ACT XXIII: CONSPIRACY
Incompetence is a better explanation than conspiracy in most human activity.
Peter Bergen
February 5th, AD 1955, Instituto Woodrow Wilson/Woodrow Wilson Institute (Classroom), Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, 12:15 PM
The Woodrow Wilson Institute was a private school located on the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez, a city on the border with the U.S., and especially with the city of El Paso, Texas, where mainly students from the upper classes of the city, as well as some exchange students from the U.S., went to study.
The school attended students from all three main levels of education: elementary, middle, and high school, and although it was not exactly well known, it did have a certain prestige among the inhabitants of both the Mexican city and its Texan neighbors in America.
Many of the teachers who worked in that school were both people from Mexico as well as American expatriates that taught the local and exchange students attending the site, the latter also teaching English to Mexican students that required it.
Among those foreign teachers, there was a very special one, who at that moment was just finishing giving his English class to his Mexican students, while he was waiting for all his young students, who were attending the high school section of the private school, to leave the classroom for their break.
-"Remember that we will continue with the verb conjugation section next class, so study hard by then, kids."-
-"Thank you, sir!"- The students replied in English to their teacher, while they went out to their recess without any incident.
Once all the students had gone, and just as the final bell to signal the end of classes was about to ring, a Mexican woman, with glasses and of medium height, walked up to the classroom, and wanted to talk to the foreign professor, in English of course.
-"Mr. Mason?"-
The school professor replied to his Mexican colleague with a smile, while he wiped away everything he had written on the chalkboard.
-"Hello, Miss Ortega, can I help you?"-
-"I hope you are not busy, but you have a phone call."- The woman said. -"I think it's from someone in El Paso."-
-"El Paso, you say?"- Mason replied at the woman. -"Didn't they tell you who or what they were, by any chance?"-
-"I don't know, but all I know is that he's a man, with a thick Texan accent, and looks like he's an old person."- Emilia Ortega, the Mexican colleague of the English teacher, said.
-"An old person too?"-
-"Yes. Also, he said that he knows you, but I don't know if that's true or not."-
Richard Mason, who until then worked as an assistant to Dr. Yoshinori Komatsu at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, now taught English in nearby Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, as well as biology and chemistry classes at a local high school in Texas; The reason for him to have two jobs was because due to his dismissal from Komatsu's project, and due to his position as a civilian employee on the base, he no longer had to stay at Fort Bliss, so he had to look for work elsewhere to make a living.
And he already knew who might be looking for him all the way to Mexico to request his services, and the reason why he was looking for him.
-"Tell that person I'll be right there to talk to him."-
-"Understood, Mr. Mason."- Miss Ortega said as she left the classroom.
February 5th, AD 1955, Instituto Woodrow Wilson/Woodrow Wilson Institute (Office), Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, 12:28 PM
As he was waiting for the phone call to come through, Richard Mason sat down and took out some papers he needed to grade, and as he was grading the papers, he could not help but think back on the events that led him to be working there in Mexico, and he did not like it one bit.
He remembered that once he worked under Dr. Yoshinori Komatsu, the man from Fort Bliss that thought highly of him, and that for a brief time, they worked together and the relationship between the two of them was professional.
However, he also remembered that for some time, Dr. Komatsu had been working on a project for the U.S. Army, and that the project was related to biology, genetics and veterinarian medicine, and that Mason, who has previous experience in such fields, was chosen by the government to work on his project.
But all this changed overnight, when Komatsu started criticizing his religious beliefs, after Mason had started talking about the famous incident in Roswell, New Mexico. Komatsu, who was a skeptic of the UFO phenomenon and an atheist, insulted his beliefs and the Bible, calling it a stupid fairy tale for children, and after a long verbal row, the Japanese scientist fired Mason from his job.
And without almost realizing it, Mason had now become involved in a plan devised by someone else who had a pending feud with Dr. Komatsu, in this case his immediate superior, Major Matthew Fitzroy, with whom he had pledged to help him find a way to get even with him, using his previous contacts Mason had with the other researchers and employees working for Komatsu in his lab.
And suddenly, the phone rang; Mason knew who the person was that he was going to talk to, so he didn't even bother to say hello, it was Major Fitzroy on the other end of the phone.
-"Good afternoon, Dr. Mason, I hope I'm not bugging you with anything of note down there in Mexico, am I?"-
-"Fortunately no, Major."- The American doctor said at his senior officer at the phone. -"I just finished giving classes to my students here in Ciudad Juarez, and how are you, sir?"-
-"Just fine, and I hope you are not sounding as if you don't want to talk to me, Dr. Mason."- the Major replied to the English teacher.
-"Ummm, of course not, Major, I'm only surprised that you would call me all the way from El Paso, Texas, to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, to have a few words with me."-
-"It wasn't exactly difficult to learn where you were working, Mason, since Ciudad Juarez is a small city, and there aren't many private schools in that city, much less with American teachers who teach English, who worked here at Fort Bliss."- The Major replied about how he managed to find Mason's whereabouts in Mexico.
-"Well, leaving that aside, let's get down to business, Major..."-
Mason felt that the Major ought to explain to him what his role was going to be in dealing with their mutual enemy.
-"What is it you want me to do for you concerning Dr. Komatsu?"-
-"I can't explain it over the phone. You know, doctor, to avoid being spied by phone from the Soviets and all that, considering the Russians had Leon Trotsky killed in Mexico City 15 years ago, and it's very likely that they already know that Komatsu is working here in the U.S., so anything we say about him is better done in private."-
-"sigh I have to assume that it would be better if we met again at Fort Bliss, just to be on the safe side for both of us, I guess."-
-"That's right. I hope this is not a problem for you, Dr. Mason."-
-"Not at all, sir."- Mason replied at Fitzroy. -"This was my last class this week, and my shift will be covered by another teacher for the rest of the week, as I have to return to El Paso tomorrow to teach at a local school."-
-"That sounds good enough, Mason, see you tomorrow then."-
-"OK, I'll see you tomorrow, sir."- Mason and Fitzroy said their goodbyes and both hang up their respective telephones.
Once Richard Mason hung up the phone, the American biologist felt a huge sense of discomfort, knowing full well that he was involved in a conspiracy to put someone else out of commission permanently. And although he had some residual resentment against Dr. Komatsu for firing him because of his religious beliefs, Mason would have personally put the matter aside, and moved on with his life normally. After all, revenge was not something he was personally comfortable with, let alone for the pleasure of someone else like Major Fitzroy.
But in the same way, Mason personally felt that he couldn't just let things go, and allowing someone like Komatsu have the last laugh, especially if Mason was going to be the butt of that ridicule. It was just too much to bear for that man.
-"God, I hope I am doing the right thing in getting involved in the Major's plans. I wouldn't want to get caught up in some kind of government conspiracy or someone else's vendetta, and be used as cannon fodder."- Mason thought for himself in that office.
And with nothing else to do, Richard Mason left the office, and seconds later, after saying goodbye to his co-workers and students, he left his work at the school, and returned to the small motel where he was spending the day in Ciudad Juarez, so that tomorrow he would return to El Paso.
And he knew that the next day would most likely be a very difficult one for him.
February 6th, AD 1955, Fort Bliss (Major Fitzroy's office), El Paso, Texas, United States of America, 10:12 AM
-"Good morning, Dr. Mason, did you have a nice trip here to El Paso?"-
Richard Mason was present in Major Matthew Fitzroy's personal office, after a brief drive from Ciudad Juarez to El Paso. This was not a very long trip, as Fort Bliss was very close to the Mexican border, and it only took him a little more than forty minutes from his motel where he was staying in the Mexican border city to the American military base, discounting the time he lost in immigration, and also when entering the base.
-"I had a nice trip, thank you."-
-"Well, you look as if you've just seen or done something which has got you upset."-
-"Tell that to the military police at the base entrance, Major."- Mason remarked his experience regarding with his access to the base to Fitzroy. -"I wish they were more friendly at times, sir."-
-"I thought you were used to having to deal with them, doctor."-
-"Yes, but unlike most of the people who work on this base, I live away from it, as I have a wife and children, not to mention my other responsibilities."-
-"Yeah, I get that."-
-"But moving on, I'm sure you have some stuff for me to do and tell me the details about your plans on dealing with Dr. Komatsu, right?"-
-"Yes, that's right."-
-"But there's only one thing I want to know about this plan, Major Fitzroy:"- Mason argued with the soldier about his conditions for participating in the Major's plan. -"I hope this plan of yours to get rid of Dr. Komatsu does not involve killing him, or anyone else."-
-"Of course not, Dr. Mason. If I wanted to kill that freak, I would have hired a professional, not a resentful biologist like you for this."- The Texas Major reassured Mason that there would be no attempt on the Japanese scientist's life. -"Besides, if I did that, Eisenhower would want my head on a silver platter if I tried something like this without justification."-
-"Good, I was afraid you would want to take more drastic action."- Mason remarked his relief of knowing that the scientist from Japan would be left alive despite their actions. -"You should know I have some reservations about this plan, sir, and I guarantee you that I will not participate if I have to do anything violent against any person."-
-"Do you want to carry out this plan, then?"-
Fitzroy wanted to make sure that Mason would join his plans for getting Komatsu out of Fort Bliss, and that was why he brought the biologist into the picture. But it was obvious that the Mason was hesitant to participate, considering that he was going to work for a member of the military in a conspiracy aimed at making a person lose his job, and if something goes wrong, the fallout for both of them could be terrible.
-"Just tell me what your plan is going to be, and I will decide if I will participate in it or not."- Mason asked Fitzroy about the details of his plan.
-"Very well, Dr. Mason..."
Thus, Major Fitzroy explained to him in broad terms what his plan would be, in which he would require the help of Dr. Richard Mason to get rid of Dr. Komatsu.
-"The plan is basically to undermine Dr. Komatsu's research work in such a way that he will look like an idiot before Secretary of Defense Wilson and his partner, Dr. Reese Ellington. In this way, Washington might want to cancel the project, and put Komatsu out of commission permanently."-
-"But how do you want to achieve that? With some scientific evidence?"-
-"No."- The Major replied at the doctor. -"As I said before, we are going to sabotage his work and ridicule him."-
-"And you want me to be your accomplice in this sabotage?"- Mason asked Fitzroy about the details of his participation.
-"Yes."- The soldier replied with a smile despite the doctor's caution.
-"But in what way could I ruin his work, sir?"- Mason asked. -"I am a scientist, not an intelligence agent to do something like that. And besides, I have no experience in such things, to be honest."-
-"Well..."- Fitzroy smiled in order to make his next words more understandable for Mason. -"...you aren't going to destroy anything."-
-"Then, what exactly am I going to do?"-
-"Try talking to his other assistants using your contacts you still have, as I suggested the other day you came to report your separation from the project to me, and obtain all the information you can get from them. Once we have that info, we will know how to deal with Komatsu and destroy his project."- Fitzroy explained.
-"I think that's not going to be as easy as you think, sir."-
-"Why do you say that, Dr. Mason?"-
-"Dr. Komatsu's assistants have cut all ties with me since the day I was fired, and getting information from them is going to be very difficult, unless we use violent methods, something I mentioned earlier that I'm not interested in doing."- Mason answered without hiding his lead.
-"No, we will not need to go that far."-
-"In that case, can you think of a better idea, Major?"- The scientist asked him about finding a way to obtain information from Komatsu's assistants without relying on violent means.
Major Matthew Fitzroy knew that both had reached an impasse regarding how to obtain information from Komatsu's assistants in a way that was subtle enough to prevent them from realizing that they were being spied upon, and also without having to resort to more extreme measures to gain that valuable information.
And that whole situation could have taken hours, or even days, to resolve if it weren't for the unexpected help of a person who was present in the office along those men...
-"I know very well that this is not something I should get involved in, but may I suggest something to you gentlemen?"-
That voice was that of Major Fitzroy's personal secretary, Catherine Walburg, who was there taking typewritten notes of what both men were talking about at the time, and seeing the problem they were both having with regard to getting information from Komatsu's assistants, she decided to intervene, even though because of her position she should not get involved in such a matter.
No one knew exactly what led her to get involved in that conspiracy, as she had nothing to gain from ruining the life of someone she had no personal problem with in the first place.
Was it to earn some kind of respect in a predominantly male place? Money? Sexual favors with some of the people involved? Those questions faded away with the passage of time, but what is known at this point is that Catherine Walburg played a very important role in that conspiracy, and that without her help, neither Major Fitzroy nor Dr. Mason would have been able to move forward from the deadlock they were both in.
-"What do you have in mind, Miss Walburg?"- Mason and Fitzroy questioned her on what she had in mind when she turned to speak to them both.
