Russia, Afghanistan, China And Chelsea Massachusetts.

Somewhere On The New England Coast

The day after the attack on my home, things got dire. When the F.B.I. started interrogating the wounded shooter, they knew they had a full-blown act of domestic terrorism. The survivor's friends were dead, and the wounded man had to talk to keep his wife and three kids safely in Maryland, in school with futures ahead of them. 

When it was determined the three men were tasked with taking a computer, the F.B.I. circled back and hauled me in. For now, they spared Eve.

I learned a few things as I spent hours being questioned repeatedly, and believe me, I was surprised as things started angling toward China.  

The international flavor of the whole thing is pretty unique when you think about it. One dead Russian Commando, a famous Spetsnaz contractor wanted on every continent by Interpol, and two dead Afghanis who worked at the National Security Agency, who were sent to my house to kill me and take Sophie's computer... paid for by China?

Does anyone else want General Tso for lunch today? I do.

The heat will come down on Sophie. Maybe she and I can co-host a Saturday night show if the body count increases.

The heat will also come down on Welch, Lemerise, and Tanner as they trace the computer back to the company.

I think Welch is hiding something huge. Tanner is dead, and where is Lemerise? 

Oh, the computer. Mason cracked it, and its contents are on the thumb drive Eve tossed in the bushes. It's hidden away now. Only I know where it is.

When I got home and turned it on, the contents of the computer were destroyed within 10 minutes. Ben tells me there may be a slight recovery, but not too much. 

New England F.B.I. Regional Headquarters - Chelsea Massachusetts

The F.B.I. tells me as they cozied up a bit, thinking correctly I may know a little more than I am telling them that Aabid weighed his religious convictions, which were not immense, against the life his family had grown into.

Aabid himself was screwed, but he was an intelligent guy,  A smart guy with one less leg, thanks to a good shot by Eve.

He made deals the F.B.I. was eager to make once they learned the three Wild And Crazy Guys had been on the Ministry Of State Securities payroll for a long time.

This was the giant W.T.F. moment. It set off a lot of screaming sessions in Washington, D.C. 

China should not be roaming the halls of America's Puzzle Palace.

The vetting process or security investigation a person goes through to become an employee at The National Security Agency is usually rigorous for the individual and very thorough.  

How could they miss extra financial payments from a foreign government that had been happening for years?

I wonder whether the background checks were done by the F.B.I. or contracted State Department investigators.

This was an embarrassment of significant proportions, and I would guess a lot of finger-pointing is happening.

I wish someone would stick their pointed fingers or something else in the bullet holes on my trailer. It is winter, after all.

Uncharacteristically for Islamic terror suspects, Mustafa told the F.B.I. everything in a very forthcoming way.  

Aabid said, "There was never any thought about us having to engage in a military mission to kill someone. We are at the N.S.A. to observe methods and tactics and quietly report what may interest the M.S.S. in China."  He continued, "We were never asked to steal anything, and we felt this is all they wanted."

I'm told the F.B.I. interrogators were astounded as they unraveled this.

Aabid mentioned the extreme urgency of the last orders from China. "It was unusual and very unlike them," he said.

J. Francis Barnes ( Sinatra 7), a twenty-two-year F.B.I. employee, never saw anything like this.  

I never saw anything like Barnes's suit except on a famous New York gangster, John Gotti. Talk about a sheen.

Sinatra 7's previous work had stretched into the field in New York, Germany, Guantanamo, Afghanistan, Iraq, and the mean streets of Dearborn, Michigan. Most of the prisoners he had met were deeply religious without disdain for what the tenets of a Religion had done to societies, countries, and individuals. 

Sinatra 7 knew there were good people everywhere despite the imprints placed on them.

I was told during a quick trip to Maryland that Sinatra 7 met Aabid's family and the two families of the deceased terrorists. They, without exception, were respectful, polite, and, in the case of the children, happy, safe, and funny.  

Sinatra grew to understand the choice Aabid made.