Chapter 92: Looking for a Mole

Tuesday, June 8, 1971

We were led upstairs to the small dining room that had been prepared for us. The view was actually in the general direction of the White House, but was partially obscured by several buildings. Over lunch, the State Department revealed that the Pentagon was interested in leasing an area on the northwest side of Tapato, for an airbase. Of course, this dominated the conversation for the rest of the meal, which was fine with me. It meant I could concentrate on the meal, which was very good.

Finally, Bill Rogers said he had to leave. I could sense his regret, as he seemed much taken with Kalani and the princesses.

“I realize you must discuss this with your people, but can you give me an indication of whether you think this might be acceptable to your country? Both the White House and the Pentagon will ask me in less than thirty minutes,” he smiled. I had seen that he had a Joint Chiefs meeting next on his agenda.

“Mr. Rogers, while I may not commit formally at this time, I’m certain that we will be able to work something out,” Kalani replied.

After a round of goodbyes, we returned to the fourth-floor conference room, where Kalani, with Catherine, Liz, and Carl discussed and questioned the State Department’s group about what Tapato needed to do in establishing diplomatic relations.

Bored, I began a systematic scan of the building, searching for a mole. I didn’t really think I’d find anything.

“Hell, I’m not even sure what I am looking for,” I thought to myself.

“Sh-h-h-h! I’m trying to listen to this! It’s fascinating!” Randi thought.

“What are you looking for?” Adriana asked.

“Yeah. Whatcha looking for?” chimed in a new voice.

“Well, good morning, sleepy-head,” I told Vickie.

“Good afternoon. How goes the State Department? Seen any good states, yet?” Vickie quipped as she giggled.

“Vickie, this is Adriana, my NEW Administrative Assistant. Adriana, this is Vickie, my personal assistant. I told you about her, but I forgot to warn you about her sense of humor,” I told them.

“Adriana? Your new Administrative Assistant?” Vickie queried me. “And just when were you going to tell me I’d been replaced?” she asked defensively.

“Whoa, tiger!” I said as I quickly replayed my conversation from yesterday, explaining what I was envisioning as my ‘team’.

“Oh! I see. We’re gonna work together, and you haven’t told me about her?” Vickie asked, still unsure.

“Vickie, sweetheart, I just met her yesterday, and I just found out a few hours ago that she was going to accept the position,” I explained. “Besides, she could hear me when I was connected to Catherine, the very first time I met her.”

Vickie considered, for a moment, what I had just told her. “Well, why didn’t you say so? I didn’t mean to get defensive. I hope I didn’t hurt her feelings. It’s just that I haven’t had a chance to see you in forever, and I miss you...” she trailed off.

“Soon, Sweetie. Soon,” I told her.

“So, is she there? With you at the State Department? What’s her handicap? Oh, just let me talk to her,” Vickie said.

“I’m here. And I’m sorry, but I wasn’t trying to replace anyone. I just decided last night after discussing the position with my mom. So I flew down this morning with Catherine and Liz and Randi,” Adriana explained.

“Randi’s there? With you guys?” Nicky asked.

“Yeah. And you all aren’t making this easy,” Randi thought.

“Good morning, Sis,” I thought. “I was just introducing Adriana to Vickie.”

“I know, I heard. And it’s afternoon,” Nicky replied. “When are you guys going to be back?”

“I don’t know. There seems to be a lot more detail to this than I thought. I was bored, so I was working on a little favor for the General,” I replied.

“A favor?” Nicky asked.

“Yeah. The CIA thinks there’s a mole in the State Department. So the General asked Anna to ask me to do my, and I quote, ‘radar thing’, and see if I could find them, while we are here. The only trouble is, I don’t have a clue what I’m looking for,” I explained.

“Easy. Just monitor for guilt,” Vickie said. “Now can we talk to Adriana?”

I paused. It was so simple. I smiled.

“Vickie, honey, could you hook up with Adriana? That way, I can start scanning for someone with a load of guilt,” I asked.

Catherine looked at the three of us, putting her finger to her lips in the classic sign for ‘quiet’.

I cut all my connections, and installed my shield as I began the task of locating someone who was carrying an extra load of guilt.

