by L S Barron
There was a group, a gang, of women that were bad news. They left Becca alone but they always seem to track down and pick on Rachael. It was later in the day after visiting hours were over, Becca had just returned to the yard when she saw the gang pushing Rachael around on the Basketball court. Becca had enough of it today after no good news and was ready to let this gang know it. “Hey, you guys want someone to pick on? Here I am. Lets go. I’m tired of all your shit.” The fight was on. It was a brutal battle and Becca had unleashed all the frustration and anger she had stored up for the last 6 months. In a quick moment Tasha, the gang leader pulled out a shiv that was tucked away under her shirt. Becca was already in a rage and before it was all over the shiv ended up back in chest of the woman who had pulled it out to begin with. By then the correctional officers were all over the group, forcing everyone apart. Three officers were holding Becca who now realized what had happened. “Funny I was innocent of any crime before coming into this place and now after being here, I might have just become guilty of murder after all,” Becca thought. Becca, now covered in blood, just chuckled. “How ironic.”
In a rush, Becca was rushed off to solitary while the officers figured out what had happened. Tasha was rushed off to the hospital, still alive, but barely. It had been at least 24 hours and Becca had not heard anything. She had no idea what was going on or if Tasha or anyone else had died in the brawl. She had been slipped a tray of food, but no one had said not even one word to her. Worse thing about it all was that Becca didn’t even feel bad about what had happened. She had protected Rachael and herself. “Damn if Tasha didn’t deserve it,” but none the less she prayed anyway asking forgiveness for not feeling bad about what she had done.
Finally one of the correctional officers, Eric opened the door. “What a mess you made,” he said with a smile on his face and then leaned closer to Becca and quietly said “Its about time someone stood up to that low life bitch.” Becca just shrugged her shoulders and asked if Tasha was alive? “Ya, she’ll be fine, but she’ll be back and that’s probably not a good thing, for any of us.” Becca gave a quick smile to Eric, whom she had always found to be one of the better COs that worked in her level of the prison. “Come on,” he said. “The Warden Johnston wants to see you.”
Eric walked the shackled Becca up to the Warden’s office. Warden Johnston told Eric “Leave us please, its okay.” He closed the door as Eric left. Well at least the Warden didn’t seem to think Becca was such a murderous threat. She did wonder what the punishment for the fight was going to be. He told her to take a seat in front of his desk and then called to his assistant and told her to let the visitors in. This all seemed very strange for Becca. She turned to see two men entering the room and shaking the Warden’s hand with familiarity. Becca had recognized one of the gentleman from some political ads on TV. He was the state governor. The other man she did not know, but she definitely thought him to be someone in the government. The stereotypical suit gave him away.
Something inside her got excited, “they found Jenna alive and living under an alias name in a far away state.” She set up a little taller thinking maybe she was about to be apologized to for being wrongfully imprisoned. This wasn’t to be the case though. The Warden and the two suits all stood opposite her on the other side of the desk. The Warden introduced the Colorado State Governor and the other man in the suit as Jack Randale, an officer of the CIA. “Ok weird,” she thought. She stood up to shake their hands but forgot they were shackled to her waist. “Oops” she chuckled and the men smiled at her gesture. “We have a proposition to offer you,” Officer Randale said. Becca studied this man a little closer this time. He was somewhat handsome and something she had not noticed before, because of the awful looking generic suit was that this man was quite nicely built. She couldn’t picture this same man as a regular office guy. “No there was more to his story than that,” she thought. Randale looked at Becca as if he knew she was assessing him, he just smiled a little crooked smile and said “Here’s the deal.”
