Chapter 6

I awoke to the sun shining in my eyes through the window and a very warm woman on my shoulder. I smiled as I remembered the time we had spent together. I looked at the clock on the nightstand and saw it was about six-thirty. My bladder announced that it wanted my attention. As quietly and gently as I could, I slipped out of bed without waking Maggie and hurried into the bathroom.

I stood there relieving the pressure of my bladder and thinking how strange things had gotten. I was confused about it. Maggie and I had just spent a very wonderful and satisfying night pleasing each other. I also knew that as much as I had liked the sex and as satisfying as it had been, there wasn't the emotional spark with her, not like there had been with Rachel.

Rachel. There was another kettle of fish. My feelings for Rachel were frighteningly strong and yet so clear. I knew, or felt at least, that she wouldn't be willing to leave me for long. I also knew that I would do literally anything to protect her and her sister. I knew in my bones that if the law didn't do the job of protecting her and her sister that I would ensure that they were safe. I didn't know where things were going with her but I didn't plan on waiting too much longer to find out.

As I stood there lost in thought, I felt Maggie's nipples press into my back and her arms came up from behind me to caress my chest, drawing me back from me reverie. "Hello, Lover." Her voice was low and sexy. The piss hard-on that had begun to flag began to regain its firmness.

I turned and pulled her into my arms. "I didn't mean to wake you." I apologized.

"You didn't, my bladder did, so if you are through here..." she smiled at me as I moved aside and she sat on the toilet. As I started to turn and give her some privacy she quickly grabbed my cock and said, "Who said you could go anywhere? I have plans for that in a few minutes." I heard her let her bladder loose as she looked at me.

Her smile let me know the she was well pleased with last night and was anticipating a morning tryst as well. I was more than willing to oblige. I smiled at her and said, "Let me check in with Jerry and Ray and I'll be more than happy to help you out with that."

That met with a moue of disappointment but she let me go. "If you're going to be all responsible I suppose I'll have to be as well. I'll check on the girls and see how they are doing. However, I expect to see you back in here shortly!" She grabbed my tumescent appendage "Do I make myself clear Mister?"

I smiled, snapped to attention and saluting, in my best parade ground voice replied, "AYE, AYE ma'am! Orders received and acknowledged, ma'am!"

She laughed, smacked me on the ass, and said, "Go check on your boys!"

Winking at her, I turned and went back into the bedroom and began to dress. Once I had on a set of fresh pants and a shirt I looked to my weapons and the secure phone. Taking care to check that my weapon was in the same condition I had left it ―loaded and on safety ― I holstered it and headed for the security room.

Ray was sitting at the monitor bank and drinking a cup of coffee when I walked in. "Hiya Boss! Have a good night did you?" The laughter in his voice and the knowing smirk on his face gave the lie to the shadows under his eyes.

I asked, "How are you holding up? Where's Jerry?"

He answered, "I'm okay, and Jerry is catching forty in his room and should be here to spell me for some sleep in about an hour. After we looked around we decided to take turns watching the monitors. This place is set up better than we thought. There are sensors embedded inside the perimeter wall that can pick up motion, heat, and sound for fifty meters on both sides of the wall. In addition, the software on the system is so sophisticated it can tell you how large the target is, biped or quadruped, too. If anyone tries to get in here, we'll know it before they even get close to the outer wall. One man can monitor the whole place from in here and provide adequate warning of intruders. Jerry figures that we can spell each other in here and walking the perimeter and not get burned out on it for a while."

I nodded and said, "Just make sure he figures me into the rotation. I'll stand watch with you both and that should extend our endurance..." As I spoke, the secure line rang. I answered it. "Hello?"

"Wayne? This is Red; I have the name and location of the x-ray machine you asked for. My friend will be expecting you at one o'clock today and will take the pictures for you. He also has an OR and anesthetics if Maggie wants to do things today. He used to be an MD but couldn't deal with losing patients so he went back and got his vet degree. He offered to assist if Maggie chooses to open you up. He is a veterinarian specializing in horses, not a people doctor anymore but the procedure for x-rays is the same."

He gave me the model number of the machine for Maggie. "Also, I wanted to let you know that a lot of powerful people are hollering about your arrest of Winslow. I don't know what all our boy was up to but he has some top-level people scared shitless and doing their best to either get him out of the jam he's in or running for cover."

I grimaced at the news. "Thanks, Red. I have a feeling that he is connected with some very unsavory people and it could get hotter than you anticipated..."

"You finish that sentence you son of a bitch and I'll come there and kick your ass myself! I've never backed out on you before and I'm not backing out on you now! I just wanted you to be aware that there are a lot of very heavy hitters interested in this one." The anger and hurt in his voice were palpable.

I sighed wearily. "I know you've never backed out, Red, and I just meant that I'd understand if you needed to distance yourself to protect the Mall. Anyway, what can you tell me about the Syrian I shot? How the hell did the bastard even get into the country?"

