Sarah's POV
Hilton Hotel
0630 Hours
I woke slowly. I felt a hand gliding over me from my mound to my breasts and back again. The touch was light using only fingertips. It grazed over my nipples and back down my abdomen. It stealthily moved under the elastic of my panties and down to my mound. I was very wet. Apparently he had been doing this for a while. My sexy dream had turned very real. I peaked through my lashes at the owner of that hand, then into green eyes that were dark with arousal.
"I know you're awake. Your breathing and your nipples are giving you away."
I stretched and smiled at him. "Don't start something you're not allowed to finish."
He almost pouted. "Okaaay, I'll stop. But just because I can't finish doesn't mean I can't help you. Do you really want me to stop?"
"As much as I want you to continue, I'd like to wait so we are together."
"You don't have to wait. I'll enjoy watching you come. I'll share vicariously."
"Can you actually tell me that you won't be the least bit excited by my enjoyment?" I hated to turn him down, but I was worried that the activity we both wanted would set him back physically.
"No, I can't. Just being this close to you excites me, but I guess I'll control myself." This was said with a long sigh as he was tugging my nightshirt into place. "Like the shirt by the way."
I looked down at the statement on the shirt and read it aloud. "Marines do it in Olive Green." I looked back into his eyes, "And this Marine will do IT with YOU soon." The look he gave me doubted that soon was ever going to come.
"It's only seven, if you don't want to fool around what do you want to do?" he said in an aggrieved tone.
"Let's order room service, and while we're waiting we'll talk."
"Sounds like a plan. You order. I'll eat anything you feel like. I've gotten used to an eclectic diet while on missions." With this he slowly and carefully got up, and went into the bathroom. I listened in case he needed me again. When I walked into the bathroom last night he was getting ready to take a header.
I ordered, then exchanged places with him when he was done. As we passed he snagged several deep kisses, I had to give him points for persistence. When I joined him on the loveseat he pulled me close to him. We held each other for several minutes enjoying the only closeness that he was allowed to have for the next several days.
As he began talking he held me even tighter as if I would leave when he finished. "I never thought I would be fortunate enough to have you care for me. Ever since Afghanistan I've been thinking of you. You've haunted my dreams both night and day."
I smiled thinking of his laptop password. He knew what I was thinking about and grinned at me. "I've had relationships before that meant a something to me. Unfortunately due to my profession, the relationship would wither before it could get strong enough to stand the strains involved. One of the primary problems was the secrecy. I know many operatives that are married or in committed relationships, but I could never make it work. I decided a long time ago that I wasn't going to ever have anyone. Sarah you know what I do, you know the secrecy, the dangers, the long separations. And yet you seem willing to chance it."
At my encouraging smile he continued. "From what I have observed Rabb isn't in the picture any more. He had more than enough chance to be an ass last night when we left together. He just told us to sleep well. No sarcastic remarks, no warning you away from me. Am I right; please tell me I'm right?" He seemed to be holding on for dear life waiting for my answer, bracing himself for disappointment.
I pulled his face toward me so he could see mine as I had my say. "Clay, an hour before we found out about your involvement in the bombing I had a talk with Harm. Something came over me as we were eating lunch compelling to discuss the relationship that we had. We had been avoiding it for over a year. In that year we both said some extremely hurtful things to each other. As often as we hurt each other we somehow remained friends. We both said that we weren't 'in love' with each other. I don't know who was more relieved at that admission, him or me. I think our biggest fear that our friendship would be lost if we admitted that. I think our hurtful words were a means of avoiding 'the' talk."
"And you're right, something changed between you and me in Afghanistan. You trusted me, as no other man has trusted me. Both of us have very serious trust issues."
He snorted as I went on. "Yes, we both find it hard to trust. But in that one instant we had absolute faith in each other. That's a very rare thing and I believe that we both realized it on a sub-conscious level. The friendship that started then is the basis for what we're feeling now. I think I may be in love with you. I know that we are friends, and I want more than anything to explore that with you."
His smile was like a sunrise over the ocean lighting his face with happiness. I looked into his eyes and saw my love reflected there. We gazed at each other until we both started laughing at the sappiness of it all. "So, if we can't fool around what do you want to do, in addition to eating breakfast?"
I lightly tapped him in his good arm, "no comments about the appetite if you ever want to do more than fool around, OK?" He rapidly agreed.
