Chapter 16: Operation Revenge Is a Bitch

I had just walked into the kitchen when I heard Grandma Jorgenson tell somebody on the phone that she would have me call as soon as I came through the door. She evidently didn’t hear me open and close the kitchen door. I stepped in to the kitchen and was excitedly told by her I had a call from Washington, DC. She had promised him I would return his call as soon as I got home. I had to laugh when I told Grandma that I could not call the man back.

She became agitated, saying I was making her look like a fool. I responded that I could not call the person back until she gave me his number. She sheepishly looked at me and handed me the notepad with the number written on it. I took the notepad and gathered her up in a hug. She melted when I told her I appreciated her as my grandmother-in-law. She cried, giving me a hug as she left the room to give me some privacy to make the phone call.

I dialed the number, and the person on the other end identified himself as the Bureau assistant who I had talked to that morning. He called to thank me for passing the information I had about the leak along. He informed me they had found the source of that leak. A secretarial assistant shopped the information around hoping it would lead to a better paying position in another organization. It had gotten her fired and blackballed from working in any other governmental agency instead.

The real reason he had called was that the higher ups wanted me and Karen to be present for the sting. She was the top choice for the second young dining companion. No one else had come close to imitating the accent as well as she had, and she was far prettier than the female agents involved were. They doubted Senator Stuart would take the bait without her there.

He assured me that Karen would be safe. The agency would make sure there would be armed agents close by to protect her and me both from physical harm. We were to be at the Chicago Meigs Field Thursday evening, and we would have a weekend in DC on Uncle Sam if we agreed to it. I made no promises and said I would call him back in the morning.

Karen had been out shopping with Camilla and had gotten home just after I hung up the phone. She saw me and came over to give me a kiss and a hug. I told her that we had received a phone call from Washington, DC, after she got the hug and the kiss she wanted. The higher ups in the Bureau wanted her and me to be in town for the sting. I didn’t reveal the details to her just yet. I wanted to make sure she would even consider going to Washington, DC. She was excited at the news of going, especially when I told her the weekend was on Uncle Sam.

I told her they wanted her to act as one of the two dinner companions; she did not react at first. I figured it had not sunk in and she would react very strongly when it sunk in. I was the surprised one instead. She looked forward to playing the Russian woman of mystery. She used her Natasha voice for the rest of the week and it did make things interesting around the house.

I only had one class Thursday, and had one of my graduate assistants take over as it was going to be a review session for midterms. Karen and I got busy packing for the weekend in Washington, DC, or in Karen’s case, packed, repacked, and repacked. She spent most of the morning putting together what she felt a dinner companion should wear, as well as her other clothing choices for the weekend.

Me, I wasn’t so fussy. I packed my new suit, making a note to myself to contact Simon about having others made and shipped to me. The quality of his suits was of far better quality than those in a similar price range. I packed the khakis I received when I was at the Moscow Embassy and an assortment of polo shirts and a light jacket for the rest of my weekend wardrobe. I was packed and ready to go twenty minutes later. I called Lawrence and asked him to drive us to Meigs Field. He was glad to do so, as always, and he would be at the house an hour before we were to be at the airport.

A vehicle pulled into our drive as promised. I wasn’t familiar with it. This was one of the new Chrysler minivans. I was wondering who we knew that had one. Lawrence got out and came to the door. I opened the door and welcomed him in. We waited while Karen and her grandmother were having a last minute discussion. I soon became impatient and asked Karen to hurry. Karen finally appeared in the doorway dragging two suitcases behind her, and greeted Lawrence. I went to pick the suitcase up and decided it would probably be best to drag it behind me as Karen had. I wheeled one out and Lawrence did the other. Lawrence looked over at me and just rolled his eyes.

I do have to admit the minivan had a lot of room. I was surprised. Camilla was sitting in the front passenger seat, patiently waiting for us to finish loading. Karen and I both hugged Grandma Jorgenson goodbye before we got into the van and promised we would phone when we were in DC. The trip from our house to Meigs Field was roughly a twenty-minute drive. I made comment that I liked the minivan and said I thought Lawrence was a sedan man. That was when Camilla piped in and commented that a minivan was so much easier loading and unloading car seats. It took me a while, but it finally dawned on me. My friend, the FBI agent was going to be a dad.

I started laughing until I had tears in my eyes. Everyone wanted to know why I found the idea of Camilla and Lawrence being parents so funny, of course.

I replied, “I didn’t think Lawrence would participate in anything not covered in the FBI training manual.

Camilla and Karen howled at my comment, of course. Lawrence sat facing forward not reacting. I did not notice any until I saw the tops of his ears become red. That just made it even funnier to me.

Lawrence seemed to know where to go and we soon pulled up to a hangar away from the rest of the buildings at the field. Parked next to the hangar was a familiar jet. I had flown the same one three years earlier. Lawrence parked the van close to the jet and got out to open the rear hatch so we could unload. Karen and I got out and I went to the back of the van to help unload and start carrying the bags to the jet.

I got up to the jet and found myself greeted by a couple of familiar faces. The same crew had shuttled me back and forth from Minot to Chicago almost four years ago. They had the baggage hatch open and we put Karen’s and my bags into the cargo hold together. I turned and went back to the van to get Karen and say goodbye to our friends.

