JC: Ed Biggers
Part 3: Accretion
Chapter 23
By
Lazlo Zalezac
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2004

The conference room was filled with lots of important acting 
people that irritated Ed by their superior attitudes that screamed, "I 
know secrets that you don't know." In response to half of the 
questions that he asked, the answer was always the same. The 
answer was classified and he didn't need to know. Ed was half 
tempted to teach them what would happen if he really wanted to 
know the answers to his questions. They wouldn't even introduce 
themselves to him.

One of the men asked, "So they tell me that you are a human lie 
detector."

"I can recognize the truth from a lie," replied Ed.

"Prove it," said another man.

Going from man to man, Ed asked, "Have you ever acted against 
the interests of this country in exchange for money?"

After asking each man the question, Ed turned to the one man in 
the room that had lied. He asked, "Was the amount of money that 
you've accept more than a million?"

The man answered, "No!"

Ed looked at him and asked, "More than five million."

"No!"

After a few more questions, Ed established that it was for a million 
and a half. He then asked, "Was it a government that bribed you?"

There was a reaction to that question throughout the room. Many 
of the people in the room were well aware of the kinds of 
operations headed by this man in the past. The man replied, "No. 
I've never taken a bribe."

The first part of the question was the truth, but the second part of 
the question was false. Ed asked, "Was it money from a terrorist 
organization?"

"No!"

"A drug organization?"

"No!"

The money had come from a drug organization. The men in the 
room shuffled in their chairs uneasy at what they were observing. 
Ed continued to grill the man for the next half an hour. By the end, 
he sat back and said, "This gentleman has accepted over a million 
and a half dollars in bribes from the Colombian Kali Cartel to warn 
them about raids against their assets. He has deposited the moneys 
in a Cayman Islands bank."

One of the men stepped out of the room for a minute and returned 
with two armed guards. They led the man that he had questioned 
out of the room under a cloud of suspicion. There had been no way 
that Ed could have known that the man had been involved in a 
series of ineffectual raids against the Kali Cartel over the past two 
years. 

After things returned to normal, the man that had challenged Ed to 
prove his abilities said, "That was a most impressive 
demonstration."

"Now, can you tell me about the man that I'm to interrogate?"

"That's classified."

"Then everyone here is wasting their time. I'm out of here," replied 
Ed as he stood to leave. He was about to tell Colonel Grey to 
return him to his house. 

Ed's reaction was not what the men in the room had anticipated. 
One of the men shouted, "Okay, we'll tell you everything you think 
you need to know."

Ed sat down and asked, "Who is the individual that I'm supposed 
to interview?"

Colonel Grey answered, "His name is Hamid Huessan. He is an 
Iranian extremist that believes that the United States is a land 
controlled by Satan."

"What religious sect?"

"He's Shiite Moslem and belongs to a terrorist organization that 
has declared Jihad against the US."

"Do you have a hint as to what kind of action was being planned?"

Sighing, the Colonel looked around the room before he answered, 
"We arrested him because he was a known terrorist and is a highly 
wanted man in connection to other terrorist acts against the United 
States. When we grabbed him, he had receipts for the materials for 
a car bomb, but we have been unable to locate that material."

Ed asked, "So you have no idea where and when they plan to 
strike."

The Colonel answered, "That is correct."

Looking at the men seated around the room, Ed didn't doubt that 
some of them knew things of which Colonel Grey was unaware. 
Turning to each man in turn, he asked, "Is that the full story?"

One by one, the men answered yes. When one of them lied, Ed 
asked, "So what is it that you know that hasn't been mentioned 
yet?"

"Damn it," swore the man Ed had singled out. He looked around 
the table and said, "We have some intelligence that suggests a 
major attack over the holiday seasons."

Waving his hands in a circular fashion like he was directing a 
driver backing up a large truck, Ed said, "The rest of it."

"We believe it will be on the West Coast."

Ed said, "Thank you."

He resumed going around the room asking each man if he had been 
given the full story. There were no further lies, although a few 
volunteered additional details knowing that trying to hide them 
would be useless. When they had finished, Ed said, "I will need a 
couple of things to expedite the interrogation."

"What?"

Licking his lips, Ed rubbed a hand over where the medallion rested 
on his chest. The warm comforting feeling that permeated him let 
him know that his requests were consistent with his service. He 
answered, "I will need two Korans of historic value that would be 
easily recognized by a Shiite fundamentalist and a translator."

"The man does speak English."

"Doesn't matter. I want a translator."

Colonel Grey answered, "It will take us a day to do that."

