Hunt the Truth/Episode 05: Out of Time

Benjamin Giraud: Hi, I'm here to see Michael Sullivan.

ONI receptionist: Do you have an appointment?

Giraud: Uh, yes. I'm Ben Giraud, I have a one o'clock.

Giraud (voiceover): Checking in with the receptionist at the Office of Naval Intelligence is a bizarre formality: announcing myself, her asking me who I was there to see, it was all just an antiquated conversation. Part of their efforts to put a more human face on the operation. In reality, surveillance knew where I had been every minute. Since I had stepped onto the transit back at home. Throughout the morning, as I had made my way from the Boston terminal. This receptionist had likely been prompted with dynamic updates of my exact arrival time, deviations from my optimal course, bathroom breaks, my average walking speed, however they did it. They'd been expecting me.

ONI receptionist: I'll let him know you're here, Ben.

Giraud: Okay. Thank you.

Giraud (voiceover): The whole ONI facility was sleek and stark; everywhere you look, its sharp lines, the highest quality materials. Most striking though was the overwhelming amount of space and silence. This waiting area was particularly sparse. Two, minimalist carbon fiber chairs set twenty feet from each other. I also noticed the seats seemed oddly low to the ground. I picked one, and sat down. This chair was really low to the ground. It was awkward. I was probably looking at sixty to ninety minutes of customary wait time here, and squatting like this was not gonna help my anxiety level. But I was just pulling up some busy work, when the door behind reception suddenly slid open.

ONI receptionist: Ben, mister Sullivan will see you now.

Giraud: Now?

ONI receptionist: Yes.

Giraud (voiceover): I awkwardly struggled up from the chair and crossed the room. My heart was racing.

Giraud: Uh, thank you.

Giraud (voiceover): She didn't respond... I stepped into a narrow, empty hallway full of closed doors. I was about to turn around and ask where I was supposed to go but the door immediately closed behind me. The lighting in the hallway shifted, indicating a closed door at the far end. I walked down the hallway pass what I assumed were offices. Everything was soundproof though; so I had no idea if there were actually people working in there. When I got to the end of the hall, Sullivan's door opened at the last possible second. When I walked in Sullivan didn't look up. He was sitting behind his desk and intently working on his COM pad.

Giraud: Hey.

Sullivan: Ben, I'm glad you made it.

Giraud (voiceover): I stood there awkwardly for a bit. I realized that this must be the room he'd always talked to me from. It was furnished as minimally as the rest of the building. There were was a few shreds of actual personality on display behind him though. A couple of knick-knacks, and this antique simulated analog clock. Sullivan still hadn't looked up.

Giraud: Should I uh... should I...

Sullivan: Make yourself comfortable.

Giraud (Quiet): Ok. Yeah.

Giraud (voiceover): He continued swiping on his COM pad. I sat down on the chair, just like the other one, my knees were at my ears. I felt oddly far from his desk too. I tried some small talk.

Giraud: So I didn't take you for a antiques guy, Sullivan. Wh-Where did you get the clock?

Sullivan: Oh, I always had it.

Giraud: Nice, nice. So um...

Sullivan: How's the story, Ben?

Giraud: It's good. It's good.

Sullivan: You getting what you need?

Giraud: Absolutely.

Sullivan: Wanna make sure you get all your uh... your questions answered.

Giraud: Great, no th-, well, uh yeah, yeah, I-uh, I am. I mean um...

Sullivan: Perfect.

Giraud (voiceover): I was still desperately trying to figure out what was happening, when Sullivan stopped swiping. He looked up at me for the first time and he had this little twinkle in his eye.

Sullivan: There is someone who would like to talk to you, Ben.

Giraud (voiceover): I'm Benjamin Giraud, and this is Hunt the Truth. Sullivan was walking fast and I was trying to keep up. The buildings were all connected underground, and the whole complex was far bigger than it had seems outside. As he led me deeper into the maze, the feel gradually became less corporate and more military, and the more military it got, the more nervous I was getting.

Giraud: Did'n- didn't realize they let civilians in this far.

Sullivan: It's a special day Ben.

Giraud (voiceover): Sullivan's department seems almost vacant, but now there were more and more people moving through the halls. Mostly in uniform, they didn't speak or look up, they just stared down at their COM pads like Sullivan, swiping as they walked. The ice cold efficiency of everything was striking.

Sullivan: We're here.

Giraud (voiceover): Sullivan led into a large, dark conference room and the door closed behind us. In the center of it, there was massive, well lit conference table with several chairs around it. Beyond the lights, the edges of the space and high ceiling, faded into shadow.

Sullivan: Have a seat.

Giraud (voiceover): I did as I was told, and sat into one of the chairs. It automatically sank beneath me. I squinted into the darkness, and made out one of the walls was entirely black glass. Probably for observation.

Sullivan: Need any water?

Giraud: Uh, no uh, I'm uh, I'm all good, I'm all good, thank you. Who am I um...

Sullivan: Oh do you need to do a mic check or anything?

Giraud: A m- mic check, mic check? Are we...

Sullivan: I want to make sure you get all of this.

Giraud: Get all of... what? Listen I just...

Sullivan: Relax, Ben, this is gonna be big.

Giraud: Sully, I just wanted to say that I uh...

Sullivan: Ben, he's about to walk in, focus.

Giraud: Sully, Sully I just, I just wanted to say that I had every intention...

Sullivan: May I present to you Senior Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez.

Mendez: I Ben, how are you?

Giraud (voiceover): I stood up, the man who walked in was extraordinarily decorated. Gold Stars, Silver Stars, Bronze Stars, Purple Hearts, The Legion of Honor; he looked gritty and hardened, probably from decades of battle.

Giraud: Good, uh good afternoon sir.

Mendez: Are we gonna talk about the Chief?

Giraud: I uh, I uh...

Sullivan: Mendez is the man who trained the Chief, Ben. I told you I'd take care of you. You're gonna have everything you need for this story.

Giraud (voiceover): It was an interview. This was not at all what I was expecting. I don't know what I was expecting, but it was a high-profile face-to-face. All my anxiety completely evaporated.

Giraud: Right! Yes of course! (laughs) s- so you're the man to talk to when it comes to the Spartans hun?

Mendez: That's correct.

Giraud (voiceover): My conversation with Thomas hadn't been flagged. Petra was right. There was no way Sullivan wouldn't have at least said something. I couldn't believe it. My relief blossomed into full awe. I was about to get a insider's perspective, from the man who personally trained the Master Chief.

Mendez: Yeah, Chief's got a bad habit of jumping out of the dropship instead of waiting for it to land. Let's his armor to absorb the fall, but that's his prerogative at this point I guess. And it gets him a hell of a drop on the enemy.

Giraud (voiceover): No civilian, had ever heard this kind of detail about the Master Chief. Mendez told me that it wasn't long after boot camp that John's unique combination of abilities and drive, established a fledging reputation for the young man.

Mendez: That kid blew me away. His acumen, his mental quickness, his physical abilities, tactical judgment; I could tell even from a young age that John was burgeoning complete package. There was no question in my mind that he was ready for the augmentations, and he couldn't wait.

Giraud (voiceover): Once John had the procedures done, Mendez said everyone was blown away by the results.

Mendez: Medical engineers said his systems integrated flawlessly with the tech, his recovery time was impressively brief, but what was most incredible was how quickly his brain was able to acclimate to the upgrades. It can be like starting from scratch again after those procedures, you're remapping your whole neurology, but while the other guys were still trying to learn to walk, John was running, and jumping, and kicking ass. I'd never seen anything like it.

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