by Jerry Ahern
“Yes,” she said. “Rockwell’s legacy consisted of three new concepts that were designed to make Nazism, a product of fascist thought synthesized through German cultural assumptions, palatable to Americans in the late twentieth century and beyond. He knew he had to redefine the ‘white race’ as more broadly defined than Nordic Aryan. He also embraced many concepts that the German Nazis marginalized. He defined ‘white’ as any person not ‘a negro’ or a Jew. It was he who created the slogan ‘White Power’ to represent the solidarity of white people in America.”
Ellis said, “Okay, but that was a long time ago. When Rockwell died, the Neo-Nazi movement he left behind fragmented into splinter groups that looked much like Rockwell’s ANP. Even after the Night of the War, Neo-Nazism did not die. Even now hate groups continue to proliferate during periods of economic distress and societal uncertainty. They were mostly dissidents from high unemployment groups and those who suffered the dissipation of blue collar jobs.”
It was her turn to nod. “Correct but the Chief Superintendent has watched as swastikas, jackboots, stiff-armed salutes, racial violence, perversion of religion to justify genocide, and epithets screamed by haters against Jews, blacks, and gays frighten good people everywhere. Today the threat of Neo-Nazism in America is a global concern.
“He has identified that a fairly recent new group, New National Socialist Movement, or NNSM, has quietly grown into the largest Neo-Nazi group in the world. Even having said that, the group has not managed to attract a large following. It has consistently maintained a membership of several thousand members. However, those few are dedicated, committed followers often seen in their black fatigue-like clothing with NNSM insignia. At rallies the members, dressed in black pants and shirts, often carry banners or shields bearing the group’s insignia, which includes a swastika and the NNSM logo.
“Their ideology is simple: NNSM calls for a ‘greater world’ that will deny citizenship to Jews, non-whites, and homosexuals. Mostly young, NNSM includes racist skinheads with ties to various Klan groups, racist skinheads and other Neo-Nazi organizations. It is the most explicitly ‘Nazi-like’ Neo-Nazi groups, which emulate the Third Reich. It has a vaguely paramilitary structure, with military ranks for its members.”
Ellis was quiet for a moment. “Typical, even predictable. Let’s stay focused. Why was the Chief Superintend ready to have you kidnap Rourke? Because he was convinced the NNSM has a new financial backer, a man named Peter Vale, and they are now ready to increase attacks, increase violence; and that there is a direct threat against the Rourke family.”
Chapter Sixty-Six
The news reports from around the globe were not encouraging. Dozens of terror suspects had been arrested in Spain, Mexico and Central America. A day later, Mexican authorities said that they halted a plot to attack police officers by mere hours. A Spanish federal magistrate told a news conference in Madrid that twenty-three had been detained in connection with an international plot, with another two arrested in Central America. He added that a dozen searches had led to the discovery of assault rifles and high explosives.
The Mexican news agency, El Periódico Nacional, said that Mexican police had moved against a suspected terrorist hideout in an eastern town. The ensuing firefight resulted in eight terror suspects dead and twelve more wounded and arrested. At the time, officials said the militant group targeted in the raid included some who had returned from the Democratic German Republic. Authorities had previously said over three hundred German citizens had been recruited to fight with NNSM; it is unclear how many were still active.
Authorities in Mexico said they were ready for more trouble and raised the national terror alert level from yellow to orange, the second-highest level.
Prime Minister Jose Mendez said, “The increase in the threat level is ‘a choice for prudence’. There is no concrete or specific knowledge of new elements of threat. However, police arrested at least twelve more people in anti-terrorism raids in three towns around the capital. The prosecutor’s office said that the raids were targeting people with links to NNSM; one gunman attacked a kosher supermarket claiming ties to the NNSM terror group.”
Police officials earlier told The World Associated Press that they were seeking up to eight to ten potential accomplices. The authorities had identified one of the three gunmen who carried out a series of terror attacks that resulted in the deaths of seventeen people, as a member of NNSM.
Authorities in Central America and several other countries were looking for possible accomplices. The suspect’s common-law wife is believed to have fled to the Democratic German Republic in Europe earlier this month.
Meanwhile, the World Associated Press reported that a train station had been closed and evacuated due to a bomb threat. A police official, who was not authorized to be publicly named, told the WAP that the station was closed “as a precaution,” but would not give further details.
The same day, the New Germany police said that they had taken two men into custody on suspicion they were recruiting fighters and procuring equipment and funding for NNSM. The two were picked up in a series of raids involving the search of eleven residences by 250 police officers. Authorities said the raids were part of a months-long investigation into a small group of extremists. However, they also said there was no evidence the group was planning attacks outside of New Germany.
Those arrested included a twenty-six year-old man with German-French dual national citizenship who had just returned from fighting with the terrorist group in Mexico. New Germany authorities said they were looking into possible links between a man they arrested in a southern city for illegal trade in weapons. That man claimed he wanted to buy a car from the wife of the first suspect. That investigation continues.
