E & E Ch. 02

Mike grinned right back. "Yes, Sir, it sure did. At first I was allowed 10 mistakes a day. It finally got down to 1. If they made those rules for college kids it would sure improve the grade averages."

"The grades would soar in most schools. Would you be willing to accompany us to Iraq in a week or so? I would promise to only keep you there for a week or two."

"Sir I, have to talk to my wife about that. She has given a lot for her love of this country and freedom."

"Son, I will not order you to go. I read a censored version of your wife's career. You are right; it must be her decision. Oh! Here she is now with my wife."

Ginny smiled at Mike, "Good morning Mike, how are you this morning?"

"Just fine Mrs. McDermott, and you?"

"Sit down Cookie, I want to borrow your husband for a week or two. I want to take him to Iraq with us when we go. We desperately need a translator I can trust. I do not intend for him to any snooping around. His secondary mission will be to guard my wife. He will be armed at all times. Mrs. McDermott and I intend to wrap up the trip to Baghdad in a day or to and then get out. The announcement will state that we will be there for two weeks. Mike will go as one of my aids. As a matter of fact I think I will keep him as my Aide de Camp until I retire again. That will look good on your service record, Lieutenant."

"I will be proud to serve you Sir."

Cookie clapped her hands, "Does that mean Mike gets to wear that gold braid thing around his shoulder and across his chest?"

Mack laughed, "It sure does Honey, it will look good on him. I also want you to know that every aide I have had has been on the fast track for promotions, one went from first lieutenant to major in two years."

"Wow, that is fast." Said Mike."

"Well, Son, a lot of aides are just boot lickers, I always chose mine from guys with good combat experience. It has paid off for me too. I have been well looked after by people that gave me straight answers and covered my ass for me. I think you will be perfect. I was an aide after my first tour in Nam."

Ginny smiled at him and walked over and sat in his lap. She slipped her arm around his neck. She kissed him for a long two minutes. She pulled back and said, "Darling, I am going to love working with you all day, every day."

Mack looked around and saw Cookie and Mike smiling. Jack was grinning. Mack smiled broadly, "God it is nice to be a General. OK guys let's get to work. Mike get on your way. Jack you check on organizing our staff. Ginny and I are going to work on laying out the time line. Cookie, how are you doing with the translating"?

"I worked on it some last night. I should finish by late this afternoon."

"You didn't keep Little Mike or Big Mike up late last night did you?"

Cookie giggled, "Little Mike got a full night's sleep in. I am afraid I kept the big guy up a bit past his bedtime."

Ginny laughed, "Good, you go girl."

Ginny looked at Mack, "We need a really large white board for erasable markers; preferably on easels. We need plenty of markers of all colors." Mack pressed a button on his desk. A middle-aged woman answered the call by appearing at the door. She stepped in. "General, I am Marge, your secretary and office manager."

"Marge, This is my wife, Mrs. McDermott, who will be working with us. She needs some supplies. I trust you can get them for her."

"Sir, we have a huge office budget. Mrs. McDermott, just tell me what you need and I'll get it quickly, we have a top priority on everything."

"Fine Marge, here is a list. Now do we have a phone jack I can use for my notebook computer?" She turned and looked at Mack and Jack. "We have a computer program we have used for several years that takes the work out of drawing up a detailed time line. If we can get a map or aerial photos of the crime scene we can plot out the movements of every one involved. We can refine it down to inches and seconds if we want to."

"Do you have it in your notebook?" Jack asked.

"No, I can down load parts of it for the input section. Then, when we have all the information up loaded, I can tie into the mainframe computer in our office and work off the notebook."

Mack grinned, "Sounds pretty damned slick to me." Why doesn't the government have something like that?"

Mrs. McDermott smiled at her husband; "Several computer geeks and I have been working on it for a year or more. We are still testing it. This case will be a good test. This will be the first case I have had that covered this much area and with this many people involved with conflicting stories. Remember, like any other program the results are only as good as the data you put in it."

Jack said, "I have a good friend who commands an engineer outfit in the area. Would a surveyed map of the area help?"

"Oh! Jack that would be wonderful!"

"Let me get on it. Priority one? Right?"

Mack laughed, "Of course."

Jack moved to another desk and was busy on a phone. Mack got up and went to the outer office. He talked to Marge and gave her a number of tasks for her to pas out to other workers. Mack walked around and spoke to each person and learned a little about each of them. He soon realized he had been assigned the top people in the area. Cookie had her own cubical he looked in on her and asked if she had every thing she needed. She asked if she could have mike pick up her laptop computer so she could use a voice recognition program that that would let he just read the translation in English and it would be typed out for her instantly.

