Marlow couldn’t believe how quickly he had been swept along by the currents of events. Just twenty four hours ago he had been begging to write a single sentence — now he was drafting with someone very senior to him a one page high level brief to be given to the top brass of Naval Intelligence over the secure video teleconference system between Suitland and the Pentagon. The Brazilian piece slipped willingly from his thoughts underneath the gentle waves of his personal good fortune and following seas.
Suddenly the ring of the video teleconference system sounded on his large screen and on came the Chief of CNO’s Intelligence Plot in the Pentagon. Without as much as a hello, the Chief asked Marlow if his one-pager slide and script were ready for an 0600 go to the Director of Naval Intelligence and a 0800 go to the Chief of Naval Operations. His reverie thus interrupted, he chirped an aye-aye, put on his blue blouse, clicked on the slide and provided the Chief a preview.
“Lt, pause briefly three times and punch your conclusion. The EA wants to hear it.” With that the Chief’s image faded and the EA’s visage appeared as he sat at his D-ring Pentagon desk with his feet propped up on his desk.
“OK, lets hear it, Lt.”
Sixty seconds later, the EA pronounced it good to go: “See you at 6 and 8 sharp. You are our lead.” The screen went blank.
“Holeee molee.”
Marlow emailed, called and left Aenid messages.
Fifteen minutes later, she returned his call to say that she was going to be following his short piece on this AM’s VTC to the DNI and CNO. Before she rang off, she admitted to Marlow that this would be her first time on the secure VTC. All of her briefings in the past, she told him, had been face to face with real slides or viewgraphs. Marlow stifled himself from asking her what a viewgraph was.
He could sense that Aenid was getting a bit worked up over her 60 second spot. He offered her to do it from his screen. She accepted graciously. It would be good for them to be together as mutual back up, should there be questions.
Copyright 2017 My Isle Seat
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