Final Winter

‘Good. I also want an interim report within a week on the shooter: who he was, and how in hell he knew where to go and how to get there. I know you won’t have all those answers, but I’ll want some of them.’

‘You’ll get it, sir.’

The Director turned his attention to the woman at his side and said, ‘One more question, Leslie, if I may.’ ‘Certainly, sir,’ the NRO woman said.

The Director said, ‘Who killed the intruder?’

‘Simon Hannity. On loan from the Marine Corps.’

The Director nodded. ‘Why?’

The NRO woman looked confused, but Adrianna had an idea where this was going.

‘Sir?’ the NRO woman asked, her voice no longer so confident.

It seemed like the Director was trying to keep his temper in check as he spoke clearly and slowly. ‘Why was the intruder shot and killed? Why wasn’t he captured? Or wounded?’

She said, ‘Simon felt that it was the only option available to him. And…’

‘And what?’

Her voice quivered. ‘Simon had been talking to one of the personnel on the ground floor. He had heard the grenade blasts, the shots, the screams. He… wanted that man dead.’

‘Don’t we all?’ the Director said. Then he leaned forward: ‘But only after we capture the fucker and wring him dry and find out everything we can about him. Do you get that?’

The NRO woman nodded. The Director said, ‘I want this Simon character released from service, and sent back to the Marine Corps with our thanks. By tomorrow. All right?’

The NRO woman nodded again. Adrianna felt sorry for her. It was the only thing the poor woman could do.

But her feelings of sympathy quickly evaporated as the Director narrowed his gaze, focused on her and said, ‘Adrianna? You’re up.’

Adrianna activated a program from her laptop as she stood up. ‘Thank you, sir.’

~ * ~

When Adrianna first started, she was so tired that she fumbled some of the words and, once, a PowerPoint slide was triggered too early. But as she continued talking she found that she gathered strength and confidence, and she laid out her presentation for Final Winter. She talked about the intelligence findings, the interpretation of these findings, and the recommendations from the other members of her team. She would pause occasionally to see if anyone was interested in asking any questions, but the only response she got from the Director was, ‘Go on, please.’

So she did, right up to the very end. She stood still, her legs not quivering at all, a tiny victory but one she was pleased to have.

The Director said, ‘Anybody have any questions?’

Silence.

‘I have a couple, though,’ he said.

‘Certainly, sir.’

‘General Bocks. Do you think you’ll have any problem bringing him on board?’

‘No, sir, I don’t,’ Adrianna said. ‘I know of his past participation in Agency missions. I’m sure he can be convinced to take part in this one.’

‘And you’re calling it Final Winter?’

‘Yes, sir.’

A slight smile. ‘Seems fairly ominous.’

‘The whole matter is ominous, sir.’

The Director scratched at his chin, looked up at the nearest plasma screen. ‘And you’ll be ready to deploy in just under a month?’

‘That’s correct, sir.’

Another scratch of the chin. ‘And I want to be sure that this is understood, because if word gets out over what’s being attempted, there’ll be merry hell to pay…you understand that, right?’

Adrianna nodded. ‘That was the focus of many, many hours of discussion, sir.’

‘I’m sure.’

She waited, the trembling still not there. Would it end now? Would it?

‘But there’s one more question I have, Adrianna, before you’ll get my approval.’

She couldn’t speak. She just waited.

‘This…bacterial agent that you’re proposing to disperse from these aircraft: it’s completely safe, am I right?’

Adrianna took a breath. ‘Absolutely, sir. It’s been field-tested in many other areas, over the years, by private medical personnel and biowarfare defense units of our military. As I mentioned in the briefing, it’s a variant of the b. sofia bacterium, completely benign to human ingestion. But it perfectly mimics the possible dispersion of an airborne anthrax attack. With the ground sensing stations that are already in place in these target cities, we can detect the bacterium once it’s been dispersed and be able to design computer models that will enable us to better prepare for when we’re attacked with real anthrax. It’s a large-scale research exercise, sir, one that has the potential to give us very valuable defense information in a short span of time.’

The Director looked right at her, like he was trying to psych her out or something, and she stared right back at him. Bring it on, she thought, bring it on. I’ve got everything in place. Everything.

He said, ‘When are you planning to see General Bocks?’

‘Two days, maybe three.’

He said, ‘Good. You look tired. Take tomorrow off. And Final Winter…Adrianna, it’s approved.’

She could barely speak. ‘Thank you, sir. Thank you.’