Author's Note: Big announcement. Life finally decided to throw me a big juicy bone. I'm not gonna say what it is, cause I want it to be a surprise. So I wanted to let you all know that this story isn't going to end anytime soon but I do have a life to live. Priorities come first. I said it before and I'll say it again. I will finish what I started.
But I would like to ask if anyone knows. Does anyone know a good and talented drawer? One that takes his/her time to make sure all the details are filled in. I see good pieces on Deviantart all the time and there are a lot of good legit artists. I would like to know which one.
Chapter 49: The Coming Storm
March 21st 2011 1300 Hours
San Antonio del Sur, Cuba
It had been a few days since the old man and I had arrived in one of the last communist nations left in the world. Our supposed informant in the Cuban Army was a little stubborn in agreeing to help us. Naturally he thought it was some kind of ploy. Anyone that even remotely thought that East versus West was still a thing would. But he did have a reason to be skeptical. American's wanting to find out information about an American naval base seemed a little bizarre. Coupling with the fact that Castro's group had fifty years' worth of intelligence on the US's little patch of their country they weren't willing to risk all that on a whim. I had a feeling that Lehm and I might have to consider the fact that we're gonna be getting what we need the hard way. Cause we weren't really here for the cigars and coconuts.
But judging from the way he was enjoying his beer and dish of shredded beef, black beans and rice; it wasn't on his mind. Some people get it in their head that there is this stereotype about the serious guy and the relaxed veteran that need to just find some common ground and then they work in perfect tandem. Well that's not even close to me and John. We do what we do because we simply must succeed. It's part of the mantle of being an Operator. We can't have room for conjecting personalities and any of that shit. We put the task at hand first.
Still though, I wish he didn't act so fucking proud whenever the opportunity comes for him to use it. Then again I'm no different when it comes to me ripping on people.
"The man hasn't showed up. Again." I said as I bit into a yuca.
"Well then keep enjoying the warm weather. It's better than England." He said looking at his watch.
It was cantina time again at this one small place we liked and finally managed to convince Major Esperanza to talk to us. He was one of the battalion commanders of the several combat brigades stationed not too far away from Guantanamo. Sort of like the DMZ along the 38th Parallel on the Korean peninsula but not as extreme. Other than some fences, an occasional roving vehicle, and a lot of hilly terrain there wasn't any need for minefields, huge guard towers, or drone surveillance. They just simply went on with whatever business the Cuban army had and just kept watch on the naval base that had become somewhat infamous over the last decade. It didn't take a genius to figure out that they were the source of finding out what really went on behind some of the closed doors of Gitmo. At least some that they could get through easily. But even back then only the finger pointers cared about what happened and nobody else even listened.
I was about to call the bar maid over for our check and call Koko that we'd have to improvise but a man suddenly sat next to me. He wore civilian clothes appropriate for the rather intense humidity that had come over the area as of recent but his somewhat groomed black hair and thick mustache looked far too neat as compared to everyone else. He also looked better fed and athletic compared to the average Cuban civilian. I continued to focus on what was left of my beer when he placed an order to the rather curvy bar maid.
"Senorita, tomaré una copa de Don Pilar."
(Miss, I'll have a glass of Don Pilar.)
His choice of drink caught my attention. That it confirmed it was him because we hadn't met him in person yet.
Bout damn time.
The lady then came over to pour. I hoped I would get the proper response and not butcher the language. I hadn't used Spanish since High School. And even though I got some decent lessons in Korean from my Aunt, I let those two out of my five languages slack simply because there weren't many people I could talk to with them. At least I had a few days to get some words right since this moron kept skipping out.
"Ordenaría algo diferente si fuera tú."
(I'd order something different if I were you.)
That was the first part as he looked to me casually off the bat. But then did a double take looking at my arms and going all the way up to my head. I stared back as well with my long hair coving one eye. He saw that there was the possibility that my arms were larger around than his own neck. And that I had height on him sitting down and leaning forward on the bar top. But he quickly got back to the conversation at hand before it either got awkward or something painful, in the literal sense, might have happened.
"¿Por qué dices eso?"
(Why do you say that?)
"No ha habido muchas buenas cosechas de agave en los últimos años. El sabor está cambiando." That was two.
(There haven't been a lot of good agave harvests in recent years. The flavor is changing.)
"Lástima. ¿Qué debo usar para tostar?"
(Pity. What should I use for toasting?)
"No importa. Lo que importa es cuando solo una bandera ondea sobre Cuba."
(Doesn't matter. What does matter is when only one flag flies over Cuba.)
I felt a little silly saying that considering I wasn't even Cuban much less have a deeper tan than all the people around me. But the Major smirked, downed his shot and turned towards me.
"I think you and I might have a common interest, amigo." He said in good English but with a deep Cuban accent.
I then let out a relived sigh. "If that was true then why the hell did you make us wait so long?"
"Well I do like to serve my country. And I would like to know for sure that I'm not being…how do you say? Played?'"
At least I guessed right.
"Alright I get it. Now do you have what we need?"
He then downed the rest of the tequila and put a bunch of pesos on the bar counter.
"Come. A bar during lunch time is hardly the place to discuss such sensitive matters."
I didn't have time for this shit. I stopped him as he got up from his stool. He had wasted enough of our time for the last few days and I hate unnecessary waiting. My patience was running out and so was the time window we needed to get Faiza out of Camp No without having any way in or out at all. There was no necessity for socializing.
