Taming the Telomeres, a Thriller

by R. N. Shapiro

  “Andy, is everything okay? You look worried.”

  “It’s okay. I really think so now.”

  “It’s not like you to hold things back from me. Something big is going on, what is it?”

  “Things can only get better now. Can I switch the subject back to work?”

  “Sure.”

  “Can you do some research on the federal whistleblower law, the ‘Qui Tam’ provisions, for those whose efforts are responsible for the government recovering money based on some fraud perpetuated on the government. I’d like it this afternoon if possible.”

  “Okay, I guess the discovery answers on the Boyd case can wait. What case is this for?”

  “Amanda Michaels.”

  "This is certainly not my usual lunch, I mean meeting with an undercover intelligence agent." Judge Bondakopf says with a wry smile. "Obviously you must have something important on your mind. Before you start, I don't need to remind you that I'm not allowed to have ex parte communications on pending cases."

  "What’s the exact definition of that anyway?" Steven asks her. "I'm not kidding; I have a reason for asking."

  "It's Latin, it means communicating with one party to a lawsuit to the exclusion of the other party.”

  "Have you decided on anything yet?" The waitress asks them.

  "We're going to need a few more minutes," Judge Bondakopf tells her, as she looks at the menu.

  “But in the FISA cases, there is no other party,” Solarez points out.

  “I guess you’re right, but I am not authorized to engage in, shall we say, off-the-record communications either.”

  They place their order and hand the waitress their menus. A few silent moments pass. Judge Bondakopf doesn’t break the silence, knowing that Solarez is about to impart something weighty.

  "Well, I have some major news. We believe we closed down the spying operation at BBS. We were ready to arrest the mole, but that same day he died under mysterious circumstances while swimming in the Potomac River. He was training for a triathlon."

  "His name? Not that it will necessarily mean anything to me."

  "Alex Erickson. He was actually a close acquaintance of both Ron and Andy Michaels. You may be the first federal judge whose actions proved instrumental in a covert intelligence operation."

  "Well that’s great, I guess. I probably violated a number of judicial canons barring a judge from showing partiality or bias toward one side in any hearing or trial."

  “How could you have not been impartial at a hearing when we never had a real hearing? The entire Pletcher hearing was a ruse."

  "Hmmm. It wasn’t a real hearing." The judge ponders out loud.

  "Nope, it was just supposed to seem like a real hearing so the Chinese…"

  "That works for me. How do you know our fake hearing made a difference?"

  "There's too much to explain, but it’s absolutely clear they believed Pletcher was going to sell the biological research information. When Pletcher died, or I should say when the Pletcher character died, we were able to isolate Erickson."

  "Impressive. Now you need to submit the paperwork for my signature notifying those who were under surveillance."

  "No problem. They already know anyway."

  "They know already? What do you mean? You fought me all the way on notification."

  "Well, let's just say that they know, but we'll do the formal part to comply with the law."

  The waitress brings their orders so they take a break from the conversation for a few moments.

  "So Steven, tell me a little bit about yourself."

  Chapter 111

  Deal Points

  Mr. Jang-Chung’s black limousine pulls into the gated portion of the White House executive offices in Washington, D.C. for the hastily arranged meeting led by Stein and two other gentlemen from the agency. Stein arranged the secure location to avoid conducting the talks at the Chinese embassy, the FBI headquarters, or at Langley, the CIA headquarters. The six of them sit at the rectangular conference table facing each other. All six speak fluent Chinese and English, except for Stein, who can only muster a few key Chinese phrases. The back channel negotiations had been ongoing for days but got much more serious in the last 24 hours. Stein knew why. The mole had been terminated by his comrades that were now sitting across the table from him. This changed the paradigm. The Chinese realized that their operation was doomed and it was time to move on. That’s why they were ready to deal.

  “Thank you for coming here today, gentlemen. The first piece of business is the payment of $200 million in reparations for the Hemispheres crash. Then we can discuss the exchanges and any other related terms,” Stein advises his peer across the table.

