Jacqueline Druga - Protocol One

“Yes.”

“Does he look like him?”

No answer.

“Tom?”

After a heavy sigh, Tom turned around. “No.”

“The Tony Garrison you know is…. I don’t know, black?”

Tom lowered his head.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

Tom lifted his hands in defeat. “Honestly, at that point, was it really important, Anna? With all that was going on, was it really important?”

“Yeah, Tom, it kind of was.”

“Why? The world as we knew it was gone. In an instant. I knew him from being here at the bunker during construction. He obviously was in on it somehow, so why did it matter?” He turned away from me. “You want answers.” He pointed to monitor three. “He’s up in the kitchen.”

“Thank you.” Turning to leave, Peter walked in.

“Hey, Anna, how’s the reunion going with the ex?”

“Good. Peter did you….”

“Don’t.” Tom stopped me. “Don’t ask him. Go to the source.”

“I will.” I replied humbled and walked out.

As I left, Peter called out. “Ask me what?”

I kept walking. The kitchen wasn’t far, and it didn’t afford me enough time to think of what I wanted to say or my approach.

Tom was hostile and defensive. Why? Of course, he was also here with Abe and Ben when we arrived. Both of them weren’t part of Gil’s plan either. In my mind at that moment, Tom was probably just as much a part of everything that was happening as Tony was.

On the short journey to the kitchen, I thought of things Tony said.

‘ I only met him once and that was six years ago,” he said of Gil.

‘Don’t post that picture of me on line… I go by a different name on there,’ he told Jackson.

‘You didn’t tell me you had a daughter.’

‘You didn’t ask.’

When I found out about Joie, it dawned on me there was a lot I didn’t know about Tony. That was the truth.

I wasn’t mad, in fact I didn’t know how to feel.

Something was ‘not right’ whether it was a negative thing or something minuscule, a piece of the puzzle was missing.

All I knew was that there had to be an explanation. Tony was a good man, with a good heart. As I arrived at the kitchen, I heard Tom’s words in my head.

‘ With all that was going on, was it really important’

Was it really important?

I suppose the answer to that question would come after hearing what Tony had to say.

Tony was in the kitchen and I stepped inside.

Tony had a small bag set on the prep counter and around it, a few items. He was opening a cupboard when I walked in.

“Hey, sweetie.” He walked to me, kissed me on the cheek. “How are things with Gil?”

“Interesting.”

“Interesting, huh? Does that mean, uh, you’re here to tell me sorry I’m out and Gil’s in, no pun intended to any sexual reference that could be.” He smiled.

“Tony, no I…” Pausing, I watched what he was doing. “Are you leaving?”

“No.” He laughed. “Where would I go?”

“You’re packing that.”

“Oh, no. Check this out, Peter said the temperature may creep above zero tomorrow, if it hits five or ten, Ben and I were thinking of going out and seeing what’s down in Elwood. OR what’s left.”

“I would love to see that.”

Tony shrugged. “Maybe you can wait until it gets a bit warmer. Then without a doubt. I’ll take you out there.”

“Are you bringing back survivors?”

Tony just stared at me.

“Of course, not how silly to ask.”

“So what brings you up here? I thought you’d be hanging out with Gil.”

“I was. Is that why we haven’t seen you? Because I’m hanging out with him?”

Almost snorting a laugh, Tony shook his head. “Um, no, it would just feel weird. Knowing how the guy feels about you. The guy builds you the ultimate survival haven and the treks through the wasteland for you. I think that speaks volumes.”

I watched Tony, as he shuffled through items he was going to take, almost as if he was giving survivors the stuff we didn’t want.

“So…” I said upbeat. “I heard something interesting.”

“What’s that?” Tony turned to the cupboard again.

“I heard that Tony Garrison is actually a sixty year old black man.”

Tony paused, just for a second, then continued what he was doing.

“Tony?”

“You heard Tony Garrison, head of GSS was a sixty year old black man.”

“That’s what I heard.”

“From Gil?”

“Yes.”

“You weren’t kidding when you said you heard something interesting.”

“Seriously? That’s your reaction?”

Tony slammed a box of food down when he faced me. “What do you want me so say, Anna?”

“The truth.”

“Do you think I lied to you?” Tony asked, nearly barking.

“Gil said he met you.”

“He did.”

“He said more than once.”

“No,” Tony folded his arms and swayed his head. “He met me one time. I doubt he’d remember. I was the limo driver who brought that Tony Garrison he met to the first meeting. That is the man he met several times and that is the man he described to you. I am Tony Garrison. I own GSS. And the thing I told you that I rarely tell anyone unless I trust them is I never let anyone see me as the face of the company.”

“But Gil knows you hide behind a face.”

“Yep. He knows. He also believes he met with the real Tony. I never let that happen.”

“How do I know you’re being honest now?”

Nearly growling, Tony threw up his hands. “I knew it. I knew the second he came in here that this was going to happen. I knew you’d question me. So…. I went to my room and to my things.” He reached down, unsnapping the side pocket of his pants and started slapping items on the counter. “My driver’s license, and in case you think that’s fake, here’s my military ID, my daughter’s newborn hospital bracelet, my son’s… dog tags. Look at that them.” His finger pointed to each item. “Garrison. Garrison. Garrison. I never lied to you Anna. Ever. I have been more honest with you than with anyone in my life.” He grabbed the items and put them in his pocket. “If I am guilty of anything, it’s not being one hundred percent honest about the finality of the plan. And trust me, I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want it getting back to Gil. And I didn’t…” He took a second, caught his breath, and then ran his fingers though this hair as he calmed down. “I didn’t want to ruin this illusion of grandeur you had for Gil.”

“What are you talking about? Gil is a great guy.”

Tony snapped his fingers several times. “There, that’s it. Gil’s a great guy. You proclaim it. He’s not a bad guy, Anna, but he is not that man you put on a pedestal.”

“He did all this for me, Tony.”

“Yes, he did. I just tweaked the plans to make it better for you. Safer for you.”

“What was the plan?”

“Are you asking me because you want to know or because you are still interrogating me?”

My mouth dropped open. “I was far from interrogating you.”

“All right.” Tony pulled up two stools, one for me and one for him. He placed his hands on mine as we talked. “Six years ago, I get a call from Senator Jenner asking to meet with me. Now I know he used GSS for an op that went well, the intel was spot on, and we never let the information leak. He didn’t say why, but because he was a senator, I didn’t trust it. He said secrecy was imperative.”

“If it was so secretive, why did you send the face of GSS?”

“He can be trusted. He looks the part, and I knew him my entire life. I remember sitting in the limo. My face op, Gavin is his name, told him the glass was sound proofed, which is was. He tested it. But of course, it was me, so I had the limo bugged. At first I thought he was there to cheat on his wife.”