Lucifer’s Semi-Final Conclave--- Part 26
Annapolis Md
Christy especially enjoyed the scenic trail along Chesapeake bay near the Naval Academy. Even though there was lots of city view, there were also sections that looped through the woods and had a bench or two that offered reasonable solitude. 9 years ago, she had often come here for respite during her nasty 2 year divorce debacle. She walked the trail to a narrow, muddy spit of land which extended into the bay. On a bench underneath a spreading water oak, she stopped to watch the many and various seabirds scurrying about and searching for their supper.
After a moment, she pulled her burner cell and called Phil’s burner. And, as she expected it would, it went straight to voicemail. She left a brief message, stating for him not to expect an answer when he called back, but to simply leave a short message anytime and expect a return call the very next day at 12:30 local, her time. She expressed that she now knew for certain she and Jennifer were monitored much more closely now. And things were going ape poo at work, and the usual monkeys were slinging it everywhere.. She added that the mission phone is still fine for Saturdays and had not been compromised, and Jennifer is fine.…
She disconnected and mused a spell longer, then hiked back to her car. As she turned onto Rowe Blvd toward 301, she noticed again the large billboard she had often previously seen on her trips here during her divorce. It was an advert for a ‘spy buster’ shop which said in large letters “HAS YOUR EX GOT YOU BUGGED“? ask about our free spy sweep.. She thought. Why not… so -- She went in to ask about it.. But she laughed to herself… it’s not my ex I’m concerned about….anymore.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Boulder City, NV
Danielle and a very much more relaxed Clive walked to the SUV and headed to the Ford Dealer. Within 15 minutes they had rearranged the mountain of parts to accept the 3 large pieces they had just purchased. Clive said… Dunno how we are going to get any furniture in here, Danielle. No need to load it Clive, she said…If I like it, Ill have them deliver…. Clive said, of course… where’s my head.. They drove a few blocks and found it.. Danielle doesn’t really ’shop’. she knows what she wants before she goes inside. If it’s there, fine… if not.. she just leaves.. This time it was there.. She spotted it soon, all together and right against the rear wall. It was a complete child’s bedroom set. There was a single bed, a ‘4 poster’ with a full princess canopy, complete with integral white veil screen which hung with tied sashes to the posts and canopy.
The canopy was decorated with unicorns and rainbows, the footboard featured a barefoot princess leading a leashed unicorn through a green pasture filled with lollipop flowers.
There was a small childs recliner/rocker chair covered in green and white velour. There was a child sized 6 drawer dresser with mirror, knee cutout and small white straight back chair with cushioned seat, a chest of drawers with a small lamp on top, and finally, a combination desk and bookcase, which used the dresser chair for it’s seat…
Will you deliver to Searchlight, Danielle asked… The sales man said == not normally that far, when do you want it? Friday at the earliest, she said…. The man went to check schedule. Can’t promise Friday, would next Monday, be OK? Fine, she said.
The salesman was writing… Name and Address? Danielle Burns.. #3 Sandy Lane, Searchlight, NV…Clive added his cell #…Call the morning before, he said? Sure will.. Replied the salesman.
As they left, she handed the receipt to Clive.. Please hang on to this in case of problems.. I want this to be a surprise to them, she said… Clive was not onboard…
Men seldom pay much attention to emotionally important details, do they? Especially when women talk …
As they loaded into the SUV, she reminded him of who Danielle Burns was… He looked at her… Now I remember… it was great choice on their part.. He said.
A few miles later, Clive began to tell Danielle a lot about his past ‘her’, as promised…
It was somewhat like gently prying gory details of a story from a traumatized young child… But Danielle was very good at doing just that.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Rocksense West
George and #2 were in George’s office, #2 of course had George’s plush desk chair, while George sat on the couch. Have you had any previous indications as to why they would be prying so close to our specific interests? Asked #2 … No, sir… replied George…. Well, it’s a also a rough wake up to me and many others as well, certainly not a pleasant one… at all. He pressed the button and played Christy Bales short cell message to #6 again..
George, he said.. We need many more details of the stuff that’s impaled on the point of that ’gig’ she refers to… and soon…. I detest secrets that I don’t know details of…
George, he continued, it’s obvious that our real goals have been compromised…. Find the leak… OK? I’m heading back east for a while… temporarily slow roll things here until advised … we have to modify our approach, and it may take a while. Yes, chief…
-----------------------------------------------------
Annapolis MD
The nerd had emerged from his ‘spy shop’ with a handheld device. They were standing near the shop entrance.. OK, he told Christy, walk over, start it up, tune the radio to your normal listing level, close the door, and walk back here. The nerd slowly circled her car, and came up beside Christy… he flipped a few switches, and as the AFC locked on, they listened to her Alabama CD, as it played “angels among us” .. Christy was not very surprised at all, really.
The nerd stated, we have more work to do, and you have to think over your options-- there are several. Drive around back…I’ll go thru the shop, and meet you in the alley.