There was a tap at the door as it opened. One of the Marine guards rolled in breakfast and we both began to eat hungrily. At 0830 we were both finished. He grabbed my hand; "Let's go talk to Bud. See what he's come up with?"
We walked to the other suite finding no one awake. It seems that we had turned in well before everyone else. Clay walked over to the Laptop and logged on. In seconds Bud was typing his reply.
"Hello, Clay. Is Mac with you?"
"Yes she's here. Can you tell me if you have found anything further?"
"Guys, rather than sit here typing, turn on the satellite set up, and we can talk to each other, there'll be a few second delay but it is easier than typing the conversation. Now just face the camera. I'm going to feed you some documents to the laptop."
We did as instructed and in a few seconds it was as if Bud was in the room with us. Clay was right with Bud all the way. His attitude about Bud had changed so much since they first met it was like night and day.
"OK this is what I found. The money was definitely in the bank account of Josef Balik. Sums of no less than $25,000.00 were withdrawn and sent to various banks all over Sulawesi and Jakarta belonging to different individuals and organizations. Clay two of the names on your list were included in the recipients. I've managed to get addresses on them and several others. I don't know how accurate they are but I've sent you the file."
"Bud that's fantastic. We're going to interview two Indonesian nationals and the two Afghani or Pakistani suspects. We'll take shots of them and send them on. See if you can identify them for us. I want to see if we can tie the gentleman to al Queda. If so, I've got a feeling that there may be more attacks. al Queda may be aiming at small targets rather than the big ones. They are easier to plan and carry out."
Clay turned me, "would you go wake everyone, we need to plan a little more before we start out. I want Rabb and Manetti to go with the NCIS contact here and check out the address that we have in Jakarta."
"Sure. I'll enjoy rousting everyone. Just like boot camp." I know my smile was very evil; I really was going to enjoy this. Ramon proved to be no fun. He was up shaving when I knocked on his door. Jim jumped out of bed when I used my best drill instructor's voice. He stood at attention then started pelting me with anything he could reach. I ran out of the door dodging UFOs and into the adjoining suite prepared to wake Harm and Tracy. The first room I peaked into was empty. This was very interesting. I quietly opened the other bedroom door and looked in. Harm and Tracy were sleeping locked in each other's arms. What would have pained me a short while ago just made me smile sadly. I knew what could lie ahead in their relationship and wished for the best. I backed out of the room, and knocked on the door. "OK Rabb, rise and shine. We've got a meeting and your attendance is required!"
I heard a muffled "Go away Marine" before I yelled back, "Get your ass out of bed now Squid, or ice water is on the way."
"OK, OK, we're up. Give us a few. And order coffee and breakfast. You know about breakfast, that's what you eat in the morning?"
"Out of bed now. We've got to meet and discuss. You've got fifteen minutes from right now." I left them and went back to join Clay and the others.
After everyone gathered, Clay went over the revised plans. Jim called Robert Bitang to have him to pick up Harm and Tracy and to follow up on the addresses Bud provided. Clay had Bud arrange for our dive expedition and accommodations on Sulawesi. Bud also suggested renting a plane. Harm could fly us to the island. There were several small airstrips that we could use as we continued to investigate. The plane would allow us to move quickly around the island as leads developed.
"Rabb, please keep the plane in the air. We don't have time to crash."
Harm put a 'who me' look on his face and chuckled at Clay. "No problem it won't be a Tomcat."
"Thank God for small favors. Let's get going people. Everyone keep in contact. Don't go chasing around without letting Ramon know where you're going. That means you too Rabb. Tracy try to keep him in control, please," Clay practically begged.
"I'll try Clay, Mac gave me several pointers earlier." Her southern drawl was especially pronounced with this comment.
As we left for our assigned tasks Bud and Ramon were conversing on the money trail search.
Clay's POV
When I woke this morning Sarah was lying on her back with her hand on my hip. My morning erection twitched in anticipation of that soft hand touching me. I turned to my side and started to stoke my hands under her nightshirt. I planned on this Marine doing IT with me very soon. I slowly moved my hand from her abdomen, under her panties to her cleft. Her thighs shifted to accommodate my actions. I looked up to see if she were still sleeping, no change there. I stroked her intimately. She made small mewling sounds as I continued stroking.
I shifted my attention to her breasts. They were firm and topped by dark rose-colored nipples. I circled them and they puckered to attention. Her breathing was coming quicker and I figured she was awake at last. I looked at her eyes, peaking out from under her lashes. When I called her on this she stretched languorously and reminded me that this wasn't on my prescribed list of activities.
