Gadget Bent - Shake Hands With The Devil by Field McConnell - Chapter Two

Gadget Bent

 Shake Hands With The Devil

by Field McConnell

Chapter Two

Back in Chapter 1, Chips had closed the door behind DICE and locked and bolted it as they had been cautioned about a dodgy couple who they had thrice seen in the Metropole Hotel in Brighton. He noticed DICE had turned down the king size bed and hopped in whilst Chips had been looking elsewhere so he was not informed as to her state of dress. He was hoping to catch a glimpse but she cupped her ear and summonsed him to join her and whispered “stay dressed, they're coming".

He joined her on her left side, closer the door as per gentlemanly Abel Danger standard protocol. He reached under his pillow and drew his .357 as DICE positioned her 20 gauge coach gun, with sight and tactical illuminator, which had both chambers filled with turkey load. While they waited wondering what would come next, or who, their preceptors were stimulated as were at least two other anatomical parts. 

They both heard a key in the door, the door open and the chain lock being extended to the max travel position. They heard two loud thuds and suddenly the lights in the Metropole flickered twice before the entire hotel went dark. Chips offered Agent DICE a BDE but she tactfully declined while holding out a stuffed queen olive branch of 'maybe after the debrief'.

When the lights were restored some 13 minutes later, they breathed a sigh of relief and had a wonderful conversation of a time long ago, before Admiral Elmo Zumwalt's son James had succumbed to Agent Orange cancer orchestrated by his father. James Zumwalt had sat right behind Agent Chips for six months in July '71 to February '72 time frame while both were members of Alpha Company 1972 at MCB Quantico where a former Blue Angel F11 Tiger stood silent sentry duty at the front entrance to O'Bannon Hall, the Bachelor Officers Quarters where young Marine Officers were indoctrinated into the Big Green KILLING Machine. Err ahh!

"Chips, it seems you are very comfortable in England, when was your first trip to my country?"

"DICE, you succulent morsel, my first trip to England was in the summer of 1970 while aboard the USS Guadalcanal LPH-7 where I served as the Administrative Assistant to Midshipman Commander Joseph Howard Johns '71 not to be confused with a character from a previous class Joseph Robert John '62 who may have knowledge of the assassination of Colonel James E. Sabow USMC who was bludgeoned to 'near death' with the equivalent of a 38 Louisville Slugger baseball bat by a USMC/CIA assassination team hastily arranged on the evening of 21 January, 1991 by GHWB, Jeb Bush and General Al Gray, the openly and overt gay commandant of the United States Marine Corps which was contrary to regulations in 1991 when homosexuals were not allowed in the US military."

"Chips, when you were in England in 1970 where did your ship, the Guadalcanal, get parked, if I might be so bold?"

"Our ship was being used to train first and third class midshipmen and when we arrived in England we were docked at Portsmouth Naval Yard. However, I immediately caught a train first to London and then south to Frimley where I spent four days not far from the White Hart Pub. A young lady friend of mine, Donna Gordon, was traveling with 3 girl friends from Maryland and they had rented a flat for June, July and August and I had the good fortune of staying with those three heterosexual and CEMAW young ladies. Why do you ask?"

"Chips, in the summer of 1970 my parents were stationed at DEEPCUT where my father was a Brigadier who worked closely with RAF and also the spooks at Porton Down. My father often talked of a young yank whom had lunch with he, my mom and myself around 27 July, 1970 at the White Hart Pub. When dad died mom and I found a faded photograph of a foursome at the Pub and that foursome was my parents, myself, and a young man from Grand Forks, North Dakota, who was a cadet from Annapolis. You look somewhat like the young man in the photograph, only older, chubbier and with less hair of a different color......."

"DICE, was your father's first name Samuel?"

"Yes, it was, he and my mother often spoke of the young man and wondered what had become of him hoping he did not suffer the same fate as LITTLE BOY BLUE, the young man in the EUGENE FIELD poem from 1889. I have that faded photograph in my purse, shall I retrieve it for you to look at?"

Chips rolled to his left and grabbed his wallet which was next to his .357 service weapon. He pulled out a small, yellowed photograph, in black and white, of three adults and a little tow- head girl with piercing green eyes. He passed it to DICE who melted when she saw it. It was the same photograph she had carried for years since the death of her beloved father Samuel whose circle of close friends called him Sid or Sidney. She and her mother had found it in her father's wallet paper clipped to a picture of his daughter when she was a debutante in September of 1980. Clipped to the back of the two photos was an image of a white 1970 Corvette which Samuel had never explained to either his wife nor daughter. 

