Houston Goes to Washington Pt. 02

"I don't know," Ryan said. "It sounds interesting." Oscar laughed.

"It is," he said. "I'll let Agent Harrison fill you in on the rest."

"So, what do we do about Legstrom?" Houston asked.

"We could file an ethics charge against him," Regis said. "But I personally don't think it'll go very far. These swamp creatures have a way of covering each other's backs. At the very least, we now have video evidence of what he's really like and I'm sure the good folks in Wyoming won't be so willing to send him back to the Senate."

"You really believe that?" John asked.

"No, not really," Regis said. "That's why I want you and Oscar to put the screws to him tomorrow. Houston, no offense, but I don't want you anywhere near him, not after last night."

"I understand, boss," she said.

"Good," Regis said. "John, I'll call Legstrom myself, tell him to expect you at his Senate office at 9:00 am sharp tomorrow morning. I'll let Oscar be our little surprise. Any questions?"

"No questions, boss," John said. Oscar, Houston and Ryan agreed.

"Alright, gang," Regis said. "Git 'er done." With that, they ended the call. John looked at Ryan before speaking.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"I'm better," Ryan said. "I just can't believe Naomi would do what she did tonight." Just then, they heard a knock at the door. John looked through the peephole and saw an attractive brunette holding a set of credentials for the HomeFront Security Task Force.

"I think your Agent Harrison is here," John said, opening the door. The brunette smiled and identified herself as Linda Harrison. Oscar recognized her and waved her inside.

"Linda, this is Ryan Ogilvie," he said. "Ryan, this is Agent Harrison with our DC field office." He turned back to Linda. "I'd like you to accompany Mr. Ogilvie back to his place so he can pack a few things, then we'll need you to escort him back to Fort Apache. Tonight. I'll make the call and get the ball rolling. We also need to get him set up for a stay at Camp Rollins."

"Alright, I'll get things started on that," she said.

"Thank you," Oscar said. "I'll call OPM and start the paperwork for his leave of absence." He turned to Ryan and shook his hand. "Good luck to you, Ryan. I'll be in touch. And remember, don't tell anyone where you're going. Not your wife, not Legstrom -- no one. Got it?"

"I got it. And thank you," Ryan said. "Thank you for everything." After he left, Oscar made a call to Fort Apache, then compared notes John and Houston and discussed their strategy for dealing with Legstrom. By the time they were finished, it was just after midnight.

"Well, I don't know about you two, but I do need to get an hour or two of sleep before facing Legstrom," Oscar said.

"Yeah, we could use some sleep ourselves," John said. "Don't forget to have a couple guards here tomorrow morning."

"Thanks for reminding me," Oscar said. "I'll take care of that right away. See you in the morning." After closing the door behind Oscar, John turned to his wife and held her tight.

"I can't believe what happened tonight," she said. "You know what I kept thinking? I remembered what I nearly did to you with Greg. Then it hit me that the same bunch behind that are behind all this."

"Yeah, kinda makes you a bit sick to the stomach, doesn't it?" John asked.

"How many more like Legstrom are out there, do you think?" she asked.

"Who the hell knows," John said.

"What do you think is gonna happen to him?" she asked.

"I wish I knew," John told her. "The way things are these days in the 'justice' system, probably not much, if anything."

"So why are we doing this if it's all just a waste of time?" she asked.

"Maybe because it's the right thing to do," he answered.

"I keep thinking he's gonna keep coming after us until he gets one of us," she said.

"He'll have a helluva fight on his hands," John said.

"Got that right," she said. "C'mon, let's go to bed. I really feel the need to snuggle tonight."

"Me too," John said.

...

It was 7:30 the next morning when Oscar rapped on John and Houston's door. John looked through the peephole and saw Oscar with two large men and opened the door.

"You ready to get this done?" Oscar asked. John nodded his head.

"Yeah," he said. "Let me just grab my jacket." John put his jacket on, kissed Houston and walked out the door. He saw the two large guards. "I take it these are your men?" he asked.

"Yup," Oscar said. "Two of our best."

"Good," John said. "Let's get going." Oscar gave the two men their instructions and left with John. Oscar drove his car to the Russell Senate Office Building, where Legstrom's office was located so Houston would have a car available if she needed to go somewhere. John didn't think she would need to go anyplace, but didn't want to leave her without transportation. They stopped for coffee on the way and rehashed their strategy for dealing with Legstrom.

