Chapter one

Washington, D.C., mid-afternoon

Crystal Bramble Medearis pressed the phone tightly to her ear, attempting a conv
ersation with her father, Admiral Thomas T. Bramble, amid the tumultuous rush an
d scramble of her office.
"Admiral . . . Admiral . . . Dad! I'm up to my earlobes. No, earlobes are not on
the ass. God, you're outrageous! Anyway, . ."
Crystal's secretary, Madge, came rushing into Crystal office. Aside from an init
ial shout of 'time-out' from the secretary, Thomas could only hear Crystal's par
t of the conversation.
"What Madge? No, No I'll get back to him. Yes, soon. OK, better than soon. Liste
n up slave driver, these fits of workaholic patriotism are killing your poor bos
s. If it keeps up I may have to send you back to Alger the Algae-eater. Yeah, I
thought that would send you slinking away. Later gal. Out! Three minutes, OK?"
"Dad? Sorry about that. The world has suddenly gone to dinosaur caca around here
."
Thomas said, "Sounds to me like you need a break from maniacal Madge, daughter.
Why don't you send her on sabbatical and take a rest?"
"Are you kidding? That wunderkind mamma saved my behind when I started here. Do
you remember how crazy I used to be in this paper blizzard?"
"What do you mean, used to be?"
"Watch it, Admiral. I may send her to Pearl and put an end to your happy ass day
s."
Madge Jaworski was Crystal's fervently loyal friend as well as secretary. At 56
years of age and stout enough to face a bear, Madge was Crystalâ s secretary, fan a
nd protector. Aptly titled "Mrs. Rock" and "Momma Bull" by co-workers, Crystal a
nd Madge had saved each other. When Crystal joined the Attorney General's Office
, she quickly realized she needed some strong bureaucratic know-how to survive.
With a little research, she came up with a plan to rescue a beleaguered Madge fr
om the Justice Department's principal
martinet, Alger "Algae-eater" Brighton. Alger carried the Department designation
, Special Investigator without Portfolio (read internal snoop) and was feared an
d/or hated by almost everyone. An unabashed Anglophile, dedicated bigot and clos
et pervert, Algae-eater snooped and scooped the weaknesses and improprieties of
others for his own benefit. He collected them like bearer bonds, instantly redee
mable for cash and other considerations should the right party express interest
in gaining some advantage over justice and fair play.
Madge Jaworski had shaken Alger with some on-target surmises regarding Mr. Brigh
ton's probable sexual proclivities and he had been frantically searching for a s
ilent tomb for the pigeon breasted old cow when Crystal magically appeared. Mrs.
Bramble had been all sweetness and respect, seeking Mr. Brighton's knowledge an
d assistance to locate a savior from a paper avalanche. Hidden behind a mask of
patronizing concern Alger was screaming, "Eureka"! The grotesque super-mammary g
ossip witch was sealed away and out of the Department as well. To Alger, it appe
ared a perfect solution. The transfer was accomplished with a minimum of delay.
Alger had particularly loathed Madge Jaworski even before her foray into his pri
vate life. Madge was a touchy-feely person and Alger abhorred touching
from anyone who evidenced either breasts or adult facial hair. Brighton dated on
ly very young looking, breastless women and that alone had provoked Madge to hug
Alger to her ample bosom at every opportunity. The disgust Brighton projected f
or Madge, or any other developed female in close proximity, had prompted some li
vely coffee break conversations, led of course by a mischievous Ms. Jaworski. Co
njectures not withstanding, none of the conversants suspected that their weird M
r. Brighton possessed the largest 'Kiddy porn' library in the area. Secured in a
n oversized closet vault, Alger Brighton had amassed an incredible array of chil
d pornography. He continued to add to his collection in a variety of clandestine
transactions. Many of these exchanges involved illegal transfers of secret gove
rnment documents and other compromising information, all useful for dealing with
uncooperative US government officials.
"Now, about the reason for your call. What the hell were we talking about before
Madge charged in here? Oh, yeah! Your outrageous demand for dinner. No can do P
oppa."