"Yeah forgive me but I don't entirely trust a guy that doesn't keep to required schedules. What do think we just follow you right into the crosshairs of a sniper? Or maybe a van waiting to open up with a DSHK in it?"
"Damien." Lehm said with his tone telling me to cool it. But our options were limited.
"Lehm I get it but we can't-"
"Geraldo I think it's a rather beautiful day." He then threw some bills on the bar as well. "Lets go for a walk. They don't allow smoking in here anyway."
Esperanza's face then went from contempt to comfort.
"Excellent."
As the two older men both walked out together I just looked at him wondering what the hell he was thinking. His smirked remained but he just returned the glare. Then spoke to me using our unique hand gestures.
Calm down. Let me handle this.
He then followed the Major without a care. Frustrated, I reached behind my back and flipped the safeties off of my .45's. Trust is a gamble in this line of work. But this is the one time where I couldn't afford to lose. I just wish he would fucking understand that.
1340 Hours
The sun was past the high point in the sky and the humidity made the air really heavy. Not as bad as Thailand year round but more like June in North Carolina. The wind though was keeping us somewhat cooled as the three of us walked along the coastline. Through my sunglasses I saw dark clouds that were far out at sea. Apparently the rain storms were a bit sporadic over the last two weeks. Maybe we could use one of them to cover our exit when the big day comes.
"Ha! Ha! So you had to hide in a horse drawn cart under the manure to get away from those guerillas?"
"I said next to not under."
Lehm and Esperanza were just trading service stories for the last twenty minutes. This one was about a time Lehm and his group were on a mission to Argentina. Before that was Esperanza on a hurricane relief mission. In between were mundane pieces of info that we needed but nothing important. While going by at a snails pace he was hitting it off better than I started. But we needed something solid and reliable.
"Would you mind if I have another one of those?"
He was pointing to Lehm's brand as he lit up his next stick.
"Hey now I'm a generous man. But these come at a price." He said waving his pack.
The major then gave a look of understanding as we continued out walk with me in rear. Hopefully this was Lehm finally letting him know that we needed what he promised.
"You'd be surprised at the amount of people around here that would trade anything for American cigarettes. Fact of the matter is I've had to discipline more men for having contraband smuggled out of Gitmo as opposed for not falling in line for orders."
"You as well?"
"Hmm. Only if someone else besides me sees it. But I realize though that what you are looking for is not something you can hide under the seat of your car."
"Never said it was."
Lehm was steadily leading the Cuban soldier to giving him what we needed. While being vague of course. Sometimes you can't be so direct and you have to have a certain charisma to go along with it. Despite everything I know there will always be a first for everything.
"Well I could care less what or who you desire so much in that prison masquerading as a naval base. Since you American's decided to get your feet trapped in the sands of the Middle East it makes sense that you would need someone to help get you out."
He then let out his one note chuckle. "I got tired of fighting for the country a long fuckin time ago. I always like to play for the winning side."
He then pulled out another stick from his pack and gave it to his fellow Major. I smirked at him from behind at his success.
"The moment you have what you need I know you won't stay very long." He said as Lehm lit the smoke with his old zippo.
"All we need to do is just not get the Marines into a bad mood."
Esperanza then sat on the guard rail along the road. As he inhaled and exhaled he looked like he was in pure bliss.
"Your only available option is the hills to the north west. The coast line is too open and I doubt you want to go across the bay. Moving through the valleys will give you cover and the dense amount of trees can mask your movement. However, that won't matter to the American's spy drones."
"Well I'll let my boss handle that. What about the patrols?"
"They stay on the base, they never go pass the boundary lines. Unless they want to start an international incident. The security situation for a while was on standard procedure but only a slightly heightened alert. But right now for them is relaxed for both day and night. For a few days though there were a few well dressed gentlemen coming and going but then they stopped."
It was the CIA, no doubt. Normally sensitive things are not often send through the wire. You keep a secret until you need to say it.
"How long ago was that?" I asked as my deep voice cut through the conversation.
From his perspective I wasn't looking at him but I stared him eye to eye behind my shades.
"Two weeks at most. It seemed like they were doing nothing that we could observe."
"Did they go to the direction of the camps?"
"Strangely no. They went in the opposite direction."
Lehm and I looked to each other and I knew he and I were thinking the same thing.
Camp No.
"Other than that…" He took one last drag and then put out the smoke under his sandal. "If you wander into our base then I don't need to explain to you what will happen if you get caught."
"And you'll deny all involvement, we know the drill." The old man said in his usual bored self.
Esperanza then stood up. "Well it seems our business is concluded. I trust your superiors will not subtract anything from what was offered?"
"The boss is practical, she would understand your hesitation." I said from a lesson learned.
He nodded his head and we then departed each other's company walking away in opposite directions. But he wanted to say one last thing without looking at us.
"Espero que lo que buscas valga la pena."
(I hope what you seek is worth it.)
"Está bien." I responded.
(It is.)
The first part of the mission was complete. Now came for the part which I think is gonna be the make or break of being out here. The layout of No and how to get Faiza out of there being as bloodless as possible. Koko gave us some pretty good fakes but they were still just that. Hopefully the tech she set us up with wouldn't get detected whenever we go to pay Rabbit's Foot a visit. Most installations aren't fond of anyone else's shit on them but their own.