The woman took a deep breath, and explained what it was that she had in mind to help both men.
-"This may not be to Dr. Mason's liking, as it could be too personal for him, but considering the other options you two have in mind, I think this could be the best one, even if it might be a little bit... risky."-
-"Risky, you say?"- Dr. Richard Mason demanded an explanation from that woman. -"Moreover, why does your idea directly involve me, huh?"-
-"I will get right to the point, Dr. Mason."- Catherine explained her plan to him. -"You previously mentioned when you arrived at the office that you have a wife and children, didn't you?"-
Mason was both shocked and appalled by what that secretary was trying to suggest with such idea...
-"Wait a minute, Miss Walburg, if you're planning on involving my family in you and your boss' personal vendetta against that man, then I'm NOT going to participate in this in any way!"- Mason yelled at Catherine after hearing such thing from her.
-"I was not talking specifically about your entire family, but your wife, Dr. Mason."- The secretary finally explained to the scientist what the key element of her plan was to extract information from Dr. Komatsu's assistants. -"She's the one we'd be interested in helping us with."-
-"My wife, YOU SAY?!"- Mason replied even unbelieving and unwilling to help in Catherine's plan to obtain that information. -"What on earth makes you think that my wife would want to get mixed up in this mess in the first place?"-
Major Matthew Fitzroy, who up to that point was listening carefully to the plan his secretary had in mind, could not believe that this woman was more reckless than he expected. Since he had known her for several years, he had always thought that Catherine was a simple woman without much ambitions in life, and that she was only satisfied with working for a living, because as far as he knew about her life, Catherine Walburg was a woman married to an officer who fought during the last world war, and they both had three children: a boy and two twin girls.
That led him to ask himself some questions: Why was Catherine excited to participate in that conspiracy? Aside from the fact that she was a woman, at a time when women were only expected to have children and cook, her sudden zeal for the plan he and Dr. Mason had in mind to get rid of Komatsu was something he did not expect from that woman.
Was she working for her own sake? Or maybe she just wanted some respect from the males like her boss, Major Fitzroy, and decided to take such actions just to obtain such respect?
There was no way for him to know that, but whatever the case was, he needed Catherine for his plan to be successful.
-"Wow, this woman turned out to have the biggest fangs I've ever seen on any woman in my entire life!"- The man thought as he listened to his secretary's plan, even if he had not heard all the details up to that point. -"Maybe she will be very helpful in my plan after all, instead of just being another employee."-
Seeing that Dr. Mason did not seem interested in cooperating when he heard that his wife might be involved, Fitzroy asked his secretary Catherine for some context in her plan that she had in mind to know what role Dr. Mason's wife would have in the whole scheme.
-"I think Dr. Mason could help us more if you explain to him exactly what his wife is going to do in the idea you have in mind, rather than being so vague, because I think our friend the doctor is misinterpreting all of this."-
The secretary quickly understood what her boss was trying to say and offered an apology to Dr. Mason for not explaining herself better.
-"I guess I went a little overboard with this, so I'm really sorry if I didn't make myself clear, doctor"-
But Mason was beginning to lose his patience, and he wanted to know exactly what the plan was, and what role his wife would play in that conspiracy.
-"Overboard?"- Mason replied with a very angry tone. -"I just want to know damn well what my wife is going to have to do with this whole mess!"-
-"Okay, okay, I'll get right to the point, doctor:"- The woman said right away. -"Have you heard the term honey trap, Dr. Mason?"-
-"Honey trap?"- The science man replied in a puzzled tone to Catherine. -"I have heard about it, at least in movies, but I assume that means you plan to use my wife to get information from the menworking for Dr. Komatsu, in my understanding."-
-"Exactly,"- Catherine confirmed the crux of her plan. -"but if this calms you down, I don't plan to ask her on sleeping with them, or anything like that. I have my limits in such matters involving third parties, of course."-
-"Then, what is my wife supposed to do in this whole plan, huh?"-
A brief silence was made, as the woman took some seconds on answer that question.
-"This is where you will also help us, Dr. Mason."-
-"And how am I going to help in this whole thing, Ms. Walburg?"-
-"That's easy:"- Catherine explained her plan. -"You know Dr. Komatsu's assistants better, their work schedules, and anything else that might help us get to know the people from whom we are going to get information. In other circumstances, we might have used some of the other women who work here at Fort Bliss, including myself, but chances are Komatsu and his men already know who the people they work with everyday are, so if we use a woman who doesn't work in the military, there's no way they'd suspect anything, especially if your wife contacts them off base."-
-"What's my wife supposed to do exactly?"- Mason asked again, finding it hard to believe that his wife would actually be involved in such a plan. Until that moment, he had thought it was all just a crazy scheme the woman was cooking up, but now he was beginning to think it was more real than he ever thought before.
-"That is simple: your wife will pretend that she is an important person within the government, and she will try to quickly gain the trust of one of Dr. Komatsu's assistants. And when I say quickly, I mean it, because we have less than a week to do something with that man at once."-
-"And why in less than a week?"- Asked Mason to the secretary.
-"Because right now Dr. Komatsu's project is being personally supervised by the U.S. Secretary of Defense and by one of his science advisors from Harvard. They will be here for a week, and if we can't screw with Dr. Komatsu's project while they're here, everything I've said up to this point will be for nothing."-
Dr. Mason was shocked by the whole scheme in which his wife was going to help, and as fast as he could process the information, the man knew the stakes for success in that plan were very high, because of the limited time at hand, and because of the profile of all the people involved in that plot. If something went wrong in that scheme, not only would Maj. Fitzroy and Catherine Walburg pay the consequences, but he and his wife would go down with them, and they could end up in jail for the rest of their lives, or probably worse. But as much as he considered that idea a risky one, he still thought it was the best chance they had to stop Komatsu's lifelong project, in both the short term and in the long term.
-"All of this just to get Dr. Komatsu out of the picture?"- Mason asked Catherine.
-"You'll have to ask the Major that question, not me."-
Mason was not going to bother asking Major Fitzroy that question, because he already knew the answer: He hated Komatsu because he was Japanese, and because, in his personal opinion, that scientist's whole project of making animals talk seemed to have come from the twisted imagination of a scientist who had lost all notion of reality. This last point was perhaps rooted in the idea that the Japanese were only looking for ways to take revenge for what happened in Hiroshima, and that people like Komatsu were insane, perhaps as a result from the effects of the bomb.
Even he, who until a few days ago had worked on this project with Dr. Komatsu with the best intentions in the world, thinking that it was a way to help animals communicate with humans and let humans know about their problems, had realized at that time the fundamental immorality of this idea, especially when Komatsu had said that he wanted to be their god, while people like Mason would be the prophets chosen by Komatsu, something that did not sit well with Mason himself, a religious man. Although, he had to admit, as he looked at the project itself, the idea of making animals talk was a brilliant one, as it would let a person interact with an animal in a more natural and personal way than just trying to figuring out its intentions.
-"All right, Major. I will talk to my wife when I get home, and depending on what she tells me, I will call you tomorrow morning."- Mason said at Maj. Fitzroy about his final standing on the plan. -"In case she says otherwise, don't expect me to help you further with this, beyond giving you any information I know about the project."-
-"That's good, doctor. Then I'll look forward to your call tomorrow."- The soldier responded with a big smile in his face. -"I just hope your wife understands this, but there is something you should tell her, Dr. Mason."-
-"What is it, Major?"- Mason asked the Texan man, with a look of suspicion on his face.
-"Do not explain to your wife why she has to impersonate an important person in the government, and in case she objects, explain that she is not going to do any espionage work or anything like that; that is up to us, for starters."- The Major explained. -"Her only job will be to convince Komatsu's assistants to share whatever they know about Komatsu's project, so we can use that info against their boss later. She will not have to deal with assassins or dangerous people, for our sake and hers."-
From the moment he grasped the concept in the full scheme of things, the feelings Mason had in relation to Major Fitzroy had changed. At least he was reassured to know that he and his wife would not have to kill anyone or do anything like a professional spy, something that would have caused him to hesitate to participate in that conspiracy if he had been so in the first place.
-"OK, Major. I'll pass on the message to my wife."- Mason said.
-"Then I will look forward to your call."- Major Fitzroy said. Then he accompanied Dr. Mason to the front door.
February 6th, AD 1955, Northwest El Paso (Mason's family home), El Paso, Texas, United States of America, 02:30 PM
After that long and grueling day at Fort Bliss, especially after having had that tense meeting with Major Matthew Fitzroy to plan the details surrounding that conspiracy to end the career of his former boss, Yoshinori Komatsu, Richard Mason returned to his home in the suburbs of El Paso.
The Mason family home was not a very luxurious house, nor was it anything that distinguished it from other homes of the same era in the same area; it was simply a typical house for a middle class family, and Mason had everything that any American family of that era could ask for: a car, a wife and two beautiful children, a dog, a boy and a girl, what more could he ask for?
That's why the whole idea of involving his wife in that conspiracy struck him as an incredibly deranged and, at worst, dangerous idea, owing to the possible risks involved, even if Komatsu and his other assistants were not and did not look like dangerous people who might exercise retribution against him, his wife or his family.
But all that would have to wait until he discussed the issue with his wife, Claudia, in due course, as all he could think about was eating something, and nothing else.
And the first thing Richard Mason did when he got home was to greet his wife as warmly as possible.
-"Honey, I'm home!"-
Claudia Mason, Richard's wife, was preparing something to eat that day, went to see her husband as quickly as she could, while he took off his jacket and tie, and hung them on the rack at the entrance to his home.
-"Welcome back, darling. How was your day?"-
-"Honestly, it was a very long day. I have been going in and out of Fort Bliss and have to go to another meeting tomorrow to plan the details of that major meeting I told you about before. I don't know how I am going to get through this, and I'm really getting exhausted as hell."-
And in spite of that apparent white lie, it was evident that Dr. Mason had a hard day at Fort Bliss, something that was noticeable because he was drenched in sweat, also a product of El Paso's hot weather, a sight that Claudia quickly noticed.
-"Oh my, Richard, you're going to need a good bath, since you're soaked in sweat, for god's sake!"-
-"I know. I just couldn't wait to reach home, and take a nice bath."- The husband said at Claudia. -"Anyway, do you still have something to eat around here?"-
-"Yes. I made some roast chicken, and a delicious chocolate cake for dinner tonight. And Isabel is going to help me wash the dishes and clean the house."-
-"Oh, you mean Isabel, the maid you hired in Ciudad Juarez last week?"-
-"Yes. Do you mind if I call her in?"-
-"No, I don't think that's necessary."- Richard replied at his wife. -"I was simply asking you because I had forgotten that you had hired a maid to clean the house and take care of the children, and I didn't remember her name until you mentioned it right now."
-"I bet you didn't remember her name, since you have been so busy, right?"-
-"To say that I've been busy in the last few days would be an understatement, Claudia."- The man lamented his luck regarding his jobs. -"You know well that I have to work in Ciudad Juarez as an English teacher, while I also have to teach biology and chemistry at the school that is two blocks away from home, especially since I was kicked out from the project where I was working with Dr. Komatsu in Fort Bliss."-
Claudia noticed that Richard was very tired, and he took his weary look as an indication to the exhaustion that he had been feeling over the past couple of days. As a wife, she could not help but worry for the physical and mental state of her husband; and while he was not a man who let his emotions show freely, she knew that he had certainly not felt very happy these days.
-"You better go and take a good bath before we continue the talking in the kitchen, will you, honey?"-
-"Alright, Claudia. I'm going to take that lovely bath."-
Afterwards, the woman kissed Richard on his lips in a passionate way...
-"I love you, Richard."-
-"Me too, Claudia."-
After that kiss, Richard Mason went straight to the bathroom of his house, so he could take a shower before eating the roast chicken his wife had prepared for him and the rest of the family.
February 6th, AD 1955, Northwest El Paso (Mason's family home/Kitchen), El Paso, Texas, United States of America, 03:10 PM
Once he finished showering, Richard Mason went to the kitchen to eat with his wife, Claudia, who was putting the finishing touches on the roast chicken the family was going to eat, next to her new maid who was helping her with the food, named Isabel.
Also in the kitchen were the Masons' two children, Frederick and Louise, who were 8 and 9 years old respectively, and both of whom had just returned from school when Richard was in the bathroom taking a bath. They were all waiting for their father to sit down and start eating, something the scientist also wanted to do in the same way.
And when Richard entered the kitchen, he immediately noticed the delicious aroma of roast chicken, paired with baked potatoes and rice, and he couldn't help but congratulate his wife on that delicious meal. And after that exhausting day the scientist had at Fort Bliss, all Richard wanted to do was to eat something delicious that would lift his spirits after arriving home.
