Chapter 151 - Still trying to find the Devil

25 January, Military Base, City K

Sitting in his office, quietly waiting for Ben, Joseph and David to arrive, Matthew reflected on what had occurred over the last few days. Most importantly it was a relief that he was not fighting as much with Lexi despite her continued insistence on an immediate divorce. His only wish was that she would give their relationship a chance, like she had been willing to take when they were teenagers.

While he knew himself that despite everything that had passed he still loved Lexi, his feelings for her were different from those teenage feelings. They were deeper, more encompassing, but in the end, it was still at its core, he loved her. Due to her attitude, Matthew was just glad that she had not detected the extent of his feelings for her, as if she knew she would, with little effort, use them against him to twist him into granting her, her every wish provided it was legal.

But, the problem was that her one wish was the one thing he was not willing to presently do in granting her a divorce. He could sense that deep down she still retained some feelings for him, but the unanswered question was whether it was enough to sustain a relationship that was denied them when they were younger. If she gave it a chance, and in the end things did not work out he would grant her wish, regardless of how much it would break his heart. In the end all he wanted is for her to be happy, but he still believed that was with him.

A knock on the door disrupted his thoughts about his and Lexi's relationship. On calling for whoever it was to enter his office, Ben, Joseph and David quickly walked in. As soon as the door was shut, he turned on the jamming device, and they all sat down.

"Gentleman…"

"Who are you calling gentleman, Boss. You tell us enough times that we are idiots," quipped Joseph, drawing laughter from Ben and David, while all Matthew could do was shake his head.

"OK, then is it idiots or clowns? No, come on my friends, we need to be serious. What is your view regarding the material now gathered from the ruins of the Devil's base?"

Ben spoke "Boss, you were right to be worried about the intelligence group. They have tunnel vision when it comes to analysis and run everything by Major Hung and the other senior officers within the group before providing a conclusion, rather than coming up with a position and be willing to defend it. No one seems to be willing to adapt, laterally think about a problem or challenge senior officers opinions in a respectful manner. Major Hung and the other senior officers view that the Devil died in the explosion as the only exit was the way we exited. I challenged that opinion by stating that he left through an escape tunnel, the response was that was fanciful and repeated their opinion while implying I was an idiot as there was no evidence to back that statement up."

Joseph added "The idiots. Have they not even looked at past information regarding the Devil freely available in the intelligence systems?"

Ben shook his head "Obviously no…"

David asked, "And when you asked them why not?"

"Their firm response, both from those who did the analysis as well as Major Hung and the other senior officers was that the past was irrelevant to this analysis."

Matthew looked at his three friends and subordinates "What is your conclusion?"

David laughed and said "You have to ask. We all know he escaped. He never locks himself in anywhere without an escape route, and he would not do it this time. That is clear on the intelligence they would have been able to access, and yet they came to the simple conclusion based on a narrow picture, and group think."

Ben continued "And you are right about the need to restructure the whole Special Forces Group here. The intelligence team is trapped in group think and can only provide limited actionable intelligence let alone being able to support field teams. They view that the best intelligence is determined by them remaining on base looking through everything remotely."

Joseph asked, "Any idea how that has happened?"

Matthew paused, and said "In part that is due to the problems over the last few years with those chosen to head the special forces group. You were briefed about those issues?" After seeing a nod of head, he continued "But it goes back a long way not only to when the group was established here, but also to how the military organised itself them. Integration and adaptability for forces was not key. The special forces groups have learnt that but implementing the changes here was been a difficultly. That is the challenge that we must deal with. Now, we are getting distracted. Have we any indications on where the Devil may be?"

Ben, responded "No. He has gone to ground, but we should not be surprised. That is his usual upon ridding himself of a group that is no longer useful to him. The question will be how long before he resurfaces. That, if history tells us anything could be from a month or two to as long as a year."

David added, "We just have to wait on that boss, but there is a more pressing issue that will impact your restructuring efforts. There have been rumours going around the base ever since your wife came here, due to her driving that Porsche Macan. We know that from your personal wealth you can afford to drive that vehicle easily, let alone purchasing something like a Bugatti Veyron or a classic car. I would guess that General Man and the base commander also know that."

Matthew asked, "What rumours?"

"That you are embezzling money from the military, and the national command have dumped you here to prevent a major scandal. They rank and file are angry and ready to react against you."

"Any ideas about who is responsible?"

"One guess boss."

"Major Hung?"

David laughed before adding "Absolutely. He was at the gate and spoke to the soldiers. Yet he did nothing to deal with the rumours. While he simply wants us gone, he wants your job boss."

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