Cry Baby

 

“On the seventh of August 2011, the Doman Name Infrastructure was hacked and over two million potential users’ information was leaked. On the fourteenth of August 2011, you, Abd Al Alim bin Abdul, entered the FBI Headquarters in Langley, Virginia and confessed to the crime before your detainment. You did so under no duress or without torture, is this correct?” Trace asked Abd.

Cry Baby watched the detainee and waited for some twitch or form of reaction. After watching Tiffany in there the day before, and having gone through his own grueling training on interrogation, he knew that it might be what Abd didn’t say that would tell them more. Tiffany had gotten a good baseline on Abd, and a timeline for when things happened. They had no choice but to let Trace work to give them more details.

“Yes, that is correct. Where is the woman from yesterday?” Abd asked.

Trace lifted an eyebrow. “Who?”

“The woman who gave the order to illegally detain my wife.”

“He really didn’t like that,” Tiffany said.

“Might not be a terrible thing, right now,” Wolf said.

“If he doesn’t focus on it, Trace can string along possibly finding out more about his wife’s whereabouts, in return for giving information,” Mozart agreed.

“But Abd is not stupid. He may have let that piece slip, but he didn’t give complete clarification. We will still have to dig and see where this goes,” Tiffany told them.

Cry Baby nodded, knowing she spoke the truth. They turned back to the CCTV and caught Trace’s response.

“She is where I’ve ordered her to be,” Trace said.

“Ah, so you are the one that holds the reins. Fitting. It is a man’s place to guide a woman. It is a virtuous woman who will support the true believer, and through her support, find the righteousness of Allah.”

“Is that what you learned when you traveled to Bosnia to learn bomb making and to enhance it with biochemical warfare?” Trace asked.

“Is that confirmed info?” Cry Baby asked. Is was not uncommon for converts to travel to different countries to receive training, and Bosnia often came up as one of the countries.

“Yes, we confirmed it a few months after his capture, but it hadn’t been used against him previously,” Tiffany answered.

“Trace is using it to establish another baseline of how he reacts to truthful, but unknown information,” Cry Baby said.

“Exactly. Intelligence is so sexy,” Tiffany said and kissed his neck.

He hid his tremble as best he could and kept his eyes on the screen.

“It seems you know much about me, but not what you want, or you wouldn’t be here. If you have me transferred to a facility in the States, I can give you more,” Abd taunted.

“And you know the policy is not to negotiate with terrorist. You are an admitted terrorist, and the information you took was filtered into terrorist organizations. We know this.”

“Then what can you do for me?”

“Nothing. But you can do something for your wife?” Trace asked. He sat back and unbuttoned his stiff pewter suit jacket. He was calm and secured, with one leg crossed over the other. He continued to watch Abd as he adjusted his cuffs and then rested his hands in his lap.

“My wife?”

“Yes. She is a virtuous woman, and has given you her entire support. She has admitted to working with you through all your endeavors, and prepared to be a suicide-bomber for your plans. Crimes such as those come with steep costs.”

“Are you threatening my wife?”

“Of course not, I’m a gentleman. What I’m saying is she could become a member of a rare, and exclusive group. Did you know there have been female detainees here?”

“What?” Wolf asked as he spun around.

“Did he just say female inmates? At GITMO?” Heim asked.

“Shhh, let the man work,” Tiffany admonished.

“Then she would have done so for her husband, and pleased him,” Abd returned.

“That is good to hear, as she’s already been transferred. We will cease the action to protect her under the British government and move her to our black site.”

Trace stood up and rebuttoned his coat. Cry Baby had to force his hands to relax and his feet not to move. He understood how things could happen in interrogations, but he didn’t want to risk not getting the information they needed because he raced in that room. He had to allow Trace to push Abd the way that would work.

“Where are you going?” Abd asked.

“We are finished here. If you don’t care about her treatment, then I have no trump card. Without that, we will simply go around and ‘round in circles, and we won’t solve a thing. I would prefer not to waste everyone’s time and find my way off this island. I bid you good—”

“You would walk away without knowing more about your mustang?