Agent DICE excused herself from bed and went to the loo after instructing Chips to "maintain your position, and readiness" as she handed him a CSM and two tins of Smoked Oysters. While she was in the loo the Clipper Squirt gun and the Room 911 phones both went off simultaneously, something Chips had hoped he and DICE would achieve yet during this interlude in Room 911.

Chips took the room phone off the cradle and reset it, while grabbing his Clipper Squirt Gun and answering "Chips, in the clear".

"Chips, Barry M. Hall here. The package is being redeployed and so NOTSO, myself, KEANU, Soleman and McDime are heading to Brize Norton. After Burner remains on the 6th floor and wishes that you and DICE communicate with her if you are not exchanging heavenly bodily fluids as you were taught by General Jack D Ripper of the movie Dr. Stangelove. She will be in her room overnight and wishes to speak with you and or DICE if you are not doing your BUCK TURGIDSON impersonation while a worried world waits for MERKIN MUFFLEY to implement peace. If you need NOTSO or myself, use the 404 commercial number, not Clipper. We feel Sam Nunn’s DoD goons are listening on Clipper, see also Al Gore. Later."

Chips laid his Clipper Squirt Gun on the bedside table and heard the flush of the loo indicating that perhaps Agent DICE had squeezed her lemon, a term that will mean zilch to readers outside the UK but then again outside the UK pedophile pawns like Ed Heath, Jimmy Savile, Tony B. Liar and Pig Fucker Dave don't carry much weight. Their common bond, Margaret Thatcher carried a lot of weight but nowhere as much as the Whale Vagina from Gay Bay. Google [ whale vagina + California + abel danger + treason ].... I dare you.

OK, back to Maggie Thatcher, how come the three honest guys related to the Pelindaba nukes are all dead? You know, Robin Cook, Dr. David Kelly and Christopher Shale. Chips mind was recaged into the here and now as Agent DICE walked out of the loo configured for Knight action. She apparently had left her laundry in the loo. Yummy.

She laid on the right side of the bed after drawing the curtains and starting a cassette tape with the greatest hits of the US band Bread. She pulled the covers up, placed her head on Chips' right shoulder and cooed "Do you remember what song was playing at the White Hart Pub on 27 July, 1970 when father and you toasted the loyal members of UK and US forces?"

"DICE, as I recall MAKE IT WITH YOU was playing and the following month it hit #1 in the US and #5 in the UK.

Off the top of my head it was #13 overall for the entire year of 1970 and the writer, David Gates, was "embarrassed when his own mother thought the title was NAKED WITH YOU." Chips turned to measure DICE's response in her eyes but she had gone beneath the covers and so Chips, ever the doting gentleman, did not wish to disturb her. He saw a text come into his Clipper Squirt Gun from After Burner.

"DICE and Chips, going down to the Brighton Pier to meet Vanishing Point and Reef Boy, should be back in time for Maureen's happy hour at 5pm. Hope you two are being productive as relates to the broader mission. AB" Chips smiled as they were being potentially reproductive and a broad was involved, hands on, in the mission. For the next 90 minutes Chips and DICE became acquainted in a way not possible in 1970, then falling asleep together, they both dreamed of 27 July, 1970, as the Greatest Hits of Bread played in a continuous loop on the 1991 ghetto blaster that DICE had brought from her residence in Surrey where she resided while working for LA Rumbold, Camberley.

In his dream Chips recalled the innocence of a 4-year-old girl who was anxious for her mom and dad to take her to the big hill behind the Wheat Sheaf pub near the soccer fields where older boys and girls played a game called football in England. He recalled the conversations with the Brigadier and his wife, Irene, both of them being from Northern Ireland originally before relocating to England as his service with the Royal Forces saw him at one point a mess hall employee at Sandhurst later rising to the rank of Brigadier long before Operation BLACK BUCK where he had worked on a joint staff with After Burner's father, a Group Captain who had flow the AVRO Vulcan from 1960 through 1984, off and on. 

In his pleasant dreams of July, 1970 Chips recalled the feeling of not wanting to return to Portsmouth as he wished to be with Samuel and Irene Costello as they raised the youngest of their 5 daughters, little 'Sneezy'. Chips tossed and turned as he was torn between duty as a Midshipman and the longing to have a girlfriend with the innocence of little Sneezy, but due to the age difference he knew that it would never be her and he thought back to the 1969 hit by Bobbie Gentry and Glen Campbell LET IT BE ME and he lamented the fact it could never be.