"Glad to see that you were at least paying attention kid."
I knew where this was going.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah."
"I'm serious. You can simplify someone's needs by making sure you wave the flag in the right direction. Being big and bad doesn't always work."
"I can't help what I am. I'm that in the literal sense."
"Well use your inner self from now on. No need to hide it. And I know you can get better results that way. Just don't be too direct."
It was a good idea to listen to him this time. Of course that all depended on how tomorrow would go.
March 22nd 2011 0800 Hours
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
The previous night we made a call to Koko that we got the first part of the plan done and that she and the rest of the crew would fly out to Miami the moment the Fruition was in port but it wasn't there yet. For now Lehm and I would let her handle the travel arrangements and we would get what the layout and access of No for her. How we were gonna do that though was simpler than I thought. Just make sure our phones get inside and Doc Minami handles the rest from South Africa. Along with memorizing a few words and numbers.
Sometimes technology can be pretty awesome you get it to work the way you want it to. Which is what we needed as Lehm and I rolled up to the front gate in our sedan. Cause other than our CIA camouflage we were practically naked. That's if you could say conservatively based clothing, my ponytail, and Lehm's rarely shaved face camouflage.
"Morning gentlemen. Help you?" The Marine MP said to Lehm in the driver's seat.
"We're here to see someone." He said handing the man our fake ID's.
The MP then took the scanner on his hip and swiped them. Both came up with green lights. So far so good.
"One moment gentlemen." He then turned to the guard post. "Chief Reed! Might wanna get out here."
Who stepped out of the guard post was a curly haired man who literally looked like he was at a day at the beach. The wife beater shirt he wore seemed to barely contain his muscles. His eyes though, were cold and dead. The eyes of a professional killer, a common trait we share. Looks like Esperanza didn't know that they upgraded the security measures a bit more than he thought. As he came over he leaned down in the window to get a better look at us. Lehm had his dumb smirk, I just took off my black sunglasses and looked right back.
"Sup. What's the word?" He asked looking at Lehm.
"Bravo November."
"What was the lottery number last night?" He then said to me.
"Five eight seven three three one nine."
He then smirked. "Who do you guys need to see now?"
"Someone who can get their freedom if they listen to what we have to say."
He then tapped his fingers on the hood as we just stared at each other.
"Never really cared about the blotted out sentences. Follow me in the Expedition." He said thumbing in the direction.
0817 Hours
Camp No
Honestly speaking, the game of espionage really needed to upgrade a few things. Especially when it comes to misinformation and lies. The whole 'yes' means 'no' and 'no' means 'yes' thing had really run its course and unless you truly had no idea how intelligence work operates, anyone could figure that out. Those that were asked about it gave it its obvious name. When the guards at Camp Delta and the main detention center were asked about it they simply said 'No. It does not exist.' So naturally this was the place the United States government kept people they didn't want but couldn't kill. It looked awfully sparse at first but that was intentional. This place isn't like the ADX in Colorado and we were just past the chain link fence. But we were quite a distance away from the other camps. Isolation was the reason it was over here.
"Well I don't hear any screaming. Maybe we can change that?" I said nudging Lehm's arm.
"I prefer not to get blood on my brand new nice cleaned shirt thank you."
I didn't know if our sense of dark humor masked us more or not. We both agreed to just act natural and hope Koko and Minami's tricks kept the guards here from finding out who we really were. I only wish the atmosphere around here wasn't so dry. These were the kinds of people that take things a little too seriously but given who this placed housed I didn't judge them. And frankly I didn't care. We were gonna leave Cuba with one of their prisoners whether they like it or not.
Our guide the sailor only known as Reed, and I didn't need to guess what he was, led us to one of the buildings. But upon entering it, it was a totally different place from outside. Rather clean and spiffed up with two large metal doors in the center. Lehm and I took a puzzled glace at each other only for a brief moment. The doors weren't leading to any other buildings so it appeared to be an elevator.
"Hey guys they have orders to see one of the prisoners. You know the drill." Reed said to the two MP's and the desk next to the elevator.
"Yes Chief." The Marine Corporal said while typing on his computer.
"Robertson still down there?" He asked shooting the breeze.
"Yeah. Was bitching the whole damn night. Now he won't stop calling up here wondering when his relief is coming." He said pointing to a pad with a red light.
"I'll tell him the El-tee is on the way." Reed said as he placed his thumb on the light and it turned green.
"Gentlemen. It your turn."
Suddenly I felt a massive hole in my gut. I didn't think we'd be going through anything like biometrics. I did know that when you get initiated into the world of black ops the Army eliminates a few things about you that makes you harder to identify if you were ever captured. Even though Koko said just to keep our phones on us she didn't mention anything about getting us in that deep, plus I was still on the CIA's kill/capture list.
"Yeah, yeah." But Lehm just walked to the scanner like it was nothing.
I put on my best cool façade and hoped that if it came to it we just get to the entrance and that was it. We'd just say an error in the system and figure it out later. I had to keep acting normal.
But strangely after a simple buzz from the computer, it beeped and gave the green all clear.
What the hell?
"Come on kid you're next." He said acting in his usual bored self. At least I hoped he was.
"Right. And stop calling me that you old fart." I said hoping to continue the charade.
I thanked God that I wasn't breaking out in a sweat cause I'd feel calmer if a tank was rolling by looking to blow me up. But what was a bigger surprise, was that I was registered as clear. Koko and her magic had outdone themselves once again.