"Tell Marge and she will order one for you."

"Yes Sir, but it takes days of training the program to get it to recognize the way you speak. Mine is ninety nine percent perfect now."

"Call Mike. Have him bring it right over. I think you just want a few kisses."

"General you see right through me."

"I just know how Ginny does things."

"Your wife's name is Ginny?"

"Yes, Virginia."

"I like her a lot, she is very sweet."

"Me too." He gently patted her back and walked off to talk to someone else.

Three days later Mack sat before the Secretary of Defense. "Sir I am here to give you a progress report. We have reviewed the case. We have reconstructed the crime on a computer. If our data is accurate there is no way the crime could have been committed as described by the Iraqi witnesses. I need to take most of my crew to Baghdad to eyeball the situation. Say ten or fifteen people. Do I have the authority to order the security and assistance I need from the ground commanders in Iraq?"

"We foresaw this situation, here are a new set of orders that give you that authority and more. I'll be happy to tell the President you are hot on the trail. He will be tickled to death. He picked you for this job himself. He remembered how impressed he was when you jumped on the grenade at fifty plus years of age. He saw you being interviewed on TV and liked what he saw."

"I took the liberty of having a young Marine Lieutenant assigned to me as an aide. Will you approve that?"

"Sure Mack, you are well within the bound of your orders to do that. Have one of your people call 8th and I and read them your orders."

"Thank you Sir."

"Mack when we are alone it is Tom, OK? How is your beautiful wife today, no ill effects from the incident the other night I hope?"

"No Tom, she chewed me out that night for making a mountain out of a molehill and ruining you lovely party."

"Mack, I was surprised you didn't hurt him, from what I saw I thought you were quite restrained. Not a drop of blood was spilled."

"Tom, I guess I have a short fuse when it comes to Ginny. Guys hit on her constantly, I understand that and I can live with it. I just don't like guys trying to cop a feel. Who the hell do they think they are?"

"Mack I agree with you 100 percent.

"Well, I know that when you bring the prettiest girl to the dance you gotta expect some competition from the other guys. I just don't believe that if your wife looks hot and sexy it is OK for me to check her out with my hands."

"It is tough being married to her I guess."

"Right, Tom, believe me she is worth it and more."

Mack and Tom shook hands and Mack headed back to his office. He wanted to run a few miles but it was hard to find the time and place. He had heard there was a small workout in building housing their office. He would check it out.

He had a staff conference scheduled after lunch. He hoped Ginny and Cookie had brought something back for him. As he entered the building he met Ginny walking down the hall towards their office. She was carrying a brown bag. Her face lit up when she saw him. "There you are sweetheart, here is a salad for your lunch."

"Great, you remembered!"

"I never forget my dear sweet love slave, even if you are on leave from your duties."

He grumbled, "I was wanting a fat juicy hamburger!"

"Sweetie, you are not getting your exercise, you need to cut back on your calories."

"You are right. I am getting fat and old."

"Old I can't stop. Fat I can and will stop. Got it Marine?"

"Yes Ma'am."

The conference went well, it was a segregated conference. Most of the workers had no need to know the overall picture. Each person was brought into Mack's large office where they presented their findings to the little group consisting of Ginny, Jack, Mike, and Mack. The people who contributed were well prepared and the picture started to become clear to those who collected and plugged the data into the system. The time line and the map showed the exact position and the task being performed by each person involved.

It was evident that the Iraqi witnesses were lying about what they had seen.

Operatives for Army intelligence and other agencies were checking very carefully on the activities in the area. There were several possible leads that looked promising.

Jack had everything arranged for the flight to Iraq. There was to be no advanced notice of their trip. The forming of task force by the retired Marine General was announced but these investigations typically took months to get organized. Answers rarely came in less than a year.

On arrival in Baghdad the party met with various agents and investigators. Their information was plugged into the master time frame on the Atlanta computer. Cookie and Mike sat in on several interrogations of witnesses and other suspects. DNA swabs were used on all the Iraqis questioned. The field test they had available were sent to the Army Graves Registration Unit in the area. The results from this unit were only a fraction as accurate as the results from U.S. Forensic Labs.

Fortunately Mack was able to arrange for a two-man team from the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) to accompany them to Iraq. They had a kit that made a more accurate ID in much less time. They were already testing several samples.