"Your job is what's outrageous, Crystal, " interjected Fleet Admiral Bramble, CI
NCPACFLT (Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet). A three-star, the Admiral was accu
stomed to doing most of the talking except when his daughter was
involved. A bit under five feet ten, the Admiral was still an imposing figure. H
is shoulders were literally wedged into the telephone booth and sweat lined his
forehead along the hairline. His hair, black and widow-peaked with silver wings
on each side, elicited strong interest by many of Washingtonâ s social set, mostly
ladies of course. Crystal was an Assistant Attorney General who was either in ch
arge of a conversation or there was no conversation. Diminutive and shy at intro
ductions, she should have been born with flaming red hair and flashing green eye
s. She was, however, dark haired with deep brown eyes which went black when ange
red and possessed an elusive oriental mystique that appeared and disappeared in
a startling manner.
"Right-on Admiral. Funny! Ha-Ha, you crazy nut. You cannot believe what's happen
ing around here. I've got platoons of Orientals popping out of desk drawers, try
ing to sneak off and photocopy entire filing cabinets. They're all over the plac
e! Besides that, try to envision Arab and Israeli hotshots and their overpriced
lobby weevils in stare-downs and shouting matches in every anteroom and broom cl
oset in Washington that has a Government designation. Oh, and let's not forget t
o mention red, purple and fuchsiafaced Congresspersons of every God-rotten persu
asion demanding immediate opinions on the damnest, harebrained proposals you eve
r
imagined. . . Jesus! As usual, when Senators and Representatives are uninformed
or ignorant about something important, their first reaction is to blame and puni
sh half the world. Trouble is, they are always ignorant and uninformed about an
issue unless there is an immediate vote count attached to some or other of their
special interests."
Thomas T. knew better than to comment yet. Better to wait and let her get it all
out. After a few deep breaths, Crystal picked up the scattered threads of her t
houghts.
"And then you call. I don't even know you are in this part of the world and you
want dinner and chit-chat! I'm in the middle of rampaging shit-droppers and my b
oss would belch fire out of her ass if I so much as suggested . . . Oh, hell! .
. . I'm sorry to be spouting off Dad. You phoned just at the right time to catch
the brunt of pent-up anger from a very tired, frustrated and bitchy female atto
rney."
Crystal was finally coming down. Admiral Bramble wisely remained silent.
"Dad, I really can't get away now. Even if I had known you were coming into D.C.
, I couldn't make it happen, OK?.OK? Are you still there? Oh no you
don't! Don't pull that silent, martyr crap again! ...God-dammit, Admiral! Talk t
o me or I'll break this phone in your ear! Ah, shit! You worm! Yes, worm! You ne
ver have any regard for what's going on in my life when you decide you need some
thing from me. And you're never there when I need you, either."
Still no reply from her father, Crystal finally relented and hated herself for i
t.
"All right. OK! I'll meet you at Stoufferâ s West for a delicious twelve-minute cat
ch-up dinner. Satisfied, Oh commander of mine?"
Thomas answered, "Good Lord! You can really spew it out when you're primed, can'
t you? Besides that, I won't eat catsup for dinner."
"Catch up, you idiot, " Crystal shouted. "Are you going deaf too?"
Having claimed his first objective, Thomas decided to ignore Crystal's last rema
rks and continue humorous diversions before springing his next request on her.
"And you're not even a trial lawyer. Waste, pure waste, daughter. If you were
on one of my ships, I'd put your mouth on the bow and free up at least a half do
zen chain guns."
"Gee, thanks Admiral, just loads and bunches. Now, are we on or not?"
Admiral Bramble, AKA Thomas T., was fascinated by his daughter's ability to voca
lize so picturesquely. He was also having considerable difficulty holding back a
vocalization of his own - a mirthful one. A few times he had stopped breathing
for fear he would pig-snort over one of her colorful comments. He knew that if t
hat had happened, he would have lost control altogether and laughed until a misu
nderstanding Crystal slammed the phone in his ear. The thought of what he would
say next had Thomas on the verge of pigging it now.
