Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Star Wars movies, books or games. They belong to Disney or their various copyright owners. I don't own any of the Harry Potter books, movies or games,they belongs to their respective copyright owners. This story is not meant for sale nor rent. I make no money from it.
Chapter 15
=TSA=
Part 4
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late September 1991
Washington DC
United States
Crowds? Check. Packs of rabbit paparazzi trying to mask themselves among throngs of genuine journalists surrounding the US Congress building? Check. At least there was enough riot police in place to keep most people away, which was a plus. Nevertheless, I was getting unpleasant flashbacks to another hearing I had, in front of a very different Senate, in a galaxy far, far away.
I dearly hoped that the consequences of this one would be nothing like the last time.
"Well, its time to face the music." I sighed and schooled my expression into a blank, polite mask void of any and all emotions. Beside me, Chloe did the same, complete with a small polite smile.
Our convoy halted in front of the Capitol building and disgorged a small army of bodyguards just as at least twice their number of uniform cops surrounded the area. After all the confirmed assassination attempts upon me, at least a few of which happened on US soil, no one was taking any chances, especially now, that I was finally about to appear in front of a mixed House and Senate Commission to testify. The moment I got out of the SUV, dozens of cameras flashed with almost blinding intensity. I offered my hand to Chloe who too it and I helped it out of the car and with that, the paparazzi went wild. I was certain we would be neck deep in them in the foreseeable future. On the bright side, we would have some fun and stress relief in arranging accidents for the utter bastard.
Chloe gripped my hand tighter at the increased intensity of flashes, which despite her enchanted veil irritated her eyes something fierce. I could feel her primal anger rising only to be stashed away for later use.
"This way, Mr Veil. Everything's arranged." That came from Jonas Harrows, the leader of my solicitor team in the US. It his people who oversaw all the details surrounding today's circus. Jonas was a solidly build man in his mid fifties who came in highly recommended due to his extensive contacts in Washington.
"Lets get to it before our friends in the media grow even more restless." I stated blandly and headed up the stairs leading to the Capitol building's proper.
We passed by a large number of security personnel, aides and the odd Senator, along with Congressmen and women who while not part of the official proceeding were around for the show. Fortunately, there were no incidents and soon we reached the large room where today's circus would take place. The place was chock-full with long tables covered by red and blue covers, a decent number of uniformed police and at a least a hundred people gathered to watch the proceedings not counting the commission itself and the couple of dozen journalists who wasted no time in aiming cameras our way.
Amusingly enough, there were eight people kneeling in front of the table I would be testifying from, leaning on the one behind them and all of them pointed cameras of all sizes my way, flashing away as if there was no tomorrow. Behind them stood two rows of tables on raised podiums, putting the testifying location lower than them, something that made my hackles rise. Even the superficial appearance of mere politicians from some primitive backwater looking down on me simply grated. Granted, I felt the same when facing the Republic's Senate but that was another story all-together.
"Good luck, love." Chloe whispered an encouragement and fell back along with a handful of my bodyguards who were allowed to get this far and I proceeded ahead accompanied only by Jonas and his right hand man.
We had a couple of minutes to set up. We took our seats, my lawyers pulled out various folders from their briefcases, while the furor surrounding our arrival died down enough for the Chairman of the Commission to be easily heard without raising his voice. Naturally, first came a performance for the gullible, I had to stand up at attention, raise my right hand and solemnly swear I would be telling the truth, and only the truth, believe me. It was actually hard to keep my expression blank during this part of the circus. Once the swearing was over, I could sit back and await the inevitable storm of questions in relative comfort.
"Mr Veil," A middle aged man sitting on the second row began. Made a show at squinting at his name-table, reading his name – George North, a Senator member of the Intelligence Oversight Committee. He was a dark skinned balding man with a sharp intelligent eyes who was currently intensely frustrated. "You're on public record opposing the installment of NATO Oversight Committee members in your company." He began.
I simply stared at him for a few moments, waiting to see if he would continue or not. "Was that a question or a statement, Senator?" I inquired politely.
"A question, obviously." The man's frustration spiked up further and I wondered who pissed in his coffee this morning.
"That is correct. I had and for that matter, still have some concerns about the consequences of accepting said ultimatum."
"That's most curious, Mr Veil. You're on record opposing oversight of your corporation and her we are, faced with the unpleasant truth of the Soviets gaining access to information and designs vital to the security not only to this nation but all our allies. How do you explain this?"
"Senator, before I answer your inquiry, can I ask for a clarification? Have you been briefed on the full details surrounding the reason we're all here today?" I spoke while schooling my face to show an expression of polite interest.
"I believe so, Mr Veil. Please answer my question."
Well, his funeral.
"So be it." I looked at my chief lawyer who gave me a small nod and pushed the top folder in front of him my way. "On the face of it, the answer is quite simple and very unpleasant, Senator." I picked up the folder, opened it and glanced inside to confirm its contents. It contained very good pictures of people getting off a plane at the Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow. Three large black Volgas stood near the ladder complete with a small greeting party of people in heavy winter clothes. A second picture was focused on one particular disembarking passenger, who until a few months ago was a senior member of the NATO Oversight Committee forced upon me.
