Bartholomew
Frank Bartholomew - Official Dossier
Part 37 - Operation Pushpin
Top Secret
As mentioned in record #BFA103, Operation Pushpin was conceived in response to the global outcry for an official response to the Franco-Rwandan war. A small special operations task force was dispatched to Rwanda to observe the growing tension and report back to the Pentagon so that a decision about the United States' position could be made. Colonel Bartholomew and his crew of seven men were sent out in August of 2018 and began their surveillance at the beginning of September.
Colonel Bartholomew and his men set up a base of operations halfway between the French and Rwandan camps. Four of the men were sent out to the Rwandan camp, observing their actions and planning. At the same time, Bartholomew and the other three men went out to the French camp. The two teams wrote reports outlining both French and Rwandan troop activities, supplies, as well as technology and positions. All of these reports were encrypted and sent back to the Pentagon from the American camp.
After two weeks of observation, Colonel Bartholomew received word from his superiors that he was to return to Washington and extraction would be in 48 hours. He went on one last mission into the French base to find plans for the first major assault on the Rwandan camp when an alarm was tripped. The French forces opened fire on the American forces. Bartholomew's men were killed and Bartholomew himself was captured by the French forces.
For ten days, the French interrogated and tortured Colonel Bartholomew. They believed that he was a Rwandan spy. They wouldn't believe that he was American. It was because of this that the French delayed their preemptive attack on the Rwandan camp and were therefore open for attack by the Rwandans. In the ensuing chaos, Colonel Bartholomew managed to escape custody and ran out to the site of the American camp.
During an attempt to contact Washington, the attacking Rwandan forces noticed him and believed him to be a French operative. As he was weak from the torture, he was easily captured and taken to the Rwandan base of operations further inland. For the next twelve days he was tortured for information about the French attack plans. However, during his time as a prisoner in the French camp the French had drastically changed their plan of attack due to fear of espionage. Bartholomew had no pertinent information for the Rwandans and they at first refused to believe that he was American.
Three weeks after his capture, Colonel Bartholomew finally managed to convince one of the guards posted to his cell that he was, in fact, an American soldier. Two days later, Bartholomew managed to convince the guard to help him escape. On the night of October 3rd Colonel Bartholomew escaped from the Rwandan camp and walked for over twelve kilometers to the Ugandan border and managed to make it from there to Cairo. In Cairo, he found a way to contact his superiors in Washington.
By October 14th, Bartholomew was back in Washington DC and had been debriefed. On the 16th, Colonel Bartholomew was awarded a Purple Heart and a Congressional Medal of Honor. However, due to the confidential nature of Operation Pushpin, these honors were never revealed to the public.
Colonel Bartholomew was honorably discharged on November 11th 2018.
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Honorably Discharged.... Ha!
They threw you out on the streets of Washington with a handful of cash and a pat on the back. After about a month, with rationing, you ran out of money.
Oh, you tried to get a job. Of course you did. All those interviewers didn't understand that you didn't have a resume and that the majority of your talents involve survival in extreme conditions and not succumbing to torture.
It's all the French's fault, really. They started that stupid war that forced the military to send you to that hellhole. If it weren't for the French you would still be happily doing covert ops for the military.
But no. Of course not. Now you're roaming the streets of Washington DC, hardly able to afford a sandwich on some days. You do odd jobs here and there, whenever you can find something. You do some construction work. They don't let you use the big machines. Maybe it's the way you look. Maybe it's your shaky hands.
You don't sleep at night anymore either. You just stay awake on a bench, or in a shelter, or on the ground, staring at the ceiling or the sky. You keep flashing back to those endless days in those cells: those chairs, the pain, the water. Never clear pictures, just flashes, like flipping through the channels on some bizarre, sado-masochistic cable TV.
One day, while walking through the streets, you ran into this guy who was talking about God and the Bible and something. He noticed you walking and offered you soup. Well, who are you to turn down soup? So you sat and had some soup while he talked about the End of Days. It was clear he meant End of Days with a capital E and D. It was vaguely interesting, but it didn't matter, because the soup was hot and tasty.
Apparently, you had been wandering around him a lot lately, and it was only now that he decided to actually approach you. You hadn't noticed him. It's been getting hard to notice people these days. Everything just sort of blends together into a big gray blob.
So it was nice to hang out with Phillip every once in a while. He would give you warm food and company. All he wanted in return is someone to listen to him talking about the Bible and God. You didn't mind. It was nice for someone to pay attention to you and not want information in return.
One day, you and Phillip were sitting in a little eatery, watching the news and a story came on about this woman who went before Congress to talk about the effect of big business on the ecology. You and Phillip (but mostly Phillip) had talked about the state of the world. He had, on a couple of occasions, related the world to the Book of Revelation. He seems a bit obsessed with the Book of Revelation. But that's okay, because he's nice, which makes up for the fire and brimstone talk.
So Phillip came up with the plan to look up this Chris Carpenter and see if you two could help her cause. It seemed like a plan, something to do that's not wandering around the city, trying to differentiate the red blobs from the giant gray blob that is life.
So you both ended up joining the MAGE Institute. They have some quite interesting people. Some are nice, but some seem to have more issues than you do, which is impressive.
MAGE has been talking to Congress, which is fun... Well, okay, so they've been talking to Congress and you've been staying out, supporting them from afar. You don't blame them for not taking you along. Your hands shake sometimes. It's probably the lack of sleep and, well, it's probably the torture... it might be the cheese sandwiches, though.
You like what Chris talks about. You like her ideas and you like helping her however you can. You're usually just there for moral support. Sometimes you go out onto the streets with Phillip and spread the work of the Lord.
Chris just invited you and Phillip to this Passover thing. It sounds interesting. It's a Jew thing, according to Philip. You hope you don't do anything stupid or fall asleep. You're sure you'll be fine. They're probably going to talk about the world, like they usually do. You don't always have much to contribute, but you'll talk if you have something to say. They usually listen to you, which is nice.
You'll see what Phillip wants to do, maybe you'll bring pie.
People You Know
Chris Carpenter - She's nice. She's got some really interesting ideas for the future. Phillip likes her and explains some of the things she says.
Barry Magdalene - He used to be a Senator... until he got caught with a prostitute. Now he's married to Chris.
Pearl Skala - She's Jewish. Phillip says this isn't really a problem as she's helping out with MAGE.
Andrea Skala - She's Pearl's sister. She's quieter than her sister.
James Papadopoulos - He's a tough guy who a little scary, and he does some scary things that he says are for the best. The military probably messed him up something good, too.
John Papadopoulos - He's nice, but quiet. He might be gay.
Phillip Harrison - Phillip has been helping you out ever since you got back to the states. He's been helping you get food and work. He's been a good friend.
Tamasa Valappil - Phillip says she's an atheist. She's also been saying that Chris and MAGE has been overreacting about things which is clearly not true.
Jamie Schreiber - Jamie's nice, she's a little quiet, and she follows Chris almost fanatically. It's cute.
Eve Matthews - Her life's been tough. But she's been making the best out of it. She's been helping out with MAGE by telling them what other people say and do.
Simone Cylima - She a bit scary and she's amazing with computers.
Judah Isaacson - He's been working with the money for MAGE. He's clearly got a thing for Chris, and he's hiding something.
Jude Fairchild - Another scary one. He works with Simone and James. You don't really want to know what they do for MAGE.