They walked into Legstrom's office as if they owned the place. One of Legstrom's security men tried to stop them, but John flashed his badge and made sure he saw the handgun on his belt. The security man held up his hands and let them pass. Legstrom looked up when they barged in.

"Didn't your mamma ever teach you to knock?" Legstrom asked.

"We're federal agents," John said. "We don't need to knock."

"Are you forgetting who's in charge here?" Legstrom asked.

"Not at all," Oscar said. "Truth is, we are. We can either have a nice friendly chat here in your office, or we can have a not-so-friendly chat somewhere else that I promise you is nowhere near as nice as this."

"Who the hell are you again?" Legstrom asked.

"Warren," Oscar said, holding up his credentials. "Special Agent Oscar Warren, HomeFront Security Task Force." Legstrom laughed.

"Oh yes, I remember now," Legstrom said. "You were the one with Liz Skaggs when she had her stroke. You still chasing ghosts and conspiracy theories?"

"Here's a theory for you, Senator," Oscar said. "A sitting United States Senator whose wife publicly humiliates him is up to his balls with an organization that tried to take down the President of the United States." Legstrom laughed out loud.

"Seriously?" Legstrom asked. "Are you actually gonna try to make that allegation stick?"

"It's just a matter of following the money, Senator," Oscar said. "Your biggest bundler was the Chairman of the Board for Omega, a company with very deep ties to MMAS. John and his wife were deeply involved in bringing Omega down. With Omega gone, you lost your largest source of campaign cash, some of which I'm sure came from foreign sources.

"Then there's your wife, Nancy. A woman who routinely humiliates you in public with her affairs. It's no secret the only reason you're still married to her is the family money and connections. And I'm pretty certain they also know about your sick little fetishes. How you like to masturbate like a little boy as others have sex. How you get off on watching others be humiliated like you humiliated Ryan Ogilvie last night. I'm sure you knew that she was also deeply involved with MMAS, although she operated mostly in the background."

"How is Ryan, by the way?" Legstrom asked.

"He's on a temporary leave of absence," John said.

"What?" Legstrom asked. "Who approved that?"

"The Director of Alpha Sector, by your direction," John said.

"What do you mean, by MY direction?" Legstrom asked. "I gave no such direction."

"You did when you gave him by direction authority," John said. "When Ryan passed on what he found, he became a de facto employee of Alpha answering to me and my boss."

"But you work for me, and so does your boss," Legstrom sputtered. "The same with you, Warren. You both work for me."

"Wrong, Senator," John said. "We work for the American people, not you. Our oath is to the Constitution, same as yours."

"I'll have your jobs for this," Legstrom said, his face turning red. John and Oscar smiled as they looked at each other.

"Tell me, Senator," John said, pulling a tablet from his briefcase, "what do you think the voters of Wyoming will think when they see this?" He began playing a video of Legstrom masturbating as Ryan was forced to watch his wife take on three men.

"You wouldn't DARE!" Legstrom bellowed. "That's blackmail."

"No, it's politics," John said. "The same kind of politics you like to play here in Washington." He paused for a bit, noticing something on the side of Legstrom's neck that he didn't see before. It looked like a bug bite, but was a bit bigger. "That's one hell of a bug bite you have there on your neck, Senator," he said. Oscar walked around and he eyes grew wide as he looked.

"That's not a bug bite," Oscar said. "There's something just under the skin. That's an injection site. And from the looks of it, I'd say it's no more than eight hours old or so." He looked at Legstrom as he pulled out his handcuffs. "Senator, I need you to follow my directions without question. Understand?"

"What are you talking about?" Legstrom asked.

"Put your hands behind your back," Oscar said.

"What?" Legstrom asked.

"DO IT!" Oscar commanded. Oscar slapped the handcuffs on Franklin as soon as his hands were behind his back.

"What are you doing?" Franklin asked. "Am I under arrest?"

"Not yet, Senator," Oscar said. "I need your hands immobilized. Do you have a first aid kit somewhere?"

"In the bathroom, right inside the door," Franklin said. "Why?"

"You'll see," Oscar said as he walked to the bathroom. Opening the door, he looked around, found the kit and returned. He opened it and pulled out two pairs of latex gloves. He put one pair on and handed the other to John. Then he pulled a small sharp pocket knife out of his trousers and opened it up, wiping the blade with alcohol. "Put those on. I'll need your help," he told John. He turned back to Franklin. "Senator, it looks like something was injected into your neck sometime in the last eight or ten hours. I need you to hold perfectly still. I don't want to accidentally cut your carotid artery. Can you do that?"