During the search of his residence, indications of illegal weapons trading were found to include the new SMART grenade. Known officially as the SAGM or Small Arms Grenade Munitions, it is a new kind of grenade that can find an enemy hiding behind an object, a wall or other would-be cover and detonate on its own. This is next-generation enhanced grenade lethality.
A police spokesman said, “When enemies take positions behind, say, low mud walls, typical of battle environments like third world countries, or if someone hides behind something in an urban environment, they can avoid grenade rounds. In order to most effectively hit a target, soldiers require a direct line of sight with a rifle-mounted grenade launcher and standard grenade.
“Just like other ‘smart’ technology that can complete tasks without its user providing instructions, this smart grenade can find its target itself. When the SAGM is fired, the grenade will recognize its surroundings and the cover used by the enemy for concealment. It then detonates over the target.
“Essentially an air-bursting grenade, the SAGM more than doubles the lethality of the current 40 mm grenade against targets that are not directly in a soldier’s line of sight. Using an SAGM, a soldier, or a terrorist, does not need to do any sort of pre-fire programming sequence. The soldier, or terrorist, just needs to accurately aim the weapon and fire. The smart grenade will take care of the rest.
“While in the air the SAGM will detect walls, without even relying on a range finder. After it passes the wall, the SAGM explodes itself in the air, above the target. The idea was to have a 40 mm low-velocity grenade that is compatible with the rifle-mounted grenade launchers currently in use by western forces.
“The grenade is designed to have three firing modes. The first is the airburst after it detects the cover where someone is concealed. The next is a default detonation, when it hits the target called ‘point detonation.’ The third mode is a self-destruct feature. This one is designed to decrease collateral damage and reduce unexploded ordnance left on the battlefield or urban combat zone.”
Chapter Sixty-Seven
“Research 1, Honolulu, approaching black out, over.”
“Roger, Research 1, stick to your schedule, expecting restored communications in one hour, over.”
&nbs
p; “Roger, will be on sch...” The moon was blocking radio communications. He would have no further contact until he moved from behind it. Thorne moved to the position where the bulk of the moon stood directly between him and earth and stopped, in a geosynchronous orbit. He thought, Weapons system, and a new display appeared. There were several choices available, not dissimilar from his heads-up display in a fight plane. But instead of an inventory of rockets and cannon munitions, he saw different categories; blast, burst, trickle.
Blast, one from nose, Thorne thought, and a single surge of green energy erupted from the nose of the craft and launched into space. Not sure how the alien craft would handle measurements, he thought, Burst, one thousand yards off port, another green surge launch. At what he assumed was the correct distance there was an explosion. Aloud, Thorne said, “Right, human clones had flown this, targeting had to be something the human mind could use.” Trickle, one thousand yards off starboard; this time it was a small, less intense surge.
Thorne thought, Weapons system off. He decided that blast setting was for long range engagements; the burst reminded him of missiles being deployed and the trickle like cannon fire. For the next forty minutes, he “played” with energy bursts until he had more comfort with how to fire, how to target and how to move quickly from one munitions to another. He even was able to target small pieces of space debris in orbit around the moon; debris probably from meteor impacts on the surface that had been blasted into space.
He was actually getting good at it, when the alarm on his wrist watch beeped. He shut it off and thought, Weapons system off. He moved out of orbit for the trip home. As he cleared the edge of the moon, he spoke into his comm link, “Honolulu, Research 1, tests complete, headed home, over.”
“Research 1, that’s a roger; we have the light on for you. Over.”
Thorne settled in for the trip back; he thought, Scan. No display appeared. Thorne frowned. Track, still no display. Navigate, a display appeared. Thorne studied the visual; he had the tracking from this flight, the one from the other day, and what looked like the tracking from when the craft landed during the battle at the Capitol, before it was discovered. Behind that was a flight track which showed a lift off from the Arctic region above what had been called Canada. “Honolulu, Research 1, over.”
“Go ahead, 1, over.”
“Please have Dr. Dalton standing by with his camera upon my landing, over.”
“Roger that, Research 1, and Baker Baker is standing by also, over.” Baker Baker was General Sullivan’s call sign, it stood for Big Boss.
“Roger, Research 1, out.”
Chapter Sixty-Eight
General Sullivan was waiting as Thorne and the alien craft touched down and was immediately moved inside a secure hanger. Entering the cockpit with Dr. Dalton, Sullivan asked, “Alright General, the tests went well?”
“Perfectly Sir, I’ll give you a full report at the meeting, but yes. The tests went well. What I found is this ship has a very precise navigation system for maintaining route accuracy and target tracking at very high speeds. This has to be like the old Astro-inertial guidance system, or ANS, on the old SR-71 Black Birds. It’s the closest comparable system I know of that can correct navigation errors with celestial observations.
“Before takeoff, the ship apparently does an automatic primary alignment, bringing the ANS’s inertial components to a high degree of accuracy. The ship itself tracks its progress in relation to certain stars. This star tracker component apparently can see stars during both day and night, and continuously tracks a variety of stars as the aircraft’s changing position. The engineers tell me it tracks a minimum of between fifty-six to sixty-one major and minor celestial points.
