Chapter 475

Supper was on the stove, needing another hour to simmer. That was fine with me. A quick decision put us in the hot tub for thirty minutes. It took two of my favorite brews and twenfy minutes in the churning water before I relaxed.

Today had been the most stressful so far; even my team was giving me a little more room after we returned to section 12.

There was some good news today; the Coast Guard had stopped the Exxon Val Diageo off the Delaware coast and had given the ship a thorough inspection.

In the engine room they found a fake wall. Behind that wall were six bunks and today they captured six terrorists who were headed for the New Jersey and New York learning centers.

The Captain and the first officer were both arrested and suddenly lost the ability to speak English. They were able to demand to see the Liberian Ambassador.

Frank let it slip that the ship and its cargo had been seized. The CIA was the only US government agency that could seize foreign assets under international criminal and terror laws.

I wondered what they were going to do with a million barrels of crude oil, let alone a super tanker that was over a thousand feet long.

Jenny, Vicky, Dad, Robin, Bob Jackson and Jason were going deer hunting tomorrow at the new hunting property. This was the first deer hunting on that property this year and the dear hunting season ended Thanksgiving Day. Goose season was starting the day after Thanksgiving.

They had high hopes for a good hunt tomorrow; Jason had been scouting before coming to the office. There were bucks, big bucks and because there had been no hunting since last year, they were not flighty. I told them to send pictures to my email after the hunt.

When I woke up at 5 Jenny and Vicky were already gone. It was their night to be together and it worked out so they would not wake anybody getting ready for the hunt. Lorrie was sleeping with me and the boys were in the crib. They would sleep another hour.

I quietly showered and dressed to the smell of coffee, I wondered who was up and made that. Today’s dress was the same as every day, another expensive pant suit, jacket and comfortable shoes.

When I went into the kitchen Lisa was sitting at the table with two cups, “I know you like yours black,” she said as she slid the cup towards me. We had a nice talk while I made Cheerios and toast, something light, quick and quiet.

It was cold out this morning. Lisa was going to sit with the boys here instead of bundling them up and carrying them out in the cold.

With no wind the hunters should have a good day, I thought as I walked to the Suburban. A look over to the gym and I saw a TV truck from one of western shore stations in front of the building. I was surprised it was not blocking our driveway, forcing me to get out and talk to them.

I called the Command Center phone, “Anything new?”

“All quiet so far,” Otto replied.

The ride was fast and good. Things went to hell at 8 when all the assembled players settled into section 12. My agency had priority; first was the power play of each person.

I finally had to shut everyone down; it was time to change the direction of the thought process. At the white board across the top I wrote each game that was to be a target. Down the left side was each agency.

“How many undercover agents can your agency put on the street at each of these cities today for scouting? I mean undercover agents who do not telegraph ‘I am a cop’?” I asked.

I wrote the numbers in each column. For agencies that had thousands of employees I was disappointed at the numbers; were there really that many desk jockeys needed?

The next step was to cross section the cell towers - that the phones used in the calls yesterday - over a map to start the scouting process.

The good thing about yesterday’s calls; they were all made from the same geographical location in each city, meaning the tower’s pings did not change with all five calls over the two hour time frame.