The Pentagon, Washington DC (Hours later)
It was after lunchtime when I arrived at the headquarters of the Department of Defense, or DoD. I have no idea why my request to visit the Pentagon is quickly approved but I suspected it to be my work in Afghanistan and Syria, being a part of an elite black ops team. After passing the security checkpoint I received a visitor badge with the word 'V' printed on the badge. A representative emerged and extended a hand. "You are Lieutenant Isabella Stark?" he asked.
"Yes, yes I am."
"I'm Petty Officer First Class Howard Brandon of the United States Navy. I'm here to escort you to the lieutenant general's office." he introduced himself. I nodded and we begin a swift walk towards the elevator lobby.
"Are you supposed to be on duty Petty Officer Brandon?" I asked.
"I was ma'am, but the boat I'm on is now on dry dock."
"Repairs?"
"Yup." he said.
"Which boat then?" I asked after we stepped into the elevator.
"USS Abraham Lincoln." he replied.
"I assume that your commanding officer recalled you."
"I was on my way out when they said you were coming."
"And your CO assigned you to show me the way around?" I raised a brow.
"Not exactly." he replied, running a hand over the back of his head. "Your tale of survival racked up a bunch of recognition from the guys here in the Pentagon."
"It was a grueling tale of survival. Trapped for ten days in an abandoned town while avoiding the Taliban's constant bombing and all, got some scars but recovered shortly."
"Yeah, the Taliban are notoriously hard to take down." the petty officer agreed. "My CO says the same."
"None of my teammates came back alive, they were all dead." I said in a grim tone. We exited the elevator and headed down a corridor until he stopped at a door, knocking with caution.
"Come in." a familiar voice rang out beyond the door. The petty officer gave me a quick nod and departed. I opened the door but knocked again out of respect. "Oh." said the man seated at his desk. The papers on the desk were stacked neatly while the stationaries were carefully arranged but the name plaque on the table shows the name, Gerald Forest, Lieutenant General. "Come in lieutenant." he said.
"Sir." I greeted.
"It's always been good to see you again kid." he greeted me warmly as he stood up and walked towards the door to close it. "How are you feeling?"
"Despite the recurring nightmares, I'm okay sir." I said.
"Good." he replied. "The boys here said that you're dropping by for a visit."
"Well I'm here sir." I said. "But sir, it's not a social call."
"It rarely is in your case." he said. "But I'm always ready to help."
"Thank you sir." I said.
"How can I help this time?" he asked, sitting back at his desk.
"Sir, do you recently received any reports of soldiers from Saudi Arabia that were trained or have received training here in the US?" I asked.
"I can't say I have lieutenant." he replied. "Is this about your investigation in an FBI case?" I nodded and took out my phone, tapping into the picture of the dog tag. He took my phone and stared at the picture for a while. "How did you know him?"
"I didn't have to. He was a suspect in my case and now he's already dead."
"We have records of this man in the Pentagon's database."
"His name is Suleiman Abbasid, a Saudi national who recently got his American citizenship via naturalization." I said.
"The name definitely rings a bell to me." he said. "He was training at Fort Bragg prior to his return to Saudi Arabia."
"Fort Bragg?" I asked. "North Carolina?"
"THE Fort Bragg yes." he said. "Dropped off the grid ever since."
"He works for Exxon now, as a petroleum engineer." I say, taking my phone back. "How could it be that no one paid attention to their former colleague?"
"We don't really keep tabs on former soldiers." my former CO replied. "I'm sorry kid, that's all I can help you with."
"I know you did your best sir." I said. "As much as I would like to stay and catch up I still have an unsolved case on my hands."
"You do your job. Good luck lieutenant." he said. We exchanged a handshake and I departed, walking down the hallway to the elevator. I heard sounds down at the elevator lobby but I kept my pace as I walked towards the lobby.
"So this is the headquarters of the Department of Defense huh?" asked a voice very familiar to me.
"You don't get to step in here without any permission from the DoD." another voice joined the conversation but I have no idea who the voice belongs to. The three of us faced each other and came to a halt.
"Isa?" Bruce asked. But I ignored him and gave the man beside him a quick nod before leaving. Entering the elevator I promptly pressed the ground floor button to make my exit. Fresh air greeted me as I launched into a swift walk towards my own vehicle. Dialing my superior's number I switched the call to Bluetooth when I slipped on my helmet and gunning the engine.
"Ryan?" I said once the call is connected. "It's me."
"Ah, Agent Black Bird. Any updates?"
"Yeah." I said while driving down the highway. "It turns out that Suleiman Abbasid is a soldier once, trained here in the US."
"Wait, are you serious?" he asked while the squish of a chair was heard in the background. "Suleiman? A Saudi national trained here in the US is a suspected terrorist?"
"I was as confused as you do in the beginning. I went down to the morgue when the ME called, he identified the killer though."
"Better than nothing, any names?"
"No, the DNA's corrupted but Doctor Kumar managed to determine that the killer's black-haired and female."
"That's all?" he asked.
"That's all. The murder weapon's a 9x19mm Parabellum Glock 17." I say. "How did the assassin slip onto an oil rig undetected and off our guy?"
"We got into contact with the manager of the oil rig, he'll be there for the interrogation."
"Okay, I'm on my way back anyway." I say. Today's traffic is light compared to the usual days, maybe it's due to the weather. A black SUV cuts in front of me and I allowed him to do so despite feeling something wrong in my gut. My gaze swept to the side-view mirror which another vehicle is also tailing me closely from behind. I maneuvered to the right to get out of the vehicle's way but to no avail as the SUV in front of me also copied me. When I crossed the bridge leading into Arlington National Memorial the SUV did a fishtail spin, causing me to hit the brakes. The SUV tailing me from behind however, picked up the pace and rammed into me, hard. The impact is hard enough to send me flying from my motorcycle and land straight on the first SUV's windshield. I tumbled to the ground and despite the helmet's protection, the impact left me dazed in an instant. Blood started to trickle down the side of my face when someone removed it by cutting the straps. I got another whack from the butt of a handgun by a mysterious male to ensure that I'm completely out cold although they know I'm still conscious despite the collision.
YOU ARE READING
Russian Roulette
Mystery / Thriller"This is a crossroad Isabella." he said. "There will be no return if you were captured." "Can I even turn back?" I asked.