-"Ahh, that's a really good chicken! And it's cooked to perfection, my dear."-
-"Thank you, honey."- His wife remarked at the praise she received from Richard. -"Even though much of the credit also belongs to Isabel, since she was the one who helped me to prepare it that way."-
-"Yes. And by the way, thank you for that kiss, dear. I haven't had a chance to kiss you in the last few days because of how busy I've been, to be fair with you, Claudia."-
-"Don't worry about it."- Claudia replied at her husband. -"And I'm not going to complain about it... not with all that I have going on, anyway."-
-"Well, thanks for caring about me anyway, dear."- Afterwards, Richard addressed his children straight away. -"And what about you kids, how have you both been doing in school?"-
-"We've been doing fine in school, dad."- Said Louise, the older of the two Mason children, as she was attempting to cut an apple with a knife.
-"Mmm. Yes. And I have to say that I really enjoyed the English class I took yesterday, dad."- Added Frederick, who was also picking up some chicken to eat with his hands. -"The teacher was very good."-
-"Really, Louise?"- Said Richard, before turning to Frederick. -"And isn't that class the one you were taking last week?"-
-"Yes, dad. And I took English with Mrs. Johnson in the previous period."-
-Oh well, I never bothered to pay attention to which teacher your sister was having, to be fair with you. I'm just happy you two are doing fine in school."-
That response made Frederick a little uncomfortable. It seemed as like his father didn't seem to care much about how he or his sister was doing in school, when the reality was different.
-"Are you okay, dad?"- Louise asked to her father. -"You look very tired today."-
-"Well, I just came from a long day of work at Fort Bliss, honey."- Richard, her father, replied. -"And I admit I'm very tired. But I'm also happy to be back home."-
-"Kids, your dad has been very busy in the last few days, and it's normal for him to come home very tired."- Claudia reminded her children of the workload her husband had on his shoulders. -"Remember that he has two jobs, one in Mexico and one here in the city."-
-"Oh, I see."- The girl responded. -"I'm sorry, daddy."-
-"Hey, I'm not blaming you for anything, sweetheart, heh heh!"- Richard said. -"Anyway, thanks for asking how I'm doing."-
-"Heh, heh, you're welcome, dad!"- Giggled the girl.
Richard couldn't help but smile at his daughter's innocence. It was very important for him to have those moments with his children, because he was aware that a father's child could easily grow to become distant from their parents, if they didn't have those moments of intimacy, so Richard decided to make the most of his time with his children.
-"Okay, kids. I know you're very hungry, so let's eat quickly."- He said to them. -"And please remember to save some room for desert."-
-"And what are we going to eat for dessert, dad?"- Frederick asked.
-"Well, ask your mom about that."- The adult retorted. -"She was the one who prepared the food, not me."-
-"Oh, heh, heh. I see."- The boy bashfully replied.
-"Today we will eat an apple jelly for dessert, and in the evening we will have chocolate cake for dinner, dear."- Claudia, the mother, responded at her son's question at her husband's place.
-"That sounds delicious!"- Both kids replied after hearing what they're goinng to eat for dessert that day. -"Thanks, mom!"-
And while the children were happily eating their food, Richard wanted to have a word with the new maid who would be working with the family from that day on. The woman was about 22 years old, with black hair, brown eyes and fair skin, and for someone who was a domestic servant, she was a very attractive looking person, although that was not what Richard Mason was interested in at the time, but in really knowing who was the person he would have to treat every day.
-"By the way, Isabel, I haven't had a chance to talk to you since my wife hired you."- Richard talked with the Mexican maid. -"What's your full name?"-
The young Latina woman responded in perfect English, with almost no foreign accent, which was something Dr. Mason noticed immediately.
-"My name is Isabel Dominguez, Mr. Mason."- Isabel responded as politely as she could. -"I am very pleased to meet you, sir."-
-"A pleasure to meet you as well, Isabel."- Richard replied. -"So... what's your age?"-
-"I'm twenty-two."-
-"Twenty-two? You're pretty young for a maid, if you ask me."- The man said, trying to get to know the maid. -"What did you do before you came here?"-
-"I previously worked in a factory on the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez, but since the company went bankrupt, and I was left without a job, I was looking for work in the city, until your wife found me in an employment agency downtown."-
-"And I assume you have family to support, right?"-
-"Yes, my mother and my little sister."-
-"And you don't have a father?"-
-"He was a member of the U.S. Army, and he died in the war in France."-
-"Let me guess, he died in Normandy, huh?"- Richard asked the young Mexican woman.
-"Yes."- Isabel responded. -"How did you know that, sir?"-
-"Because I work for the army, and I know many cases like yours, to be honest."- Richard explained why he guessed Isabel's father died in the famous D-Day, aka Operation Overlord, during the last years of World War II at 1944. -"That's why I asked you all those questions; I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable with that, Isabel."-
-"No, not at all. I was just curious to know how you guessed the place where my father died."- She responded as she washed the dishes.
-"I'm also noticing that your English is perfect, and you hardly have any accent. Where did you learn to speak English so well, Isabel, if I may ask so?"-
-"I've been learning English since I was a small girl, sir."-
-"I see, so you've been speaking English since you were very young."- Richard then explained the reason of his question. -"I ask you because I teach English in Ciudad Juarez, and many of my students still can't speak English as well as you do, even those who say they are good "speaking" it."-
-"Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Mason."- Isabel responded somewhat apologetically to her American boss. -"Although the truth is that there are times when I struggle with the language when I have to use very technical speech at times."-
-"Well, no one is perfect, Isabel."- Richard said with a smile, as he noticed that Isabel Dominguez was blushing at her boss' comments.
After that talk with the wife, children and the new maid, the Mason family ate their afternoon lunch in a joyful manner, like any normal family at that time. After finishing lunch, everyone there, except Claudia and Isabel, left the kitchen, so that both women could clean it up without any hindrance.
-"Geez, all that food almost made me burst like a sack of Idaho potatoes!"- Richard responded with a smile on his face after enjoying all that lavish meal.
-"Me too, dad!"- Frederick responded at his father.
-"I loved that apple jelly that Ms. Isabel prepared, dad!"- Louise also complimented the food she and her family had for lunch. -"It's been a while since I've eaten one as delicious as the one she prepared!"-
-"Yes, I think so too, honey."- Richard replied at his daugther. -"It was so sweet and delicate!"-
-"Hopefully the chocolate cake Miss Isabel and Mom are making for dinner will be as good as the jelly, dad!"- Frederick said very happily to his father.
-"Hm... I hope so, son."- Richard replied with a smile on his face as he looked at his children. -"Well... leaving aside all that talk about food, how about watching some TV, kids?"-
-"Yeah!"- Both kids agreed.
Frederick and Louise agreed with their father and they spent the rest of the afternoon, watching their favorite cartoons on the TV set located in their living room. For Dr. Richard Mason, being able to spend that day with his family, away from the political and military goings-on at Fort Bliss, and especially when he was involved in the conspiracy to put his former boss, Dr. Yoshinori Komatsu, out of commission and ruining his life's project was something he wanted to treasure every moment he could, knowing that if anything went wrong with that plan, there was a risk, even if minimal, that he and his family would pay the ultimate price for trying to destroy his boss.
That thought haunted him every second he was with his kids, unaware of the drama their father was deeply involved in.
And worst of all, now he would have to involve his wife in all that mess he was in up to his neck, and only because Major Matthew Fitzroy's secretary, Catherine, suggested that his wife Claudia could help because of the inability of the plan's architects to use their own means of espionage.
He didn't like the idea of involving the woman he loved the most into that mess, but even more, he didn't like the fact that he might endanger her life by joining him in that conspiracy against Komatsu.
But he could not mortify himself all day thinking about an assumption that might not be completely fulfilled after all. Even if he knew that Komatsu was somewhat eccentric, and to some extent arrogant, he did not think that he could cause any harm to another human being, just for starters, because of his political position as a prisoner working for the U.S. government, any attempt by him to cause any harm to American interests, including attacking American citizens, would be effectively responded to by simply eliminating him once and for all.
In the end, Komatsu, as smart as he was at that time, was definitively no match for the U.S. government. After all, he didn't end up in America just because he was nice, that's for sure.
But now he had to talk to his wife and explain to her what her part in the plan would be, without telling her the exact reasons why she should get that information, and for what purpose, except to try to gain the trust of some of Dr. Komatsu's assistants.
And the only way to talk about it, was at the most intimate moment for either spouse, in this case, in their own room.
February 6th, AD 1955, Northwest El Paso (Mason's family home/Main room), El Paso, Texas, United States of America, 10:45 PM
After a long afternoon, where Richard Mason dedicated himself to play with his children, and after eating that delicious chocolate cake that his wife Claudia, with Isabel's help, had prepared since the afternoon, not before having sent the children to sleep first, and after Isabel had also left the house for her home in Ciudad Juarez, Richard went into his room to prepare for sleep, while his wife Claudia was in the bathroom taking a shower.
After he took off his shoes, he sighed, seeing his wife Claudia coming into the bedroom from the bathroom after taking that bath half a hour ago, with just a robe on her...
-"Do you intend to seduce me, or what, dear?"- Richard said with a erotic tone in his voice.
-"If seduction is what you're looking for, honey, I think you'll have to wait until we turn the lights out, Richard."- Claudia replied in a tone also with a suggestive attitude, wanting to tease her husband.
-"Hah, hah, hah! That's really funny!"- Richard laughed hard seeing his wife's suggestive behavior. -"Now, let's go and turn the lights off, because I know what you have in mind."-
-"Really?"- The wife replied with a very suggestive slant. -"I want to see you try to pull out what's on my mind, tiger..."-
-"Well, prepare yourself, sweetheart, because tonight I will do with you what they say they do in Mexico in their intimacy..."-
-"Which thing, Richard?"-
-"Stab the bear to death, and without mercy, or in Spanish "Matar al oso a puñaladas y sin piedad". At least that's what they say there in Ciudad Juarez."- The man said with a naughty smile in his face.
-"Don't tell me you picked up such a thing back in Mexico, Richard?"-
Claudia said with a somewhat surprised expression in her face as, since she also spoke Spanish as well, she knew the whole nuance of that Spanish phrase.
-"And what did you expect?"- The husband replied without any irony. -"I work in a school full of horny teenagers, who are always telling dirty jokes in Spanish, and it's obvious that after a while you end up absorbing all that stuff, Claudia."-
-"Well, I think you're right about that, honey."- The woman replied as she lay down on the bed next to her husband, and waited for what would follow. -"After all, you have to hear all that nonsense every day, since you're a teacher."-
-"You're right about that, Claudia."- Then, Richard, the husband, replied with some bitterness at his dear wife. -"But at the same time, I wasn't born to teach a bunch of snotty little shits in another country who are just going to use everything they learned in that school to walk all over their peers someday."-
The woman was surprised by the very poor and vulgar opinion her husband had about the students he taught in that private school in Mexico.
-"Well, honey, what would you do instead of that?"- Claudia asked as she did understand that her husband had very little esteem of the people he taught.
-"What else? Return to work on something related to research at Fort Bliss. But that's going to be very tricky since Dr. Komatsu kicked me from his project, and without his references, getting a job elsewhere related to my field of work will be very difficult."- Richard explained the crux of his current problem. -"And I don't think you and the kids would want to go to another city as I look for work elsewhere in the country."-
Claudia Mason didn't know what else to say about it to console her husband, who was having a kind of very personal crisis that he was facing personally, but she didn't dare to ask him what was tormenting him, perhaps because not even that man knew the reason, when the reality was something very different that she would later discover.
-"Why don't we put all that aside tonight, and have some fun? okay, honey?"- The woman said, while kissing Richard in his lips. -"We can discuss this another day when you are more comfortable."-
-"You're right."- He replied as he also started kissing his wife, feeling instantly relieved and relaxed whenever he did taste his wife's mouth.
As soon as Richard saw that she herself was getting into it as she surely was, he took the initiative and started removing her wife's robe, while Claudia removed his pajama shirt. And after their naked bodies touched each other, they started fondling one another, and started to arouse each other further to no end.
And so, what happens next is left to the reader's imagination...
February 6th, AD 1955, Northwest El Paso (Mason's family home/Main room), El Paso, Texas, United States of America, 01:30 AM
-"Are you awake, honey?"- Richard was about to ask when his wife spoke.
-"I am, sweetheart."-
After a long and torrid love session between the two, Richard Mason knew he had the perfect opportunity to talk to his wife and ask for her help in getting that information from Dr. Komatsu's assistants. He knew it wasn't going to be easy to tell his wife that, and he also had to be careful that Claudia shouldn't know the exact reason why he pretended to use her as a honey trap for those men, for more than obvious reasons, and even more so after having sex just a few moments ago.