There were a lot of pictures in that folder, showing how the man got off the plane with a proud smile on his face to be literally embraced by a few friends in the KGB before they got his luggage and left. The Imperio and a few friends in Moscow ensured that today would be a circus almost without precedent in American history and we were just beginning.
"And unfortunately I was right in my concerns about the Oversight Committee." I declared in a sad tone and picked up two of the pictures, one showing a certain Major Michael Brown in all his glory disembarking the plane, and a second one, the same man with a stunning blond woman hugging him, while he was shaking hands with a high ranking KGB agent on the airfield.
You see, Major Brown was one of the oversight people fostered upon me by the Oversight Committee. He was kind of an ass too, which meant that he was among the people who volunteered to be mind-whammied and set up as one of the sources that leaked my technology to my new friends in Moscow. The witch hunt that would follow was going to be glorious, and just the tip of the iceberg as far as getting even with the bloody bastards who decided it was a good idea to meddle in my affairs.
The journalists kneeling before the table in front of me wasted no time snapping pictures and at least two news cameramen filmed the show so it could be broadcast live.
It took a bit of time for people to figure out exactly what they were seeing, a bit longer for the information to get to those who couldn't see the pictures. Nevertheless, very soon all that could be heard was shouted questions and curses. Even better, the expressions of a lot of Senators and Congressmen were precious and captured for posterity. What I found most amusing of all was that more than a few of those were among the people who pushed for forcing that damn oversight upon my corporation, not to mention declaring my most important patents vital for national security with all the red tape that entailed.
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Part 5
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For a third week, the Veil Affair continues to shake Washington. In the days following Mr Veil's testimony in front of the House-Senate Commission, more pictures and intelligence briefings surfaced, painting a grim pictures. Sources within the government who desire to remain anonymous compare what is happening right now as a the Third Red Scare, not so different to the witch-hunts led by Senator McCarthy in the late 1940'es and early 1950'es.
What we know for sure right now is that three men, Major Brown from the US Air Force, Captain Jaques Millian, from the French Army and Captain Harold Smith from the British Army had been confirmed as defectors who brought a large amount of classified military and corporate secrets, primary technical information. Yesterday, the Soviets celebrated their intelligence coup with a parade featuring Major Brown and Captain Millian being marched through the Red Square in Moscow where they received some of the highest medals the Soviet Union could award, thus confirming beyond shadow of a doubt their treason…
Anonymous sources in the Pentagon and the US Government suggest that NATO's various governments should take full control of industries critical for the continued security of the free world, Mandal Technologies and it subsidiaries being a primary candidate for such a move… Critics hurried to point out that so far all confirmed leaks have their origins in the military and Government meddling in the affairs of said corporation and further, seizing its assets and practically nationalizing it would be a step expected by the Communists, not the leaders of the Free World…
Mr Veil refused to comment upon any such speculations at this time…
Mandal Motor's subsidiary, Mandal Energy Solutions confirms a breakthrough in nuclear Fusion to widespread acclaim and consternation. Mandal Motor's CEO, Mr Dimitri Veil hinted at the corporation currently working on making Fusion economically viable after achieving what until recently was little more than science fiction…
Today begins the fourth week of House and Senate Hearings. Members of the Oversight Commission assigned to watch over Mandal Technologies are scheduled to begin testifying this afternoon about the grievous breach of security their organization facilitated instead of preventing. We remind our readers that the Oversight Commission was created in the first place to ensure the Soviet Union and its allies would gain no critical data about the new technologies being created by the rising tech giant. Instead the Commission failed spectacularly when three of its members defected with as much sensitive data as they could steal…
Blood in the Potomac as Senate and Congress critters turn upon each other amid accusations of incompetence and even sympathies to the Reds!
Early this afternoon, President Petersen fired his National Security Advisor over the Veil Affair. This happened mere hours after it was confirmed that former NatSec Mich O'Connell was a firm supporter of establishing the Oversight Committee and even offered recommendations about its members, members who are currently under investigation by the FBI and Army CID...
=TSA=
late September 1991
Washington DC
United States
They entered the Congress building for the third time that week, and this time, the camera flashes were nearly overwhelming, again, despite numerous precautions. It was only thanks to a strategically taken Calming Draught, that Chloe managed to keep her instincts under control and avoided hissing furiously at the irritating flashes. There were hundreds of those and those were just the reporters. At least a hundred hand-picked journalists stood in tow lines on the steps in front of the Capitol building screened by thin lines of uniformed police. Far below on the street, a few hundred armoured riot policemen stood in formation facing off against large and unruly crowds. To say that her husband let the foxes in the chicken coop last week would have be a charming understatement.
Ever since Dimitri's first appearance in front of the joint House-Senate Commission, Washington had been in a furor and there was little else people around here spoke about. The media did its best to make things worse, gleefully chasing ratings and as far as her husband was concerned, slowly but surely digging the grave of the local brand of democracy.
