CHAPTER TWELVE

 

Covering her ears with her hands, she ran into the room. Raz yanked the door closed. He crouched down beside her on the floor. Master Sergeant Bailey lay on his side while Sergeant Beetle covered him with his body.

There was a muffled explosion followed by a “whoop” sound. The force of the EMP grenade threw them to the floor. The floor shifted an inch to the west. The programmers fell out of their chairs. Trece and White Boy were the only team members able to maintain their crouched position. As if on a sling shot, the building swung back to the east. Food, dishes, and supplies flew out of the break room cabinets. Everything fell out of the refrigerator.

The lights flickered and crackled. Smoke from burned electrical wires drifted down from the ceiling before water burst from the fire sprinkler system. The jets sputtered and shut off. A few jets near the edge of the room dripped water.

Before anyone could move, there was one last jolt.

Then silence.

“That’s it!” Vince yelled. He stood and waved his hands over his head.

The Fey team helped each other up from the floor. They took off their balaclavas and removed their ear plugs. The partner teams – Trece and White Boy; Margaret and MJ; Vince and Leena; Joseph and Colin; Sergeant Beetle and Master Sergeant Bailey; Matthew joined Alex, Raz and Ben – checked each other for injury.

“Report!” Joseph yelled.

“Clear!” came one at a time from the partner teams.

Seeing the team stand, the programmers began to move around.

“Remove your ear plugs!” Standing in front of the programmers, Leena and Margaret pointed to their ears.

“If you are injured, see either myself,” Colin said. He pointed to MJ, and added, “Or Sergeant Scully. Otherwise, sit down.”

“We want to see programmers 7, 78, 83 and 112!” Matthew yelled. “Over here!”

Just as the four programmers began to stand, Master Sergeant Bailey gave a deep and dangerous growl. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. Sergeant Beetle signaled for him to stand down but the dog refused. Sergeant Beetle grabbed his collar.

Master Sergeant Bailey broke away. He took off toward the southwest corner of the room. Barking and snarling, he flew across the room to bark at air.

“Jesse?” Raz asked.

“He’s standing next to me,” Alex said. “Anyone see anything?”

Raz shook his head. Alex glanced from team member to team member until her eyes rested on Colin. She raised her eyebrows. Using American Sign Language, he signed, “Glimmer.” She nodded. She’d seen a glimmer too. She raised an eyebrow to Jesse.

“I see it too,” Jesse said. “But I don’t have a clue what it is.”

“Animal, vegetable, mineral,” Alex said.

Jesse went over to where the dog was attacking the air.

“It’s a drone,” Jesse said.

Master Sergeant Bill Bailey continued snarling and snapping.

“Sir,” Sergeant Beetle appeared at attention in front of her. “Master Sergeant Bailey, Bill, he’s done this before. Twice. He’s gone crazy at… nothing. He’s a decorated soldier… I mean you saw what he can do. And he can do a lot more than that. But this… The vet says there’s nothing wrong with him. He’s healthy and all of his senses are functioning but…”

“Is this why you were assigned to us?” Matthew asked.

“Yes sir,” Sergeant Beetle said. “They want to retire Bill. I told them I would retire with him. But the Admiral wanted us to intern with you before we…”

Alex pointed to Colin and raised her hand. Colin came over to her.

“Excuse me,” Alex said to Sergeant Beetle.

“Yep, that’s a drone,” Jesse said. “Or something like it. Very, very small. Nano-sized. Made out of plastic or something like plastic. Not metal.”

He pointed his finger to what looked like dust moving on its own volition.

“Wasn’t that asshole Hector working on this type of aeronautics?” Jesse asked. “Ask Zack. He was rambling about nano-drones at that party for Troy’s father.”

Alex raised her eyebrows. She watched the drone move for a moment before deciding what to do.

“I think it’s armed,” Jesse said. “I can’t tell for sure. It’s tiny.”

“Sergeant Beetle,” Alex said. “Can you tell Master Sergeant Bailey to stand down? We’ve got this.”