It pleased me in strange way when she didn't take me up on my offer to pleasure her. Waiting until I was ready was going to kill me. I know I was pouting, but it was totally justified. She suggested talking as a substitute for fooling around. It wasn't an even swap. One had to wait and one couldn't. I agreed to talk while waiting for breakfast with only a hint of reluctance.
We settled on the love seat and talked. There were times I know I held her too tightly but she never complained. When she said that she was more than likely in love with me and wanted to continue to explore the possibilities I felt my heart open up the walls I had built around it. This woman with her own set of troubles was willing to take on my battered heart and emotional baggage. When she confirmed my suspicious about Harm it felt as if the fates has conspired to bring the two of us to this point. We continued to talk until breakfast arrived.
After we ate we went to talk with Bud. The man is a genius when it comes to getting information. The money trail was expanding, I needed to have the team follow through with it. I was seriously thinking of recruiting him away from JAG. He would never be able to advance while serving in the Navy due to his injury. With his abilities he could only go up in the intelligence services.
While Sarah went to wake the others, Bud and I revised our operating plan. We were actually fortunate to have Rabb with us. He could fly us to and around Sulawesi and save us a lot of time.
Tracy Manetti was fitting in smoothly. Hopefully she would be able to keep Harm in line. We all left on our appointed rounds.
Indonesian Security Headquarters
1030 Hours Local
I was shown into an interrogation room by Captain Jarot. It appeared that interrogations had gotten very 'physical'. The prisoner that was currently being questioned was screaming that he didn't know anything. He was obvious that he had been severely beaten sometime during the night. He was speaking Pashtun. Thus he could either be Pakistani or Afghani. I begin questioning him while Sarah and Jim observed from the next room.
He continued to deny having any knowledge of the bombings. I tried a different tact and began asking him where he was from. He mumbled something about Peshawar, a city on the border between the two countries. The Taliban sponsored madrases, their religious schools, located there churned out Muslim extremists. They were very good and brain washing young men to their extreme view of Islam. I had read the Koran which extoled tolerance and peace. It was a shame that the perception of muslims was being muddied by a few.
I kept up the pressure. Switching questions from direct to indirect innocuous questions . The constant change confused him and loosened his lips quite a bit. After questioning for more than two hours I decided to give it a rest and consult with Jim and Sarah. Jarot's men said they would continue 'softening' him up while I took the break. I merely nodded and left.
In an adjoining office we discussed what I discovered. Sarah immediately asked, "When did you learn Pashtun?"
I grinned and said, "Sarah, I didn't spend the last six months just sitting in the sun drinking Coronas. The CIA has language classes that are offered by Internet. I also learned Farsi and some Arabic. While I'm not totally fluent I can make myself understood. The way world events are going it seemed that they would be of more use than Dutch and Russian."
Jim quietly asked "What did you find out? He seemed to respond to your questioning. Playing good cop/bad cop, Hmm?"
"Yes, after his beating, playing good cop was easy. He gave up Josef Balik. It seems Balik has his own agenda other than the Jihad. He just wants Westerners gone from his country. He sees the wealth going to some rich foreigners and not to him. He sponsored the terrorist cause as long as it met his needs. Right now he's pissed at the group. He thought the bombing was going to be a solely military target not civilians."
"And that's a problem for him?" Sarah wondered aloud. At my 'think about it' look she continued.
"Ah, you hurt tourism, you hurt his income. I can see why he would be a bit miffed at them. Did our man in there tell you if there were any other planned incidents?"
"That's what has me concerned. They want to follow this one immediately and create more terror in Americans, and hopefully disrupt our economy. The fall of the American Evil Empire is their goal."
Jim volunteered to go work with the Indonesian prisoners. This time I had Sarah come with me to further interrogate the other prisoner.
This prisoner was called Ahmad. His eyes bugged out when she came into the room and began aggressively questioning him. We use a variation of the good cop/bad cop routine. He resented a woman in the room questioning him. We used that to our advantage. He finally gave us a location in Manado on Sulawesi.
Between the Indonesian Security staff and the three of us I was confident that we had gleaned as much information as possible from all four suspects. We gladly left them in the hands of the Indonesians, with the proviso that they be kept alive to stand trial.