Straining for a normal voice, "Actually, ah, I'm only here for, ah . . . hold on
a sec hon." Several lip pinches later, "Until late Thursday or early Friday and
I've got a twenty-two hundred briefing tonight with some dreaded warmongers. Yo
u know the type - unsavory, drooling for glory and all that. So! How about drink
s, baby pics and Bramble-bragging at O'Hanrahans at nineteen-thirty this evening
?"
Thomas covered the speaker quickly and snorted. Holding the receiver away from h
is ear, he was not surprised in the least by his daughter's response.
Crystal exploded, "You impossible turd! You're utterly fucking impossible! Every
fucking person in this town is impossible, but you take the cake, you rotten .
. . Ah, shit! Double shit!" A long pause followed, then, "Screw it! O'Hanrahans,
seven-thirty, but you're drinking hemlock!"
"Don't forget the latest Wally-World grandbaby pics sweetheart," Thomas T. threw
in before re-covering the phone and breaking up again.
"Right," Crystal said in that drawn out manner women use to let men know when en
ough is enough.
"Cheer up love. You're making an old grandfather very happy."
"Right," Crystal repeated in the same manner. She could not believe it, but she
was almost ready to smile. Obviously her father had enjoyed baiting her anger. I
t was his favorite technique to draw her out and dispense with whatever had her
down or angry. The Admiral neither realized that Crystal relished combating her
emotional upheavals in her own way nor recognized
that she was greatly offended by his manipulations. Catching herself, Crystal ha
stened to bring up a serious matter.
"One thing though Dad. Let there be no, and I reiterate with full bureaucratic f
ervor, NO interviews, observations or bullshit slips with the media. None! I don
't care if they come after you in hoards, you will not utter a single disparagin
g syllable about the Japanese. You mess up and I'll deliver you and your Navy to
the damnest, most irresponsible journalists I can dredge up. In addition I will
personally throw you to some poor, bewildered females who haven't had a man in
forty years. You will find yourself so besieged by desperate reporters and femal
es your only future comment will be 'surrender'. Comprende, Admiral?" This was a
n important matter, not just to Crystal, but to the Attorney General's Office. T
he frequent Japan-bashing or Japan-spearing - "Pin 'em where they can't wiggle a
way" - the Admiral and his cronies practiced, could be deadly if let loose in Wa
shington at this time. A tense little international crisis could turn into an hy
steria-drama with a little help from dear ol' Dad and friends. Crystal was often
estranged from her father because of widely disparate views on international ma
tters. The Japan-spearing was particularly troubling to her and most of Washingt
onâ s political factions.
Her thoughts came back in time to hear part of Thomas' reply.
"...except for that demented, horny woman part. What dried up old turnip do you
have in mind for your ol' Dad?"
Thomas's remark may have been intended as light and humorous but Admiral Bramble
still caressed only one woman, and she lived only in his memory, refreshed from
time to time by a worn photograph kept in the battered campaign wallet he alway
s carried. His Penelope died of breast cancer seven years ago.
For Crystal, everything changed with her mother's death. Blind-sided by the exte
nt of her father's grief and his subsequent withdrawal into his work, Crystal fl
oundered and nearly drowned in the masses during her first year at Boston Colleg
e. She was rescued by a politically active, pre-law senior. Chuck refused to tak
e no for an answer and filled her mind, and certain of her orifices, with his ow
n excitement for life. Later, bruised around the edges but definitely alive and
recharged, Crystal had discovered a real love for law and political wrangling fo
r just but unpopular causes. That was the beginning of a new, independent Crysta
l Bramble.
Thinking of bridges crossed or burnt, Crystal replied to her father, "God himsel
f forbid anyone should try to cork your bottle with feminine pulchritude, dried
or otherwise. Just be a good sailor, sailor and you may get lucky tonight. Baby
pics and the company of your over worked daughter should.. Whoops! Gotta go. Mad
ge is holding scissors to the telephone cord. Bye, love ya.