"Then it will take a day. I'll meet the suspect when everything is 
ready."

"By the time you finish questioning him, the holidays will be long 
gone," exclaimed the man in frustration.

Looking at the man in distaste, Ed said, "I imagine it will be sunset 
tomorrow when I finish questioning him."

"That guy lies like a snake."

Ed stood as he said, "And I knew nothing about that man earlier, 
but I found out details about him that no one in this room knew in 
less than an hour."

Colonel Grey stood and said, "I'll take you to your quarters."

As they went to a barracks, Ed looked around. It reminded him of 
his time spent in the Army. The Colonel said, "I saw that you were 
in the Army for two years as an enlisted man."

"Yes, I was," replied Ed as he watched a group of soldiers walking 
to a barracks. They walked in time with each other unconsciously. 
He asked, "Are you going to take me to the officer's club for 
dinner?"

"Yes."

"Good. I've always wondered what the inside of an officer's club 
looked like," replied Ed with a smile. He had been curious about 
that when he was an enlisted man and had sworn that he would get 
inside one at some point in his life. At least now he would have a 
chance.

That evening, Ed walked into the officer's club with the Colonel. 
He was disappointed to see that it was little more than a fancy 
restaurant with a bar and dining room. An attractive hostess led 
them to a table. As they walked, Ed examined the men sitting at 
the tables. There were several Colonels, a few Captains, and a 
number of Lieutenants. 

He examined the menu and decided that it wasn't much better than 
in average restaurant. Looking through the items available, he 
asked, "Do they serve most of these meals with Broccoli?"

"Yes, they do," answered the man with a puzzled expression.

"I hate restaurant Broccoli," replied Ed.

The Colonel laughed and said, "You're in luck. Tonight is 
Mongolian Barbecue night."

 Ed asked, "What is that?"

"We go over to that buffet over there and load up a bowl with 
sliced meats, fresh vegetables, and various sauces. They cook it for 
us."

Remembering the Chinese food that he had at the wedding, he 
thought it might be a nice adventure. There was only one question 
to ask, "Do they have Broccoli?"

"Yes, but you don't have to get any," replied the Colonel with a 
smile. This guy confused him. Coming here, he had slept through 
most of the flight with a total lack of interest. Then he sits through 
that meeting without letting the intelligence asses get the better of 
him. The only thing that had thrown him was the Mongolian 
Barbecue. He added, "Let's go up there and prepare a bowl."

Ed followed the Colonel to the buffet. There were thin slices of 
beef, chicken, pork, and shrimp. Following behind the officer, Ed 
watched what he put in his bowl and followed suit. He hadn't much 
experience with some of the vegetables that were available. 
Looking at the bean sprouts and bamboo sprouts, he decided to 
skip those. 

Reaching the sauces, he read the directions twice on the various 
recommended mixes. The young captain in line behind him started 
to grumble, but stopped as soon as he saw the look on the face of 
the Colonel. Ed fixed one of the sauces and looked at his bowl. He 
followed the lead of the Colonel and set the bowl on the counter.

The cook grabbed the two bowls and put them on a large circular 
grill. Ed watched fascinated as the cook slowly walked around the 
grill, breaking up each pile of food and mixing them to cook 
evenly. He turned to the Colonel and said, "That's amazing. I've 
never seen anything like this. The closest thing I've ever seen like 
this was a Chinese chef cook using a deep half sphere pot."

He turned to look at the young captain behind him and said, "This 
is the neatest thing I've ever seen. I'm going to have to bring our 
cook here to see this."

The young captain nodded as he answered, "Your cook?"

"Oh yes. I bet she would love to see this." Ed was very excited and 
watched with the enthusiasm of a young child. He turned to the 
Colonel and said, "I can't wait until little Beth gets old enough to 
see this."

The Colonel asked, "Was that the baby you were watching at 
home?"

"Yes, my wife Kelly had her a week ago. My wife Ling is 
expecting in eight months. I have no doubts that Linda will want to 
be next."

The young captain asked, "How many wives do you have?"

"I have three wives and two husbands," answered Ed as he 
watched the cook sweep the ingredients off grill and into the bowl 
in one simple movement. The cook set the bowl up on the counter 
and the Colonel picked it up. Ed watched as his food was swept 
into the bowl. Accepting the bowl from the cook, he said, "Wow, 
you are really good at that."

He returned to the table where the Colonel was already eating his 
bowl of food. Ed sat down and tasted his dish. Sitting back 
surprised, he said, "This is pretty good. I like it much better than 
the sweet and sour chicken that I had."