"Jim get some pictures of all four of them and send them to Bud and Ramon. I don't think we were given their true names. Let's verify that fact. Sarah, contact Rabb and company and see if they found out anything. I'm going to contact Langley, they will probably help me out for now. I might as well use them while I can, my future there is questionable at best."
Sarah looked at me, "What do you mean questionable? You are the one person that figured this out."
"We are talking about DC, politics, and elephants with long memories aren't we? People there always remember their enemies, while leaving their friends along the wayside. I've made a few too many enemies, but I'm keeping my friends." I gave her sad smile, I was weary of it all.
"Those friends of your will keep the elephants at bay. Don't worry, things are definitely looking up." For this she earned a heartfelt hug. We made our calls and left for the hotel.
Hilton Hotel
1800 Hours
Harm's POV
Our group was looking pretty tired and ragged. We had run all over the city chasing down the addresses. We had the very little success. All but one of the addresses led to empty apartments or houses. The one contact we made proved worthless. There was an eighty-year-old grandmother and five infants. She couldn't or wouldn't tell us anything. We didn't have it in us to interrogate her. At Mac's call we gratefully headed back to the hotel.
The interrogators did very well, but it looks like they took an emotional hit. Webb looked like crap, and it had nothing to do with his face. He was exhausted, but he was assessing what we all learned and planning again. Mac put her foot down and made him go rest If she had not done that I would have. We didn't need a dead on his feet spook. I couldn't believe the change in him. He had never been a team player before. The exile to Suriname combined with Mac has turned him inside out; for the better in my humble opinion, OK not so humble.
When they left the rest of us made more plans. Bud had joined us on the video hook up. "The pictures you sent matched up with two known members of al Queda. They went missing shortly after 9/11 and this is the first time they surfaced. They were foot soldiers but it looks like they've moved up in the ranks. I still don't think they were the planners. There has got to be someone else."
"Harm, there is a ten-seat turbo prop ready for you guys. It's one you are rated for. It will be ready as early as eight. You have an open-ended reservation. I worked out everything with the Indonesian government so you should have no clearance problems."
"Thanks, Bud. I'll have it back in one piece, promise. Well gang let's go eat and get some rest. The next phase of this little operation is not going to be a cakewalk!"
Truer words were never spoken.
TBC
Hilton Hotel
0630 Hours
I woke slowly. I felt a hand gliding over me from my mound to my breasts and back again. The touch was light using only fingertips. It grazed over my nipples and back down my abdomen. It stealthily moved under the elastic of my panties and down to my mound. I was very wet. Apparently he had been doing this for a while. My sexy dream had turned very real. I peaked through my lashes at the owner of that hand, then into green eyes that were dark with arousal.
"I know you're awake. Your breathing and your nipples are giving you away."
I stretched and smiled at him. "Don't start something you're not allowed to finish."
He almost pouted. "Okaaay, I'll stop. But just because I can't finish doesn't mean I can't help you. Do you really want me to stop?"
"As much as I want you to continue, I'd like to wait so we are together."
"You don't have to wait. I'll enjoy watching you come. I'll share vicariously."
"Can you actually tell me that you won't be the least bit excited by my enjoyment?" I hated to turn him down, but I was worried that the activity we both wanted would set him back physically.
"No, I can't. Just being this close to you excites me, but I guess I'll control myself." This was said with a long sigh as he was tugging my nightshirt into place. "Like the shirt by the way."
I looked down at the statement on the shirt and read it aloud. "Marines do it in Olive Green." I looked back into his eyes, "And this Marine will do IT with YOU soon." The look he gave me doubted that soon was ever going to come.
"It's only seven, if you don't want to fool around what do you want to do?" he said in an aggrieved tone.
"Let's order room service, and while we're waiting we'll talk."
"Sounds like a plan. You order. I'll eat anything you feel like. I've gotten used to an eclectic diet while on missions." With this he slowly and carefully got up, and went into the bathroom. I listened in case he needed me again. When I walked into the bathroom last night he was getting ready to take a header.
I ordered, then exchanged places with him when he was done. As we passed he snagged several deep kisses, I had to give him points for persistence. When I joined him on the loveseat he pulled me close to him. We held each other for several minutes enjoying the only closeness that he was allowed to have for the next several days.
As he began talking he held me even tighter as if I would leave when he finished. "I never thought I would be fortunate enough to have you care for me. Ever since Afghanistan I've been thinking of you. You've haunted my dreams both night and day."
