Justification For Killing (36 page)

She wasn’t tall, but at
five feet four, the sixty-four inches were proportioned perfectly.
She had a gorgeous hourglass figure. She had always been blessed
with a perfect body and a beautiful face with high cheekbones. In
high school, she was a cheerleader, the homecoming queen and was
voted the ‘class beauty’ for the yearbook.

Before she had more time
to contemplate her outfit, she heard the,

♪
bing-bing-bong
♪

It was the front
door chimes.
Whom could this be,
she thought.

Answering the door, there
stood a man... not just any ole man it was... it was... her
Jacque!

Stepping inside the foyer
he set his duffle bag down. “Hey,” he said, “Remember
me?”

Jacque was mesmerized by
her dazzling looks. He could not take his eyes from her. There was
something different about her tho’. Was it her figure...? No, she
was just as trim and shapely as ever. Her face? No, just as
beautiful as he remembered. What? What was different? Her hair!
Yes, her hair that was it! It was not the same as it was when he
left. No more the long, silky, honey blonde hair extending to the
middle of her back, which she normally wore in a long, tapered,
ponytail. Her hair was trimmed to just below her shoulders and
styled in such a manner as to frame her gorgeous face and accent
her deep, emerald green eyes.

“
Gabby what have you done
with your hair? Shortened it up a bit, huh? It looks
good.”

“
Yeah, it’s shorter than
it used to be. Glad you like it.” She couldn’t tell by his eyes if
she were still his girl. She could also not tell if there had been
no one else. “It’s you,” she said, “its really you. I’m going to
pinch myself. You have been gone such a long time - you don’t know
how thrilled I am to see you. How long do you get to stay in
Washington?”

“
I’m sorry, but my next
flight leaves within the hour.”

“
What, Mom said you were
back in Washington for another assignment. I thought you would have
at least a few days.”

“
Sorry, but missions
change, and they changed mine. I wanted to drop in to say hello and
goodbye, but the real reason was to explain in person why I have
not answered your last few letters – I have found someone else. She
and I are planning on getting married, and I did not want to break
this to you in a letter.”

The startled look on
Gabby’s face was unmistakable. Did she hear correctly? Did Jacque
have another love? Was she no longer his girl?

“
I’m sorry,” Jacque
continued. “She was one of the international archeologists on the
Iraqi dig. I was reluctant to tell you. You know you will always be
special to me. I’m truly sorry - goodbye.”

As Gabby stifled her
impulse to cry, Jacque picked up his duffle bag, swung it over his
shoulder, and walked out the door without awaiting her
response.

What? What was that? She
said to herself rising from the couch and brushing the sleep from
her eyes.

♪
Bing-bing-bong
♪

That’s the door chimes,
she thought, someone’s at the front door... at this time of the
night?

Answering the door, there
stood a man... not just any ole man it was... it was... her Jacque!
Stepping inside the foyer he set his duffle bag down. “Hey,” he
said, “remember me?”

Jacque was mesmerized by
her dazzling looks. He could not take his eyes from her. Here stood
the most dazzling beautiful blonde. If her long, silky, honey
blonde hair had not been bound up in a ponytail it would have
extended to the middle of her back. Yes, Jacque thought, she is so
beautiful, but why is she only wrapped in a white, fluffy bath
towel...?

Chapter
Twenty-Eight

LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT
“YESTERDAY”

SCAR Headquarters,
Washington, D.C. Friday, November 30, 2012. The time was 10:00
a.m.

“
Director? Lonnie Joe and
Rocky are here,” Krista announced to Captain Scarburg. Lonnie Joe,
(mostly referred to as LJ), and ‘Rocky’ Jolliet were exceptional
team members of Captain Scarburg’s SCAR operation. Both had been
involved in several SCAR expeditions in the past, and the Captain
knew they were the perfect pair to assist him in his current
“situation”. Krista had no trouble located the two, and they had
made excellent time getting to SCAR Headquarters to find out their
next mission.