-"There's something I want to discuss with you, honey."-
-"Yeees?"- Claudia said, while still having her eyes closed. -"What do you want to talk to me about, darling?"-
After hesitating for a few moments, Richard Mason took the courage to discuss the issue with his wife Claudia, no matter what might happen next.
-"Go ahead, Richard. I'm listening to you."-
Claudia responded to her husband's words as she saw the tension and the worry of Richard's face. She decided to do her best and try to help him deal with that issue he had in his mind.
-"Is something wrong, Richard?"- Claudia asked, this time a little more worried when she saw her husband's anguished face. -"You look a little nervous right now, and since you came back home, there seemed to be something not quite right with you."-
-"The truth is there is something I urgently need your help with, but you may not like what I'm about to ask you, honey."- Richard said as he held Claudia's hands and looked deep into her eyes, utterly and completely nervous about what he was about to say to her.
-"Richard, I'm listening."- The woman replied with the calmest and most reassuring voice that she could have, whilst noticing that her husband was still very agitated.
Before Claudia even knew what happened, Richard took a deep breath and was ready to get down to business.
-"What I am going to ask you to do next and the context of this situation is something that you may find unpleasant, but I need you to understand this, and I need your help, dear, because you are the only woman I can count on, though in this case you are my wife."-
Claudia began to worry about what her husband was going to ask of her, because considering his background, she knew it might be something related to his work at Fort Bliss.
-"I hope it's nothing to do with your job in the military, Richard."-
Richard knew that the situation suddenly became more tense to discuss when his wife said that.
-"Unfortunately, it is, Claudia..."-
The woman stood up halfway through the bed, and looked annoyed at her husband, since she felt that Richard, her husband of many years, had dragged her into a problem that was none of her business, and she deserved an explanation as to why she should help him.
-"Why this is anything to do with me, Richard? I've never helped you with anything related to your military job, ever."-
After some seconds of silence, and looking a little troubled, Richard decided that the time for him to explain had come, and it was time to tell Claudia everything.
-"In that case, I'll get right to the point."-
And so, Richard Mason explained to his wife the plan in which she was going to partake, without explaining to her the exact motives why she was going to acquire that information from Dr. Komatsu's aides, other than that she was going to impersonate a member of the government to convince them to give her classified information about the project they were working on for their boss.
For more than obvious reasons, Claudia Mason was visibly upset about having to help her husband in such a plan, especially since she was going to be basically female bait for men she didn't know, and she wouldn't have the slightest idea what their intentions would be.
-"Richard, I don't know what the fuck you got yourself into this time, and I don't know what you came up with to get me involved in this crazy idea of yours!"-
-"I can't explain to you all the exact details, but I assure you that it is nothing dangerous, because you are not going to spy on an important official, or a politician, but on a doctor's assistants, and in the worst case, the worst thing that could happen to you is that they could call the police, something that I also have contemplated in the plan and I don't think that they can press any charges against you."- Richard stated obviously nervous about how the plan would unfold. -"You have to understand that what you are about to do is extremely important. You are the only one who I can rely on when I need some information from Komatsu's aides."-
-"But why me? There must be other women who could help you with this plan and they would be people you know, like any of the women who work in the base, and not ordinary people like me, for god's sake!"-
Richard was understandably a little annoyed, but this time, it was Claudia who had the upper hand since she wasn't really the submissive type when it came to her husband as she always tried to pretend to be, and it was becoming more and more obvious that she was not happy about all of this.
-"Unfortunately, they probably know the women who work at the base, and I don't think they will fall for a plan like this so easily if we involve them in it. That's why we need an outsider like you to help us with this."- Richard stated after Claudia expressed her concerns.
-"I'm not comfortable with doing this, Richard."- Claudia replied, visibly unhappy with the situation.
-"I understand you perfectly, honey, and believe me I wouldn't have wanted you to get involved in this either, but I have no other solution available for this."-
After a few minutes of silence and some hesitance, Claudia agreed on assisting Richard, but only to help him out with his plan, not to be involved in it further.
-"Alright, Richard, I'll do it. I'll do anything to help you, but once this crazy idea of yours is finished, I don't want to ever being involved another bullshit like this again!"-
-"I promise you, Claudia, it's the last time that you will be involved in something like this with me, I swear..."-
Claudia sighed a bit after hearing her husband's words
-"OK, Richard, I will do it, but I'm not comfortable doing it. That's for sure."-
Richard Mason hugged his wife and kissed her on the mouth. At the moment, Claudia was probably more confused than anything else, and for a good reason, because she was going to participate in a job related to her husband in the army, in which she would have to pass herself off as someone else, and that was terrifying for her, due to the inherent risks of that task.
And after their worries were gone, the married couple finally slept peacefully in their bed. For Richard Mason this was what he finally wanted, as he knew that the next day would be a very difficult one for him.
February 7th, AD 1955, Northwest El Paso (Mason's family home/Main hall), El Paso, Texas, United States of America, 09:28 AM
DING DONG
-"Who is it?"-
-"It's me, Isabel, Mr. Mason."-
-"Wait a second, Isabel, I'm just getting out of bed."-
-"OK, sir."-
When Richard answered the door, he could see Isabel, his wife's personal maid, standing right in front of him. Richard, on the other hand, was in front of her dressed in his bathrobe, since just a few moments ago he had gotten out of bed, in this case to open the door to his maid, who was waiting to enter the Masons' house.
-"Good morning, Mr. Mason."-
-"AWWWWWWWWWWNNNN! Gud mohrning, Isabel..."- Richard responded, who was still somewhat drowsy, as he had to wake up to open the door for the Mexican maid.
-"Ehh, I hope I didn't wake you up too early, sir."- Isabel asked to her boss with some concern, thinking that she had arrived at the house earlier than she should have.
The American scientist smiled cheerfully, so that woman would not worry about it, and could have some peace of mind.
-"Don't worry, Isabel, I had to get up early to open the door for you anyway. Besides, I'm not so used to getting up so early due to my job."- Richard replied. -"You can come in."-
-"Thank you, sir."-
Isabel Dominguez entered the Masons' house and once in the main room, the woman asked what she was going to do today to begin work.
-"What can you start doing today, you say?"- The man said. -"I guess you can start preparing breakfast for us, I guess. As for the specifics, you can ask my wife, please."-
-"Understood, sir."- Isabel confirmed the order. -"Is there anything else you would like, Mr. Mason?"-
-"Currently, no. Thank you very much for asking anyway, Isabel."-
And as Richard prepared to return to his room to get dressed more formally, the sound of the phone ringing echoed throughout the house. Seconds later, Isabel's voice was heard as well.
-"Mr. Mason, would you like me to answer the phone?"-
-"Yes, please."-
The Mexican woman answered the phone, and after a few minutes, she spoke again with Richard Mason, her immediate boss, who was just about to enter his room.
-"Mr. Mason, someone wants to talk to you on the phone. It seems to be urgent."-
-"Didn't he tell you who he or she is, Isabel?"-
-"It's a man named Matthew Fitzroy, from the U.S. Army."-
The mere mention of that name caused Richard Mason to stop immediately whatever he was doing, and he immediately went back down to the main hall to answer that call personally. He knew very well the reason for that call, and he had to answer it.
-"Tell him I'll be right there to talk to him."-
-"Understood, sir."-
Once downstairs, Richard Mason picked up the phone as quickly as he could, and without wasting any more time, he answered that call.
-"Hello?"-
-"Oh, good morning, Dr. Mason, it's good to hear you again!"- The voice said from the other side of the line.
-"Yes, it's a pleasure to hear you too, Major Fitzroy."- Richard Mason replied. -"What I can do for you?"-
-"I'll get to that in a minute, sir. How are you first?"- Fitzroy asked.
-"I'm fine, like usual, sir."- Mason said. -"Although as you can imagine, I didn't exactly have a very comfortable night."-
-"I guess you already talked to your wife at night about the plan we have in mind, didn't you?"-
-"Yes, I already talked to her, just like you and Ms. Walburg requested that I do."-
-"And what does your wife think about the plan, doctor?"-
-"Well... she agreed to participate, albeit reluctantly, sir. As you know, not everyone wants to be involved in something where only the basic details are known, regardless of whether it is a family member or not."-
-"I understand that, but it's good to know that your wife agreed to join in, which is the most important thing ultimately."-
-"Okay, but now let's get to the point, Major."- Mason asked to the military man. -"When are we going to start all this, and what do I need to know first?"-
-"Everything will happen tomorrow morning, doctor."-
-"Tomorrow morning, sir?"-
-"Yes."-
-"But why?"- The doctor asked in a puzzled way to his senior officer. -"I thought you would want us to begin right now, or at least that's what I assumed."-
-"That has an explanation, doc."- Fitzroy then explained the reasons. -"First, and before your wife does anything, she needs to pose as an important government employee, and for that, you need to come to Fort Bliss so that we can give you the clothes she is going to wear, and also to give her the necessary identifications and clearances to avoid her raising any suspicions, either from the assistants, or from Dr. Komatsu himself in case things get complicated."-
-"Okay, then, I'm coming by as soon as possible. Did Ms. Walburg already make the arrangements?"-
-"Yes, she did it, Dr. Mason."-
-"OK, then it's settled, I'll be leaving the house around 11 AM or 12 PM, if that's still okay with you, Major."-
-"That's fine with me."-
-"Then we see you later, Major."-
-"OK, see you soon, Dr. Mason, and have a nice trip."-
And so, after that brief conversation, Dr. Richard Mason put the phone down. Ten minutes later, he got dressed in yhe bathroom located downstairs, and went to tell Isabel, his personal maid, what he's going to do.
-"Isabel, I'm leaving to Fort Bliss as soon as I finish eating for work. I need you to make me breakfast as soon as possible, because I have to be there at least before 12 PM."-
-"Yes, sir."- The maid replied. -"I'll go make that right now."-
-"Thank you, Isabel."-
-"Would you like me to fix something special for you, Mr. Mason?"-
-"Mmmm... Maybe some quesadillas with stir-fried beans and sour cream, Isabel?"- The American scientist asked to his maid. -"I think that's the fastest thing I can think of right now that you can cook up."-
-"Sounds great for me, sir."-
While Isabel was preparing breakfast, Claudia Mason, Richard's wife, had gone down to the main hall to have her breakfast in the same way, only to find her husband there too, already fully dressed. She quickly understood why he was already there, although she needed to ask him a few questions.
-"Honey, who was that on the phone?"-
-"He was Major Fitzroy. He asked me to go to the base before 12 PM."-
-"Why?"-
-"Because he is going to give me something for you that you are going to use tomorrow to pose as a government employee."- Dr. Mason explained to his wife. -"I hope what he's going to give me for you will help."-
-"Maybe, I guess. But why so soon right now?"- The woman asked.
-"I don't know, and that's what pisses me off."- Richard replied with an annoyed voice. -"I would have preferred that he call me later, so I could come to Fort Bliss another day, not when I'm just getting out of bed, for god's sake."-
The wife tried to comfort Richard by placing her hands on his shoulders in a loving way.
-"Relax, honey, maybe everything will go well, and has to be done like this."- Claudia said. -"Although to be honest, I would have wished not to have been involved in all this nonsense, if you ask me."-
-"Yeah, I already know that, sweetheart. We already talked about that last night."-
-"And are you going to have some breakfast, Richard?"-
-"Yes. Quesadillas with beans and cream."- The man replied at his wife. -"I asked Isabel to cook that for me, because it's the fastest meal I can think of that she can prepare now."-
Then, the wife did a brief pause, and then she resumed the chat with her husband...
-"If you want, we can continue talking in the kitchen together more calmly, dear."-
Richard Mason agreed with his wife and the two went to the kitchen to have breakfast and continue their conversation...
-"Good idea, let's go there."-
February 7th, AD 1955, Northwest El Paso (Mason's family home/Kitchen), El Paso, Texas, United States of America, 10:00 AM
A few minutes afterwards, Isabel arrived with the quesadillas to Richard, who was already in the table waiting for the food.
-"Here's your breakfast, Mr. Mason."-
-"Thank you, Isabel."- The scientist answered to the maid. -"By the way, these quedadillas really look delicious!"-
-"I'm glad you like my food, Mr. Mason."- Isabel replied to her boss. -"Not many people like you like Mexican food, if you want to know that, sir."-
-"Heh, heh! You're right about that, Isabel."- Richard explained with a smile to the Mexican woman. -"I really don't have much problem eating it, because I have to work in Mexico, and I have to eat whatever I can find on the streets or in restaurants, like tacos, hamburgers or pico de gallo."-
-"And if I could ask you this question, Mr. Mason, have you ever suffered from the Montezuma Curse?"-
-"What, do you mean if I have gotten sick from eating street food?"-
-"Yes."-
The American scientist stood silent for a few moments in front of that question, trying to remember if he had ever fallen ill from eating Mexican food on the street.