The Colonel shook his head and ate. As Ed ate, he tried to figure 
out what would make it taste even better. After a few minutes, he 
decided that some broccoli wouldn't be bad added to this dish. 
When he had finished his bowl, he looked up and asked, "Can we 
go up there again?"

The Colonel laughed and answered, "Sure."

Ed beat the officer to the buffet and started loading up his plate. 
When he skipped the bean sprouts, the Colonel suggested, "You 
might want to try a few of those this time. They taste a lot better 
than they look."

Deciding to take a chance, Ed put good portion of them in his 
bowl. He even put a couple of pieces of broccoli in the bowl this 
time. It was with the same enthusiasm that he watched the cook 
prepare this meal. The Colonel said, "There's a tip jar there."

Ed dug into his wallet and pull out a fifty. He dropped it into the 
tip jar and accepted his bowl. The Colonel looked at the fifty and 
then over at Ed. Shaking his head, he accepted his bowl of food. 
Returning to the table, he asked, "Do you realize that you gave him 
a fifty dollar tip?"

"Sure, I really enjoyed that." 

It was mid-afternoon when the Colonel came to get Ed to 
interrogate the prisoner. Ed carried his saddlebag over his shoulder 
and the black box in his hands. Leading him to an isolated building 
surrounded by barbwire and guards, they entered through a 
sequence of gates. Inside, Ed was met by several of the men that 
had participated in the briefing the previous day. With them was an 
Arabic man wearing a turban and robes. His beard was almost as 
long as John's and was a salt-and-pepper gray. He looked at Ed and 
then turned away in disgust.

At the reaction of the old man to Ed, the others in the room looked 
at Ed wondering how he was going to react. Ed smiled as he set 
down the black box. Opening the saddlebag, her removed the black 
robe of his office and put it on. He fished out the medallion so that 
it was visible. In a commanding voice, he said, "Touch my 
medallion."

The old man turned and looked at Ed. His eyes narrowed and he 
spate, "Infidel. You will defile these books."

Looking the old man in the eye, he said, "Touch my medallion."

"I shall not touch it!" shouted the old man. He recognized the 
Druid medallion for what it was. At one time, they were known as 
Magi and opinion differed as to the role of Magi in the Islamic 
world. 

Ed challenged, "Is your faith in Allah so weak that you believe he 
will not protect you?"

The old man reached out to rip the medallion from Ed's chest. 
Instead, the man reacted as if a bolt of lightening had struck his 
body. As everyone stared in disbelief, the man's hair turned a solid 
white. Eyes wide, he stared at Ed and exclaimed, "I saw Allah. He 
spoke to me that it was time for peace."

Nodding at the truth of what the man had said, Ed commented, 
"Your beard has turned white."

The man picked up two books as he said, "The jewel encrusted 
Koran was owned by a descendant of Muhammad over three 
hundred years ago. This book has been handed down from 
Ayatollah to Ayatollah for over a hundred years. I know that you 
will honor them."

Ed gave the man a half bow as he accepted the books. With 
respect, he said, "I shall care for these books. I ask your permission 
to allow the prisoner to place his hand upon the one with jewels."

"The man you are questioning will never harm the Koran. You 
have my permission."

"Thank you," replied Ed. 

Colonel Grey led Ed into the interrogation room. Looking around 
the room, it was too bright. Ed said, "Before we begin, can we turn 
down the lights in here?"

The Colonel answered, "No."

"Then remove two thirds of the bulbs in here," replied Ed as he 
looked at row after row of fluorescent light bulbs.

"I don't understand."

"Don't worry, you will."

They waited while a man came in to prepare the room lights in the 
manner Ed demanded. The Colonel had observed many 
interrogations in the past and already this one had deviated from 
anything that he had ever seen. He wondered what would happen 
when the prisoner was brought into the room.

Seated at the head of a metal office table, Ed arranged the items on 
the table with great care. At the far end of the table was a very old 
copy of the Koran in Arabic. The book was at least three hundred 
years old, leather bound with jewels encrusted on the cover. Next 
to him was a copy of the Koran that was a hundred years old and 
his crystal ball. After he moved his medallion outside his robe 
where it was visible to everyone, he turned to the Colonel. The 
Colonel had watched Ed arrange the room with surprise at the 
focus displayed by the man. 

Ed turned to the Colonel and said, "Bring him in with the 
translator."