I smiled thinking of his laptop password. He knew what I was thinking about and grinned at me. "I've had relationships before that meant a something to me. Unfortunately due to my profession, the relationship would wither before it could get strong enough to stand the strains involved. One of the primary problems was the secrecy. I know many operatives that are married or in committed relationships, but I could never make it work. I decided a long time ago that I wasn't going to ever have anyone. Sarah you know what I do, you know the secrecy, the dangers, the long separations. And yet you seem willing to chance it."
At my encouraging smile he continued. "From what I have observed Rabb isn't in the picture any more. He had more than enough chance to be an ass last night when we left together. He just told us to sleep well. No sarcastic remarks, no warning you away from me. Am I right; please tell me I'm right?" He seemed to be holding on for dear life waiting for my answer, bracing himself for disappointment.
I pulled his face toward me so he could see mine as I had my say. "Clay, an hour before we found out about your involvement in the bombing I had a talk with Harm. Something came over me as we were eating lunch compelling to discuss the relationship that we had. We had been avoiding it for over a year. In that year we both said some extremely hurtful things to each other. As often as we hurt each other we somehow remained friends. We both said that we weren't 'in love' with each other. I don't know who was more relieved at that admission, him or me. I think our biggest fear that our friendship would be lost if we admitted that. I think our hurtful words were a means of avoiding 'the' talk."
"And you're right, something changed between you and me in Afghanistan. You trusted me, as no other man has trusted me. Both of us have very serious trust issues."
He snorted as I went on. "Yes, we both find it hard to trust. But in that one instant we had absolute faith in each other. That's a very rare thing and I believe that we both realized it on a sub-conscious level. The friendship that started then is the basis for what we're feeling now. I think I may be in love with you. I know that we are friends, and I want more than anything to explore that with you."
His smile was like a sunrise over the ocean lighting his face with happiness. I looked into his eyes and saw my love reflected there. We gazed at each other until we both started laughing at the sappiness of it all. "So, if we can't fool around what do you want to do, in addition to eating breakfast?"
I lightly tapped him in his good arm, "no comments about the appetite if you ever want to do more than fool around, OK?" He rapidly agreed.
There was a tap at the door as it opened. One of the Marine guards rolled in breakfast and we both began to eat hungrily. At 0830 we were both finished. He grabbed my hand; "Let's go talk to Bud. See what he's come up with?"
We walked to the other suite finding no one awake. It seems that we had turned in well before everyone else. Clay walked over to the Laptop and logged on. In seconds Bud was typing his reply.
"Hello, Clay. Is Mac with you?"
"Yes she's here. Can you tell me if you have found anything further?"
"Guys, rather than sit here typing, turn on the satellite set up, and we can talk to each other, there'll be a few second delay but it is easier than typing the conversation. Now just face the camera. I'm going to feed you some documents to the laptop."
We did as instructed and in a few seconds it was as if Bud was in the room with us. Clay was right with Bud all the way. His attitude about Bud had changed so much since they first met it was like night and day.
"OK this is what I found. The money was definitely in the bank account of Josef Balik. Sums of no less than $25,000.00 were withdrawn and sent to various banks all over Sulawesi and Jakarta belonging to different individuals and organizations. Clay two of the names on your list were included in the recipients. I've managed to get addresses on them and several others. I don't know how accurate they are but I've sent you the file."
"Bud that's fantastic. We're going to interview two Indonesian nationals and the two Afghani or Pakistani suspects. We'll take shots of them and send them on. See if you can identify them for us. I want to see if we can tie the gentleman to al Queda. If so, I've got a feeling that there may be more attacks. al Queda may be aiming at small targets rather than the big ones. They are easier to plan and carry out."
Clay turned me, "would you go wake everyone, we need to plan a little more before we start out. I want Rabb and Manetti to go with the NCIS contact here and check out the address that we have in Jakarta."
"Sure. I'll enjoy rousting everyone. Just like boot camp." I know my smile was very evil; I really was going to enjoy this. Ramon proved to be no fun. He was up shaving when I knocked on his door. Jim jumped out of bed when I used my best drill instructor's voice. He stood at attention then started pelting me with anything he could reach. I ran out of the door dodging UFOs and into the adjoining suite prepared to wake Harm and Tracy. The first room I peaked into was empty. This was very interesting. I quietly opened the other bedroom door and looked in. Harm and Tracy were sleeping locked in each other's arms. What would have pained me a short while ago just made me smile sadly. I knew what could lie ahead in their relationship and wished for the best. I backed out of the room, and knocked on the door. "OK Rabb, rise and shine. We've got a meeting and your attendance is required!"
