The Gargoyle Trilogy

Chapter 8

Leesburg, Virginia Executive Airport

Leesburg, Virginia Executive AirportTen Days Later

Ten Days LaterMorgan sat and enjoyed a quiet, people-free wait for his flight to Copenhagen in the Leesburg, Virginia airport’s departure lounge. As he read a novel in his e-reader, a rather attractive auburn-haired woman in a pilot’s uniform attracted his attention.

“Mr. Morgan? I’m Susan, your First Officer. We’re ready for you.”

“Thank you, and please call me Bob.”

Morgan got up, grabbed his personal and garment bags, and followed Susan to the tarmac.

She doesn’t look like any of the aviators I’ve ever served with, s**t hot! Or as my aviator friends would say, sierra hotel!

She doesn’t look like any of the aviators I’ve ever served with, s**t hot! Or as my aviator friends would say, sierra hotel!Morgan caught his first glimpse of his ride to Copenhagen as he exited the terminal, a brand new, CIA owned Cessna Citation Longitude. The 72-foot long, 20-foot wide aircraft with the 69-foot wingspan gleamed in the early morning light. The Agency’s Air Branch’s latest aircraft cruised at .84 Mach in industry leading quiet comfort. The best part, Morgan was the only passenger.

Oh yeah, way better than flying commercial!

Oh yeah, way better than flying commercialAs the pair approached the boarding ladder, a gentleman in a dark suit and even darker sunglasses approached Morgan.

“Compliments of Ms. McCulloch,” he said as he handed him a padded envelope.

“Thank you.”

Morgan boarded the aircraft. Once up the ladder, he turned to his right, and looked into the well-appointed cabin decorated in varying shades of light and dark greys. Morgan moved to take the first forward-facing seat on the aircraft’s starboard side. As he did so, Susan grabbed his two bags. She hung his garment bag in the aircraft’s forward closet and placed his personal bag on the seat in front of him. Susan turned, gave Morgan a quick smile, and headed into the cockpit.

Morgan sat in his seat, grabbed his personal bag, and pulled out his e-reader and iPod. He placed the bag in the compartment under his seat, the padded envelope, iPod and e-reader in a pouch mounted to his right on the aircraft bulkhead, fastened his seatbelt, and prepared for takeoff. The Citation began to taxi towards the runway and the aircraft’s announcing system came to life.

“This is the Captain. We are cleared for immediate take-off. Once airborne, our flying time to Copenhagen will be approximately 9 hours. Thank you for flying with us today.” The Captain spoke with a slight mid-western accent.

The Citation rolled to the far end of the airport’s runway 35. The aircraft lined up with the runway’s centerline at which point the Captain gunned the throttles. The Citation accelerated quickly to its takeoff speed and leapt into the sky. The crew turned the aircraft onto the appropriate heading for Copenhagen and climbed to its cruising altitude of 35,000 feet. Once there, Susan exited the flight deck.

“Would you care for some breakfast, Bob?”

“Please, if you’ll join me.” Morgan said.

With a smile and a tilt of her head, Susan went to the galley to prepare the two meals while Morgan pulled the padded envelope from the bulkhead mounted storage bin. He tore it open and saw a letter in a smaller envelope and a new Samsung Galaxy S-22 cell phone wrapped in a black Otterbox Defender phone case.

Ha! Chop must have heard that I was hard on my cell phones. I hate gravity.

Ha! Chop must have heard that I was hard on my cell phones. I hate gravityHe read the letter first:

Bob,

Bob,Enclosed you will find your cell phone. It’s loaded with ‘certain optional extras’ above and beyond a normal Galaxy S-22. Once airborne, and out of sight of the aircraft’s crew, enter 48991007 for the PIN and play the video file shown on the phone’s home screen. It contains further instructions. Good luck, Gargoyle!

Enclosed you will find your cell phone. It’s loaded with ‘certain optional extras’ above and beyond a normal Galaxy S-22. Once airborne, and out of sight of the aircraft’s crew, enter 48991007 for the PIN and play the video file shown on the phone’s home screen. It contains further instructions. Good luck, Gargoyle!Frances

FrancesMorgan folded the letter back into its envelope, tucked it into one pocket of his jacket, and placed the phone in the opposite pocket. By that time, Susan had returned with small trolley holding two steaming plates and a thermal carafe of coffee. Susan deployed two tray tables from a hidden compartment in the starboard bulkhead, placed one plate on each, and then sat in the seat facing Morgan’s.

