“You are so good to me,” Kara said.
When they reached the gym, Hail climbed up onto a treadmill and started off at a slow run.
Kara, who wasn’t really dressed for a workout, wearing jeans and a classic plaid flannel shirt rolled up at the sleeves, selected a slower speed and walked on her treadmill next to Hail at a normal pace.
To Hail, Kara looked a little depressed. Her face, which was always beautiful, was not as beautiful tonight.
“What’s the matter?” Hail asked her.
“I don’t know,” she said, somewhat surprised that Hail had zeroed in on her mood. “Maybe it’s being on the ship.”
“You don’t like the ship?” Hail asked.
“Sure, what’s not to like,” Kara responded respectfully.
Hail was quiet.
A moment later Kara said, “I don’t think this is really for me.”
“What, you mean the ship?” Hail asked.
“No, I think it’s all the push button stuff. You know? Death from afar. All the drone stuff you guys do.”
Hail responded immediately, “How could that be bad. Even on the worst day, none of the good guys get hurt. Sure we might lose some equipment, which equates to money, but we don’t lose lives.”
Kara hesitated and then said, “I don’t think you could understand unless you’ve been out in the field. You know, where you have something at risk other than equipment and money.”
“I’m not sure what you are talking about?” Hail said.
“Do you ever hear people talk about their kids?” Kara asked. “You know, they tell kid stories and the only people that truly understand how they feel are other parents who have kids?”
“I guess so,” Hail said, “But I’ve had kids, so I guess I don’t understand.”
“Well I do,” Kara said. “Some of my colleagues back at the CIA talk about their kids and the problems they have with their kids and to me is just doesn’t compute, because I don’t have any. The closest I can come to that situation is I once had a cat. After my house staff left, I think the cat got hungry and ran away.”
“OK,” Hail agreed with her for the sake of argument.
“It’s the same with me and you. This revenge kick you’re on…”
“Retribution,” Hail corrected.
“Whatever. It’s not the same as being out there and having something at risk, like your life.”
“I don’t know about that,” Hail responded confidently. “It felt pretty good to me when we took out Kim Yong Chang remotely.”
“I think that’s because it was your first,” Kara said. “But you need to trust me on this. It’s nothing like having some skin in the game. It’s nothing like being there. It’s not nearly as rewarding.”
“If you say so,” Hail said. “I wouldn’t know.”
Kara added, “And I think that’s what I’m feeling. I don’t think I miss being in the field, I just think I can be more effective out there instead of lounging around on this ship. After all, we both have our own agendas and we both feel we are under a time constraint; for whatever weird reason.”
“So, after this mission, do you want to leave?” Hail asked.
“I don’t know. Let’s see how things go and if I can be of any help.”
Kara looked at the time on her phone and thought she should check in with Pepper back at CIA headquarters. She calculated the time in Washington and guesstimated it should be early afternoon back in that part of the world.
“I should make a call and update my boss,” she told Hail.
Hail didn’t respond. Two thick lines of perspiration were meandering down each side of his face. He was breathing hard. At least harder than he should for the amount of effort he was putting out.
“I am really out of shape,” he finally responded, not looking very happy with himself.
“Is there anything you don’t want me to discuss with Pepper?” Kara asked.
Hail scrutinized her question and did his best to determine why she would ask such a thing. On one hand, she was showing him a measure of respect by asking if there was a subject that he felt was off-limits and shouldn’t be shared with her intelligence agency. But on the other hand, any subject that Hail told her was off limits would immediately be something that the CIA would be very interested in investigating, only because Hail had told her it was off-limits. Either Kara was very crafty or Hail was very paranoid, or maybe a little of both.
“I can’t think of anything,” Hail told her. But he was thinking of something. He was thinking about the dangerous backup plan that the Washington officials had developed. He wondered if Kara knew about it as well. Once she had conversed with her boss and Hail had a chance to listen to the recording, he might discover that answer.
Kara switched off her treadmill and told Hail, “I’m going up top to make a sat call.”
“All right,” Hail said, dabbing one side of his face into the sleeve of his shirt. “Why don’t you meet me in the mission center in about thirty minutes?”
“Will do,” Kara said.
Washington, D.C. ― The White House Situation Room
It’s no secret that the White House has a special high-tech room that’s called the Situation Room. During many critical operations that had been conducted over the years, several presidents had been photographed looking very tense as they watched the military operation play out over live video feeds. The Wiki on the White House Situation Room read, The White House Situation Room is a 5,525-square-foot (513.3 m2)[1] conference room and intelligence management center in the basement of the West Wing of the White House. It is run by the National Security Council staff for the use of the President of the United States and his advisors (including the National Security Advisor, the Homeland Security Advisor and the White House Chief of Staff) to monitor and deal with crises at home and abroad and to conduct secure communications with outside (often overseas) persons. The Situation Room is equipped with secure, advanced communications equipment for the President to maintain command and control of U.S. forces around the world. And everyone knows the Wiki never lies.
Jarret Pepper’s phone played a tune and he looked to see who was calling.
“This is Pepper,” he said.
“Hi Jarret, this is Kara.”
Of course Pepper knew this because of the caller ID, but it was protocol for each caller to announce themselves.
“Are we on a speaker?” Pepper asked.
“No, I’m up on deck and it’s just me. What’s going on there?” Kara asked.
“I’m in the situation room with a dozen others watching and waiting?” Pepper said.
Kara thought that was strange since it was pitch-black in North Korean and therefore there was nothing to watch.
“What are you watching and why are you in the situation room?” Kara asked.
“Not much right now,” Pepper responded. He almost sounded a little sad. “We’re waiting to see a dark spot in your area get much brighter.”
“Well, it won’t be much longer,” Kara said. “Hail has already launched a drone that is flying toward the warehouse right now.”
“That’s good. Do you know the approximate time the strike will happen?” Pepper asked.
Kara thought about all the planning sessions she had attended in Hail’s conference room. There were so many moving parts to this mission that she doubted if she fully understood all the elements. She certainly didn’t want to open a door with Pepper unless she felt fully qualified to walk through it, and at that moment she didn’t feel like getting into the nuts and bolts of the operation.
So instead of a long answer, she decided on, “Mission time is planned around zero-three-hundred, but it’s more complicated than a simple drone strike. Hail wants to get inside and get out without any signs of ever being there.”