Eye in the Sky

With his arms wrapped around her she felt safe and she fell asleep with him stroking her hair."

Robinson was as good as his word. He boarded the Lear with a Sentinel in his hand. "Good morning everyone," he said cheerfully. "Introductions are in order. I'm Edward Robinson and I've just won the Pulitzer Prize. Hello Sawyer," he kissed her hand." Care to introduce your friends?"

"This is Rawlins Sloan and his son Lawson. Lawson is my boyfriend," she whispered. "This is my Uncle Mike and that is Agent David Calston of the NSA."

"My God, what is he doing here?"

"He's been helping us," Sawyer said. "I don't think he has much of a future there anymore. He's become human, you see."

Calston flushed. "Thanks a lot, Sawyer. I used to be a reptile Robinson. She kissed me and I became a man."

"I can well believe she might have that power," Robinson admitted. "She's turning some people into toads even as we speak. Take a look." He handed the paper to Sawyer and she sat on Lawson's lap between Rawlins and Calston so they could read. She read aloud so Mike could hear.

"United States NSA Involved in New Spying Scandal," the headline read. Under Robinson's byline, there was a two-column picture of a report of the death of two of the Wormwood children.

"The Sentinel has learned that operation PRISM was only the tip of the iceberg that is the spying program operated by the NSA since 1982. The editor of the Sentinel received documents this week detailing a horror story of drugs administered to children in the womb and continued through their fifth year of life in order to enhance their mental abilities so that they would be able to pluck secrets from the minds of visiting diplomats.

The program was code named Wormwood after the Christian Bible mention of a star that fell into the sea and turned the water bitter. The water has turned bitter indeed for those countries that were targeted by the American NSA. A senior Russian diplomat said yesterday, 'That the American government would stoop to the poisoning and torture of children to learn the secrets of countries with which it has treaties and alliances is beyond belief. We intend to introduce measures in the United Nations today condemning these human rights abuses and this unprecedented abuse of our government.'

The Prime Minister also spoke to this reporter. He said, 'I have never seen a group of documents that filled me with more horror and repugnance. This is the most horrible violation of human rights and dignity we have seen since Nazi Germany. That the Americans planned, no matter how unsuccessfully, to attempt to wrest secrets from the minds of British citizens and the minds the citizens of other countries is a serious breach of diplomatic integrity. We fully support the Russian resolution in the United Nations and intend to recommend that those responsible face trial before the European Court on Human Rights and that they be arrested on entry into any country subject to that court."

The story broke when one of the subjects of the experiments, a eighteen-year-old girl, escaped and told her story to this reporter. Later the Sentinel was able to acquire documents verifying her story.

The selection of candidates for the trials, the injection of psychoactive drugs into them, beginning with fetuses at eight weeks, followed by systematic injections through their fifth years of life, the complete mental and physical breakdown and death of 18 of those children, their torture and physical abuse to induce cooperation and the plans for their use as weapons of espionage against other countries are all contained in the documents the Sentinel has acquired.

Those implicated in the planning include four former directors and the present director of the NSA, three secretaries of defense, at least two presidents, more than 200 present and former employees of the NSA, the director of the FBI and others. It is not yet certain if the current President is implicated. The director of the project, an American chemist and MD is believed to know the location of one of the living subjects who is believed to be insane and is seeking the capture and return of the young girl that escaped and broke the story.

This reporter met with her and a friend in a darkened room and she told her story for the first time. At that time she provided convincing evidence that the Sentinel has been investigating for 8 months.

The young lady is in hiding and reported that she feared that she would be taken back to face further torture should she be captured. The Sentinel has learned that she is being sought by the FBI under the pretense that she is a dangerous computer hacker. We intend to publish further stories and follow up when information from the documents is processed including the names of those implicated by the files. The Sentinel has released the incriminating documents to newspaper offices across the globe and has forwarded them to those governments targeted by the American spy program."

When she finished there was silence for a moment. Lawson sprang up and the group joined him in cheering and shouting. Rawlins opened a cabinet and got out tall, stemmed glasses. He gave one to each of them and removed a bottle of Bollinger Blanc de Noirs Vieilles Vignes Francaises 1997 from the ice it was buried in and poured three fourths of a glass for each of them.