“Coffee?”

“Please.”

Susan poured cups for each of them as they then tore into their surprisingly good bacon, egg, and cheese omelets with home fried potatoes and toast.

“Is this your first time flying private?” Susan asked.

Morgan looked up from his meal with a slightly embarrassed expression, “Is it that obvious?”

“I’ve been flying these aircraft for the past eight years. Folks who have never flown on one of these before always have a certain look of awe about them.”

“I can imagine. My awe is not only for this magnificent aircraft and its wonderful crew,” Morgan said with a nod towards Susan. “It’s that I’m not used to the opulence. Last time I flew it was in the back of a cargo plane. Also, for the fact I didn’t have to put up with any people either here or at the airport. Flying’s great, but crowded airports suck!”

Susan nodded in agreement and the pair finished their meal quietly. Afterward, Morgan helped Susan clean up, and then she took a plate with her to the cockpit, leaving the carafe of coffee behind. When certain Susan was not returning right away, Morgan pulled the Agency issued phone from his jacket pocket as he sipped his coffee, powered it up, plugged in the accompanying ear buds, entered the personal identification number, and pressed play on the video file found on the home screen. After the Agency’s logo, the smiling image of Joe Acevedo graced the screen.

Good morning Gargoyle! Before we begin, please pause the video, head back to the aircraft’s luggage area, grab the attaché case, and return to your seat. Don’t worry, I’ll wait.

Good morning Gargoyle! Before we begin, please pause the video, head back to the aircraft’s luggage area, grab the attaché case, and return to your seat. Don’t worry, I’ll wait.Morgan smirked to himself, unbuckled his seat belt, and headed aft to the walk-in luggage area. He found a gorgeous navy-blue Globe-Trotter Centenary attaché case atop a matching navy-blue trolley bag. Grabbing the attaché case, Morgan returned to his seat, set the case on the tray table, and opened it. Inside he saw a file folder, a lap top computer, and four small cases. Opening one of the small cases, he saw a pair of silver framed Matsuda aviator-style sunglasses with blue-grey lenses. Looking at the exquisite eye ware, Morgan wondered what the hell he was going to do with these. He closed the case, put his ear buds back in, and re-started the video.

You’re back? Excellent! Let’s continue. Inside the file folder, you’ll find further detail on your cover as well as your hotel reservations. If you grab the small tab at the bottom of the case, you can lift off the bottom and expose the x-ray proof area with space for the three weapons we discussed last week. Your Agency laptop and charging cables for all your devices are also in the attaché case. As far as ground transportation is concerned, let’s say I hooked up a shipmate and ‘you’re welcome.’

You’re back? Excellent! Let’s continue. Inside the file folder, you’ll find further detail on your cover as well as your hotel reservations. If you grab the small tab at the bottom of the case, you can lift off the bottom and expose the x-ray proof area with space for the three weapons we discussed last week. Your Agency laptop and charging cables for all your devices are also in the attaché case. As far as ground transportation is concerned, let’s say I hooked up a shipmate and ‘you’re welcome.’Now, grab the plain black case and the case with the Frost eyewear logo and head to aircraft lavatory. Again, I’ll wait.

Now, grab the plain black case and the case with the Frost eyewear logo and head to aircraft lavatory. Again, I’ll wait.Morgan grabbed the two cases and his phone and headed into the lavatory. He put the items on the sink and pressed play.

Open the plain case, inside you’ll see my solution to your injury. An eye prosthetic that will fit in your socket. When you put it in and wear the glasses, the image from the prosthetic is projected on the upper left side of your right lens. This should eliminate the blind spot. Go ahead and put it in, it’s designed to be worn 24/7 so you can even sleep with it.

Open the plain case, inside you’ll see my solution to your injury. An eye prosthetic that will fit in your socket. When you put it in and wear the glasses, the image from the prosthetic is projected on the upper left side of your right lens. This should eliminate the blind spot. Go ahead and put it in, it’s designed to be worn 24/7 so you can even sleep with it.Morgan never used a glass eye before, he never saw the point of one, and the eye patch made him look cooler. Looking in the mirror, he removed his eye patch, pulled the new prosthetic from its case, and placed it carefully in his left eye socket. He kept his left eye lid closed as he placed the stylish Frost eyeglasses on his head. He opened his left eye and the image from the prosthetic automatically appeared in front of him. He waved his left hand in front of his left eye, and he saw it in front of him. He moved his hand around towards the left side of his head, and the prosthetic followed it instinctively until his hand disappeared behind what was his normal, binocular blind spot. “Holy crap!” Morgan said aloud. He turned his head left and right, admiring his new look while stroking his Van Dyke. He never thought he’d look like this again. The prosthetic even matched his somewhat unusual eye color. He resumed the video.