  “My country must not pay reparations, Mr. Stein. People’s Republic is willing to discuss different methods to accomplish the same thing. We have three offers: The first is that we agree not to dispute the U.S. imposing an anti-dumping tariff on Chinese manufacturers of automotive parts for one calendar year, which will result in hundreds of millions in profits to U.S. company earnings, well in excess of the 200 million dollars you are requesting.

  “Second option, PRC reduces, very slightly, the property taxation rate on all U.S. companies with factories in PRC for the next 12 months resulting in more than $200 million in receipts to U.S. companies.

  “Or third, the PRC national bank slightly changes the valuation of the Chinese Yuan favorably against U.S. dollar for 12 hours only, and then we re-adjust back, permitting your Federal Reserve to profit on all currency exchanges that occur in the agreed 12 hours, which may result in far greater than $200 million, depending on your transactions. In all scenarios, my nation agrees to no apology, no reparations.”

  Then, Jang-Chung looks down at the note pad his aide has slid in front of him. He adjusts his reading glasses, and reads the note. “We also would agree to the following exchange - one former special forces soldier from PRC to U.S. for six PRC operatives from U.S., five from New York operation, one from Loudoun operation.” His aide then whispers something to him. “You must also confirm whether Loudoun operative is alive.”

  Stein nods his understanding as his aides on either side of him jot down notes.

  “Give us some time to confer.”

  Stein and his entourage leave the room and step into another nearby conference room.

  One detail they had not been sure of was whether the Chinese had swept up Ryan or not, but that mystery was now solved. Clearly the MSS thought Ryan was working for one of the U.S. agencies. They discuss the various offers, and Stein makes a call on a secure line to the director to get his authority to close a deal. The director tells Stein to build in a reverse sweetener in the deal that will return $25 million to the Chinese in one year. It seems counter-intuitive to Stein, but he knows his job is to follow instructions, so he makes notes of the director’s instructions. Meanwhile, the Chinese barely say a word to each other, assuming that the room is not secure. After all, it’s in the U.S. State Department’s control.

  Stein and his entourage re-enter the room about 30 minutes later.

  “We think that the manipulation of the Yuan during an agreed upon 12-hour period will be satisfactory. However, that is subject to all other terms of the agreement, including a new term that PRC will close down any operation involving Biological Blood Services, and no harm will come to any employee or their families. If PRC honors this agreement for an entire calendar year, the U.S. will return $25 million to PRC. Any violation, and we retain the $25 million.”

  “You must verify you have the individual who disappeared in Virginia,” Jang-Chung refers to their operative who disappeared the night of Kent Perless’ death.

  “We first need assurance from the PRC that you will return Mr. Ryan alive.”

  “Yes. You have my assurance, Mr. Stein.”

  “We have your Loudoun County operative, alive,” Stein responds. A look of pleasure comes across Jang-Chung’s poker face. It’s clear that he was assuming their agent was be
ing returned in a body bag. He turns left and right to his aides who nod to him, obviously happy to receive this unexpected news as well.

  Stein gets out a pen and on a yellow pad writes down the deal points:

  * * *

  1.Yuan revaluation – 12 hours

  2.Exchange, as discussed, in U.S., time/place to be determined

  3.Confidential terms

  4.BBS op closed, no further adverse actions by U.S. or PRC

  5.$25 M from U.S. to PRC after one year, if term #4 met

  * * *

  Stein writes “USA” at the bottom and puts a line under it. He signs it and prints his name and title: “Brett Stein, State Dept. Counsel.” Then he passes the yellow pad across the table to Jang-Chung. He and both his aides look down at the notes and briefly confer before he looks across to Stein and nods his head in agreement. He lifts his pen and writes “PRC” beside “USA” and signs his name in Chinese with a flourish.

  He respectfully passes it with two hands back to Stein.