“Yes sir,” Sergeant Beetle said.

“On my orders?” Alex asked.

“Yes sir,” Sergeant Beetle said.

“Raz? We have a bee.”

“A bee?” Raz asked.

Alex nodded. Unsure of what she meant, he went to the jumble that had fallen from the cabinets for his usual bee removal supplies. He picked up a plastic cup and a piece of paper. He followed Alex to the corner where the dog had snapped and lunged.

“Sergeant Beetle?” Alex asked.

Sergeant Beetle ordered Master Sergeant Bailey to stand down. Alex pointed to a speck of dust. Raz caught the speck in the cup and covered the cup with the paper. The spec struck the paper a few times.

“That’s no bee,” Raz said. “It’s hitting at my hand!”

Joseph put a table onto its legs and Raz set the cup paper side down, on the table. The cup jumped a few times. Alex leaned down to watch the spec of a drone.

“What the hell is that?” Joseph asked.

“You mean it was something?” Sergeant Beetle asked.

“We think it’s a nano-drone,” Alex said.

“Something like that,” Colin crouched down so his eyes were at the level of the drone.

“Survived the EMP burst?” Vince asked.

“We’ve read about them,” Raz said.

“We’ve seen a few,” Alex said. “Never seen them in this size.”

“Dragonfly, Maple Seed, Hummingbird…,” Raz furrowed his eyebrows. “Nothing like this.”

“Master Sergeant Bailey deserves a medal,” Alex said. “Can you do me a favor, Sergeant?”

“Yes sir,” Sergeant Beetle seemed to grow an inch taller.

“We have this room to take care of, and brass is going to be a pain in the ass in about…?”

Alex looked up to catch Matthew’s eyes. He held up five fingers.

“Five minutes. We have to get out of here,” Alex said. “Do you see the guy standing over there looking through the mess for matches?”

“He introduced himself as Ben, sir,” Sergeant Beetle said.

“Can you and the Master Sergeant tell him your story?” Alex said. “You can trust him. He’s going to want to hear the whole story – every detail, every exact location, everything. He won’t take notes, but you can be sure he’s got it all.”

“Yes sir,” Sergeant Beetle said. “You don’t need our help with the room?”

“We may,” Matthew said. “But you won’t be far.”

“Yes sir.”

“Oh and Sergeant?” Alex held out another box of the North Carolina cigarettes. Spying a black Sharpie pen in the mess, she picked it up and wrote “Hector Aeronautics” on the side. Sergeant Beetle took the cigarettes. He and Master Sergeant Bailey trotted over to Ben. Ben looked up when he saw the box of cigarettes. Taking the cigarettes from the Sergeant, Ben read what she’d written and glanced at her. When his attention turned back to Sergeant Beetle, all thoughts of cigarettes evaporated. The Sergeant had his full attention.

Alex went to the front of the room.

“Listen up!” Alex yelled. Trece whistled, and the rest of the team yelled to get the programmers’ attention. When they were quiet and looking at Alex, she continued, “Thank you. I know that you are confused. We would like to tell you what we know before we are interrupted.

“We are an elite US military multi-unit team. We came today because we were informed that the JFCOM servers had been wiped and were now missing data and programs. Knowing the players, we were concerned about the outcome of this loss.”

Alex pointed to Joseph and Matthew. They came to the front of the room.

“We found an extensive virus-like program that was designed to take down the entire US Intelligence network, as well as the worldwide Intelligence network. If allowed to process, this program would have corrupted not only the data but also the computer system hardware. Further, this program had sleeper components that would have knocked out any archive or archiving program,” Matthew said. “The virus was nested within the operating systems of four desktop computers. We believed that by isolating the program and destroying the computers, we would have been able to keep the program from launching.”

“The destruction of the computers, however, launched the program,” Joseph said. “We closed every network gateway to every organization in the world. Further, we launched an EMP grenade in the hopes of destroying the virus. The computers, your stations, laptops and desktop computers have been destroyed by the blast. A joint team of experts from Russia and the US will arrive within twenty minutes to review your servers as well as the program. The rest will be here by the end of the day. We expect your full cooperation.”

