Cadet 3 (12 page)

As he talked, he rapidly released the cuffs
on her arms and legs, picked her up with ease and flung her face
down on the drum. After the near drowning, Jodie was too weak to
offer any resistance during the brief moments when her hands were
free. He attached restraints to all four limbs and tightened the
cables, until she once again felt as if her arms and legs were
about to be separated from her torso.

“I’ll need a little time,” he informed her,
“So I’ll whip you for a while. If half the rumors I hear about you
are true, that should get both of us going,” he said. “Anyway,
you’ll admit that I do pretty well for a man of my years. Do you
still think I’m ‘long and soft and filled with semen?’ or would you
like to change the wording?”

Jodie turned her head, coughed, and said
something inaudible. Hall stooped lower, and said, “I didn’t catch
that. Say it again, a little louder this time.”

Jodie took as deep a breath as her condition
and the pressure on her chest permitted, and then whispered
haltingly, “I was wrong… The part that’s soft and… filled with
semen is… your head, asshole.”

Hall straightened abruptly, his face
beginning to redden again. “You still haven’t figured out how to
keep that smart mouth under control, have you?” he asked. He picked
up the slender metal rod he had used before, examined it and threw
it to the floor, then strode quickly across the room to the hose.
The reel squeaked as it spun furiously, as he rushed back to Jodie
with the hose clutched in his hand.

General Murchinson was resting, getting ready
for another round with Merry. He followed his angry colleague with
his eyes, and when Hall raised a length of hose over his head to
strike Jodie, the General said, “I happened to catch some of your
conversation with Blondie, and I can’t tell you I was happy with
what I heard. I suddenly have the feeling that you got me into this
under false pretenses.”

The Admiral lowered his arm and slowly turned
to face Murchinson. “I trust you are not basing this on something
General Cuntface here said. I would hate to think you would allow
her lies to cause trouble between us.”

“I wouldn’t say I
believed
anything,
but I will admit that something she said started me thinking,”
Murchinson replied. “You promised me you had the Navy entire high
command and most of the Army and Air Force lined up, ready to
declare for us as soon as the ball dropped, and that the lower
ranks hated Lawrence and couldn’t wait to get rid of her.”

“That’s what I said,” Hall agreed. “So
what?”

“So, I have not heard of anybody on the
General Staff outside the Navy throwing in with us, not one General
from the Air Force, and not a single Major General or higher from
the Army. Come to think of it, I only have your word that anybody
in the Navy besides your son is on board,” he answered. “On top of
that, as far as I can tell from T.V. interviews, newspaper articles
and my own sources, nine of ten of the officers and men in all
three services think Lawrence walks on water. They fucking
worship
her, and I have a very strong sense that they would
happily blow out the brains of anybody who touched a hair on her
head, which is not exactly what you told me, is it? I agreed to
attend your little tea party because I wanted another chance to be
the CGS again, even if you would have most of the real power. I
didn’t do it to help you get your revenge, right before we both
draw firing squads.”

Hall did not respond immediately. He seemed
to be fighting to keep his emotions under control. At last he said,
“So, after all the years we’ve known each other, my word is not
good enough for you. Well, allow me to point out that we have the
two essential Army Generals, the commanders of the MPs and the
N.S.B…”

“Who are both Brigadiers and idiots, and are
about as respected and influential on the General Staff as dead
cockroaches,” Murchinson finished for him. “And what about the rest
of it? I have no personal quarrel with Lawrence, and unless you can
show me how this plan of yours is going to work, I’m thinking about
getting out before the whole thing comes down around our ears. I
have an alternate identity ready, secret bank accounts, the works,
all set up years ago. If you want to make like Samson in the
temple, you can go ahead without me.”

For some reason, Hall suddenly relaxed and
smiled. “You’re making a mountain out of a molehill, Alfred,” he
said. He glanced over Murchinson’s shoulder and made a tiny
movement with his head as he continued talking. “The Army and Air
Force brass are just waiting to make sure Cafferson’s pet is really
out of the picture. They don’t want to stick their necks out for
anything less than a sure thing, like you. But they’ll come around
in the end, you can count on it,” he said soothingly. His
expression suddenly hardened, and he nodded his head sharply.

