All of us were seated in the safe room when the President joined us via a video call. "Hello Mr. President, sorry to have given you another headache."
"OK fellas, I know you all did things by the book, but I have a diplomat from Spain saying he was fired upon by a SEAL. What can you tell me about that?"
One of the Lieutenants spoke up, "Sir, we had a four man team tasked with securing one of two stairwells from the subterranean regions of the base after the power was cut. Two SEALs were tasked with securing the stairwell inside and another two took position outside the concrete box up top that allowed topside access to the stairs. When the power was cut, six armed men tripped a claymore and were killed. At that point, an unknown man yelled up saying he was a diplomat and had immunity."
"To allow that man to walk up to the two man unit could easily have compromised the mission and he was not allowed to approach the team. The team told him if he showed himself he would be shot and a round was fired down the stairwell shaft to enforce that statement. There was no way for that fire team to verify his claim without being compromised."
"To our knowledge, the diplomat was unharmed when the Marine detail took over the operation and the team was relieved of their responsibilities."
"Very well. Why was it necessary to use lethal force to secure the stairwells?"
I spoke to that question, "Sir, Deep Look had already documented suspicious activity underground, I believe you have that footage available to you. Additionally, after the Base Commander refused docking permission and you relieved him, we had two snipers targeting us who were convinced to stand down by Sea Whiz."
"Finally, when talking to Commander Watkins, he revealed those snipers had to be under the CIA station chief's authority and that the CIA station chief and base commander had been involved in drug and human trafficking as well as illegal torture by foreign agencies on the base."
"Given the extremely hostile environment and evidence collected to that point, I authorized the SEAL Team to go weapons hot. This was also discussed earlier with the Joint Chiefs and we were authorized, and I quote, "Do whatever you need to do to secure that base, protect the SEAL Team, the Ambassador, and yourselves. You are authorized weapons hot."
"In short, Mr. President, we were given no options by the actions of the base personnel but to use lethal force to secure the base."
The Naval Joint Chief boasted, "And one SEAL Team, an Ambassador, a CIA field operative, and a luxury yacht did just that. Mighty proud of those boys, Mr. President."
Bill's Chief of Staff asked, "Mr. President, how do you want to handle this?"
"We have a dicey situation here as some of those diplomats doing illegal torture on GITMO are from allied countries. Let's keep this as an internal matter for now and I will have a talk with the other countries involved. This could be a negotiating chip we can use to garner international support for our plans in Mexico."
"As it stands, Ambassador; job well done. The Marine detachment has uncovered a mountain of evidence to support your charges beyond any reasonable doubt. Let your people know this was a black bag operation and secrecy protocols are in place."
The military men present all spoke at once, "Understood, Mr. President!"
"Harry, when can we expect you for dinner?"
"With your permission, Sir, I thought we would stop off and do a day of fishing before we arrived in Norfolk. How does Thursday evening sound?"
"Excellent! I have invited the English, French and Spanish Ambassador's already having anticipated your answer. Please be sure Lady Isabella DE Sousa is in attendance as we will have some diplomatic business to attend to after dinner."
"My I invite the SEAL Lieutenants and my father along with Sue, Barbara, and Leesie, Sir? I suspect they will need to be involved in the discussions at some point anyway."
"Capitol idea, Ambassador. Let's make it for 17:30 hours Thursday evening. Bring the SEAL who got injured with you as well."
With that the call ended. I asked the men present, "What does everyone think is going on?"
The Captain spoke up, "They are planning a full scale, public, military operation in Mexico and they are going to use Bella as part of their justification. Additionally, we are going back to Mexico to serve as the U.S. Embassy as this action will be taking place. I suspect they will have Bella run the country until elections can be held. So a six to nine month deployment.
I looked at the Lieutenants, "You fellas are due to stand down are you not?"
The Lieutenants looked at one another and one of them looked at me and smiled, "Sir, with all due respect, this has been one helluva vacation for us. We get to play with guns whenever we get antsy, our wives are with us, we have sex with whomever we wish, we get to shop and visit a foreign country, and we are getting more action than SEAL Team One. I guarantee you, that is not a problem."
"Thanks fellas. Indoctrinating a new SEAL Team into our operations in the middle of all this would be a serious pain in the ass. My best guess is we are going to be in Portsmouth for at least a week so the military can get situated with what they want to do. "Sue?" I called out through the door, "Would you coordinate something for me, please?"
"Sure honey, what do you need?"
"How about we set everyone up in the Gabonzo Inn in Ogunquit for the duration."
"Pay whatever rate they require for a week's stay. And we want the entire place to ourselves, so rent every room they have. Use my Ambassadorial status if need be. If that isn't enough, have the President's Chief of Staff give them a call. We will also pay to relocate anyone whose booking we interrupt to a place of their choosing. Include the yacht staff in that as well and give each and every individual $2,000 spending money as a bonus for all their hard work."
Also let's purchase a small restaurant where Ana Barrera's family lives and have our guest, Martina, run the place as a family restaurant. That will provide her with the job needed for a work visa."
Captain Barnes spoke up, "Harry, I need you to transfer about 20 million into the working account. I need to resupply the ship as well as pay everyone. With your permission, I would like to pay them a month in advance as well just to be sure they have enough money to enjoy their vacation."
I called the bank president on his direct line and had the transfer made after I identified myself. It took all of 10 minutes. I looked at Captain Barnes and nodded, done and approved. Give everyone their bonus at the same time, please. And don't forget the raise I gave them, either."
"I got it all worked out, Ambassador."
"Captain, that bonus, multiply it 10 fold each for you and Isabella. Buy her a nice wardrobe befitting the expectant ruler of Mexico."