choice. He was about to divert thenext Taskforce mission for personal reasons, and he needed the president’s approval. He also needed a little of the president’s big stick to cut through some Army bureaucracy.
“You sure he’s coming back here before his meeting with the finance committee?”
Sally, the president’s secretary, smiled. “Yes. He always comes back here before heading out again. Gives him a breather without interruption.”
Kurt inwardly winced. “I won’t be long. I promise.”
“What I can’t figure out is how you got past the chief of staff in the first place. Nobody else gets to ambush the president.”
Nobody else runs an organization that can bring down his entire administration with one mistake.
“I don’t know. Just lucky, I guess.”
Sally was rolling her eyes when President Payton Warren entered the reception area, talking with a scrum of people bringing him up to speed for his budget meeting. He did a double take when he saw Kurt. Without waiting for Kurt to speak, he said, “Okay, everyone have a seat out here. I’ll be back in…”
Kurt said, “Five minutes, tops.”
After closing the door and shaking hands, President Warren said, “This must be bad news. Did Jennifer get sent to the hospital or something?”
When Kurt had agreed to let Jennifer attempt Assessment, the biggest obstacle had been that she was a civilian. They could camouflage the death or injury of any military or CIA member simply by claiming a training accident, but a civilian would be exponentially harder. Friends and family would have to buy the story, something that would be very, very difficult to control.
“No. Nothing like that. Believe it or not, she passed with flying colors.”
President Warren smiled. “Good for her. I’ll bet that’s caused a little barking.”
“Yea, it has, but they’ll get over it. In the end, they all respect ability, and she has it. Actually, she
is
part of the reason I’m here.”
“Okay. What do you have?”
“Well, Pike’s taking her, along with Knuckles’ team, on a cover development trip to Cambodia in two days. Get the business ready for operations. I need to divert them.”
“And you came to me? Sounds like Oversight Council business.”
President Warren was referring to the council that supervised Taskforce activities. Made up of thirteen people, including the president, they were the only ones who knew of the Taskforce’s existence, and they approved every mission as a single body. All the council members were either in the executive branch of government or private citizens. None came from the legislative branch.
“It’s personal. And not worth the council’s time. I got a call from the defense attaché at the embassy in Cambodia. He’s a friend of mine.” Kurt paused a second, then continued. “Apparently, someone turned in some artifacts that belonged to my father. It may lead to his body.”
Because of the Taskforce bond, the president was as close to Kurt as to any of his advisors. In some ways closer, since Kurt wasn’t part of the political machine. The president could relax around him, be himself without being on stage as the head of the most powerful country on the planet, or worrying about leaks for political gain. After getting used to being in the president’s presence, Kurt had relaxed as well. One night, late, after an Oversight Council update, Kurt had told him the story of his father becoming MIA on a secret mission during the Vietnam War. The Army had recovered the remains of the entire team minus Chris Hale, the team leader. No one knew why he wasn’t among the others in the wreckage of the helicopter. Kurt had been ten years old at the time. It had eaten at his soul every day since. He knew the president would understand.
“That’s great news… isn’t it,” President Warren said. “What did they find?”
“It’s not great news yet. Just good news. They found a rucksack pretty much destroyed by the elements.
“You sure he’s coming back here before his meeting with the finance committee?”
Sally, the president’s secretary, smiled. “Yes. He always comes back here before heading out again. Gives him a breather without interruption.”
Kurt inwardly winced. “I won’t be long. I promise.”
“What I can’t figure out is how you got past the chief of staff in the first place. Nobody else gets to ambush the president.”
Nobody else runs an organization that can bring down his entire administration with one mistake.
“I don’t know. Just lucky, I guess.”
Sally was rolling her eyes when President Payton Warren entered the reception area, talking with a scrum of people bringing him up to speed for his budget meeting. He did a double take when he saw Kurt. Without waiting for Kurt to speak, he said, “Okay, everyone have a seat out here. I’ll be back in…”
Kurt said, “Five minutes, tops.”
After closing the door and shaking hands, President Warren said, “This must be bad news. Did Jennifer get sent to the hospital or something?”
When Kurt had agreed to let Jennifer attempt Assessment, the biggest obstacle had been that she was a civilian. They could camouflage the death or injury of any military or CIA member simply by claiming a training accident, but a civilian would be exponentially harder. Friends and family would have to buy the story, something that would be very, very difficult to control.
“No. Nothing like that. Believe it or not, she passed with flying colors.”
President Warren smiled. “Good for her. I’ll bet that’s caused a little barking.”
“Yea, it has, but they’ll get over it. In the end, they all respect ability, and she has it. Actually, she
is
part of the reason I’m here.”
“Okay. What do you have?”
“Well, Pike’s taking her, along with Knuckles’ team, on a cover development trip to Cambodia in two days. Get the business ready for operations. I need to divert them.”
“And you came to me? Sounds like Oversight Council business.”
President Warren was referring to the council that supervised Taskforce activities. Made up of thirteen people, including the president, they were the only ones who knew of the Taskforce’s existence, and they approved every mission as a single body. All the council members were either in the executive branch of government or private citizens. None came from the legislative branch.
“It’s personal. And not worth the council’s time. I got a call from the defense attaché at the embassy in Cambodia. He’s a friend of mine.” Kurt paused a second, then continued. “Apparently, someone turned in some artifacts that belonged to my father. It may lead to his body.”
Because of the Taskforce bond, the president was as close to Kurt as to any of his advisors. In some ways closer, since Kurt wasn’t part of the political machine. The president could relax around him, be himself without being on stage as the head of the most powerful country on the planet, or worrying about leaks for political gain. After getting used to being in the president’s presence, Kurt had relaxed as well. One night, late, after an Oversight Council update, Kurt had told him the story of his father becoming MIA on a secret mission during the Vietnam War. The Army had recovered the remains of the entire team minus Chris Hale, the team leader. No one knew why he wasn’t among the others in the wreckage of the helicopter. Kurt had been ten years old at the time. It had eaten at his soul every day since. He knew the president would understand.
“That’s great news… isn’t it,” President Warren said. “What did they find?”
“It’s not great news yet. Just good news. They found a rucksack pretty much destroyed by the elements.
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