| From: | shadowtk@*********.com (Paul J. Adam) |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Friends and Enemies |
| Date: | Tue May 8 17:10:01 2001 |
>>>>>[How interesting, the way the world turns. Allies become foes, a
pat on the back turns out to have held a poisoned stiletto.
+++++begin video
A small, spartan office. Hard to tell where it might be: the window
mostly looks out on parking lot.
The two men are a remarkable contrast. Both Human, Caucasian, of that
indeterminate "no longer young but not yet old" age, yet after that
superficial similarity they're chalk and cheese.
One is tall, handsome, with chiselled features and sculpted hair,
dressed in meticulously casual working clothes. He's a man you'd
remember, a man you'd trust instinctively and would like at first sight,
someone who's devoted huge effort to making the image he presents as
memorable as possible. He is a politician, as you might expect:
Representative Louis Gowne.
The other, sitting behind the laminate desk in a threadbare swivel
chair, is... average. "Sort of ordinary" is the most descriptive
adjective to sum him up, from his cornerstore-barber haircut to his off-
the-peg Gentleman's Tailor suit. Perhaps he works as hard to be
forgotten, as Gowne strives to be remembered: in any case, the image of
David Coppinger slides from the memory the way mercury slips through a
fist.
"An unexpected pleasure, Representative."
"Louis, please."
"Louis, then. Can I offer you some refreshment?"
Gowne laughs. "I know how bad the coffee in this building is, David.
Besides, I've got lunch with the National Security Advisor after this.
No, we just need to talk. You were formerly the director of SIGA,
weren't you?"
"That's a matter of public record." Coppinger is at once guarded.
"Why did you wind the unit up?"
"It was no longer immediately necessary." Coppinger chooses his words
carefully. "Perhaps I was overcautious, but given the history involved I
felt it better to err on the side of caution."
"What are your opinions on the Fast Response Action Group?" Gowne asks.
"Also a matter of public record... well, of Congressional record, my
concerns were raised in closed session." Coppinger keeps the guard up,
despite - because of? - Gowne's relaxed manner.
"You see parallels?"
"You can see parallels anywhere if you look hard enough, Representative.
That's the basis of most conspiracy theories."
Gowne laughs. "But you have concerns about the Fast Response Action
Group?"
"I do, yes."
"Could you be more specific?"
Coppinger sighs. "My testimony is on record, Louis. It is accurate and
sufficient. If you have read it, you understand my concerns."
"Did you feel there was a danger of SIGA going the same way?"
"A danger? No. A possibility, if we did not react to the change in the
threat? Yes. My great concern was-"
"I know... and the FRAG have the problem that they got brought into
being, too late for the party. Right?"
"A concise summary." Coppinger nods. "But they need an enemy to exist,
so they manufactured one."
"You don't feel Dona Descabiere is a threat?" Gowne asks.
"No. At her peak, she was one of perhaps eight hundred 'crime bosses' in
the UCAS at that level of power, and I was aware of certain contacts
that gave us useful intelligence on her actions and motivations, and
leverage to constrain her actions. She was not a conspicuous lawbreaker
or a significant threat to the UCAS."
"Not a significant threat? I find that hard to-"
"Representative, Dona Minnie Descabiere was receptive to suggestions
from law enforcement as to when her activities were causing dismay. A
significant number of people want to be able to find prostitutes, they
want to gamble, they want to buy pornography. They _will_ seek those
pleasures and they will find them. They do not want their children
addicted to BTL chips and pimped out to strangers, they do not want to
be killed in drive-by shootings, they do not want dead bodies in the
streets."
"You're saying that it's acceptable to let organised crime work?"
"I'm saying, that the UCAS and the US before it have never eliminated
organised crime. Never. So, SIGA worked with the more disciplined
criminals. Not an ideal situation, Representative, but in areas like the
Seattle Barrens you have few alternatives."
Gowne snorts. "I've heard horror stories about these 'Barrens'-"
"They probably fall short of the truth." Coppinger is firm. "The police
will not patrol there. Births are not registered and so residents are
SINless, with all that is thus implied. I would suggest you investigate,
Louis, to see what the UCAS is prepared to tolerate."
"So, you used the Hippocratic principle?"
"I'm sorry?"
"First do no harm." Gowne recites.
Coppinger nods. "Close enough. While I was using organised criminals as
contacts, I remain confident that we did not make matters any worse.
Very few of those factions have any fear of the UCAS. We perhaps
inspired a little respect... but that lies in the past."
"You didn't want to keep the operation going for that reason?"
"It was useful when we had other targets and needed the organised
criminals' assistance. It did not seem to me, to be a valid mission for
a UCAS federal agency to exist." Coppinger says firmly. "Wasteful and
duplicative."
"And what happened to your people when you closed down the Agency?"
Gowne presses.
"Most went to other federal bodies, a few to the private sector. The
military personnel reverted to their normal duties."
"Like the Lynches?"
"They CHOPped back to their parent units. Lieutenant-Colonel Lilith
Lynch, to General Cunningham's team: Colonel Jason Lynch, to Vice-
Admiral Kowalski."
Gowne nods patiently. "I see. So, how did they find themselves at war
with Malone?"
"Presidential Decision Directive 25, and Executive Order 1152."
Coppinger replies. "After his assassination of Special Agent-in-Charge
Elliot, Malone was identified as a clear and present danger to the
security of the UCAS. The Lynches were ordered to resolve the situation.
They did." says Coppinger.
"And the current embarrassment with Ernang?"
"Admiral Kowalski directed that, not I. I merely assisted with the
investigation. Ex-Director Mallins has testified that General Ernang
misused his troops and his authority to establish himself in Seattle's
underworld as a fund-raising exercise, for purposes unknown. General
Ernang is illegally and unlawfully detaining Lieutenant-Colonel Lynch.
Investigation into the matter is currently stonewalled. I believe there
are grave grounds for concern."
"Indeed." Gowne sighs. "I share your frustration. A proper spring-
cleaning is long overdue."
Something about the tone has Coppinger tense, though it's only really
visible on the playback: from Gowne's seat, the intelligence officer
seems quite unmoved. "I quite agree, provided it's properly targeted."
"I wouldn't concern yourself, David." Gowne checks his watch and rises.
"You shouldn't have anything to worry about. Now, if you'll excuse me,
the National Security Advisor is expecting me in thirty minutes and I
hear the Beltway's even worse than usual today."
+++++end video
He's telling me that he'll leave me, personally, out of his witch-hunt.
Everyone else... can consider themselves fair game.
I would suggest the century-old mantra of "duck and cover".]<<<<<
-- D J H Coppinger <22:11:34/05-08-62>
Central Intelligence Agency
