Chapter 13

“I pay them. They should put my needs ahead of theirs,” said Nora as she looked at Ed expecting him to agree with her. She sat there wearing designer jeans, a stylish shirt, and boots that cost five hundred dollars. The boots weren’t any good for real use, only for show in a Hollywood store. After two days, they were already showing signs that they would fail.

Chipping away at the rock face with his rock hammer, Ed didn’t answer. The medallion on his chest flared with heat and then subsided. As he worked on extracting the sample, he thought about the past two days. Nora had been demanding, treating him as though he were her servant. They had to drive rather than ride because she had a movie coming up with a nude scene and she didn’t want to risk any injury that would show up on the film. Rather than working on extracting samples, she was busy slathering sun block over her skin as she chattered about how the sun would cause wrinkles and they would kill her movie career.

“I don’t understand why you didn’t erect the umbrella here. This sun is just murder on my skin,” she said repeating a complaint that she had made several times a day. She took a sip of her imported bottled water.

With a well-placed strike of the hammer, the sample came loose. He removed it from the rock face and examined it before storing it in his saddlebag. This was the third from this site and he looked around, listening to the sounds of the desert while ignoring the rambling stream of complaints from Nora. He packed his equipment with care expecting to hear the sound of a helicopter any moment.

Nora, taking a moment away from her mirror, said, “Why are you packing up? There are still more samples to collect here.”

Looking over at her, Ed smiled and said, “I’m expecting company.”

“Who? I thought we came out here to be alone.”

“Something has come up.” Ed looked at the horizon expecting to see the helicopter appear any moment. A smile crossed his face when a speck appeared over the horizon. He ordered, “Pack up your stuff, right now.”

Confused and bordering on angry at being ordered around, she put her gear in the backpack moving with deliberate slowness. The helicopter was close enough for her to hear by the time she finished. Turning, she stared at the helicopter fearing that it was Paparazzi trying to get pictures of her. The military insignia on it became clear as the helicopter approached for a landing. Turning to Ed she asked, “What?”

Smiling, he said, “Your next movie involves terrorists, right?”

Uncertain, she answered, “Yes.”

With a grin that went from ear to ear, Ed said, “The Gods and Goddesses have arranged a chance for you to meet a real live terrorist.”

The idea of actually meeting a terrorist thrilled her, but one look at the smile on Ed’s face quashed her excitement. This was the first time that he had smiled since they had come out to the desert. There was an unsettling look to the smile that dampened her enthusiasm. Still, it was an opportunity that most actors never had. Smiling, she said, “Great.”

Colonel Grey came running out of the helicopter, bent over in the posture all people took when leaving a helicopter. The fear that the blades would decapitate them over shadowed the rational knowledge that the blades were five feet above their heads. Away from the helicopter, the Colonel straightened up and walked to Ed. Exchanging nods, he said, “We’ve got a real nasty one.”

“I’ll help you if she can come along,” replied Ed knowing that the Colonel would put up a fight.

“She’s a fucking movie star,” replied the Colonel as he stared at Nora. “She doesn’t have clearance.”

As Nora bristled in anger at the comment, Ed turned and squatted next to his saddlebag. Opening it, he removed the rock hammer and examined the face of the rock wall. The Colonel swore and then shouted, “This is a matter of national security.”

Ed didn’t reply as he ran a finger over the rock face. Irritated at being ignored and knowing that Ed could basically demand anything that he wanted, the Colonel said, “She can go there, but she can’t see the prisoner.”

“She sits in the room with me while I work,” replied Ed.

“She’ll blab everything she sees to the press! She’s a fucking movie star!” The Colonel was ready to explode.

The attitude of the Colonel was irritating Nora. How dare this man completely dismiss her? As visions of giving interviews in which she told how she had actually sat in on the interrogation of a real terrorist flashed through her mind, she became determined that she would go. Stroking the medallion on his chest, Ed said, “My service to the Two-Sided One demands it.”

The comment brought a chill to the Colonel and Nora. It wasn’t what he said, but the tone of voice in which he said it. There was an iron present in his words that Nora had never heard before. It was like a hammer hitting an anvil and he was the anvil that rang when struck but didn’t demonstrate any damage. The Colonel replied, “Okay.”

