Chapter 23

Back in Section Twelve I used MTAC to page Robert.

“We got a break - in fact, a couple of breaks. Team Harrisburg placed the GPS unit on the vehicle today and we have tracked it to several stops. The longest was the water park, as we suspected it would be this soon.”

“The second was at a shop on the west side. They stayed there about thirty minutes, but the rest of the stops were short; ten minutes or less. The satellite photo of the shop is on its way to you. It’s not on the list of shops from the Labor department or the OSHA list so it may - just may - be a normal stop.”

“Next on the list is the French connection. There were several messages from Tiam to a new contact in the French group. Twenty of the girls are coming in two weeks - ten to the Norfolk Hampton Roads area. The other ten are going to the to Louisiana area near the Barksdale Air Force Base. They already have partial ownership in the establishments there if I understand the lingo correctly.”

“And get this - the French contact is going to send Tiam all twenty girl’s information. The girls are coming in on French student exchange visas. Each group of girls is coming with two female chaperons, “ Robert said.

“A couple days of tracking and we should have where the bikes are being made or stored, or at least his regular travels unless he is not using the truck after hours,” Robert said.

“If he doesn’t take the truck home, he has a car of his own parked close by. Send the Harrisburg team a couple more GPS units just in case they need them,” I said.

“I can read between the lines. The Iranians want the information first hand and not after ISIS has had a chance to filter it. They will have someone making the rounds to those establishments to collect it. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Iranians don’t take over the thing shortly after everyone is in place. The chaperons will be found dead or not found at all when it happens,” I said.

At 1530 the girls and Jeanna were waiting for me in the White House lobby. We were going to pick up new clothes for the fancy dinner in Portugal since it was described as a State dinner and I had received a list of the VIP attendees for the event.

The best pant suit I owned - Marcy had paid almost five thousand dollars for - had two bullet holes in it and was bloodstained. The girls were determined that Vicky and I were not wearing a pant suits to an official State dinner, even if it was in Portugal.

When you are outnumbered by determined partners and lovers you throw in the towel and say, “OK.”

With my JBG security and a few Secret Service agents we went to the most expensive dress shop in Washington DC. Jeanna had made the arrangements so I knew I had to go with the flow and shut my mouth.

In the shop I changed into the new bullet resistant gear sent by our supplier. It was the new one, an upgraded version of the one that had the bullet holes in it.

It was like a thin sweatshirt made of woven Kevlar, fine woven stainless steel wire and several layers of other top secret materials.

Unlike the first one - which was more like a men’s armless tee - this one has short sleeves to prevent bullets from entering under my arms. This gear also had a tight pair of women’s high top briefs. By design, the two were to overlap by several inches giving complete coverage from my neck to the crotch.

As many times as I had been shot wearing the traditional style vest I had been extremely lucky that none of the rounds had been low enough to penetrate my lower abdomen, an area not covered by the body armor.

I was dreading putting on the briefs, I could just imagine how Kevlar and wire was going to feel in the sensitive areas, but all the girls were there standing and waiting for me - so I did.

I was surprised at how comfortable the two garments felt - I thought they would be movement restricting but they weren’t - and the bloomers did not press pinch or bind. Vicky was satisfied with hers. Then it was on to the dresses. Vicky and I tried on about two dozen before there was a consensus on the right one.

It was by a famous designer, although it did require a few slight alterations. It was well below my knees, flowing when I turned and I was assured it was the dress for official functions and the favorite style of the well to do for the most important functions. Vicky’s dress was similar but in a different color.