Admiral Bramble slowly replaced the receiver and reached for his wallet. His wif
e's picture, faded and crinkled from years of handling, smiled up at him. It sti
ll hurt to see the face of the woman he would always love and always reach for i
n his sleep. Thomas and Penelope met and fell in love in Boston while Thomas was
on Stateside leave and he had, he remembered, made a complete jackass of himsel
f in the first fifteen minutes of their acquaintance. Like a clumsy teenager Tho
mas had managed to burn her dress with a cigarette and drown her Dooney and Burk
purse with a drink (her drink) trying to quench the embers, while apologizing p
rofusely to Miss Pen-A-Lope. The name butchering wasn't altogether his fault. Th
omas had not met anyone before with that first name and she had shyly declined t
o introduce herself. She had met his attempt at name exchange with a small, sile
nt smile. Thomas had spied her name printed on a convention name tag she had for
gotten to
remove. Officer Bramble did not realize it but his bumbling, red-faced confusion
had been very appealing to Penelope. Interested and amused by the handsome but
very nervous naval officer, Ms. Min had not corrected his attempted pronunciatio
n of her first name. Neither she nor her family ever did correct her suitor in t
his matter. Finally when a friend enlightened Thomas on his faux pas, he was mor
tified of course but Penelope prevailed upon him not to change anything that mig
ht alter the way in which he thought of her. It would be bad luck. The burned an
d sopping dress, the ruined purse and the trampled first name, all were part of
a precious memory for Penelope Min. She fell in love with Thomas before they lef
t the restaurant. Over the years, in spite of frequent and long separations, the
y stayed in love - a deep comforting love that no thing and no one had ever less
ened. A few clutching men and women had tried to compromise the couple, but each
time they were turned away gently but firmly. Gentle but firm. For Thomas, that
described his wife and their love for each other. That time was over. The pain
lingered but the years of duty had blunted the sharpness. Except, that is, durin
g the infrequent visits with Crystal, who bore so many of Penelope's features.
Admiral Thomas T. Bramble turned and ramrod stiff, walked back into today.
4:45 P.M., Washington, D.C., home of Senator Gradisson Henry
"Jamie, I'm saying the world is about to split open seven ways from yesterday. D
.C.'s playing it down and Texas doesn't give a rat's ass."
Leigh "Lee-Roy" Roper, all striking blond beauty and heaving bosom, was pacing a
nd fidgeting in front of Mrs. Jamie Foley Henry, a beauty herself and wife of Te
xas senior Senator Gradisson Henry, Chairman, Armed Services Committee. Jamie an
d Leigh, college friends at Southern Methodist University, had remained close ch
ums. Jamie graduated two years ahead of Leigh and had been promptly swept up and
away by Texas's most courtly statesman since Connally, and the State's most eli
gible catch (eleven years a widower).
"I've paraded my plump little butt in front of every big-shot editor in New York
and Washington and zippidy-do-dah-fuck-all-shit has happened, " Leigh complaine
d.
Leigh flopped down in a handy chair. Running both hands up over her face and hai
r, she moaned loudly and continued, "I'm not going back to Houston and play with
badges and bandits for the Chronicle until I've got something
set up in the real action. Right? Damn straight I'm right! Jamie, would you plea
se put down that God-blessed teacup and say something?"
Jamie knew her beautiful friend to be a terrific crime reporter for the Houston
Chronicle and could go far but for one huge hindrance. Leigh had committed the s
ame basic mistake made by so many bright and aggressive people trying to fight t
heir way ahead in the working world. Simply put, many aspiring people think shee
r talent should be enough to achieve success, but it is not enough in a world ru
led by networks of the big boys and girls. To reach into those networks and tap
a little magic requires more than talented hard work and chutzpah. Success requi
res a sponsor, or maybe several, and Leigh had never bothered cultivating anyone
unconnected to work in progress. And that did not consider the other side of Le
igh's personality, "Lee-Roy", a genuine 'fuck you and the horse you rode in on'
girl. Together, Leigh and Lee-Roy Roper had concocted a sure fire career stopper
.
Mrs. Henry carefully placed her Herend china teacup and saucer on an exquisite S
heraton side table, and looking at her friend with a bemused smile proclaimed, "
Perhaps dear one, you have been parading in the wrong places."