Mack and Ginny, accompanied by Mike and Cookie paid a visit to the President of Iraq. They explained their mission and requested he go with them to the scene of he crime. He was naturally worried about security. Mike asked to talk to his chief of security. Mike and the Security Chief talked for five minutes. The Security man told the president that the trip appeared to be safe the way it was arranged.

A convoy of official vehicles escorted by tanks and Armored Personnel Carriers moved out about twenty minutes later. The convoy proceeded to South Baghdad near where the incident took place. The Official cars entered a U.S. Army compound there. The tanks and the troop carriers surrounded the area. One platoon of APCs and tanks checked an area with the troops that had been completely cleared earlier.

With the Iraqi President, with Cookie holding his arm, in tow; Mack and Ginny led them through the movements of the Army Squad that fateful day. They crossed a street and proceeded to where the squad was encountered by a young boy who informed them that a young girl wanted to see them in a house down the street. The squad moved carefully down the street. The squad leader called his platoon commander and advised him they were investigating a request for help. The Squad leader posted a machine gunner and two riflemen to guard the approaches to the house. He sent two others around behind the house.

Mack had Soldiers act out the movements of the squad. Then the leader and one private entered the house. They were inside for several minutes when the private stuck his head out and gave his buddies thumbs up.

About ten minutes later the two men exited the house and rejoined the squad which finished it's patrol without incident. The group sent the reenactment squad back to the starting post. One of the Iraqi witnesses was brought forward. He stated that he had seen the whole incident from the house across the street. I was asked to show the group where he had been when he had seen the squad. He took them to the door of the corner room and said he had seen it all from in there. Mike opened the door. All the windows in the room were closed off with concrete blocks mortared in place; the ceiling was made of heavy beams. The room was a bomb shelter. The president questioned the man carefully.

The group crossed the street to the house. The small boy some men held there was obviously very frightened. He admitted that he had been paid to give the message to the American soldiers. A frightened young woman was brought in. Mack, through Cookie, explained she was a prostitute. She had been paid to entice the American soldiers into having sex. She said the soldiers had been very nice to her and had indeed fucked her. When they left some Arabic men entered and paid her and scrapped the semen from her body, inside and out. She was told to leave and not come back for a long time. That was all she knew.

Cookie explained that her DNA was found mixed with the DNA in the sperm.

The president looked at Mack, He said in very good English, "The al-Quid motherfuckers set us up. They killed my baby girl, not the soldiers." Tears ran from his eyes. "I'll make them pay. Thank you. My people will get in touch with your people and we will issue a joint statement. General you and your people have my deep thanks."

Three hours later they were all in an Air Force jet heading west.

The following day Ginny stood proudly beside Mack gripping his left arm in the Oval Office of the White House. All of his team were standing behind him. They received the thanks of the President of the United States.

Mack said that the mission's swift completion was due to the expertise of his wife and Legal expert, Virginia, the organizational genius of his second in Command, General Zeigrfeld, and his Chief Translator, Mrs. Mahoney and her husband and his aide Lt. Mahoney.

He added that the skill and support of the other members of his staff were invaluable.

The President smiled, "I don't think you were just along for the ride General McDermott. I am awarding you and your officers and the eligible members of your staff the Legion of Merit Medal.

Ladies as Government employees attached to a military unit I believe you should be eligible too. General I would like a word with you and your wife before you leave. Our country thanks everyone of you again."

After everyone was gone the president invited them to be seated. He grinned at them, "You guys turned this town upside down. Congressmen and Senators were screaming because some of their favorites had their toes stepped on. You just waded on through and got the job done in no time at all.

I couldn't be more pleased. Here is what I propose. I want you to leave your second, General Zeigrfeld here in your office with your complete staff. I will find something worthwhile to keep them busy. I want you and your lovely wife to go home and relax. You are still on active duty. You will remain in close contact with your office. You aide will accompany you with full allowances for lodging, travel and meals for he and his family. If and when I need you, you come a runnin'. Will you do it?"

Mack didn't hesitate a second. "Sir my wife is almost four months pregnant, this decision will have to be hers. He grinned, "When I married her I told her I would be her love slave, so she is my mistress and rules the family."

The President clapped his hands, "Wonderful, a man who tells it like it really is. Mrs. McDermott, what is your answer?"

"Mr. President, I never want to let this man out of my sight. I waited all my life for him to come along and I go where he goes. Those are my only constraints on his activities."

"Then I take it you agree to my terms?"

"Yes Sir we do."

"I will keep in mind your delivery date and try and keep you home a month or so before and after that date. Congratulations you are now my official troubleshooters. Thank you, both of you."