Unbelievable. Koko what the hell did you do?
Koko has a great reach, that is a well known fact. But being able to have us already placed in a system without us knowing about it was a little hard to believe. That's not including fooling an encrypted security program. But I couldn't think about that right now. All that mattered was finding the Rabbits Foot.
"Ok Chief they're clear." The Corporal said as an alarm went off and the doors opened.
"Petty Officer Robertson will be waiting for you guys downstairs. I hope you guys are done with all this stuff."
"We are." Lehm said. "I'm just giving the new guy here a hands on lesson in situations like this."
"I'll say this you guys are a lot more laid back than the last group. Just had a bunch of sticks up their asses. What did you two used to be?" He asked with curiosity as we both stepped inside.
"Delta Force. And he used to be a Green Beret until he got a better job offer." The old man said as the doors closed. It made no sense to lie with a question like that.
We then went down the hole to find the White Rabbit.
"We that obvious?" I asked.
I expected that kind of question from the Chief. I saw in his eyes he already knew what we were, I wasn't that ignorant and neither was the old man.
"Yep." Lehm said plainly.
"Well let's hope they don't figure out anything else."
The elevator appeared to only have two places to go, the ground and probably the prison. So it would be a short ride. But we were being watched as well from the camera in the corner. I didn't know if it could hear us though so I just continued to act casual. I don't know what Koko and Minami were doing but getting past that security seemed a little too easy. My curious side tended to walk on dangerous ground sometimes but I also have a tendency to overthink things. As we got to the floor underground, it was a definitely a different place down here. Modern, secure, clean, and eerily quiet. A perfect place to put the worst of the worst when you want to isolate them from the rest of the world.
"Ugh…you the spooks that wanna see someone?" A man said from a desk face down with an exhausted tone. His attire a little more appropriate but with the same lax grooming standards as his friend up top.
"We are. You Robertson?" I asked even though I already knew.
"Yeah. The Sergeant here will take any phones or electronic devices you have and we'll keep an eye on them. We'll escort you to where ever you want to go. And the fuck is my relief?" He said without breaking the sentence.
He must have been past his shift by a while. We could use this to our advantage by giving us a little more privacy with Faiza. Lehm and I looked at each other and I said to him with a hand gesture.
Let me.
I then approached the table and decided to use my more caring tone that wasn't as deep. The other Marine guards going about their daily routine. There weren't many of them though. Logical since this place housed a very small number of prisoners. But we didn't know how big this place was.
"Dude, I think the moment you stand up you're gonna collapse. Why don't you just tell us the number of the cell we want and we'll find it ourselves. I know exhaustion when I see it. I once went close to 48 hours and the moment I started seeing and talking to people that weren't there. I knew I should have called it in."
True story from long ago. Twenty three days into getting the Ranger Tab at Ft. Benning I was in charge of a squad after completing a sixteen mile march for a patrol and ambush exercise. Didn't really close my eyes during that time and they pulled me out to get me admitted to the hospital. I almost got recycled as well.
"That must have sucked. Still though…" He said as he finally lifted his head off the desk to get a look at me.
His bloodshot eyes shot open when he saw what he didn't expect. Sometimes people getting their first look at me got old. I am the way I am because of genetics and proper health, nothing more.
Yes, I'm tall.
Yes, I'm rather buff.
Yes, my eyes are very blue.
Yes, my voice is deep.
Yes, I look too damn young. Then again what soldier isn't when they first join.
Can we get on with the fucking task at hand!?
"The drool on the side of your mouth says otherwise." I said pointing it out while staying in character. "We just need to talk to The Rabbit's Foot. No rough stuff, just words."
"Just like that. We may not even be here for that long." Lehm said giving his phone to the Marine.
Robertson then looked at both of us and then after wiping the slobber off his mouth just shook his head and gave in.
"Ehh. The security alert is over anyway. Go do what you guys need to do. Cell number 1334, just follow the hallway all the way to the end. Can't miss it."
As he waved us off the Sergeant then gave us two visitors passes and motioned us to follow him.
First was through an automatic plexiglass door and then into the very silent hallway. There were prisoners there, but none of them knew we were on the other side of the locked doors. The guards probably didn't open any of these doors very much as I saw only two other Marines. Sometimes the worst places you can be is when you think that there's nothing at all. The mental damage of isolation can be a lot more painful than hot metal or electric shocks.
I then started to think about what this poor girl had to be going through. According the file I got from Koko about her she seemed kind of bright but a little over the edge in making truths known. Including the stuff that a lot of people aren't supposed to know about. She may have brought this on herself, but this was little extreme in punishment. Hopefully this would go pretty easy. Baburin may have had a house and was getting paid for her work but her life was only a prison in the figurative sense, not literal. The door was just ahead and the guard went first with the electronic key.
"Just give us some privacy." I said.
"I know the drill. Light switch is on the left when you walk in the door. She's probably still asleep."
As he backed away from the door my head went blank. Lehm had a confused look on his face too, wondering if he heard him right.
"Umm…I'm sorry what?"
"The light is on the left side of the door. Don't want you guys tripping over anything." He smirked as he took a few more steps back.
