the Pentagon in Washington D.C. and a posting on the staff of Commander Foster. In time he took note of her background story with Texas A&M being an aspect of it, and that since being posted on his staff, Kristen had spent every day of her leaves from duty back in Texas.
In believing that Lieutenant JG Kristen Royce could possibly be recruited to what he felt to be an even higher purpose than servi
ng in the Navy, Commander Foster approached her. With the thought of helping a secretive organization deeply rooted in Texas, he informed Kristen that the establishment to which he spoke had something hugely significant planned for the future prosperity of the land which each of them loved. Upon learning that she could be part of those plans, her facial expression and body language revealed that his comments on the subject had obviously sparked an interest. A moment later the Commander followed with a simple and direct question. Would she help Texas prosper by becoming an asset for the organization?
Kristen remembered being enthusiastic about the possibility of taking part in such an endeavor, along with listening to the lengthy and persuasive sales pitch of the man who would become her conduit to the organization. On that day she had become an underling for the organization while completing a myriad of tasks or assignments for them. As time passed she became an operative as the scope of her duties and the level of importance associated with them increased. That ran parallel with her Navy career as Kristen also received a promotion to full Lieutenant during the same timeframe. Eventually she came to know Commander Foster by that of his organizational designation of number twenty-nine, and upon rising to a mid-level operative herself, had also learned the operative numbers which coincided with a lengthy list of names and their prominent positions within Texas.
Returning to the present moment, Kristen pondered over all the various assignments which she had been asked to do in the name of Texas. That list had been lengthy, while in some cases requiring her to do some things which were less than pleasurable. Kristen had become a thief of personal property and government secrets, an occasional physical toy to be fondled by men or women who if properly persuaded could provide the organization with some meaningful intelligence, and now she could add attempted murder to the tally.
Having now sat alone in a deep dark hole within some federal facility while wearing a hideous orange jumpsuit for what she guessed to be approximately ten days, Kristen was unnerved. As a result, she had to give her captors credit where it was due. She remembered that first day clearly, as after waking up from the powerful effects of whatever drug was in the syringe, she could feel the restriction from a series of straps which prevented her from getting out of bed. Then she had looked to her right and surmised that she must have been unconscious for about five hours. The assumption was logical based on the faint amount of daylight streaming through the bedside window, but unfortunately, Kristen was incorrect in her deduction. She had been informed a moment later by the nurse who had previously performed a complete examination on her that she was not witnessing the morning light, but the final late afternoon hour before twilight would usher in the darkness.
Within five minutes of that revealing information, four female guards had entered the examination room with shackles and escorted Kristen to her tiny cell in the basement. Since that time she had been given absolutely nothing which could be considered even a basic comfort. There was no bed, blankets, or even a pillow to use while attempting to sleep, and the toilet in the corner of the ten by ten foot concrete room bordered on disgusting.
Although unaware of the fact, Heath Bishop and the other federal agents responsible for her current plight had achieved a desired effect. Kristen had nothing but time on her hands, which gave her the opportunity to do some soul searching. As a consequence of that inner reflection, she had begun to question the wisdom behind her acts of patriotism for Texas while also searching for some reason as to why any of it had made a difference in the long run. As she continued to stare at nothing but stark cold concrete, Kristen realized that the somewhat pleasurable life she had known was over. That fact was amplified when she was given a page of newspaper, as one of the short articles upon it informed her that word of her supposed death had been released to the public.
Soon after reading the fabrication, Kristen came to grips with another harsh reality. Even if they believed that she was still alive, no one within the organization would come to her aid. Like a ton of bricks it suddenly hit her, she had ultimately been nothing more than an expendable patsy for the desires of number two.
A few hours later when three guards came to her cell with another meager ration of bread and water, Kristen rose to her feet and asked, “Could you please get Agent Bishop for me? I have some useful information to discuss with him.”
Heath didn’t arrive at the underground facility where Kristen was being held until the following morning, as he was not readily available to leave his basement sanctuary and meet with her at the time of her request. While Kristen had been soul searching throughout the previous several days, Heath had spent that same amount of time working to solidify his new cover of being deceased.