"I think this calls for a celebration," he said. "Sawyer, you're too young to drink champagne, but we won't tell." He held up his glass. "To freedom," he said.

"I hate to cast a damper on your enthusiasm, but you know what Janis Joplin said," Mike spoke from the cockpit.

"Who's Janis Joplin?" Sawyer asked.

"A dead hippie singer," Lawson told her. "What did she say, Mike?"

"Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose." Mike sang it for them. "I pity you kids listening to the junk you listen to. She was a real singer. But I'm telling you we aren't out of the woods yet. We've stirred up the hornet's nest and they're going to be buzzing around looking for someone to sting. We've got to be careful. We can't let anyone know who we are or where we are."

"I agree," Calston said. "We've got to be extra alert. These are some dangerous and powerful people we're talking about. They can't dig us out of Cuba, but they'll try if they find out where we are."

Chapter 17

Mike's prediction turned out to be accurate. Agent Brown found the hotel they had been staying in four hours after they checked out. He was able to trace their train passage back to London. There he discovered that he was too late again and his quarry had already departed. He checked in with Armstrong and satellite tracking revealed that they were heading for Cuba.

"What do you want me to do, Director Armstrong?" he asked.

"I've arranged military transport to Guantanamo," Armstrong answered. "When you get there, infiltrate into Cuba and track them down. You'll be beyond our reach and we won't be able to contact you and you'll have no backup. Do you think you can eliminate the asset?"

"I thought the idea was to recover the asset?"

"There's no way to extract her. This has gotten out of control, Brown. We're closing up shop. Tie up this lose end."

Brown and his team boarded the MAC flight to Guantanamo and arrived only a few hours after the Sloan's. They left the base under the cover of darkness and scattered into the night.

Armstrong got Dr. Stephen Watts at Groom Lake on the phone. "Watts, we're shutting down Wormwood. There has been a serious leak and we need to cover our tracks. Operation Wormwood is over. We're going to have to start all over again. With the advances you've made we should get a higher percentage of useful assets. You've done good work Watts and the country is safer because of you. Put Agent Jackson on the phone and pack your research."

Jackson answered and Armstrong laid out his plan. "I want every trace of Wormwood gone today. Clean the place up and get Watts to Guantanamo."

"What will I do with him when we get there, Director?"

"Put him to work on the detainees. Maybe we can get something useful out of them."

"What about the remaining asset?"

"Terminate it. It was never useful anyway. It was just an unintended side effect of what we were trying to do."

Agent Jackson saw the installation sanitized and everything put on a plane for Guantanamo and went to clean up the last piece. He approached the large door cautiously with his weapon drawn. The door was very peculiar. It was covered with a thick sheet of rubber and there was no electronic number pad. Instead it was locked with a large key. Jackson took the key from his pocket and inserted it in the lock.

As the latch clicked open an inferno of electricity surged from the key through his body and his lifeless form fell to the floor. The door swung open and a tall young man, flaming red hair hanging to his shoulders, stepped out and looked down at Jackson's body. He nudged the body with his toe and Jackson's arm flopped over. The boy glanced at the nametag. Marcus Jackson, he read. He liked that name. He would be Marcus. He walked to the number pad at the end of the corridor. He touched it with one finger. It exploded in a shower of sparks and the door slid open. Marcus walked out onto the desert. He looked up at the stars and laughed.

The president of the United States was not laughing. He sat at a table in his briefing room with his cabinet spread out on each side.

"McFarland, what the hell is going on over at the NSA? Tell me about operation Wormwood."

"Mr. President, we decided it would be best for you not to know. If this were ever to come out, you needed to be able to distance yourself from the fallout. This was not your program, Sir. We did not inform your predecessor either. He never knew and we didn't intend for you to know. I am accountable for this program, as was my predecessor. There is no stain on your administration, Mr. President.

