Starting from Scratch (12 page)

“I think you’ll find me far more willing to help
along those lines than you may expect. I have no intention of
watching my former country abused by anyone. For instance, I am
sending you a list of people who are not on your terrorist watch
list and why I think they should be. Also, I will provide the
location of every terrorist leader in the world that we can find.
How you deal with them is up to you.”

Hardesty cursed and told him, “Damn it, Hurst, you
make it hard to like you and difficult to dislike you. You’re no
politician that’s for sure.”

“Mr. Hardesty, I take that as the supreme
compliment.”

After a long pause, a soft woman’s voice spoke up.
“Mr. Hurst, Marge Chalmers here. I’d like to join you up there. As
I learn what you have up there and how it works, I can direct the
research down here. I know so many people in so many different
scientific fields. It could really speed up the effort to protect
us all.”

Bet Fulwiler grabbed his wrist and gleefully wrapped
on it repeatedly, as she beamed a huge smile and nodded her head.
She remained silent, but just barely.

Mike told her, “Ma’am, the same goes for you. I would
be honored to have you up here, but only if the President allows
it.”

Without hesitation, the President agreed. “Mr. Hurst,
you seem to be whittling away at my staff. I must admit that makes
me nervous.”

“Sir, I recommend that the ten people you send me
have the procedure performed down there. The med units we are
sending you will handle the upgrades and you will have a chance to
see for yourself how difficult it can be. But, you’ll also be able
to spend some time with those people, before you send them on their
way. Hopefully, that would alleviate some of your concerns.”

“I’m not sure it will be possible to completely
remove my worries, but it might make me feel a little better about
it.”

“Mr. Pierpoint, I’ll send you that list of terrorist
and you can distribute it as you wish. Oh, you might want to act
quickly on four of them, whom I’ll highlight. They’re just days
away from attempting an assault on the New York City subway
system.”

“I’ll get right on it. May I ask how you came across
this information?”

“Certainly. I had my technical staff monitor all
communications, just like the NSA. The difference is in how we
analyze the data.”

The President told him, “I’m sure the NSA would like
to have any insight you could provide as to how that works. Why
don’t you provide us with a copy of that program.”

“I will, when the time is right, Mr. President. As
your psychological analyst have no doubt told you, I have a
predilection for being opposed to the abuse of power, not that
anyone on this call would be likely to be in that category, I’m
sure.”

Mike waited, and when no one said anything, he told
them, “Gentlemen, I suggest that we talk again about all of this
tomorrow. That should give you time to consider a number of issues.
I’ll have a timetable for you, as to when I expect to arrive. May I
suggest that we meet at Nellis Air Force Base? I believe the Base
commander and his Exec. Should have a crack at me, too.”

There were chuckles on the other end, as the
President said, “Very well, Mr. Hurst. Tomorrow it is.”

Mike cut the connection, knowing that Bambi was
recording everything they said, after he left the line.

He told his staff, “Well, let’s hope they can come up
with some ideas we overlooked. In the mean time, I want everyone
working with the new people to prepare them for upgrading.”

Chapter
7

Bet waited until she was sure the connection had been
broken, and then she quite simply exploded with joy. “Oh Mike, I’m
so happy that Marge is heading up here. You didn’t know it, but
she’s my Goddaughter and I’ve known her parents since way before
she was born. She’s brilliant and really knows her stuff. We’ll
have so much catching up to do.”

But Mike did not have the happy reaction Bet had
expected.

“Bambi, why the hell didn’t you tell me about this
connection between these two.”

“General, I’ve looked at every relationship that is
traceable by data bases. I knew about Godparents, but I wasn’t
aware of the importance of Godparents, in the human cultural
equation. So, I didn’t add it to my evaluations.”

“Well get on it, Bambi. We want to know everything
about every person we invite to join us.”

“I’m already working on the new algorithm, Sir.”

Bet tapped his hand and rather harshly, for a normal
human. “Mike, don’t you think you were a bit rude with her?”

