Chapter Four - part two

    Now James was surprised! He sat up, leaning forward, as she laughed softly and held up her hand to stop him from speaking. She went on quickly. "Just listen for a moment more and then you can talk. James, I specifically asked for you, because you have a superior understanding of people. You seem to have a unique gift for seeing the real person inside even a total stranger almost immediately. You almost seem to see into their hearts instead of just their minds. That gives you a great advantage when dealing with unknown people and unexpected events. A lot of us in the more senior command positions know that we must have more people like you; people who are ready to do far more, far sooner, than we had thought necessary from our people. I cannot explain everything to you. As we move forward together I suspect you will quickly reason much of it out on your own. I just need you to understand that I was ordered to prepare you for something bigger than just being a new squadron commander and top notch pilot. You have proven yourself to be both of those things already. I have prepared a temporary office for you. It is filled with files and information about your new squadron and your new mission. That mission alone will need several days of careful study from you before your new squadron arrives." She stopped and hesitated for just an instant before proceeding forward with the briefing once more.

   "There is also an extremely large amount of intelligence information there for you to go over. That information is all highly classified and for now it is for your eyes only." She held up a single key. "This is the only key to your office. Once you get past the first door this opens a second door you will find, which has a pass code lock as well. It leads to your new secured office. The pass code lock isn't currently locked." She handed him a small sheet of paper. "This is the instructions for you to use to set the pass code. After you have set it, I expect you to tell nobody except me what that code is and that room is to be locked when you aren't in it. There is now and will always be someone in the main office outside your secured inner office; twenty-four hours a day. Those guards will act as clerks to you for now in addition to their duties as guards. They won't be allowed to leave the front office, except to enter your private office while on duty. They aren't cleared to see or discuss the intelligence papers you will have in the secured office, but they can help you with all the rest. That is until you have time to select someone from your squadron to handle those duties for you. I highly recommend that you spend the next two or three days in your office going over those intelligence reports. When you are ready we will meet again with a few other key people to discuss what you have learned and to hear what you think our new plan of action should be." She leaned back and grinned. "It seems I have once again marked you James. You will likely soon be a target for a lot of people, both inside and outside the Air Force. I want you to know that I am still there with you. You just may not always know it. There are a lot of other people who will be supporting you in addition to me too."

   Lt. General Katherine Ann Madison smiled and sat back as she gave him a simple nod to indicate that he could now speak. At first James didn't quite know what to say. What could you say to all of that? He remained there just thinking and watching Lt. General Madison. Finally he began to nod his head as he took a deep breath. Then he spoke. His voice was soft, but it was still clear. "I had been looking forward to seeing you again, but I will admit that I was also very concerned about what gifts you might have waiting for me. I almost wish that I had just stepped down and remained with my wife and children now." James straightened in his chair and raised his voice just a fraction. "General Madison... I used to look forward to being able to call you that. I thought it would be well deserved and a sign of better days. I thought that if you could reach the stars with a faith as strong as you had... well maybe someday I could too. Now I have to tell you that I am growing weary of the struggle. I knew when I came to the Academy that it wouldn't be easy, especially not for a Christian. I just never expected it to be anything like what it has been for me. It has been a continuous challenge and sometimes a royal pain in my rear. It has also been fun... sometimes! I have gone wherever and done whatever has been asked of me. I haven't always enjoyed either of those things, but I have still done my duty. But now you sit there with a smile on your face and tell me that you are about to ask even more of me. I am both honored and troubled by that. People often expect far more from me than I feel I can give them. I have been blessed so far, but I am just a man. I am not a miracle worker. Now are you planning on letting me walk into this totally blind or do you intend to at least give me a candle before I walk into this lion's den in the dark?"

   She shook her head and laughed. Then she smiled and spoke. "Colonel James Andrew Cooper. He has walked with lions and has slain dragons. He makes my heroics seem almost dull. He makes even my career seem to be moving in slow motion when compared to his own. And yet he remains the same humble Doolie who once had the courage to stand up to a Colonel who marked him out as something more. Cooper, you never cease to amaze me! The candle you seek is in that office, among those reports. I will tell you this much though. You have been a marked man since the day you were accepted at the Academy. I can't change that and frankly I wouldn't if I could. You may feel like you are in the dark and walking blind sometimes, but I assure you that those who chose you believe that you alone can walk the path before you. They will also be there to follow you down that path. Now please just go and do your homework. Then you can come back and talk with me. You will understand far more after you do that. And I think you may even be ready to admit that I am not trying to make life harder for you. That doesn't mean it won't get harder, just that I alone am not to blame for it. Dismissed Colonel Cooper, I will be waiting to hear back from you."