"No stain," The President exploded, "What do you mean no stain? The most enormous diplomatic disaster in the history of this country explodes during my administration and you're talking about stains and 'necessary distance?' This is a fucking outrage. You've been torturing children from fifteen on down to infants and you are talking about stains? You've been experimenting on babies and you say there's no stain? The whole thing is fucking putrid. We're all covered in filth. What, in God's name, were you doing? We'll all be lucky to stay out of jail. We deserve to be in jail. You deserve to rot in hell, and everyone that planned this, executed it or knew about it and didn't tell me deserves to rot in hell. I deserve it for ever thinking you were a human being. You are through, McFarland. Everyone you know is through. Hell, I'm probably through. The bloodsuckers over on Capitol Hill are going to impeach me, and the hell of it is, they're right. You should leave now, McFarland before I strangle you with my own hands. Get out of my sight."

"Mr. President," McFarland began.

The President leaped to his feet. "I said get out."

McFarland picked up his case and left without another word.

The President sat down and covered his face with his hands. He sat in silence for a moment. He raised his head. "Did any of the rest of you know about this?"

The secretary of state spoke up. "I knew. Let me explain."

The president held up his hand. "Anyone else?"

The Homeland Security Director and the Attorney General held up their hands.

"You're fired," the President said, "get out."

The two men and the woman left without a word.

"If I find out you knew and aren't telling me it's going to get fucking ugly," he spoke to the group that was left. "Now, what are we going to do about this?"

The press secretary spoke up: "The only way to salvage anything is to get ahead of this Mr. President. We've got to make a statement. We've got to make it look like the NSA is a rogue agency and that this isn't your fault. We tell them about this meeting and the people you just fired. You've got to apologize to the countries that were target in this operation."

"We don't have to make it 'look like' anything," the President said. "It is a rogue agency. I guess I always knew that. We've got to find this girl, ladies and gentlemen. We've got to find her and get down on our knees and beg her to forgive us. I need her to stand beside me and tell the world she forgives us. I just fired the people who would best be able to find her."

He turned to the CIA director. "Can you find her Pete?"

"Yes, if NSA knows where she is I can find out. Give me the authority and I can clean house over there."

"Susan?" the President turned to his chief of staff.

"I'm on it," she said.

"I'll be writing a speech. The first priority of the Government of the United States is finding this girl. Drop anything else you are doing and find this girl. Pull every string you have, call in every favor you've got. We're closed for business until we find her. Got it?"

There was a chorus of affirmation and the President lowered his head back into his hands.

Chapter 18

Sawyer and Lawson were lounging near the pool. She was stunning in an electric blue bikini and he couldn't keep his hands off of her. He was applying lotion to her back and he probed and rubbed the muscles beneath the golden skin. He massaged the lotion into her honey colored thighs and slipped his hand under the bikini bottoms to cup the twin globes underneath.

She giggled, "I think I'm covered there, Lawson."

"Yeah," he said, "but I want to uncover it."

She laughed and rolled over. "I don't think the staff would approve. Go jump in the pool, naughty boy, and cool off."

"Couldn't you adjust them a little?" he complained.

"I could, but I won't. Now stop it Lawson." He was sliding his hands up toward her breasts.

He got up and did a cannonball into the pool, sending a wave of water splashing over her. She shrieked and jumped in on top of him trying to dunk his head under. He resisted and wrapped his arms around her. Her feeble resistance was soon overcome and her breasts were flattened against his chest. She offered him her lips and his hands slid down to cup the firm cheeks and he pulled her closer as he tasted her mouth. She felt his excitement and reached down to caress him. He groaned and his grip weakened and she slipped away, splashing him and swam across the pool and lifted herself out.

She picked up a towel and patted herself dry. Lawson joined her and they walked back toward the stairs leading to their suite of rooms. As they made the turn to the final flight Sawyer put her hand on his arm and stopped.

"What's wrong baby?" he asked.

"He's here," she screamed. "Brown is here."

"Rawlins, Mike, Dave," she screamed into their minds. "Help us, Brown is here! Watts is here!"

She panicked and ran back down the flight and turned the corner. She screamed again. Watts stood on the stairs with a gun pointed at her.

