Chapter Six
Tracy watched as John went up and accepted his diploma.
The New York Law School commencement ceremony was impressive and after watching the processional when everyone had marched into the huge auditorium and then listening to the several speeches, this long-awaited moment had arrived.
The conferring of degrees was finally underway.
Inside the program which she had picked up when entering, she saw that both John and Trevor were graduating Magna Cum Laude. Wow! She and Sam could not be any prouder!
John’s family was there, just as they had all attended the West Point graduation ceremony a week earlier. Only Missy was missing, serving with her Special Forces unit somewhere overseas.
Trevor and Sam’s families were also there, of course. Other attendees included Troy and Sally along with several folks from the SOD Group.
Finally, after the closing remarks and the recessional, Tracy went outside and located John amongst all the other happy graduates. She flung herself into his arms and hugged him fiercely, unable to contain the emotions which she was suddenly flooded with.
“Whoa, easy girl!” exclaimed John. Tracy was rarely like this and after hugging her back, he held her out in front of him so he could look into her eyes. She was crying and he asked, “Are those happy tears, I hope?”
Now Tracy laughed, her normal composure quickly returning, and she explained, “Of course, they are! They are also grateful tears, John, because I know you have chosen this path, this whole being a lawyer thing, just so you could follow me around and support the path which my destiny is taking me on.”
“Oh, well, I still have to pass the bar exam in two months before I can claim to be a lawyer.” John pulled her back into his arms and kissed her passionately.
Then his family was there and they all wanted to congratulate him as well.
His brother Patrick said, “You’ve set the bar pretty high for the rest of us, even before you pass the bar.
” Since all three of his siblings had now graduated from college, this comment really only applied to himself.
He had finished his first year at the same college where John had gone and, like both John and his father, he was planning to eventually become a lawyer as well.
Lila was holding Patrick’s hand and she felt her heart swell.
She had heard Tracy’s comment and now hearing her soulmate Patrick say this, she was deeply moved.
She was graduating from high school and starting at West Point in July.
She knew Patrick’s plan to become a lawyer was so he, like John, could follow her around wherever the Army might eventually send her.
Thanks to her empathic ability, Tracy sensed what Lila was feeling and she came over and squeezed her other hand. Fire witch to fire witch, she wanted to signal her support. Then she asked, “When do we need to gather over at the Townhouse Oasis for John’s party?”
John’s father said, “Not for another hour. It’s less than twenty minutes away so we have plenty of time.” The UES Townhouse Outdoor Oasis was about three miles away. He had rented the place for the fifty or so people who would be there celebrating this joyous event.
The day continued and everyone had a wonderful time.
When John finally brought Tracy home to his apartment late that night, he was very happy.
His years of hard work were paying off and celebrating with family and friends had been great.
He had his work cut out for him, preparing for the bar exam, but he knew that milestone would be achieved.
He loved Tracy with all his being and would indeed be able to follow wherever destiny for the two of them might take them.
As for the night ahead? He would make love to Tracy such that she again would know their destiny was secure.
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Monday, May 30, 2022
The SOD Group was holding yet another meeting to discuss the situation with Russia having invaded Ukraine.
The current administration was providing support to Ukraine but had insisted on not only there being no evidence whenever U.S.
troops were fighting the Russians inside Ukraine but it had further insisted there be “no boots on the ground” inside Russia at all.
Approval had been given, however, for Missy to go in there, taking advantage of her ability to teleport in and out, both in her spirit form as an invisible spy as well as in her physical form playing her role as Yury Borisovich’s mistress.
This, of course, was because it would be impossible for anyone to ever prove she was actually a U.S. Special Forces soldier.
She had now established herself over there in that mistress role and had become somewhat of a celebrity.
She was now welcome anywhere and was well known amongst most of the key leaders and decision makers in the regime.
That she also had spent long hours spying in her spirit form was of course a further benefit.
Missy had proven that her supernatural abilities enabled her to do all that she was doing with zero risk that the U.S.
might be blamed. Even the cyber-attacks which she had made possible by infecting electronic devices with the Missy virus could not be proven to be from the United States.
The discussion for today’s meeting, which the Defense Secretary had called into along with the EUCOM Commander General Hingham, was whether the “no boots on the ground” policy might now be modified, provided that Missy was with whichever Team Twenty-Two members might then go on missions inside Russia.
Back in December, the team had proven they could operate inside without being detected.
Eleven members had made a HALO jump at close to thirty thousand feet from a C-130 aircraft into a landing zone which Missy had selected for them.
That had been in the Ruzsky District sixty miles from Moscow.
They had then planted explosives which had successfully derailed a supply train as a test mission.
Finally, they had exfiltrated out many hours later using a stolen vehicle which brought them to the border with Latvia.
Wolf Volkov, a Russian who spied for the Ukrainians, had helped by arranging for that vehicle.
Missy had not been with them on that mission since she had been back at West Point.
Making HALO jumps were no longer feasible, however, as Russia had since closed its airspace to any U.S.
aircraft. Thus, not only getting in was a concern, but remaining undetected during whatever their mission might be posed a huge challenge.
Likewise, it would be very difficult to eventually manage, as before, to successfully exfiltrate.
Brigadier General Chory and the other SOD Group members on today’s conference call were making the case that, now that Missy could be with the team full time, her presence on any such missions would eliminate any risk that Russia could accuse the U.S.
Her supernatural abilities were more than enough to always assure such missions would succeed.
The Defense Secretary said, “Okay, what you all are saying is that with Missy there with her team, she would either keep them from being discovered or else she would deal with anyone who possibly might notice them. I guess I can agree that’s true.
What she did over in Iran certainly demonstrated what she is capable of. ”
“Exactly, sir,” said General Hingham. “Now that she has finished being at the academy and can be on such missions full time for as long as those might take, providing cover and protection until they eventually exfiltrate, the risks which the current administration does not want to take should no longer be a concern. These missions can be accomplished with zero risk.”
“While I agree with all of that,” said the Defense Secretary, “the problem is there are only a few of us in this administration who are aware of what Missy is capable of. I’m more worried that any such missions might be detected by someone on our side than by the Russians.
It’s necessary to keep the secret about what both the SOD Group and Team Twenty-Two are really doing truly secret.
There simply is no way our use of supernaturals can ever be revealed. ”
Brigadier General Chory said, “That was exactly what I was told when Campaign Angel’s Wing got approved.
Initially. But, then Missy and all the folks in the prior administration who supported that campaign were successful.
While there are a lot more people who now are aware of Missy and of our using supernaturals, keeping a highly classified lid on all such activities should still be feasible. ”
“The benefits going forward will be very great,” explained General Hingham.
“We can interfere with key activities inside Russia which will make a significant difference towards helping Ukraine. I’d like to do one or two more test missions.
We can review this whole matter in a couple of months after that. ”
The discussion continued for another twenty minutes but everyone was now on the same page.
It was agreed to allow Missy to take some of her Team Twenty-Two members into Russia.
Go in, cause some mayhem for a week or so without leaving any evidence which would prove the U.S. was involved, and then get out.
There was little hope that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine would be ending anytime soon. Thus, identifying ways in which U.S. forces could “make a difference” without risking any escalation of the war was now viewed as the best way forward.
When General Hingham got off the phone with the SOD Group, he immediately called Major Grimes on a secure line and shared the good news that plans which had only been “tentative” pending approval by higher headquarters were now a go. This was a whole new phase for the war.