| "The RGZS" | |||
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White House February 23, 2008 0900 hours John Ryan knew when he was being played, and right now, the brunette that stood before him with her intense blue eyes was playing him. She pouted just the slightest bit, the way only females knew how to, something instinctive about that. Try as he might to refuse her�he knew he could not. "Fine," he said with a sigh as Kayla squealed and ran to him hugging his leg tightly. "Thank you, Daddy," she giggled looking up to him with a brightness in her eyes that only children possessed. "Yeah, yeah, like I could say no to such a proposal," he grinned down at her and tussled her hair. "Now, go find Mommy and let her know." "Okay Daddy," Kayla said happily skipping away to find her mother. Ryan smiled thoughtfully after his daughter. He may be the President of the United States but that position held no power against the pouty lips of his daughter. "Seven years old and already she knows how to manipulate," he shook his head and walked over to his desk. Various papers scattered the large mahogany surface, the constant streams of writing broken only by the occasional photograph. 'When will it ever go away' he thought to himself. A knock at the door took his attention briefly away from the littered area. It was Jackson Wellington and Ryan gestured for him to come in. "I ran into Miss. Kayla in the hallway," Jackson said with an amusing grin on his face. "She told you," Ryan said evenly. "Somewhat," he nodded his head. Ryan sighed deeply. "I just don't know how to say no to her." "What's the damage this time?" Jackson asked trying to stifle a laugh. Ryan looked evenly at him, "the zoo." This time Jackson did laugh, "third time this month." "Tell me about it�so what's up?" Jackson handed the envelope he was carrying over to his superior. "Good news for a change." "Really?" Ryan said surprised, opened the envelope and added it to the contents that already cluttered his desk. He scanned the pictures briefly noting nothing unusual. He then skimmed over the papers being kept together with a paper clip. "What's this all about?" he looked up to Jackson. Jackson gestured for him to sit before speaking. "The Russian government has put together a very covert group called the Russian State Protection Service, or RGZS. Their goal is to protect their interests at home and abroad in regards to intelligence, terrorism, etc." Ryan shrugged, "how large?" "Twenty or thirty individuals. Highly trained, highly motivated�and highly unnoticeable." He spoke the last words with a slight nod of his head. "Oh?" Ryan said, "where does that leave us?" "That's the good part," Jackson arched an eyebrow, "at appropriate times�we'll work together." "That so?" Ryan smiled. "SIA and the RGZS, alphabet soup." "Can we trust them?" Jackson laughed, "the Cold War has been over for 30 years, John�" "Not for everyone." "Even so," Jackson shrugged, "this will be good for both sides. They have access to an entire realm of the intelligence community that we don't, and vice versa. If we exchanged information and worked together�the bad guys would stand very little chance of pulling something off." Ryan stared thoughtfully at Jackson. This man was his Homeland Security Officer, the one he had hand picked because his stature, intelligence, and integrity. But when it came down to it, Ryan trusted him�trusted him with his life. "How will it work?" he asked intrigued with the information thus far. Jackson paused a moment reflecting on his own hard work with putting this project together. It had been concepted when one of his close contacts informed him of the movement that took place inside the Russian IC (intelligence community). He then placed several calls to his official contacts and received no information which basically confirmed the secrecy of something happening. He then sent a message through his contact and after a few days had a phone call with one Ilya Stepanovich Georgiev. It had been non-informative at first, until Jackson hinted at something similar happening within the US government. A neutral meeting place was determined and Jackson and Georgiev came to an agreement. They would help each other when necessary, and when not, each would function secretly on their own. "The RGZS," Jackson began, "will have a liaison, a man named Georgiev. He will interface with Rebecca Dorta and she will in return report directly to me. Only myself, you, eventually Rebecca, and Georgiev know about the arrangement." Ryan rubbed his chin absently, something he often did when contemplating a heavy subject. "If," Ryan pointed his finger absently, "we do this, and the highest level of classification is in place�how deep will this 'working together' run?" Wellington spoke easily now, having prepared beforehand for these type of questions. Though, he had to admit, knowing how Ryan thought helped considerably. "It will mostly be an information exchange�people, places, activities, that might be a threat to both countries. Eventually, after some trust is built up, we hope to profile together and possibly send in joint teams. It will be a more aggressive approach then in the past. We hope to predict, confirm, and avert any situation before it takes place." "The Agents will know each other then?" Ryan asked concerned with protecting the Agents that were not yet in place. "I think that's inevitable." "Trial period?" "Of course," Jackson said, "six months to a year. The hard decision is the first one - yes or no. It will be difficult to move backwards once the first step is taken." Ryan nodded turning everything over in his head. "I want daily reports," he said finally. Jackson smiled, "of course." So that was it, the approval he sought. Ryan stood as Jackson followed suit and both men shook hands. "When will you inform Rebecca?" Ryan asked. "After she settles in and the Alpha Unit is selected and have had their feet wet." Ryan crossed to his desk and packed the materials back into the envelope and handed it to Jackson. "This is a good thing," he let the statement hang in the air without letting go of the envelope though it was in Jackson's grip as well. "This is a positive step forward�you won't be disappointed." Ryan grinned and let the envelope go, "I'm off to the zoo then." Jackson nodded and left the office as Ryan pushed around more papers on his desk still thinking of his government working so closely with the Russian government�and so covertly at that. It would not be the first time he didn't tell his cabinet and closest advisors of covert activities and he doubted it would be the last. Hell, he was about to commission one of those groups to this new one, the SIA. He didn't enjoy working beneath the radar, but sometimes�sometimes� "C'mon Daddy," Kayla whined from the doorway. She was clutching her jacket and bouncing impatiently. "Ok, ok, I'm coming," Ryan said with a smile. He mentally pushed all the burdens that came with being President to the back of his mind. He grasped his daughter's hand and led her away from his office� Return |
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