In this dreams, some tears were falling as he realized some man from England, much younger, would hold Chips' dream in his arms. In his dreams he also harked back to Ramey AFB, Puerto Rico, and a young lady who may, or may not, someday own a Floral Shop on King George Street in Annapolis, Maryland after having once lived at 105-D Shawnee Road, Minot AFB, ND and later 2107 Venus Drive, Bossier City, Louisiana. In his dream he turned back to Sneezy and in doing so his body rolled to his right and his left hand landed on a part of DICE which was not intended, but would have been quite pleasant, had either of them been conscious. His touch caused DICE to have her dream take an unforeseen turn.

In her mind Agent DICE seemed moved by the placement of Chips' hand which had landed randomly at a location which may not have been random had he, or they both, been awake. Her dream began at the White Hart Pub where she had had a nice lunch with her parents on 27 July, 1970 in the company of a young man who seemed to little Sneezy somewhat like Prince Charming that her mother had oft told she and her sisters was only make believe and they should not aspire to find a charming prince but rather a man willing to work to provide a living for himself, a wife, and any children that may come along in the course of their union.

In the dream the Juke Box had finished MAKE IT WITH YOU and was playing IT DON'T MATTER TO ME which seemed to be where her mind was at although not clear if it was the 25 year old mind of Agent DICE or the innocent mind of Little Sneezy, age 4.

Had Chips been awake he would have determined from the change in DICE's posture that her dream was from the mind, and heart, of a 25-year-old employee of LA Rumbold not the innocent mind of a blonde waif with piercing green eyes. The dream of DICE involved broody behavior and fomented the arrival some nine or ten months hence a baby for her to love and hold and care for. The undulations in her dream caused sufficient motion in the bed that Agent Chips rolled to his left thereby removing his hand from the [ redacted ] of Agent DICE now fully in the throes of some wonderful undertaking occurring in her dream.

Had they not been dreaming both Chips and DICE might have taken a trip down memory lane to where they had first met on 27 July, 1970 while the USS Guadalcanal was tied up in Portsmouth and 426 red blooded American males were searching out romantic companions from Portsmouth to Dover to Norwich to Kelmarsh and most locations in between. Chips was recalling his conversation with the Brigadier.

"So tell me again Chips, are you on a U S Navy combatant ship and if so which one, where is it and what is it doing in UK?"

"Sir, I am embarked upon......."

"Chips, call me Sam and let's delete the rubbish, recall I was once a mess steward at Sandringham so I am fully aware of cadet protocols but we are off base at a pub so it is Sam and Chips. In addition to your Navy ship details, perhaps you could explain you moniker Chips." 

"Yes sir. I am on the USS Guadalcanal and it is tied up at Portsmouth. Our mission is called NATRON II and it means the second midshipman training cruise of the summer of 1970. NATRON is short for Naval Academy Training Squadron. We sailed from the Chesapeake Bay where it was anchored at 088 degrees 6.9 miles from the landmark Naval Academy Chapel and our first port visit is Portsmouth. We are here for 3 nights and then we are bound for Oslo, Norway prior to crossing the Atlantic again en-route back to Annapolis so we can be in position for the academic year.

"As far as my moniker Agent Chips, I took an oath on 14 February, 1967 at Hickam AFB, Hawaii where I lived at 105 Beard Avenue during my senior year of high school where I was in the class of 1967 at Punahou School so I could be in position to monitor 'issues' at the East West Center at University of Hawaii where my sister was punitively enrolled by my parents, Glenn A. and Eileen O. McConnell. They were convinced she was a liberal lesbian and they wished for her not to become part of the Fabian Marxist network in Washington DC where she had met the gay and lisping son of a communist bureaucrat working in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee......"

"Chips, pardon the interruption, do you have a name for me?"