-"Not that I remember."- Richard replied to that question. -"Maybe I've eaten so many stuff in just so many places both here in the States and in Mexico that I actually have a natural immunity to eat anything, as long as it looks clean, of course. giggle"-
-"Good, Mr. Mason, I'm glad to hear that."-
-"But still, I find it strange that you should ask me that, Isabel. It's like you want to imply that your food is the same quality as the street food they sell in Mexico."-
-"That's not what I meant, sir."- The maid replied. -"What I mean by that is that there's a lots of very racist people in the U.S. who doesn't like to eat anything that comes from Mexico, hence it was surprising that you don't have problems eating Mexican food, much less street food."-
That comment about racism brought back bad memories for Dr. Mason, and perhaps a repressed sense of guilt. And this was because he and his wife Claudia were about to participate in a conspiracy that would ruin a scientist's career, in part because one of those involved in the plan and the mastermind behind it, Major Matthew Fitzroy, did not have much sympathy for Dr. Yoshinori Komatsu in part because he was Japanese, and for many other reasons.
But at that point in history, Mason could no longer turn back. Even if he didn't like the Japanese doctor very much either, it was mainly because Komatsu fired him for his religious beliefs, and he would have settled for a less dramatic outcome for Dr. Komatsu, but in the same way, he also felt that he couldn't leave things like that between him and that man, even if it meant he had to do something he might later regret for the rest of his life.
-"I do understand you perfectly, Isabel. Maybe too well..."- Richard Mason said, while playing with a spoon on the table and making it spin.
The maid looked at her boss playing with the spoon on the table, and asked him why.
-"Something wrong, Mr. Mason?"-
-"Huh?"- The man replied surprised, because he was distracted with that spoon. -"Nothing, it's nothing. Maybe I am thinking too much, Isabel."-
-"Okay."-
After a few seconds...
-"By the way, Mr. Mason, do you want anything else to eat?"-
-"For the moment I do not want anything else, thanks for asking, Isabel."-
-"Okay, sir."-
Meanwhile, Claudia Mason, who was having breakfast on her own, and had not had the opportunity to join the chat until that point, also wanted to ask her husband more questions about what he was planning to do that day.
-"So, are you going to Fort Bliss to pick up what I'm going to use for your plan?"-
-"That's right, Claudia."- The husband explained. -"I hope I don't take too long with this, and I can return home in the afternoon at the latest."-
-"Just be safe, Richard, and and try not to be late.."-
-"I won't."-
The American scientist nodded and did not say anything more. Then, after having finished breakfast, Richard left the table to prepare to leave for Fort Bliss. But before that...
-"By the way, Richard,"- Claudia Mason stopped her husband from leaving the room. -"Can I ask a question?"-
-"Go ahead."- The man asked.
The woman did a brief, seconds-long, pause.
-"Will I have to enter the base to talk with Dr. Komatsu's assistants?"- Claudia asked somewhat concerned. -"You know, I'm a civilian, and I think someone there, like a random soldier or officer, might get suspicious if someone sees me there at the base, and finds out that I don't really work for the government, blowing my cover entirely."-
-"I don't think so, but I need to talk to the person who is going to give me your clothes and documents first, and depending on what they tell me, you may not have to enter a military property to do this."-
-"Oh, okay."- The woman replied, feeling relieved. -"That actually makes me feel a little safer than I was before."-
-"Let's just hope there isn't any sudden change of plans halfway through that will make things messier for me, or for you."- Dr. Mason said. -"I don't want to have any unexpected surprises that could endanger you." -
-"Another thing I would like to know,"- The woman did a final question. -"I guess I shouldn't tell this to anyone, not even our children, correct?"-
-"That's right. I don't want to involve more people in this mess, much less our kids, so it's better not to tell them anything."-
After this, the woman walked up to her husband, and gave him a heartfelt kiss on his lips before Richard Mason departed for the Texan military base.
-"Please, Richard, take care, and when all this nonsense is over, I want you to tell me the truth later, OK?"- The woman said. -"I'm still not sure that this is all completely safe, and you know how I hate lies and secret things."-
-"I promise you, Claudia, I won't lie to you, and I will tell you everything sooner or later."- The man said with some sadness visible in his face. -"Now, I need to go to the base right now. Please say goodbye to the children for me, will you?"-
-"Yes, I'll do that."- The woman replied, while giving him another kiss on the lips. -"Be safe and be careful, Richard."-
-"I will."- The man replied before he departed for Fort Bliss alone in his car.
February 7th, AD 1955, Fort Bliss (Major Fitzroy's office), El Paso, Texas, United States of America, 11:48 AM
-"May I come in, please?"-
Seconds later, a female voice was heard on the other side of the door.
-"You may go in, Dr. Mason."-
That voice was that of Catherine Walburg, Major Matthew Fitzroy's personal secretary, who was waiting for Dr. Mason to arrive at his boss's office. She was typing several documents on her typewriter while she listened to some jazz music on the radio.
Mason noticed that the woman really had good taste in music, as the song she was listening to was When the Saints Go Marching In by Louis Armstrong, an artist who was not to the liking of people who were white. But it was evident that Catherine was not an ordinary woman, and she cared very little about that kind of small details, something that she would explain shortly.
-"Ah, good morning, Dr. Mason."- She greeted the man, after he opened the door. -"How are you doing this morning? Did you have a good sleep?"-
-"I slept well, thank you for asking."- Mason said to her. -"Although I could have slept more if it weren't for the fact that our new maid came to our house very early, and in addition to the phone call your boss did at almost the same time."-
-"Yes, I understand that perfectly."- The secretary explained as she continued to type on her personal typewriter. -"The Major is very impatient for this kind of stuff, and I imagine that's why he called you so early."-
-"I see."-
-"Well, while the Major is out of the office, would you like to sit in that chair while we wait for him, Dr. Mason?"-
-"Sure."- Mason replied, and he sat down in one of the chairs located at the side of a very impressive desk property of Catherine's boss.
Once seated in that chair, Mason asked Catherine about the whereabouts of the Major, who was not in the office at the time.
-"If I may ask, where is Major Fitzroy now?"-
-"At this moment, he is in a meeting with some senior officers of the base. That's all I can say right now, doctor."-
-"I see, in the end he must be very busy, right?"-
-"Yes, he sure is."- Catherine stated. -"He gives nearly all of his time to his work, ever since he took command of this section years ago."-
-"Isn't he married, Ms. Walburg?"-
-"Not that I know of, strangely enough."- The woman replied with a sardonic smile in her face. -"He has dedicated his entire life to arms since he was young, and I believe he knows no other life but that of the army; something very sad, if you ask me, doctor."-
-"Yes, that does sound terrible."-
Richard Mason agreed with her. -"That may explain why he is so arrogant and violent in his way of dealing with people, at least from what I can see myself."-
-"He is the kind of officer the American army needs, doctor. He's a man of action, and a very efficient soldier, both in the battlefield, and outside of it."- Catherine said in defense of her boss.
-"I suppose so, and that's why he seems to be very well respected among the higher-ups of the Army."- Mason said.
-"Well, to say that they respect him is an understatement, doctor."- Catherine said, again with a snarky expression in her own face. -"Just between us, many people within the army think that the Major is just an egotistical idiot with delusions of grandeur, and that's why he's working here at Fort Bliss, as far as I'm concerned."-
-"I heard from Dr. Komatsu that Major Fitzroy fought in both world wars, didn't he?"- Dr. Mason asked the woman. -"Or maybe is he just overstating his military achievements?"-
-"Well, no one can deny that he fought in both wars, that's true."- Catherine explained about her boss' backstory. -"But his only problem is that his ego has put him in trouble on countless times in both wars, to such an extent that many people have had to save his ass in combat, although it can be said that he was a good soldier in spite of everything. He was not promoted to Major for nothing after al, as he participated in several major battles in both wars, including Operation Overlord in Normandy."-
-"But I have to assume that the army put him here so he wouldn't cause any more problems, so I'm seeing."-
-"It looks like it, Dr. Mason."- Catherine confirmed, while still typing. -"It's better for the Major to keep pestering people like Dr. Komatsu here in America than to keep doing the same thing on the battlefield."- The secretary said with a sardonic smile in her face.
Suddenly, Catherine stopped typing, and turned to face Mason, with the same sly smile that she had on the face: -"Listen, this is the first time you've heard all of this from me, isn't it, doctor?"- She asked.
-"Yes."- Mason responded at the secretary. -"Apart from your idea of involving my wife in this whole mess, this is the first time we have the opportunity to talk beyond the traditional greetings."-
-"Right. Well, I'd appreciate it if you'd keep all this information I said about the Major to yourself."- She stated. -"I need this job for many reasons, and if the Major knew I was talking crap about him behind his back, he would also dismiss me with no remorse, as he does with anyone who defy him."-
-"I think I can understand you perfectly, Ms. Walburg."-
The secretary continued with her typing, while Dr. Richard Mason sat there without saying anything else, until he decided to talk about a different subject than Major Fitzroy.
-"By the way, to change the tune, I noticed the moment I walked into the office that you have a good taste in music."-
-"Oh! Thank you very much, Dr. Mason."- Catherine replied quite surprised at hearing that, and for many reasons. -"I'm glad you noticed that."-
-"Usually there are not many... white people, to put it that way, who like to listen to musicians like Louis Armstrong. That's why I find that strange about you, Ms. Walburg."-
-"I have always loved good jazz since I was a child, Dr. Mason."- The woman explained about her tastes of music to the scientist. -"And I care very little about the race of the people who play that music, only its quality, and if Louis Armstrong is a good jazzman, that's what matters most to me, not the color of his skin or other stupid nonsense."-
-"Well, I have to also admit that I do like jazz, and in my opinion, Louis Armstrong is one of the most important classical figures in this music."- Mason admitted. -"That's even more surprising for a man like me, who's always liked to listen mostly to classical music."-
-"That was also my opinion. Maybe, we both share a taste for jazz, you and I."- Catherine said with a smirk.
-"It seems so, Ms. Walburg."- Mason replied. -"Do you also like classical music?"-
-"Yes, but I'm more of an opera listener than anything else, to be honest."-
-"I see. What operas do you like, if I may ask?"- Mason asked the woman about her kind of opera music she preferred.
-"Oh, there are lots of operas I like, from Jules Massenet to Giacomo Puccini and from Richard Wagner... Well, I have to admit that my favorite is the overture of Richard Wagner's Die Meistersinger von NĂşremberg."-
-"Really?, you don't say."- Mason said in a playful tone. -"That must be a very unusual piece of music."-
-"Yes, I like it very much, because it's very unusual and unique."- Catherine eagerly revealed that about her favorite music. -"In fact, I heard the whole opera only once, years and years ago, but I can remember every second of it. It's because the overture is the best piece of music I've ever heard."-
-"I can understand that, and I agree with you, Ms. Walburg."- Mason said with a nod.
-"And what about you, Dr. Mason?"- The secretary asked back to the man of science. -"Do you have a preference in classical music in particular?"-
-"Well, I like many of Bach's pieces, especially Toccata and Fugue in D minor and the Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major, but my favorite composer is Johann Sebastian Bach."- Mason responded about his tastes in music. -"Although for some particular reason I enjoy listening to Ravel's Bolero."-
-"Ravel's Bolero?"- The woman asked in a puzzled way. -"Now that's a rather peculiar taste in classical music, may I ask why?"-
-"Maybe because my ex-boss, Dr. Komatsu, loved to listen to that piece of music, for some particular reason, and he always put that play in the lab when he had the chance."- Dr. Mason explained to the secretary of Major Fitzroy, about the reason why he enjoyed that piece of music.