I know that weird shit tended to pop up more often that not when I started to work with Koko but this was gonna be a new one. I then opened the unlocked door to a blackened out room, took a single step inside, and then hit the switch like he said. What then illuminated the room led me to the logical conclusion that nothing in this world is real.
"Ok. What in the actual fuck?"
Long ago there was a trend among criminals and celebrities as well that collected more wealth and power than they should have. So much so that legal punishment didn't mean anything and this was common amongst gangsters. Some continued to make money while behind bars and others lived just as lavishly as they did on the outside. Of course this had all but went extinct in the modern world and only appeared in the poorer parts of societies. Where the dollar and the bullet were the true judges. But insanity just never seems to leave no matter where it's at and it doesn't have a limit.
"Ugh. Go away. I don't want any breakfast. Just let me sleep in." Said the tired voice of a woman with an English accent.
This lady had to be a very valuable asset to Uncle Sam if they wanted to keep her locked up like this. Depending on how you look at it, Dr. Layla Faiza was either that good or that frightening. It's no wonder Koko wanted the Rabbit's Foot to work for her like Baburin. Speaking of the US government or the CIA in general, I took a brief moment to be glad that I no longer had to pay taxes. The American people had known for years that more often than not, their tax dollars tend to get wasted on crap. But in my experience, public opinion only influences the government when people start rioting. And they sure as hell would if they knew the money that was supposed to be used for the War on Terror was being wasted like this.
After coming out of another mind fuck. I then heard the shuffling of sheets and turned my head towards what appeared to be a queen sized bed on the right side of the large cell. If I could even call it that.
"Wow." Lehm finally said. Kind of plainly but not in his bored self. Which concerned me.
I then turned to him behind me. "Ok now I know you're going senile. You see all this shit?"
"Yes I do. Don't forget why we're here."
He did have a point. I need to stop getting frustrated every time I get confronted with weird shit. I then made my way to Faiza.
The place was about the size of a large studio apartment. It even had a closed off section for the bathroom so that she could shower and do her business in peace. On the left side there was a fully functional kitchen with tile floors all the utensils one would need to cook properly. An empty bag of chips and soda can sat on a couch facing a flat screen TV with surround sound and video games. A wall full of books and DVD's. A treadmill and exercise machines in the corner. An open armoire with a full selection of clothes and shoes. A fucking scooter just sitting in a random spot. All surrounded by red painted walls with a gold colored lining and beige carpet.
I wished that none of this crap was real. Even though I threw them away, this led back to some of my earliest ideals. About if you do something wrong you should pay the consequences no matter what your social status is. And this shit was making a mockery of it. As a matter of fact this would only condition the woman even more that if she can prove her genius to be useful if she gets in over her head, she'll get off easy or scot free. But maybe I can relieve some stress by forcing her out of bed. She was curled up like she was deliberately ignoring me.
"Ahem."
"I said go away. Whatever it is it can wait." She said annoyed.
"I don't got time for this shit lady." I then grabbed a sizable part of the sheets. "Rise and…!"
I didn't really get the chance to finish the sentence as she yelped and I exposed what was underneath the covers. I didn't get a photo of what Layla Faiza looked like so it took me off guard with a running theme I should have noticed by now. Truthfully speaking, any red blooded male would like what I was looking at. Despite the messy black hair she had grey blue eyes, a slender and delicate body, flawless brown skin appropriate for her Egyptian roots, and wearing nothing but purple laced panties.
Not to mention the aforementioned "running theme" of certain women that I've been associating myself with over the last year.
Why is every girl I'm coming across have giant boobs?
However the shriek and alarm clock being tossed at me brought me back to reality as the panicked doctor grabbed a pillow to cover herself and started throwing whatever was in her reach.
"Madha bihaqi aljahim 'ant tafeal 'ant tazahaf!?" She screamed in a rage.
(What the hell are you doing you creep!?)
But before she could throw the lamp. Lehm grabbed her wrist.
"I think we got off on the wrong foot Dr. Faiza, please relax. It's his first time doing this." He said as he handed her a sweat shirt.
The old fart better not be calling me out for anything else.
"Who the hell are you people?" She said breathing heavily while yanking away the hoodie.
"Nobody in particular." He said as he turned around to give her some privacy.
"Oh I've heard that before. Next thing I knew a bag was over my head, I'm kidnapped in my own house, and a needle was shoved in my arse!"
I turned around as well. I had already made an ass out of myself. Plus my head really hurt when she threw that book kinda hard. As I was rubbing the spot it hit I noticed that there was a pair of hexagonal glasses on the floor. Hers most likely as I picked them up. While the knowledge of the size of those canons she was packing under her shirt wasn't leaving my thoughts anytime soon, I had to try again. Since I understood her very angry outburst I'd figure it would be best to reconnect with a common ground.
"Where the fuck are my glasses?" She said.
I figured she was decent now so I turned around. Only to see that she just somewhat that. Like she just got up from having a good time the night before. I also have belts that are longer than the shorts she was wearing. But at least she was covered and turned around that she didn't notice me.
"Wa'aetaqid 'ana hadhih hi lk?" I said holding them out.
(I believe these are yours?)
She then turned around to look at me while putting up a messy ponytail and snatched them out of my hand. Her anger had subsided but she still looked like she wanted to kill me.
"Em faeala. Laqad ra'aytuka. Takhlus minha. Nahtaj 'an natahadath ya Layla."
(Yes. I saw you. Get over it. We need to talk, Layla.)