"Yes," Franklin said.

"What is it?" John asked.

"It looks like the same thing MMAS used to kill Pat Witherspoon," Oscar said. "We'll have to be very careful. If we put too much pressure on it, the capsule will pop and the good Senator can cancel Christmas. Forever."

"Shit," John said. "So you've seen this before?"

"I have," Oscar said. "Now, just follow my lead, and remember, take it slow and easy. We have to open that injection site just enough to work the capsule out. This may hurt a bit, Senator. Remember, don't move."

"I won't," Franklin said. "Just get it out of me." John and Oscar worked slowly, and finally, they saw the end of the liquid-filled capsule break the skin.

"Alright," Oscar said. "Get ready to catch it. I'm going to work it out now." John held one gloved hand under the site as Oscar slowly worked the capsule out of Franklin's neck. It finally came out and John held it as Oscar cleaned the site with alcohol and covered it with a band-aid. Oscar grabbed a plastic evidence bag and held it open as John dropped the capsule inside. He held it so Franklin could see what had been injected into him.

"What is that?" Franklin asked.

"I won't know for certain until we've analyzed it, but offhand, I'd say it's a fast-acting poison," Oscar said. He looked around, and saw no other injection sites on Franklin's neck, so he removed the handcuffs. Franklin rubbed his wrists and looked at Oscar, frightened. "Your services are no longer required," Oscar said in a neutral tone of voice. Just then, Franklin slapped the side of his neck with his right hand, as though swatting an insect.

"What the hell was that?" John asked.

"It's how MMAS handles those it no longer needs," Oscar said. "He's been given a subliminal hypnotic suggestion. If that capsule was still in his neck when he slapped it, he would be dead right now."

"And you've seen this done before?" John asked.

"I have," Oscar said. He turned back to Franklin. "Do you understand the significance of this now, Senator?" Franklin nodded his head slowly.

"So, what do you want from me?" Legstrom asked, defeated.

"Cooperate with us fully," Oscar said. "Turn state's evidence against your wife and anyone else involved with MMAS. Resign your seat. You can claim you want to spend more time with family. Isn't that the usual excuse?"

"You don't understand what you're asking," Legstrom said. "You think just because you brought down Mona Larsen and Liz Skaggs that you've stopped them. You have no idea how far they're already entrenched into the establishment. You honestly think those two built up their influence by themselves? Trust me, you're living in a dream world if you believe that.

"Who do you think controls much of what passes for news and information out there? Huh? All it takes is one word from them and, 'poof,' you cease to exist as far as everyone else is concerned. Say or post the wrong thing about the wrong person and you're done. You're deplatformed, censored, canceled, silenced, out of business. Who do you think decides what bills get pushed and what bills get buried? Who do you think really selects our elected officials? The voters? Hah!

"No, if I turn on them, it's over for me. And I'm not just talking my political career. I mean, it's over, as in goodnight, sweet prince. I'll be lucky if I end up pushing daisies. Oh yeah, I know what they do. I've seen it for myself."

"So you know what really happened to Elizabeth Skaggs?" Oscar asked.

"Yes," Legstrom said. "I knew the moment I saw the reports." John and Oscar looked at each other, surprised. They hadn't expected this.

"Were you aware of their plans for the president?" Oscar asked. He shook his head.

"No, I wasn't," he said. "Nancy keeps me on a very short leash and she's not one to confide in me about anything."

"So you're saying she knew?" Oscar asked. Franklin shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know," he said. "You'll have to ask her."

"We will," John said. "But tell us, why did you go after Ryan?" John asked. "From what you've told me, he's basically a nobody. Who was your real target? Was it me? Houston? Who?"

"All of the above," Franklin said with a sneer. "You saw Naomi at the party. She's one hot woman. Nancy is the one who got her to go on that spa retreat. That's where she was recruited by MMAS. Ryan never responded to the notices he got in the mail, so Nancy and Naomi wanted to set him up for a fall. They tried hiring escorts and hookers hoping he would cheat on his wife, but he never did. So Nancy suggested I plant some documents for him to find. I never thought he would go to you with them."

"So, you admit falsifying classified documents for personal gain?" Oscar asked.