-"Now that you mention it, whenever I have passed by Dr. Komatsu's laboratory, I have had to listen to him play that tune several times."- Catherine said while writing. -"At first I thought he was playing just for a joke, but he did always play that piece of music, strangely."-
-"Yes, I was also stunned that he liked that kind of thing, despite his past. He always seemed so stern and serious."- Mason added to the secretary. -"He even played it during science experiments. Maybe he likes that piece because he finds it quite dramatic, I guess."-
-"Well, that could be the reason why he enjoys Ravel's Bolero so much."- Catherine Walburg observed. -"I don't really understand that, who could enjoy that kind of music, though?"-
-"Quite frankly, I don't know."- Mason shrugged off in response to that question. -"As I understand it, Dr. Komatsu liked to listen to classical music when he was working in Germany."-
-"Mmmmm..."- Catherine whispered quietly. -"That would explain a lot of things about that man..."-
-"That is more than obvious."- Dr. Mason then changed the topic a bit. -"By the way, how has Dr. Komatsu been doing now that he is being overseen by the Secretary of Defense and Dr. Ellington?"-
-"Unfortunately I don't know much about it, since it is classified information, but according to what I have seen from both men when they leave Dr. Komatsu's lab, they seem to be very excited about what that doctor has been showing them so far."- The woman explained, this time with an annoyed grin on her face. -"That means we're not going to have it so easy for us to sabotage his project and put that doctor out of commission."-
Richard Mason lowered his head in frustration, seeing that things were starting to become more messy than they seemed. Not only did Komatsu seem to be convincing those VIPs about the benefits of his project, but he was doing it in a way that even he couldn't fully understand, and for a good reason: Until just one year ago, Komatsu had only obtained very meager results with his Advanced Artificial Evolution Project, and Major Fitzroy had begun to threaten to cancel his project.
Even with his greatest achievement to date, getting that little kitten to use human sign language, would not have been enough to convince anyone within the U.S. government to allow him to continue with that project. That only meant two things:
Either the Secretary of Defense and Dr. Reese Ellington were idiots, or Komatsu was very skilled at manipulating others to fulfill his whims. Or he was just very lucky, plain and simple.
-"I hate to say this, but I don't like the way things look about this whole plan. If Dr. Komatsu is able to make a member of President Eisenhower's cabinet, and one of the most recognized scientists in his field in the U.S., start eating out of his hand, that means he is more dangerous than he looks."- Mason said with a depressed sound in his voice.
-"Do you think our plan could fail, Dr. Mason?"- The secretary asked the scientist with a smart look on her face. -"What are you thinking about?"-
-"I don't really know, but what I do know for sure is that Dr. Komatsu will not be someone we should easily underestimate, that's for sure."- The man warned about their possibilities on trying to defeat Komatsu. -"I have a very strong feeling that he might have contemplated something like this could happen to him or to anyone working for him."-
-"Oh, pleeeeeeeease, Dr. Mason, don't be so damn overdramatic!"- The woman scolded the scientist. -"Komatsu may be a scientist, but he is not almighty, much less a god. I doubt very much that someone like him could predict that something like this would ever happen, that's for sure!"-
-"And why do you believe such a thing, Ms. Walburg?"-
-"Because I know lots of men like him:"- Catherine explained loudly at Dr. Mason, as if she already know how to deal with a man like Komatsu. -"they talk a lot, and also brag about being powerful and all that crap, but at the moment they deal with something that they cannot control, they lose their cockiness completely."-
-"That is an accurate description of many men, yes."- Mason agreed. -"But I think that in this case we are underestimating the scope of Dr. Komatsu's intelligence. If I were in his position, I would put a lot of thought into the possibility that someone could want me gone because I am too insignificant or useless to them."-
But that woman quickly shook her head in denial, doubting that such a thing could happen, for the next reason she would describe.
-"Bah! If that were so, we would also have to worry about Dr. Von Braun, and he is smarter than Dr. Komatsu by a damn mile, considering his background in aerospace engineering, and the fact that he is a Nazi."- Catherine gave her reason for dismissing Komatsu's potential dangers. -"Instead, that Japanese guy is a complete stranger who no one has ever heard even in his country, and who, according to what the Major has told me about him, has even had problems with his higher-ups in the past during the last war. I really doubt he could be a threat to anyone, to be honest."-
Even though that argument was sound, Richard Mason had his doubts about it. The problem was not whether Dr. Komatsu was very smart, or that he was "a complete stranger to everyone in Japan" or even that he had a past full of problems in almost every place he had step in. If there's one thing history had taught Mason, it was how dangerous it was to underestimate people like Komatsu by thinking they were completely harmless just because of their looks.
Since he knew that Japanese scientist, Mason knew that Komatsu was an unusually intelligent person for someone who simply had a dream of making animals talk, but whose plans seemed to be heading in a direction beyond all that, and that made him too dangerous to be ignored outright. After all, that's what happened to Adolf Hitler himself: the world almost completely ignored him until he became a threat.
-"Still, Ms. Walburg, it would be wise never underestimate Dr. Komatsu. I am absolutely convinced that he is not the typical ambitious scientist like Dr. Von Braun, and I am absolutely sure of that."- Mason warned the woman.
-"If you're asking my opinion, Dr. Mason,"- Catherine retorted back in an annoyed tone. -"I think you're blowing this out of proportion. It seems that you are putting your ex-boss on the same level as Dr. Frankenstein or some crazy scientist out of a cheap science fiction novel, and I don't think that's healthy for you. At least as far as we know, he is not using humans, or their corpses, for his experiments."-
-"Well, judging from what Komatsu said the last day I worked for that man about him wanting people like me and other assistants to be like apostles, while people like Komatsu would be gods, I don't think it would be wise to neglect someone like him."-
The woman was still writing on her typewriter, and suddenly she stopped doing what she was doing when she heard that last thing from Dr. Mason, thinking that the man was simply fretting over a possibility that might never come true, namely that Komatsu might actually be a threat, something that she quickly dismissed.
-"Yet, if you ask me, I think your concerns are exaggerated. I know men like Komatsu very well, and what these men need is for someone to put them in their right place, or to be eliminated, plain and simple."-
Mason sighed in disapproval, for he knew that this was not something as simple as understanding that Komatsu was like any ordinary ambitious man.
-"I just hope that what you are saying is right, Ms. Walburg."-
But before the conversation could continue, the sound of a doorknob was heard on the other side of the door, and then the office's door opened in a sudden fashion...
February 7th, AD 1955, Fort Bliss (Major Fitzroy's office), El Paso, Texas, United States of America, 12:30 PM
-"Good afternoon, Catherine."- A very deep male voice with a very thick Texan accent was heard. -"And, by the way, good afternoon for you too, Dr. Mason!"-
-"Oh, good afternoon, Major Fitzroy!"- Both Catherine and Richard Mason greeted the Texan soldier.
-"Well, sorry for taking longer than I thought, but those idiots in charge of this junk really kept me busy longer than usual."- Fitzroy apologized for his delay to return to his office. -"But finally I'm here, and that's what counts."-
-"That is obvious, Major."- Catherine responded with some dry wit in her voice. -"I imagine you must have been admonished by them as usual."
-"What the hell do you mean by that, my dear Catherine?"- The Texan major said with his prominent accent in a very loud way.
The woman took a few seconds on replying to Fitzroy's menacing question...
-"Forget what I said, Major. I don't think you want to know."-
Richard Mason, who had been waiting in the Major's office for several minutes while he was talking to his secretary about him behind his back, decided to interrupt that conversation in order to start talking about the plan.
-"Sorry to interrupt your talk, Major Fitzroy, but I think we should talk about our plan to get information from Dr. Komatsu's assistants, which is the reason why I came here to Fort Bliss so early from my home."- Mason admonished the military man.
-"Oh, right, I almost forgot that!"- Fitzroy answered, while he lit an expensive Cuban cigar in his mouth. -"So your wife agreed to participate in the plan, didn't she, Dr. Mason?"-
-"That's right."- The science man confirmed. -"Though at first she was somewhat hesitant about getting involved in this, for obvious reasons, sir."-
The Texas soldier clapped joyfully and confidently, indicating that things seemed to be going just the way he wanted them to. The fact that Dr. Mason's wife, Claudia, was willing to participate meant that the most important piece of his plan to neutralize Dr. Komatsu was ready to go whenever the Major saw fit.
-"All right, good, everything seems to be coming along very nicely, doc."-
-"Just please promise me that my wife will not do any dangerous tasks where she has to hurt or kill someone, or where her life or physical integrity is at risk, Major."- Mason made to a request to Fitzroy in order to make sure his wife would be safe.
-"Oh, come on, doc, don't worry about that!"- The Major reassured to the doctor about the mission's likely risks. -"What your wife is going to do is relatively simple, and any woman could have done it if it weren't for the small problem that Dr. Komatsu's assistants might know every woman working here at the base, and that's why we need a complete stranger for this job."-
-"Well, then let's get to the point: According to what I understand, you will give me the clothes that my wife is going to wear in this plan, plus the documents that will help her impersonate as an important government employee, right?"-
-"That's the idea."- Fitzroy confirmed. -"In fact, I have all the required papers here on my desk."-
Fitzroy, using his security key, opened one of the drawers in his desk, and from there took out an envelope with several important documents, and without hesitating twice, he gave it to Dr. Mason.
-"May I see the contents of the envelope, Major?"- Mason asked permission to the Texan military officer.
-"Of course. I was expecting you to ask me that."-
Moments later, Mason read some of the documents that were included in the envelope Major Fitzroy gave him. Inside, the envelope contained some identification and documents, most of them forgeries, that would serve his wife to convincingly pose as a member of the U.S. government.
-"Well, I'm impressed. You've done a very good job, Major, producing a complete set of falsified documents."- Mason said admiringly.
-"Thank you, Dr. Mason. I think they will do their job just fine."-
But there was one thing that worried Dr. Mason, and that was about the supposed identity that his wife was going to take, which was something that concerned him quite a bit.
-"According to what it says here, my wife will pass herself off as the wife of a high-ranking officer of the U.S. Army named Joseph Winston, who also works in the Pentagon for the Department of Defense."- Mason read the documents and clearances once again. -"Are you sure this will be useful for Dr. Komatsu's assistants to hand over information to her, sir?"-
-"Well, assuming that they are not smart enough to realize that she is not the person she appears to be, I don't think they will realize it."- Fitzroy said.
-"But still, I worry about my wife's safety. Suppose that Komatsu's men check her background, and then we would be in a pretty bad situation."- Mason said. -"In fact, I'd be in a terrible situation if they discover that she is an impostor, sir. If something like that happens, they'll send her to jail, or even worse, arrest all of us as well."- Then, the doctor added the following. -"And I don't think it's necessary to tell you how this would affect your reputation and your rank, Major."-
Fitzroy thought for a few minutes about the possibility that Dr. Mason raised in the event that Komatsu's aides found out the identity of the doctor's wife. Considering that the Secretary of Defense, Charles Wilson, and his companion, Dr. Reese Ellington, were personally supervising Dr. Komatsu's project, he must be careful that Claudia Mason should not be in the same place where either of those two men were present, in order to avoid that the former would begin to suspect something if he saw Claudia and noticed that she was not working for the government.
-"Mmmmmmm... That's a good question I hadn't thought of, doc, and since the Secretary of Defense and Dr. Ellington are both present here at the base, that complicates things a bit."-
-"If I may add something, gentlemen,"- Catherine, the secretary, interrupted. -"I think we had originally agreed that Dr. Mason's wife would talk with those assistants off the base, not on it."-
-"We already know that, Catherine,"- The Major replied at the woman. -"but it wouldn't stop them from asking Secretary Wilson about Claudia and her alleged credentials while he's here. That's the biggest problem we're facing right now."-
The doctor also appeared to be thinking about it, and he pondered on the seriousness of that issue as well. The fact that his wife might have to face an important official of Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidential cabinet was not a simple matter to ignore, and that had to be considered in the plans, or else, the whole scheme would go down like a house of cards if someone from Dr. Komatsu's intimate work group, or Komatsu himself happened to investigate Claudia's credentials if something goes wrong.
-"Well, the only thing I can think of is to ask Claudia to avoid any situation that would force her to have any contact with the secretary or Dr. Ellington, and that she focus exclusively on working off base, and in a situation where she has all the control."- Mason explained a possible solution to that issue that he, the Major and Catherine were facing. -"If we put my wife in a place or situation where they can manipulate her, she would really be in serious trouble, and there would be the possibility that those men might become aware of her."-
-"I see..."- Fitzroy said in a flat tone about that suggestion. -"I agree that we have to take that event into consideration, Dr. Mason,"- He replied. -"but it's not going to be an easy task."-
-"Do you have a better idea, Major?"- The doctor defied the military man about his options. Then, he put his sights on Catherine Walburg. -"And what about you, Ms. Walburg?*"-
Both the secretary and the Major didn't know how to answer that question, something they let the doctor know...
-"I think your idea is very reasonable, Dr. Mason,"- Fitzroy responded, while still smoking his cigar. -"don't you, Catherine?"-
-"I feel the same way, sir. I don't think either of us have anything better to add to this."- Then, the Texan woman did added something else to Mason's suggestions. -"Although there is something that we should look at."-
-"What would that be, Miss Walburg?"-
-"Where in the city would your wife meet with Dr. Komatsu's assistants?"- Catherine questioned Dr. Mason about the place Claudia, Richard's wife, would see those men. -"Assuming, of course, that it occurs to you that your wife will also see them in Ciudad Juarez."-
Suddenly, Richard Mason hadn't considered that. Although El Paso was not a large city, there was also the possibility that his wife Claudia could arrange a meeting somewhere in the Mexican border city if they so desired, which would complicate things greatly, due to the fact that she and those men would be in foreign territory, where anything could happen if things went south, pardon the pun.
