The Mistri Virus

  “It never seems like much of a big deal. It never does, son,” Lake said thoughtfully, as if he knew from experience. “Now, let’s talk about something that’s been bothering me,” he said seriously.

  “What would that be, sir?” Tommy asked, wondering what it could be.

  Lake turned serious.

  “Cramer,” the Colonel stated matter-of-factly. “Tell me about Cramer.”

  Tommy told him everything he knew about the CIA agent, up to and including Cramer shooting him. He did not mention Operation Clean Sweep.

  “Yes, Lieutenant Tremmel said you had seen who shot you. He have a reason?”

  “Not that I’m aware of, Colonel,” Tommy hedged. He could not mention details about his secret mission for Cramer and Hawk.

  “I’m gonna do some checking on him. I want to find out what makes a duck like him quack. I’ll be in touch before you leave outa here, Major.”

  “Any idea when that will be, Sir?” Tommy asked, glad to change the subject. “I’d say within a week. Germany, I think the doctors said,” Lake replied as if deep in thought.

  “I guess I’m doing all right, huh?”

  “Doc said the bullet went in and out. Mangled the lower part of your right lung, deflected off something and came out just above your right hip just below your ribs. Said you were lucky, it could have just as easily went the other way.”

  “I don’t feel very lucky.”

  “Count your blessings, Major,” Colonel Lake said, offering his hand in farewell.

  “Thanks for stopping by, Colonel.”

  “No trouble, Major. I’ll see you later.”

  “Yes, Sir. Later.”

  The Colonel turned and left. He had been very deep in thought. Tommy couldn’t imagine about what. Maybe he’d find out at their next meeting.

  * * * * *

  The phone on Cramer’s desk rang and he leaned forward through his pall of cigar and cigarette smoke and lifted the handset to his ear.

  “Cramer,” he said.

  “You have a problem, Cramer,” General Hawk stated bluntly.

  “What may that be, General Hawk?” he responded, figuring that if the general could use his name, then he could sure as hell put his on the wire, or recording. If it was being recorded. Turn about was fair play where he came from.

  “You missed your target...again!”

  “No way! That’s impossible!”

  “Then why was he lying in post-op recovery at the medical unit day before yesterday with half a lung missing?”

  “There is no way I missed him!”

  “You didn’t miss him, Cramer! You just didn’t kill him!”

  “Jesus!” Cramer said in exasperation. “Do you have to go into such graphic detail over the phone?”

  “What do you plan on doing about it?” Hawk said, ignoring the question.

  “It’s not what will I do. It’s what the government will do.”

  “I’m talking about LeSade!” Hawk yelled into the phone.

  Cramer jerked the receiver away from his hear, looked at it as if he could see Hawk’s angry face in it. He cautiously put it back to his ear and said, “Finish it, of course!”

  “It’s too late for that,” Hawk said. “He was on a medical flight to Germany this morning.”

  “That is a problem!” Cramer stated. “I can’t just pick up and go to Germany.”

  “You’d better figure something!” The general threatened, then slammed down the phone in Cramer’s ear.

  Cramer hardly noticed. Stunned was not the word Cramer would have chosen to describe how he was feeling; more like, AMAZED! How did he survive a bullet to the heart? Maybe he is Superman! Cramer laughed out loud at his personal joke.

  * * * * *

  When Tommy opened his eyes the next morning Lieutenant Tremmel was standing in her MP uniform beside his bed.

  “Well, good morning, Major,” she said sweetly. “Are you ready to travel?”

  “Morning Angel,” he said smiling sleepily. “We going somewhere?”

  “Oh, I thought we’d fly over to Germany today. It’s such a splendid day to be out and about,” she said aristocratically, with her nose in the air.

  “Tell me, Lieutenant, can a fellow officer get a kiss,” he sighed. “Just to start a beautiful day off right.”

  “Sounds like a direct order to me,” she smiled. “And I always follow direct orders from my superior officers,” she added, leaning over and kissing him on the lips. “But, wait a minute,” she said, raising up and looking him in the eyes. “How do you know it’s a beautiful day? You can’t see outside!”

