Special Talents Read online

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  Special Talents

  J.B. Tilton

  Copyright © 2012

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this report may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any informational storage or retrieval system without express written, dated and signed permission from the author.

  DISCLAIMER AND/OR LEGAL NOTICES: The information presented in this report represents the views of the publisher as of the date of publication. The publisher reserves the rights to alter and update their opinions based on new conditions. This report is for informational purposes only. The author and the publisher do not accept any responsibilities for any liabilities resulting from the use of this information. While every attempt has been made to verify the information provided here, the author and the publisher cannot assume any responsibility for errors, inaccuracies or omissions. Any similarities with people or facts are unintentional.

  Table of Contents

  CHAPTER ONE 6

  CHAPTER TWO 12

  CHAPTER THREE 16

  CHAPTER FOUR 23

  CHAPTER FIVE 28

  CHAPTER SIX 34

  CHAPTER SEVEN 41

  CHAPTER EIGHT 47

  CHAPTER NINE 55

  CHAPTER TEN 62

  CHAPTER ELEVEN 68

  CHAPTER TWELVE 74

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN 82

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN 90

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN 98

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN 105

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN 111

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN 117

  CHAPTER NINETEEN 124

  CHAPTER TWENTY 131

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE 137

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO 143

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE 150

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR 157

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE 166

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX 176

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN 181

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT 187

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE 194

  CHAPTER THIRTY 201

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE 208

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO 215

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE 222

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR 229

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE 236

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX 243

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN 252

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT 259

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE 266

  CHAPTER FORTY 274

  EPILOGUE 281

  CHAPTER ONE

  "So in conclusion, for the next few classes we will be discussing the concepts of morals and ethics. How are they different and how are they similar."

  Dr. Jeremy Sloan looked up from his notes at the class of forty-some-odd students in his Psychology 101 course. As he looked up he noticed two men dressed in dark suits enter the room and stand against the back wall. Jeremy had lived in Washington, D.C. virtually his entire life. As such he found it quite easy to identify federal agents when he saw them.

  "For our next class I want each of you to find one example of moral behavior and one example of ethical behavior. We'll discuss them during class. And I'll give extra credit to any student who can bring me examples I haven't seen before. Class dismissed."

  As the students began to file out of the classroom, Jeremy gathered his notes. As he did he could see out of the corner of his eye the two men in suits begin to make their way toward him. It was not unusual for people to audit his class. But these two had come in at the end of the class. Which meant they were there for another purpose.

  "Professor Jeremy Sloan?" asked one of them, holding up a wallet with an identification card in it.

  Jeremy looked at the ID card. Department of Homeland Security. Now his curiosity was piqued even more than before. He was a psychiatrist and a professor of psychologist at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. What could the Department of Homeland Security want with a psychology professor?

  "Actually I prefer the term doctor," replied Jeremy.

  "Of course sir," replied the man. "I'm Agent Todd. This is Agent Groesbeck. Secretary Napolitano would like to meet with you. If it's convenient, sir."

  "Napolitano? The Secretary of Homeland Security? Can I ask what this is in reference to?"

  "I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to discuss that, doctor. I was simply asked to convey her desire to meet with you and to tell you it is of the utmost importance. We have a car waiting, doctor. If you'd care to accompany us."

  "Well," said Jeremy, looking at the new students beginning to filter into the room, "I do have another class. It will be over at 1:50. You did say if it was convenient."

  "Of course, sir. We'll be outside in," the agent looked at his watch, "67 minutes."

  "I'll see you then," replied Jeremy.

  As the men left the classroom Jeremy thought about the encounter. He didn't know of anything about himself that might be of interest to Homeland Security. But since it had been an invitation – and not a summons – he decided it wouldn't hurt to see what the Secretary wanted. Putting the matter out of his mind for the moment, he began to organize his notes for the class.

  It was just after 3:00 and Jeremy sat in the office of the Secretary of Homeland Security. The secretary had ushered him in as soon as he had arrived and told him that Secretary Napolitano would be right with him. As he waited he was still curious what she wanted to see him about.

  Suddenly the door to the office opened and the Secretary entered. Napolitano was exactly as she had appeared on the news reports that Jeremy had seen. In addition to Napolitano, there was a two-star general of the army with her.

  "Dr. Sloan, I'm so glad you agreed to meet with me," said Secretary Napolitano, shaking Jeremy's hand as he stood to greet her. "I'm Janet Napolitano. This is General Porter, the military advisor to Homeland Security. Please have a seat. Can I get you anything? Coffee, a soft drink?"

