Chapter 30

... not too sure ‘bout this, major. How ‘bout I just give ya’ll people the source and schematics to all of my happy shit, then walk away with my cat, and we call it even?”

“Things cannot be as simple as that, Mister Watson. You have an established infrastructure of embedded systems that are essentially unknown to the USIC. And you have two inside people to facilitate further extension of your network.”

“Inside people?”

“Johnson and Santiago.”

“Major, this makes no sense. You spook people got high-speed professionals coming out your ears. We’re the keystone cops.”

“Your attempts at an organizational analysis is a wasted effort. That your group, with the exception of Special Agent Johnson, is largely untrained in the craft, which by itself, was quite a brilliant stroke of genius by Mike Hegstrom. The group that he formed was almost perfect. Mike has been very effective at piecing together this combination of talent.”

“About Major Hegstrom and Nick Sons, I do not think that was an accident. Ya wanna see the NTSB’s preliminary report?”

“I have seen it. I am not an expert, nor have I the practical education of an engineer, but I do agree that it was not an accident.”

“So were ‘they’ after me or the major? And who the fuck is ‘they’?”

“Your aircraft had been identified by CIA insurgents, and ‘they’, apparently, took it down hoping to smoke out the principles of this group. Which was not successful.”

“Fucking insurgents in the CIA!?” Man this is too much. So now we got spooks running around CONUS capping each other. You’re running a fucking wild-west show and circus, major.”

Shit, if these assholes find me, it’ll lead ‘em right to Sandy’s front door. How do I stop this shit?

“Whether it is the CIA that is operating within our nation’s borders is not certain. What is known is that the intel came from the CIA.”

“So what can I do to hide from these assholes?”

“Exactly what you are doing now. But I will ask you to not sanction, or otherwise make people disappear that are not our counter-insurgency targets.”

“Yeah? Ya know about those six assholes we capped? How’d ya figure that out?”

“Sat images.”

“Fuck me. You spooks had been watching us all along?”

“No, the NSA does not have the resources to do so, but we did take a look, during the short window, provided by orbital change maneuvers.”

“How the fuck can you get an image while changing orbit? I thought that shit was all geo-synchronous.”

“I am not an engineer, so am uncertain how it is done, but not all of our birds are in geosynchronous orbit.”

“Cool, what’s the resolution on them things?”

“You do not need to know.”

Bet those assholes have a pic of Sandy with her tits out next to the pool. That sure as fuck gave them an eyeful. She’s probably the most popular pinup at the NSA...

“Mister Watson? I need to know if you intend to go forward with the original purpose of your group.”

“Major, you’re asking the wrong guy. Talk to Gunny Scott and Tim Barringer. As for me, I dunno; gonna need to know how I can protect Sandy Collins and her girl from this crazy shit.”

“Miss Collins is cleared. TS and SCI, as well as yourself. Mike started that in motion.”

“Yeah? Under what name?”

“Jackson”

“You people are too much. Anyway, I’m not too sure ‘bout all of this weird shit. But I’m pretty sure that Tim and gunny and Dianne Santiago are all in. They’re whacked enough to like this shit.”

“Watson, what you are proposing is not an option. You were designated the leader by Mike Hegstrom.”

“Say fuckin what!? Back the trolley up. Gunny Scott is the leader. I’m the bus driver. You fuckers just want access to my money.”

“We will not go forward using the same method of internal funding. We have developed a system of offshore accounts, fully independent of the American banking systems. Mark Watson, you are the linchpin. You will run this unit.”

Fuck me. The only thing I wanna run is my hands over Sandy’s tits. This is just too fucking much.

“ ... No! Bullshit!. We bring her into to this. Tell her everything; I mean fucking everything. Otherwise, the major packs his seabag and exits, and I disappear, along with my assets. And everyone, including Joe and Tim, has to agree to this shit ... Gunny?”

“I agree to those terms. As for the girl, I am uncertain.”

“Shit guns, think ‘bout it. The kid sleeps in the next room over from Sandy and me. She eats chow with us every day. We put the kid to bed every night. Tim and me teach the kid shit every day. Matty’s gonna know shit because she’s probably smarter than you or me.”

“And if Sandra does not agree to involve the girl and herself?”

“Then I ain’t gonna do it. Then I disappear, along with my assets. So do I go and get Major Stewart and Sandy, or is this meeting over?

Shit, Dianne looks like her panties are in a bind. I wonder if good ol’ Billy has been granted access to them tits. If so, I’ll need to get a SITREP...

“Mark, stop whatever you are thinking about and listen to me ... This stuff, it is my job. I have sworn three times to uphold the constitution...”

Give me a fuckin’ break. Ooh-fucking-rah, girl. Get to the point or show your tits. Nobody cares about your undying allegiance to the pursuit of the truth of American tits and the right to go braless. Take your jingo oaths and put it...

“Mark! You are not listening to me.”

“Yeah? Whatever. Get to your point, Special Agent Santiago. I’m awaitin’.”

