Half Past Midnight - a short story | |
Half Past Midnight
(OP) User ID: 78659823 United States 07/04/2022 10:47 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Half Past Midnight: My life as a government spook I never dreamed of working for the government, never wanted to, never even thought about it. I always thought people who work for the 3 letter agencies had a lifelong wish of doing so and that's how the agencies get a lot of their desk job employees; people go and apply and get hired. But I, along with many of the people who worked in the field with me, was approached by the agencies, or more accurately, by someone in those agencies. For me it happened at a gun shooting range. I was there shooting my new (old) gun, a revolver given to me by a neighbor lady whom I had helped out a number of times. It had been her husband's military revolver and he being dead for some years, she had no one to leave it to, gave it to me. I never took the money she wanted to pay me for helping her out and I guess this was her way to pay me for my help. It was a nice gun, heavy, nickel and in great shape for its age. I was excited to test fire it. So on the weekend, I took it to the local gun range. 6 shots - 6 'bullseyes'; I shot 3 in the brain and 3 in the heart on the target. I was impressed that the gun was so accurate right off the bat; I don't know how long the neighbor lady had it stored, when it was last cleaned or anything. A fellow shooter came up to me and remarked on my skill and my gun. He seemed genuinely impressed by both and said he didn't know too many people in town and asked if I'd like to go grab a beer. This was back in the early 1960's before all the drunk driving laws were really enforced. I didn't know too many people either and he seemed like a guy who would make a good friend. We went to a bar and hung out a couple hours, talked, joked, had a good time; the first of many. We became good friends. Then one night things changed. He knew of a job that I might like with the company he worked for. He said it was an elite security job for high profile clientele. The more he talked, the better it sounded. I was single with no family to speak of so I could work crazy hours. The pay was great and we would be working together if he could arrange it so I said yeah. A few days later I was called to go for a lengthy interview and an extensive physical. I passed both (with flying colors I was told) and was ready to start training before starting the actual job. It was rough but I was being paid while training and I had no one to hurry home to every night so it was all fine with me and I was actually working for the agency in a matter of months. Things went smoothly for the most part. A few obstacles along the way, which was to be expected I was told. And after just a few years I was working the white house. 2nd and 3rd shift. It was normally quiet. There were usually 3 other agents, 2 of us inside and 2 outside. We would trade off so we weren't all working with the same person every night. And sometimes we were inside, sometimes outside. I liked it, no I actually loved it. The quietness, the stillness, even the winter snow storms calmed down at night, Then one night while I was on inside duty, the phone rang. It never rang at night. I mean NEVER. I looked at the clock, it was half past midnight. Who would be calling the white house at such a late hour? I was afraid to answer it. My buddy who got me the job was on detail outside. I was inside with another agent and we both stared at each other like, "Who the F is on the phone and who's going to answer it?". It finally stopped ringing and then after a while, the president came downstairs where we were and told us everything was alright but that when we get off our shift we should go home, pack an overnight bag and come back to the white house, as we would be leaving on Air Force 1 in the morning. He said the early morning crew were called and told to come in ASAP. So our shift ended, the morning crew came in (with duffel bags), we all exchanged info on what we knew was happening and I went home to pack my duffel bag and came straight back to the white house. 2 planes and 2 helicopters were on the ground ready to load us all up (the President, his family, Secret Service and a few people I had never met). Breakfast was there in the white house for all of us to eat/drink before taking off. I had an outstanding omelet and some fresh squeezed orange juice, then hurried onto one of the planes and fell asleep. This was 'night/sleep' time for me. I started to doze off to the sound of the humming motors of the aircraft. When I woke up, about 6 hours later, we were back on the ground. Nothing to worry about. Everything was fine. Just another day in the life of a government agent. So what was that phone call and all this hurrying about? I was about to find out and may share it in my next short story. Material copyrighted by: Half Past Midnight Productions 2022 |
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wetsheet
User ID: 83798121 Australia 07/04/2022 09:02 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | i invoke magic into your story REAL PLATO QUOTE “When two friends, like you and me, are in the mood to chat, we have to go about it in a gentler and more dialectical way. By ‘more dialectical’, I mean not only that we give real responses, but that we base our responses solely on what the interlocutor admits" |
~Sloane~
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The Don Of Nantucket
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Neuromute
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Larp Commander
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Princess Nutty Broad II
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pish
Turtle Hermit User ID: 80956893 United States 07/05/2022 01:06 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Like it. Also like the tie in to your name. I always wonder just how much secret service people know what’s really going on, since it’s hard to keep them out of the loop, and they would be included in things if there was a situation. Now I’m curious...how many SS retire and just live out thier lives...how many have “accidents” “car crashes”, etc... Always remember these words: Work hard, study well, and eat and sleep plenty! That is the Turtle Hermit way! We must master the art of peace in addition to the art of war! |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 81103741 Brunei 07/05/2022 03:22 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
cosmicgypsy
