COLONISTS
By; Gerald A. Polley
Part 3
The Conclusion
The Ancient One materialized in the secluded area of a very large
military base, straightened his uniform and punched out a code on the
door to a shed. As he entered he viewed several computer
stations. A voluptuous blond was working at one in just her shirt
and trousers. When she saw The Ancient One she stood up and
reached for her jacket. "As you were!" The Ancient One snapped.
"Yes General!" the woman replied and sat back down.
"Are you always here, lieutenant?" The Ancient One asked as he went to
a computer. "Now let's see," he moaned, "where's that
police chief's address? Nevada, Nevada, Nevada! Ah!
There it is! Well, lieutenant?"
"Not
really, sir!" the lieutenant answered. "It just seems to be pure
circumstance that I'm here when you show up! These old units need
a lot of maintanence. And we're short of work spaces. I
slip in here once and a while to catch up on some things."
The Ancient One nodded. "Anybody been asking questions about me?" he asked.
The lieutenant smiled. "Who hasn't sir?" she continued,
"The Bureau, The Agency, National, Immigration! Everybody wants
to know where you receive your communications. They want access
to your traffic. Our General nearly messed himself when one of
them used your real name in the duty room in front of dozens of
people! I think the guy got demoted when he got back to his
headquarters. And they've all been told if they try to violate
our security no matter who they work for, they'll find their butts in
prison! We're top eschelon, highest security. Nobody
monitors anybody's communications here. But do me a favor,
sir? Do something about that damned ass!"
"Which one, lieutenant?" The Ancient One asked.
The one that likes boys," the lieutenant answered.
The Ancient One laughed. "That could be several!" he remarked.
"But I think I know who you mean. Time will take care of
him. I have infinite patience! Speaking of him, here he is again!
Nothing new, though, same old crap. Here's something
interesting! My wife's sister. What's she up to?"
"Ick!" the lieutenant gasped, "Please tell me she's nowhere around here!"
The Ancient One smiled. "Naw!" he remarked. "She's doing a pretty
good job in Washington. Just her kind of slime! But she is being
fairly good for The Goddess Of Death. She hasn't killed anybody
lately, just utterly humiliated them. I should've known she was
responsible for that! Now, a couple more messages and I'll be out
of here!"
"Sir," the lieutenant sighed, "I've heard
stories you're really going public, trying to get into the main
stream. That you may start getting military personnel. I'd
really enjoy working for you if the opportunity presents itself.
And sir, you should start showing another star. Don't ask me why,
they've increased your rank!"
The Ancient One looked at her rather bewildered. "Really?" he muttered. The lieutenant nodded.
"And sir, if your ax swinging friend might be around..."
The Ancient One smiled again and simply nodded and began to type.
"General, Israeli Air Command. From General Norman Star, US Air
Force. Strongly advise you beef up your air defenses on the
northern border, especially around The Golan Heights region.
There is a high possibility your positions there will receive air
attacks in the near future. End communication."
He brought up another email. "To Commander Of Security, Jordanian
Royal Palace. What we discussed last month now higher
probability. Take all appropriate action. High probability you're
next for uprisings. GNS."
The
Ancient One typed two more messages, then shut down the computer.
"Sir!" the lieutenant asked, "is it true they respond to you as rip off
attempts?"
The Ancient One smiled at her. "Now, lieutenant!" he teased, "You don't think I'd violate security, do you?"
The lieutenant smiled back. "No sir!" she giggled. She came
to attention and saluted. The Ancient One returned the salute and
quickly departed.
Outside he looked at the
building one more time. "No way," he snapped, "are they
monitoring these communications! No way!"
He headed home. There were never enough hours in the day, never enough
hours! Simply too much to do! And sometimes when he could
be two or three places at once it wasn't enough. He really needed
back up! He really needed personnel. "I would like to
have you knock on my door, lieutenant!" he moaned. There was one
more visit he had to make, somebody's father he had to speak to.
It wouldn't take long. What he had to say was simple, very simple!