Leigh turned her head and arched an eyebrow at Jamie, as much for the 'dear one'
crack as it expressed 'say what?'.
Jamie returned an even more expressively arched eyebrow and put both arms on her
chair in preparation for a small lecture, "Leigh, my friend! I simply meant you
are probably looking for the wrong position with the wrong people. You have zer
o pull with anyone important at those papers, and nothing to offer them beyond w
hat hundreds of others bring to their desks every year. Why don't you think abou
t using something you have that is in great demand and very few have to offer?"
Leigh clamped on and swallowed a snappish retort by Lee-Roy and instead sat up t
o listen to her only real friend.
"I'm speaking about television news, sweetie. You have the beauty to melt transi
stors and the brains to know when and when not to do that to all those poor tran
sfixed viewers. Now if you think it might help, Graddison and I are having a lit
tle get together dinner tomorrow night and I'm quite sure someone interesting fr
om one television network or another will be there."
"Jamie, I know that you have known for days exactly who will be at one of your l
ittle get-togethers, not to mention exactly why Graddison wants them there. Now
give you sneaky, smug bitch or I'll tell Gradisson some filthy things you used t
o do at SMU."
"I didn't do any filthy things at SMU, dear one. You did!," Jamie purred over he
r teacup. "Since you're so distraught and might accidentally blurt out some piss
-bird story to upset the poor Senator, I do believe I remember something about s
ome news only network, CPN or NCC or . . . "
"CNN? Oh, you sly bunny. You sneaky piss-bird yourself. You let me drape my guts
all over your chintz you . . . you . . . You're a real keeper, you know that?"
"Oh, hush your trap and listen closely, especially you Lee-Roy. Tomorrow is a ni
ght for charm and beauty and just the right amount of well thought out questions
for exactly the right people. And none of Lee-Roy's brass balls. It's impossibl
e to sneak up on all those skittish men with all that clanking going on.
With that statement the stunning ladies from Texas, the wealthy society
hostess wife of a powerful Senator and a beautiful rough and tumble journalist,
began to plan in earnest. Lee-Roy just listened.
O'Hanrahans, 7:46 P.M.
Crystal Bramble sat absently stirring her second whiskey sour. The Admiral was l
ate. Sixteen minutes late to be exact. Were the tables turned, Thomas T. would t
his minute be carrying on as if Crystal were an hour late already and worse to c
ome.
"Screw it," she thought, "finish this drink and at 8:01 precisely, this forgotte
n daughter is outa here. Why do I let that bastard get to me? Thank God Georgi a
nd the kids are in New Haven. Maybe if I leave now I can still catch Lydia's rec
eption, make amends and get back in the loop for Thursday's briefs with Presiden
t Dougie and the boys." Lydia Hardcastle, US Attorney General and all around har
d ass, had herself a dilly of a tiff today when a State Department dweeb (Lydia'
s words) had accosted Lydia and insinuated there was a serious leak in her depar
tment. State was using the word 'pipeline' and their representative intimated ce
rtain
Japanese corporations were benefiting enormously in their attempts (read dirty t
ricks) to cripple the new trade laws of the Douglass Administration. After liste
ning to Lydia's ranting and threatening expostulations, Crystal suggested they m
ake sure there was not a leak inside the AGO before someone made a fool of herse
lf in front of the President. Big mistake, BIG! By now Lydia would be in full CY
A mode but all would be forgiven if Crystal handled most of the investigative wo
rk and the department came up clean. If not, Crystalâ s head would look good over L
ydiaâ s mantle.
"Too bad Sir Admiral Sir, 7:55, close enough. See you next time Daddy, " Crystal
said to herself.
Crystal was digging cash out of her wallet to pay the tab when a Naval officer's
hat with a bill full of brass came sailing across the booth. Himself, the Admir
al, slid in across from her - stupid grin and all.
"Bet you thought I was going to be late didn't you?" Thomas T. allowed. "Well I
nearly was because of all the ruckus in this town. The situation purely and simp
ly begs for a strong military type such as myself to stand tall and dignified ab
ove the hoopla. As you can see, I resisted just in time to see you punkin, and I
'm glad I did."