  “Well, that’s easy, Lieutenant Tremmel,” he smiled. “The first thing I saw was you and that makes all the difference to me.”

  “Oh, you silver tongued devil!” she laughed, then kissed him again. “You know all the right things to say to get to a girl’s heart!” She kissed him again.

  When she came up for air two medical personnel were standing behind her. They tried not to look at her bent over bottom, but they couldn’t help themselves. It was a beautiful view.

  “Excuse us, sir. Ma’am,” one of the medics said. “We’re here to transport Major LeSade to the airport. He’s scheduled for a flight to Germany this morning.”

  “Yes, I know. I’m his escort. Here are my orders,” she said, taking a copy of her orders from her pocket and handing it to the medic.

  “You’ll have to show them to the flight crew, Ma’am. We just transport to the airfield, Ma’am.”

  “Very well,” she smiled, putting the orders back in her pocket. “Carry on,” she added, stepping aside.

  The medics transferred Tommy from his hospital bed to the ambulance gurney, strapped him down lightly and raised the side rails. When they were ready, they began to push and pull him from the hospital ward. Lindsey followed closely. Protectively. That was her property they were transporting and it was very valuable to her. She had no intention of letting it get out of her sight for a second.

  * * * * *

  At the airport Tommy was loaded straight onto the aircraft. Lindsey was checked through airport security. Her identification and orders were checked with headquarters and verified. It was easy to get into a war zone and quite harder to get out again, she had learned. When she was cleared, she was allowed to board the aircraft and join Tommy.

  On the flight to West Germany, when Tommy wasn’t sleeping, they kissed and talked. Mostly talked and looked adoringly at each other. They were under constant attention from the flight crew, so their petting was done mostly in secret.

  Lindsey pretended to adjust Tommy’s blanket around his shoulders when she wanted a kiss. He pretended to be cold when he wanted one. All in all, it worked out pretty well. However, it didn’t fool the flight crew. They knew they were transporting a war hero, a Medal of Honor and Silver Star awardee and his future wife. The story of the lovers went around the aircraft quickly, so the flight crew left them pretty much alone.

  “Tell me, Lindsey,” Tommy asked curiously. “Why the armed escort?”

  “You are under the protection of the President of the United States. As a Congressional Medal of Honor awardee you are both a war hero and a National Treasure. Hence, the armed escort,” she responded.

  “How did you get scheduled to be my escort?”

  “I basically ordered my C.O. to allow me. After all, we are going to be married. And I was with you when you were shot. And my C.O. is my uncle. So, it was really quite simple. He loves me,” she smiled shyly and blushed a beautiful pink. “I told him you saved my life by pushing me out of the way and taking the bullet yourself,” she said honestly. “What choice did he have?”

  “You’re pretty slick,” he smiled. “We both know the bullet was intended to hit me in the heart.”

  “Prove it!” she interrupted. “If you hadn’t pushed me out of the way, would the bullet have hit you or me?” she challenged.

  “It would have hit
me in the heart. If I hadn’t leaned over and pushed you.”

  “Maybe,” she smiled. “But, would you swear under oath to that?”

  “No.”

  “There you go then. And here I am,” she laughed. “It might have hit me,” she smiled with emphasis on ‘might’.

  “Either way, I’m glad it was me and not you that got hit.”

  “See! You are a natural hero! And my knight in shining armor all rolled into one! That’s why I’m falling deeper and deeper in love with you with every passing mile. Fell in love, that’s why I fell in love with you in the first place.”

  “My Angel,” Tommy smiled as he began to get sleepy.

  Lindsey smiled, then leaned over to adjust the blanket around his shoulders. She stole a passionate kiss for her trouble. And got busted.

  “He sure is a handsome devil, isn’t he?” A female Major asked Lindsey when she came up for air.

  “He sure is!” she agreed, realizing it would do no good to feign innocents. “That’s why I’ll love him forever!”

  “You better. Or some other lucky woman will!”

  “I know.”

  “Excuse me while I take his vitals,” the Major said, showing her stethoscope and thermometer.

  “Yes, Ma’am,” Lindsey smiled, stepping back and allowing the Major to step up beside Tommy.