A middle aged Arabic man was brought into the room with chains 
on his legs. His arms were bound to a leather belt around his 
stomach. A young soldier, with an MP armband on the sleeve of 
his shirt, led him to the chair at the end of the table. A young man 
from army intelligence entered the room behind them and took a 
seat at the center of the table. As the prisoner looked at the copy of 
the Koran with reverence, Ed said, "Release his right hand."

After a glance at the Colonel, who nodded his head, the young 
soldier released the right hand of the prisoner. The prisoner stared 
at Ed with horror on his face. His eyes took in the robe and the 
medallion. The crystal ball confirmed his worst fears as he realized 
that he was dealing with a sorcerer. Ed smiled at the discomfort 
exhibited by the prisoner and said, "Put your hand on the Koran."

As the translator gave the instructions to the prisoner, Ed picked up 
the other copy of the Koran and set it directly in front of him. With 
careful motions, Ed put the crystal ball with the stand on the 
Koran. The prisoner watched every move that Ed made even as he 
put his right hand on the Koran. Looking up at the prisoner, Ed 
asked, "What is your name?"

"Hamid Huessan." As the man answered, the crystal ball glowed 
with a pale green color. 

"Are you part of a plot to harm Americans?"

"No." 

In response to the obvious lie, Ed increased the pressure on the 
side of the base that would cause the globe to glow a bright red. 
The prisoner jumped at the change in color. Looking at the 
prisoner, Ed asked, "Did you honestly think that Allah The 
Merciful doesn't want the truth to be known?"

Hamid paled at the implication. He had just lied while touching the 
holy book. He spate back, "Allah knows that I serve him."

The globe swirled a mixture of green and red. The reaction of the 
globe surprised even Ed as he had gone to push the green when the 
book under his hand shocked him into pushing the red button as 
well. Ed said, "You believe that, but it appears that it is not the 
whole truth."

Holding his breath, Hamid stared at Ed. His right hand trembled on 
the Koran as the gems glowed on the cover. He asked, "How can 
you know this?"

Looking at the prisoner, Ed said, "Look at the book on which your 
hand is resting."

Hamid pulled his hand off the Koran and looked at the book. With 
trembling fingers, he opened the book and read the inscription 
inside. His eyes grew large when he saw that a direct descendant of 
the Muhammad had owned the book. He looked at Ed and said, 
"Ask your questions."

In half an hour, Ed had managed to get every detail about the 
planned operation to explode a car bomb in an upcoming 
Thanksgiving Parade. Throughout the questioning process, the 
crystal ball continued to glow with a pale green light. Even more 
surprising, each time the prisoner told the truth, the gems on the 
cover of the Koran shone even brighter. 

Colonel Grey watched in amazement as Ed managed to get every 
piece of information they had requested. In addition, Ed had 
identified all of the members of the organization regardless of their 
involvement in this particular plot. When they had finished, Ed 
turned to the prisoner and said, "Thank you. You may return to 
your cell knowing that you have served good today."

With one last caress of the Koran, the prisoner stood and accepted 
the shackle on his right hand. As they lead him away, he turned 
and said, "For the first time in a long time, I felt the presence of 
Allah in the room with us. The more I told the truth, the stronger of 
a presence I felt. Thank you."

"It is my service," replied Ed with a simple nod of his head.

After the prisoner had been led from the room, a number of people 
came into the room talking in excited voices among themselves. 
Colonel Grey said, "That was the most amazing thing that I have 
ever seen."

With great care, Ed packed the crystal ball and stand into the black 
box. Turning to face the crowd, he said, "Every word that he said 
while the light was green was the truth."

"We will close down their entire operation as a result of the 
information that he gave us."

Nodding, Ed handed the two Koran's to the Arabic man standing to 
the side. As he set them in the man's hands, Ed said, "These books 
contain great power. Make sure they have honored places."

The man bowed and said, "You tell me nothing that I do not 
already know. Are you sure that you are not an Islamic Holy 
man?"

Shaking his head, Ed said, "I serve the Gods and Goddesses. Those 
that serve them value the words of all Gods, including those of 
Allah. I am humbled that he made himself known here today and 
in my presence."

The books still resonated with the power of Allah. Reverently, the 
man held the books to his chest and said, "You are welcome in my 
Mosque."

"Thank you."

The man left taking the books with him. The others in the room 
looked at Ed with awe as they had heard the interaction between 
the religious men. Ed stood and stretched. Looking at the men in 
the room, he asked, "Is there anything else that I can do for you?"

"Not at the moment," replied Colonel Grey after looking at the 
other men in the room. 

"Good. Then I would like to return home. I have a baby girl at 
home that misses me."

