When Rome Stumbles

by David Kershner

  “The problem with GMO seed, sir, and I believe the doctors addressed this, is that it isn’t reproducible in nature. New batches of GMO seeds must be produced in manufacturing facilities regularly. These crops don’t allow for seed harvesting because they are essentially mutant. They can’t reproduce the same plant year in and year out.”

  A Senator from Louisiana chimed in and asked Elias, “Secretary McInerney, have you accounted for the outright replacement of GMO seeds? What I mean to say is if Hyloset can only cover sixty to eighty percent, how do we account for the other twenty to forty left unaccounted?”

  “We don’t, ma’am. Our country grows too much food for our nation’s population as it is. We would be able to fill our plate without issue. However, a third of our standing export orders would go unfulfilled. As a result, my report espouses a phased approach to the replacement of GMO seed. That is, unless we access the Svalbard Global Seed Vault on Spitsbergen and withdraw the seeds we’ve stored there for safe keeping. Unfortunately, even that won’t be enough to achieve a one-hundred percent swap of GMOs to organics.”

  The Senator followed up with, “And what is to become of the unfulfilled exports, Secretary McInerney? We need that revenue.”

  “I’ve been in contact with several Western European nations about that very question. The discussions are ‘on going’, is the best answer I can give at this time. I would like to point out that most of those countries banned GMOs early on in this century. They would represent the most probable alternative to seeing these export orders fulfilled.”

  The Ranking Member countered with, “You might want to pick up the pace with that Mr. McInerney. Several of our Asian allies have already cancelled soft orders for our rice and the Ministers in Hungary have authorized the burning of thousands of acres of corn and wheat fields. God only knows what the Russians are doing.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” was all Elias could really say to the commentary.

  Having sufficiently browbeaten the Secretary of the USDA, the Senator returned to the original line of questioning when she asked Samantha, “And the plane you were on, what happened there?”

  Relieved to have the questions return to Samantha, Elias stood and said, “We are willing to provide an eye witness and two former Tomason Industry security team members for information pertaining to the aircraft and the events of 18 January.”

  “Very well. Bring them forward,” the Senator replied.

  Josh stood, as did the two men he captured on the tracks. The three men took seats on either side of Samantha and Elias. Josh chose the seat next to Samantha. He wanted to reach out and hold her hand, but quickly decided against it.

  “Please state your names for the record,” the Senator said.

  In turn, the three stated their names.

  “And which of you is the eye witness to the downing of the plane?” the Senator asked.

  “I am, ma’am,” Josh replied.

  “Please tell the Committee what you saw on the night in question.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he answered and then proceeded to recount the events of that early morning when Samantha came into his life.

  When he finished, the Senator said, “And you chose to care for her on your farm and not notify the authorities?”

  “Yes, Senator.”

  “Why?” she asked.

  “Like I said, by the time I cut her and her ‘chute out of the tree, the crash site was already swarming with helicopters. I may not know much, but I know what a ‘seek and destroy’ mission looks like. She had been shot out of the sky by an F-15. I made the conscious decision to hide her and provide medical attention.”

  “And how would know this how exactly?”

  “I am an Academy graduate and served honorably in the United States Marine Corps. I saw combat in both the First Gulf War and during the NATO mission to Bosnia, ma’am.”

  Satisfied with Josh’s credentials, the Senator looked at Elias and said, “And these two are to provide testimony regarding?” as she motioned toward Josh’s detainees.

  He had caught the pair while they were tracking Layla and Katherine during their escape from Athens. The fact that they had a team member shoot at his daughters almost cost them their lives. Luckily for them, Josh had already begun his planning for the Congressional hearings and figured they’d be useful.

  After he had spoken with Donald Toombs, he placed a second call to Elias who requested that the two men be picked up and held for questioning. The two were extremely cooperative and started spilling everything they knew about the plane crash and the disinformation campaign initiated by Toombs. As a result, they were remanded into protective custody. Their inside intel enabled Elias and the U.S. Attorney Ryers to tie a nice bow on their report and the sealed indictments.

  “They are here to provide sworn testimony regarding conversations with their employer and the targeting of the plane, as well as the tampering with the crash evidence.”

  “This just keeps getting worse,” the Ranking Member mumbled under her breath.