  “Let’s get six copies of the agreement made right away,” he directs the aide to his right. “One hour after the 12-hour Yuan revaluation closes, we’ll do the exchange at the Roosevelt Bridge. We bring our asset from the Virginia side, you bring your asset from the Washington, D.C. side. We’ll deliver the bodies simultaneously to your jet either at Dulles or Washington-National Airport.”

  “Agreed,” Jang-Chung says.

  “I’ll contact you tomorrow morning to set the valuation timing.”

  They all rise from the table and walk beside it to shake hands.

  “I heard no mention of Mr. Erickson today.” Stein whispers to Jang-Chung, wanting to get at least one jab in to his opponent.

  Jang-Chung remains expressionless. “I do not know to whom you refer, Mr. Stein. I always appreciate doing business with you.”

  Chapter 112

  Whistleblower

  Following two separate conversations with Stein, Andy had called Kyle Perless and set up their meeting. Was Kyle one of the most devastated persons in the aftermath of the Hemispheres fiasco? Andy figured that was like asking the Titanic survivors which of them suffered the worst. Kyle was definitely one who was wronged and never compensated. He had been thinking about him ever since Stein all but admitted Kent was murdered at Crossroads Farm. Once Stein conceded the U.S. would recover over $200 million, Andy had pitched his whistleblower deal proposal to Stein and the wheels started turning.

  Now he is sitting at the kitchen table in Kyle’s small apartment. He notices a rack with multiple guitars and can barely hear some light acoustic music playing through speakers hidden somewhere. Andy has finished going through all of the key terms of the proposal.

  "I never even really hired you as my lawyer," Kyle says.

  "True, and you absolutely have the right to find someone else to deal with them. You don't have to use me. However, you'll probably have a bigger legal fee and they wouldn’t give you the attorney fees back to pay your taxes.”

  Kyle gets up from the table and paces around the small room, thinking.

  "What if I say no? Maybe I’d rather go to the press."

  "You have the right to do that, Kyle. But would you really turn down the deal?"

  "I don't know. I could go to the press and blow the whole story open. What a story it would be too,” Kyle says, but his words lack conviction.

  "What good would that do now? The government says they had nothing to do with Kent’s death, and I finally believe that. The worst part is your loss. There’s nothing…I admit, I can’t mitigate that. But they’re willing to pay you a lot of money. Why turn it down? To go to the press instead? What do you get by doing that? Will you really learn why some foreign spies killed him? Probably not. And you’ll blow the chance of getting this deal.”

  "Everyone still thinks my son OD’d." Kyle interjects, wanting to protect his son’s image. “That’s a bald-faced lie.”

  "We're taking care of that. It’ll be part of the deal." Andy says.

  Kyle Perless and Andy arrive at the Department of Justice the next day at 10:00 a.m. This time, there is a lawyer Andy has never met before from the Justice Department. The unknown lawyer ends up doing most of the talking while Stein mostly listens with Andy and Kyle.

  "Mr. Perless, there's a federal law called the 'Qui Tam' law, which most people call the ‘whistleblower law.’ We believe that your son's action directly led to the ultimate recovery of $230 million by the United States. Section 7 of the Qui Tam Act is the one that comes into play here because the false act or false claim of a foreign government resulted in an increase of the obligation of the U.S. by that sum of money."

  "Let me interrupt you a second," Perless says. "No one told me how the government paid out the $230 million or how they recovered it through Kent’s actions. I mean, I'm not questioning it was recovered, but I'd like to know how it happened."

  "Mr. Perless, we agree on one essential fact, your son was murdered,” interjects Stein. “It wasn't an overdose and it wasn't his fault. We want to see justice done in the best way we can. Exactly what wheels turned, and how it all came about…some of those things cross over into national security. We can't give you all of the details. The deal is the deal."