"I suppose you could say that, yes," he said. "I also knew the two of you would be in London working on something I mentioned to Alpha One, so I suggested the two of you take the case."

"Why?" John asked. "Why target us?"

"Partly revenge," Franklin said. "After you took Omega down, I lost a significant amount of campaign cash. I needed that money."

"And the other part?" John asked.

"Your wife," Franklin said. "She excites me. I wanted to watch her do to you what Naomi did to Ryan."

"You're a sick motherfucker, you know that?" John asked. Franklin looked down, embarrassed.

"So, what happens now?" Franklin asked.

"Your up for re-election this cycle, right?" Oscar asked.

"I am," Franklin said.

"The first thing you're going to do is retire," Oscar said. "Make up whatever excuse you want, I don't care."

"Okay," Franklin said. "Then what?"

"You cooperate fully with us, tell us everything you know," Oscar said. "We'll provide protection so you don't need to worry about that."

"You mean, you'll keep me at that renovated Army base you call Fort Apache?" Franklin asked.

"Maybe," Oscar said. "Maybe we can do something with your property in Wyoming. I'll have to take it up with my boss."

"And in the meantime?" Franklin asked.

"You already have protection, right?" Oscar asked.

"Yes, but Nancy hand-picked my security detail," he said. "Just as she handles all the personnel issues at my home."

"That could be a problem," Oscar said. "We'll take care of that right now." He pulled out his phone and made a call. As he did, John sat down and glared at Franklin.

"You know, I should kick your ass into the middle of next week just for shits and giggles," he told the senator.

"For what it's worth, John, I'm sorry," Franklin said. "I admit, I'm a pervert. But Nancy is the dangerous one. You need to take her down. I never wanted to see anyone get hurt. I just wanted the power and the money, you know?" John nodded his head.

"Yeah, I know," he said. "You're a regular piece of shit, you know that? Maybe after you retire, you can really learn how to play a banjo." Franklin chuckled at that.

"I take it you've seen my campaign commercials?" he asked.

"I have," John said. Just then, Oscar walked over to them.

"There's a new security detail on its way," he said. "They work for the task force. They should be here in just a few minutes." The three of them made small talk until the new security detail showed up. The two security guards already outside Franklin's office door stood up, confused, when the new detail arrived.

"What's going on here?" one of the guards asked.

"You've been replaced," Franklin said. "You're fired."

"You can't fire us," the guard said, making a move toward Franklin. John stopped him before he could get into the office.

"Well, you're fired," John said. "Now, get the fuck outta here." The two guards looked at each other, then at the group of well-armed men who just came into the office. Realizing they were out-manned and out-gunned, they threw up their hands and left. Oscar briefed the new detail as John sent a text to Houston. He got an immediate answer: "C U soon. Luv U!" When he finished reading her message, he turned to Franklin.

"Alright, Senator," he said. "Start writing. I want to know everything you know. Names, dates, places, everything. Got it?" Franklin nodded his head.

"I got it," he said. "One last thing, John."

"What?" John said.

"Houston is a good woman," he said. "Take care of her."

"I will," John said. "But you're wrong about one thing."

"What's that?" Franklin asked.

"She's not just a good woman," John said. "She's the best. And don't you ever forget that."

"I won't," Franklin said. Oscar walked up to John.

"We're set here," he said. "Ready to head back?"

"Yeah," John said, closing up his briefcase. "We need to brief our bosses. We can do that from my room."

"Sounds good," Oscar said. When they got to Oscar's car, he tossed the keys to John, who caught them in mid-air. "You drive," Oscar said. "I need to arrange a little party for the Senator's wife."

"Sounds like a plan to me," John said. They got in the car and went back to the Georgetown Graham. When they got to the floor where John and Houston's room was located, though, John noticed the guards weren't in the hallway. He hoped they were inside, and pulled his sidearm before opening the door.

"Houston?" he called when he opened the door. He heard nothing and looked inside. He saw the guards on the floor, their weapons still in their holsters. Looking around, he saw signs of a struggle, and noticed Houston's purse on the bed. He checked the room as Oscar looked after the guards. There was no sign of Houston anywhere. He looked at Oscar, who shook his head.

"They didn't make it," he said.

"Damn," John said. Then he saw a piece of paper on the dresser. It was a note from Nancy.

"If you ever want to see your wife alive, be at my house at 2:00 pm -- alone," the note read. It was signed, "N."

"They have Houston," John said. He looked at his watch. It was already 1:15 pm.