Lonnie Joe, a medical
doctor, a “real” doctor as he likes to emphasis, was not one of
those Post-Hole Diggers (PHDs), like most of the other key SCAR
staff members. Dr. Lonnie Joe Wheeler, MD was a good ole Alabama
boy, a distant grandson of the famous Confederate General Fightin’
Joe Wheeler. LJ an ex-Special Forces captain who had wasted his
life (as he said), on wine, women and song, and could not figure
out where all his money had gone. He measured a shade over six
feet; his muscled body was stoutly built and strong as a pair of
oxen. A head full of jet-black hair manicured into a perfect ‘high
and tight’ GI haircut topped off his body.

He might be an
intellectual, a doctor, but he had a propensity to drink hard and
fight harder; a barroom brawler who would fight you at the drop of
a hat. He was the type of man you would want with you and not
against you. He loved bar fights and Lynchburg, Tennessee’s finest
- eighty proof Jack Daniel’s corn whiskey. The black label not the
green served ‘neat’ with a splash of water (not in a glass but in
his face after the fight). He loved his JD so well he never knew
when to stop drinking. Usually, it was when the bartender saw the
bottom of the Jack Daniel’s bottle or the fight ended - which ever
came first.

Jacque was Jacque Jolliet,
or Rocky. Rocky was more of the lover type but carried a Marine
ten-inch Ka Bar bowie knife just in case some fiend didn’t want to
love him back. Why Rocky... no one knew. Some believe his ‘handle’
may have come from some of his earlier Special Forces exploits when
his buddies might have remarked: ‘He was steady as a rock and never
ran from the enemy.’ Who knows? Well, at least it made for a good
story. He was a full four or five inches taller than Lonnie Joe,
but like Lonnie Joe he too was an ex-Special Forces warrior. His
tanned features displayed his Italian ancestry, although an
American citizen, he was born in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. His
father, a U.S. Marine had been stationed at the Londonderry U.S.
Naval Communication Station. His mother was from Naples. They
brought him to the United States at an early age, but his Irish
accent never quite left him. If you listen closely, a hint of the
Irish brogue is still there. Rocky’s body was tall and lean, his
hair was curly black, his eyes were a piercing sky blue, and his
tanned muscles seemed to explode from his, ever present, Special
Forces t-shirt. As a Captain, he led a Special Forces A-team into
Baghdad the night before Operation Desert Storm began in ’91. He
was smart as a whip and rough as a cob, but packaged in a body that
women would melt over. However, it was hard to believe this man’s
man had the habits of a librarian. He was meticulous in everything
he did - a place for everything and everything in its place. When
not actively involved in his latest exploit, you could find him
perusing the pages of the latest top selling novel or exploring the
words of the great authors of by-gone years. At forty-one, he was
beginning to feel like the old man of the outfit – well, except for
the Captain, that is.

Both LJ and Rocky had been
on the SCAR expedition to the Bahariah Oasis, in Egypt, over a year
ago. Gabby and Lou were on that assignment also. While, in Egypt,
they had been involved investigating a centuries old mummy that was
of interest to SCAR.

Oh yes, Krista was well
aware of those two!

Hearing Krista’s
announcement of LJ and Rocky’s arrival, Captain Scarburg arose from
his desk and walked across his office to the door. “Gentlemen!
Gentlemen, good to see you, come into my office,” the Captain said,
stepping aside and motioning with his arm. He followed the two
inside. “Grab yourselves a seat. Would you like a cup of coffee?”
He said sitting down behind his desk.

“
Thanks, none for me,”
said LJ.

“
What about you
Rocky?”

“
Yeah, Captain, don’t mind
if I do. Keep your seat, I remember where the pot is,” Rocky
replied walking toward the coffee pot the Captain kept in his
office.

“
Cigar...? The Captain
said offering an open box to them both. “Okay, fire it up LJ. Rocky
as you continue sipping on your java I’ll fill you both in on why I
called you here this morning, but first let me tell you about
‘yesterday’.”

