A New World
Copyright© 2026 by Edward Douglass Patterson
Chapter 12: Progress Report
Oval Office
White House
Washington DC, USA
Thursday, May 20, 1999
They sat
They sat in the Oval Office as they ate their lunch. Across from them sat Vice President Al DeSang and CIA Director Margaret O’Reilly, who had joined them for the luncheon meeting. They weren’t sitting together, but they were on the same couch. Dave thought about how his two most trusted advisors, after Sue of course, had been antagonistic to each other over the last couple of years. It had started after Al’s wife had died. Not that that could have anything to do with it, since they had always had differing views on how to do things. Al was a diplomat and compromise builder. He felt that discussion of differences and problems would lead to better understanding and less need for use of force. Margaret believed that having a strong military and an active intelligence community allowed the US to bargain from a position of strength. These beliefs weren’t incompatible, but they often led to disagreements. It was good to see the two of them on better terms.
You said it started when Kim and I came in with the baby. Sue’s communication thought interrupted Dave’s musings. I felt that baby Alice was following everything that was going on around her.
Yes, I also felt the same thing. Dave replied, “Al, what are your thoughts on the negotiations at the Jordanian embassy?” He took another bite of his lunch as he waited for Al to reply.
Al took a sip of his iced tea as he considered his response. “I think that we will get nowhere with them. They are waiting for something. As the FBI just reported, there are definitely more terrorists in town, but they have gone to ground. The attack on the embassy following the kidnapping attempts has united the Moslem world. The Arab street didn’t like the attempt on your children, and the governments certainly didn’t like them bringing the Jordanian embassy into the hostage situation. They are wondering at which embassy Tommy was going to be held. Jordan’s offer of their military attaché to work with us on a rescue attempt is very important and useful. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Morocco have also offered help so that any rescue won’t be seen as an attack by the US on a Moslem country. This is one instance where force will do more good than continued discussion with the kidnappers.”
“I don’t disagree with Al on the benefits of working with these countries on the rescue, but if we hold off for a couple of days, the NSA will have a better chance to capture some messages about them that will lead us to who set this up. So far, we only have guesses. Discussions between Syria, Iraq, Libya, and Iran appear to indicate that they were surprised by the kidnappings. From what CIA sources can tell in each of these countries, they aren’t happy with having a new player attacking in the name of Islam. After we destroyed Al Qaeda, they haven’t wanted to give support to any organization that wasn’t in their control. This new organization has surprised them, and they are actively seeking information on it. I think that this is an opportunity to bring about a better, if not friendly, relationship with these countries. I suggest we hold off on a rescue for a few days.”
This was a reversal of their usual positions. Dave saw that Al has more to say, so he held off on commenting.
“We can’t appear weak and indecisive. The FBI says that they will be ready for the rescue tomorrow. We should give the go-ahead for them to go in.”
Sue also had noticed the reversal of positions that Al and Margaret were taking. “The rescue should be Saturday. It will give the FBI time to work with the four countries so that it’ll be a joint effort. The memorial service is at noon Saturday, and it’ll be televised. This will be a distraction for the kidnappers who will surely be watching.”
“Those are all good ideas. Al and Margaret work together and determine how we can coordinate the search for the group behind the kidnappings with any country that might be interested. Offer them our help if they want it. Do not compromise our abilities or assets but make it known that we are willing to work with them.” Dave said.
“I like the idea of timing the rescue with the memorial service. Claire has asked to go. Sue and I were hesitant to let her, but she said she wanted to say goodbye to her friends. We are pulling both Claire and Tommy out of school. Claire will take the GED tests. She will wait to start college until after I’m out of office. We are considering an offer for Tommy’s schooling. With Claire at the memorial and speaking, the kidnappers will definitely be watching. I will direct the FBI to work with the Jordanian attaché on the rescue. In fact, I’ll have him take charge of the rescue with the military attachés from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Morocco acting as advisors. We’ll set up a meeting here with them and the FBI to go over the plan.”
“Invite Will Maclaren.” Margaret suggested.
“That is a great idea.” Al turned to Margaret with a smile.
“Yes, I will. Now Margaret, do you have an update on attempts to access adjacent worlds?”