  “Thank you, gentlemen. I’ll call upon you when the need arises. Something tells me we might be here a while with Ms. Jameson,” the Senator replied as Elias motioned for them to return to their seats.

  “You mentioned that three Committee members were involved? I don’t see their names in the packet. Would you please identify them?”

  “Yes, the transcripts I mentioned earlier contain transcribed dialog between myself, the three company heads, as well as Senator Bainbridge, the late Senator Hightower, Congressman Abernathy, and Congresswoman Martzen. The document you are holding was prepared before sealed indictments were delivered to the U.S. Attorney’s office. As a result, their names have been redacted. Full versions are being generated as we speak.”

  The gallery immediately blew into an uproar given the damning information about sitting Congressional members. The news studio talent went absolutely crazy with the revelation. Every major city containing downtown electronic scrolls and view screens had already been showing ticker lines like, ‘Congressman Murdered’, ‘GMO Head is Whistleblower’, and ‘Death Bed Confessions’. Now, with the programmers at the ready, the electric boards started displaying headlines including ‘Indictments on the Hill’ and ‘Conspiracies Abound’.

  The Speaker of the House rose from his chair behind the Committee members and motioned to the two Sergeant-at-Arms’ to open the double doors. As they opened, U.S. Attorney Ryers entered holding several documents aloft. The dozen Federal Marshals trailing him fanned out and dispersed throughout the chamber.

  “Senator Chad Bainbridge, Congresswoman Judith Martzen, Congressman James Abernathy. You are under arrest as accessories to murder, conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit robbery, kidnapping, attempted kidnapping, and treason.”

  The officers handcuffed the three and began to lead them out.

  Attorney Ryers then waved three additional warrants and called, “Edward Tomason, James Thurber, and Michael Monahan,” then proceeded to announce a similar list of charges.

  The three heads of the GMO’s tried unsuccessfully to sneak through the open double doors. They were being held at bay by the Sergeant-at-Arms’. Each was cuffed and escorted out through the throngs of onlookers.

  Wire services erupted at the six arrests being made live on TV in a Congressional hearing. The commotion and yelling from inside the meeting space carried down the halls to the phalanx of reporters waiting to interview witnesses and members of Congress.

  The Ranking Member picked up the gavel left behind by Senator Bainbridge and began pounding it in the wooden stand attempting to quiet the crowd. Attorney Ryers smiled and relished in the moment. Stopping to shake hands with the Speaker of the House, the Senate Majority Leader, and Vice President the young U.S. Attorney personally thanked all three for their assistance in the ruse. As he exited with the Marshals, Senator Grayson continued to call for order. Once they had departed with the six in custody, the two Sergeant-at-Arms’ closed the do
ors to the chamber once more.

  “Any more outbursts and I’ll clear this room. The cameras will be permitted to continue rolling, but that will be it. Is that understood?” she said as she retook her seat.

  The Senator was clearly drained from the events. She took a few moments to compose herself and confer with the aide that had appeared at her side. She nodded her head knowingly and turned her attention toward Samantha and Elias. They were still seated at the table as if nothing had ever happened.

  “Ms. Jameson, I’d like you to address two questions for me, please. One, you mentioned this enigma named Mr. Toombs twice in your testimony earlier, who is this person? Then finally, the addendum mentions an Operation Cloverleaf. Please tell the Committee how this is relevant.”

  Elias spoke first and said, “If you don’t mind, I’ll take the easy one. Donald Toombs was a former Army Ranger that retired and took employment with Tomason Industries as the Head of Security. We believe he was instrumental in orchestrating the murders of Congressman Davies and Senator Hightower. He also is believed to have carried out the instructions of Edward Tomason in the poisoning of Peter Jameson. He was killed in a gun battle while attempting to abduct Ms. Jameson.”

  “You mentioned this earlier. You said he attempted to kidnap you and the daughter of the family that saved you, correct?”

  “Yes, Senator,” Samantha replied. “In point of fact, he was planning on kidnapping me and killing the girl and her family.”

  “Mr. Simmons?”

  Confused, Josh stood at attention and answered, “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Did you hear Mr. Toombs attest to this?” she reiterated.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “And where were you during the attempted kidnapping?” the Senator asked.

  “Outside the greenhouse waiting for the three of them to exit.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Ma’am?” Josh answered unsure as to what she didn’t understand.

  “How do you know what was said if you weren’t in there?” she clarified.