Crystal did not believe she was still here listening to that bullshit. She must
be numb. Laying out bills for the total plus tip, Crystal replaced her wallet, c
losed her purse and still not looking up slowly shook her head from side to side
. As she started to get up to leave, Thomas T. put one hand over hers and held t
hem until she looked at him.
"I'm sorry Crystal, I know this is a rough time and my senseless chatter isn't w
hat you need right now, is it? I really do want to talk with you. In fact, I nee
d to talk about some things going on around here, OK?"
"Dad, there are some things I need to do too. I agreed to see you for a drink, b
aby pics and some catch-up, and now what you really want is to pump me for info
like some Beltline bandit? No thank you, Admiral, Sir!" Crystal stood, prepared
to leave.
"What if I told you there's more to this than some new diamond cartel? What if I
said we're picking up Intel about possible direct Japanese interference in Amer
ican politics?" Thomas watched as his daughter struggled with her anger.
"Admiral, if this is more of your Japan bashing, I don't have any time for that
crap, now or later, " but Crystal resumed her seat.
"Hon, I can't say a lot about the Intel, but it's not Japan bashing and it's not
crap. Let me just say it stems from the Chinese turning down some important Jap
anese technology. That technology would have greatly increased some of their wea
ponâ s potentials but they opted instead for less advanced French stuff. That got s
ome of our Navy Intel types to wondering and after some nosing around, they pick
ed up a few clues that point to something very fishy about the Jap stuff."
"Admiral, there's not much difference between crap and stuff." Crystal was still
not convinced she wanted to stay and listen to anything her father had to say o
n the subject of Japan.
"Madam prosecutor, the stuff the Chinese turned down is targeting hardware we us
e by the shit-ton-load. We didn't object to the proposed sale because we are cur
rently upgrading our systems with much improved components, also provided by the
way, from our friendly Japanese high-tech supermarket. The Chinese know we are
upgrading, so that's not the fishy part."
"I still don't see what you are driving at, Dad," but the change in appellation
indicated a decision to hear him out.
"I know you don't, Hon. We aren't sure yet either. When you put the Chinese inci
dent with the other funny happenings involving our Japanese friends, it starts t
o get really tingly on the backs of our collective necks. Does it make sense to
you that just when the US and Japan are eyeball to eyeball over Douglass's 'make
it even' trade legislation, these same Japanese jump up and join a new diamond
cartel guaranteed to break the chops of most other US major trading partners? To
me, it almost does make sense but not quite. The Japs play rough all right. You
tweak their nose and they will find a way to cut yours off but the cartel seems
to me a foolish move if the intent is to press Douglass on the trade issues. If
anything, the EC, Israel and many others are more likely than ever to stand beh
ind our administration's attempt to force the Japs to play fair. Your opinion an
d mine are usually at odds over the Japanese, Crystal, but in one regard it's th
e same. The Japanese are not stupid, even if they think we are."
Crystal had listened quietly and attentively throughout the Admiral's discourse
and now she rebutted professionally, "The Japanese antipathy to America's Revita
lization Plan as promoted by the Douglass Administration is
perfectly understandable. Japan has had things her way for some time and Douglas
s's legislation is harsh and sudden to their minds. The Japanese, culturally pre
dicated, would prefer the US to take smaller, incremental steps. That would allo
w them time for adjustments and would not signify such a drastic loss of face. T
hey are a proud people who have worked tirelessly to rebuild a shattered and dem
oralized economy."
Thomas started to interrupt but Crystal plunged on, "And the diamond cartel, alt
hough aggressive, is also understandable in terms of the benefits that will accr
ue to the members. A top priority for any Japanese leadership is the security of
uninterrupted oil from the Middle East. That alone would make them a willing pa
rtner of Arab oil producers, and the money from the diamonds has to be incredibl
e! As far as the Chinese procurement is concerned, it would not surprise anyone
to learn that the French coupled a loss leader with some well placed innuendo ab
out the Japanese to capture some much needed arms business. Dad, I just don't se
e any mystery in this. Intrigue, yes, but not mystery."