Ed packed the hammer and picked up his saddlebag. Turning to Nora, he said, “Come, we have to fly to the house and pick up something.”

The Learjet provided by the CIA landed at the airbase. Inside the jet, the windows were closed so that the passengers wouldn’t know where they were. The precaution was taken because Nora didn’t even have the clearance to know where the prisoner was being held. They were led directly to the interrogation center, for Ed to direct what changes he wanted made to the room.

Nora followed Ed, overwhelmed by the grim looks on the men that she encountered. Unlike the movies, the men didn’t look like suave heroes that could seduce a woman with just a glance. These men were hard, with eyes that judged people in terms of the threat that they represented. The young soldiers, standing at attention, watched everything with suspicion. The only woman that she saw was in her fifties with gray hair, overweight with a second chin, and glasses.

The interrogation room was plain with yellowed walls and no carpet. Ed looked at the florescent lights and said, “We need to reduce the lighting in here. Remove all of the bulbs except for two of them.”

The Colonel went to the wall and flipped a switch. All of the lights, except for two, went out. Grinning, he said, “We knew that you would ask for that.”

“Do you have the Korans?”

“They will arrive in the morning. The Ayatollah is bringing them,” replied the Colonel. He looked around the room and then at Ed. He said, “If there are no further changes you want to suggest, they are ready to brief you, now.”

Ed and Nora followed the Colonel to a conference room. Ed took a seat at the head of the table and gestured for Nora to sit beside him. Nervous, she sat in the chair looking around the room. For the first time in ages, she didn’t feel like a celebrity. Colonel Grey sat on the other side of Ed and examined Nora as she fidgeted in her chair. It was clear that she felt nervous and lost.

At the far end of the table, a deputy director of the CIA said, “The subject is a very dangerous man. We don’t know much about his past. In fact, we aren’t even sure what his real name is. We are pretty sure that he is a Saudi, but we caught him traveling under a Sudanese passport.”

Ed asked, “Where did you capture him?”

There was a long moment of silence before a nondescript man answered, “I took him in front of a Mosque in a country that borders the US.”

After staring at the man for a minute, Ed asked, “Bounty hunter?”

“Yes, I am,” replied the man as Nora’s visions of a massive CIA raid fell apart.

“Were you after him specifically?”

“No. I was after a man that embezzled money from the company in which he was a partner.”

Shaking his head with a smile, Ed sensed the hand of the God in the capture. “How did you take him?”

“I hired a couple of mercs. The bastard shot his own security guy when he surrendered,” replied the man as he shook his head.

“So what can you tell me about the man?” asked Ed disturbed by the news.

The Deputy Director pointed to the woman and said, “Debbie, tell him.”

This was the woman that Nora had seen earlier. Debbie looked down at her briefing notes and said, “The guy is a total sociopath. We don’t know what conditions produced him, but he’s entirely focused on destroying the United States. He doesn’t even care about Israel, but uses that whole issue to motivate people to his will.”

Nora leaned forward finding the report of the woman fascinating. Debbie continued, “We know that he has sent suicide bombers into Israel, but the targets had significant American involvement. In other parts of the world, he has paid for assassinations of American businessmen. I must warn you that he feels no guilt about his actions.”

Ed shook his head as he realized the magnitude of the problem in front of him. He asked, “Give me a better insight into his character.”

“He doesn’t care about the people who follow him. He uses their beliefs for his purposes, talking young kids into blowing themselves up with promises of virgin women in the afterlife. As far as we can tell, he doesn’t even believe in Allah. He will kill on the drop of a hat. I’m not surprised that he killed his own security person for surrendering when he was captured. Failure of any kind is punished by death.”

Nora shook at the description realizing that she was going to be meeting a very scary person. She looked over at Ed for assurance. He smiled and asked, “What can you tell me about being a user?”

The question came as a surprise that set her back in her chair. The worst thing was that he was asking her with the expectation that she could answer. “Huh?”