“You will be interviewed individually by our team and MPs,” Alex said. “It’s of the utmost importance that you know two things.”

“First: you have done nothing wrong,” Joseph said. “The genesis of this disaster happened almost twenty years ago. Even if you worked on parts of the program, you are not responsible for the whole.”

“And second: if you aren’t completely forthright, we will eventually know,” Matthew said. “You will be brought up on charges of treason.”

“This situation is a big-assed deal,” Alex said. “Bigger than anything you’ve read about in a novel, seen in a movie, or even dreamed about. Bigger than Robert Ludlum or Rod Serling ever came up with. If you get in the way…”

“You will be run over,” Joseph said.

“We’re not telling you so we can kill you,” Matthew said “We’re telling you because we will need your help to determine what happened and what to do next.”

“We are also aware that at least twelve elite military teams have been misplaced during this exercise,” Alex said. “We will find them and bring them home. But we may not be able to do it without your help.”

“You can be part of the solution here,” Joseph said. “This is a chance to make a name for yourself and really do something to help your country.”

“Or, you can try to stand in our way,” Alex made a show of shrugging. “You can guess how that’s going to end.”

“Who are you guys?” a young man from the middle of the room yelled.

“We’re the Fey Team,” Trece said.

There was a crackle from where Vince was setting up Alex’s laptop. Alex looked over and Vince nodded. Alex’s laptop was theoretically shielded from an EMP blast but they had never tested it.

“Sir?” Sergeant Dusty’s face appeared on the inter-agency link.

“Yes Sergeant,” Alex said.

“Brass on their way,” Sergeant Dusty’s voice was heard, but the picture on the screen went out and his words were garbled. Vince jiggled a few wires to get the screen back on and hit the computer on the side. Sergeant Dusty’s face appeared again.

“We missed that Sergeant,” Matthew said.

“Jakker’s waiting for his Fey at the pick up,” Sergeant Dusty said. “X and his team are in the air. Out.”

They heard footsteps in the hallway. Ben looked up at Alex and gave her a nod. Raz took her arm. They ran through the room to a door near the front. Raz pressed the door open and peered into the hallway. The five MPs who had confronted them when Alex and Zack had come to free Ben were waiting for them.

“We’ve been briefed,” the lead MP said. “This way.”

They followed him through the maze of buildings to an exterior door. The MP team leader used his card key to open the door. Hovering overhead, Zack had already lowered two wires and two Special Forces Sergeants to help them into the helicopter. They were halfway across the parking lot when one of the MPs yelled. Alex turned back and he ran out to her.

“Find my brother,” he said. He pushed a photograph of a young man holding a baby into her hand. “It’s my fault he went. I was so gung ho. I never thought…”

“We’ll find him,” Alex said.

“Yes sir,” he saluted.

She returned his salute and ran to the wire. The Green Berets clipped into the lines. Alex and Raz grabbed onto the men and they went up to the helicopter. Two Marines waited to help them into the helicopter. Raz sat down next to Alex. The Marines gave Alex and Raz water bottles and helped them secure themselves in their seats. Alex had just put her headphones on when Zack asked:

“Where to my Fey?”

“Where’s the meet?” Alex asked.

“Thurmont, sir,” Cliff said.

“Do I have something else to wear, or am I going to meet the big boys in my hooker gear?” Alex asked.

“Hooker,” Zack said. “The Joint Chiefs will love the wig.”

The young woman Marine sitting next to her held up her backpack. Alex smiled her thanks to the Marine and began changing out of her outfit.

“Some things are best left to the imagination,” Raz stood to help Alex change.

“Let’s go see what they have to say at Camp David,” Alex said.

“As you wish, my Fey,” Zack said.

FFF

Monday evening

October 26 – 6:42 p.m. EDT

Sheridan Circle Mansion, Washington DC

 

“You look amazing,” Matthew said.