The Japanese-Soviet announcement Monday, carried live by CNN, had been a blockbu
ster all right. The diamond cartel was a clear abrogation of Russian agreements
with De Beers. A South African corporation based in London, De
Beers was going ballistic over the new venture. Already a UN special session had
been called by Great Britain and several other member nations plus South Africa
(via Namibia) who were scheduled to blast Japan, Russia and the Mid-East five (
Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Jordan and Egypt) that had formed the new diamond cartel,
CMR corporation. Strangely, two of the largest diamond producers, Guyana and the
Central African Republic, were apparently not going to speak out against CMR. I
srael certainly was. Israel did many of the final cuts and processing for De Bee
rs, and that was exactly what Egypt, Syria and Lebanon were going to do for CMR.
Jordan and Iran were supplying the start-up monies. If CMR was successful in un
dercutting De Beers, and Japan was famous for undercutting competitors to captur
e market share, the Israelis would also lose revenue and jobs to the Arabs. It w
as a beautiful piece of triple economic war: Japan seizes a big piece of pie fro
m Great Britain and South Africa, Russia thumbs it's nose at Western Europe and
the US, and the Arabs hammer Israel's GNP. Bottom line, as they say in America's
South, it was just bizness. Nothing sinister, only cut throat, international st
yle. It happened every day on a smaller scale.
Admiral Thomas T. leaned forward and looked intensely at Crystal as he continued
, "You said earlier today that you had Japs popping out of cubbyholes all over W
ashington and trying to copy whole file cabinets of info.
With the influence the Nips wield in our National and State Capitols, why would
they need to do that? Usually they just make it known they need something and wa
-la, 'here you are, sorry you had to wait'. Even if they don't get hardcopy, som
e Congressional type ponies up a good run-through for his Jappy friends. Hell, C
rystal, the Japanese have funded more political campaigns than everyone else put
together and that spells access to damned near anything they want." Thomas had
Crystal's full attention again.
"We also have reports of heavy, heavy pressure on the media to show CMR in the b
est light. Our media friends tell us they're already so beat-up by both the Japs
and the White House over the new trade laws, the publishers are apt to get real
ly pissed over pressure on this diamond flap. There's enough British and Jewish
moguls in the media to make this a real dog fight with the good ol' US of A caug
ht in the middle. The last thing your Navy wants is another knife-in-the-teeth t
ask force cruising the Med. The desert wars are still too fresh."
"So what do you want from me, Admiral? I can tell you that Douglass will probabl
y push for the World Court work it out. The last thing he would want would be an
excuse for the Japanese or the Arabs to cry racist foul. Other than that I don'
t see how I can help you."
"What I would like, Crystal, is for you to let me know of any strange or out of
place happenings you run across. Any out of character actions or remarks; unusua
l or inexplicable leaks or anything that rings totally false based on who's doin
g the ringing."
"You have just described Washington, Dad. Huh, one thing you mentioned though .
. . you might find this interesting. State just pushed Lydia to find a major lea
k they say is coming from the AGO. According to them we are a direct pipeline to
some heavy Japanese corporations."
"Did they say which corporations?"
"Not to me, but I know they're ones currently involved in the trade negotiations
with the US. Apparently something heavy and sensitive."
"If you can, find out exactly which Japanese Kaisha is involved and get back to
me soonest, OK? So, enough of sordid business, yes? Let's bring out those grandb
aby pictures and talk about the really important aspects of life."
Crystal dutifully reached for her wallet and handed Thomas a sizable stack of
pictures. Grandfather Bramble seemed delighted with the pictures but failed to a
sk when he could visit and see his grandchildren in person. After only a few min
utes of related parental anecdotes, the visit was ended. The Admiral grabbed the
bill and, placing a peck on Crystal's cheek, made his excuses to leave. Crystal
made no attempt to leave until her father had left O'Hanrahans. The old feeling
s flooded into her mind. Memories of being put on a shelf and ignored until life
's circumstances recalled her to the Admiral's memory.
Crystal whispered to her departed father, "Just once, you could want to be with
me for me, not because I can be useful."