“You are a user who views the people that work for you as not having lives of their own. You think that your needs should come before theirs. What can you tell me about being a user?” Ed asked the question knowing that it was harsh and would hurt, but he had to protect the people that worked for her from further harm. The medallion, emitting a feeling of soft comfortable warmth, soothed his nerves.

Flushing a bright red, Nora didn’t know what she felt. Anger, embarrassment, righteousness, and shame competed. She struggled to breathe, but her chest was so constricted that she couldn’t draw a breath. Hand trembling as she moved it to cover her mouth, she stared at Ed feeling like her soul was being peeled back under his direct and unwavering gaze.

Ed wasn’t the only one interested in her answer. Debbie and the bounty hunter leaned forward as they studied her like an interesting specimen under a microscope. Colonel Grey and the Deputy Direct of the CIA watched Ed to see what he would do next.

Time passed before Nora drew a ragged breath and tears rolled down her cheek. She answered, “You get to rely on people who do that little extra for you. After a while, you begin to expect it from them. You forget that they have feelings and needs beyond what you do for them, as they have become tools for you to use. One day, the tools become interchangeable. It happens so slow that you never know that you have turned into something ugly.”

Nodding, Ed said, “Interesting.”

Debbie sat back and thought about the answer. It captured a reality that was experienced by celebrities, but did it apply to terrorists? She knew that she would have to think about that for a long time. The bounty hunter sat back disappointed as he had hoped for a greater insight that would give him an advantage in his work. All of the people that he pursued were users.

Turning to the others with the kind of suddenness that was shocking, Ed asked, “So does anyone have more to tell me? For example, hints as to why he was just across the border from us.”

One of the analysts in the room answered, “We don’t know where he was staying so we couldn’t search it for clues as to what he was doing there. It would be consistent with past trends to assume that he is going to try random acts of violence that targets American Businesses. He’s not the type that goes for the big score, but chips away at his target over time.”

Debbie commented, “The initial effect is small, but over time he can bring a very real sense of terror to a very large audience.”

Everyone around the table nodded their heads at that news. Ed turned to Colonel Grey and asked, “Would you take Nora to her quarters so that she can rest before dinner?”

The shift in topic again left everyone off-balance. Recovering, the Colonel answered, “If you will come with me, Ms. Turner, I’ll take you to your room.”

He stood and waited for her to stand. Knees shaking, Nora finally stood to follow him out of the room. When they left, Ed said, “I thank you for your patience. To the matter at hand, I’m afraid that this is going to take some time. I shall have to change how I normally interview suspects for this particular individual.”

“What do you mean?”

Ignoring the question, Ed said, “I’ll need five interpreters. None of them is to work for more than two hours. Once I get him in a cooperative mood, I shall stop and continue the next day. I don’t expect to get anything from him for a full day.”

“Why?”

“It has been my experience that a sociopath will brag about past victories once you get them talking, but they won’t open up about their future plans. We have to shake him to his core.” The answer was the best that Ed could give to explain what he felt would happen.

The dimly lit room was occupied by Ed seated at one end of a table. In front of him was a Koran with his crystal ball set upon it. To the right of the first Koran was the second Koran with a jewel- encrusted cover. The spine of the book faced the other end of the table.

Behind Ed, Nora was seated in a chair fascinated by the care with which Ed had taken in arranging the room. She was exhausted, having spent the whole night crying alone in her quarters. This morning, her eyes were puffy and red. She didn’t look or feel like a movie star. In front of her was a short table that contained glasses of iced tea and snacks.

The terrorist was brought into the room wearing arm and leg shackles. The short chains required him to shuffle into the room. The look he gave Ed and Nora was calculated and without emotion. Unlike others that had faced Ed, this man didn’t react to him being a Druid. The two guards guided him through the room to the chair. Helping him into the seat, they locked the chains to a post in the table.

At a nod from Ed, the first interpreter entered the room and took the last remaining chair at the table. Situated between the two men, his role was to interpret what each man said. In the briefing, he had been told repeatedly to translate verbatim without interpretation. If the terrorist called Ed camel shit, then he was to translate it as camel shit.