"The lisper was Eric and his father Carl M. Marcy had worked with traitors in the U S government and military who were trying to weaken the United States in favor of the Communists in USSR so that by bringing the US down to the USSR level the Francophonie element might rise in power. My sister was in a bad circle in Washington DC and that circle was centered between Georgetown University and DuPont Circle. Carl M. Marcy was a player in "East-West relations" and it is thought by many that my sister Kristine was recruited by the communists and Fabian fascists at the University of Hawaii East West Center, a CIA breeding ground, when she was a recalcitrant college kid who resented her conservative parents and her kick ass future Naval Fighter Ace brother. My sister had seen a comment in a book called FIGHTER ACES written by Colonel Raymond F. Toliver which had two inscriptions on the pages leading the first chapter. The widow of Korean War fighter ace Iven C. Kincheloe had written "To Field McConnell, a future Naval Ace".

"Yes, Chips, I am well aware of the efforts for the French and Scots to weaken the US in favor of USSR as that might help the Auld Alliance return to their former position of significance globally which of course they will never achieve. The French are, after all, French and an economy based on building shitty cars and white flags will never amount to more than a pimple on a French pig's ass. Your parents, are they from old established east coast families?"

"My father's family originally came from Pittsburg PA where many of the McConnells of northern Scotland emigrated to when they were evicted from Scotland. The other common landing place for McConnells was Northern Ireland where many are involved in the breeding of Irish Moiled Cattle such as Richard McConnell of......"

"Excuse me Chips but myself and Irene are originally from Northern Ireland and are aware of the Irish Moiled Cattle. Have you heard of the Lagan Herd?"

"No I have not but if I ever establish myself on a farm in Minnesota, Wisconsin or Texas I would love to have some rare British Breeds. However, that is for another day but my mother’s family was anchored on German immigrants to the US including Odums from Illinois and some Cherokee blood from Georgia. My maternal grandfather married a Welsh-English lady from Greenwood, Wisconsin and they were typical of a couple trying to make a living on the free land of western North Dakota. Life there was difficult at best and my mother was lucky to get a chance to become a registered nurse at Bozeman, Montana. Her nursing skills took her to the Seattle Shipyards and then to Letterman Hospital in California where she met my father, a POW who had been interred at Ofuna PW Camp in Japan. Today they live at Grand Forks AFB, North Dakota where my father is the Director of Operations of the 4th Strategic Division and my mother is a post graduate student at University of North Dakota where she continues her education in English. She......"

Chips was stopped in mid statement as little Sneezy had bumped the table and caused an empty jug to fall from the table. Irene picked up and held Sneezy as staff from the White Hart attended to the broken jug and in doing so presented two more jugs for Sid, excuse me Sam, and Chips. Irene ordered a Gordon's Gin with bitter lemon as she reached for a plastic container of juice for Little Sneezy.

"Chips, sorry for the distraction but Sneezy is used to getting all of our attention as she is the last child at home with her four sisters all being in school although the oldest sister is soon to leave school as she is great with child."

"Sid, excuse me, Sam, I understand that you once were at Sandringham and now are at Deepcut but how is it that you know so much about and have such interest in the U S Military?"

"My last assignment was Porton Down where I worked closely with Canadian soldiers who I suspect were working against the interests of the U S military. To me it seemed that the French and Canadians, and worst of all, the French Canadians intend to weaken the U S military and I was aware in 1968 of some chemical warfare issues being studied at Porton Down as well as on Plum Island, New York. What I have witnessed has caused me to be concerned with the welfare of the global commoners and in my current assignment at Deepcut there is an RAF fellow on our joint staff who shares my concerns as he is an Avro Vulcan pilot who knows of some CBE issues in some of the conventional ordnance that can be dropped on opposing forces.

"It seems the UK is keen to try them out on some unsuspecting enemy if the UK could find its way into a conventional and limited weapons exchange. The weapons in question are not nuclear but rather chemical, biological and environmental and could be used against the global civilian population if they proved effective against an enemy of convenience that might have a military presence 'off shore'.

"In the 30 year plan we see the Corporate governance of the corporation of the united states, the colonial government will be spending 300% of the military intelligence budget on surveillance of the populace of the united states and we know what threatens America, threatens the world."

"Sam, can you suggest some potential targets for that weapons testing, this is all new to me and I find it fascinating, evil and entirely doable and regarding the domestic surveillance spending in the future George Orwell was an optimistic; it is much worse than what ANIMAL FARM suggested."

"According to our joint staff Grenada, Vieques and the Falklands would all be potential targets for experimental, small scale, wars to test new weapons. Once again, we see this military testing as paving the way for deployment of these technologies against civilians as the global cabal fears destruction at the hands of an informed global population. From the 'micro deployments' of Falklands or Grenada, for example, deployments against middle east and Eurasian nuisance governments could be next. The Zionists and Khazars just love wedgies. Excuse me, the RAF Vulcan pilot has just left a message on my Clipper device."