Observing and experiencing the fallout first hand was both entertaining and frustrating. It was true that Chloe did insist on playing the role of dutiful and supportive wife, to Dimitri's amusement, but still! Her gums ached as she struggled to keep her fangs in place, as instincts fought for dominance within her. She wanted to snarl at the people encroaching on her territory and shouting question. Dimitri was hers, damn it and she felt the insistent need to very publicly stake her claim and fry the next bitch who even looked his way!
Dimitri squeezed her hand, hard, and glanced her way, his eyes flashing yellow for a split moment, just fast enough for her to see it. That was both reassurance and a warning that this wasn't the time and place to make a scene. Damn it, Chloe fumed, she thought she had a better control upon herself! Then again, she hadn't had to play the role of a normal human under intense scrutiny for so long since her turning. Perhaps, insisting on coming have been a mistake after all, however now it was too late to address it. She had to soldier on for as long as it took.
Entering the Capitol building itself offered Chloe a short respite that helped her center herself, and it happened just in time too. The large interview room was the fullest she had ever seen her and the sheer presence of so many warm flustered bodies, the fast beat of so many hearts and the oh so delicious blood racing just under their skins… It was simply divine and almost impossible to resist. Chloe clutched her hands behind her, trying to project nothing more than a mild interest and vowed that she would do her best to avoid such complications until she had her nature under much better control. Thankfully, her veil helped mask her expression, not to mention the twitching nose and large, dialed eyes that went to the necks of nearby people on their own accord.
Yeah, this was a bad, bad idea, Chloe decided. At least today's entertainment promised to be good, perhaps even enough of distraction to forge through the interview.
Of course, if it wasn't for "mission creep from hell" as Dimitri put it, they might not even be here in the first place, which was something Chloe was still salty about and the primary reason she left her self-imposed seclusion. After all, it was now painfully obvious that her husband sorely needed adult supervision in order not to get entangled in even more schemes; there were more than enough ongoing ones that tended to devour his time.
Chloe rolled her eyes at the muggle pointless mockery of a vow that Dimitri had to take again, and focused her attention on her husband. Even with his powers kept on the tightest leash possible, she could feel the darkness oozing around his form. The bloodsucking monster in her found it both enticing and dangerous, which was enough to help her contain her blood-lust better.
"Mr Veil, this Commission has some questions about your dealings with countries beyond the Iron Curtain, particularly about certain investments made by Mandal Technologies Subsidiaries within the Warsaw Pact in particular."
"Anything in particular or are we talking about said investments in general?" Dimitri asked.
"Let's go with general, first. You did make the choice to begin investments behind the Iron Curtain in late 1989, is that correct, Mr Veil?"
"That is correct, Senator. It appeared to be a good idea at the time. In fact, my belief is that it was an excellent idea at a time when we all believed that the Soviets would face a tough choice – either invest enormous amount of money to catch up with our breakthroughs and build the necessary infrastructure to make use of them or continue spending enough money on their conventional military so it could continue to be a credible threat to Western Europe. My personal belief is that we came incredibly close to seeing the dissolution of the Soviet Union or at least the Warsaw Pact earlier this year, thus winning the Cold War and hopefully seeing Eastern Europe on its way to recovery under a healthy free economy. Unfortunately, the deaths of certain reformists in Soviet Russia combined with what we know now – that the Soviets gained access to priceless research and designs were key factors in the continued existence of the Soviet Union. At least in my humble opinion."
More cameras flashed, excited murmurs buzzed until they were almost impossible to tolerate and the general excitement made all the humans surrounding Chloe ache to sink her fangs into someones tasty neck and guzzle down blood until she had her fill. She concentrated on her husband and his words to the exclusion of everything else, which helped her push through the overwhelming buzz.
"That's a bold claim, Mr Veil, one that not many people agree with."
"There are many political analysts word-wide who are still dissecting the happenings in Moscow and Warsaw earlier this year, Congressman Sanchez. While I'm sure that they don't have access to all the information you and your peers see as a part of the Intelligence Oversight Committee, my belief is that the Soviet Union could have crashed under the weight of Communism just a few short months ago. It was that potential and the relative normalization of relations in the late eighties that convinced me that limited investments in Eastern Europe were a reasonable risk with a very high potential reward – a foot in a previously untapped markets that might open in the foreseeable future. Personally, I do hope for said normalization to continue and not because of the potential of loosing my investments. While another arm's race would line up my pockets nicely, it is not in the Free Word's best interest. Besides, Mandal Technologies is posed to make an incredible amount of money anyway through our patents and the civilian technologies we're working on. In fact, this whole mess has been counter-productive and restricting in our pursuit to bring a better and brighter tomorrow to the world at large."
"Mr Veil, we didn't call you here so you can take the opportunity for free advertisement of your corporation!"
"Do you really expect me to miss on such a priceless opportunity? My PR people won't let me hear the end of it if I did so!" Dimitri protested in a mock outrage, bringing a small smile to Chloe's face. "That said I do understand your point and I'll do my utmost to behave myself. What is the next question?"
Even without magic, there was something captivating in the way he spoke, if not the words themselves, which both demanded attention and made you listen.
