Milwaukee Deep

General Conwrey walked into the White House briefing room where General White was sitting.

“It’s been four hours – have you heard from Crane?”

White butted out his cigarette into the crystal ashtray that sat on the table.

“No, not yet.”

“So when he comes to see you, what are you going to tell him?” Conwrey asked.

“I’m going to tell him the truth,” replied White, “that the weapon’s arrived.”

“What, but I thought - .”

“It landed in New York half an hour ago, General – it’s sitting in cargo at the base,” White interrupted.

“I don’t understand,” Conwrey shook his head, “We talked about this – we planned this - damn it I thought you were going to stand up to Crane.”

White reached over and pulled out another cigarette from his packet and placed it in his mouth.

“General,” he replied as he lit up, “Crane’s won nothing yet.”

“Nothing? The weapon is in New York – it’s only going to be a matter of time now!”

“Don’t worry, General,” White replied, “Everything is under control.”

“I don’t understand,” replied Conwrey, “What’s going on?”

General White stood up.

“General the work you did to put the delay in place helped our cause a great deal. It gave me enough time to put in place what I needed.”

“And what was that?”

“Trust me, General, it’s best that you don’t know what I’ve arranged – it’s safer for you – safer for everyone. I’ve seen the way Crane’s been acting – I’m sure he doesn’t trust us – not anymore. I thank you for the help you’ve given me, now leave the rest to me.”

“But what guarantee do I have that your plan will work?”

“I can’t give you any guarantee, General, but one thing I can do is promise you this - at this moment New York is under my watch and while my heart is beating, I promise I won’t let anything happen to her.”

“He’s CIA! Are you kidding me, we’ve been harbouring one of their own!”

“Relax, Phil, it’s going to be all right.”

“All right? No wonder they’re after him,” responded Jensen as he, Dr Durham and Sam stood alone in the adjoining room next to where Michael lay asleep, “and did you hear that stuff about those visitors!”

Sam looked at Jensen, “Phil, you’re not helping the situation – now we need to calm down and think.”

Sam walked over to the water cooler in the corner of the room, pulled out a paper cup and filled it to the top.

“Okay, the first thing I need to do is contact Perks, he’s my superior,” he said as he took a sip of water, “I’ll explain the situation to him and see if he can help.”

“But what if he can’t?” Jensen asked

“He will,” replied Sam, “I’ve known Perks for more than twelve years and he hasn’t let me down yet.”

“Okay, so what do we do?” Jensen asked.

“You need to stay put and take care of Michael. I’m going to get as far away from here as I can before I make the call,” Sam turned to Dr Durham, “doctor, if it’s okay with you, I’d like to call you back once we figure out what to do next – I’m sure there’s more information that we’ll need to retrieve from Michael before this is all over.”

“Yes that’s fine,” she replied, “I’ll be glad to.”

“And I know you will, but just make sure you tell no one what you’ve heard tonight. Remember the people who want to silence Michael’s story will try to do so at any cost.”

“I understand.”

“Good.” Sam turned to Jensen, “Now I’ll be back before the night’s out so sit tight.”

“What do I tell Michael?” asked Jensen

“Tell him I’ve gone to see a colleague, but nothing else – and make sure you don’t mention to him what we know – not yet.”

General Conwrey walked outside of the White House library and put the phone to his ear.

“Hello?”

“Sweetheart, it’s me,” Conwrey whispered.

“Oh, hi, honey, how are you?”

“Listen, Sandra, I can’t really talk right now – I just need to ask you a quick question,” said Conwrey.

“Sweetheart, have you spoken to your sister recently?” he asked.

“Yes, a couple of days ago – why?”

“Wasn’t she supposed to come down for a visit soon?” the General persisted.

“Yes – she’s waiting for Peter to finish his school term before they come – why do you ask?”

The General looked about himself – there was no one in the hallway.

“Tell her she needs to come and visit us right away – no questions asked.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Sandra, tell her she needs to leave New York now. Tell her that I told you to get everyone together and get out of the city immediately.”

“Honey, what’s this about?”

“I can’t tell you that now; all I ask is that you trust me. Just tell her leave and tell her to leave now.”