A female voice answered, “Hello?”
Wade said, “Hi my name is Wade Hanna, and I am a friend of Tom’s. He deployed off our submarine in the Gulf. I was just calling to see if he was okay.”
Cheryl said, “Tom said you might be calling. Yes, Tom’s fine. He got back from the Gulf and we had a few days together. After Cuba, he was deployed to Vietnam. He’s over there now somewhere with his team.”
“I’m glad he’s okay. Please let him know I called when you talk to him.
Cheryl said, “I sure will. We just had our baby.”
Wade had forgotten about the baby. “Congratulations! That’s great,” he said.
“The baby’s crying now. I have to run. Thanks so much for calling.”
They hung up. Wade was pleased that Tom had made it but wondered what it was like in Vietnam.
Wade’s next call was to a downtown New Orleans prefix and the number given to him by Pisano. Wade asked for Mr. Jenkins by name and soon the voice came on the line, “Jenkins here.”
Wade replied, “My name is Wade Hanna. I received a message from Detective Pisano to give you a call.”
“Yes, thank you for calling. I would like a chance to meet you and discuss a proposal I have.”
Wade said, “Okay. Where do you want to meet?”
“Do you know the little park at the lake with benches that are right on the water near the light house?”
“Sure,”
Jenkins replied, “Does this Thursday at around three o’clock work for you?”
Wade replied, “Sure.”
Wade was at the meeting site early. His instincts told him to check it out first. On his way to the park, he passed Ronda’s Salon but didn’t stop. The meeting place was just a couple of miles from the beauty shop. Wade saw that the parking area for the little park was empty. It was late November, and there was a cold wind coming off the lake.
Wade walked over to the railing at the edge overlooking the water. A colorful row of boats were docked on both sides. The wind was moving the calm water around the boats reflecting abstract images in the sunlight. Small ripples of red, yellow, blue and white made mesmerizing patterns. His mind began to wonder about who this Jenkins guy might be and why he was interested in him. As he looked at the small colored ripples in the water he asked himself where his life was going.
Wade hadn’t had time to think much in the past few months, especially about such things as the future and what he would be doing. He was just trying to survive. He thought back and pondered what his life had been and how little control he had had over it. He was going on nineteen years old and hadn’t lived much of that life that wasn’t associated with near-death experiences. He thought about never really having a childhood. He had to grow up quickly and was not like other kids his age.
In terms of the future, Wade didn’t know where he was going from here, but knew that if he kept tempting fate, he would be dead before he turned 21 — maybe even before he turned 19. He thought perhaps his fate was to die young. He reflected on how easily one wrong move, or poor luck, would leave him in a grave like Ed. He also reflected that he wasn’t sure anyone in his life would really care or understand. He could count his friends that were still alive on one hand.
Wade realized there was some self pity in his thoughts, but what really concerned him was that he didn’t feel he had any direction to his life. He decided to stop dwelling on these issues and turn his attention to the nice boats docked before him. He soon imagined he would like to have enough money one day to own one and what they might be like. He quickly caught himself saying, “That was dreaming.”
A dark sedan pulled up in the lot and a slender man in an overcoat and fedora got out and started walking toward him. As he got closer the man asked, “Are you Mr. Hanna?”
Wade nodded and said, “Yes.”
Jenkins continued, “My name is Walter Jenkins. I am coordinator of the Inter-Agency Task Force in New Orleans. We are a government agency that does work in the intelligence area.” Hearing this line, Wade thought Pisano was right. He sensed this guy was a spook and Jenkins was not his real name.
Jenkins said, “Let me give you my card,” and handed Wade his card, which only had his name, the same number Wade already had, and the words Inter-Agency Task Force.
Wade became more direct and asked, “So what does your agency Task Force want with me?”
“Well you were recommended to us as someone who may be interested in working for the government.”
“Who recommended me? I have no idea what work you’re talking about.”
Jenkins replied, “It’s good to have those questions. Let me explain. You have been in the Navy now for what, two years?”
Wade said, “That’s about right.”
Jenkins continued, “Your scores on the Navy tests that got you into submarine school were very high. Much higher than average. The agencies my department coordinates do primarily surveillance work and some undercover work. We get a lot of people from the Navy who receive high scores on their tests. We find someone like you in the military ranks, and then we look into their service record. We interview people they served with, people whose command they were under. We do background checks to make sure they have not been in any trouble. We interview these individuals to see if they like what we have to offer. We see if they have any interest in a job opportunity and career with the government serving their country.”
“After doing all this, and only if there’s a fit, we make them an offer. The person can accept the offer or reject it, no questions asked. There are no obligations or pressure for accepting the offer. We like what we see in you and think you would be ideal for one of the services we coordinate. At this point, if you are open to it I would like to begin discussing an offer to you.”
Wade said, “Okay, what did you have in mind?”
“I’m just going to outline the basics of an offer and let you think about it. There is nothing in writing at this point, and if at some point you find the offer acceptable, we’ll put it in writing, and you’ll be employed by the federal government through one of our agencies.” Jenkins continued, “Well Mr. Hanna, as I understand it you have approximately two years left to serve in the Navy Reserve. That includes your requirement for attending meetings at your base every month. You have to take certain technical classes to maintain your rating. You must serve at sea for two weeks every summer. The most important part of your obligation with the Navy is that you are available on-call for active duty at a moment’s notice, am I correct?”
“Yes.”
Jenkins said, “You also receive very modest pay while serving. It’s my understanding you were just called to active duty in the Gulf. I’m sure you are aware of our country’s buildup in the draft for the Vietnam War?”
Wade acknowledged by nodding yes.
“My proposal would include making all of your remaining obligations to the Navy go away.”
“I’m listening.”
“I understand you’re finishing your third year of high school at St. John’s. Is that correct?”
Wade nodded again.
“I assume you would like to complete your high school at St. John’s and even perhaps go to college? My proposal would cover that. In other words, you would be working part-time for the government while you finished high school, and if you wanted, also while you attend a college of your choice. We would continue that part-time arrangement throughout college. By the way, under my proposal you would be paid for your services during all this time. We don’t pay the highest rates, but I can assure you our pay would be substantially more than what the Navy is paying you now. If you decide to go to college, we typically cover the tuition as well, while you continue to work for us part time.”