I heard a muffled "Go away Marine" before I yelled back, "Get your ass out of bed now Squid, or ice water is on the way."
"OK, OK, we're up. Give us a few. And order coffee and breakfast. You know about breakfast, that's what you eat in the morning?"
"Out of bed now. We've got to meet and discuss. You've got fifteen minutes from right now." I left them and went back to join Clay and the others.
After everyone gathered, Clay went over the revised plans. Jim called Robert Bitang to have him to pick up Harm and Tracy and to follow up on the addresses Bud provided. Clay had Bud arrange for our dive expedition and accommodations on Sulawesi. Bud also suggested renting a plane. Harm could fly us to the island. There were several small airstrips that we could use as we continued to investigate. The plane would allow us to move quickly around the island as leads developed.
"Rabb, please keep the plane in the air. We don't have time to crash."
Harm put a 'who me' look on his face and chuckled at Clay. "No problem it won't be a Tomcat."
"Thank God for small favors. Let's get going people. Everyone keep in contact. Don't go chasing around without letting Ramon know where you're going. That means you too Rabb. Tracy try to keep him in control, please," Clay practically begged.
"I'll try Clay, Mac gave me several pointers earlier." Her southern drawl was especially pronounced with this comment.
As we left for our assigned tasks Bud and Ramon were conversing on the money trail search.
Clay's POV
When I woke this morning Sarah was lying on her back with her hand on my hip. My morning erection twitched in anticipation of that soft hand touching me. I turned to my side and started to stoke my hands under her nightshirt. I planned on this Marine doing IT with me very soon. I slowly moved my hand from her abdomen, under her panties to her cleft. Her thighs shifted to accommodate my actions. I looked up to see if she were still sleeping, no change there. I stroked her intimately. She made small mewling sounds as I continued stroking.
I shifted my attention to her breasts. They were firm and topped by dark rose-colored nipples. I circled them and they puckered to attention. Her breathing was coming quicker and I figured she was awake at last. I looked at her eyes, peaking out from under her lashes. When I called her on this she stretched languorously and reminded me that this wasn't on my prescribed list of activities.
It pleased me in strange way when she didn't take me up on my offer to pleasure her. Waiting until I was ready was going to kill me. I know I was pouting, but it was totally justified. She suggested talking as a substitute for fooling around. It wasn't an even swap. One had to wait and one couldn't. I agreed to talk while waiting for breakfast with only a hint of reluctance.
We settled on the love seat and talked. There were times I know I held her too tightly but she never complained. When she said that she was more than likely in love with me and wanted to continue to explore the possibilities I felt my heart open up the walls I had built around it. This woman with her own set of troubles was willing to take on my battered heart and emotional baggage. When she confirmed my suspicious about Harm it felt as if the fates has conspired to bring the two of us to this point. We continued to talk until breakfast arrived.
After we ate we went to talk with Bud. The man is a genius when it comes to getting information. The money trail was expanding, I needed to have the team follow through with it. I was seriously thinking of recruiting him away from JAG. He would never be able to advance while serving in the Navy due to his injury. With his abilities he could only go up in the intelligence services.
While Sarah went to wake the others, Bud and I revised our operating plan. We were actually fortunate to have Rabb with us. He could fly us to and around Sulawesi and save us a lot of time.
Tracy Manetti was fitting in smoothly. Hopefully she would be able to keep Harm in line. We all left on our appointed rounds.
Indonesian Security Headquarters
1030 Hours Local
I was shown into an interrogation room by Captain Jarot. It appeared that interrogations had gotten very 'physical'. The prisoner that was currently being questioned was screaming that he didn't know anything. He was obvious that he had been severely beaten sometime during the night. He was speaking Pashtun. Thus he could either be Pakistani or Afghani. I begin questioning him while Sarah and Jim observed from the next room.
He continued to deny having any knowledge of the bombings. I tried a different tact and began asking him where he was from. He mumbled something about Peshawar, a city on the border between the two countries. The Taliban sponsored madrases, their religious schools, located there churned out Muslim extremists. They were very good and brain washing young men to their extreme view of Islam. I had read the Koran which extoled tolerance and peace. It was a shame that the perception of muslims was being muddied by a few.