“—day,” Trace finished. He stopped and watched Abd for a moment.

“He’s waiting for me to tell him something, but I don’t know what Abd’s talking about,” Tiffany said.

“But we do. A mustang is an officer that rose out of the enlisted ranks. He’s talking about the person who betrayed us, and he just told you they are Navy,” Cry Baby said, hanging his head.

“Abd wouldn’t make it that easy” Tiffany whispered.

“He wouldn’t expect for you to have a room-full of SEALs watching on, either.” Cry Baby told her. “Tex? Think you can scan through the Khaki’s and tell me who the mustangs are and dealing with USSCOM or SOCEUR?”

“I’m on it,” Tex agreed, his fingers already flying over the keys.

“Khakis?” Tiffany asked.

“Officers. Tell Trace what a mustang is.”

Tiffany relayed the information. Cry baby had to give it to Trace. He never missed a beat. He took in Tiffany’s information and rolled with it like he’d known it the whole time.

“We know your contact was in the Navy. Again, that isn’t enough to switch courses with your wife,” Trace said. He shook his head, and Cry Baby could feel his ‘sympathy’ even through the screen.

“I’m sorry,” Trace finished.

“She doesn’t deserve to be here,” Abd argued, showing his first break in composure. Sweat dotted his brow and his pursed his lips.

“She admitted to everything you did. She belongs right beside you. What you did caused the direct death of hundreds. Some of the ISIS cells you worked with bombed military vessels, took responsibility for attacks on public events or more. Where else should she be? In fact, she may be more forthcoming with information on your Naval contact” Trace finished.

“There are three mustangs in the position to be used for intel,” Tex thundered. “We’ve got Rear Admiral, Lower Half, Douglas, Rear Admiral, Upper Half Mortesson, and Captain Chao.”

“Dammit, that’s high,” Cry Baby said.

“We knew it was,” Tiffany said.

“Yes, but we are closing in, and it doesn’t feel good. This is dangerous, extremely dangerous,” Cry Baby said.

“Then who is it? Who’s the mole?” Tiffany wondered.

“She had nothing to do with those attacks!” Abd roared. “She wouldn’t have known what she was looking at. I found his private server. I found what he’d been trying to hide and cover up through proxy. That’s what I sent her home for.”

It seemed the man had a heart. Despite being so hard to crack any other time, he’d broken at the thought of his wife in the same sort of captivity.

“Tex, what is he talking about? Proxy? Private servers?” Cry Baby asked.

“I’m looking. The mole had to have some sort of website, file, or server relating to illegal activity. It would be career ending,” Tex explained.

“Enough to get others killed for,” Wolf agreed.

“Blackmailed by the ISIS cell in Qatar, and the lives of SEALs were the collateral,” Heim fumed.

“Who? And are we safe?” Cookie asked.

They all shuffled and glanced around the room. The suspect had access to GITMO, protection, and highly classified information.

“I want you all to head back to the tents, and I’ll stay with Trace until the end. Tiffany, tell him to close it out. I’m going to put an order in for an extraction and some gear left out. When I say move, you’ll be briefed in route,” Tex said suddenly.

“What?” Tiffany said.

Cry Baby shook his head at her. “Don’t think right now, just do. Relay the message.”

“Trace, compromised. Pull interview,” she whispered.

On the screen, they watched Trace nod almost imperceptivity, and Cry Baby pulled Tiffany back against him and leaned into her ear.

“Tex will get us out of here. We’re surrounded my highly-trained soldiers and need to an emergency exfil,” he explained.

Thankfully she didn’t say a word as he straightened.

“I’ve been flagged, and it’s a black out,” Tex said through clenched teeth. “Extraction and gear secure, but we’re now on radio silence. Heim and Wolf, this is Ruby, and the stuff on that server? Illegal transfers of highly-classified documents for money.”

“Fuck,” Heim forced out. “We move. We hitting water?”

“Hooyah. Get everyone out,” Tex said.

They didn’t wait around for him to tell them again.