I tried to employ some sincere urgency but she just glared at me.
"You can stop trying to impress me. Besides you're speaking with the wrong dialect anyway. So who the hell are you two? If Black sent you both here to see if I've decided to play along he can forget it. I'm not doing any of the Jason Bourne crap he's trying to sell me on. All I wanted was to make sure people have an opportunity to learn about anything and everything they can. That there's no need for such silence on what people have the right to know about! You put a few pages out on the internet and just cause a few of them say 'Top Secret' some wanker thinks you're a terrorist. If governments would just stop being so self-centered then maybe we wouldn't be killing each other all the time. You have no idea of how I've had to-EEEEHHH!"
Now I know how she got the name 'Chatty' Rabbits Foot. I pinched both sides of her cheeks and pulled so she would stop rambling. I came to get this woman on our side for when we get her out of here. And if she didn't, well then too bad for her. We'd take her regardless and Koko would be the one to make her think otherwise. But what seemed interesting though was that Bookman was the one that locked her up. Koko had to have know this, she would use her against him no doubt. But either way, Faiza would be in Koko's employment one way or another. We just didn't need to tell her.
"Chill." I then gave a slight tug. "Please."
"Leff go!" She said trying to move my arms with zero luck.
"Only if you calm down, shut up, and listen to us. Now do you have any eggs in that fridge of yours?"
She then looked to it and back to me.
"Yeffs?" She said with her lips still strained.
"Good." I then let go. "Might as well have something to chew on while we talk."
As I went to her kitchen I heard a mumble behind me in Arabic about her comparing me to some sort of ape. But Lehm got her attention as I looked for a frying pan.
"He's actually pretty good on the stove. Give him a chance."
0900 Hours
Maybe there was some sort of inner jock within me because more often than not nerds tended to survive on junk food. I wondered how they did that. Even more so I wondered how Faiza did that and looked the way she did. Her fridge was minimum on the essentials and jammed with anything else that included sugar. Not to mention her cupboards were full of kids cereals and snacks. I was lucky I could make enough of a vegetarian omelet and some fruit salad on the side. At least the coffee was plentiful. Lehm was on his second mug as he took over the role of negotiator for trying to get Faiza to see that what we were offering her was better than what Bookman was doing to her. Obviously he kept what we were really going to do, to ourselves. But it looked like he wasn't having much success as Faiza kept looking at us with mistrust. Even as I put her breakfast in front of her.
"Come on Miss Faiza. It's not like he drugged it and were gonna drag you out of the camp. The Marines walking around here with M-16's wouldn't like that." Lehm said.
We might just do that anyway. At least I hope it doesn't come down to that.
She was a little more quiet compared to earlier but she just looked at the omelet and took a bite. Naturally by the reaction on her face it was obvious she liked it. While small I made sure the flavor popped. It was a good thing she had a lot of butter. She more than likely used it for when she made hot air popcorn. Which she had the appliance for.
It was real hard to concentrate on not burning the eggs with all the crap she had when she was supposed to be a prisoner.
"Still…" She said wiping her mouth off. "Why would I want to work for someone that thinks what other people say might be considered a great and terrible danger? Truth doesn't have any sort of agenda. People have a right to know what happens in the world."
"Yes. But that kind of thinking got you here." Lehm said pointing around her house. "We'll make sure that it doesn't happen to you ever again. Provided you don't blab about this."
"Why should I trust the word of the CIA? You do realize it's your fault for why Iraq is still colossal mess!"
Her skepticism was obvious.
"We're not ask you to trust the CIA. We're asking you to trust us."
"Grr." She then slammed the fork on the table. "You know that's exactly what that fat bastard said to me before he locked me up and I would only get out of here if I said 'yes.' You American's think the whole damn world revolves around you. You claim that freedom of speech is your most valuable right but when others try to make such opinions or give knowledge or even truth then you see them as a threat and you crush them."
I didn't know what Lehm was thinking and I may not be the most patriotic American I once was. But I won't stand by and let someone bad mouth a people, culture, or idea based on their own prejudices. Granted everyone does have a bias against something. Everyone has something that they do or do not like. It's kind of a classic habit of human conditioning. People forget everything good someone or something had done and focus entirely on one bad mistake. And that one mistake leads people to judge things that they've never seen or heard of before.
"I mean for crying out loud the levels of hypocrisy people like you have seem to be astronomical. You shout peace and prosperity when you're buying away everything that keeps other smaller nations afloat. Your schools have hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue every year but graduating students work underpaid jobs or none at all. Hospitals that can treat you for anything only if you can afford it. You want less crime but you have more guns than you do people. And don't get me started on indoctrinating your children to praise men who go to war when they don't even know that they're just killing-"
"Layla." I said sternly in a tone I hadn't used in a long time.
Lehm may have been just letting her get it out of her system and then he would get back to trying to let her know she had a chance of leaving here. But I'm not him and I'm not someone that tolerates bullshit from someone else on a three legged high horse.
I grabbed one of the chairs from the opposite sides of the table. Lehm was watching my every move. He probably was expecting me to pounce on her but I wasn't. I just stared right back at Faiza as I walked over to her with authority and not losing my focus on her eyes. Every step was heavy and the closer I got I saw her face growing with fear. I placed the chair next to her and sat down on it backwards. I expected her to start shaking but when your very still, that's a sign of absolute terror. Cause you have no idea what the hell's gonna happen next.