I kept up the pressure. Switching questions from direct to indirect innocuous questions . The constant change confused him and loosened his lips quite a bit. After questioning for more than two hours I decided to give it a rest and consult with Jim and Sarah. Jarot's men said they would continue 'softening' him up while I took the break. I merely nodded and left.
In an adjoining office we discussed what I discovered. Sarah immediately asked, "When did you learn Pashtun?"
I grinned and said, "Sarah, I didn't spend the last six months just sitting in the sun drinking Coronas. The CIA has language classes that are offered by Internet. I also learned Farsi and some Arabic. While I'm not totally fluent I can make myself understood. The way world events are going it seemed that they would be of more use than Dutch and Russian."
Jim quietly asked "What did you find out? He seemed to respond to your questioning. Playing good cop/bad cop, Hmm?"
"Yes, after his beating, playing good cop was easy. He gave up Josef Balik. It seems Balik has his own agenda other than the Jihad. He just wants Westerners gone from his country. He sees the wealth going to some rich foreigners and not to him. He sponsored the terrorist cause as long as it met his needs. Right now he's pissed at the group. He thought the bombing was going to be a solely military target not civilians."
"And that's a problem for him?" Sarah wondered aloud. At my 'think about it' look she continued.
"Ah, you hurt tourism, you hurt his income. I can see why he would be a bit miffed at them. Did our man in there tell you if there were any other planned incidents?"
"That's what has me concerned. They want to follow this one immediately and create more terror in Americans, and hopefully disrupt our economy. The fall of the American Evil Empire is their goal."
Jim volunteered to go work with the Indonesian prisoners. This time I had Sarah come with me to further interrogate the other prisoner.
This prisoner was called Ahmad. His eyes bugged out when she came into the room and began aggressively questioning him. We use a variation of the good cop/bad cop routine. He resented a woman in the room questioning him. We used that to our advantage. He finally gave us a location in Manado on Sulawesi.
Between the Indonesian Security staff and the three of us I was confident that we had gleaned as much information as possible from all four suspects. We gladly left them in the hands of the Indonesians, with the proviso that they be kept alive to stand trial.
"Jim get some pictures of all four of them and send them to Bud and Ramon. I don't think we were given their true names. Let's verify that fact. Sarah, contact Rabb and company and see if they found out anything. I'm going to contact Langley, they will probably help me out for now. I might as well use them while I can, my future there is questionable at best."
Sarah looked at me, "What do you mean questionable? You are the one person that figured this out."
"We are talking about DC, politics, and elephants with long memories aren't we? People there always remember their enemies, while leaving their friends along the wayside. I've made a few too many enemies, but I'm keeping my friends." I gave her sad smile, I was weary of it all.
"Those friends of your will keep the elephants at bay. Don't worry, things are definitely looking up." For this she earned a heartfelt hug. We made our calls and left for the hotel.
Hilton Hotel
1800 Hours
Harm's POV
Our group was looking pretty tired and ragged. We had run all over the city chasing down the addresses. We had the very little success. All but one of the addresses led to empty apartments or houses. The one contact we made proved worthless. There was an eighty-year-old grandmother and five infants. She couldn't or wouldn't tell us anything. We didn't have it in us to interrogate her. At Mac's call we gratefully headed back to the hotel.
The interrogators did very well, but it looks like they took an emotional hit. Webb looked like crap, and it had nothing to do with his face. He was exhausted, but he was assessing what we all learned and planning again. Mac put her foot down and made him go rest If she had not done that I would have. We didn't need a dead on his feet spook. I couldn't believe the change in him. He had never been a team player before. The exile to Suriname combined with Mac has turned him inside out; for the better in my humble opinion, OK not so humble.
When they left the rest of us made more plans. Bud had joined us on the video hook up. "The pictures you sent matched up with two known members of al Queda. They went missing shortly after 9/11 and this is the first time they surfaced. They were foot soldiers but it looks like they've moved up in the ranks. I still don't think they were the planners. There has got to be someone else."
"Harm, there is a ten-seat turbo prop ready for you guys. It's one you are rated for. It will be ready as early as eight. You have an open-ended reservation. I worked out everything with the Indonesian government so you should have no clearance problems."
"Thanks, Bud. I'll have it back in one piece, promise. Well gang let's go eat and get some rest. The next phase of this little operation is not going to be a cakewalk!"
Truer words were never spoken.
TBC