“These are stored in what we would call the Mission Data Recorder. You can automatically steer to preset destination points or you can locate and identify those preset points. I think this is what you’re looking for, General. I found a flight track that showed a lift off from the Arctic region above what had been called Canada. I memorized the coordinates. I’ll bet anything, this is the site of the alien’s location and John Rourke. One thing bothers me, Sir.”
Sullivan said, “What’s that, General?”
“As near as I can tell, this data recorded only has information back to the launch when we captured the craft.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Sir, this indicates to me that either the craft’s flight history was scrubbed before that mission, or it never flew to Earth.”
Sullivan frowned. “Then how the hell did it get here?”
Thorne took a deep breath. “Sir, if it didn’t fly here under its own power, it had to be ferried on a larger ship, a mother ship if you will. I think that is what is at that location in the Arctic. Doc, did you bring the camera?”
Dalton held it up. “Okay,” Thorne said, “start shooting when I tell you.” Thorne placed his hands back on the control panel and thought a single word, Navigate. The image appeared. “Okay, Doc, take some pictures as I shift through this record.”
Chapter Sixty-Nine
The Captain had sent for The Keeper, again escorted by armed guards, a process now standard whenever he left his quarters. He was ushered into the Captain’s presence. “Welcome,” the Captain said as he pointed to a bench behind a small table on which sat refreshments. “I trust you are well, old friend.”
The Keeper nodded and sat down. “As well as circumstances allow.”
The Captain nodded. “I fear I have some troubling news. John Rourke is missing.” The Keeper nodded. “You are not surprised by this news?”
“I have felt for some time that John was in some kind of difficulty, I put the feeling under intuition.”
The Captain frowned. “Intuition? You have had no contact with him?”
The Keeper smiled. “How could I? My travels are...” he paused and waved his hands at the guards. “My travels have been curtailed.”
“Then,” the Captain smiled and said, “I have good news, the travel restrictions are lifted. In fact, I wish to ask a favor of you.”
“How may I serve you, Captain?”
The Captain said, “I wish you to return to the surface. I wish you to discover what has happened to our friend John Rourke. I, like you, am worried. I particularly would like to find out the details of his disappearance.”
“Why not simply ask?” The Keeper asked with a smile.
“We have, but his son, the President, has not been... forthcoming.”
The Keeper said, “Possibly, he is worried about his father or he may not know.”
“I am sure that is probably the case,” the Captain waved it off. “But I want to ensure that our relations stay positive with our new friends. There may be a way we could be of assistance.” The lie rolled easily off his lips. “You enjoy a friendship that our emissaries do not. He may be more forthcoming with you; plan to stay for several days. Take the time necessary to get the information I seek. Please gather your necessities; your flight will leave in an hour.”
The Captain turned; The Keeper was dismissed. The Captain looked over his shoulder as The Keeper left. “Give my best to our friends and upon your return... report directly to me.”
The Keeper stopped and turned. “I take it I will be allowed the necessary freedom for travel on the surface, if that is necessary?”
The Captain smiled broadly. “Why of course old friend, I would not insult you by sending...” He paused, looking at the ceiling for a moment. “Sending something as onerous as a guard for a loyal member of the KI.”
Chapter Seventy
The KI shuttle craft set down at the Honolulu Airport; KI emissaries met The Keeper. “Welcome Sir,” the senior emissary said. “I am surprised to see you on the surface.”
“No more than I am to be here.” The Keeper smiled.
The emissary said, “We have contacted the President’s staff and they have granted a high honor, in hoping you will share their hospitality at the Presidential mansion. That
is acceptable?”
The Keeper nodded. “They have sent a vehicle for you,” the emissary pointed as a black limousine pulled up. “If you would like to leave now, I will ensure your belongings are sent to you.”
The Keeper nodded again and entered the vehicle. Michael Rourke and Tim Shaw were inside. The Keeper looked sternly at both as they drove off. Shaking his head and pointing to his own ears, he said, “Mr. President, I have just learned of your father’s missing status. I wish him well.” He pointed to his ears again.
Michael nodded. There must be some sort of listening device on him, he thought.
“Thank you for your well wishes, he will be glad to learn of your concern... when he returns,” Michael said as his scribbled a note. “Are you tired, do you wish to rest for a while?” He handed the note to The Keeper, it said, “Listening device?”
The Keeper nodded. “You know, I believe that would be an excellent idea. I have found that lately, I tire easily. I have heard there is a small spa in the Executive Mansion. Would it be possible to take advantage of it? Travel, even short trips, has tended to wear on me more than usual lately; it may help my old muscles.”
The rest of the drive, they discussed what would be properly called, the pleasantries... and nothing of significance. That would come later, when they would not be overheard.
Chapter Seventy-One
Upon arrival at the executive mansion, The Keeper rested in the guest room for thirty minutes before he was to be entertained by President and Mrs. Rourke. Michael had told Natalia that their guest was being monitored by listening devices, probably secreted on his body. During the brunch, The Keeper complained several times of stiffness in his back and legs. “I fear,” he said, “that old age has finally made himself known to this body.”