Robin and Merry shouted “Behind you!”
Murchinson started to turn around, but before he could complete the
movement, a length of wire wielded by Rear Admiral Carroll passed
over his head and tightened around his throat. The General made a
harsh gargling sound and clawed futilely at the wire. Bright red
blood spurted from a severed artery and he collapsed to the floor.
He lay there unmoving, his head twisted at an unnatural angle,
resting in a spreading pool of blood.

“Well done, Bobby,” Hall said. “The coward
didn’t give us any choice. He was about to jump ship and go over to
the other side.”

“I have no doubt about it, sir,” Carroll
said, “but it leaves us with the problem of explaining how this
happened.”

“Hmm, let me think about it, for a minute,”
Hall said. He moved to the desk, sat in the revolving chair, and
stared at the ceiling, rubbing his hand over his mouth.

“All right,” he said at last, “there’s really
only one way we can do it. We’ll make it look like one of them did
it... that one,” he said, pointing at Merry. He closed his eyes and
massaged his temples, as if trying to stimulate his brain. “She got
loose somehow… we didn’t see it, because you were helping me
interrogate Lawrence… and she came up behind him with the
wire…”

“But what about the other two?” Carroll
asked. “We can’t leave them alive, but how do we account for
them?”

“I know, I
know
,” Hall said irritably.
“OK. She’s got Murchinson with the garrote around his neck, and she
threatened to cut his throat unless we released Lawrence and her
sister. So we did. Then, her sister goes for Murchinson’s automatic
and looks like she’s about to fire, so we are forced to shoot her
in self-defense. She garrotes Murchinson before we can stop her,
and we shoot her and Lawrence in the melee. Not great, but with
Jonas running the investigation, we shouldn’t have a problem. Get
that cunt down here,” he pointed at Merry, “and we’ll start with
her.”

“Is there anybody but you stupid enough to
buy that idiotic story?” Merry asked as Admiral Carroll let out the
rope and opened the noose. “You can’t possibly think you’ll get
away with this.”

“I agree, it’s not what you would call
‘airtight’,” Hall admitted as he seized Merry by her arm and
pointed his .45 automatic at her head, “but we really have nothing
to lose. If we don’t give some explanation for this…” he nudged the
corpse with the toe of his shoe, “…we’re both headed for the firing
squad. Unless you can suggest a better plan, Cadet.”

Jodie lifted her head and turned as far as
she could to face Hall. “Give yourselves up. You can escape the
firing squad if you surrender yourself and plead insanity. Because
you really
are
insane, Admiral Hall. This coup of yours
proves it. You are an Admiral; you’ve planned some of the biggest
naval operations in history and you come up with a plan a ten-year
old would laugh at. Now, all you can think of is killing us and
setting up some ridiculous crime scene that your son won’t buy for
a second. You are a sick man, Admiral Hall, and you need
treatment.”

Hall appeared to be considering Jodie’s
words. He looked at her uncertainly, his face filled with doubt and
fear. “How can I trust you? If I turn myself in, how do I know you
won’t have me shot as soon as you’re in charge?”

“Look at me, Admiral Hall,” Jodie said, her
eyes locked on his. “
Look
at me. Surrender, and I will make
sure you receive psychiatric care. I promise I will not permit you
to be criminally charged. You have my word. Look me in the eye: you
have my sacred word,” she repeated.

He gazed at Jodie in silence for a long time,
his decision balanced on the edge of a razor. Finally, he lowered
his gun. “I… I believe you.” To Admiral Carroll, he said, “Let them
go. It’s over, Bobby.”

“But what about
me
?” Carroll demanded,
practically in tears. “You have an insanity defense, but what do I
have? I followed your orders; I killed for you. What am I supposed
to do now?”

Hall shrugged. “You’ll just have to take your
chances,” he said.

The pudgy Carroll’s face suddenly resembled
something seen in a nightmare. “You can take your chances… in
Hell!” he shrieked. He whipped the wire, which he was still
holding, around Admiral Hall’s neck, and pulled sharply.

At the same moment the door flew open and
Captain Hall rushed in, followed by a half-dozen plainclothes Naval
Internal Security men. All of them held guns pointed at the two
Admirals. “Everybody freeze!” he shouted.

