Special Talents (24 page)

Even Simon seemed to get along well with him, despite his insistence that he wasn't good with small children. In fact, Simon and Bobby seemed to get along even better than Bobby did with the rest of the group.

"That's probably because mentally they're the same age," Janet had joked to Mariah as they had watched Simon and Bobby trying to piece together some toy Simon had gotten him.

"Hey, Conrad," said Simon, "how are the headaches? Still peeking into people's brains without asking?"

Simon was joking and they all knew it. He and Conrad had become good friends even considering the age difference. And Conrad had progressed remarkably well during their training. He was at the point where he rarely got unwanted information from the people around him, although on occasion things would still "seep" in, as he put it.

"Are you sure you really want to go there?" Conrad asked back, smiling at his friend. "You know, we all have things we'd rather keep secret. It'd be a real shame if something . . . embarrassing should 'accidentally' get out."

"Oh," said Simon, a look of mock surprise on his face. "Let's just forget I asked."

Everyone laughed. It was becoming a running gag with the group. Simon would pretend to mock Conrad for his lack of control over his ability and Conrad would counter by implying he would tell all of Simon's deepest, darkest secrets. In truth, the two actually respected each other a great deal. And everyone knew that neither was actually serious about the veiled "threats" they made.

"Agent Scarborough," began Frank.

"You know," interrupted Scarborough, "we'll all been together for a while now. I think we can dispense with some of the formalities at least when we aren't in public. We're going to be working pretty closely together in the future. I hope we can all become friends. Why don't you make it Richard?"

"Okay, Richard," replied Frank. "I was just wondering. You keep saying we're going to be investigating terrorists. Does that mean we'll all be going as a group? It strikes me that if we all show up at the same time it might actually spook people. A small army to investigate one or two people?"

"Actually, Jeremy and I will probably be doing most of the initial contacts," said Scarborough. "Depending on the situation we might take one of you with us. It's only after we've identified a possible threat with special talents that the rest of you will become involved and then that will be on case by case basis. Those best qualified to deal with the threat will be assembled. There's no way to really tell how often you will all be working together. Some of you will probably be needed more than others. It all depends on the given situation."

"So some of us may not even be needed," said Wil.

"I doubt that," said Scarborough. "You may not be needed as much as some others but I'm sure you'll all be needed at one time or other. We wouldn't have picked you if we didn't think your skills were going to be needed on occasion."

"You know," said Jeremy, "we've all been working very hard these past few weeks. And this is supposed to be a celebratory dinner. We'll all supposed to relax and enjoy ourselves. We're not supposed to be talking 'shop', as it were. I know you all still have questions. But in my professional opinion the best thing we can all do now is to just forget about the training and the upcoming missions and all of that. Just enjoy yourselves and have a good time."

"I'm for that," said Simon. "Maybe one of these lovely ladies will finally break down and realize I'm not such a bad guy after all. I can show you a real good time if you just give me the chance."

Janet picked up her glass of water and spoke just before she took a drink.

"Speaking of breaks," she said, "I don't think it would be much of a good time having a date from a hospital bed."

"Whoa, tough room," said Simon.

As she sipped her water everyone just laughed.

Jeremy and Scarborough sat in Secretary Napolitano's office. As usual, General Porter was there. He was currently going over some files that were the personnel files of the team. From the look on his face, he wasn't happy with what he was reading.

"Assistant Director Scarborough, Dr. Sloan," began Napolitano, "I understand the training for your team is finished. And the reports I've gotten are somewhat promising. Your team seems to mesh well. And they did reasonably well during the training, according to the instructors."

"Thank you, Madam Secretary," said Scarborough. "They've worked very hard. I think you'll find they'll be quite effective once they've learned to work together."

"Which is problematical at best," interjected Porter.

"General," said Jeremy, "you seem to have been against this idea from the very beginning. Mind if I ask what you have against these people?"

Porter just looked at Napolitano. Privately, he had expressed his reservations about collecting private citizens to do what he viewed as a military objective. He did understand that they needed specialized people for the job. He just wasn't convince that a "mish mash", as he put it, of civilians was the way to go. Napolitano nodded to him.

"First of all, doctor," said Porter, "none of these people are professionals. Oh, I know some of them are professionals in their field. But they aren't professional law enforcement. Or soldiers. They haven't had the necessary training to instill in them the level of discipline needed for an operation of this type."

"Most of them have plenty of discipline," said Jeremy. "You might be surprised just how much discipline it takes to keep something hidden that you're afraid people might ridicule you for. Or worse."

"I meant the type of discipline it takes to follow orders," said Porter. "I'm a military man. I have been for 27 years. My perspective is from a military viewpoint. Soldiers obey orders because they're trained to do so. They have to obey orders without question or lives are put at risk. To be perfectly frank, doctor, I'm not sure any of these people have that kind of discipline."

"In all fairness, general, this isn't exactly a military operation," said Jeremy. "If it were, civilians wouldn't have been brought into it."

"That's true," said Porter. "But look at the group you've put together." He opened one of the files and read from it. "Williard Barnes."

"He prefers Wil," said Jeremy.

"Fine, Wil Barnes. He robs banks for a living. And this one. Simon Rowe. A professional burglar. He's never worked a day in his life. And Conrad Miles. When you found him he was wandering around food courts eating leftover food people had left behind. Our psychologists tell me he exhibits signs of personality disorders that could potentially make him unstable. You're telling me this is the best we have to offer for fighting terrorism?"