CIA Officer Jack Randale would go on to explain their interest in Becca. “I run a new test program that is part of the CIA. It was started just a few years ago and is operated in secret with very few people having knowledge of the Program’s existence. I supervise a program that gives prisoners with no hope of parole a chance to give some meaning to their lives. We select each candidate for the unique skill set they may be able to offer to the Program and for the characteristics needed, such as bravery, adaptability, and intelligence. We will teach and train you in the necessary skills to become an asset in the program.” “Doing what exactly?” Becca said with uncertainty. Officer Jack Randale didn’t beat around the bush and went straight to the point. He explained that the program would run high risk missions that were too dangerous for other government or military units. Basically he explained, “We use prisoners, like yourself, that we feel have the physical and mental abilities to possibly give a situation a chance that the normal agencies cannot follow through with.” “You mean because we are murderers with no chance of an outside life you would use us to try missions that would most likely end badly?” Becca watched as Officer Randale gave a single nod “yes”. Becca knew that maybe this was her purpose for being here, maybe this was why all of this had happened and it sure would beat sitting around prison all day. Even without any more thought or details about the Program, she knew she was in and to everyone’s surprise, she didn’t hesitate. “Count me in!”
The Program
Becca was told she would start immediately after the next visitors day. She was instructed to tell her father, her only consistent visitor that she was going to work on a special program that only a few prisoners got to participate in. She told him that they were a work group that would do third world country construction work in basically something like a chain gang. She also told him that this was a new program and he wasn’t allowed to talk to anyone about it because it was still in the test phase. She made him promise and he did. She knew that he was a man of his word and reassured Warden Johnston the same. She told her father that when she was back in the prison between work details, he would be notified. On her last comment to her father, she leaned over and whispered to him “Don’t give up on me dad, I still think Jenna is out there somewhere and will get caught someday.” “Catch ya later,” was Becca’s goodbye to her father, and hopefully not the last.
It was 5:00 am when Eric came for her. He placed on the shackles and escorted her down a back hallway of the prison. At the back door awaited a white work van with Anderson’s Electrical company logo on the sides. “Oh I get to go fix the wiring in your house,” she told Eric. He just laughed. She sat in the back of the work van with no windows. Then a man she hadn’t met, but looked like the type of man that maybe would have been a Navy Seal, placed a hood over her head and sat down next to her as the van started on its way.
After what Becca thought was about a two hour drive the van stopped and she heard the driver talking with someone outside the van. “We are delivering a new one,” he said. Then the van slowly continued for just a short distance before coming to an end. The side door of the van opened and Becca, still with the hood on was escorted out and through an entrance. The door shut behind her and the hood was removed. Two men stood before her, one she recognized as Officer Jack Randale. He pulled out a key and unlocked the shackles. He asked if Becca needed a restroom. She nodded yes and he pointed to a side door in the hallway. She thought it strange that she would be allowed to use a restroom unshackled and unguarded. Once in the bathroom, she understood why they didn’t care to guard her. It was pretty much a solid concrete walled bathroom with no outdoor windows. After she was back in the hallway only Officer Randale was there waiting for her. He told her “I’m so glad you took our offer, I think you will do well in our program. But keep in mind, it’s not going to be so easy and at any time I think you’re not giving it your all, you will be out.” She looked him in the eye and said “not a problem.” He gave his c
rooked little smile again and said “this way, I will show you your quarters. You’ll be allowed to settle before the training starts.”
Her quarters were nice, way better than the little block cell she had at the prison. There was even a window. She of course checked it out right away. But the only view it offered was to a high walled concrete courtyard. Still though it was nice to have sunlight coming into the cell. She could even slide open the window to allow in fresh air. There was even a TV. She found the remote sitting there and gave it a click. “Shit it actually worked.” She also had a private bathroom. “Sweet, this place was so cool.”
About an hour later an officer showed up. He introduced himself as Officer Brady. He also looked like a Navy seal kind of guy. He was definitely well built and had that military looking haircut. “Lets get you some breakfast,” he said as he gestured to follow him. They walked down the hall, where there were several other rooms that obviously had occupants. Many of the rooms had a nice personal touch with items you might find in a normal home. One room had some fancy coffee maker, another had a music stereo, and still another had a recliner with a nice floor lamp and several books on an end table. Officer Brady saw Becca looking into each room and said “The extra items are bonuses picked out by each person that successfully completes a mission. I guarantee you that they’re well deserved.”