“Well, that photograph of the Maclaren workshop has set things a buzz. Most of the researchers realized that what Dame Alice and Jess Maclaren were doing had to do with adjacent worlds. I had to pull back my agent in Edinburgh because MI5 has saturated the area with people. She reported that there were other inquiries by foreigners, but she hadn’t been able to determine anything before I had her withdraw. After yesterday’s meeting, I ordered her to report her findings to MI5 and offer any assistance that she could give. I also had her inquire about the other agent that I had sent to Carlisle to investigate what Smythe-Industries was doing. He hasn’t reported in. They had no information and would investigate.”
Sue laughed. “We should ask Will to find out. If their family in Carlisle is half as good as what we saw here yesterday, they would be the ones to ask.”
Margaret realized that she had missed that possibility. “I’ll do that.”
The phone rang. Dave picked it up. “Yes.” He listened for a few seconds. “Have them all come up and have lunch brought in for them.” He hung up and returned to his place beside Sue, where he took her hand. “Claire and the Maclarens have returned from the shooting range. Agent Bruce Maclaren says that Claire, Will, and his family would like to talk to Sue and me. Bruce has asked if he could also attend. Al and Margaret, I would like you to stay. This may be personal, but it’s also relevant to much that we’re planning. I want to make sure that Sue and I don’t let our private concerns interfere with national interests.”
Claire just contacted me about talking with us. Sue’s thought was clear to Dave. She had a smile on her face.
Mentally! That is probably one of the things we will discuss, but it won’t be the major one. Dave mentally replied.
“Let us start out with asking about Bruce Jenson. If they don’t know, they may be able to have John Lawrence help get an investigation going. If someone other than the government is responsible, they may have problems of their own.” Margaret said.
“Sounds like a good idea. Now I know why you’re so concerned. Isn’t Bruce Jenson your godson?” Dave asked.
“Yes, you don’t forget anything, do you?”
“No, he doesn’t. It’s good and bad living with three of them.” Sue shook her head.
“Claire and Tommy also have eidetic memory?” Al had realized that Dave had an exceptional memory, but hadn’t known that the children had also.
“Yes, I have taught them not to raise their hand and answer every question and other things to disguise it. That’s one of the reasons that they do so well in school.” Sue said.
“Dave, how did you handle it in school?” Margaret asked.
Before he could answer, the intercom sounded. Dave answered. “Yes, bring it in and send them in when they get here.”
The door opened, and a couple of additional chairs and TV tables were brought into the room along with the food and drinks. The staff knew what was needed to seat the additional people that would be meeting, and they had timed it right. Just after they exited, Claire and the Maclarens entered.
Claire and Robert took seats close to her parents. Will and Leslie sat near Margaret. The girls took up two of the remaining seats. Bruce saw the others sit but was hesitant to sit down.
Dave pointed to the seat. “Bruce, sit down. You are making a report, not guarding us.”
Bruce sat.
Margaret turned to Will. “I need information about an agent who’s missing in Carlisle. His name is Bruce Jenson.”
“So that’s his last name. After Alyca reported the status on the work on the windows, she couldn’t stop talking about Bruce.” Brenda said.
“When did you talk to Alyca?” Will asked.
“It was early this morning when she called to talk with us.” Mary answered.
“He wasn’t mentioned in that phone call.” Margaret said.
“No, he was sitting right next to her driving. Can you believe that she is letting a guy drive Betsy? She will hardly let her brothers drive her.” Mary replied.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Leslie asked.
“We slept in and missed breakfast because of the call, and we rushed to make the bus. Since then, we haven’t had a private moment to give you the report.”
“Not that. That the two of you and Alyca can communicate long distance.”
“Oh, we knew we could do it short distance. This is the first time that we have been that far apart in the last few months, and Alyca really wanted to talk about him.” Brenda said.
“Excuse me.” Dave said. “I take it that Bruce Jenson is with Alyca, that the three of you can communicate long distance, and that there is a status report on how the windows work is going in Carlisle.”
“Yes, sir.” Mary answered.
“Well, since Bruce Jenson seems OK, let us hear the status report.” Dave commanded.
Will and Leslie were smiling at the girls.
As Mary started to give the report, Brenda was passing on to Claire and Robert what Alyca had to say about Bruce. It took only a few seconds. All four of them now have big smiles. She then showed them how to contact Alyca.