  The DOJ lawyer continues, "Under the whistleblower law, we can compensate the person who brings the losses to our attention. The U.S. can pay the relator, which is your son’s estate, anywhere from 15 to 25 percent of the amount recovered plus attorney's fees. We’re offering your son’s estate $10 million under the Whistleblower Act, out of which you would need to pay your attorney's fees. Under the settlement, all terms will remain confidential indefinitely. Last, we’ll need the deal approved by a U.S. District Court judge. Oh, and your portion of the settlement is taxable. Can't do anything about that."

  Now it’s Andy’s turn. "Kyle, you understand that I'm charging you a 25 percent legal fee, but once that fee is paid I am going to use those monies to pay both my firm’s taxable consequence and your taxable consequence for getting the settlement money. So you’ll essentially be receiving about $7.5 million tax-free.”

  Kyle Perless flips back and forth through the three-page typed agreement.

  "Where does it talk about the death certificate?"

  Andy looks through his copy.

  "Halfway down on page three. ‘The U.S. will assure that the death certificate with regard to Kent Perless will be changed from accidental overdose to homicide – cause unknown.’”

  "What if the press finds out about this and wants to ask me questions? What can I tell them?"

  "If you look at the next line of the settlement agreement, it says you may simply comment that the medical examiner was asked to conduct a re-examination and determined there were no toxicological results to support any accidental overdose."

  "Okay, I'll do it. Where do I sign?"

  The DOJ lawyer hands five original copies to Kyle, which he signs one by one. Stein briefly whispers to Andy before shaking his hand leaving the conference room. Andy and Kyle walk through the conference room door and out into the hall of the Justice Department.

  “Andy, thanks. I was skeptical at first. I guess I just don’t trust the government, but you were right. I had to take the deal. I hate the confidentiality but--”

  “I know. I have had numerous major settlements and it truly sucks to be silenced. It’s just an evil that no one seems to be able to eliminate.”

  “How’s Amanda doing? I heard she took a trip or something. Is she back yet?”

  Andy tries to maintain a calm look. Stein had just advised Andy moments before that Amanda was being dropped off at Crossroads Farm within the next 24 hours. Andy is still concerned about her safety, but Stein said the Chinese assured them that the operation was closed and there were strong anti-retaliation provisions in the deal, whatever that meant.

  “Yeah, uh, she went to New York City, but I think she’s getting back tonight or tomorrow morning. Anyway, we should have the money to you in les
s than 10 days, so you need to set up that estate through the circuit court like we talked about. I’ll call you in the next few days.”

  Chapter 113

  Apologies

  Holmes hasn’t the foggiest idea why the chief called him in for a meeting at his office on his only day off. He seriously doubts it’s for a promotion. When he sees Rogers waiting too, he knows something is messed up. His mind whirls through the possibilities.

  After what could hardly be called an explanation, the chief pushes two documents across the desk toward them. On the left is something they have seen many times - a death certificate. Holmes quickly scans it and sees the name “Kent Perless.” Scanning down the paper to the cause of death, he sees the words “homicide [amended].” His eyes then move over to the document on the right. It’s on Loudon County Police letterhead, addressed to Kyle Perless. It’s an apology letter that also explains the death certificate has been changed, and that the police department has reopened their investigation.

  “I get the amended death certificate, but why an apology letter? That’s not necessary.” Holmes says.

  “I told you. National security. They can make us do anything. They even drafted that letter, saying it was a ‘suggested format.’ It’s useless arguing with them. So, I’m reopening the investigation.”

  Rogers can’t contain himself. “How’re we gonna investigate this? The Feds know what happened. It’s a joke.”

  “Look, I don’t want you to do anything. We’re opening it, and it will show on the computers as an open, active investigation. But that’s it,” the chief says with a wry smile. “That’ll be all, detectives.”

  “Unbelievable,” Holmes says, as he and Rogers walk down the busy hallway through the middle of the administrative offices, past assistants and other police staff chattering and tapping on their keyboards.