and slammed his face into the grass. The group of soldiers that were with the sergeant grabbed Samantha and Annie as they strode off through the crowd that had gathered. The sergeant pointed at Coyle and told another soldier to grab him as well. “But I didn’t get to finish my mush!” Coyle shouted as his tray dropped to the ground. Upon seizing Coyle, they escorted him out of the cafeteria with the others.
Jim was taken into a separate tent and shackled to a chair. The MP he disarmed made sure to give him a nice pop in the stomach before he left to return the favor. Once the MP left an officer in fatigues entered the tent. Jim could only make out the silhouette and the circling smoke that rose from the tip of his cigar. He lingered for a moment before getting close enough for Jim to make out the features on his face and the four stars on his hat.
He read from a file in his hand. “Jim Farr,” he said aloud, “Former officer and specialist in Navy Intelligence. Honorably discharged after twelve years of service and three combat tours during which he earned twenty commendations, two purple hearts, and the Navy Cross.”
The general paced around Jim in his chair examining the contents of the file. He took a long drag of his cigar and puffed out a billow of smoke. “Now why the hell would someone who was awarded the Navy Cross attack two MPs at a military refugee camp?” he asked as finally looked up from reading.
“The military and I haven’t really seen eye-to-eye over the past few year, General,” Jim answered. The General let out a hearty laugh as he chewed on the end of the cigar. “I can see that,” he said smiling. The General’s assistant came in and handed him another file along with a chair. He leaned back in his chair and his belly stretched as he attempted to get comfortable. Goddamn I’ve gotten fat,” the General moaned. Jim finally noticed the name on the general’s jacket. His eyes went wide as the words left him.
“General Locke?” Jim asked.
“We can talk about your father later, Farr. We have other pressing issues to worry about.” Locke motioned to Jim’s cuffs. “You can take those off,” the general said. “General, I highly suggest—” the assistant began. “Damnit, Chris, he’s not going to kill me. Take the cuffs off,” Locke barked.
Chris hesitated for a moment, but walked over and set Jim’s hands free. Jim rubbed his wrists and Locke handed him a photograph. “That’s your brother in-law, Matt Kearny. He was picked up during the evacuation of Phoenix two weeks ago. Do you know what he does?” asked Locke.
Jim looked over the photo of Matt in his hands. It was taken somewhere in a downtown area. “He’s an engineer for some software company,” he replied. “PamTech. They’re one of the military’s largest contractors. They handle a lot of our digital security platforms. You’re brother-in-law was one of their lead engineers who handled a majority of our accounts,” explained Locke.
Jim shook his head and rested the paper down on his lap. “You think he has something to do with all of these attacks?” he asked. Locke paused for a moment before speaking. “I don’t know, but we do know that he was in charge of all of PamTech’s digital security functions. He has a security clearance higher than anyone in the company and we need him to grant us access to those files to see if they’ve been tampered with,” Locke continued.
Jim rose out of his chair and turned his back to Locke as he continued to examine the picture. “Why don’t you just break through their fire wall? You have enough resources to do it,” he said. “We tried, but the files aren’t on their network. We think they’re on a stand-alone hard drive,” Locke said. “We need Matt to tell us where it is.”
“How long have you had him?” Jim asked.
“Jim, we’re running out of time. If we don’t get that data, then
Jim was taken into a separate tent and shackled to a chair. The MP he disarmed made sure to give him a nice pop in the stomach before he left to return the favor. Once the MP left an officer in fatigues entered the tent. Jim could only make out the silhouette and the circling smoke that rose from the tip of his cigar. He lingered for a moment before getting close enough for Jim to make out the features on his face and the four stars on his hat.
He read from a file in his hand. “Jim Farr,” he said aloud, “Former officer and specialist in Navy Intelligence. Honorably discharged after twelve years of service and three combat tours during which he earned twenty commendations, two purple hearts, and the Navy Cross.”
The general paced around Jim in his chair examining the contents of the file. He took a long drag of his cigar and puffed out a billow of smoke. “Now why the hell would someone who was awarded the Navy Cross attack two MPs at a military refugee camp?” he asked as finally looked up from reading.
“The military and I haven’t really seen eye-to-eye over the past few year, General,” Jim answered. The General let out a hearty laugh as he chewed on the end of the cigar. “I can see that,” he said smiling. The General’s assistant came in and handed him another file along with a chair. He leaned back in his chair and his belly stretched as he attempted to get comfortable. Goddamn I’ve gotten fat,” the General moaned. Jim finally noticed the name on the general’s jacket. His eyes went wide as the words left him.
“General Locke?” Jim asked.
“We can talk about your father later, Farr. We have other pressing issues to worry about.” Locke motioned to Jim’s cuffs. “You can take those off,” the general said. “General, I highly suggest—” the assistant began. “Damnit, Chris, he’s not going to kill me. Take the cuffs off,” Locke barked.
Chris hesitated for a moment, but walked over and set Jim’s hands free. Jim rubbed his wrists and Locke handed him a photograph. “That’s your brother in-law, Matt Kearny. He was picked up during the evacuation of Phoenix two weeks ago. Do you know what he does?” asked Locke.
Jim looked over the photo of Matt in his hands. It was taken somewhere in a downtown area. “He’s an engineer for some software company,” he replied. “PamTech. They’re one of the military’s largest contractors. They handle a lot of our digital security platforms. You’re brother-in-law was one of their lead engineers who handled a majority of our accounts,” explained Locke.
Jim shook his head and rested the paper down on his lap. “You think he has something to do with all of these attacks?” he asked. Locke paused for a moment before speaking. “I don’t know, but we do know that he was in charge of all of PamTech’s digital security functions. He has a security clearance higher than anyone in the company and we need him to grant us access to those files to see if they’ve been tampered with,” Locke continued.
Jim rose out of his chair and turned his back to Locke as he continued to examine the picture. “Why don’t you just break through their fire wall? You have enough resources to do it,” he said. “We tried, but the files aren’t on their network. We think they’re on a stand-alone hard drive,” Locke said. “We need Matt to tell us where it is.”
“How long have you had him?” Jim asked.
“Jim, we’re running out of time. If we don’t get that data, then
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