The Red Cell AndrĂ© Gallo (essential reading .txt) đ
- Author: André Gallo
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âWe have another option,â Steve said looking tentatively at LaFont as if waiting for her consent. When she nodded slightly, he directed his next comment at the president. âWe could try to recruit him, or turn him as seems to be the term these days, and send him back to Tehran.â
âThat does not make sense,â Baxter said smiling condescendingly at Steve.
âFirst,â LaFont stepped in, âweâll see if Yosemani pulls through and lives. Our first priority of course is to debrief him thoroughly. Tehran will undoubtedly request we return him. And remember, we have a double agent and we have the possibility of convincing Tehran that Yosemani is resisting our efforts to extract intelligence from him or, on the contrary, we can paint him as a traitor. Yosemani will have a choice of spending the rest of his life in a maximum security prison here in the United States or of going back to Tehran if he agrees to cooperate. We have the capability of controlling the conditions of his return.â
âI hadnât thought of that,â Baxter said. âKeep me informed. And I donât think that is a topic fit for the oversight committees.â
âAll very interesting,â Tremaine said. âBut what are we going to do with the two of you? You, Steve, are already the director of my intelligence staff. But you, Kella, are obviously equally talented, and equally deserving. How can I reward you?â
âWeâre still on our honeymoon, Mr. President,â Kella said. âBut I can tell you right now, if Steve wants to get involved in another adventure to save the world, heâs going to do it as a bachelor. Weâve been talking about creating an extreme sport company, The Vertical Dimension. Maybe this is the time to put words into action. â
While they all grinned, Tremaine stood, went to his desk, and returned with two blue boxes, which he opened. âWe have no photographers and no media folks here. ThĂ©rĂšseâs suggestion. All part of your culture, I understand. But let me acknowledge your contributions to the country, and our sincere gratitude, by giving you each the Presidential Medal of Freedom.â
He hung the coveted award, a white star with a blue circle in the middle containing thirteen golden stars on a background of five eagles, around the neck of each on a blue ribbon.
After everyone in the room shook Steve and Kellaâs hands, Tremaine said, âThereâs another thing Iâm going to offer you, which I will not allow you to refuse.â Looking toward Marshall, he asked, âWhat if we held that wedding reception across the street at Blair House?â
âIâll check with Kate, but Iâm sure it will be all right with her. What do you think, Kella?â Marshall asked, as she walked up to the two of them.
âBlair House? I thought that was only for affairs of state.â
âSo thatâs settled. Now I have another topic for you, Marshall. I would like you to be an adviser to my negotiating team with Iran. I would ask Steve as well, but staying on good terms with Kella is one of my priorities.â
âI hope Iâm not interrupting,â LaFont said, âbut I wanted to ask Marshall about his health.â
âI do have news,â Marshall said. âI learned yesterday Iâve been accepted in a clinical trial. Double-blind and all that, so I wonât know whether Iâm getting the real drug or the placebo. Phase 1 determined the drug is safe and Phase 2 concluded it was successful among a small sample of patients. This will be Phase 3, with thousands of patients in the United States, Europe, and Australia. Eighteen months. The good news is the pharmaceutical company is betting big on this drug. So I hope theyâre making a good business decision.â
On the other side of the room, Baxter asked Steve, âYou know, our party could use some new blood in Virginia, where youâre a resident, right?â
âPolitics? I do believe in certain principles, but Iâve never planned to go into politics.â
âWhat principles, exactly?â
âIâve neverâthis could be my elevator speech on that topicâI believe in the basic freedoms: thought, speech, religion. In free-enterprise capitalism. And in equality of opportunity, rather than equality of outcome. But politics is not my thing. Iâm going to make a life with Kella.â
âWhat about the Red Cell?â Baxter asked, raising his voice. âBoth the president and I think itâs the most important tool in our kit. We want you to take it over.â
âYou heard Kella. Iâll take it on until you find somebody else. In the meantime, Iâm going to become Yosemaniâs âbest friend,â his lifeline. According to his bio, heâs an ambitious guy, and Iâm sure heâd prefer to be wheeling and dealing in Tehran than to be in a maximum security prison in Colorado.â
AFTERWORD
I started this book last year but had to put it aside when ALS deprived me of my ability to type. I resumed it this spring, having exceeded my predicted lifespan and having obtained the necessary dictating software. More crucial, Judy Ortiz volunteered to spend many hours with me every week to fill in for the many shortcomings of the software. This book could not have come to life without her.
The main characters of The Red Cell, Steve and Kella, continue to spearhead the CIAâs clandestine operations as they did in the first two books of this trilogy, The Caliphate and Satanâs Spy. Steve is modeled after our son, Christopher, who died in a plane crash during his honeymoon and who had all of Steveâs skills and qualities but never worked for the CIA. Kella, a fictional character, was brought back to life after comments from her fans. Yosemani is modeled after General Qasem Soleimani, the actual commander of Iranâs Quds Force.
Although other characters are either fictional or composites, several are not. Kate
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