A Couple of Motivated Marines

147.

We skip our usual post-game barley pops, this time opting for protein smoothies at the juice bar. Neither one of us is wanting to compromise the focus necessary to complete the assignment. Harlan going as far as to comment that this one is like his masters effort, a thousand words on saving the free-world from fascism. I completely agree, with the caveat that his is the legal side and mine the tactical. Before our drinks are halfway done we reach the conclusion that both elements will play important parts in the strategy. 

We part company heading to our respective think-tank isolation chambers. We have agreed to provide hourly updates on each others progress as the master plan incubates, the collective brain-child of a constitutional law expert and a field savvy tactical mastermind. 

In the elegant office space of my hotel suite I open the MacBook Pro and go to work, deciding to outline the plan using reverse chronology. I find that it sometimes helps to state the mission’s primary objectives first and then work backwards from there. As they say if you don’t know your desired port, no wind or wave is ideal. 

DISABLE MBI AND TAKE THE SENATOR DOWN 

I type and read. A thousand scenarios play out in my mind. The easy one, a forceful coup, is out. The days of us storming an embassy and installing a puppet government to do our bidding are gone, replaced by the modern version of cyber warfare and the court of public opinion as presided over by social media. In this particular scenario, bth idioms are in play as the Senator is decidedly old school and MBI, with The Queen of Hearts, a world-class hackstress at the con, is state of the art. To be successful we will need to leverage both. 

It becomes quickly apparent that we will need to involve our MBI asset from the get-go. 

I am prodding along in my grossly inefficient two-finger hunt and peck style when the cell buzzes.

“Guy’s name is Patterson Friedman, a long time Hartaugh associate, one-time aide and now personal fixer for the Senator, he works off-book mostly cleaning up after Hartaugh pukes somewhere, and has a long history of working with your boy Bartowsky, a barely legal team of street-smart henchmen. I met him once at a fund-raiser dinner in Columbia and it took me a week to wash off the stench. But he is smart and connected managing to leverage his political clout with lobbyists, mostly NRA, big tobacco and Pharma and several military contractors. You remember the Pentagon fraud, waste and abuse scandal a few years back about the missing billion dollars? Guess who ran that scam? New York City U, wife, two kids, Redskins fan. Classic republican eunuch, a real piece of work. Hartaugh loves him.” 

“How old are his kids?” I ask.

Julie is silent for a beat pondering the implications of my question but soon gets the message and says, “Angie is six and Trey is five. How are you doing?”

“Just getting started, Harlan and I are comparing notes to stay on task. How was the fallout?

“The usual. TOM sees this is the most important assignment any of us will encounter in our lifetimes, not to mention careers, so he is understandably leaning on his best people, you and Harlan especially, to rise to the occasion.” 

“And you,” I offer, “we need all hands on deck.”

“Agreed, I will be working late, would you include me in your correspondence with Harlan?”

“Of course.”

“OK, thanks. You think we got a chance with this?”

“None.”

“None?”

“Thousand to one, about the same odds as me beating Harlan in a best of five series.”

“But it could happen?”

“Remember what Cap used to say?”

“I do; ‘Nothing is impossible with enough focused effort and a couple of motivated Marines.’” 

“Hoo-ahh. Talk soon.”