As she circled around to the rear, she thought, we have to bring Jennifer’s car over for a sweep as well …
He stood beckoning, and she drove slowly into metal building. It had benches on each side, lined with equipment. As she exited the car, he said.. We have to have a ’screen room’ to work in, as fiddling with some of the more sophisticated bugs usually alert the ones monitoring.
He rolled a jack under her front wheel drive car, raised the car a few inches and ask that she start up and place it in drive. He grabbed a couple of devices from his bench, and held one underneath as he slowly circled the car, and asked that she pop the trunk. At one point near the rear, he produced a penlight, and took some notes. He then circled again, this time on top, pausing twice, once each on either side of the windshield, and yet again at the standard ONSTAR antenna on the roof above the rear seat. He then, went to a piece of bench mounted equipment attached to a cable terminated with a large square ’horn’ with which he pointed to the car, as he circled.
Finally, he looked at her, said OK, shut it down, the fumes are getting rough… He opened the garage door, and removed the jack. He walked to her, opened the car door, and lowered the drivers sun visor. At the pivot point he pointed to two small cables which ran into the rear of the visor upholstery.. This one, he pointed, is your make up mirror light. This multicolored one… powers the bug. He then released the Velcro flap which allowed maintenance access to the visor… he pointed to a small device that had been taped inside the aperture with duct tape… He pulled the passenger visor down and pointed out the same extra cable within it. He looked at her, then to his clipboard… Lady, he said, you have not only been bugged… you have been sprayed with honey..
Drive around front, and come in the shop … we need to talk.
--------------------------------------------------
US 95 south, between Henderson and Searchlight.
It was just past 5, and Ken was headed home. The back of his old work truck held several pieces of diesel engine test equipment he had borrowed from the shop. They night crew were using the only fuel injector analyzer they owned, but it would not be needed yet, because there were lots of stuff hussy needed first. He drove slowly so as not to jostle the equipment excessively. .
As he mused on hussy, Buffy’s SUV honked and slowed in the fast lane to his left. Bree was waving and smiling. Clive only looked over and smiled, as he needed his only hand to drive. As the SUV pulled ahead the stuff piled to it’s ceiling in the rear of the SUV elicited another smile from him.
-------------------------------------------
Rocksense east… #6
#6 was Lewis Bainesworth Arnold, The third, a 2 star general, USAF. Lew headed the Pentagon group assigned to Rocksense, as well as to two other Beltway Bandit firms in Silver Springs. He had been recently assigned to research and development tasks for the new Space Force that the President was pushing. One can correctly assume that there was an eternal, jealous, sometimes vicious competition among the various ‘agencies‘ in the national security sandbox … Lew was, however not necessarily as confused as all were about the strange and abrupt phone call Christine Bales had made to him. His confusion was different than most, because that word ‘jig‘, or perhaps ‘gig‘, was the code name of his main effort, which referred to funding of Space Force. Gig is up, for example, could refer to the recent Congressional funding which was, indeed passed only today.. Exactly who this Christine Bales was, however, was confusing. He would soon know more, however as he perused her agency details and resume. Christine Bales will be invited to his office, later this week, after security had finished their new digging..… for explanation.
Hmmm… the gravy slowly thickens…
_________________________________________________
Annapolis, MD
The nerd said, OK, here’s the verdict… the 2 under the visors are not $200 bugs. They are pro, very pro… he looked over his horn rims, at Christy, and said… I spent 9 years at NSA. Whoever is tracking you knows all the tricks. Are you familiar with the Club? Christy nodded. Well, my advice is to leave some of them in place for now, and use them yourself to plant some seeds. Should you decline, I will give you 300 for each of the visor ones, if you decide to … uhh … evacuate this area… Christy started to speak… but he held up his hand..
Theres more, he said… Do you use your ONSTAR? … No, she said, it‘s mostly crap, and too expensive.. .. Well they do. Not only is the ONSTAR audio used as a third audio bug, its GPS follows you everywhere. I can fix that problem easily, and at no additional cost. She opened her mouth…
But Wait… there’s more.. In your trunk is a GPS tracker hiding in your left side plastic stop light lens. It too, is not a cheap device.. It is pro also, very pro. It does not need a car power connection. It has a burst transmitter, which means it only transmits for 25 milliseconds once each minute. Hence it has a small battery, that can last for 6 months. That one also has a magnetic mount. As such, it could be just placed cleverly with tape on the side of something, like an 18 wheeler or say, the steel bumper of a trailways buss going to Timbucktu..
Somebody is very interested in you , Lady.. And believe me, it ain’t your Ex..
Wow, Christy thought… you do this for FREE? He shook his head.. The free sweep ended when you drove in the garage. You owe me $300 as of now. You can earn your money back, when/if you decide to sell me the pro bugs. I will disable the ONSTAR now for you. As part of the deal. Your vehicle dash screen will post its stupid warning of “Warning ONSTAR Needs service” each time you start the engine, but that’s it.
The GPS tracker, I will give 100. I have several of them already… but I will show you it’s location, and how to remove it.. He reached in a desk drawer, and withdrew an identical cylindrical tube constructed device, this end, he said, needs an open view of the sky, showing her the plastic antenna lens. On the other end, he unscrewed a plastic cover by using a dime. Then he dumped a standard CR123 Lithium battery on the table. That kills it, he said. You can buy fresh batteries many places for a few bucks..