“My point is, simply, that our perceptions, or rather our rationale, for our actions, will be profoundly different than that of Sandra and Maltilda. In short, they do not have, and cannot have, our world-view. How do you expect them to understand the legitimacy of our actions?”

“Are ya fucking kidding? I don’t expect them to understand shit. All we can ask is that they accept that we aren’t the bad guys and that we will try to do the right thing. Sandy and Matty already have a pretty good idea of the stupid shit I’ve been doing. So lighten up, Francis. And I got a news-flash, boys and girls, I ain’t so sure that we are the good guys. Put that in your pipes and smoke on it a while.”

Yeah, always fuckin luv it when I can quote something from Stripes. That should shut her up for a while. Tim sure looks smug, glad I could entertain his stupid ass ... Is the secure-link down? Haven’t heard anything from Joe and Jackie.

“Joe? Jackie? Got anything to add to my bullshit?”

“Nada, dude. Jackie and me are somewhat isolated up here from your stupid shit. We are good to go. Rock and roll anyway you want to. We’ll go along for the ride. You know me.”

“Jackie, you do know that you married a fuckin’ idiot?”

“Just sush. Mark, listen to me, hun. We are going to disconnect and let your discussion continue. But you need to get your lady friends into the room immediately. Go no further without those two. And when will you bring them up here for a visit?”

“Yeah, as usual, you’re right, Jackie. I’ll drag them in shortly. As for visiting, dunno what’s gonna happen. We’ll let y’all know. Bye ... Confirm disconnect, Tim.”

“The line is now isolated. Encryption key dropped.”

“I’m gonna bring them in. Like I said, tell ‘em fucking everything, or I’m outa here. I’m gonna go down to the airfield apartment and get the major. So calm your tits for a few mike, and have a beer, maybe have three.”

“Did you see this list from Major Stewart? I do not like it, Mark.”

“Didn’t bother to read it. I’ll get to it later. Why?”

“He has a list of airplanes that he wants you to learn to fly. And a list of construction projects.”

“Yeah? Whatever. Listen, hot lady. I don’t have to do shit that I don’t wanna. It’s my call. I’m the shit-head running the show ... fucking building projects? Lemme see that.”

“No, you cannot see anything related to this crazy stuff. You said we have two weeks before your group gets started up.”

“Yeah? Convince me. Show me your tits ... And don’t close them eyes, lady.”

Damn. How did them eyes get so blue? ... Tit-smashing and lip-smashing. The world’s greatest combo...

“That’s disgusting. You people are gonna do irreparable harm to my fragile psyche.”

“They’re ain’t shit fragile about your psyche. What the fuck is a psyche, anyway? ... Hey, I thought Tim was doing some teachin. Why ya here?”

“Something broke on one of the windoze servers. Don’t know why Tim likes that shit. He’s in the server room banging on a keyboard. Speaking of banging...”

“Don’t be crude, dear. Mark is the only one allowed to be crude and rude.”

“Whatever. You going to drag her into the bedroom, Mark?”

“Was thinkin about it. At least until your smart ass walked in. So what’s wrong with them servers?”

“Don’t know. But Tim was not a happy camper. Said something about the HB site.”

“Shit. Huntington Beach. Gotta get to the south wing...”

“ ... don’t know, man. But I do know that they got in through the Orange County site, then through a machine at the HB residence, which you have a watch on.”

“Dude, why the fuck ya connecting to my systems with MickeyShit stuff?”

“I wanted to see if I could script an auto-connect.”

“So they found this machine. What’s on it?”

“Nothing much. I was using this server to develop the C++ data structures course for Matty.”

“So do they know where we are?”

“Probably not.”

“Fucking ‘probably’? Dude, this ain’t good. I need to know.”

“We’re doing our own DNS, and we’re rotating IPs that are virtual through Phoenix, so I am pretty certain they can’t find a legit locale.”

“Fuck me. I’m gonna be in my office. Send me your log files, then nuke everything from orbit, including the DNS box. We’re gonna have to do a major re-install project.”

“Mark, what have you and Tim been working on for the last three days? Neither of you have been eating much, and not sleeping.”

“We’re okay. I’m ‘bout done. We had a security problem we had to track down and plug some holes in our plumbing ... Where’s the kid?”

“Riding.”

“Alone? Not only no, but fuck no. She doesn’t go out into the undeveloped part of the property alone.”

“She’s not alone. She’s with Miguel.”

“Yeah? All forty kilos of his studly muscle for protection? What the fuck is your brother doing? Put the big guy to work on something already.”

“Billy is in Georgia with mom and dad.”

“There’s something he could do; fucking learn to fly. Could save a lot of time.”

“That is probably a good idea. What is this security problem? Is it serious?”

“It could have been. Some asshole, somewhere in east Asia, has been trying to get into various Hats computers for at least three months. Mostly back-channel shit. We stopped them, but they don’t know it, at least not yet. And we set up a honey-pot for them to play with.”

“What is a...”

“Mark?! You back from the dungeon? Want to work on your airplane?”