  "I'm fine, Madam Secretary," replied Jeremy. He seemed to be looking at her intently.

  "Well," said Napolitano as she took her seat behind the desk, "I suppose you're curious why I asked you here."

  "The thought had crossed my mind," said Jeremy. "I assume you have a psychological or psychiatric situation that you think I can help with."

  "Interesting choice of words," replied Napolitano. "Why would you think that?"

  "Well, I'm a psychiatrist. But then, you all ready know that. I doubt I would have even been let into the building without first being checked out. I would assume you've done a background check on me to insure I'm not some nut case or something like that and to be sure that I have the qualifications you're looking for. But I must admit I am at something of a quandary. I'm sure Homeland Security has any number of psychiatrists and psychologists on staff. I'm not sure what it is you think I can do for you."

  "Direct and to the point," replied Napolitano. "I see my information on you is correct."

  "Well, as I tell my clients, one of the main problems with most relationships is communication. Many people have a tendency to talk around a subject especially if they feel the person they are talking with might be uncomfortable with the subject. I think the direct approach is best. Say exactly what you mean. That way there can be little room for doubt."

  "Of course, doctor. You do understand that whatever we discuss here must remain in the strictest confidence. As a psychiatrist I know you're aware of confidentiality. I would ask, doctor, that you treat this as if it were a session with one of your patients. Nothing that is said here can leave this room."

  "I understand, Madam Secretary. And I can assure you that whatever you tell me I'll treat as if it came from one of my patients."

  "Good. Now, where to begin? I think it best if you had some background information first. To understand why I've asked you here and exactly what it
is we want from you. General Porter, why don't you fill Dr. Sloan in on some of the background information?"

  "Certainly," replied Porter. He picked up a file from Napolitano's desk and removed several sheets of paper. Jeremy could see the file was very thick: nearly two inches. "You are, of course, aware of the significance of September 11, 2001, doctor."

  "I think everyone is aware of that date," replied Jeremy. "The attack on World Trade Centers, the Pentagon, and the airliner that crashed in Pennsylvania."

  "Yes. Well, in 2003, a suicide bomber walked into a local Pakistani police station and detonated a bomb. The bomb killed 27 people and injured nearly 150 more. In 2004 a terrorist was able to gain access to a top secret government facility in the United States and gather some very sensitive intelligence information. The terrorist was eventually discovered and was killed when he tried to make his escape by climbing an electrified fence.

  "In 2007 there was an assassination attempt on the Prime Minister of England. The assassin, a suspected terrorist, gained entry to Number 10 Downing Street. Fortunately the Prime Minister wasn't at home at the time. The assassin was wounded by security forces at the residence but escaped. His whereabouts are still unknown. And just 8 months ago Salmaan Taseer, a prominent Pakistani political figure was assassinated."

  "I remember reading about that," said Jeremy. "As I understand it, he was assassinated by one of his own bodyguards."

  "That's correct," replied Porter. "Apparently he was assassinated because he had spoken out against Pakistan's blasphemy law. His assassin, Mumtaz Qadri, was taken into custody. But there was a second individual involved. Another known terrorist. He was shot and killed by C.I.A. operatives when they tried to apprehend him and he resisted.

  "These are just a few examples, doctor." He handed the folder to Jeremy. "Every page in that folder is a separate report on similar incidents around the globe. Some of the terrorists involved were either killed or apprehended. Others escaped and their whereabouts unknown. As you can see, the list is quite extensive."

  "I see. I'm not sure how this all applies to me. I'm not an expert in terrorism. In fact, neither my teaching position at Georgetown University nor my private practice deals with terrorism."

  "Doctor," said Napolitano, "most of those reports are what might be called common knowledge. Many were reported by the news services. But what isn't common knowledge are the types of terrorists involved."

  "I'm not sure I understand. Types of terrorists?"

  "Yes. You see for several years: since 9-11 and even before: the intelligence community has been getting reports of a special type of terrorist. They apparently operate in all areas of terrorism. But they all seem to have one thing in common. They all seem to possess some type of special ability."

  "The hijackers who took control of the planes on 9-11 seemed to have some special ability that allowed them to control the passengers and crew," interjected Porter. "The one on the fourth flight; the flight that crashed in Pennsylvania; missed his flight. That's why those passengers were able to stop the terrorists. The other three, however, were all controlled, for lack of a better word, by one of the hijackers on the planes.

  "The suicide bomber that walked into the Pakistani police station. He was a known terrorist. A wanted poster of him was hanging in the police station. Yet, he was able to simply walk in to the police station with a bomb strapped to his chest and detonate it. And no one lifted a finger to stop him. It is believed he had some type of ability that masked his true identity until it was too late.