Christy offered her card. Meet you out front, he said, as he ran the card, and picked up a pair of side cutters.
Wow, she thought as she turned onto 301, I have some more SERIOUS thinking to do…And, I need to have a long talk with Phil… She tapped unconsciously on her steering wheel as her CD offered ’Sweet Home Alabama’….
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
At Home
Phil was sitting with Buffy, whom he had finally dismissed from her online teachers ed course. He had also finished cleaning the hussy, gathered all the goo and crap buckets and the trash can full of hussy’s old parts, and placed them into the wheeled bins that Clive hauled down to 95 for pickup on Fridays with his 4 runner. He had cleaned the tools he had used, and replaced them in the shed, along with the coveralls and muck boots. The aroma of the pot roast Buffy had started in her crock pot this morning peeked his mind during their lunch on the porch, but the aroma now commanded his full attention. They were seated on the porch, jawing and drinking iced tea when the SUV drove up. … ’bout time, Buffy said as they exited and walked to the porch… They both instantly noticed the unusually relaxed and calm attitude Clive displayed. Phil knew why, though, as he looked at his mate… Anyone who spends a day with Bridgid becomes enchanted. She smiled broadly at Phil.. We had a really great lunch date at a nice Italian Restaurant with a magnificent lake view … she said… Plus, we got it all done, she said as she produced hussy’s tags and all big brother’s required paperwork in a plastic envelope .. And pointed at the SUV full of new hussy parts. The bad part is all the cash it took… but hey, money is for spending, right? She collapsed on Phil‘s lap, and gently bit his earlobe and kissed him. As Clive sat on the top step and accepted a glass of tea, Ken drove in from work. He parked beside hussy, waved at them, and started inspecting the hussy. He walked completely around her, looked critically under the open hood, and walked to the porch…. He said, Phil, buddy, anytime you want a fulltime gofer job at the shop, you got it… He extended his hand.. Good job.. The outside too. Ya done great. After supper, I will show you some tricks if she gets fussy in the mountains…
Phil smiled as usual while Buffy looked at Bree as she glanced up and rolled her eyes… Well, Phil said, time I cleaned up… That roast has tortured me all day…it’s time to return the favor..
They all went inside, and the guys headed to their room. Buffy offered a hug to Bree, but Bree held back. Phil she called, was Buffy a good girl with her studies today? Gold Star Student, Phil answered… Bree then warmly hugged her best bud, and the girls headed behind the counter to the kitchen…. Clive took a seat at the counter… and watched…
Buffy opened her oven, and peaked inside to the other half of the huge roast she had slow cooked with potatoes and veggies in her chicken roasting pan. She turned to Clive and said.. Don’t think you are going anywhere soon… We got plenty…
Ken came back out of his room shortly, and he and Clive went to the SUV to unload the mountain of parts. Shortly Phil appeared with his bag of burner phones…. He sat at the counter, to cross program their numbers into each, along with Clives and Buffy’s cell numbers..
He was proceeding to each in turn, when Danielle’s phone beeped and the display read…
ONE NEW MESSAGE… The number was strange, though.. All heard the beep, and gathered around as he selected the ‘listen’ prompt, and punched speakerphone, laying the device on the counter… Soon, Christy’s voice came through… loud and clear…
---------------------------------------------------------------
Bethesda, MD
It was dark when Christy got near home… She pulled her cell and called Jennifer. Had supper yet? She asked… Not really she said, I have been thinking on it, though. Me neither, I have been exercising… What say we go get something? Good idea Jennifer said. Let’s go to Selby’s … it’s less then a half mile… Great, seeya soon..
Selby’s is a little sidewalk restaurant with outdoor tables, with a decent menu. They went there occasionally. The suits swung into action.. They had a van with power ears consisting of a directional mic and large horn which could pick up normal conversations 100 yards away… the van was disguised as a meat delivery truck. Within 15 minutes it was positioned to cover the tables at Selby’s. It’s sliding back door was raised, and they got ready for action. A brown sedan with 2 suits inside was parked back down the street, but across heading in the direction of Jennifers place. When Christy arrived to pick up Jennifer, as Jennifer came down, she got out, and walked to meet her. As they hugged,
Christy whispered… bad time to drive Jen, lets walk… so they walked… On the way, Christy filled her in on her day, from the inquisition to the bugs, and how useful it is when you know they are there,,, but they don‘t know you know. As it turns out there is a neat little home cooking restaurant, Trinas, just a block before Selby’s… As they turned into Trina’s she noted the brown sedan, nearly directly across, and she mentally flipped them a few more birds, this time with a smile.
Well, hey, guys, women have been known to change their minds on occasion, don’t you know?
On the walk back, Christy said… Well, we sure can’t fly there without getting them busted, but did you ever think about taking a road trip to go visit Phil and Danielle? She asked… Jennifer was, of course, ecstatic…
-------------------------------------------------------------------
To be continued…
The previous Part 25 is here:
http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?read=115743