I held out one finger, waving it to get her attention. To the left, to the right, to the center, placed it on her forehead and pushed her head back with a smirk.
"What was…?" She stared at me confused.
"You know for someone of your intellect and credentials you are not very bright. Matter of fact if you were a rock in the middle of the ocean you'd float. I always believed that education opens a mind. Though in your case you just fell victim to what others want you to think."
"Excuse me?" She said offended and back to somewhat normal.
"There is no excuse for ignorance Miss Layla. It's true my home has it's fair share of problems and no one is denying it. Still other than the fact that I'm an American what the hell do you even know about me?"
"Plenty. You're…"
"NOT someone who only knows how to lift objects and put them back down." I said cutting her off. "I'm actually a bit of a culture expert. And while it's nice always learning something new, I'm smarter than you ever hoped you could ever be."
She narrowed her eyes at me like I just offended her in the worst way. A natural reaction for someone of her status.
"Now you're just plain lying. How could a Neanderthal like you even know the first thing about physics?"
"Two part answer. One; I don't know. It's not my field of study."
"Oh I can't wait to hear what this is." She said unbelieving.
"Second. Physics' main goal is to understand how the universe behaves. While it aims to discover universal laws, its theories lie in explicit domains of applicability. They have eight different fields of study. Nuclear, particle, atomic, molecular, optical, condensed matter, astro, and applied. Along with dozens of subfields. Yours in quantum physics was founded by Max Planck. Which earned him the Nobel Prize in 1918, and which he formally received the next year, for his experiments in what was known as 'The Black Body Spectrum'. Me though, I'm more of a classical kind of student by studying Thales of Miletus. The true father of all science. Or if we're hitting a little closer to your ball park, Ibn al-Haytham. Open any book on optics and you'll see his name, along with the fact that his scientific methods predate the Renaissance theories by five hundred years. What do you want to bet that Planck used transference of light in kind of the same way he did?"
The look on Faiza's face was absolutely priceless as I looked at her with a big smile. I half expected her to say 'system crash reboot' or some shit. But all I really did was just dig up some old memories from my science classes a long time ago. And I still wasn't done yet. I'm only beginning to be awesome.
"Judging from the lack of your response it only strengthens my point even more. You have earned the right to be called a Doctor. Your skills in computer technology, math, and sciences are outstanding. But they're also your biggest weakness. Because you see the world through a damn computer screen and you speak with just a keyboard. Every action that you take is through material. Things. Not yourself."
Her expression had slowly changed from shocked to mellowed to lack of hope. It took a while but it led me to conclude that Dr. Layla Faiza was the type of person that was entirely reliant on a system. Numbers and calculations to formulate logical outcomes. Or in other words, predictability. All you need is one wrench to throw at it and it all falls apart.
"None of this though, really matters to me. To either of us as a matter of fact." I said standing up and thumbing towards Lehm.
Maybe I threw the wrench a little too hard. She wasn't her 'Chatty' self after that.
"We only needed to see if you were on board for something special that's coming up." Lehm said taking the reins. "And I know the answer. Guard?"
The Sergeant appeared at the door in a snap. Looked like we might have spent too much time here.
"We have all we need. We'll be on our way."
But as we reached the door Faiza stood up to shout.
"Hold the bloody hell on! I haven't agreed to anything! What makes you'd think I'd say yes after all that!?"
I was the last one out. "You don't need to."
You're leaving whether you like it or not.
Like Lehm said, we had what we needed and we both agreed to not linger here any longer. After the silent walk back to the elevator, I noticed that the extra security measure had changed. Instead of that tired guy was a man of Hispanic appearance with a buzzcut and a strong jawline. His relief most likely.
"They're all done Lieutenant." The Sergeant said taking back our visitors passes.
"I already heard everything from the Petty Officer. Thank you Sergeant." He then looked at us. "He just took the elevator up. It'll be down in a moment."
"No rush." The old man said.
But as we waited, the officer kept looking at us. His gaze was a studying one. I only looked back for a brief moment and hoped he wasn't catching on. It did seem rather weird that a Navy Lieutenant was doing the job of an enlisted man. Then again military life is anything but normal.
"Hey big guy." He said.
I just tilted my head in his direction so that he knew I heard him. I already knew that if anyone saw us as suspicious we just blend in or act normal. It's when you get to the end of something though that the most preventable shit happens.
"Have we met?"
Damn it.
"Don't know ya."
As I was cursing the damn elevator to hurry up he took a few steps closer. My real name and what I did isn't very public but that didn't mean that there weren't people that didn't know who I was period.
"No I'm serious. It's ringing some major bells. Have we at least worked together before?"
Calm down Damien. You got this.
Fortunately he only sounded curious instead of suspicious.
"I never was a sailor. And trust me if you worked with me it wouldn't last. People can't stand me."
"Ain't that the goddamn truth." Lehm jumped in. "His girlfriend keeps looking for an excuse to kill him."
Perfect opportunity for diversion.
"You're not in any position to talk about relationships, Mr. Five Ex-Wives."
"Four. And I never cheated on any of them."
"Hey! I can't help it I'm rugged. As compared to you who's just plain ragged."
The doors were opening in the process. Time to get the hell out of here before he caught on.
"Well are you guys gonna be back again? It's not like the Company keeps Night Nine informed."
Well that was lucky. We can find out about that later.