For the next three hours,
Captain Scarburg recalled the events of the past two weeks. He
began with the meeting last Tuesday, the 20th of November. He
explained how their alien friend Anhur had visited him in his
office. LJ and Rocky were following the story until the part about
the Parallel Universes was discussed.

“
Whoa, hold on there,
Captain,” said Rocky sitting up straight in his chair. “I’ve been
to a state fair and two rodeos, and I’ve never heard anything this
strange - Parallel Universes? Is this actually possible?

“
Oh yeah, Rocky, not only
is it possible, but I have proven it to be true. Just allow me to
continue.”

The Captain told them
about leaving the meeting and his trip to the cow pasture in
Celina, Texas. He explained the sabotage of the computers, which
caused him to arrive on Wednesday, November 20th instead of Friday,
November 22, 1963. They sat mesmerized as he told about ‘stealing’
the red shirt and blue overalls. Both LJ and Rocky snickered as
Captain Scarburg told about Clem and Penelope, and marveled about
Jack Ruby being Clem’s uncle. Both were startled to learn about the
Mafioso meeting at Ruby’s Carousel Club in Dallas.

They were astonished J.D.
Tippit had been his jailer at the Dallas City Jail, and could not
believe he left the assassination warning on the cell wall for
Tippit. They sat on the edge of their chairs as the Captain told of
watching the clock slip closer and closer to the 12:30
assassination time and he was still locked up in jail. Every step
of the Captain’s adventure was greeted by questions and more
questions by LJ or Rocky. After each explanation, he would return
to his reminiscent of his past exploits.

His description of his
last minute release from jail and his dash to the rooftop of the
Texas School Book Depository had them in suspense. They hardly
breathed listening to the Captain tell them about interrupting the
first shot of one of the assassins and his rush down the fire
escape and into Clem’s waiting car. He even included Anhur and his
umbrella and the assassin escaping from the Grassy
Knoll.

The escape back to
Clem and Penelope’s ranch, the return to
Pegasus
and its subsequent repair
was a nail-biting adventure. He did not fail to include the fact
that anyone who had come into contact with him totally would forget
him and whatever part they played in his strange adventure thirty
minutes after
Pegasus
disappeared and returned to the present – 2012. The Captain
ended his narration of his time-traveling adventure to Dallas,
Texas with a summation of his meeting, upon his return, with
Krista, Bud, Lou, Gabby, Spook, Tinker, Sam Lin and Si
Lei.

The time was
approaching 2 p.m. The Captain had finished his briefing.
He wouldn’t be pulling our leg, would he?
Reasoned Lonnie Joe.

This cannot be
real,
thought Rocky.
The Captain is trying to get us to ‘bite’ on this story, but
why?

“
Captain,” said LJ. “I’ve
heard my part of tall-tales, but I believe this one tops all
others. This story surely wasn’t real, was it?”

“
I agree,” Rocky remarked.
“What are you trying to get us to do Captain? Why spin this
elaborate wild adventure - why not just tell us what you have in
mind?”

“
Okay guys, I see your
skepticism, but this was not a fanciful, fictional tale of my
exploits. It was real in every aspect. I personally returned to the
past, observed and performed everything I have told you this
morning, but you are right in one respect. There are some things I
need you two to accomplish. I have explained everything I did, but
I left out one sad part of my story - it concerns Sam Lin and Si
Lei. I sent them to Bangkok to dig up information on our laboratory
director Mr. Ryan Rousseau, but their plane crashed somewhere over
Russia and they are presumed dead!”

“
Captain, you have never
lied to us. And knowingly, you would not have sent them to Thailand
if this were not the truth, we believe you. I for one,” said LJ,
“with all my scientific background, do not even for a minute,
comprehend what you have said, but if you say it is true I take you
at your word. Just comprehend Captain, Rocky and I are with you.
What do you want from us?”

“
It’s close to two
o’clock, I’m starving. I suggest we adjourn for lunch - I’m buying.
When we get back I’ll fill you in on what I know about Sam Lin and
Si Lei’s bad news, and I’ll lay out your mission, that is if you
decide to take it.”