David Golemon - Primeval

"Some of our artifacts would cause a great uproar in the world if we released to the public the fact that we had them."

"Yes, I understand that. Imagine having the flying saucer from Roswell in our possession. I always thought it was just a story." The senator lowered his head and swiped at his sweating brow once again.

"You are literally the first American outside of the president to view the vault chambers at this complex, Senator Casals. However, since the damage we sustained last month was so extensive, we couldn't hide the cost from the House. So here we are, you've seen the damage and I hope you understand our reasons for being enough that we can get an appropriation for repairs." Virginia smiled and batted her eyes twice, not blatantly, but she did make sure the senator saw the movement.

"And your advice to the presidents, past and present, has assisted in making policy with foreign governments? I mean, from historical records and finds?"

"Yes, sir. That's our charter as laid down by President Woodrow Wilson. We will assist in guiding our country through the minefield of policy making. Mistakes by us and other nations occur on a repeated level that, by the numbers, is unbelievable. We make the same mistakes over and over again. Even now, we are in the process of recovering an artifact from Chinese territory that will hopefully pave the way for better relations with the heir to power in North Korea. If recovered, we believe it will open inroads to that nation that have never been constructed before."

"How can an artifact do that, as a 'for instance,' that is?"

"Well, Senator, I don't know how well you know your world history, but in Korea in 300 BCE, what was known as the early Common Era, the three largest kingdoms of that nation, Goguryeo, Silla, and Baekje, conquered all the people and land as far as the Chinese border. These three kingdoms came to dominate the peninsula and much of Manchuria. The three kingdoms competed with each other both economically and militarily. The city states of Goguryeo and Baekje were more powerful for much of the era, especially Goguryeo, which defeated massive Chinese invasions. Silla's power gradually extended across Korea and it eventually established the first unified state to cover most of the Korean peninsula by 676, while former Goguryeo general Dae Jo Yeong founded Balhae as the successor to Goguryeo. This was the first truly powerful nation that would lead to the Korea we know today."

"I'm not following, Mr. Compton," Senator Casals said, looking from Niles to Virginia.

Virginia took the senator by the arm and looped hers through his own and walked him alongside one of the larger vaults as two security men followed. Niles looked at his watch and rolled his eyes.

"You see, this General Dae Jo Yeong is to his people what George Washington is to the American people. When the general was only forty-two years old, he was assassinated by the emperor of China, and his body whisked away as a preventative move to keep the general from becoming a martyr. The move failed and he became a symbol for his fledgling nation anyway." Virginia stopped and looked down into the senator's eyes, becoming serious. "His body was never returned by the Chinese."

"I don't follow how this has anything to do with your very secret department, Ms. Pollock."

"Could you imagine the trust that would be garnered by whoever assisted in returning the Korean George Washington to his homeland? I think that would go a long way in assuring a new regime in Korea that we can be trusted, in their estimation of us, not to blow their asses to hell if and when we decide to do it."

"Ah, I see. But do you have the general in your possession?" the senator asked.

"As a matter of fact, we have our security teams there right now negotiating for just that, Senator. We should be hearing from them at anytime," Niles finished for Virginia.

"Which leads nicely to my next inquiry, Director Compton?"

"And that is?"

"Your security department." Senator Casals pulled several sheets of paper from his breast pocket and opened them. "You'll have to excuse me; I took these notes from several personnel files before I left your office. Now, security, oh yes." He looked up at Compton, who was perplexed as to why his security department was being brought into a budget request. "Colonel Jack Collins. I have read his 201 file, and I must say, for someone as experienced as Colonel Collins, to have him standing guard at what amounts to a historical repository is a trite wasteful in my humble opinion, maybe even a bit of overkill. I would think that with all that's going on in the world, the colonel's skills could be better utilized in another arena."

"Colonel Collins is useful in ways that can never be divulged to you, Senator. I'm sure if you had brought this up to the president, he would have informed you that the colonel's record and his achievements are out of bounds."

"Just curious as to why you would need someone with his obvious qualifications in what is really a think tank?" Casals said as he looked from Niles and then at Virginia.

"Jack has done more for the stability of this nation than anyone in either houses, or the other branches of service. I dare say even more than the president," Virginia said, taking offense to the standards the senator thought their group should stand by. "The colonel is capable of getting out of any trouble. He thinks faster on the run than any man I have ever known. If he gets in trouble, he gets out of it. He doesn't fall into traps, Senator; he sees trouble coming and avoids it, which is how he keeps our field teams alive. He is the best at what he does."

The senator removed his glasses and saw that Virginia was beyond passionate about this Colonel Collins.

"So, he basically walks on water and is a survivor of some renown, a man who never finds himself in trouble?"

"That very man and his team are in China at this moment recovering the artifact we just spoke of, Senator. And yes, he and his men are the best at what they do. They always succeed," Niles said proudly.

The small Chinese man in the white silk suit with the radiant blue shirt and tie, slapped the bound man before him again. With his hands tied behind him in the high-backed chair, there wasn't anything Colonel Jack Collins could do to defend himself. He felt the effeminate hand scrape across his two-day growth of beard but managed to keep his anger in check. Usually he would just wait it out, knowing his second in command would be along to pull his ass out of the fire. But this time he thought there may be a problem with that scenario.

The small, well-dressed Chinese took two steps to his left and then used his backhand to slap the large man sitting to Jack's right across the face. Commander Carl Everett was bound just as snugly as Collins, and couldn't do anything other than hiss his anger through clenched teeth.

"You know, I'm going to slap you into unconsciousness when I get loose," Everett said as he glared at the small man before him.

"You fool, as arrogant as most Americans. You will not be leaving this house. You will tell me where the urn is and just who it is you work for."

Jack smiled as the small man took his place in front of him once again.

"Why is it you think I'm his boss? You've slapped me five or six times more than him. He just might be the one in charge, not me."

The Chinese army officer smiled and then slapped Jack again. "Your friend is too angry to be in charge of anything as important as stealing a national treasure from my government, so that leaves you." The man held his hand out and one of his goons slid a file into it. He smiled again at Jack, and then at Carl, as he opened the file folder.

"Colonel Jack Collins, it says you are an elite special forces operative. I have no listing for current assignment." He turned his attention to Everett. "Captain Carl C. Everett, United States navy, a former SEAL, his current duty station also unknown. I believe you are nothing more than thieves, ordered by your government to embarrass the People's Republic of China. This is why you will not leave here alive, gentlemen. So please, make your death quick and painless, and give us the location of the urn in which the ashes of General Dae Jo Yeong are stored."