  “My daughter. She had a walkie-talkie on her person. She depressed the transmit button so we heard everything.”

  “We?”

  “Yes, ma’am. Myself and three of my employees.”

  “According to the document I was just handed, you achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Marine Corps along with a lengthy list of awards and commendations. However, this isn’t the first time you’ve had to take actions into your own hands in defense of your daughters. Is that correct?”

  “No ma’am. My daughters were kidnapped right in front me some years back. I found them being accosted and responded. As for Mr. Toombs, he threatened my family and someone I care very deeply for. Again, I reacted. I have been tried in a court of law for both. For the record, I’ve always felt that the achievement for the rank of Lt. Col. was a mercy promotion by a well-intentioned old friend, so I go by Major. I don’t feel that I earned it.”

  “I see, and who might this be?”

  “General Brent Howard, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. I served under him in both the Gulf and Eastern Europe.”

  “Friends in high places indeed,” she replied rhetorically. “By my account Major, after reviewing this service record, I’d say that if anyone deserved a mercy promotion you’d be near the top of that very short list.”

  “Thank you, ma’am,” Josh acknowledged.

  “Regardless, I’m very sorry that you and your family were subjected to this... to this type of —,”

  She was having difficulty defining what it was exactly so Josh offered, “Yes, ma’am.”

  The Senator nodded her gratitude for his insertion. “And what happened to Mr. Toombs?”

  “As I said, he was trying to kidnap someone I care very much about and admitted that he was planning to murder my daughters and myself, so I shot him.”

  “I see,” she replied and stole a glance at the now blushing Samantha. “And where is he now?”

  “I had him placed in a pine box and shipped him back to his master, Edward Tomason, in Montana COD... hence the obstruction charge.”

  “That’s what I love about Marines. There’s no ambiguity,” she said to no one in particular.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Josh answered.

  “Thank you, Mr. Simmons. Please be seated.”

  Josh turned and returned to his seat behind Samantha.

  “I think now is a good time for a brief thirty minute break. I know my colleagues and I would like a chance to read this new evidence before testimony resumes. We are in recess.”

  The excited conversation of the gallery immediately erupted. Reporters and video journalists began dissecting Josh and Sam’s testimony as soon as the Senator struck the gavel.

  Samantha stood and turned to Josh, who had also risen from his seat. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his lips to hers.

  “Hey! You two knock it off!” Elias said as he admonished the pair. “We’re in a Congressional hearing for Pete’s sake.”

  The two broke their embrace. “Hi,” Sam said sheepishly.

  Josh just smiled.

  Before they had a chance to even begin a conversation, Samantha’s Agents arrived to spirit her to an anti-room.

  Sam stopped and turned to Josh as she was escorted away and said, “Nice haircut. Oh, and I loved the song... in case you were wondering.”

  * * *

  “That sneaky son of a bitch!” Heather exclaimed as she watched the hearings from her trailer on set.

  “I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, her manager Anna declared.

  “Scott friggin’ Hendrix is my dad!” Josh’s daughter decreed.

  The paperwork the pair had collect from the hospital had already confirmed the name of her father as ‘Josiah Grant Simmons’. When they arrived at the Public Health Department in Columbus the two learned that the state had no record of a death certificate for him. Heather’s instincts about Amanda’s squirminess had been correct. The wife had lied.

  In an unforeseen stroke of luck, the inter-connectivity between the state’s various computer systems produced her father’s arrest sheet as well. It listed three traffic violations, the original double homicide charge, and the most recent obstruction of justice conviction. With paperwork in hand, the pair quickly dashed through downtown Columbus to the Franklin County Courthouse and pulled the court transcripts from the murder trial.

  “You know,” Heather offered as she opened an app on her phone. “He just got out a few months ago. How surprised do you think he’d be when he comes back from D.C. to see me sitting in his living room? According to my little map here, McArthur isn’t that far from here. I bet if we were to visit the Sheriff’s office they’d have an address.”

  “That’s fine, but you do have a job to do. How about we concentrate on that and then we’ll look for him. Do you think you can focus enough to do that?” her manager asked.

  Heather picked up the scene schedule and began reviewing the document.

  “Yeah, he’s in D.C. right now so I guess it’ll be okay if we wait until the end of the day. Do me a favor though, go and see about getting us a car from one of the crew. