The Life We Lead: Ascending (26 page)

“Was it falling over?” James asked, still
laughing.

“Shit no, he did it just to annoy Mom for
locking him out. Cut the whole thing up too.” By this point the
major had regained control and was telling the story as he normally
did in his fake angry voice, which just added a dramatic and funny
edge to the whole thing.

“What did your mom do?” James asked, playing
right along into the storyline.

The major gave a bark of laughter. “You know
Mom. She came out when he was done and said, ‘Good, now that we
have something to burn, you can build me that fire pit you promised
me fifteen years ago. Let’s go find some bricks and materials.’
Then she tossed him his keys.”

“Oh my God, your parents. What did your dad
do?” James asked.

“He bitched for about five minutes about
spending money and then they got in his truck and picked out
supplies. I got them both on the line at once and told them, ‘Yinz
guys aren’t right. No wonder you have three messed up kids.’ They
just laughed. Then I told them about the promotion. They’re
pleased. Mom wanted to send me a check for some reason, and Dad
said he was proud—but not proud enough to send money,” finished the
major.

They both laughed.

“Look, James, always good to talk with you,
but I have a thing in about ten minutes. So if you didn’t call just
to congratulate me, you called for a different reason. What’s up
and how can I help?” The major was back to his normal tone, and
James recognized the authoritative, non-time wasting style he’d
adopted.

James took a deep breath and began. “Well,
Ian, it’s like …”

“The last time you called me ‘Ian,’ you were
saving my life. What’s wrong? And don’t give me the bullshit
version. Spill it out and we’ll fix it.” The major used his voice
to full effect.

“I need a black bag task force to help me
take out a human trafficking operation in China, not too far off
the Kyrgyzstan border. Looking at an unknown number of children at
this point, but more than thirty five. Also need a special assembly
of people who can deal with this, preferably those with experience
with the juvenile system. The place is an old fortress that has
some type of electric shield under an overhanging cliff.”

Silence.

“Ian, I realize I’m asking a lot. You know if
I had other means to deal with this, I would, but you’re the most
realistic chance I have of doing this and getting the kids out
alive. I can cover the costs for the guys and …”

“First, stop calling me Ian if you’re doing
it to gain psychological advantage.”

James smiled. That’s exactly what he was
saying it for.

“Second, how many men, and when do we need to
roll out?”

James answered quickly. “Not counting either
of us, I think ten will do. I don’t have a date yet, but probably
four to six months from now. We can set the date with a two-week
notice. Are you sure this is easily doable?”

“Easy? No. Doable? Hell ya. You wouldn’t ask
if it weren’t needed. My family owes you. A lot of families owe
you. And the fact that we’re going after kids makes it the right
thing to do. Get me a general profile of what you think will be
needed and the men you want. I can cover the rest with this much
notice,” the major replied, snapping his fingers.

“And the military use?” James questioned.

“Don’t worry about it. I am where I am
because of you and because I run these types of operations. We’ll
clear out other rats’ nests in the area; it’s not like they’re
scarce. Gives a reason to be there,” he said.

“Thank you, Ian.” James said this not only as
a friend, but also as someone who truly recognized the issues this
could cause.

“I still owe you, even after this, but it’s
cool, James. Get me a dossier and we go from there. Got to run.
Talk soon.” Major Ian Doyle hung up.

James sighed in relief, as he really hadn’t
had a backup plan.

Writing the plan for the major to review
turned out to be more difficult than James had anticipated. He was
reluctant to disclose his goal of extracting the children until the
last minute, but he wanted extremely skilled soldiers who would
have an emotional connection due to their own pasts. James knew
this would help ensure the mission stayed a true black bag
operation. There is no motivation like revenge cloaked in justice,
especially when partnered with the instinctual desire to protect
innocent children.

***

On the plane to Aberdeen, James accomplished
two things. First, he did some layout work for what he now called
Operation Joshua, as Operation Jericho seemed too obvious. He felt
it best to have several variations worked out until he and the
major knew the crew going in.

Second, he created a plan for getting some
current information on Anthony Spara. As was customary for him,
he’d start at the bottom on the street. Then try to get a meeting
with his friend Patrick’s uncle to talk with him. He needed to keep
the Spara investigation moving forward to keep the group happy, in
a manner of speaking.

It was different, the way the group operated.
If he wanted to, James could literally stop what he was doing and
walk away. Technically, he didn’t even have to give up the file on
Spara, but that would be highly irregular and didn’t fit with how
he felt anyone should operate. It was that last bit that made it
all work.

Individuals were internally motivated to
accomplish their tasks. They didn’t do it for glory or recognition
or money, though money often accompanied the end results. It was
all about the challenge of doing the right thing when others
couldn’t, or at least it was supposed to be.

***

In Aberdeen, the apartment Korey had secured
was exactly what he’d asked for. The property manager, a short,
grouchy looking man with sideburns that flowed into a full beard,
met him on site and handed him the keys. He had a bit of a waddle
that James instantly recognized as a bad right hip.

“Sooo, you be John, then, eh? Well noew, me
name is Michael, you know, and I have ter say that lady that rang
me, then, she said I were ter get you all fancied up on living,”
the manager said in his run-on manner of a high pitched voice.

They shook hands.

“Noew, this be the Baker Building we have you
in,” said Michael.

“Why is it called the Baker Building?” James
asked.

“Oh, it’s me family name, and I be looking
after it, so it is called that,” replied Michael.

They walked up a flight of steps to the
second floor where they took a left and walked down the hall. They
got to the corner and stopped in front of door 221. James laughed
silently, as he often did.
If only it had the letter “B” after
it, it would be perfect.

“Well noew, yer should be okay ter do fae a
bit, yeah? The misses went ter the shops and me son helped get yer
situated. Need to sign those papers, exchange some quid, and yer
set. The Korey lass said yer may be doing some remodel and ‘tis
fine just as long as yer don’t block any windows and don’t be
extending into the neighbors’ spaces.”

Michael kept speaking as James looked quickly
around. “Plus yer have a space you know in the storage fae things
you wanted stored in the lowers.”

They took care of the paperwork and Michael
gave him two sets of keys and his phone number, telling him to give
him a call if he needed anything.

The apartment was great. The bedroom occupied
the corner of the building and the bathroom created the adjoining
wall with the neighbor on the right. The layout allowed for
privacy, and the cement flooring levels soundproofed the place.
Should it come up, this would explain why James didn’t know his
neighbors.

James made a list of things he would need to
make the apartment look lived in, such as sheets, clothes, bathroom
items, and food. The bed itself was a twin and needed to be
replaced, he decided after lying on it. He felt tired from the
flight, but doing the necessary shopping would be a good way to
avoid napping and extending the effects of jet lag.

He didn’t manage to find half the things he
needed since many of the local shops, once he found them, were
closed on Sunday. He did manage to get some basics at a shopping
center that would get him through until the next day. By the time
he returned to the apartment, he was exhausted. It didn’t help that
he’d nearly had two accidents on the way back because he’d
forgotten to stay in the near lane when making a left. He was happy
to crawl into bed, but he soon remembered that the mattress was
extremely firm, so much so that he might as well have slept on the
floor. The bed definitely had to go, but that was a problem for the
next day. He gathered a blanket and two pillows and crashed on the
sofa, falling asleep quickly.

Everything hurt and there was no sound, or
just one constant sound, he couldn’t tell. An intense heat was
coming from a roaring blaze to his left. As he rolled to his right,
his blurred vision saw someone on the other side of an old iron
gate pulling a chain.

It was 3:37 a.m. when his eyes opened. James
felt extremely uneasy, as he always did with those types of dreams.
Still, it was better than the hallway dreams that were almost
cartoonish.

He decided to get up instead of trying to
force himself back to sleep, which rarely worked anyhow. He was
still feeling the effects of the travel and decided he’d better eat
something. After breakfast and a rather good shower, he revisited
the list of things he needed to buy and tucked it in his back
pocket.

For the time being, he decided to work on the
list of requirements for each individual in the operation. He
wasn’t sure how the major would go about searching for the right
members, so he felt he’d better error on the side of caution and
list requirements only. As short as the list was, it took him two
hours and several versions to get it where he wanted it to be.

1. All members need to be highly trustworthy
to keep the operation black bag. They

will not be informed of the target until the
operation has started.

2. Individuals on the ground need to come
from an abusive background, foster care,

or child protective services.

3. Individuals on the ground need to have
experience in extracting people.

4. Marksmen with shooting handguns and
assault rifles.

5. All individuals need high intelligence and
a plan to pursue academic development.

6. Need one explosives expert, one
electrical expert, and one communications expert.

The first one went without saying, but James
didn’t want to leave anything to chance. The other items, if
filled, would give him the working crew he needed, assuming
everything fell together as envisioned.

James got up and stretched. He felt achy and
wasn’t sure if it was from the prior night’s dream or the jet lag.
Then he dug the paper out of his pocket and added “Find a gym” to
his list. There was nothing like a good workout to flush the system
and help reset the circadian rhythm.

He normally would have headed to the office
and gotten a jump on the day, but he didn’t have access to the
building and he doubted anyone who knew him would be in that early,
so he did some work from the apartment. He also decided to ask
Michael about internet access. Hopefully all he needed was a modem
and router.

That day and the next passed with ease. James
was able to get everything done with the exception of finding a
gym. He also managed to talk with Carissa about moving in. She’d
asked again if he was sure it was okay and he’d answered, “Yeah,
I’ve already spent next month’s rent because that’s your problem
now, then.” She’d laughed.

On Wednesday morning, James set out for
Cambridge to attend the session with Dr. William Watterson. The
journey went well, and he had plenty of time to find the building
and lecture hall. The crowd was larger than he’d expected, but that
was all to the good. He’d blend in and be able to observe more
easily.

James repressed a chuckle at his first glance
at Dr. Watterson. He looked like a modern version of President
William Howard Taft, complete with the large belly and mustache.
All he was missing were the round glasses.

The lecture began, and James soon realized
the material was intended for an advanced audience. He knew some
basics, but this hardcore science was beyond his understanding, at
least at the rate Dr. Watterson was speaking.

Glancing around, James realized he wasn’t the
only one struggling. A lady on his right asked the person on her
right if she understood what Dr. Watterson was saying, and that
individual admitted she was puzzled, too.

James felt better. He decided to interrupt so
as to have a semi-reasonable excuse to talk with Dr. Watterson
later, in private.

“Excuse me, Dr. Watterson. Dr.
Watterson?”

The entire room, including Dr. Watterson,
turned as one. Dr. Watterson was clearly irritated by the
interruption, while the people near James seemed to lean away from
him.

“Yes?” said the irritated professor in his
Welsh accent. “What is it?”

“Sorry to interrupt …” James began.

“Ah well, I accept your apology and will
continue. Now as I was saying …” Dr. Watterson began speaking
again.

James kept his tone pleasant, but increased
the volume. “Dr. Watterson, could you perhaps review the last few
points again? I was not able to follow the jump from
interperpolsion forces and the skin effect as you were describing
it.”

“Perhaps, young man, you shouldn’t be in this
room if you are unable to follow the material. This is my lecture,
and I do not allow others to speak while I’m speaking. If you are
unable to keep up, I suggest you start at the beginners’ course and
come back when you have mastered that material.” Dr. Watterson
gestured toward the door.