CHAPTER 19 (PART 2)
LIFE GOES ON AND ON AND ON
Alex Gimble had just finished debriefing his superiors when his pager went off. He reached over the desk of Michael Morell's secretary and picked up the phone. He dialed the extension which showed on his pager.
"Gimble." He announced over the receiver.
"He's back." The guard said.
"Jesus H. Christ. Okay, I'll be down." He slammed down the phone and looked over at Agent McAfferty, "I've got to go down and send our boy packing again. Damn, he's a major pain in the ss."
Gimble grabbed the elevator down to the lobby. The lobby at Langley is large with huge columns and a large logo of the CIA on the floor. The floor is highly polished with alternating rectangles of color that provide security a frame of reference for pinpointing the accurate position of possible intruders. The ceiling is twenty to thirty feet tall causing sounds to echo throughout. As soon as Gimble got off the elevator he could hear him yelling.
"I don't care who the hell hears me. She's alive and you guys know it. You know where she is. I want to..." He stopped when he saw Alex, "Oh, glad you could play. Alright Alex, one more time, where is she?" He yelled at the top of his lungs.
Michael Morell was scheduled to welcome the head of MI6 in the lobby in the next ten minutes and escort him up to the conference room. As Morell walked through the lobby, he heard yelling and stopped. He recognized House from the operation at PPTH a few years ago. He stopped and listened as House went on and on about Isibél being alive.
Morell motioned for the guards to come over. "Escort Dr. House to my office."
The guard approached House. "Dr. House, the Deputy Assistant Director would like for us to escort you to his office, will you come this way please?"
House looked at them and then at Alex. He had some trepidation, but this would be the first time he would get past the lobby. "Sure, I'll be happy to accompany you to his office, maybe he can give me some answers."
House waited in Morell's office with a rather stern looking Marine. After an hour he turned to the Marine, "Did you know that the Marine Corp's birthday cake-cutting ceremony is important to all Marines, as it is an annual renewal of each Marine's commitment to the Corps and the Corps' commitment to our nations quest for peace and freedom worldwide? The birthday cake is traditionally cut with the Mameluke sword, as a reminder that we are a band of warriors, committed to carrying the sword, so that our nation may live in peace. The Mameluke sword gets its name from the cross hilt and ivory grip design, similar to swords used for centuries by Ottoman warriors. The Marine Corps tradition of carrying this sword dates from Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon's assault of Derna, Tripoli, in 1805, where he is said to have won the sword of the governor of the city."
The Marine said nothing, but he shrugged his shoulders. A few minutes later Michael Morell entered the office and took his seat behind his desk. "Dr. House, why are you insisting that Isibél O'Rourke is still alive? Don't you know how upsetting this is for her family and friends? We received a call from her brother just after you visited him in Boston. He and his family are disturbed by your allegations. What would it take for you to be convinced that Ms. O'Rourke is dead?"
"Unless you show me the body, which has allegedly been cremated, there isn't anything you can't fake."
"Well, I have an important dignitary here and the rest of this month I am busy with a summit in Europe. What if I promise you that, if you don't harass the family or us for the next month, I'll give you undeniable proof that she's dead." He pushed back in his chair, "Deal?"
House thought about it. It scared him to think that this man could prove it. House was skeptical, but this was first real break. "If you don't, then what?"
"I promise, that if I can't prove it to you in a month, then I will allow you access to her personnel file and if you want to go to a reporter, I won't stop you."
"Yeah, right."
"Do we have a deal?"
House laughed to himself. He had been getting nowhere since making his weekly trips down to Langley. In fact, he usually ended up being escorted to the gate by several stern looking Marines. This was the only break he had been given, "Okay. Deal."
House left and drove back up to Princeton. Wilson was watching television when House got back. He barely looked up at his friend when he came into the family room. Wilson was tired of House's constant tirades about Isibél being alive. Wilson had tried to talk to him until he was blue in the face.
"Well the big man himself is going to give me proof positive that she's dead." House grinned.
Wilson snarled and shook his head, "Great House, I'm happy for you. You get to prove that Isibél is dead, bully for you."
House's grin disappeared and the reality of what it might mean hit home.
House sat back on the sofa at the opposite end from Wilson. He wanted a drink, but he didn't dare start or the next four weeks would be spent at the bottom of a bottle.
House got up and went to bed. He was feeling sick to his stomach.