Page 11 of So Sinister
“Yeah.”Hammerton chuckled.“I got in trouble once for her.I was taking her out for a walk, and this boy kicked at her.Didn’t kick her, just kickedather.She yelped and jumped away ‘cause she got scared.So I picked this kid up by his collar and hung him on a fence post.I left him there.Told him I was coming back later, and if he wasn’t still up on the fence, I was gonna beat on him ‘til he couldn’t walk right.”
David’s eyes widened.It wasn’t so hard to imagine Hammerton being violent anymore.“Damn.”
“Yeah.I guess his teacher called his parents when he was late to school, and they found him hanging on the fence crying.”
David laughed.“Ouch.Bet he remember that lesson.”
Hammerton chuckled.“Yeah, he never bothered me again.”He reached a massive hand and scratched behind his head.“I guess I’m saying I understand.”
He smiled at David, and David saw the empathy in his gaze.“I’ll go let Greg know you want some eggs.”
The big agent left David’s room.David spent a moment picturing a young Jeff Hammerton putting the fear of God into a little bully who thought he could pick on a dog just because the creature was smaller and weaker than he was.He really wished he could do that.Just put the fear of God into the CIA until they never thought of hurting a dog again.
The problem, of course, was that the CIAwasthe fear of God.
He turned his attention back to the screen.The obituary didn’t give him much.It was typical boilerplate stuff.Fenniman was a respected veterinary doctor and researcher.His friends and family described him as kind and passionate.His patients all rated him highly.He would be remembered for his contributions at home and in his career.
David closed the obituary and performed a general search.It took a few tries for him to find the right Richard Fenniman.It was apparently a more common name than he realized.
Finally, though, he had a basic understanding of Fenniman’s career and why the 93rdTesting Brigade might have been interested in him.He was best known for his cutting-edge research into the psychology of dog owners, and had partnered with psychologists (of humans) to identify ways in which the brains of dog owners differed from those of non-dog owners.In particular, he studied the areas of the brain associated with emotional intelligence, empathy, and intuition, particularly the ability to understand what others want without needing explicit communication.He noted that those areas were significantly more well-developed among dog owners and theorized that could explain why dogs and their owners shared such close bonds and why people who cared well for their dogs also tended to have healthier relationships with other people.
Fairly basic stuff, especially compared to the far more out-there theories of Carolyn Maldonado, who genuinely believed in an active telepathic connection between dog owners and their pets.Still, her research had focused on dogs and how drugs could unlock their latent psychic abilities.Fenniman focused on the human side.Maybe the 93rdused that research to help condition their human operatives.
His stomach turned a little.Sierra, the alleged military working dog he had examined whose condition and behavior had first alerted him to the 93rd, was handled by a woman who introduced herself as Staff Sergeant Whitaker.She had been hostile to him and occasionally openly confrontational.He had taken an instant dislike to her that was cemented when he observed the way she treated Sierra.He’d never even considered the possibility that she could be a victim herself.
There was no doubt that Fenniman and the others on this list were victims.David still didn’t know how voluntary any of their participation was or if any of them were active participants at all.Maldonado, for example, didn’t appear to have ever heard of the 93rdTesting Brigade.They’d just stolen her research and killed her so she couldn’t find out about it and get in their way.
But maybe Fenniman hadn’t been opposed at first.Maybe the reason he lived so much longer than the others was because he had initially chosen to help the 93rdand had a change of heart later.Maybe he had faked his death because he knew he would be killed if the CIA ever found out about that change of heart.Then he had heard of David’s investigation, possibly from a contact within the 93rd, and was now trying to help him put a stop to the project.
David wanted to find out for sure if Fenniman was still alive, and if he was, he wanted to get in touch with the man and learn everything he knew about the program.He searched for an address and found one.A quick check with the DMV using Faith’s credentials confirmed that Daisy Fenniman, Richard’s wife, still lived in Fairfax, a city about forty-five minutes north of Quantico.
If he could only find a way to slip Rogers and Hammerton.
He leaned back in his chair and sighed.That wasn’t going to happen.He’d just have to deal with waiting until Michael vetted his contact.
And will Sierra still be alive by then?Is she alive now?
He dropped his head into his hands, grabbed a fistful of his hair, and squeezed softly.“It’s not fair.It’s just not fair.”
“You gonna go talk to her or what?”
David flinched at the sound of the second voice.This one was a little graver than Hammerton's but not quite so deep.
He turned around to see Hammerton standing next to the speaker, his partner and equally large friend, Special Agent Greg Rogers.Rogers held a plate with a steaming bacon and Swiss omelet and looked at David with the placid expression common on the faces of so many big men.
David blinked and glanced at the computer screen.“I told Hammerton I’d behave, so I will.I don’t want you guys to get in trouble with Faith.”
Hammerton chuckled.“Yeah, Greg and I were talking about that, and we decided that we didn’t feel right just sitting around while those dogs are being abused.So we figured that as long as Faith was in Baltimore, we might as well help you out a little bit.”
David blinked again.“You guys want in?”
“We do,” Rogers confirmed.
“But…”
David hesitated.Faith had intentionally kept the two of them out of the loop to keep them from placing themselves at any greater risk than they were already in just by being around David.He was grateful for their offer, but he didn’t want them to get hurt because of him.
“You’re worried the CIA’s gonna come after us if we help you,” Hammerton said.