"Well we're not them. We'll let you know before anything else." I said as the doors closed and we were in the clear.
1800 Hours
"I don't think I need to tell you two how proud I am of you both."
"It's kind of what I do boss. You're making me blush"
"You know that what we're doing was never in the job description you senile old fuck."
While we were lounging around in the Caribbean, Koko was busy clearing out of the UK. Apparently Scarecrow was on her ass again and it looked like she wanted to meet the Fruition at Miami ahead of schedule. The video call to her primarily consisted of all of our reports in the last few days and she would map out the tactical scenario for when the official op began. Our job was done, so all we had to do was just play the waiting game. But I saw that there was an alertness in her eyes whenever we mentioned a name to her. She yelled off screen to Sophia to look it up and she'd be back with it when she was done talking to us. And probably give me a few minutes to talk to her since I hadn't heard from her in several days.
"Still though I wish you could have given Dr. Faiza a more hopeful outlook that she'd at least think she would be leaving on better terms."
"It was her fault that she wanted to keep acting so self-righteous. We tried our best and she's still sore at your pal Bookman for locking her up. That's if I can fucking call it that." I said trying to forget that she lived in the Waldorf Astoria.
"It wouldn't have mattered anyway. Wouldn't it Koko?"
"I suppose not but I prefer reaching out to people as positively as possible. Even if their choices are limited."
"You don't discriminate do you?"
"Only if someone keeps making me buy all their crap."
"Ha Ha Ha."
It was her own damn fault that she decided to spoil me for the longest time. She only started acting different whenever Sophia and me got a lot closer. I'll have to tell her the news eventually but I had bigger things to worry about.
"Hope I'm not interrupting but I think everyone needs to hear this."
Speak of the devil. Sophia was standing behind Koko with her arms crossed. The look on her face wasn't optimistic.
"What's up Valmet?" Lehm asked.
"It took some snooping but HQ gave me some intel on who 'Night Nine' was. That's their unofficial title because a majority of their operations are conducted at night. SEAL Team Nine."
My thoughts, and possible my face, greyed. Going up against another Black Ops unit was not on my bucket list.
"Does their patch look like a goat skull and say 'Night Time is the Right Time'?" I asked based on the ballcap that I saw that Lieutenant fiddling with.
"Yep."
"Goddamnit. I think we avoided shooting the breeze with their team lead. Koko I think we'll have to revise this plan a bit. Bookman obviously knows what your planning. Those SEALs are an extra wall he put up to keep Rabbits Foot away from us. We need to wait this out. At least until they're gone."
"No." She said immediately. "We proceed as scheduled. If their alert level has relaxed then we've got a big window of opportunity here. We can't waste it.
If I said anything now, not only would I have another screaming on my hands but I'd be going back on my word saying that I trusted her to pull this off. As well as me getting back home. See my father and let him know I'm fine. To live normally again without a gun under my pillow.
Make a future with Sophia.
But this was an unexpected move on the Navy's part. She did say that she avoided fights with Hex and other SAD units. SEALs were not that different. So I had to look at this from a tactical standpoint. Hopefully she'd see that cause I was thinking about everyone else.
"I agree. But we need to make sure that the dogs don't catch our scent. Do you have something that'll wreak havoc to their noses?"
She narrowed her eyes at first and looked away to think for a moment. Then came the iconic smile.
"I got something that'll help us out." She then checked her watch. "Alright. Hold on to your phones and we'll call you soon. Over and out."
But just before the screen cut off I saw that Sophia was looking at me. No chit chat for us it seems. But not before I saw her mouth a few words.
I miss you.
I hoped she saw me smile as the screen went blank. But as I was getting things organized, Lehm had stepped away from the desk before she hung up to have another smoke on our hotels small balcony. The setting sun was blocked out by storm clouds and the smell of rain was heavy in the air. I figured I join him with the other half of a cigar I wanted to finish. He knew that this wasn't no cakewalk.
"Getting this out of the way first I trust her." I said lighting my other half. "But what do you think the odds are?"
"Fifty fifty. No other way around." He said exhaling.
"Well lets hope that they didn't suspect too much. But we had no choice. We couldn't go in blind."
"Well I've been meaning to talk to you about this morning."
"Let me guess. Needs improvement?"
"No. Plain sloppy. We got lucky is what happened." His tone was somewhat serious.
Long exhale. "Well it's not everyday you spy on US assets in a top secret facility. Besides I've never done that before. What the hell else was I supposed to do?"
"You already have. You just didn't use it properly."
"What do you mean?" I asked as thunder rumbled in the distance.
"Not being seen or heard is part of the same infiltration skills we both know. But its also a matter of changing who you are so that no one recognizes you. You can hide in plain sight if you simply don't act like yourself."
He was right, and I could have been a little less blunt with Faiza.
"Well, let's see what happens next time under less stressful circumstances." I said as I took another puff.
"Still though. You didn't let them see the gaps in the disguise. I suppose that counts for something." He then flicked his cigarette away. "Come on. Let's get something to eat before another storm rolls in."
The other half of the cigar tasted a little stale anyway and I got rid of it as well.
There's no denying it. I'm scared about what will happen in the next 72 or so hours. But I can't blink now. I've come so far and Koko's gonna help me get back to a life without killing people and breaking things. Even my feelings for Sophia we're growing stronger.
I will not lose this time.