Alex turned back and forth to show off her strapless black ball gown that fell just below her knee. The silk and lace dress had a red band and matching bow at her waist. Five-inch black Christian Louboutin stilettos waited for her feet.

“Did you see this?” Alex lifted the edge of her dress.

The tulle of her black dress was slightly red to match the underside of her shoes.

“Very pretty,” her little sister Erin said. “Don’t move.”

Standing behind her, Erin hooked an antique diamond necklace.

“Don’t lose this,” Erin said. She finished the clasp. “Mom doesn’t know you are borrowing it. She’ll kill me if she finds out.”

“How would she find out?” Alex asked.

Erin wiped a mascara smudge from under her left eye.

“You’re sure she won’t be there?” Erin asked.

“It’s a pretty exclusive event,” Alex gave Erin a soft smile. “She doesn’t fit the requirements.”

“Trece’s going with you?” Matthew asked.

“I don’t think he can come in, but he can get us as far as the event and back,” Alex nodded.

“You’ll be careful?” Matthew gave Alex her handbag and a hug.

“We’ve been every year,” Alex said. “We’ll be fine.”

“Wow,” They heard Leena say from the second floor. “You make me wish I liked men.”

Alex looked up to see Raz coming down the stairs wearing a black tux. His wide shoulders and narrow hips were accented by the drape of the fabric. He wore a red bow tie and cummerbund to match the red in her dress. She smiled at him.

“You’re like a movie!” Troy’s son Hermes said as they came out of the living area.

“Aren’t they pretty?” Troy asked.

“Very pretty!” Hector James said.

“Good Lord,” Margaret said. “What did you do with my Trece?”

They looked up to see a blushing Trece trotting down the stairs wearing a tux.

“Team?” Joseph called.

The team broke out into applause. Joseph gave Alex her 9mm Glock and gave handguns to Trece and Raz. While they checked their weapons, Joseph gave them the latest update on what Alex was calling The Eniac Fiasco.

“The computer teams are in place,” Joseph said. “They plan to work through the night. As you know, the CIA came up with a team of their own experts. They are not happy with your decision to keep them on the sidelines.”

“There isn’t anything they can do about it,” Alex said. “They should have caught it; they didn’t.”

“We will review the interviews and any available data,” Joseph said. “You’re in meetings all day tomorrow at the Pentagon.”

“Sadly,” Alex said.

“Do we have your permission to take some R&R?” Joseph asked.

“Of course,” Alex said. “We need to take it when we can. Who knows where this will lead?”

“Any sense?” Matthew asked.

Shrugging, Alex tucked her weapon into her handbag.

“The limo is waiting for you,” Joseph said. “It will take you to Bolling. The Jakker is waiting for you there. He will take you to New York. He has requested to stay in New York. If it suits your needs, we’ve arranged for a limousine to bring you back to Washington.”

“Bestat’s in New York?” Alex asked.

Joseph nodded.

“We’ll probably sleep on the return,” Raz said. “Sounds fine to me.”

Alex nodded.

“You’ll have the details by the time you land,” Joseph said. “You have your phone?”

Alex turned on the cell phone he’d given her.

“You can text,” Joseph opened the phone to show the keypad. “That’s your fastest transmission.”

“We’re going to be fine,” Alex said. “Don’t worry.”

Joseph gave an uncertain nod and she smiled. In one look, they acknowledged that the days of not worrying ended one October day under the streets of Paris. He smiled.

“We should go,” Raz said.

Trece jogged down the stairs in front of them to recheck the limousine driver. Raz took her arm to help her with her shoes. They were almost out the door when the Butler called them back.

“From all of us, sir,” the Butler held a bottle of Krug, Clos Du Mesnil 1995, Champagne to Raz. “Care of Mr. Lamberton. We’re very sorry for your loss and deeply grateful for your service. We are all affected. Mr. Lamberton has placed a case in the limousine for you to share with the others. This is for your trip.”

“Thank you,” Raz took the champagne with his left hand and shook the Butler’s hand. “I’m confident that Mr. Lamberton’s generosity was inspired by your kindness. It’s appreciated.”

