Chapter 19

As we picked up gear to load our armored truck, I commented to Ken, “The After Action Report will take most of the night. I can’t imagine getting to take advantage of a hotel room any time soon.”

Ken’s smile indicated he had a different opinion of that statement. “Why Mr. Deputy Secretary, your team leaders handle reporting. Deputy Secretaries do not write reports about shootouts, because Deputy Secretaries do not engage in shootouts as a rule. So, even though you did participate, your team leader will know exactly how to handle the reporting...” he gave a very blunt glare at our tea leader, “and he will know that it is NOT my wish to see your name in the reports.

“Are we perfectly clear, Agent?”

“Oh, Yes Sir.” The message was given, received, and acknowledged. I had never seen it done better.

“Then you should be getting your boss out of the night air and into a nice warm and SAFE hotel room, right?” That message was received with the same clarity as the first one, and my team got us moving in our truck without delay, as the Secretary and his team headed back to his jet.

The next thirty-nine months were packed with meetings, trips and briefings. We had some success closing down the pipeline of terrorists into the country. A couple of our operations were huge successes and we lost some good agents along the way.

Whenever we lost an agent in the line of duty, one section of our organization was intensely taking care of the agent’s family and final arrangements. The President attended every funeral and there were several. While we were focused on those that paid the ultimate price, another, more intense, group of agents brought the wrath of God down on those responsible.

“I Don’t Care what else you do. Every single person involved in killing one of ours goes in the ground. You find them and kill them. The message is simple. You hurt one of ours and we will kill you and keep killing you until you realize that you can’t win and quit trying.

“If possible, I want to be there when you run these bastards to the ground. I will personally do the deed to prove to you how serious I am about our enemies. Congress declared war on radical Islam and we will make war when and wherever necessary to drive home that point.”

During the next three years I was present when some really bad people met Allah, or whatever was waiting for them on the far side of the bullet that took their lives. It should be noted that violent attacks against Homeland Security Agents dried up to almost nothing by the time I celebrated my third year there.

The President ran for reelection and won easily, but I was too deeply involved in my work to pay close attention. Other than taking the day to attend the inauguration, I kept my nose to the grindstone and stayed busy. Hawk was very popular. His charisma and kind but firm personality won his party a number of new seats in the Senate and almost forty more in Congress. That was a lot. When Hawk appointed someone these days, the Senate confirmed them without much discussion because the party had an iron grip on the Confirmation Committee.

Even though I knew all that, I paid little attention. My job kept expanding, taking in new responsibilities and more departments under my leadership. My years as Vice President and President gave me a huge advantage over my contemporaries in Homeland Security, and with my star continuing to rise, I was unexpectedly promoted to Under Secretary of Homeland Security with all the headaches and perks.

It was a Tuesday in January when things changes.

The work day would been routine had I not been suddenly summoned to an immediate meeting with the President two days after I arrived back in D.C., from a tour of our west coast facilities. We had recently finished a major technology upgrade and I wanted to see how things were working with the new systems. My staff had a full day planned to get me up to speed on all the things that I missed while out of the office. It looked like I would be putting in a long day and night trying to clear my inbox. When the summons came, I dropped everything and left the Homeland Security Headquarters Building. If the President called me to come immediately, then there was a good reason. It was unthinkable to keep him waiting.

President Dryden was running behind on the day of our meeting. His appointment secretary stashed me in vacant office near the Vice President’s wing. It was while waiting that Sam Brownbock sent an out assistant to bring me to him.

“Mr. Morrison, it is a pleasure to meet you. The President speaks highly of your background and bravery. I’ve never a met person in such a high office willing to strap on a gun and go save his employees pinned down by terrorists. How is it that you came to be in the middle of that foul up three years ago?”

The Vice President was healthy looking, which befits the man who sits a heartbeat away from the Oval Office. Brownbock exuded good health and vitality. He was also not known as someone with whom you could not successfully evade the truth. If he was asking, he wanted the straight scoop, so I chose to give it to him.

“Mr. Vice President. The circumstances were such that our personnel needed to know that their bosses would put their neck out there for them. When the situation took a far more dangerous turn, there was little to do but throw everything available at the shooters and give our teams as much cover as possible. I did not go down there intending to shoot it out with those low life, bastards. They brought it to me, and I gave them everything I had.” No use sugar coating it. Brownbock already knew the facts. He was digging for motives and details. As far as I was concerned, he could keep digging. I would answer the question asked and keep the rest to myself.

“Mr. Morrison, we both know it was much more than that, and your actions were not only brave, but without your quick thinking and bravery, the President and I might have been be scheduling the days following that raid around funerals for fallen DHS Agents. Thank you – frankly - for having the balls to take up arms and protect your own.

“I can tell you that your response has earned you almost legendary status among the troops. We’re hearing that your agents are willing to storm Hell because they believe that you will grab a gun and join them at the gates.

“The President just let my receptionist know that he is free, and he is headed down here to visit with us both. So, let’s go out there and greet our boss.” His smile was genuine, and the man I met briefly when I lived in the White House as the First Daughter, seemed to really be the man I talked with that day. As we walked through his inner sanctum, towards the main hallway, I realized this was the first time I was in the White House since the day Hawk appointed me to my position.

We walked through the Vice President’s suite of offices and silently waited outside the entry for Hawk. When he turned the corner surrounded by his detail, I could tell something was wrong. His guards were jumpy and he seemed tightly wound. Brownbock noticed it and stiffened visibly as Hawk closed the distance between us. Before either of us could speak, he jerked his head towards the inner rooms, and kept right on walking. That was a severe breech of protocol, so whatever was happening was at least that serious.

The door to the Vice President’s personal office was carefully opened for him, and then just as carefully closed by one of the myriad of Hawk’s aides, guards, and flunkies as soon as the President was safely inside. “Sam! Good to see you. Thomas, it’s about time I got you out here for a visit. I wish we could have a nice visit and some lunch together, I’d love to hear about some of your exploits Thomas, but we do not have time for that I’m afraid.