One of the men stepped forward with a new set of identification. 
Handing them to Ed, he said, "The Director of the CIA wanted you 
have to the ID necessary to get access to our files in the event that 
you should turn your attention to crimes of an international nature. 
You'll answer to him directly."

Very surprised at the action, Ed said, "Oh, okay."

The Colonel led Ed away from the room and took him back to the 
room outside. Ed removed his robe and then placed it in his 
saddlebag. Packed and ready to go, Ed waited with saddlebag 
slung over a shoulder and the black box in his hands. Colonel Grey 
said, "I'm surprised at the amount of information you were able to 
get out of him in such a short time. I expected you to be here for a 
month."

"I serve the truth."

"How did you get the gems on the Koran to glow?" asked the 
Colonel.

"I didn't. That was the work of Allah," answered Ed in such a 
matter of fact voice that the Colonel had no way to respond. It 
went far to explain the comments of the Ayatollah who had 
brought the books. 

The Colonel led the way through the building to the exit. As they 
walked, he was lost in his thoughts about what he had seen. At the 
door, he asked, "You are really a human lie detector?"

Smiling, Ed answered, "Just try lying to me."

The Colonel realized that Ed possessed a gift with far reaching 
consequences. His interview with the terrorist had merely 
scratched the surface of what he could do. He was the perfect spy, 
able to distinguish between lie and truth was a phenomenal ability.

Ed spent another night at the base, too tired after the interrogation 
to travel home. As he settled into his bed, he realized that events 
had taken place in the room that were not expected. The man that 
saw Allah, the spark that caused him to signal a lie and a truth at 
the same time, and the glowing of the stones on the Koran were 
totally unexpected. He recalled the instructions given to Deacon 
Jones to go to a church and meet the son of his God. There were 
things at work here that he didn't understand.

The trip home was long and quiet. Trying to break the silence, the 
Colonel asked, "So what did you think of the Officer's Club?"

"I had always imagined an Officer's Club as being a little grander 
than it was." 

The Colonel laughed as he replied, "It depends on where you go. 
Some bases have nicer clubs than others."

Ed was still thinking about the role that Allah had played in the 
interrogation. Surprising the Colonel, Ed said, "I would expect to 
see some major changes in the Middle East in a couple of years. 
You might tell your superiors to watch for the emergence of new 
religious leaders that are much more moderate."

Surprised, the Colonel asked, "Why do you say that?"

"The Gods and Goddesses are working for peace among the 
followers of all Gods and Goddesses." 

It was with great relief that the helicopter dropped him off at the 
school ballpark for the short walk home. He walked along the road 
quietly and soon came to Shirley's. Deciding that he wouldn't mind 
stopping in for a little conversation and a drink to take the edge off 
his thirst, he crossed the street and entered the bar. Edward, one of 
Shirley's husbands, was behind the bar.

As Ed sat at the bar, he said, "Hello Edward. What's up?"

Handing a coke to Ed, Edward answered, "The baby is sick, so I'm 
watching the bar while the wives are taking care of him. John is 
such a small baby that it's hard to watch him suffer like that."

After taking a sip of the cold drink, Ed sighed and said, "So how's 
parenthood?"

Shaking his head, Edward answered, "I don't know how two parent 
families do it. There are four of us taking care of one little child. 
It's not that I'm complaining because it isn't that tough when it is 
shared amongst four people, but it's hard to believe that a couple 
could do it without getting worn out."

Laughing, Ed said, "I know what you mean. It's a whole lot easier 
to spend the day with the child when you've had a full nights 
sleep."

Nodding, Edward said, "Still, I love having the kid around. He's so 
much fun."

"I got called away for a day and I couldn't wait to come back. I 
guess you heard that Ling is expecting a baby. Eight months from 
now we'll have another baby in the house."

"You sound excited about it."

"I am very excited about it," replied Ed. He didn't know how to put 
into words the feeling that came over him when he thought about 
having children. It was a mixture of awe, happiness, and love. He 
knew that his wives could have named the emotion with great ease. 
Shaking his head, he said, "I feel so good when I think about our 
house filling up with children, that I don't even know how to 
describe it."

"I know what you mean," replied Edward as he sat down on the 
barstool behind the counter.

"It seems that I've done nothing great compared to watching over 
Beth."

Edward asked, "Ed, you've done just about everything there is to 
do. You've been a cowboy, hero, explorer, religious leader, 
scientist, professor, investigator, husband, parent, and I don't know 
what else you've done. Is there anything left for you to do that you 
haven't done?"