“Alyca reports that all the windows equipment is ready and updated mechanical information has been sent to TDI and MME. Simplified electrical information for the new circuits has also been sent. I have the information to make the exact circuits, but I can work with Alyca if there are any problems. They have half a dozen large windows and four of the new observation windows ready for operation. They’ll send out the observation windows and scout out possible locations to open the larger windows on Friday. John Harvey, Marie’s husband, will return home today. Scientists, engineers, and an Army platoon will also be there today. The platoon will provide initial security for the facility and for the scouting. Alyca plans to teach them how to use the observation windows so that they can do the scouting. Early Friday, the remainder of the army company will arrive. They’ll provide security when the large windows are opened. They’ll also assist in reconnaissance for the second world. The plan is to have a special battle group to perform extended reconnaissance. A report on what they found will be available for the Saturday meeting.”
Mary paused. Her father was about to say something, but she raised her hand for him to hold off while she finished. She turned to Margaret.
“Director O’Reilly, Mr. Jenson wants to know if he should resign or if there is an assignment for him reporting on the work from Carlisle. He intends to resign after he and Alyca marry, but they’re going to wait until her family can all be there. He thought that you would like to have an inside person that can give you the information that you want. Also, he has some information about others seeking information there, but he said not to worry that security was better than Fort Knox.”
“Alyca is getting married!” Will and Leslie said at the same time. They hadn’t expected Alyca to marry since she had shown little interest in dating. Her mother always complained that she would end up as a spinster.
“You did say that she did things fast.” Sue commented.
“Well, I guess we can keep him working. He has the technical background to give us a good report. He’ll need money for a house and all. Dave, do you have any problem with that?”
“No, we were planning to have representatives observing when each country opens their windows. We wanted them to be multinational events.” He saw Will chuckling. “Are we missing something?”
“Bruce and Alyca are doing you a favor. They don’t need Bruce’s salary. Alyca is a multi-millionaire, and with the way the AJ Power Generators, ATVs, and the Window Generators will sell, she will have a lot more money coming in. They just didn’t want to burn any bridges. I expect that Alyca has him working with her on everything. Your reports will be by someone that has a better understanding than anyone else that you could send.”
Margaret remembered when her godson first came to talk to her about joining the Agency. “When Bruce came to me about joining the Agency, I asked him why he wanted to join. He had said that working for an engineering company would get boring. He wanted more excitement and physical activity. I said it isn’t always like that and he should have another talk with his father. He laughed and said that his dad had told him to talk to me. His dad was my first partner. He lost his leg protecting me. Bruce is one of my best industrial reconnaissance specialists.”
“Well, you may have just gotten your own Q for your agency.” Claire said.
“What do you mean?” Margaret asked.
“I know where Agent Maclaren got the gun that he gave me. You were carrying one just like it this morning. It is one of Alyca’s specials. Brenda said that she is very restrictive on who TDI sells them to.”
“How did you know that I had ___.” Margaret stopped as she realized how Claire knew.
Al looked at Will. “You taught her how to sense objects.”
“Not I, Robert did that at dinner last night along with sensing people. Of course, we didn’t notice it right away since they were conversing mentally.” Will replied.
“How did you know that it was OK to tell them?” Dave was concerned about Claire spreading knowledge of her abilities.
“Daddy, I know that you keep very few secrets from Margaret and Al. I trust them as much as you do. I guess that along with everything else that I have learned, I have learned how to tell if I can trust someone.” Claire said. “As for Bruce, he saw how fast I learned to shoot. I know after the rescue yesterday and what the boys did at the meeting that he had a very good idea what was going on. Anyway, we believe that the five of you can also learn.”
“Who told you about the meeting yesterday?” Will asked.
“The boys told me what they had done. When they found out that I was learning, they told me what they had done at the meeting. It was amusing to get their view of a cabinet meeting after all that Dad has told me about them.”
“What do you mean the five of you can learn?” Al looked around at the others in the room. He had been intrigued by the boys’ abilities, but he had never thought that it was something that he would learn.
“We have been discussing how to tell if someone can learn how to use these abilities. There were one or two others at the fire range that might be able to learn, but Bruce was the one that really stood out. Then we come in here, and the two of you have the ability to learn.” Claire smiled at the three that had just learned that they could also learn much of what she could do.
“Well, in that case, Mary, will you give the full report from Alyca?” Leslie said.
“Full report?” Dave was surprised.
“Marie’s children are as talented as the ones we have here. You will be interested to hear how Bruce Jenson got caught.” Leslie replied.
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