As Becca walked with Officer Brady she wondered “What is this program going to be like?” Physically challenging she hoped, she had always liked a good athletic competition. They arrived at a small dining hall. It was very homey. There were two large dining room tables, an open kitchen, with a breakfast bar. She noticed that there were no kitchen knives sitting out. Probably a bad thing to have around with a bunch of violent lifers. There was also an open area with a TV, a couch, and some lounge chairs. “Wow” she thought “This was nicer than anything I had in my own home.” There were two men already sitting at one table having what looked like a nice breakfast, eggs and ham with hashbrowns and toast. One man was an athletic looking spanish guy and the other guy looked pretty much like a total nerd, with the heavy rimmed glasses and everything. Both men were in t-shirts, shorts and running shoes. She figured they had just been for a run. There was another man behind the breakfast bar that was cooking up some more eggs. As they approached the dining table, Officer Brady said “I’m going to go over what’s expected of you in our program.” They sat down at the table opposite the two men. The two men glanced over and then just continued like nothing was new.
Brady explained that this program has been in effect for a long time and with much success. He said it actually started in 1948 by a lawyer named Wisner who helped the CIA develop the task force. Too many regular operatives were getting killed and that’s when this program started. The name of this organization was simply called “The Program”. You can’t give a name to something that doesn’t officially exist. The Program used prisoners that had been serving life sentences without a chance of parole, lifers. “Basically no one would care if low life prison scum bites the dust,” he told her looking for a reaction, but Becca just smiled a little. He said their main goal was to assist the CIA with missions that needed extra discretion. Missions had been done all over the world, like Guatemala in 1954 or Hungary in 1956, and then places like Laos, Haiti, and so forth. The active countries now he explained would include several central american countries, Afghanistan, and he said that Iran was looking promising to be soon on the list. He told Becca that nothing of these missions left these walls. “Nobody would believe you anyway if you did talk about what we do, would they? he said. Becca just quietly nodded, still a little afraid to say much of anything. She was really thinking “What is it we actually do?” Brady went on to tell her she would be trained in many different areas like precision shooting, foreign languages, and explosives. She would also be expected to keep in top physical condition, with daily required group activities, like running, strength training, and such. She accidently looked over to the skinny looking nerdish guy, but Brady saw her glance. He then told her that the program will be tailored to her best assets and how you can benefit the team. “I can’t put a finger on you yet. What do you think? he asked. Becca thought it best to keep things simple right now so she said “cool, this sounds like something I can do.” In her mind she was just thinking “bring it on.”
The gentleman from the kitchen brought over a plate of eggs, ham and toast and asked Becca if she wanted a cup of coffee. “Sure, thanks,” she replied. “What is this place, a nice restaurant or what?” she thought. Brady said “Meet Kaiyoshi, known as just Kai. He is in the program but needed a break after his last mission, so he has volunteered to do the cooking for awhile.” Brady smiled at Kai and told him “thanks man.” Kai was an average looking guy, but Becca could tell by his ripped arm muscles that he was a lean and fit guy. He was average height and was of Asian descent. She noticed he had a forearm bandaged and had a new cut just under his hairline that still had the stitches in it. She also saw an old scar on his right cheek and a smaller scar down the side of his neck. “He is still handsome though,” she thought. “Enjoy your meal, take your time, when you’re done join us in the courtyard,” Brady said as he pointed to the nice french doors that opened up to a patio.
So Becca, ready to learn more didn’t actually take her time. More like she wolfed down her breakfast, as fast as she could do politely, since there were still two other guys in the room.
She got up with her plate and carried it to the sink to ask Kai what to do with it. He just pointed to the dishwasher. So when Becca had put her breakfast plates away she walked to the french doors leading outside, took a deep breath and opened the doors.