I could hear the frown in Red's voice. "He came in on a diplomatic passport under an assumed name. The Saudi consulate is denying any involvement with him but his alias is listed as an attaché assigned directly to the ambassador himself. They are scrambling to cover their asses as hard as they can and are calling in favors by the busload in Washington to do damage control on this."

"Fuck me! Tell me no one is asking to have me extradited to Saudi to stand trial for murder." I could see those bastards in D.C caving in a heartbeat for oil concessions.

"Oh no, not at all. In fact, the Saudis want to congratulate you. They are saying that they have been looking quietly for their missing attaché and simply had not informed the FBI that he was missing yet. They want everyone to ignore the fact that he's supposedly been missing for nearly a year." Red's amusement was evident in his voice. We were both of the opinion that the Saudis were no more our allies than the PLO, Al Qaeda, and Hezbollah were.

"As long as I don't have to worry about some Federal prick serving me up to a foreign court for execution, I don't care. Give me the address for the x-ray." I wrote it down as he read it off and handed it to Ray. He opened a browser and called up and printed a map to the place from here.

"Tell Mel I'll call her later today. Oh, and ask her to check with the lab at the hospital and see if they can tell us what drugs they were using on the girl. Dr. Kirkland says knowing that may help her treat Becca more effectively." I hoped they would have some answers soon.

"I can answer part of that one for you. She left a message with me to give you this list. She will be coming there tomorrow to take your depositions. She wants all of your statements on record in case anything goes wrong. She'll be arriving at noon by helicopter. She'll also have a Care package from me; it's just a few things that will make your stay there a little more pleasant. She's also bringing out one of her cousins to help watch over the girls. I don't know which one."

Red spelled out the names of several drugs and I wrote them down. I recognized one of them. It was commonly used as a truth serum ―thiopental sodium― more commonly know as sodium pentothal. Used properly it is an anesthetic; it also reduces one's ability to resist interrogation by lowering one's cognitive functions and inhibitions. It also has the side affect of rendering the patient susceptible to suggestion when used in combination with other drugs. When used improperly, it can kill you.

As I was writing, Maggie came in and I handed the paper to her. There were actually two lists, one with the drugs that had been present in Becca's blood and the other of drugs found in Winslow's home. Maggie grimaced as she read the list and began fuming as she read.

"The bastards were lucky they didn't kill her. Ask Red to have Lance, um... Dr. Piper, to send her blood-work report to my email. I can access it online and see what else was going on with her." Maggie's voice was cold with anger.

I relayed her message to Red and we hung up. I looked at her and asked, "What do these drugs mean for Becca? What were they trying to do?"

Maggie sighed. "The drugs individually are dangerous. Several are experimental. The ones I recognize coupled with the hormones released during her torture are going to make her ― or should I say change her ― into an extremely dependant personality. They were supposedly abandoned by the military as being too dangerous to use. The one I'm most concerned about, Priathomazine Glycol, was developed for interrogation during the first Gulf War. The military never used it because it was determined to have too many negative side-effects. I heard rumors that the CIA was still researching it but I can't confirm that."

Maggie ran her hand through her hair. "The most notable documented side-effect is the induced psychological dependence on a given person. The infliction of either pain or pleasure during the course of the drugs effect ties the subject's pain and pleasure centers to that person. From the levels that they found I'd say she hadn't had more than a dose or two. I'll need a biopsy sample from her liver to tell for sure."

I was glad that at that moment Winslow was far away because I would have killed him on the spot, slowly. "Is there any way to reverse the effects of the drug? I mean is there a counter agent to it?"

Maggie frowned as she spoke. "The only ones who could answer that question work in Spook Central. CIA could tell you, or maybe NSA, or DIA. But since we aren't supposed to be developing mind-control drugs in violation of international law and agreements they are not likely to be forthcoming. In fact they may try to shut us down from treating Becca at all to protect their secret formula. That Arab had to get the juice he was using from somewhere and they either already know where or they are going to want to find out very badly."

I chuckled grimly, "The only one who can answer their questions now is Winslow. I think I'll have Red drop a few hints to some of his contacts that they should start asking Winslow about his guests. With any luck the CIA or Homeland Security, or somebody, will take Winslow out for us and we can get back to our lives."

Maggie shocked me with her next statement and it brought me to instant erection with the image it conjured in my minds eye. "If I didn't think it was a bad idea or if I knew their preferences from before the drugs I wouldn't mind being the focus of one or both of those hot little girls." Maggie's face was set in an almost feral grin.

I looked at Maggie and said, "Well aren't you just full of surprises."

Maggie licked her lips and said, "I like sex any way I can get it. I'll never give up men but I love the touch of a woman as well. I'd have to be dead not to see how sexy those two are. I won't do anything while I'm treating them but as soon as I can talk to Rachel and find out if there is any interest, I plan to hand their treatment over to a friend of mine who will be better able to help them cope with what has been done to them. Then I'll see if she is interested in having some fun with us."

"You are just full of surprises, Maggie. I think I like the way your mind works though," I said with a lecherous grin.