Awesome, right? The prosthetic works with the Frost eyeglasses, the Matsuda sunglasses, and the Gatorz Magnum tactical glasses included in the attaché case. You’ll like the Gatorz, the lenses are photochromic, so you can use them either day or night. Additionally, if you blink three times rapidly, you’ll activate the prosthetic’s recording and streaming capability. Images can either stream via your phone back here to Langley or recorded on your phone or laptop for future viewing. Blink three times rapidly again, and the recorder shuts off. The trolley bag contains the clothing and toiletry items you dropped off with us, and per your schedule, you should have your formal and business wear already. It also has tools you may need for certain nocturnal activities in a hidden compartment accessed the same way as the weapons.

Awesome, right? The prosthetic works with the Frost eyeglasses, the Matsuda sunglasses, and the Gatorz Magnum tactical glasses included in the attaché case. You’ll like the Gatorz, the lenses are photochromic, so you can use them either day or night. Additionally, if you blink three times rapidly, you’ll activate the prosthetic’s recording and streaming capability. Images can either stream via your phone back here to Langley or recorded on your phone or laptop for future viewing. Blink three times rapidly again, and the recorder shuts off. The trolley bag contains the clothing and toiletry items you dropped off with us, and per your schedule, you should have your formal and business wear already. It also has tools you may need for certain nocturnal activities in a hidden compartment accessed the same way as the weapons.That’s all for now. Clint and Ms. McCulloch are awaiting your arrival and first check-in. Good luck and be careful, shipmate!

That’s all for now. Clint and Ms. McCulloch are awaiting your arrival and first check-in. Good luck and be careful, shipmate!The video ended, and Morgan returned to his seat. He pulled the file folder and reviewed his legend. He would be Mr. Robert L. Curry, the COO of Raptor Microsystems, looking for a shipping company to move consumer electronics from Malaysia out to the rest of the world. His identification papers, passport, Virginia driver’s license, etc. with his Robert Curry identity were in the file folder. The papers even had his pictures with two eyes and the Frost eyeglasses, an amazing Photoshop-generated image.

Not bad, Chop.

Not bad, ChopThe file also contained several business cards with real phone numbers and e-mail addresses that when contacted would be either answered by someone with the company or forwarded to Morgan’s Agency account with any replies sent with the appropriate address. The Agency also spared no expense with his accommodations, with an executive suite reserved for him at the Nimb Hotel in Copenhagen’s city center. The boutique hotel was part of Copenhagen’s famous Tivoli Gardens, site of the fundraiser.

Nice!

Nice!Definitely beat the ships, patrol boats, or hard ground Morgan usually slept in, or on, while on a mission.

Checking again for the flight crew, Morgan pulled his personal bag from underneath his seat. He opened it and the special compartment in his attaché case. From his bag, he pulled out two hard plastic cases. The first case held two of his weapons; one was his personal Beretta Nano nine-millimeter with a seven-round magazine with one round in the chamber, and the second was his Gerber Guardian II fixed blade knife he had inherited from his late father. He placed both those items in the attaché and opened the second plastic case. Inside was his second handgun, an over thirty-year-old Smith & Wesson model 6904 nine-millimeter. The 6904 had also belonged to his father, and it was the first weapon he ever shot. With a 12 round staggered magazine, and one in the chamber, the 6904 was ideal for heavy use but with its bobbed hammer was still quite concealable if necessary. He waited his entire career for an opportunity to use it on mission, and this was finally it. He added the 6904 plus additional magazines for both handguns into the attaché case. He pulled his Kirkpatrick shoulder harness with leather holsters specifically fitted for each handgun and the Alien Gear inside-the-waistband holster for his Nano out of his personal bag and took them and his attaché back to the luggage area. He placed the shoulder holsters in the trolley bag and placed the attaché back in its place. Morgan returned to his seat, closed his eyes, and, like all good sailors, immediately fell asleep.