"As for Conrad," said Jeremy, "your psychologists are making a diagnosis based on a file. They've never actually spoken with him. And under the circumstances, I might also make the same diagnosis. But I've worked with Conrad on a daily basis for several weeks. I can tell you the file you have on him is not complete. He's a very stable, grounded person. His problems stemmed from his inability to control his special talent, which, I might add, he wasn't even aware he had until I met him."

"What about this one? Mariah Shepherd. She's more concerned for her sister and nephew than she is helping us. Can you guarantee she won't flake out on you in a critical moment because there's a problem that arises with her nephew?"

"Of course not," said Jeremy. "Anymore than anyone can guarantee the actions of another person. I realize that you're used to giving orders and having them obeyed without question. But no one can really guarantee the actions of another person. And no one is responsible for the actions of another person. All I can do is give you my professional opinion that these people will be there for us when we need them."

"I must admit, doctor," said Napolitano, "I do share some of the concerns of General Porter. Although I'm not as suspicious as he is. But it's his job to be suspicious. According to the reports they seem to get alone well. I'm just concerned how they may react in the field, so to speak. And even you must admit there are a couple of them who don't seem to exactly be team players."

"That would depend on the team," said Jeremy. "Ordinarily, I might agree with you. But these people have spent the last few weeks working together and getting to know each other. And people always work better with others they know and get along with. I can tell you that each of these people gets along very well with the others."

"Sure," said Porter. "Sitting around having a drink. Or going out to dinner or something like that. I can tell you from personal experience, doctor, it is considerably different in a combat situation. And let's not fool ourselves. It is very likely the people may be in a combat situation sooner or later. Even Assistant Director Scarborough realizes that. It's no different from a police officer or a soldier. Sooner or later there's going to be a fight. I'm not convinced your 'team' is up to that challenge. And if things fall apart at a critical moment, people could die. A lot of people."

"I'll give you that, General," said Jeremy. "And I'll admit this team isn't a finely honed military unit that you're probably used to working with. They'll probably even make mistakes from time to time. Everyone does.

"But I believe they will all do their best to justify the confidence we've put in them. Each one of them is committed to doing the best they can for us. And I think they'll do just that. Sure, there might be some rough spots in the beginning. But that's true of any new group, even those in the military. But I think in the end you'll be pleased with their performance."

"Good intentions are fine," said Porter. "But it does very little when it comes right down to how they perform. Even people with the best of intentions can come up short when they're under fire. Only after intense training and the installation of discipline can you really begin to count on those under your command. I've seen it happen."

"Everything you say is true," said Jeremy. "And I'll admit they are, as of yet, untested. No one can predict how they're going to react under fire. Until it actually happens. And it is important to find out just how these people are going to perform when it's necessary."

"You have a suggestion, doctor?" Napolitano asked.

"A test," said Jeremy. "Something that will satisfy the general and show what these people are truly capable of."

"What kind of a test?" Porter asked.

"Well, now, General, that's your field of expertise, isn't it?" Jeremy asked. "The military is constantly performing drills and 'mock' battles to prepare their soldiers for the real thing. You're concerned about how the team will perform. Why don't you suggest something that will satisfy you?"

"I'm used to working with soldiers," said Porter. "Men and women who I know what they've been trained to do and I know their strengths and weaknesses. Our 'mock' battles are designed to test that training and identify weak spots so we can improve on them.

"I know next to nothing about these people except what's in their files. Any test I design would be based on my military experience and I can tell you you're people are more than likely to fail at it."

"I have an idea," said Scarborough.

"Go ahead, Assistant Director," said Napolitano. "You've been working with these people from the beginning. And you're not a military man like the general. I'd be very interested in hearing your input on the situation."

Scarborough stood up and walked over to one of the bookcases in Napolitano's office. He reached up and took an item off the bookcase. It was an award of some type made of clear plastic with an oval shape atop a rectangular base. Engraved in the oval shape were two "W's" interposed over each other. Scarborough walked over and sat back down in his chair.

"If I'm not mistaken," he said, "this is the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service. It's awarded by the Smithsonian Institute to individuals in both the public sphere and business who have shown an outstanding commitment to President Woodrow Wilson's dream of integrating politics, scholarship, and policy for the common good."

"That's right," said Napolitano. "It was awarded to me in 2006 when I served as a member of the Democratic Governors Association Executive Committee. I'm very proud of it. Please, be very careful with it."

"As if it were my very own, Madam Secretary," said Scarborough. "Here's what I propose. General Porter puts this some place secure. And it will be the team's mission to get in and get it out."

"That's all?" questioned Porter. "Break in some place and steal that statue? Well, that should be relatively easy. You do have some professional criminals on your team."

"It would seem that isn't much of a challenge," said Napolitano.

"More than you might think, Madam Secretary," said Scarborough. "General Porter can choose any location he wishes. He can use whatever security measures he deems necessary. And the team has to get in, get the statue, and return it here to your office."

"Any security measures?" questioned Porter.

"Any ones you want," said Scarborough. "Call the statue some classified material. The team plays the role of a terrorist cell that is tasked with getting that information and returning it to their superior."