SWNOVELS Chapter The Risk All Witches Run
By and by ‘*’ left to go back to the States, stopping off briefly in Singapore along the way, where she was presented to the Vice President Kamala Harris, who was also there albeit for very serous, official business to do with China and the projection of geo-political power everywhere. That kind of thing.
Nevertheless, the team found time to meet with the world’s greatest modern day young actress, as they crossed paths.
Singapore, is of course, the world’s most ‘something,’ too. It is easily the world’s genuinely most ‘surveillance state’ place – not that there are not other competing for the spot. It’s just that the government of Singapore has the best technology.
There is absolutely no way at all that anything untoward can ever happen in Singapore, and even if someone tries something, they are on film and bound to be apprehended quickly.
Some members of the Vice-President’s team succumbed to something quite worrying though, and right in front of ’*’s′ eyes, as it happened.
The press repeated the information releases authorised by the CIA and put out by White House Press Secretary. It said that the team had suffered an attack of ‘Havana Syndrome.’
‘Havana Syndrome’ is this thing that is blamed on ‘the Russians,’ since the first time it was seriously noted, was in the American Embassy in Cuba, following which some embassy staff suffered very serious long term damage, having survived kinds of physical collapses and loss of consciousness.
*
A couple of weeks later, ‘*’ was on the Jimmy Fallon SNL Show, along with a a guest from the White House press corps.
Applause.
Panning shots.
Everyone sits down. Legs crossed. Short skirts.
“Ah. So, ‘*.’ Great to see you back with us again.”
“Great to be back. How’s things, Jimmy?”
“I hear you had an incident out there in the world of our government leaders. Down there in Singapore. You were passing through there, back to here? Is that right?”
“Yes, Jimmy. That’s right. It was awful.”
“Not to make light of it at all, but I do have to address this question to our reporter who is with us tonight...” Jimmy nods to the other guest, sitting right next to ‘*.’
Applause.
Reporter guest waves.
“Now Laura. You know what Washington is thinking...”
She rolled her eyes.
“Did they believe that the world would be taken over in just eleven days by the Aliens?”
Pause. Roars of laughter. Applause.
Laura: “Well no, Jimmy. The top brass’s position, even now, is that they have absolutely no credible evidence at all, that there even are Aliens!”
“‘*’ - what do you think?”
“I have... ...no idea. ...About this kind of thing, Jimmy. Really. With me it’s like - just give me the script, sign the deal with my agent, and we’ll see.” Smiles cutely.
“Where have you been, ‘*?’ Really? Tell us. People were telling me that you went to join a coven or something, down in Australia. Are you a witch, now, ‘*?’”
‘*’ laughs. “Ah no no no. Witches get burned at the stake and all dreadful stuff like that. Don’t they? All bad stuff anyway. I know that. So, I won’t be doing that any time soon. I just learned some ancient Aboriginal cultural things down there. Was very interesting too.
*
Vera-Lucien, one time political security field agents manager – for a tiny handful of ‘very special purposes’ units - was back behind her old desk again.
She was taking a call from Thomas P., a really high-placed attorney, and one of the key liaison points for the ‘highest of the high’ in Washington, back to the intel panoply.
“You want ‘my reading’ of it all? I’ll tell you my reading – you do not have the class to be there at those places where its all happening, and you do not have anyone in there with you right now, working for you, who has the class, either, to be let in anywhere. Sure you can try forcing your way but do you even know where to look? You hang around in the wrong places with utterly the wrong kinds of people, and that’s why you’re getting it wrong -, and eventually, you will get it big wrong. Send checks. Don’t post questions. Show me the money. This is becoming a deadly deadly business, more deadly than you even know. Sooner or later, you will all up there frazzle up and disappear, or you will come begging.
“I’ll be here. Maybe you won’t though. That’s the issue for me. And right now, you are too stupid to even realise it.”
“You’re an arrogant bitch ain’t you...”
“Yeah? So? So what?”
A long pause.
She added, “What makes you think, that given where it all happened, in Singapore for god’s sakes, that they could not have taken out the VP? Hey by the way, want me to tell you something about Singapore’s ‘glorious father?’ You know, something which, if it got out, would pull the whole place down overnight – especially with the ethnic Chinese...”
“Okay. Go on.”
“You owe me, right. Check is in the mail, yeah?”
“Just give it...”
“You know when you go Wikipedia, and see that bit in there about what Lee did ‘interpreting for the Kempeitai during WWII...’ And then, especially when you look at those old interviews where Lee is lecturing the United States about something or other, something where he is claiming the moral high ground...”
“You don’t have any proof. You don’t have access or clearance. In any case you don’t have proof that would be in the public domain.”
“Oh, yeah. Ya think? How about... ...how ’bout I just tell you, how the Kempeitai tortured ethnic Chinese gold dealers. You know, to find out where the stash was.”
Silence.
“I am not squeamish. Are you?”
“How much do you want? What, do you want? You’ve been put back on the team. So what else do you want now.”
“Well the show ain’t over, is it? There’s a long way to go yet. But I think I have the right ‘access’ to the actual right people for you. What do you think? Do you think there is some remote chance that that would be correct? Or do you like to feel the burn again? Some more? You know, do those idiots in there with you, want to roll the dice just one more time? Double down on the losing bet? Because I think these guys over here, can ‘go some more.’ They’re just w-a-i-ting for you to pull the trigger.”