Chapter 37
The Secretary of Defense
Gloria was in a party with her friends while Heston was off to work for an important meeting with Secretary of Defense. Heston was being promoted for a good job capturing the information leaks in the agency. But she was sad as the perpetrator was Protter. She was quite upset about how Heston acted so ruthlessly on his best friend.
She was worried about her husband’s health as he was overworking nowadays. It happened ever since that mysterious meeting he had in the tavern. Her friend, June, warned her and asked her to check whether he was having an affair. Gloria doubted but tracked him down anyway.
“Mary worked inside the agency before, now I can’t ask her how to tap the phone!” complained Gloria.
“Did you smell any perfume from his shirt?” said June. “Or lipsticks on it?”
“No, no nothing, but he worked as an espionage unit for some times in the past, maybe he is good at hiding stuff!” said Gloria, gloomily.
“Well, we have to see, if the tail is too long he will get caught,” said June.
“Drinks ladies?” said the waiter, walking near them with the cocktail glasses on the plate.
“Thank you,” said Gloria, taking one of them.
“Well, keep an eye on him, okey? He surely seemed acting odd recently,” said June.
“Oh, I’m just upset about him accusing his own friend. I can’t comprehend this situation, they have been friends for twenty years now?” said Gloria.
“Yeah, it is strange,” sighed June. “Well, they are bit secretive anyways, both of them.”
Inside the conference room, Heston gathered agents to conduct an operation in Cassandra for stabilizing the region. Protter was held captive in an interrogation room.
“Well, the rebels are grabbing this opportunity to do the terrorist activities. They bombed our embassy and other government-related buildings; others are vandalizing the whole city… But we’ve managed to take control of the situation,” said the agent.
“Good good,” said Heston.
“Are we suppose to smoke out Nina Polchinski in the island, in case she returns and topple off the government?” said the agent.
“Yes, I’ve been talking to the Secretary of Defense about this. Unfortunately it is the necessary act we need to take,” said Heston. “Ricky is alive, he have been hiding terrorists inside that island for decades now,”
The agents looked at each other in amazement, muttering with one another.
“Is this true?” said the agent.
“What is your source?” said the other.
Heston seemed like he is pleased at where this conversation is going. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth.
“I know because one of our own friends, inside this very agency, tried to contact Ricky Guido in secret,” said Heston.
They murmured together again, restlessly.
“Who is it, Heston?” said one. “What is he up to?”
“Bring him in,” said Heston and one of the agents nodded and got out the room. “I’ll tell you when our Secretary of Defense gets here; he seemed to be interested in the matter too. He will be arriving in five minutes.”
Heston and few others glimpsed at the clock.
“Seemed like that old man is dealing with a hard shit even to his end of the term,” grumbled one of the agents.
“Yeah, poor guy,” said the other.
Heston merely smiled and lay back on his chair with his hand behind his head. The agent brought Protter into the room. He was still cuffed. Protter looked at Heston intently but Heston avoided the eye contact. Exactly five minutes later, the Secretary of Defense, Walter Hutchinson entered. The agents stood up.
“Hello gentlemen,” said Walter.
“Hello sir,” said them.
“I have to go to the general’s meeting in twenty minutes, so let’s get this over with fast,” said Walter.
Walter sat down on the chair. Heston was smirking. The assistant brought coffee for Walter.
“According to our president, in this hour of peril, he does not wish to deploy troops to so-called ‘Island of Riddles.’ The conflicts in the island are none of our concern. Veron Komer’s regime has been collapsed already. There are no threats left for us; therefore, no further action is necessary,” said Walter.
Hearing this, Heston immediately became disappointed, and didn’t bother to show his expression. Protter sighed in relief; his cold sweat soaked his back.
“But those genetically modified creatures which have invaded our country are…” said Heston.
“Yes it is quite a kid’s game for us isn’t it?” said Walter, his eyes beaming.
“Sir, there will be continued attacks in Cassandra if we don’t act now. When there is a conflict, it is easy for those terrorists to expose themselves and easy for us to eliminate them, once and for all,” said Heston spattering his saliva on the table.
“Have you been listening to me at all? We are not at war,” frowned Walter. “Only necessary precaution is the covert operation to gather intelligence. I have a reason to believe that when Veron Komer was still in power, he was building this underground bunker inside the Island of Riddles.”
“I do not aware of Veron Komer’s engagement,” lied Heston.
“Is that so?” asked Walter, sarcastically.
“Yes, sir, we have no evidence whatsoever that…” said Heston but Walter interrupted.
“I know Veron also had an interest in that island. But you see, interestingly enough,” said Walter, inclining his head. “Ricky Guido now has a power over the Ephemera technology.”
Heston looked furious; trying to grasp what is going on. Protter glanced up at Walter with some kind of hope.
“It means unlike Veron, Ricky have a sole power over the ruling in Cassandra, plus he is our citizen, he knows our way,” said Walter. “Well, currently our puppet government in Cassandra is pathetic and evil as Veron… It’ll be very tedious to deal with rebels and corruption anyway. So, if the will of the people in Cassandra want liberty, they should get it for themselves.”
Heston is now impatient, if the situation flows like this it will be harder for him to rule Cassandra. If Ricky rises to the power with Nina, he cannot do anything about it.
“Heston, if you are concerned about our national security that much, I can give you my word that if Ricky acts against us, I will be the one who will deploy the troop and remove him completely,” said Walter.
Protter smiled and dropped his head, trying to suppress the joy in his heart. Heston looked as if he swallowed dung.
“And for you Protter, you have caused me a lot of trouble. But, at the same time it was quite a pleasure. But next time, be aware, some of our men are quite cunning…” chuckled Walter, glancing at Heston who looked reproached. And Walter turned back to Protter. “Good luck to you, perhaps one day we can sit down and have tea.”
Walter stood up, smiling. He glimpsed at his watch.
“Little late, hmm, I hope they don’t get mad,” said Walter. “Good night gentlemen, God bless you all.”
And he walked out with the agents.