  The major was very efficient. When she finished her exam she smiled at Lindsey. “He’s doing perfectly, Lieutenant. You’ll have him around for a long time, yet.”

  “I sure hope so,” Lindsey said, as she began thinking about homes, babies, station wagons and car pools, soccer practice, skinned knees and bumped heads. “I sure hope so,” she repeated in a whisper to herself.

  * * * * *

  Three weeks later Tommy and Lindsey sat side by side on a large military aircraft headed for the United States. Their first stop was Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. From there they would have a military escort to Washington, D.C.; destination: The White House.

  The awards ceremony was set for three o’clock in the afternoon, in the Rose Garden. The President himself would make the presentation on behalf of the people of the United States and Congress.

  Personally, Tommy would be glad when all the fooforah was over and done with. Then, he and Lindsey could get married and start their future together. He said start, because Lindsey would have to return to Iraq and finish her tour of duty. She still had a year left.

  Chapter 5

  Looking back now, five years later, Tommy couldn’t see what all the fuss was about. The president was a man just like himself. Only Tommy was honest, whereas, he felt the president and all his merry men were crooks, plain and simple. They used their positions to legally rob the very people they had sworn to protect, the American people, then, blamed it on the terrorists. Plus, they had gotten his Angel killed. And for that they had to pay. And pay dearly they would, too. He had seen to that with the last keystroke he had made on the computer keyboard.

  The virus he had sent on its way fifteen minutes ago was unstoppable. No one but Judge Andrew Ryan and himself knew of its existence. Therefore, no one could find it and stop it.

  It is, in fact, the perfect mystery virus, he thought as he heard the police cars outside pull to a screeching halt in front of his house. The game was afoot! Thirty seconds later the doorbell rang. The cops had arrived. It was time to go.

  He got up and walked to the door. “Can I help you, Officer?” he asked with a surprised look on his face, as he pulled the door open.

  Looking at the two large ‘bull’ cops the judge had sent Tommy smiled inwardly. They were both six feet four inches tall and weighed in at approximately two hundred and fifty pounds.

  “Mister Tommy Mistri?” one of the officers asked.

  “Yes?”

  “Mister Mistri I have a warrant for your arrest on a charge of first degree assault. You’ll have to come with me, sir.”

  “Very well,” Tommy smiled. “May I secure my home, first? I live alone.”

  “We’ll have to accompany you, sir,” the officer said opening the storm door and basically forcing his way inside. He was closely followed by his partner.

  Come into my parlor said the spider to the fly, Tommy thought. But said, “That will be fine. It won’t take but a minute. I just have to turn on the alarm system and shut down my computer,” he added over his shoulder as he entered the livingroom.

  “I will need the alarm system password. A search warrant may be sworn out.”

  “In that case I will give the codeword to the server of the search warrant,” Tommy said as neutrally as he could. He laughed inside as the cops fell deeper into his trap. Judge Ryan had told him these two had a history of police brutality against lone suspects, then claimed they resisted arrest. Tommy had every intention of balancing the scales of Justice for all their victims.

  “Very well. I have to read you your Miranda rights,” the second officer said, glancing at his partner.

  “I know them. Save your breath.”

  “You will need to sign a waiver of those rights before we get to the County Jail.”

  “I’m not waiving them. I’m relieving you of the burden of having to read them to me.”

  “Sir, we’re trying to be civil with you here. If you want to play rough we can.”

  “Officer, you don’t know what playing rough is,” Tommy said, flipping the power switch on the computer off and turning on the security cameras, both inside and out.

  “Are you threatening me?”

  “No, I’m promising you.”

  “We’ll see, smartass!” the first officer stated, slowly pulling a night stick from his utility belt.

  The second officer pulled his nightstick as well. He approached Tommy from behind and began to slap the stick into the palm of his left hand.

  They’re so easily provoked, Tommy told himself. So gullible, he added. They walk into a trap with their eyes wide open. Not very smart, not knowing who their opponent is.

  “If you attempt to hit me with that stick, Officer. I’m going to shove it up your ass,” Tommy said, thinking of the video and audio recording that would come out of this encounter.