I saw Adriana move to a seat by herself, at the far end of the table, away from the diplomatic discussions. I noticed her nodding her head and smiling a lot over the next hour. I even heard her laugh out loud once, but she quickly covered it with a cough.

For me, it was slow going. I kept having to pull back and then focus in. And I wasn’t sure I was getting everyone. I also discovered, almost everyone felt a little guilty about something. Finally, after over an hour, I tapped a guy, on the third floor, with a different kind of emotional signature.

It wasn’t guilt, per se. Instead, it was like he was hiding something. I could sense his practiced cool aloofness, but underneath, his emotions were churning.

He was hiding something! Could this be their mole?

I tapped Anna’s mental shoulder, quickly explaining what I was doing, and tied her in as I delved into the man’s emotions.

I think it was my surprise that kept me from hurling my lunch, right there on the spot. This was not what I expected. Still, as I probed deeper, I became sicker and sicker. It was by far the most cruel and evil mind I had ever experienced.

I was surprised that there was no guilt that I could detect, but there were plenty of sick, twisted emotions that seemed to span a broad emotional spectrum, running from supreme confidence to an abject fear of getting caught, to absolute rage and then starting over again in repeating cycles.

He wasn’t the mole we were looking for. This asshole was a killer! He preyed on young girls, kidnapping them and then raping and torturing them before finally killing them and burying them on his farm in Northern Virginia.

I lurched to my feet and ran out of the room, looking for the closest bathroom. Fortunately, it was across the hall. Anna was right behind me.

“You okay?” she asked, looking at me in the men’s room mirror as we shared the side-by-side sinks.

I nodded, trying to rinse the taste of bile from my mouth.

“I’ve got to go call Daddy. Can you help me with evidence? Otherwise, the bastard will be back out on the street before we get home,” she asked. “I hate to ask you to go back there, but I don’t know what else to do.”

“I’ve got it,” I told her. “There’s no need to go back.”

She asked for and received the use of a phone, in an unoccupied office. There she called her daddy.

“Michael was doing the favor you asked, and ... well, we ran into something unexpected,” she told the General when she got him on the phone.

“Are you on a secure line?” he interrupted.

“We’re in the DG’s office, fourth floor,” she answered. Then proceeded to tell her dad what we had found.

“Take the FBI girl, and go get the bastard. Let her make the arrest. I’ll have an SY team there in less than five minutes. Stay with her, but out of it, you hear me?” he said. “And keep the kid with you. Make sure he’s not noticed.”

“Penny’s not here,” Anna said.

“Check again. She was just entering the building as I answered the phone,” the General explained. “And Anna?”

“Yes, Daddy?”

“Be careful. I can’t afford to lose you,” he said, as he hung up, without waiting for an answer.

It would be much later, before I thought to wonder how he knew that Penny had entered the building.

The little bell dinged, indicating that the elevator had arrived, and Penny, escorted by a SY agent stepped off into the fourth floor reception area. Anna waved her over to us, as the agent returned to the elevator.

“What’s wrong?” Penny asked, as she saw our drawn faces.

“C’mon,” Anna said, leading her back to the Ladies restroom. I stood watching them go in, only to have Anna open the door again, looking at me.

“Well? You coming?” she thought.

She had me replay a brief portion for Penny, who became sick at her stomach, but didn’t throw up.

Before she could recover, Anna asked, “Can you show her the evidence?”

“Easy. The bastard’s got her red beret hanging on a small knickknack on his desk, like he’s daring someone to catch him. He’s planning to kill her tonight, when he gets home,” I said dryly.

“Okay, I’ll get the DG to arrange a little tour of the floor, for Michael. As we go through, Michael will point him out, and then you’ll arrest him. You can claim you recognized the beret from her missing person’s picture. A SY team will be standing by. You got it?” Anna asked as she laid out the plan.

“What about Michael?” Penny asked.

“I’ll take care of him,” Anna told Penny. “We’ll disappear when the excitement starts. Unfortunately, YOUR day is about to get really crazy. This guy is serial, and she’s the fourth or fifth. Michael can scan him again, if you absolutely need it. But this is going to be one of those right cop, in the right place, at the right time, stories.”