  "The terrorist that gained access to the top secret security facility and was subsequently electrocuted was able to gather the information from computers that weren't even turned on at the time. Somehow he was able to reach inside the computers and pull the information from them. All without even touching the computers."

  "The assassination attempt on the English Prime Minister is especially disturbing," continued Napolitano. "The would-be assassin was able to unlock doors and bypass every state-of-the-art security system at Number 10 Downing Street. Something that our experts say should have been impossible for a single individual. But this assassin was able to do it and did so without the aid of any type of device. As if he could do it simply with the power of his mind."

  "This all sounds a bit incredible," said Jeremy.

  "I know how it sounds, doctor," said Napolitano. "But I can assure you it's all been verified and corroborated. And the assassination of Mr. Taseer? Our information is that his assassin, Mumtaz Qadri, was actually being controlled by the terrorist that the C.I.A. operatives killed. Somehow the terrorist was able to actually take control of his body and make him do whatever he wanted."

  "Kind of like possession," said Jeremy.

  "That's exactly how one of the C.I.A. operatives put it," said Porter.

  "As I said, we've been getting reports of terrorist with these special abilities from all over the world," said Napolitano. "And they're increasing in frequency. We believe some of the terrorist leaders are actively recruiting individuals with special abilities to use in their Jihad. And to put it bluntly doctor, we're at a very distinct disadvantage in this area."

  "We've had several operations designed specifically to capture or kill many of the leaders we believe are recruiting these individuals," said Porter. "Unfortunately our conventional and normal methods of fighting terrorist are woefully inadequate when faced with these individuals who have what we are calling special talents. Our men just aren't equipped to deal with people who can do the things some of these people can do."

  "I still don't see how this has anything to do with me," said Jeremy.

  "The President, the directors of the F.B.I. and C.I.A., the head of the National Security Agency, and myself recently had a meeting to discuss our options in this matter. It was decided that a team of people with special talents should be formed to combat terrorists with special talents. People better equipped to deal with these terrorists because they would possess abilities similar to the terrorists."

  "Unfortunately," said Porter, "our attempts to date have failed. The few individuals we've identified as having special talents have absolutely refused to help."

  "Let me guess," said Jeremy. "You walked in, announced you're from Homeland Security, and gave them some speech about their country needing them. At which point the people probably told you to take a long walk off a short pier."

  "Something to that effect, yes," said Porter.

  "I'm not surprised," said Jeremy. "If there were anyone with these special talents, they'd probably be very disinclined to make it known. People fear what they don't know. Or don't understand. And so-called 'normal' people certainly wouldn't understand people with special abilities. And when you mention Homeland Security the first thing that probably popped into their heads was the Patriot Act. And all the reports of people being locked up – without due process, I might add. They probably thought if they even admitted to you that they had these special abilities they'd simply disappear."

  "That's what we eventually decided," said Napolitano. "So we decided on a different approach. The President authorized me to contact you and see if you would be willing to help us form this new team. As a psychiatrist you're used to dealing with people. Especially people who have something they'd rather keep hidden. And you have experience getting those people to come clean, as it were. You would be able to succeed where others have failed."

  "Sometimes only after weeks or even months of intense therapy," replied Jeremy. "It takes trust to get people to open up. And trust is something that has to be earned and cultivated. It doesn't happen overnight."

  "But you know how people react," said General Porter. "What their motivations are. And how to handle people. As a psychiatrist you do it almost on a daily basis. You have insight that, quite frankly, most of our field operatives don't. I'm a military man. I prefer to meet the enemy head on; on the battlefield, so to speak. I have little experience or patience with subterfuge except where it translates int
o a military victory. Most of our people don't have the insight into people that you do."

  "Secretary Napolitano, you've all ready said that you have psychologists and psychiatrists working for Homeland Security. I'm sure any one of them would be as effective at this as I would be. I really don't see how bringing in an outsider such as myself could be more beneficial than using one of your own people."

  "There is one other attribute that you possess that none of our staff psychologist or psychiatrists possess. Something that makes you uniquely qualified to head up this project."

  "I'm not sure I know what you're referring to," said Jeremy.

  "Your special talent, doctor," Napolitano said matter-of-factly. "You're one of 'them', so to speak. Which means they'll be more inclined to listen to you than to one of 'us'."

  Jeremy just looked at Napolitano. How could she know? In his entire life he had only told two people of his "special ability". And he was sure neither of them had told anyone else. So how could they be aware of the "special talent" he himself possessed?

  CHAPTER TWO