The Brigadier stepped away from the table and walked out onto the street both to have a private conversation with the Vulcan pilot and to have a cigarette which he rolled himself from a tin and paper in his right breast pocket. The smoke swirled and a second and third cigarette were burned whilst in the Pub Agent Chips conversed with Mrs. Costello while keeping a watchful eye on little Sneezy, age 4.

“Mrs Costello, how much longer would you anticipate your husband will be working for the MoD in an active capacity?"

"Chips, that is a better question to ask of him. He is approaching the 20-year mark and he is in line for another promotion but he is being pursued by elements of the defense industry also, specifically the air wing which is working with engine manufacturers and aircraft manufacturers to allow transport category aircraft to be remotely controlled. I have heard him mention HOME RUN and HOUND DOG in conversations on the phone, but here he comes now and I would appreciate your directing those questions to him. I am keen that he should leave the military service and seek a more stable and profitable employment situation so Sneezy won't be globetrotting as her four sisters were caused to do."

The brigadier sat down and had a hint of a smile replace the last puff of smoke not to be confused with "the last puff of smoke from the rifle" in the Marty Robbins classic western song of some 7 minutes "El Paso".

"Chips, I just spoke with Group Captain Paddy Somers and he has agreed to pop in here at the pub for a pint. He is on his way back to Deepcut after visiting his former son in law Ian who was a Royal Navy Phantom pilot before leaving the military and gaining employment with Rolls Royce, in the aviation engine manufacturing sector. While the Group Captain has a good rapport with Ian, he does not trust him nor consider him loyal to England and our citizens."

"Samuel, when the Group Captain arrives would you mind if Sneezy and I take the Citroen and go grocery shopping and then to the park behind the Wheat Sheaf?"

"Irene, that is a splendid idea so Sneezy doesn't have to sit through these boring adult conversations. If our meeting is productive and goes late perhaps we can rejoin at the Wheat Sheaf for a dinner and drinks. I believe young Agent Chips will learn some valuable things from the Group Captain as his information regarding jet engine developments has broad implications. Chips, are you familiar with the current lineup of Rolls Royce and P&W jet engines used on both civilian and military airframes?"

“Actually my studies at Annapolis takes up a majority of my time and focus but I do need to relax and so I have become aware of the need in the US for a hi bypass fan such as the Rolls RB211 which is being developed for Eastern, American, United and Northwest Airlines who all hope to deploy a three engine, mid-range, 300 seat transport in the next few years. I believe this engine is also destined to be on newer model B747s currently powered by JT9D engines. I have a friend from Llangollen in Wales whose father has been consulting with RR, P&W as well as GE and it looks like regardless of which manufacturer wins the lion's share, they must all have tracking devices and may evolve into 'power by the hour' due to the escalating costs of all things aviation. My father has told me that the USAF........".

Chips was interrupted as a military sedan stopped in front of the White Hart and a tall, slender and blonde RAF officer stepped out of the left rear passenger door and onto the curb. Brigadier Costello stepped out to greet him and Irene grabbed Sneezy by the left hand and led her towards the car park to the east of the White Hart.

Prior to leaving Irene had held Sneezy up to Chips' face and he was regaled with a loving hug that would stay with him through the years, not to be confused with the Kenny Rogers' song that would be recorded after his time with the FIRST EDITION whose female singer Thelma Camacho had some tangential relationship to Agent Chips and his February, 14th Oath.

Chips watched Irene and Sneezy until they disappeared round the corner. On the Juke Box LOOK THROUGH ANY WINDOW was playing and as Chips gazed through the front window of the Pub he saw the Brigadier and the Group Captain sharing a laugh as they both flipped cigarettes to the curb before reentering the Pub. Chips noticed the Group Captain's cigarette had a filter tip.

"Agent Chips let me introduce Group Captain Paddy Somers RAF and Paddy let me introduce Field McConnell, a Midshipman First Class from Annapolis currently embarked upon USS Guadalcanal which is in a port visit at Portsmouth.."

"Field, is it Field or Agent Chips?"

"Captain it is either, my given name is Field but having taken and oath 3 years and 5 months ago Agent Chips is fitting also, at least amongst those comfortable with the intelligence needs of the Five Eye militaries. I understand you have a relative who was a Royal Navy Phantom pilot, my goal upon graduation is to be a fighter pilot for the Marine Corps in the US."