User ID: 80037766 United States 07/05/2022 08:43 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete. -Buckminster Fuller ...I adapt to the unknown, under wandering stars I've grown, by myself, but not alone... [link to www.youtube.com (secure)] |
Avenger1
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Half Past Midnight
(OP) User ID: 78659823 United States 07/07/2022 06:03 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Like it. Also like the tie in to your name. Quoting: pish I always wonder just how much secret service people know what’s really going on, since it’s hard to keep them out of the loop, and they would be included in things if there was a situation. Now I’m curious...how many SS retire and just live out thier lives...how many have “accidents” “car crashes”, etc... "I don't expect to be around here much, anymore." Quoting: Avenger1 This put me into complete denial. Cannot be. Thanks. You guys have inspired me: Thread: The Cosmic Gypsy, Flying Free - a short story |
sad pony
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cosmicgypsy
User ID: 80037766 United States 07/08/2022 09:37 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Interesting. I really want some more. Good stories are so hard to find, and this sounds excellent. Do continue. And thanks. Quoting: sad pony I gave some thought to carrying on with the story....but I'm sure it'd get long and complicated, although not a bad complicated. It's my brain, I know no other way to write, I get so filled up with thoughts....heh, my senior thesis paper was only required to be 20 pages long. Mine was 42 pages long....jeebus, I was a Type-A, psycho, nutbag student. Heh, I'm very thorough, eh? Whether writing fiction or nonfiction, or even a post. My sister really does have a knack for writing simple and sweet SHORT stories, though, and I admire that. I admire someone else's mind that doesn't complicate everything - the complications good or bad - because I'm simply rarely ever able to be to the point, without an avalanche of explanation. With fiction, I know, I can meander....although I think it's a good meandering, heh, but I would. I certainly hope she gets the inspiration to write somemore, too.... You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete. -Buckminster Fuller ...I adapt to the unknown, under wandering stars I've grown, by myself, but not alone... [link to www.youtube.com (secure)] |
tla
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Anonymous Coward User ID: 83820026 Netherlands 07/08/2022 10:07 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Half Past Midnight
(OP) User ID: 78659823 United States 07/08/2022 03:47 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Interesting. I really want some more. Good stories are so hard to find, and this sounds excellent. Do continue. And thanks. Quoting: sad pony I gave some thought to carrying on with the story....but I'm sure it'd get long and complicated, although not a bad complicated. It's my brain, I know no other way to write, I get so filled up with thoughts....heh, my senior thesis paper was only required to be 20 pages long. Mine was 42 pages long....jeebus, I was a Type-A, psycho, nutbag student. Heh, I'm very thorough, eh? Whether writing fiction or nonfiction, or even a post. My sister really does have a knack for writing simple and sweet SHORT stories, though, and I admire that. I admire someone else's mind that doesn't complicate everything - the complications good or bad - because I'm simply rarely ever able to be to the point, without an avalanche of explanation. With fiction, I know, I can meander....although I think it's a good meandering, heh, but I would. I certainly hope she gets the inspiration to write somemore, too.... CG, I am so busy, I would love to have you finish the story. I am really touched by all the nice words from you all. |
Wild Edibles
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Half Past Midnight
(OP) User ID: 78659823 United States 07/08/2022 04:09 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
cosmicgypsy
User ID: 80037766 United States 07/08/2022 04:17 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Interesting. I really want some more. Good stories are so hard to find, and this sounds excellent. Do continue. And thanks. Quoting: sad pony I gave some thought to carrying on with the story....but I'm sure it'd get long and complicated, although not a bad complicated. It's my brain, I know no other way to write, I get so filled up with thoughts....heh, my senior thesis paper was only required to be 20 pages long. Mine was 42 pages long....jeebus, I was a Type-A, psycho, nutbag student. Heh, I'm very thorough, eh? Whether writing fiction or nonfiction, or even a post. My sister really does have a knack for writing simple and sweet SHORT stories, though, and I admire that. I admire someone else's mind that doesn't complicate everything - the complications good or bad - because I'm simply rarely ever able to be to the point, without an avalanche of explanation. With fiction, I know, I can meander....although I think it's a good meandering, heh, but I would. I certainly hope she gets the inspiration to write somemore, too.... CG, I am so busy, I would love to have you finish the story. I am really touched by all the nice words from you all. Jeebus, I think I was thinking I was posting this on your other thread.... You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete. -Buckminster Fuller ...I adapt to the unknown, under wandering stars I've grown, by myself, but not alone... [link to www.youtube.com (secure)] |
SmoothSailing
User ID: 35509688 United States 07/08/2022 05:03 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | "A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear." Marcus Tullius Cicero |
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Paranoiaaaaa
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cosmicgypsy
User ID: 80037766 United States 07/08/2022 05:18 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Proof Op's story is a bunch of OP proved he's a shill too working for the government. Given I see you missed class when the definition of "fiction" was learned-- fic·tion noun: fiction Literature in the form of prose, especially short stories and novels, that describes imaginary events and people. And now you know.... You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete. -Buckminster Fuller ...I adapt to the unknown, under wandering stars I've grown, by myself, but not alone... [link to www.youtube.com (secure)] |
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