Hollywood Scream Play Read Online Free PDF

starting with my two tours of active duty – provided a wealth of experience in intelligence, which has been expanded and honed by the things I've done since retiring from military service.”
    A loud sneeze, coming from the other side of the room, barely disguises the word, “Bullshit!”
    I’ll say.
    It sounded a lot like Arnie, but if he’s here, he’s in disguise, which wouldn’t surprise me in the least. This sort of function is catnip to him, custom-made to be crashed.
    Senator Ackerman scowls as she cranes her neck in order to take in the public gallery. “For those who wish to comment extemporaneously, let there be no doubt that you will be escorted out of the room posthaste. Do I make myself clear?”
    Silence.
    Ryan’s eyes seek out mine. He frowns.
    I shake my head to assure him that it wasn’t me.
    However, if Carl topples over from a knife in his back, I’ll gladly take the fall.
    But they’ll have to catch me first.
    Having chastised the crowd, Senator Ackerman shuffles the papers in front of her. The first two buttons of her blouse are undone so that when she leans forward, she creates a deep chasm between her breasts. “And as I recall, Lieutenant Stone, you’re also a decorated veteran.”
    “Yes, Madame Chairman. A Silver Star, and the Distinguished Flying Cross.”
    She tilts her head to one side, as if she’s heard the whisper of an angel. “Such a brave man,” she rhapsodizes. “I can see why the president feels as strongly as he does about your abilities. That said, I’ll cede the floor to the committee’s vice chairman, Senator C. Bright Kuley.”
    Senator Kuley, a Republican who hails from the great state of Missouri, is one of the country’s venerable senior statesmen. Besides being the ranking minority leader on this committee and his party’s whip, in his six terms in the Senate he has previously served as chairman of the Judiciary, Foreign, and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committees.
    He’s been married to the same woman for forty years. Together, they have three grown children, and eight grandchildren. Nary a scandal has sullied his long tenure, hence his nickname, “Bright the White Knight.”
    Kuley frowns as he positions the microphone in front of him. I tense up. Will he, too, be lobbing softballs for Carl to hit out of the park?
    “Despite your stellar service record,  Mister  Stone, your most recent activities were in the private sector, were they not?”
    Carl nods. “Yes, Mr. Vice Chairman. I was also an independent contractor with a company that holds contracts with at least twelve of the intelligence community’s organizations—”
    “‘Independent contractor?’ More like rogue agent,” I mutter to Jack.
    “Shhh,” he warns me. “Don’t get us kicked out of here.”
    “—and this gave me great insight into their roles, as well as the strengths and limitations, of contractors,” Carl continues. “I also know how the IC is viewed from the outside, and how financial goals motivate a commercial entity as it competes for, wins, and fulfills contracts.”
    “Even to the point of creating the terror it claims to stamp out, is that not so, Mr. Stone?”
    Carl nods, ever so innocently. “You’re absolutely correct, sir.”
    “In fact, Mr. Stone, your actions as an operative in—and some would say  leader  of the terrorist organization known as the Quorum put you on the World’s Most Wanted Fugitives List for at least two years. Now I ask you, in what alternative universe would you, let alone our new president, envision a known terrorist as the US Director of Intelligence?”
    I clench Jack’s hand in mine.  Finally, someone is going to nail him to the cross I’ve been bearing for the past seven years!
    Carl’s smile doesn’t waver. Instead, he eases against the back of his chair, as if enjoying a polite conversation with an old friend as opposed to one of the most powerful men in the country. “I have heard expressions of