  “We got us a real bad actor here, Sam!”

  “He’s a pussy, Bill. Says he gonna stick ter up my ass! I’d like to see that!” he laughed.

  “All you have to do is try and hit me with it and I’ll make your wish come true!” Tommy smiled, his hands crossed in front of him, one hand holding his other wrist in a non-aggressive pose.

  Sam swung his nightstick savagely at Tommy. Tommy caught it as he rolled away from the impact. He turned, rolled and twisted the stick out of Sam’s grip and then smacked him solidly on the shin with it. It sounded as if he had hit a baseball out of the park. Sam roared with pain.

  Tommy brought the stick down in the back of Sam’s knee and he buckled to the floor clutching his shin and knee with both hands, bellowing like a bull buffalo with arrows stuck in his rump.

  Tommy saw Bill coming for him out of his peripheral vision as Sam was going down. His nightstick was arcing over his shoulder aiming for Tommy’s head. Tommy caught it with the stick he now had and jerked it from Bill’s hand. He reversed his swing and struck Bill in the side of the head. He fell like a fallen pine.

  At the same time, Sam was trying to get up. Tommy whacked him on the knee with the stick again. Again Sam bellowed in pain.

  “Well, Sam,” Tommy smiled. “I’m a man of my word and your wish is going to come true!” he said, kneeling down and placing his knee in the middle of Sam’s back. He ripped the seat of Sam’s pants open and then his boxers. He then began to shove the nightstick up Sam’s ass.

  “Oh, please,” Sam begged. “Don’t do that to me! Please!”

  “Sorry Sam. I’ve never made a promise that I didn’t keep. Plus, I just hate bully cops. Especially big mean sons of bitches like you and this piece of shit, here!”

  Tommy felt the cops anus give and the stick
began to slide in deep.

  His buttocks clamped tight around it, but still it slid in deeper. Sam began to bellow like a bull giving up his nuts to castration.

  “Oh God, please Mister! You’re tearing me up something fierce inside! Please stop! Please!” Sam bellowed, then screamed like a girl and began to cry.

  Tommy felt no remorse after what he had been through in Iraq. He shoved the stick deeper. Sam passed out.

  Tommy stopped and stood up. He left the stick in Sam, then turned to Bill. He knelt down and ripped the seat of his pants and boxers. he grabbed the stick and shoved it up his ass about ten inches.

  Behind him the door crashed open and a voice screamed, “FREEZE!”

  Tommy stopped and raised his hands over his head. “Just fulfilling their wishes, Officer,” Tommy smiled, when he saw the look of awe cross the young officer’s face.

  “If you move at all, I’ll blow your ass away!” the cop said seriously. “Now, lay face down on the floor and place your hands behind your back!” he added pointing his shaking gun in the direction of Tommy’s chest head and groin.

  Tommy complied, thinking, mission accomplished. He smiled as he lay on the floor and placed his hands in the small of his back just as cops began to flood through the front door like flood waters.

  Several of the cops laughed and shook their heads at the sight of the two meanest cops on the force with their nightsticks stuck up their asses. Others took it very serious, knowing it could be them lying there. They beat Tommy with their nightsticks and kicked him repeatedly in retaliation.

  Through it all Tommy endured, knowing the video and audio recorders were catching every bit of the action in digital color and surround sound.

  After ten minutes of uncontrolled abuse, Tommy was dragged out of the house and placed in a squad car. Bill and Sam had been taken by ambulance to the hospital for treatment and removal of their nightsticks.

  Tommy was taken straight to the county jail and thrown into a cell without treatment or medical attention. He was the enemy.

  An hour later he was dragged out of the cell, fingerprinted and photographed, then charged with sexual assault on a police officer, two counts. Resisting arrest and assault on a police officer, eight counts. He was looking at twenty years in prison. He wasn’t concerned, everything had already been arranged with Judge Ryan.

  * * * * *

  Governor Wendell Cartwright looked around his new office. He still found it hard to believe he had been elected Governor in such a short time. He’d had a good campaign manager and his running mate had been involved in the political scene for years. His reputation had helped pave the way to the Governor’s office.