Free Rebels of Mindanao by Tom Anthony Page B

has to get the credit. And that’s OK with me.”
    â€œMe too. Let them do it.” Thornton had his deal and was not interested in getting his name in the
Philippine Star
, or on some stone at Fort Bonifacio.
    Hayes took Thornton to the Davao City Consulate, an old, drab building, not like the embassy in Manila—this place was for work, not for show—and to a downstairs workshop; a basement with no windows and poor lighting, “Need breakfast?”
    â€œI’ve had breakfast, twice, but could go for another cup of coffee.” Thornton appreciated the offer.
    As Hayes poured a coffee for Thornton, Elaiza walked down the steps in front of them. The two men looked up to see first high-heeled shoes, then lean, brown legs, and a red miniskirt, as she descended into view.
    Hayes made the introductions. “Mr. Thornton, Elaiza Otakan. She can explain the TIAM technology better than I can. Hargens has assigned her to work with you in the field. Elaiza is a JUSMAG civilian; security clearance OK for what we’re doing here. Elaiza, Thomas Thornton.”
    Thornton said quietly to Hayes, “I see what you mean by local assets.”
    Elaiza ignored Thornton’s comment and nodded in his direction; her intonation of his name had a slight accent. “Your first name is Tomas?”
    â€œYes, Thomas, or Tom. And your name, is it Muslim?”
    â€œCultures get mixed up in Mindanao. I have some Spanish and Japanese blood in me, but I’m mostly Manobo.” She answered factually, pulled her iPod out of a pocket sewn into her leather belt, placed it on the table and began to lecture in a professional tone.
    â€œWell, Tomas, we’ve added GPS capability onto the circuit board of my iPod, concealed it inside.”
    Elaiza sat down and handed the device to Thornton, who examined it, unimpressed. “Interesting toy. Just give me a cell phone with GPS. I’ll call Hargens and tell him where I am. What do I need you for to take out one guy? I don’t need a handler in Mindanao; I need some muscle.”
    â€œEasy guys, you just met.” Hayes smiled but wanted to make the two learn some respect for each other. “We just had Elaiza wear this device on a trip to Singapore and back.” Hayes paused, a bit reluctant to tell Elaiza. “Before your Singapore trip, we modified your iPod again. We upgraded its GPS capability before we sent you to Singapore. We needed time, data, and distance to calibrate it for your characteristic movements, your height, weight, average footstep, and simply the way you move.”
    Elaiza fidgeted in her chair, obviously troubled by the news, but stayed professional. “You mean you tracked me in Singapore?”
    â€œThe first prototype already installed before your trip to Singapore was a normal, military GPS. Then we installed a new device onto the iPod’s circuit board, a newer TIAM (Tracking Integrating Accelerometer Module) microchip. It tells us much more accurately where you are. And where you’ve been. Footstep by footstep.”
    Elaiza was obviously hurt. “Don’t you trust me?”
    â€œWe trust you, we just didn’t trust the software and wanted to check it out. Somebody from our staff needed to make the Singapore trip anyway. So we killed two birds with one stone.”
    â€œI’m not anybody’s bird. You could have told me.”
    â€œThat might have made you act unnatural and ruined our test results. We’ll download the data and see how it worked.”
    She had little to say to either of the condescending bastards at the moment. She had been so proud to be trusted to make the trip to Singapore. “I can read a map; with the GPS I could give you coordinates pretty quickly,” Elaiza told Hayes.
    â€œGood idea, Elaiza.” Thornton asked Hayes, “Major, why not integrate voice technology on the same circuit board?” Thornton was also puzzled. Once the government gets