Seated comfortably within the luxurious family suite at Kyle Field on the campus of Texas A&M University, Samuel and Savanah watched their beloved Aggies warm up forty-five minutes prior to the gridiron battle against the L.S.U. Tigers while Victoria conversed with some friends. As per the norm for all home games, Samuel and Victoria had arrived from their ranch the previous evening to enjoy dinner and comfortable hotel accommodations close to campus. Then several hours before kickoff they made the short drive over to their reserved parking spot, ascended to the confines of their stadium suite, and enjoyed the spoils of what multiple years of large donations to the university had helped to provide. A short time later other members of the Tillman family would arrive, with Savanah then usually occupying her current seat next to her grandfather during the game.

On this particular day, as it was the final home game of the season, Samuel once again flashed back to the fond memories of his youth when as a boy he attended all the home games with his parents. Then his thoughts shifted to a few years later when he proudly became a third generation student at the university. Throughout those four seasons he never missed a home game as the Aggies were one institution within the now defunct Southwestern Conference. Samuel passionately cheered them on while standing for the entirety of every game in true twelfth man tradition as a faithful member of the corps of cadets. It was during one such occasion that he had kissed his future wife Victoria for the first time, as another valued school tradition dictated that those cadets lucky enough to have female companionship during the game would kiss that young lady after an Aggie touchdown. Of course all of those visions in Samuel’s memory of time spent in and around College Station also included the witnessing of several pep rally bonfires, and the tragedy involving loss of life which forever changed how those celebratory events would be managed. Samuel, along with many others, also witnessed one entire side of the stadium being imploded for renovation purposes. As a result of that massive renovation project, the suite that his family currently occupied for the home Aggie games came into being before the 2015 season.

Samuel and Victoria were indeed proud to boast, like both sets of their parents before them, that they were native Texans and Aggies through and through. As alumni and major donors of both academic and athletic endeavors for Texas A&M University, they had developed long term relationships with the senior administrative teams and power brokers within the university structure. In recent years they had used their influential power with the athletic director to schedule a home game on this particular weekend, and then more recently, had parlayed that into another favor. From the perspective of Samuel, it was of vital importance to the overall plan that an earlier than usual morning kickoff of eleven o’clock central time for the contest would be scheduled. Eager to please the Tillman’s and a large group of substantial donors that had echoed that same desire, and having learned that a network would be willing to televise the contest, the university administration had complied with the request back in early March. They were easily caught up with the prospect of how much additional revenue would come from scheduling an earlier start time, so it never occurred to any of the administrative team to question why it had been requested.

With Savanah now moving about the suite and securing herself a pre-game snack, Victoria brought Samuel back from his thoughtful state into the reality of the present moment. She placed a hand on his shoulder and quietly asked, “Well dear, the day is finally here. Has anyone checked in yet?”

Returning the soft tone, he replied, “I have heard from number twenty three that number forty seven has reported in.”

“That’s good, is everything on schedule?”

“Yes. The drop off in Pennsylvania went according to plan, and the warehouse and any evidence that it may have contained has burned to the ground. She also informed me that number forty seven has successfully returned home on a flight to Dallas. He awaits further instructions, but understands they are contingent upon what unfolds today.”

“That’s excellent news, and number forty seven has once again proved his worth.”

“Indeed it is, and yes he has. I’m confident that everything for today will go according to plan, or at least close to it, in the two eastern locations.”

“How do you feel about the west?”

“Not as confident. There are a lot of moving parts to mesh properly.”

“Has twenty three heard from forty three?”

“Yes and no, which is part of what concerns me. Forty three checked in on the first day of the month like he has been since I stationed him there in May, but he had been instructed by number twenty three to make additional contact a few times during these final two weeks.”

“And he hasn’t done so?”

“He made contact on the fourth and the seventh, but nothing since then. At this time we can’t be sure if he has been compromised or not, so we just have to wait and see.”

“What about our other contact there?”

“Beau has done well up to this point as was to be expected, and has reported that security measures have gone unchanged. We won’t hear anything from him today, but after things calm down and an accounting of the cadets has been taken, they will probably allow each of them to notify parents or a family member of their safety. He will surely contact Mason or Courtney sometime Sunday I should think.”