(The following information reflect the opinions of Stilldigging.com and the characters are fictional)


[August 28, 2002
the mess hall]

[Joey blankly scours the mess hall, not looking at anything in particular,]
[instead more concerned with scarfing down his chow, like a rabid dog ]
[afraid of having his food stolen from him]

[Kirk stares back, almost in awe, as if amused how a plate of food could disappear so quickly]

Joey 'you gonna eat that?'
Kirk 'huh, oh, here, eat'

[Kirk continues to stare, almost oblivious now, as if lost in thought]
[Joey let's out a loud belch, but Kirk remains unphased]
[Joey let's out another belch, as if intentionally, but Kirk doesn't react]
[Joey snaps his fingers in Kirks face to get his attention]

[Joey belching again begins to talk] 'well, I got the important stuff out of the way,
[Kirk stares back almost oblivious]
Joey 'Goose was runnin around the other day'
Kirk 'another escape attempt?'

Joey 'escape? Goose? He gave that up 16 years ago when he was young and innocent'
Slammer 'if you ask me he should a kept runnin'

Joey 'Goose tried to give the shirts a letter'
Kirk 'what'd he say this time? Help, they're torturing me, I'm being drugged and gassed'
'I'm being used as a guinea pig by the shop'
Joey 'something like that'
'you know, the typical stuff'

Kirk 'wait, Goose never goes to the shirt's '
Joey 'until a few months ago,'
'scared the Boss a little, and some big wheels back east'

Slammer 'Must a been the element of surprise, Goose never get's through the '
'shop's gauntlet.
For the young and innocent, it's an impassable barrier.

[Kirk knowingly asks]'how so'
[Slammer looks back questioningly]'you know'
'they use the full gamut of obstruction, which could be anything from '
'keeping the target drugged to taking over an officials office'
Joey 'or building, they stop at nothing'
'maintaining secrecy is tantamount'

Kirk 'tantamount to what'
Joey 'you know, to protecting the operation'
Kirk 'so what're you saying, The shop took over the shirt's building'
Joey 'exactly, who told you?'

Kirk 'I couldn't believe it when I first heard'
'we're talkin about the shirt's here, the no nonsense, go by the book, if you commit a crime,
you go to jail, we don't care if you're dad was CIA director, type a group '

Slammer 'that was their ethic like 20 years ago'
Joey 'what happened after that?'
Slammer 'how should I know, I was in junior high 20 years ago'

[pause]

Slammer 'however I do know, things went haywire after 1993, '
'under new leadership'
'there are those who say the group was intentionally taken by the horns and run into the ground'
[pause]

Joey 'that would be high treason'
Slammer 'hey I'm just sharing speculation here, don't tell the boss, or I'm burger meat'

Joey 'speculation based on what'
Slammer 'the unbelievability of their testimony'
"the debacle wasn't our fault, our computers didn't work"
' "in fact look at all those screw ups that preceded the debacle, that's proof right there"
"that our computers didn't work"

Joey 'the most powerful police authority in the land, and their computers didn't work?'
Slammer 'that's what they said'
'investigating senator's couldn't believe it, and I don't believe it'
'I mean if it were true, there were certainly repeated prompts to clean up their act,
'years before the debacle'

Kirk 'like what?'
Slammer 'like the big wheel herself, frustrated by the lack of support on serious cases,
finally put two and two together and said "helloooo, helloooo, National Security could be compromised
if you boys don't clean up your act"
'This was 1.5 years before the debacle, plenty of time to get automated.
In fact the shirts now claim they'll be fully automated in 2 years, if they start now'

Kirk 'the most visible source in the land, cited National Security 1.5 years before the debacle?
and that wasn't enough reason to automate? '
Slammer 'since 93, they were given almost 2 billion dollars to automate and they still
'didn't do it, at least that's what they told the investigating committees'

Kirk '2 billion dollars?
Slammer 'instead the top dog diverted funds into other areas, like overseas requirements
Kirk 'that was considered more important than National Security?

Slammer 'It don't make sense does it. America's last line of defense, left the door ajar,
because "our computers didn't work". Instead of using 2 billion dollars to automate,
'they divert funds, despite the repeated prompts, that "National Security could be compromised",
'and despite the screwups on high profile cases, years before the debacle '

[pause]

Slammer 'then there's that other coincidence
[Kirk and Joey stare back]
Slammer 'the shirt's get their new leader right after the first strike in 93, then he quits
'right before the debacle'

[pause]

Kirk 'so that sort of explains how the shop was able to control the reception area,
'long enough to obstruct Goose's attempt to get help from the shirt's'

[pause]

Slammer 'if that ain't corruption, I don't know what is
Joey 'I actually pity the guy'
'after everything the shop put this guy through for over a decade now,
'sending the guy to his knees praying to god, how many times now'

Slammer 'it almost makes you question whether absolute secrecy is necessary,
'considering the turn of events, the shirt's leaving the security door ajar, allowing the'
'debacle to happen'
Kirk 'after listening to Slammer, I'm beginning to wonder about the intentionality
'of it all'