Karen and I boarded the jet; I took my customary seat behind the wing. Karen took the seat across the aisle from me. Both the pilot and copilot came back to meet Karen and catch up since the last time they saw me. They both went to the cockpit after greeting us, and started the engines. The jet made its way toward the runway. We only sat on the approach apron for a short time before the jet moved forward on to the runway. The pilot opened up the throttles, the jet jumped, and started racing down the runway. We were soon airborne climbing to our cruising speed and altitude.

Karen would look over at me with this strange look in her eye during the flight, reach across and grab for my hand. She did this several times and she would tear up and smile at me each time. This went on for the entire flight. Karen did this one more time when the jet was making its final approach to the airport. I had enough and asked what was troubling her. The answer I got was a surprise; she thought that it was time we should also consider starting a family too. I weakly smiled back at her, not making any comments. Inside, I thought, “Dammit, Lawrence, look what you started.”

The jet smoothly landed and we taxied over to where a limousine was parked and waiting. Hoping the driver was Robert, I was disappointed it was not. The chauffeur was patiently waiting beside the hatch when we exited the jet. The chauffeur retrieved our luggage with the help of the ground crew while we said our goodbyes to the crew. I do have to say the driver was very efficient. He didn’t say much other than to welcome us to Washington and helped Karen into the car. I do not think the driver said much more than to ask if we were comfortable in the back seat all the way to the hotel where we were to stay.

I was not quite sure where the jet landed this time, as I did not recognize any of the surroundings as we drove toward the capital. I turned around and looked out the back window. I saw a sign pointing the way we had just come, ‘Hyde Field’. I wasn’t familiar with that airport. I turned around and watched to see if I saw any views that I would recognize. I saw the sign pointing off to the right for Andrews Air Force Base a few minutes later. I then knew where we were and what direction we were traveling. We were south and east of Washington, DC, heading in a northerly direction. We pulled up in front of a hotel we knew a half hour later. We stayed in the same one in the last time we were in Washington, DC, a few months earlier. We got out and the driver went to open the trunk so the bellhops could remove our bags and put them on to the cart.

The driver soon pulled away leaving us in the hands of the bellhops. I thought the driver was not very friendly. I would make sure that we had Robert when we left for home Monday. We walked in to the hotel was greeted at the front desk as if we were old friends. The clerk went to get the manager and informed us that our suite was ready. The manager wanted to greet us. I thought this was over the top and wasn’t sure why we deserved this. The manager who greeted us was the same one from when we were here a few months earlier. He also greeted us as old friends and I was even more confused.

It seems that Grandma Jorgenson’s cooking lessons had paid off for the hotel’s restaurant and that local food critics were raving about the improvement in the quality of the baked goods and the introduction of several new dishes. This in turn had improved the hotel’s bottom line as more people came to stay and eat in their restaurant. The manager wanted to show us his appreciation and said our meals at the hotel would be comped. He hoped we would come to visit again and make sure the invitation included Karen’s grandmother. I chuckled in the elevator the wholeway to our suite. It was American capitalism as its best. I think the bellhop taking us to our suite thought I was nuts.

The phone in the room rang a half hour after we were in our room and settled in. I went to answer it. It was the front desk informing me that I had a message left at the front desk by a courier and I should come down to get it at my convenience. I said I would be right down and left Karen to unpack and get herself ready for an evening out. I planned to take her to one of the night spots we went to the night Molly had shown us Washington after dark. The packet left for me was from the FBI and looked all official with seals on it and a label warning only to open by the person whose name appeared on it under penalty of law. I thanked the clerk and went back up to the suite. I decided to wait until I was safely in the suite to open it in case it was something that was ‘For My Eyes Only’.

I was sadly disappointed upon opening it. It was a memo from my Washington, DC FBI contact and an itinerary of what was happening tomorrow and the timing when everything was to occur. Along with it was a list of phone numbers I was to call if I ran into any difficulty. There was nothing top-secret here. A call on the phone would reveal the same information. This was DC for you, I thought, you had a memo for just about everything. Karen was ready to go out and I decided we would take a taxi to Georgetown and enjoy an early evening before we turned in for the night.

The front desk was kind enough to call a cab for us and it soon arrived. I had the driver take us to Georgetown and we got out after I paid the cab driver. We walked through the business district window-shopping, commenting on all the different shops and little pubs and restaurants we walked by. Karen and I were both hungry and soon spotted a cafe that had outdoor dining. We decided to stop and sample the cuisine. We were not disappointed; though it was on the expensive side, we thoroughly enjoyed our meal. We continued our stroll down the street after I had paid the bill and left a tip. It was just getting dark when I recognized one of the places where Molly had taken us. We walked in and stood there stunned. There was Molly and her group of friends settled in for an evening of fun. One of her gang saw us and said something to Molly. She immediately turned around, screamed, and came running over, giving each of us a hug. We went over to the table and caught each other up on the latest in our lives for the next two hours.

