All in all, a neatly tied, no-loose-ends finish to what was shaping up to be a busted play in the depths of the Indian Ocean. In fact, the first time the Russians would even realize they had lost the game would be when the Secretary of State presented the actual crucible, with its serial number intact, to the World Court in The Hague.
XVIII. FREE AGENT
A week later, with the Russian Crucible Affair wrapped up in a tight bow by Brooke, Hiccock was able to focus on the many elements stemming from the murder of Professor Landau. Top of the list was the discovery that a priest had brought down the helicopter. Next, that he, Bill, had obtained the Vatican’s joint statement designed to lower the temperature of rhetoric on the research programs the U.S. was a vested partner in.
The third item on the list still nagged at him. Parnell Sicard had known of his entire secret mission’s particulars, and now Joey had connected him with the Vatican. As a Catholic, Bill had never thought he’d have to choose loyalties between his country and his religion. And what did electric ice have to do with any of this? He’d review all of this with his team. He looked at his watch, and right on time, Cheryl entered with the velvet blue box.
“Everyone’s outside,” Cheryl said as she also handed him a folder.
“The boss?” Hiccock asked as he flipped it opened and checked that all was in order.
“No, the president is in Ohio. You got the Veep.”
“Okay. In here?”
“Yes, the Roosevelt Room has Boy Scouts in it.”
“Fire up the monitor and let’s start.”
Cheryl turned on the video conference monitor that connected the White House to Joey’s set-up in the Paris Embassy, then went outside and returned seconds later with the vice president, the heads of the FBI, CIA, NSA, ONI and the woman of the hour, Brooke.
Bill spoke first. “It is necessary from time to time to acknowledge the extraordinary accomplishments of patriots who risk it all to protect, defend and preserve our American way of life, and insure that the good America does for the rest of the world remains uninterrupted. Mr. Vice President, if you will, sir.”
“Someone once said the job of the vice president is to break the tie in the senate and to inquire as to the health of the president every day. My job today however, is a great pleasure and a defining moment for me as much as it is for you, Agent Burrell. In the ‘house’ here, we know FBI stands for Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity. We are here because you have exceeded those noble standards. Before I read your official commendation, the president has asked me to relay this personal message: he is sorry his schedule didn’t allow him to be here, but he requests your company tomorrow morning for coffee at oh-seven-hundred hours in the residence.”
On the monitor, they saw Joey’s eyes widen as a toothy white smile escaped his “standing at attention” demeanor. Face time with the president was an incredible coup.
The Veep read from the scroll, which would be locked away in a vault as soon as the ceremony ended. “As Commander-in-Chief, I do hereby commend the actions and recognize the valor of Special Agent Brooke Burrell, attached to the White House Quarterback Operations group, by awarding the Medal of Valor for extreme bravery in the execution of her duties, and for her successful capture of invaluable evidence for the United States at extreme risk and peril to her person. Her actions to complete the mission at all costs represent the finest traditions of the service and law enforcement. I express the heartfelt gratitude of millions of Americans who will never know of Agent Burrell’s sacrifice and commitment, but whose security today is more assured due to her unselfish actions. Signed this day, by James Mitchell, President of the United States.”
The vice president looked to Bill, who opened the velvet box and extended it for the vice president to remove the medal, which was on a ribbon to avoid the uncomfortable act of pinning it on the chest of a woman, and slipped it over her head. He shook her hand and said, “Thank you.”
He stepped back and said, “Gentlemen.” On cue all the others in the room snapped a sharp salute to the recipient. A man from the White House library entered. He took the medal on the ribbon, placed it back in the box and sealed it. He then wrote out a receipt for “property” and handed it to Brooke. The medal, awarded in secret for an act of extreme bravery on a secret mission, would go in the vault of the Mitchell presidential library, ostensibly to be opened in seventy-five years. Until then, all Brooke had was a commendation in her file and the receipt for her grandkids to claim in three quarters of a century.
Joey chimed in from Paris. “Brooke, congratulations on getting the recognition I always knew you deserved.”
“Thanks Joey.”
“Take care.” Then Joey leaned forward and the screen reverted to the State Department logo.
As the room cleared, Bill asked Brooke to remain. “You are an outstanding member of the team, Brooke. The meaning of this will only be known to a few, so here.” He handed her a red velvet pouch.
She opened it and found a five-pointed star, exactly like the two on Bill’s desk. She gasped and clutched it to her chest, now understanding the meaning of the “paperweights” on his desk. When she choked up, Bill thought she had been overcome by emotion, but that wasn’t it.
“You okay?”
“Bill, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. Getting blown into the ocean makes you start to see things a little differently. I never thought I would ever say this, but I think it’s getting to the time I should do something else.”
“Whoa. Sounds serious, Brooke, but you’ve earned the right. What do you want, Brooke?”
“I want a shot at some kind of normalcy in my life. I want a home and someone to live there with me who would care if I got blown off a ship. I want what most everyone else takes for granted.”
Bill listened and understood. Brooke had paid her dues many times over. After some silence he spoke from his heart. “When I met Janice, nothing else mattered. Not school, football, the NFL or my doctorate. I just knew what I wanted, and I wanted her.”
“You were lucky she wasn’t a thousand feet under the ocean six months a year.”
“I won’t deny I was lucky, but I was also stupid.”
“What are you saying, that it was wrong for you to want her, or me Mush?”
“No, no, not at all, I was stupid to allow those very things I didn’t care about then to get between us later.”
“But you two are like Mr. and Mrs. America. With a kid right out of central casting.”
“Yeah, but Brooke, I stumbled big time, and then got super lucky when she gave me a second chance to marry her… again.”
“So what are you saying?”
“I guess I am saying that it’s not only about you wanting him and the life, but that you continue making that life your number one priority. Otherwise, like me, you’ll wind up just putting off all those same things that are stopping you from doing it now till later. And that could screw up a good thing. So, as much as you want him, you have to also not want the life you are currently living; otherwise it will creep back in and screw it all up.”
“Okay, I think I got that.”