-"Hmmmmm... That's another situation I didn't think about, Ms. Walburg."- Dr. Mason replied, with a worried expression on his face. -"The only thing I can think of is that hopefully some of them won't come up with the idea of going to Ciudad Juarez. If something went wrong, and those men wanted to kill her... it wouldn't be too difficult to do in that city compared to here in El Paso, especially considering how many women are murdered there... "-
-"That is true, doctor."- The Major said. -"Although I understand that none of Dr. Komatsu's staff is originally from El Paso, except for you, Dr. Mason. I doubt very much that any of them want to visit Ciudad Juarez, and even more if they just want to talk to a woman. If their intentions turn out to be more... intimate, then your wife should try to convince them to delay any trip to that city until she talks to you first."-
-"I understand that, Major, I just hope that such a thing doesn't have to come up, otherwise things would get more complicated."- The doctor looked at Catherine afterwards. -"Changing the subject, and since the Major managed to get the necessary documents, now there is the matter of the clothes my wife will wear for this little job. I understood that Ms. Walburg would be in charge of that, right?"-
-"Indeed, Dr. Mason."- The woman confirmed. -"I have on hand the clothes that his wife will wear; you can check them out if you wish."-
-"And where are they?"-
-"I have them on my desk, just wait for me to get them out of there, please."-
Seconds later, Catherine opened a drawer in her desk, and pulled out a plastic bag containing several pieces of women's clothing, which she gave to Richard Mason to look at.
Mason opened the bag, and inspected the contents. He smiled as he viewed some of the clothes... -"Very nice, Ms. Walburg, these will certainly do the trick."- He complimented the secretary, while folding the plastic bag back into a neat plastic case with the clothes within it. -"Hopefully, my wife will be able to meet with Komatsu's assistants without any problems."-
-"Thank you very much, Dr. Mason. It was not difficult to find suitable clothing for this, although I forgot to ask you first what size your wife wears, so I had to presume that your wife is about the same height as you, and adapt the clothes to a female equivalent."-
-"Well, that's no problem. My wife is just about my height, thankfully"- Mason explained at the secretary. -"It helps a lot that we are both the same age."-
-"And if I may ask, how old are you and your wife?"-
-"Huh?"- The doctor asked in bewilderment. -"Why do you ask?"-
-"Just out of curiosity."-
-"Well, we are both 30 years old. Last month we just celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary, if you're interested."-
-"Oh, I see, congratulations for your anniversary, doctor!"-
-"Heh, thanks."-
Matthew Fitzroy, who would only watch as his secretary spoke to Dr. Mason, interrupted the conversation to discuss the final touches of the plan.
-"Well, if you're done discussing your intimate life, now I need to talk, if I may."- Fitzroy said with an annoyed tone in his voice. -"Here's what you are going to do, doc."-
-"Okay, I'm all ears, Major."-
-"I will talk to you at night before you go to sleep to tell you where your wife will go to meet Dr. Komatsu's men, as I need to do some intelligence work first to know his plans in advance."- Fitzroy explained, while still smoking his cigar. -"Once I have that information, I will tell you what your wife will do next, and if all goes well, we can start working tomorrow."-
-"I guess Komatsu and his men are still working in the lab, right?"-
-"Certainly, and if my secretary explained to you first,"- The soldier added on regards of Komatsu's schedules. -"they are busy trying to convince the Secretary of Defense and Dr. Ellington about the merits of Dr. Komatsu's project. I understand that Komatsu and his assistants leave for lunch at 5 PM and return to work again at 6:30 PM, to finish work at 9 PM., so that will give me some time to get the right information. I hope we can get it before the end of the day."-
Mason looked at his watch to see how much time he had available from that point on, and also to calculate when the Major would talk to him at night.
-"Well, in that case, we will wait for your call, Major."-
-"All right, doctor, I'll talk to you as soon as possible in the night."- Then, Fitzroy wanted to know if Mason had other issues to discuss with him. -"Do you have any other questions you would like to discuss with me about our little plan?"-
-"Not at the moment, Major."-
-"Good, then if you have nothing else, we can go our separate ways for the remainder of the day, doctor."-
-"Alright, Major, I will see you tomorrow, then."-
-"I'll talk with you later at night then, as we had arranged, doctor."-
-"OK."- Then, the doctor waved goodbye to soldier, as he was ready to leave the place. -"I see you later then, Major."-
-"See you later, doc, and have a good trip home."-
The doctor exited Fitzroy's office, and left him and his personal secretary alone. Fitzroy, who was still smoking his cigar, talked to her as soon as the door was closed.
-"Listen, Catherine, please keep an eye on the work schedule of Dr. Komatsu and his men, because I need this information to make the right decisions, especially to know about the places they go to eat, to have fun, or anything that might help or become a problem for Dr. Mason's wife. We can't miss a single detail because that will end our operation before it even begins. This is of utmost importance to all of us, is that clear?"-
-"Certainly, Major."- She replied. -"Don't worry; I'll do my best to get it right."-
-"At least it's good to know that I can count on you for this job, Catherine."-
Fitzroy then placed the ashes of the cigar he was smoking in the ashtray.
-"I won't ask you what motivates you to do this, but considering that I only have you and Dr. Mason for this work, I can't afford to exclude anyone, considering what you've done so far."-
-"I can only tell you that I have my personal reasons for doing this. That's all I'm going to say."- Catherine replied to her boss in a very calmed and soft voice. -But I will do whatever it takes to help you in this."-
-"I'm glad to hear that, Catherine."-
February 7th, AD 1955, Northwest El Paso (Mason's family home/Main hall), El Paso, Texas, United States of America, 03:56 PM
After that hard day at the base, Richard Mason returned to his home in the El Paso suburbs, where his family was waiting for him inside. He had finally received the documents and clothing that his wife Claudia would use to obtain information from the men who worked for Dr. Komatsu and now it was just a matter of waiting for Major Fitzroy's phone call to find out the details of the work his wife would be doing...
...and also to ask his wife to try on the clothes that the Major's personal secretary, Catherine Walburg, had given him for his wife to wear.
-"I'm home!"-
Claudia, who was in the dining room sweeping the floor at the time, greeted her husband warmly.
-"Welcome back, Richard!"- The wife then asked what her husband had done at Fort Bliss. -"How did it go at work?"-
-"Everything is fine. Luckily, the major gave me the clothes and documents necessary for the work you are going to do tomorrow. I hope they work properly."-
-"I just hope that at least those clothes they gave you are at least my size. I wouldn't want to have to go with clothes that are too uncomfortable to wear."-
-"Well, here are the clothes they gave me at the base. You can try them on later in the evening, if you like."-
Mason gave his wife the bag containing the clothes she would wear tomorrow for the spy work she would do for Major Matthew Fitzroy.
-"Looks like they gave you a lot of clothes, Richard."- Claudia said when she felt that the bag was quite bulky, and that it seemed to contain several pieces of clothing. -"I must assume they gave you several sets of clothes to see which one I could wear or combine."-
-"Well, that would make sense, I suppose."- Richard replied with a smile. -"I think Major Fitzroy thought of everything he could think of so that you would feel comfortable wearing the clothes he gave you. They should be the correct size for you, at least I think so."-
-"Then, in that case let me leave the bag in our room, and let's leave this whole delicate thing for the night. I think you must be tired and want to rest first, don't you?"-
-"That's right, darling."- Mason replied to his wife. -"How about having dinner together a little later after I rest, huh?"-
-"No problem with that, dear; the kids aren't back from school yet and Isabel is still cleaning up the kitchen, so you better go rest for a while, and then I'll call you when the food is ready, okay?"-
-"Alright, then. I'll see you later."-
February 7th, AD 1955, Northwest El Paso (Mason's family home/Main room), El Paso, Texas, United States of America, 04:15 PM
Mason then went up to the bedroom he shared with his wife. He went into the bathroom, which was inside that room and took a long, hot shower. After that, he went into his bedroom and lied down on his bed, and thought of everything that had happened to him until now...
-"My god, as much as I would like to see that Komatsu in ruins, I wish I hadn't involved my wife in all this mess. Just seeing her worried face makes me wonder if this whole conspiracy is worth it in the first place."- Richard pondered by himself while lying the bad, concerned about the possibility that his wife could be on a serious danger if something went wrong along the way. -"But I don't know what to do. It's too late to repent, and now I and Claudia are up to our necks in this, and the only thing I can do is pray to God that everything goes well."-
Later, Richard looked at a family photo where he was with his wife and children after leaving a circus, where everyone was eating cotton candy, and in the background of the photo was the circus. Everyone was happy and laughing after that day, and Richard remembered how happy he was that day too and how he could share his happiness with his whole family.
And that photo painfully reminded Richard Mason that his family was the most important thing to him, and he didn't want to lose his wife, or anyone else in it, to some stupid feud with another man.
-"I don't want my Claudia to suffer because of me just to get back at another man."- The scientist said with some tears in his eyes after seeing that photo. -"I love her very much, and I want her to be happy."-
Richard then closed his eyes and started to pray, asking to God for forgiveness about the damage he was planning to cause along his wife, and to ask for strength and patience to keep Claudia safe from any danger she could face during that job.
And so, he continued to pray until he fell asleep, as a result of the tiredness and worry produced by several hours of talking and discussing almost incessantly with Major Fitzroy and his secretary, at the same time that he also began to meditate on the consequences of that mission that his wife would do on behalf of that man and that woman respectively.
February 7th, AD 1955, Northwest El Paso (Mason's family home/Main hall), El Paso, Texas, United States of America, 07:45 PM
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINGGGGGGGGGGGGG! RIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNGGG!
Richard, who only moments ago had just finished dining with his family half an hour ago, went to the main hall to answer the phone. He anticipated who might be the only person who would be calling home at that time of day.
-"Good evening, Richard Mason speaking."-
Richard quickly knew who he was talking to, thanks to Major Fitzroy's unmistakable Texan accent, and his raspy, deep voice.
-"Good evening, doc!"- The military man said with a mischievous tone in his voice. -"How is it going with your family? I hope I haven't intruded on anything important."
-"It's fine, Major, everything is fine. Thanks for asking."- Richard said in a calm tone. -"I just finished dinner with my family, if that interests you."-
-"Congratulations then, doc, it seems that you are a good husband and father."-
-"Thank you, Major, you're very nice to say that."- Then, Richard did a personal question to the Major. -"Although I find it strange that you ask me that."-
-"Well, I asked you just to calm things down a bit. I guess you must be nervous about this whole thing with your wife being involved, aren't you?"-
-"Certainly... I would lie if it weren't true, to be frank, sir."-
-"That's right."- Fitzroy replied at the doctor. -"Also, I am single, so I understand your situation in good measure, heh heh, heh!"-
Richard interpreted that sardonic laughter, and those sarcastic questions about his family as a way of saying from the man that Dr. Mason's family was not something that concerned him very much, which clearly made the doctor upset, but without raising his voice.
-"Look, Major, I know that you probably are half joking, but I want you to know that I'm not nervous about Claudia's involvement in this, sir. I'm just afraid about her safety, if you understand."-
-"Of course I understand, doc, of course I understand!"- The Major called out Dr. Mason in a loud way. -"I would do the same thing if my wife had to work as a glorified spy for someone else, too!"- After that, Fitzroy moved on to the subject. -"But that's the least of it, because we already got several juicy pieces of intelligence about the employees' schedules that work for Dr. Komatsu."-
-"Really, sir?"-
-"Exactly, doc."- The soldier confirmed that info, -"Especially about Dr. Komatsu's chief assistant, Phillip Madison."-
-"I thought I had already given you some information about him and what he usually does when he leaves work, sir. What else did your sources gathered about him that we don't know, Major?"-
-"We know that Dr. Madison seems to be interested in seeking work as a forensic biologist for the CIA..."-
-"CIA?"- Mason interrupted the man. -"You mean the recently formed Central Intelligence Agency, sir?"-
-"That's right."- The Texan man resumed the conversation. -"Apparently those idiots back at Langley want someone who knows about forensic biology. You know, doc, for all that stuff related to any secret mission those assholes are doing, and even more so if it involves dead bodies or enemy territory, just like the police, only applied to the military, in short."-
-"And I suppose my wife is going to try to convince Madison that in exchange for him giving her any relevant information about the project, she can help him be recommended for work at the CIA, right?"