Embarrassed, the Butler gave a slight bow. Alex waved to the team. Raz helped her down the stairs where the driver waited to help them into the back seat. The driver went around to the driver’s seat.

“I know where we’re going and why,” Trece said. “But I don’t really know why. You know?”

“You know that Raz was an NYPD detective, right?” Alex asked.

Trece nodded.

“He was there when the towers fell,” Alex said.

“Joseph said he saw his wife jump off one of the towers,” Trece said.

“Like a lot of people, he worked night and day in the aftermath,” Alex said. “Raz’s wife’s body was found on October 26, 2001.”

“Not her body,” Raz glanced at her and looked out the window.

“They only found her hand,” Alex said. “Her hand and her lover’s hand. The fingers were still entwined. He recognized her hand immediately because she was still wearing her wedding set. But their bodies… He gets maybe ten tiny pieces a year.”

Alex shrugged.

“Raz and I went to the Ground Zero site when we started working together,” Alex said. “We try to go every October 26. The first year we were there, a few guys who worked the site happened by.”

“Four,” Raz turned to look at Trece. “They said they were out walking and ended up there. We didn’t believe them, but we never found another explanation.”

“Next year, a few more guys showed up,” Alex said.

“And women,” Raz nodded.

“Over time, it’s grown,” Alex said.

“We’ve lost a lot of people too,” Raz said. “Died.”

“From the shit in the air?” Trece asked.

“Respiratory illness,” Raz said. “Cancer.”

“They call it Ground Zero Illness,” Alex said. “They were given respirator masks but they were mostly non-functional for the work they were doing.”

“We had no idea what was in the air and…” Raz shook his head. “I was lucky… Fairy luck.”

He looked at Alex. She smiled at him.

“We never know who we’re going to see,” Alex said.

“It’s an Alex thing, Trece,” Raz said. “She insisted we get dressed up and dance in memory of all that happened – all the bad, all that was lost…”

“And all the good,” Alex smiled at him. “The heroes who worked to put everything back together. The people who were saved. The amazing workers who showed up day after day. Many of them never knew if they’d get paid. They came to work because they could. We celebrate the glorious human spirit that joined together.”

“Now it’s kind of a thing,” Raz said. “The guys show up in tuxes; the ladies in ballroom wear. We bring the music.”

“And we dance,” Alex said. “It’s very… somber and… beautiful. There are lights there, now but it used to be dirt and darkness. A few years ago, one of the wives brought candles. Now they turn the lights out and we dance in the candlelight. It’s… breathtaking.”

“It’s only once a year,” Raz said. “No advertising. No politicians or reporters. No grandstanding. Sometimes, the local restaurants show up with food. The NYPD shuts down the street and guards the event.”

“You’ll probably need to stay with them,” Alex said.

“Sounds like that’s where I belong,” Trece said. “I feel kinda tingly like I’m going somewhere special.”

“I’m glad to have you,” Raz said. “It’s not my favorite or my best night.”

“It’s very hard,” Alex said. “I think for everyone. That’s part of the beauty. We get together in our sorrow and just remember.”

“That’s where you went from Scotland?” Trece asked.

“Right,” Alex said. “I couldn’t go when I was unconscious in Walter Reed, of course. I hadn’t planned to go the year John and I got married again but…”

“John insisted,” Raz said. “I was there by myself when Alex showed up. And…”

“That was fun,” Alex said.

“Alex is a really good friend to me,” Raz said.

“I know the feeling,” Trece smiled.

“We should sleep if we can,” Alex said. “This is a long, late night and tomorrow is going to be another meeting-o’-drama.”

“How long before we get to Bolling?” Raz asked the driver.

“Sir, we are twenty minutes from Bolling,” the driver said. “I’ll wake you before we get there.”

Trece leaned back to sleep.

Raz put his arm around Alex and they shared a long look. He kissed the top of her head and leaned back to sleep. Snuggling into him, she fell asleep.

F