"Correction Chips, is a Phantom pilot. My daughter Ann who is in your network has been married to Ian for a number of years whilst he was flying Phantoms in the Royal Navy. However, he is more motivated to achieve financial security than to serve the Queen so after his obligation is fulfilled he hopes to accept a job with Rolls. He attended a job fair at the Plymouth Navy Base and was keen to work in the aviation sector and to be fortunate in gaining employment with Rolls Royce and working on the RB211 for years until they develop an even more powerful replacement for the upcoming ETOPS airliners.

"While Ian and Ann are still married, he now has met a woman working for BBC-TV and they seem to have a mutual future if Ian screws it up with my Ann. You may not be aware but BBC will often have 'fiction TV' shows that showcase emerging technologies to prepare the gullible public for the SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME." 

"Captain, can you give me an example or two of this process so I can be ready to watch for similar events in the U S media?"

"Yes Chips, as regards industry and technology Ian tells me that RB211 engines are being equipped with devices that will download and report all engine parameters as well as GMT time and location coordinates. Ian tells me that every 10 minutes each engine will send a download to Goodwood where the performance of each engine will be monitored by jet engine technicians who can anticipate any degradation of performance or potential for failure. Ian is getting this information from the human resource recruiter at Rolls and so it seems to me Ian has a good chance to catch on with Rolls Royce or they would not give him such detailed trade secrets."

"Captain, I understand the engine condition monitoring but why would Rolls wish to have the location downloaded every 10 minutes. Would this not be redundant to the global monitoring of all airliners currently deployed?"

"Chips, I understand your father is a career Air Force pilot who has been involved in U S military aviation since 1941. Has he told you anything of HOME RUN?"

"Captain......"

"Chips, Field, please call me Paddy."

"Paddy, my father is currently stationed at Grand Forks AFB in North Dakota as the Operations Director of the 4th Strategic Division which has B52, KC135 and ICBMs assigned. He had told me of two HOME RUNS. The first involved missions flown with RB47s out of Thule Greenland in 1956. 

The other involving the remote control of aircraft and involving DARPA, two US aircraft manufacturers and a British Agent Provocateur named Joe Vialls.

"Regardless which HOMERUN you refer to, yes, I am aware of remote control flight going back to 1937 Germany, 1943 Aphrodite missions with B24 and B17 aircraft at RAF Fersfield, England and up to 1959 with the F106 Delta Dart and 1963 with the QB47. My father was the aircraft commander of Crew S-11 who set the 35 hour and 10 minute non-stop B47 flight record in July, 1954 after having led the first 4 B47s bombers to Brize Norton in 1953 to establish a nuclear deterrent, code name REFLEX, in the face of a growing Soviet capability to launch nuclear strikes across the pole."

"Chips, your father has taught you well, I believe that you and I should have a private audience with my daughter Ann or her husband Ian where you could act like a starry eyed college kid on a summer vacation here in England. Will you be here this weekend, say Saturday, August 1st?"

"No Paddy, the Guadalcanal is set to sail tomorrow at 1800 for a cruise up to Oslo where we have another four-day port visit before returning to Annapolis for the beginning of the academic year in September. I'd love to meet Ian and Ann but it will not be on this short visit, I am afraid. I have only been in the intel business since 14 February, 1967 so I am a relative newbie.

"However, you have piqued my interest in remote flight and I will continue to learn what I can both from my father and my instructors at Annapolis. When I was in junior high school in South Hadley, Massachusetts I had a model of an AGM 28 Hound Dog on my desk so I have a history with drones going back to 1961 at the latest when my father was given that Hound Dog model in return for his participation in Operation BLUE NOSE the previous year." 

"Sorry you must leave tomorrow night, but let's drink a toast to a changing of the guard as the Brigadier and I approach retirement age and your active service as a Naval or Marine officer will begin next June when you graduate from Annapolis."

"Paddy, perhaps IF I GRADUATE would be more accurate".

"Chips, don't let doubt creep in. If you want to graduate, you will, it is written that what you ask for you will be given."

Chips wasn't sure what Paddy meant but it sounded rather churchy so he thought to himself he'd look up that passage later in the Bible. As Chips made a mental note to check that collection of words, the waiter brought three shot glasses and a bottle of Tullamore Dew so that Paddy, Samuel and Chips might toast the upcoming changing of the guard.