Max and Wayne were surprised to see the woman take
Mike to task. One didn’t speak like that to a superior officer.

Mike coldly responded, “We can’t afford to make
mistakes, Bet, and you know it. This one was fortunate and will
probably prove to be beneficial. But the next mistake may prove
fatal for all of us.”

She said, “You’re right, of course. In the scientific
world, we hate to make mistakes because it can prove to be a
terrible waste of our time, sometimes years of research can be
turned upside down, due to a single oversight. It’s extremely
frustrating. So we usually triple-check everything, before
proceeding to the next stage. I can see that you don’t have the
luxury of surviving any mistakes, in your business.”

“That’s true, Bet.”

He assumed she was through but he was wrong.

“That said, I still think you could cut Bambi some
slack. After all, she doesn’t have the knowledge of human
interaction like we do.”

Mike realized that Bet was still chastising him for
scolding Bambi. She was merely going about it in a kinder way. Damn
but she was clever. That’s exactly the sort of thing Sherry would
have done.

He assured her, “I’ll be a little gentler the next
time, OK? But this is how anyone learns, including kids.”

She smiled, having won her point.

Mike asked her, “Did Marge go to Stanford, as you
did?”

“No. She went to MIT.”

Then she pushed on to another subject. “So, you’ve
done back ground checks on everyone. I assume that includes me. How
did I check out?” She was batting her eyelashes at him, in an
obvious flirtatious and humorous manner.

He grinned and warned her, “Young Lady, flirting with
the boss will not get you a raise in pay. As for checking you out,
you better damn well believe it. I remember reading about some of
the men who worked on the Manhattan Project; you know, the first
atomic bomb. A few of them had strong communist leanings and it
affected the working relationships, with their peers. I won’t have
any one up here who is pursuing their own agenda, in order to
benefit one nation, or political agenda over another.”

“I’m pleased to announce that each one of the
scientists checked out just fine. And you have proven to be a very
special prize. You have a clean record with the FBI, the DIA and a
number of government sub-agencies, for whom you did some mighty
fine work. Your personal history is outstanding, only married twice
and,” he paused awkwardly, before adding, “You’re practically a
saint, compared to the politicians.”

He expected her wrath to come boiling to the surface.
But it didn’t.

“In a voice as sweet as his old grandmother she
asked, “And what about your past? Who checked you out?”

“No one, because I was the first.”

With a hint of anger, she followed up with, “It’s
going to come up eventually, General Hurst. Perhaps you should have
an impartial committee look into your history.”

He laughed and told her, “By God you don’t back down
from difficult situations, do you, Elizabeth? OK, how about this.
Bambi, I want you to work with Dr. Fulwiler and dig up everything
you can on me. Don’t hide anything from her.”

Bambi responded, “General, what about those missions
that didn’t really happen, in South America?”

“Everything, Bambi. And if she wants you to look into
my past in an area you haven’t thought of, don’t argue with her,
just do it.”

“Got it, Sir.”

Bet smiled and softly told him, “Thank You, Mike”

So, he thought, she calls me General when she’s angry
and Mike when she gets her way. He knew she had played him, but he
didn’t really mind.

The fact was there would be many people who wanted to
know what gave him the right to lead. Learning about his background
would help to alleviate some concerns and, no doubt, raise a few
others. It would work in two ways; first: if his history was an
open book, no one could create a false history that would harm his
image and second: it said something about what kind of leader he
was, honest, confident and above board.

Sir, Al Benson wishes to speak with you. He’s
waiting just outside.

Send him in.

Al was looking extremely young and fit, as he marched
into the conference room. When he stopped, he almost threw Mike a
salute, but caught himself.

Mike smiled and told him, “Don’t feel pregnant, Al. I
still have a hard time not saluting General Kolbe. So, what’s
up?”

“I’m sorry to report that only about half of the men
we went after have shown serious interest in being upgraded. After
some honest talk with them, I think it boils down to two things.
They would rather be with their families and enjoy the life they
missed out on. Also, they don’t like the prospect of going back
into combat again. I can’t blame them, General. Look at what
happened to them the last time.”