That process began before noon on New Year’s morning after Heath was awakened from the injection which had been administered to simulate his death. By that time, the knife slash across the upper right quadrant of his back had been treated for infection, stitched, and bandaged. Then after receiving clearance from the medical staff for departure, Heath was secretly driven to the White House so that he could provide President Harwell and Christopher Westin with an unusual briefing.
That evening a follow-up story was developed and leaked which accomplished two objectives. First, it was believable in that it confirmed the death of an off duty Secret Service agent who was killed while in the company of a woman. The press was informed that she was unknown to the White House, or to have any affiliation to the duties for which the agent or the Secret Service was responsible. The double homicide could, and would, be categorized as nothing more than the unfortunate demise of two everyday citizens who did each other in while in the midst of uncontrolled emotions. As for the second benefit to the story, since no other persons were involved or damage done to property, there were little or no questions left unanswered. Therefore the need for future follow-up stories became unnecessary.
On January second the President felt strongly that what had been provided to the press was enough to satisfy whatever curiosity might still exist, as the story which appeared that morning was shorter and further back into the paper than the original. Then to solidify his belief, there was not a single question raised about the topic during an afternoon press briefing.
Heath had spent the remainder of the first and the entirety of the second alone in his basement sanctuary to allow the slash across his shoulder area additional healing time, but he had understandably become antsy in the process. He needed to get back to work on multiple fronts, but offering protection for the President, at least for the time being, would not be part of that equation.
President Harwell and his Chief of Staff were the seventeenth and eighteenth people, other than the obvious ones of Heath and Kristen, to know that each of the aforementioned were still alive, but the President knew that the number would need to be increased by at least one. Therefore he summoned Mrs. Dawson with complete confidence that what information she was about to receive would go no further, and after she entered the oval office he asked her to accompany him on a jaunt to the basement.
Professional to the last Mrs. Dawson agreed to do so without question, and upon seeing Agent Bishop let out a sigh of relief. Heath explained what had transpired and the need to simulate his death, while President Harwell asked his longtime trusted assistant to make certain arrangements. She was tasked with providing Heath with whatever he would need to further his investigation. His section of the basement would be cordoned off from all unnecessary foot traffic so that he could move about freely, but there would be additional requirements. Heath needed some modest furnishings and a more comfortable single bed than the cot he had been using, along with laptops or tablets for research purposes and any files or reports which could be helpful in piecing together the various bits of information which he already possessed. Finally there was the aspect of sustenance, and since trips to the employee cafeteria or the kitchen were problematic, he would need a small refrigerator. Then the President reminded Mrs. Dawson that no one othe
r than herself must know the intent of what she was doing, or the fact that Agent Bishop was alive.
Mrs. Dawson looked at the President and said, “I understand what is required of me sir. I’ll get to work on those various provisions right away.”
“Thank you Mrs. Dawson, I knew that we could count on you.”
Then she turned slightly toward Heath and added, “I’m glad to see that you are alive and well Agent Bishop.”
“Thank you Mrs. Dawson.”
As of that evening Heath was well equipped to continue his work, but his investigation had stalled and would remain that way for slightly more than a week. Although fragments of information had come his way via other leads, he still had nothing tangible to go on with regard to why Kristen had attempted to kill him other than her claim that it was for Texas. Then on the evening of Tuesday January eleventh, he received a call from the holding facility informing him that his detainee wanted to share some information with him.
That next morning Kristen was moved under heavy guard and shackle from her cell to an interview room, and once she had been secured to the large table within, Heath entered by way of a separate door.
She said, “Good morning Heath. Thanks for coming to speak with me.”
Heath was skeptical of her motives, but realized that he needed to show at least some level of compassion toward Kristen in the hope that it would foster cooperation.
Therefore he simply replied, “Good morning to you as well. I understand that you wanted to share some information with me.”
Kristen nodded in the positive, and began speaking almost immediately. Then for the majority of the day she held the attention of Agent Bishop while revealing all that she knew of the organization and its network of various operatives. Within the framework of that lengthy confession Kristen was able to outline how a powerful faction within Texas had been behind the terrorist attacks of fourteen months prior, and that the intent of those individuals was to turn the focus of blame for their actions upon Syria.