The Juke Box was playing CLOSE TO YOU by The Carpenters as the three men hoisted their Irish whiskey, downed it, and allowed the waiter to replenish them for another round. In his peripheral vision Agent Chips noticed a tall man with an unusual hat walk in the White Hart Pub. He was in the company of a leggy blonde who seemed to be much younger than the bloke.

Paddy had made the first toast to a changing of the guard so for the second toast Brigadier Freed offered "here is to a brilliant career for our new young American ally who seems well poised to combine the projection of military force with the covert gathering of intelligence; may it prosper and always serve the purpose of Peace for the Anglo-sphere in face of the Francophonie evil that has been around since the Auld Alliance was formed. Here is to Agent Chips and his network".

The three men hoisted a second shot of Tullamore Dew as the tall man and the leggy blonde settled at the table next to them, to the their left towards the dining room adjacent to the Pub section. Chips noticed their table had four chairs, two of them unoccupied. He also noticed a 3 by 5 index card, salmon in color, that had fallen from the lady's purse as she accepted the chair pulled out by the tall gentleman with the unusual hat, somewhat like Crocodile Dundee although in July, 1970 Crocodile Dundee had not been imprinted upon the global conscience.

Ever the doting gentleman, Agent Chips leaned over to retrieve the index card. He briefly looked at the writing thereupon: "Schlumberger Flow Measurement Limited, 124 Victoria Road, GU14 7PW Farnborough, Hampshire England".

“Excuse me ma'am, this card fell to the floor as you seated yourself".

"Thank you young man......." was all she got out before being interrupted by the tall man with the weird hat. "Excuse me, from your accent it appears you might be a Yank, is that correct?"

“Yes I am an American and am visiting England while assigned to the USS Guadalcanal."

"Any chance you are a pilot, a military pilot or a drunk?" As Paddy, Samuel and Chips were ready to down their third binding shot of Tullamore Dew Chips proposed a toast.

"Paddy and Samuel, here is a toast to your country and mine, should we always work together in the pursuit of Peace and the proliferation of good manners and polite questions." The three military men downed their third binding shot as the leggy blonde gave the guy with the weird hat a terse look which he did not understand as Agent Chips had not yet schooled him on the word terse.

"My young Yank friend, I did not mean to offend you, I have been in your country and drove a 1963 Plymouth across from east to west coast.

I am currently in Farnborough working on FLOW CONTROL with Schlumberger, have you heard of us?"

"No sir, I have not, I am a s20-year-old college student and this is my first trip outside CONUS unless one considers Puerto Rico part of the U S which it really isn’t. It is the off shore haven of the IRS but that is insignificant to me as I earn around $170 per month as a student so taxes are not a concern. Please tell me about your industry, did you say Cheeseburger?"

“No, Schlumberger, we are the number one company in the world dealing with oil fields and oil exploration. My specialty is thermodynamics and the control of oil well blowouts. You may be familiar with Red Adair of Houston in the great state of Louisiana."

“Yes, I am familiar with Red Adair but Houston is in Texas and is notorious for criminal elements of the narco trafficking families currently controlling the shadow government of the United States. Is this news to you Mr. ......?

"Hawkins, David Hawkins, but please call me Hamish as I work undercover for a network of private forensic economists and I like to keep my work and my other work separate; the first as David Hawkins, the second as Hamish Charles Watson. Our current projects for our network include the dock strike and the upcoming end of Grog in the Royal Navy. Perhaps as a Navy man yourself you understand the implications of ending Grog which is set to occur this Friday, 31 July?"

"Yes I do, morale is the key to military success in any country and in any generation" replied Chips.

"It sounds like you have a relationship to the United States Naval Academy are you aware of a man named 1Lt James Webb, USMC?"

"I am indeed, he and Oliver North were seniors during my first year at Annapolis, I believe that James Webb went into Marine Infantry service during the height of the Viet Nam conflict but I have lost track of him while I have focused on my own progress trying to graduate from Annapolis. It is my hope to follow Oliver and James into the Marine Corps where I’d love to be a fighter pilot in either the F8 or F4 and if I could achieve this...".

A sound like an explosion caused Samuel, Paddy and Chips to assume defensive postures facing in the three cardinal azimuths with windows to the street. The tall man with the weird hat took a long pull from his mineral water, with two lime slices. 

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Gadget Bent - Shake Hands With The Devil by Field McConnell - Chapter One