“Fuck you!” Carroll screamed. He pulled the
loop around his superior’s neck tight with all his strength, nearly
decapitating Admiral Hall, whose head flopped backwards. A great
column of blood spouted from the severed neck, soaking Carroll and
Merry before the body dropped to the floor. Carroll made a weird
gobbling noise, and ran across the room, away from the newcomers.
Seven automatic pistols fired in a ragged volley, and Admiral
Carroll pitched face forward, dead before he hit the ground.

Captain Hall rushed to where his father’s
body lay. He knelt by the corpse and, disregarding the blood that
soaked his uniform, cradled his father’s head in his arms, staring
down at the dead eyes. He remained there, unmoving for a long time,
oblivious of all attempts to communicate with him.

At last he felt a hand on his shoulder and
heard a soft soprano voice say, “Captain Hall.” He looked up to see
Jodie standing over him, wrapped in a suit jacket she had borrowed
from one of the NIS men. She spoke quietly. “I’ll see that he’s
taken care of properly. You need a rest, and then you must return
to your duties. Your country needs you.”

The Captain swallowed, nodded, and rose to
his feet. He braced at attention, faced Jodie and saluted. “General
Lawrence, I want to resign my commission and surrender myself to
whatever authorities you designate. I am unworthy to wear the
uniform of my country. I am guilty of aiding and abetting treason
and conspiracy, and I am ready to make a full confession.”

Jodie returned the salute, and smiled up at
the tall Captain as she shook her head. “I’m sorry, Captain Hall,
but I cannot permit that. Your resignation is not accepted. You are
ordered take a one month leave of absence, after which you will
report to directly to me for your new assignment. Is that
understood, Captain?”

“But…” he began, then stopped and swallowed.
“Yes sir, understood,” he answered. “Thank you, sir.” He saluted
again, executed a training manual about-face, squared his shoulders
and marched away.

“Do you think he’ll be all right?” Robin
asked as they watched Hall’s receding back.

“He’d better be,” Jodie said. “I’m going to
put him in charge of my new National Security Agency.”

Chapter Nine: Chief of the General
Staff

Only two months had passed since the
attempted coup, but to Jodie it seemed like two years, or perhaps
two decades, because much had happened in such a short time.

An investigation had revealed the threadbare
nature of Admiral Hall’s conspiracy. After Jodie saw the final
report, she wondered how Hall had ever induced anyone to join the
crack-brained scheme. He had managed to secure the allegiance of
only one other high naval officer, a Vice Admiral in Naval
Intelligence, and even he had gotten cold feet and backed out when
the balloon went up. There were a few Captains and Colonels
actively involved, and three Admirals on the General Staff were
shown to have been approached, who neither joined the conspiracy
nor reported it (they all chose retirement on half pay over
contesting charges in courts-martial). The commanders of the NSB
and the Military Police were cashiered and sentenced to twenty
years to life at hard labor instead of the death penalty, at the
insistence of the new CGS. As Jodie had discovered from her
personal experience, the MPs had developed a culture of corruption
and abuse of prisoners. Their ranks were thoroughly purged of the
worst elements, and the organization was then folded into the new
Unified National Security Agency, a creation of Jodie’s. (A certain
Captain John Harkness of the Military police was being sought in
connection with the arrest of General Lawrence and her aide,
Captain Bransom. He had disappeared the day the coup collapsed, and
his whereabouts were still unknown. “He has more brains than I gave
him credit for,” Jodie commented.) The UNSA encompassed all the
police/security services of the various branches of the military
and the old NSB. Jodie placed the newly promoted Rear Admiral Jonas
Hall in command of this new agency, and gave him a seat on the
General Staff.

Not everyone was comfortable with the power
of the new security agency. “I’m OK with it as long Hall’s in
charge, I guess, but what happens when somebody else takes over?”
Kate Swenson asked Jodie as they sat on the back porch of the
latter’s Georgetown townhouse with Merry, Robin and Steph, drinking
beer and watching the fireflies blink on and off in her yard. “It’s
not going to be easy to find somebody else you can trust with the
keys to the kingdom.”