Chapter 500

The first call was from the President, “Merry Christmas to you and your family BJ. I trust you have had a quiet day with no excitement, other than the holiday spirit.”

“Merry Christmas to you and your family as well. Yes, it has been quiet so far,” I replied. The conversation lasted ten minutes.

The calls went on for an hour from Troy, Ben and members of the task force. Then the visitors started showing up; Victor, Joni and Allie with Alica tagging along. Joni was beginning to show; she was three months ahead of Lorrie and Ching Lee.

The four - including Jenny and Marcy and the other ladies - retreated to another room for a more in private conversation about pregnancy and its daily symptoms and cravings, leaving Vicky and me to entertain the men - which was fine.

We were having a candid conversation with Victor when Eric and Frank along with their wives knocked on the door. I knew they were coming before they got to the door; there was a monitor in the living room in the corner. It was one of the things East Coast had done the day of and a day after the threats.

A gate was installed forty feet down our driveway, with a guard shack to keep the person from the RRT who assigned there warm and out of the wind. Everyone who came to our driveway was challenged. From sun up to sun down, two men were in the shack and one at night. Cameras and sensors watched the complete property and everything was monitored in the command center as part of the EIT duty.

After pleasantries, I suggested the wives add their experiences to the conversation in the other room that was loud with laughter at times.

“I know it is a holiday and work is supposed to be off limits, but I have a couple questions that I need answered. Am I out of bounds if I ask them today?” I asked.

“Any questions you have, we ought to listen to,” Frank replied.

I stuck my head in the room, “Vicky, the men and I are going over to the command center for a few minutes.”

“Play the recording you made this morning,” I instructed the duty man who was just getting ready to change shifts.

Vicky and I were part of a very candid conversation between three agency directors.

“My people there have work to do. The Lone Ranger is going to meet Tonto Monday after we find out what files Baines was looking at and printing. That won’t take very long,” Frank said.

“Frank, it’s been going on eighteen months! If your people there haven’t stumbled on to it and reported it, are they in on it? I would send someone from Washington to the embassy and a different team to look at your office there. At least if it was me,” I said.

“I second that opinion,” Eric and Victor chimed in.

“I will give you a week then I am sending a team to handle the housing problem and whatever. BJ said the Secretary of State approved twenty-five more JBG personnel yesterday and they are not hot sheeting bunks,” Vicky said.

The embassy security was in Vicky’s wheelhouse now as was the SOPS team. I had a burst of pride that she was asserting her authority. The successful trip to Mexico and control of the team at New Jersey were definitely confidence builders.

“Lone Ranger and Tonto; really? You have been watching too many British spy movies, that’s right out of the MI-6 handbook,” Frank said as we made our way back to the house.

“I don’t have time to watch any TV Frank; it’s all worthless crap anyhow, as it does not contribute to the big picture or profitability. Besides, I have five mates who crave all the personal attention they can get and I like to supply it,” I replied.

At the elevator Frank stopped abruptly, turned and said, “Don’t tell me you have the MI-6 operations manual.”

“Frank, you know a girl has to have secrets. I will tell you this; there are a couple more volumes to the MI-6 manual than your CIA manual. The Mossad operations manual is the most impressive; takes up a whole row in the book shelf but then there are four volumes on developing and executing successful covert operations that were real interesting and have been useful,” I replied as I stepped into the elevator ahead of them.

“Reading the KBG operations manual was boring and a disappointment,” I said.

“I had the same opinion of the KBG manual and here I thought it was just me,” Vicky added.