There was a nice patio with a couple of shade trees and grass just off the doors, but past that was a vast courtyard with what looked like an adult playground. She still couldn’t tell where they were because the courtyard was completely surrounded by tall concrete walls. Didn’t really matter to her anyway she was just excited to see all the cool things within the walls. There was a basketball court, an obstacle course of some sort, a covered weight room area with wrestling mats, and at the open end of the courtyard was a mock city street with fake buildings and a few beater cars. She figured it was some kind of target range. “Pretty cool,” she thought.
As she turned to her right she saw Officer Randale and Brady standing by a single door at the north end of the courtyard. She had figured it was north because of the direction the sun had come up that morning. Officer Randale motioned for her to join them. “Welcome Miss Becca, You ready to save some lives?” Randale said. “Just waiting for you to show me the way” remarked Becca. Randale explained to Becca that she was going to learn a vast amount of counter terrorism skills and would be allowed to put them to good use when the time was right, but first they needed to meet with the team doctor. He motioned to the single door.
The Doctor’s Visit
At the end of the hallway was a single office. Becca recognized it to be some sort of medical office. Randall walked with her and knocked on the door. A silver haired man who was also very fit looking and had the haircut of an old marine answered the door. “Doc,” he said, “got another one for you.” The old man just looked at Becca, gave her a once over with his stare and told her to come in. The doctor introduced himself as “Doc Anderson”. He asked Becca “So what got you into this place young lady?” She looked at him with a smile and said “I murdered two people, but I am innocent.” He laughed. “Well little miss innocent, you are here to get a physical, some vaccinations like Yellow Fever, typhoid, hep a and b, and a tetanus booster, and lastly to get a gps implant.” “What? What was that last thing?” Becca remarked. The doctor explained that everyone in the program got a small chip implanted in the side of their neck. It was a global positioning system or simply a tracker. He explained that the Department of Defense created a program and put it in use in 1973. He said that it utilized 24 satellites high above the earth. He laughed again “You didn’t thi
nk you would be allowed to wander around foreign countries without a way for the CIA to track your every movement, did you? Oh you got a lot to learn.” “Suppose not,” said Becca, not to sure about this whole thing now. She had never heard of such a thing. “But no backing out now,” she thought.
Becca would spend the rest of the morning in the Doc’s office, getting prodded, poked, and finally getting a local anesthetic to place the GPS chip. He assured her not to worry that it was plenty safe. He made a small incision on the side of Becca’s neck and attached the chip in the appropriate place. He told her “It will ache for a few days, but you’ll be fine. Come back at the end of the week to get the stitches out.” He sat her up and told her the rest of the crew would probably be in the courtyard and that she should go find Officer Randale or Brady.
Becca returned out to the courtyard to find Kai, the two guys that were in the dining room earlier, and Officer Randale and Brady. Somehow she thought there would be more people than this, but so far that was it. As Becca approached, the two guys she hadn’t officially met yet, introduced themselves. The athletic guy introduced himself as Johnny Rosalez and the nerdy guy just introduced himself as Scott. Kai, she remembered from breakfast. “This is the group” Randale said. “Its pretty small right now because we’ve recently lost a few members, but these guys are the best to learn from. Becca if you value your life you will pay attention to what they have to teach you.”
And so the training would begin. Becca would spend the next six months learning many new skills. She would learn how to set different explosives, which she actually found blowing up stuff was pretty fun. She worked on shooting a high power rifle with more precision, which came easy to her most likely from years of hunting with her father. She learned the use of many other hand weapons and guns. Her and the guys worked on hand to hand combat skills and they weren’t afraid to give Becca a good beating, but she was learning to hold her own against them. At first the guys were pretty unfriendly and barely spoke to Becca. However, once she started to prove she was pretty tough, the guys relaxed around her. They started to tease and razz her which she took into consideration that they probably were starting to warm up to her. Johnny had even started helping her with her Spanish, mostly laughing at her.