Mike looked at Al and asked, “What about you, Al? How
do you feel about it?”

“Well sir, when I first agreed to be upgraded, I was
kind of gung-ho. Now that I’ve had a chance to really think about
it, I’m not too fucking happy at the thought of getting blowed up
again.” Then he looked toward Bet and added, “Pardon me,
ma’am.”

Bet seemed upset. She told Al, “I’m not bothered by a
few curse words, but I am concerned about losing out on a few good
men.” She tilted her head and asked, “So, do you intend to leave or
stick with us.”

Al looked at Mike. “I didn’t think I would be allowed
to leave the TSN, once I had been upgraded. You mean I can go, if I
want to?”

Mike looked him in the eye and said, “Al, you know we
need you and every one of those men. But, I’ve had a chance to
rethink my original plan and I can understand how difficult this
decision is for all of us.

“So, here’s the new rule. Anyone can leave, after the
upgrade, but for security purposes, they have to work for us on
Earth, at Nellis Air Force Base. After a year, maybe less, I
believe the word will be out about this. Then it won’t matter. When
that happens, they can go wherever they wish.

“However, there will be very hard and fast rules
about using their new strength and mental abilities. They can’t use
it against our cause, the cause of the US, or any other
nation.”

Bambi suggested, “Sir, I can have their comm units
negated, so they will not be able to use them and it won’t hurt a
thing. They’d still have their young bodies, their quicker minds
and their greatly enhanced strength, but they would have no access
to me, or anyone else through the comm unit.”

Mike agreed. “I like that idea; we’ll do it. Also, if
any of them pursue a criminal activity, the TSN will bring its full
capabilities on board to bring them in. I will request that the
President allow them to be prosecuted by us, out here and to serve
their punishment out here, as well. They absolutely may not become
mercenaries. Oh, and I don’t want to see any of them become a
strong man in the circus.”

Al grinned and acknowledged, “Alright General. But,
for the record, I’m in. I figure whether I go, or I stay and fight,
the whole planet will be fighting the Saurans in two years
anyway.”

Bet added a disturbing truth. “If what Jo and Bambi
tell us is accurate, we won’t even get a chance to fight them on
the ground. They’ll attack from space and destroy the planet in a
few days. We’ll just sit and watch as region after region is
eliminated, until finally, everyone on the Earth has been
murdered.”

Al’s brow furrowed, and then he smiled. “Dr.
Fulwiler, that’s a horrible thing to contemplate, but it’s a great
selling point for us in our recruiting efforts. Let me delicately
plant that seed in the minds of those leaning toward a return to
Earth. Once they see the possibility and horror of total genocide,
they just might want to go down swinging. I can sell that
concept.”

Mike told him, “Al, you’re a walking poster boy for
the Terran Space Navy.”

Al cringed, “Does it have to be Navy. Couldn’t it be
the Terran Space Military, or better yet Army?”

Max smiled broadly and told him, “I hate it too, Al.
But the reality is that this war is going to be fought primarily in
space.”

Then he added a grim prophecy. “If we have any luck
at all, we’ll be taking this war to the Saurans and that will mean
fighting them on other planets. So you see, Al, we may yet have a
serious need for a Terran Army component. But we must not allow
inter-service rivalry to effect our actions, as it did in World War
Two, or Korea.”

“Hell, I know that. It’s just hard not to think like
a ground pounder when I was one before I got blowed up.”

Al turned to leave and Bet jumped up, saying, “Wait
for me, Al. I want to come along and talk with those people, too. I
think a woman’s touch on this might be of some help.”

Al told her, “I’m not so sure about that, Ma’am.”

She put her hands on her hips and stubbornly
announced, “Now you listen here, soldier. A woman, in the early
years of their lives, raised these men. So when a woman tells them
that she knows that they are the only chance she has against flesh
eating aliens, I think it could give them a different
perspective.”