-"Exactly, doc."- The Major said.
Richard Mason immediately realized that what his wife was going to do would be much riskier than he thought, since she would have to promise someone that he would get a position in a U.S. government agency, when she didn't have that power to do so, something he made known to Major Fitzroy with great concern.
-"Uh, I don't want to be in a pessimistic mood, Major, but don't you think it would be too risky for her to try to recommend Madison for a position in the CIA, if he sooner or later finds out that she doesn't have the authority or power to do something like that?"-
-"Don't worry about this, Dr. Mason."- Fitzroy reassured Mason about his plan. -"By the time Dr. Madison finds out that it was all a lie, the last thing he will have to worry about is that he would never get a job at the CIA, if you know what I mean, doc."-
-"But considering that El Paso is a very small city, he might look for my wife or my family sooner or later, and I don't know what the outcome might be. I would be lucky if Madison would just sue me for millions, at best..."-
-"Well, in that case, and if things were to get ugly for some reason between you, Komatsu and his men, I could try to send you and your family out of town with new identities, as protected witnesses, if necessary."-
-"Oh, thank you very much, Major."- The science man replied to him. -"But somehow I would prefer not to have to resort to such extreme, and pray that all goes well."-
-"Yes, I hope so too, Dr. Mason. The last thing I wish would be that things would go wrong for one reason or another."-
-"But leaving aside all the possible problems my wife might face, what time would my wife start work, and where in El Paso would she meet with Dr. Madison?"-
The Major made a brief pause, where a sound of paper sheets could be heard through the phone's speaker, which meant that Fitzroy was reading something. A minute later, the military officer resumed the conversation.
-"According to our intelligence reports obtained just this afternoon, Dr. Madison teaches as a professor of natural sciences at the Texas Western College of The University of Texas . His wife might try to talk to him when he finishes teaching at 2 PM and goes to eat something in the university cafeteria before going to work at Fort Bliss with Komatsu."-
-"The Texas Western College?"- Richard repeated aloud the name of the place where his wife Claudia would go to talk to Dr. Madison. -"I didn't imagine Madison would work there, besides working at Fort Bliss, considering he's from Houston."-
-"I guess what the Army pays him to work on a dead-beat project with a mad scientist as its head leader isn't enough to cover his expenses, heh heh heh..."- The Major laughed sarcastically at that possibility.
But, on the other hand, Mason was not in the mood for such kind of low-brow humor coming from the Major's mouth, but he understood that Fitzroy was trying to be funny, even if he didn't appreciated that joke from him.
-"Well, in all seriousness, then I must assume that my wife will go to the university before 2:00 PM, and try to talk to Madison in the cafeteria, and see if she can get something out of that man, right?"-
-"That's exactly the plan, doc."-
Richard Mason made a brief pause, in order to think about an appropriate response...
-"In that case, let me talk to my wife and let her know all this, so she can start working on this tomorrow."- The doctor confirmed. -"But there is one last thing I would like to know, sir."-
-"What would that be, doctor?"-
-"Assuming everything goes well, I figure once my wife gets the necessary information, I'll give you the information at Fort Bliss, and I expect we'll continue with Dr. Komatsu's other assistants in this fashion, won't we?"-
-"You could say that. But if the information Dr. Madison and the other Dr. Komatsu's assistants gave to us is useful, your wife may not have to talk to each and every one of them."- Fitzroy said with a hurried tone. -"And this is important, because we don't have much time to waste. The Secretary of Defense and Dr. Ellington will only be here in El Paso for a week, and if we can't convince the former to cancel Komatsu's project, none of this will help."-
-"Do you think it will be that easy for my wife on trying to get info from that man?"- Richard asked the Mayor. -"To the best of my knowledge, Madison is a very discreet person, and is not someone from whom information could be accidentally extracted, either by talking too much, or by any other combination of circumstances."-
-"Well, in my experience, anything can happen, and more if there are women involved."-
-"That's true, sir. But Madison is also a man who, from what I know, is not really interested in women."-
That comment from Dr. Mason about the intimate life of Phillip Madison caused Major Fitzroy to comment, amidst malicious laughter, on a perverse statement that anyone would make on hearing something like that, and much more at that time.
-"Now, doc, I wouldn't want to be that guy, but I guess you're implying that Dr. Madison is a closeted homosexual, aren't you?"-
Obviously, that questioning about Dr. Madison's sexuality, even if it was in mockery, was not to Dr. Mason's liking, even if it did not affect him in the slightest whether he knew that or not.
-"Of course not, sir! All I'm trying to say is that in my experience, Dr. Madison is someone who, unlike some other people I know, doesn't really need female company in that kind of way."-
Fitzroy did a brief pause, and then he resumed the conversation.
-"Well... In that case, if Dr. Madison is not interested in female companionship, this could make things a little more complicated for us."-
-"I wouldn't say that, Major. After all, I'm sure my wife will find his Achilles' heel, no matter what."- Richard replied. -"If he's a man of science, I'm sure my wife could find some common issue that the two of them could talk about, in addition to anything that has to do with a possible CIA contract."-
-"Either that or we'll have to find another way to make him talk"- The Major said with an annoyed voice. -"And if so, we must think of a way, and fast, before a week passes."-
Richard quickly said aloud what Major Fitzroy might be thinking, precisely to prevent the latter from coming up with that idea.
-"I just hope you won't think of asking me to try and talk to Dr. Madison, Mayor. Since he already knows me, he would be able to quickly figure out what my intentions would be, and this whole scheme would be over before it started, in case you came up with that idea."- Richard replied.
-"Of course I wouldn't dare say that kind of bullshit, doctor! Heh, heh, heh!"- The Mayor replied with more malicious laughter. -"That's why your wife is going to do all this. If that were possible, I would have proposed that thing in the first place, and we wouldn't have to do all this complicated shit, involving civilians in this whole mumbo-jumbo!"-
-"All right, then let me talk to my wife about this."- Dr. Mason confirmed the info about Dr. Madison's work schedule at the TWC. -"So, to confirm all this, my wife would meet with Dr. Madison at the Texas Western College before 2 PM, preferably in the school cafeteria."-
-"That's right."-
-"Is there anything else that both my wife and me need to know about all this, sir?"-
-"Well, I don't think there should be a problem, but if there is a possibility that there is a serious issue that your wife needs help with, I will give you my phone number so that you can contact me if necessary. Otherwise, and when your wife is finished talking to Dr. Madison, you must bring all the information your wife has given you here at Fort Bliss personally so that Catherine and myself can analyze it.".
Major Matthew Fitzroy then gave Dr. Mason his phone number so that he could be reached in case of any problems that might arise during that work.
-"Understood, sir."-
-"Is there anything else you wish to discuss with me, doc?"-
-"Well..., not really, sir."-
-"Good! In that case I wish you and your wife luck in this little job."- The Major gave the final touches to their conversation. -"Feel free to talk to me about any other problems your wife may encounter, doc."-
-"Thank you, sir."-
-"You're welcome, Dr. Mason. I look forward to your call tomorrow to find out what happened between your wife and Dr. Madison. Good luck!"-
And so Major Matthew Fitzroy hung up, leaving Dr. Richard Mason with a feeling that things might be a little more difficult than he imagined by not considering in advance the fact that Dr. Madison didn't have much interest in women, so the idea of using his wife as a honey trap was ruled out in advance.
On the one hand, that gave him some peace of mind that his wife didn't have to do anything intimate with Dr. Madison, but in turn, that meant that Claudia would have to be smarter to squeeze any information out of that man if she could find some shared topic for the two of them to talk about.
-"I only hope that Claudia will stand up to all of this, or else neither of us may come out of all of this alive..."-
February 7th, AD 1955, Northwest El Paso (Mason's family home/Main room), El Paso, Texas, United States of America, 11:39 PM
In the evening, and after a healthy dinner, the Masons, Richard and Claudia, went to their room to try to rest as soon as they could, since both would have a very long and hard day, especially for the wife, who would try to talk to Dr. Madison posing as the wife of a high-ranking U.S. government official.
Claudia would wear a long-sleeved blouse that would cover all her neck and shoulders, a proper-fitting skirt of not too loose nor too tight cut, and a pair of boots and a hat, all in a range of colors and styles appropriate to her.
But before that, Claudia Mason decided first to try on the clothes she would wear to verify if they were her size. Those clothes were a long-sleeved blouse that would cover all her neck and shoulders, a proper-fitting skirt of not too loose nor too tight cut, and a pair of boots and a hat, all in a range of colors and styles appropriate to her. Regardless of what her husband Richard might think about his wife's involvement in the conspiracy, one thing was certain:
Both Major Fitzroy and his secretary Catherine Walburg had a very good sense of taste in women's clothing, something Richard quickly pointed out.
-"That's a very elegant dress, I wonder how much it cost them to get something like that here in El Paso."- Richard said in a snarky expression in his face.
-"Well, being the army, they probably don't skimp when it comes to making their soldiers and their families look good."- Claudia commented as well. -"You know, for the propaganda value, and all that kind of stuff."-
The doctor gave his wife a somewhat sensual look, seeing how good Claudia looked in those clothes that the Major and his secretary gave her.
-"At least you look really good in that dress, Claudia."-
-"Thank you, as long as my dear husband thinks so..."- Claudia finally finished the suiting-up session. -"You know, I think that I should wear a wig as well..."-
-"Uh?"- The man responded in a puzzled fashion at his wife. -"And why would you want to wear a wig?"-
-"Isn't that obvious, Richard? The last thing I want is for Dr. Madison to know what I'm really like, and the fewer clues I give him about my real appearance, the better off I'll be, for my sake and yours."- Claudia concluded, adding herself another aspect on the plans to deceive Dr. Madison.
-"You're quite right about that part, dear."- Richard heartfully agreed with his wife. -"The last thing we want is for Dr. Madison to know what you're really like if something goes wrong."-
-"And about the plan, can you tell me again exactly what I'm going to do when I go inside Texas Western College and meet with Dr. Madison?"-
Richard Mason took out a notebook that contained the exact steps his wife would take while inside the college, and he read the contents more or less aloud.
-"First, you have to find Dr. Madison, who teaches natural science at TWC. Then, you have to invite him to talk in the cafeteria. Next, you have to identify yourself as the wife of a Department of Defense official named Joseph Winston, and that you are coming on his behalf to recommend him for a job at the CIA. Once you have identified yourself, do your best to get anything that might be useful about Dr. Komatsu's project."- Then, Richard added the following at his wife. -"There is no need to tell you that if things were to get ugly, don't hesitate to get out of there as soon as possible, and for whatever reason, don't let that man even think of asking you to do something intimate with him, or even worse, of inviting you to Ciudad Juarez, or some other unsafe or shady place."-
-"You don't have to tell me on that last one, Richard."- Claudia said with an annoyed tone, as she was already worried about the possible risks she could face, and being reminded about such risks made her uneasy. -"I'm not going to let a complete stranger laid hands on me, especially if I'm supposed to be someone else's wife that I'm impersonating, that's for sure!"-
-"I know you would never let yourself down to that level. But please, don't let that man, or anyone else for that matter, get in so close to you that they can touch you, or even worse, make moves as if you were that woman's wife. Just get that damn information, and return home as quickly as you can."- He finished that last sentence by saying the last line, looking directly into his wife's eyes.
At that very moment, Claudia grabbed her husband tight and hugged him, smiling as she did so, and kissed him on his cheek. -"I'll do my best, Richard."- She said as she released him from her hug and kissed him again... -"You know, I have to admit it: you are a good man..."-
-"And you, my dear wife, are a good woman... And I love you."-
They looked at each other for a few moments, just enjoying each other's proximity. And as they continued with their mere presence, they could see themselves in each other's eyes, and both of them seemed to connect in such a way that nobody else would ever be able to intertwine with them in such a way.
But minutes later, both Claudia and Richard Mason saw the clock, and realized that the faster they went to sleep the better, because the woman should be as well-rested as possible for the long day ahead of her.
-"Look, Richard, I wish I could do something more... intimate, if you know what I mean, tonight, but I need to rest for tomorrow. When this is all over, we can have more time for just the two of us. All right?"-
-"That's fine, I understand."- Richard replied to his wife. -"But, on this last point, could we just lie down together? I just want to relax my body while I'm still in bed with you. Is that OK with you?"- He asked his wife.
-"Yes, it is."- She replied.
Richard put his arm around Claudia, and they turned off the lights. Afterwards, Claudia took off the clothes she was wearing, placing them properly to avoid wrinkling, since those were the clothes she would be wearing tomorrow, and then she and her husband, who had also just finished undressing, went straight to bed.
-"Good night, my dear Claudia."-
-"Good night for you... my dear Richard..."-
END OF ACT XXIII