I let Karen do the talking for us as I sat and listened to the other conversations. I wanted to see if I could gather any intelligence as to how widespread the news of the sting had spread. There was no mention of it by any of Molly’s friends. They all worked for various congressmen and governmental agencies. I thought it was good it had not worked its way down that far. Molly asked why we were back in town so soon. Karen responded that we had liked DC so much the last time that we had taken an extended weekend and wanted to enjoy the city. That seemed to satisfy everyone’s curiosity. I, in turn, asked Molly where she was working. She had changed jobs a few weeks ago, and was now at a higher pay grade and was now an assistant to my friend the Congressman. I asked her how my old friend was doing. She said she thought he was doing well though there seemed to be an excessive amount paper shredded in the office this past week. I got a chuckle out of that. I guess my friend the Congressman had a few skeletons in his closet and things he did not want brought to light. I think I will have Karen keep in touch with Molly to keep tabs on the Congressman. I might pass this information along to my contact at the FBI. I remember a recent conversation with the Congressman where he told me how things worked in the Capitol. I liked the idea of having a little fun by making a certain Congressman sweat.

Molly and her friends did not disappoint us. I learned the latest Washington, DC, gossip. None of it fortunately was about the FBI, a sting, or a certain traitorous Senator. It would remain secret until tomorrow evening. It was getting late and I could see Karen flagging; all the excitement and anticipation had worn her down. I decided it was time to call it a night. I called the server over to settle my tab and asked her about calling a cab. She said that she would have the barkeeper do it for us, as they do it on a regular basis for patrons who have had a bit too much to drink. I tipped her extra for calling for us.

We said our goodbyes and begged off on invitations for going out tomorrow night as we already had plans on dining out with others in Washington. I asked Molly for her number and said we would get back with her for later on Saturday. She had to make a big thing about finally some person had asked for her phone number of course, but it had to be from a happily married man. Everyone got a good laugh out of that. Karen and I soon left to wait for the cab out front. It was not long until the cab showed and we rode back to the hotel. I paid the driver and Karen and I went up to our room and crashed. We would have a long day tomorrow.

We were up early the next morning, showered, dressed, then went down to have breakfast downstairs in the restaurant. We were to meet with the FBI folks at the FBI headquarters at 10 AM. I was going to call Robert, but figured that he would already be busy and settled for a cab instead. I had the front desk call us one and we were soon on our way to the J. Edgar Hoover Building. The cab left us off at the main entrance to the building and Karen and I went in after I paid the driver.

We were early and Karen and I wandered around the lobby looking at the exhibits of significant events in FBI history after reporting in to the receptionist at the visitor’s desk. It was interesting to view. a younger man came out after we waited for 15-minutes,, went to the receptionist’s desk, and held a brief conversation with her. She pointed Karen and me out to him. He came over, introduced himself as a low-level minion, and asked us to sign in and get the necessary visitor’s badges.

He then had us follow him to the elevators and we went up several floors. We followed him down a busy corridor to a group of offices. He motioned for us to go on in after knocking on a door. I immediately recognized its occupant when we stepped into the office. We had met the senior FBI official the previous week. He warmly greeted Karen and me, and asked if we would like a beverage while we met with him. I am not a big coffee drinker and replied that I didn’t care for anything. Karen followed my lead.

We made small talk about how we liked our accommodations for the next few minutes, and we thanked him for putting us up in the hotel. He asked if we had eaten in the hotel’s restaurant. He raved about how good the food was. Karen started laughing and told the FBI Administrator how we had stayed their recently and it was her grandmother who had taught the kitchen staff some of her cooking secrets. Karen then volunteered that her grandmother was living with us so we ate that way most of the time. He said that he was envious of us if we ate like that all the time. He also asked if we went out last night since we were involved with the sting for next twenty-four hours. We told him that we visited Georgetown and coincidentally ran into some friends we had recently made in Washington.

That was when I said, “Oh, I did learn a bit of intelligence last night. My friend the Congressman from Michigan recently hired a friend of ours in a low-level administrative assistant position. She divulged an interesting bit of information.”

“Oh, and what is that?” he asked. “Is there anything on going that would be of interest to the Bureau?”

“She told me last night that there has been a large amount of documents being shredded in the office this past week,” I answered. “The shredding would have started after the Congressman had called me to ask about the rumors about the sting.”

“Now that is interesting,” he said. “I will pass that along to the task force investigating Congressional wrong doings.”

“The people in the trenches also know nothing about the FBI’s involvement in, or the existence of the sting,” I added. “So the people who think they know something are tilting at windmills.”

“That is also good to know, I will pass that along to those involved in the sting,” he commented. “There was a lot of worry that the sting would fall on its face by having a lot of resources tied up.”

We spent the rest of the time were in the Administrator’s office going over how I perceived the sting should go. The lobbyist who was to make the initial introductions of the company to key players in the American Defense Industry had already approached the Senator. They would have Senator Stuart for failure to register as an agent of a foreign country if agrees to the proposal. Senator Stuart also needed to provide intelligence about recent activities inside Russia by US Intelligence operatives. It would be grounds for charges of espionage if he agreed to that and accepted the cash in the briefcase as payment. He would face a huge fine and a prison sentence if convicted. I would be happy with that.