“Nah, need to shower and hit the rack for a few hours ... Reminds me, Sandy. Wake me up by 1700, we have a conference call with Jonathon, Major Stewart, and your daddy.”

“You will eat, first. How about some eggs and potatoes?”

“Yeah, probably should eat. Throw four or five bacon strips on that and ya have a deal.”

“Do not feed them to Nyota or Darcy.”

“Hear that, furbags? Your hot mistress just blocked your chow.”

Fuck that. They’ll get their share. What the fuck is she wearing? Wha? The kid is wearing the same shit.

“Sandy? What you and Matty wearing them weird pants for?”

“They are special sweat pants for doing yoga.”

Yoga? What’s with the eastern mysticism of late? Her ass does look good in them. Whatever.

“Mark? Wake up, honey ... rise up, my love. It is time to take them to the altar of Jupiter. Nyota is waiting for us at the temple.”

“Sandy? Take who to the altar?”

“The people that broke your airplane. The people that killed our friends. They must be sacrificed. I shall bare my bosom to Jupiter for your safety.”

“Yeah, lady, you can bare your tits any time. Let’s go cap those fuckers.”

“No, Mark. It must be a proper sacrifice. Do not anger Jupiter.”

“Whatever. Gimmee that kabar.”

“No. Use this sword.”

“Ya wanna do them, Nick? They’re the assholes that killed ya.”

“I cannot, my friend. Only you can. You are now the head of the clan.”

“Mark!? ... Mark! ... You are dreaming. Wake up.”

“Huh ... fuuuck, now that was a really weird dream. What time is it?”

“About nine thirty.”

“Twenty one fucking thirty? Lady, I missed the conference call.”

“Calm down, Mark. Tim said that the call was re-scheduled for eleven PM Pacific Time.”

“Yeah? That’s gonna be past midnight for the east-coasters ... Where’s the kid?”

“On the first level, in the music chamber. She is practicing a duet with Miguel.”

“Yeah? Ya know what? In that dream, ya said that you were gonna bare your tits to the gods for me. So bare them.”

“Yes, Mark.”

“What ya think about our conference, dude? Did ya feel he was bullshitting?”

“Hard to say. You know the man, I don’t. Sounds legit, but what the fuck I know? I’m the new kid on the block.”

“I’ve known Jonathon for several years, and maybe my perception is clouded, so I’m gonna ask you and Joe all the time for a BS check. Anyway, I’m thinking that he does know who’s doing this shit.”

“Maybe, but so what? I have also noticed that you didn’t tell either Santiago or Johnson about poisoning the DNS cache. So you two are both holding out on each other.”

“That’s the ace I got up my sleeve. And for ‘holding out’, it may be the only way we get through this crazy shit.”

“You’re getting all paranoid again. Be cool, Mark.”

“It’s you, Joe, and me against the world, Tim. Simple as that.”

“Not gonna argue with that. What we gonna do about Sandra and the kid?”

“Dunno, man. Been thinking a lot ‘bout that. The kid is happy here. She has friends, and she really digs Sandy.”

“So you’re not thinking about a bug out?”

“Nah, at least not any time soon. Where would we go, anyway?”

“You’re an idiot. You got several thousand acres up north.”

“Nope, not until a separate place is built. And like I said, don’t know what to do about Matty and Sandy.”

“Mark, we’ve known each other for a while, so I’ve seen you really stupid and I’ve seen you really good. And in case you are still too stupid to notice, you have been at your best for a while. Sandra and the kid make you good. Don’t fuck it up.”

Why the fuck is everybody giving me a dose of shrinkology? Do I look totally bonkers?

“Yeah, whatever. We need to think about tracking these assholes down. We gotta know who these people are and what they’re after and why they’re after it. I’m gonna hit the rack.”

“Hasta que, dude.”

“Manana, man.”

“It is tomorrow, Mark, you moron.”

“Whatever.”

“The Garcias want to include their kids in our home-schooling, Mark.”

“Miguel? That kid can’t walk three steps without tripping over his own feet. As for the girl, don’t think I would be able to tutor the kid.”

“Do not make Mickey any more self-conscious than he is. And why could you not teach Missy?”

“Every time I see the girl, she runs away. The kid seems scared shitless of me.”

“Mark, I love you, but you are an idiot.”

“Yeah, I get that a lot. So I’m an idiot. All the more reason for me not to tutor the kid. She’s too young, anyway.”

“She is ten. You started teaching Matty complex subject matter when she was eleven ... Mark, she is very shy. And she has a crush on you, hence the way she acts when you encounter her.”

“How can a little girl have a crush on my ugly ass? That’s too fuckin’ weird.”

“I had a crush on you.”

“Yeah? I always thought you were hot, too, lady. Wanna smash lips a while?”

“Always, Mark. Always...”

“This may be my tipping point. Where I fling myself, in abject terror, into the abyss...”

“What the fuck you having the kid read, Sandy? Where does she get this shit?”

“Be nice, Mark. There is much more to literature than technical journals and science fiction.”

“Whatever. What ya doing here, Matty? You’re supposed to be learnin’ shit with Tim.”