Lawson was engaged. No sooner had Sawyer screamed than Brown sprang down the stairs from where he had been concealed and struck him in the stomach. Lawson absorbed the blow. He had been hit harder in MMA matches by tougher men. He spun and struck Brown on the cheek with a back fist. The Agent dropped as if he had been shot. Lawson heard shots fired upstairs but he had no time to investigate. He dropped a knee into Brown's chest and heard ribs crack. He trapped one arm between his legs, rolled and trapped the other under his left armpit and Brown was on top of him, facing up, in a crucifix. Lawson hammered Brown's face three times with his right elbow. The man went limp and Lawson struck with his elbow seven more times. He heard bones shattering and then Sawyer screamed again.

He released Brown's limp body and leaped down to the next landing. Watts stood behind Sawyer with one arm around her neck and his gun to her temple. "Back up," he snarled. "I'm taking her with me."

A strange vacant look came over his face and he began to lower his gun. As he did, a form dropped on him from the balcony above and he was crushed to the ground, his head twisted at an impossible angle. Rawlins landed on the stairs and his leg broke with an audible snap. He fell and rolled down to the next landing. He attempted to rise and Brown's fifth agent shot him three times from the bottom of the stairs.

The agent spun around under the impact of Mikes slugs, fired from the platform above and fell face down. Rawlins crumpled to landing and Sawyer screamed again. The team was eliminated but Rawlins was badly hurt.

Sawyer ran to him and sat down, cradling his head in her lap. "Help us," she screamed again. "Lawson, Mike, help us."

Rawlins looked up at her. "Sawyer, I don't think I can walk, honey. I think my leg is broken. Help me up."

"You just stay right there," she sobbed. "Mike and Lawson are coming."

"My chest hurts," he told her. "Did I hurt my chest?"

"You've been shot, Rawlins. Here's Lawson. We'll get you inside and call an ambulance."

Mike came thumping down the stairs and he and Lawson carried Rawlins up the stairs and put him on Calston's bed at the top.

Mike tore Rawlins' shirt apart. Three oozing holes appeared. Mike wiped away the blood with a washcloth and glanced at Calston. He shook his head.

"Why are you doing that?" Sawyer cried. "Call the ambulance!"

"Sawyer, it won't do any good." He put his arms around her. "He's done, Sawyer."

She pushed him away and ran to Rawlins. "No," she screamed. "No, No," she took his head in her little hands. "Rawlins," she shook him a little. "Rawlins, you can't die. You promised me you'd fight."

He opened his eyes and looked up at her. Lawson knelt beside them. Rawlins eyes moved to his son's face. He reached up one arm and stroked his cheek. "Lawson, you're a good boy, I love you son, and you've always made your mother and me proud. Where is Kimberly?"

Tears were streaming down Lawson's face. "I love you too, Pop. I'm the luckiest boy alive that you're my dad." He took Rawlins' hand and held it between his own.

Rawlins looked back at Sawyer. "Sawyer, you told me not to make promises I couldn't keep. There are some fights you can't win. I was never going to last long anyway. You know that, honey. Did you see the way I crushed Watts? He won't ever hurt you again."

Sawyer shook her head. "I don't care about any of that. Don't die Rawlins. I still need you. Lawson still needs you. Don't die!" She looked at the three men. "Do something," she begged.

They looked helplessly at her and Rawlins' eyes fluttered and rolled up.

"No, no, Rawlins, stay with me. I won't let you die," she sobbed hoarsely. She reached out and enveloped his mind. It receded from her and she clung desperately to him. "Lawson, help me!"

She brought Lawson into her cloud and they both clung to Rawlins consciousness. It was withdrawing, almost like a corridor closing in around them. They continued to hold him and suddenly their minds were flooded with soft warmth.

"Lawson, Sawyer, listen to me. Kids, I love you both but you've got to let me go. Something is waiting for me here. I think it's your mother, Lawson. There's something else too. I don't know what it is, but it loves me. It loves you too and it's telling me that you need to let me go. I'm not gone, my beautiful children. I'll be here waiting for you with your mother. There's a letter on my computer. Read it Lawson. Now, you've got to let me go."

They felt their minds gently but firmly detached from Rawlins and he faded away. Sawyer rose and clung to Lawson. "He isn't gone, Lawson," she sobbed. "He's waiting for us."

She went to Mike and sobbed into his chest. "He told me that he loved me Mike."

"I know, I know he did, Sawyer."

"Do you remember once you asked me if I was a believer?"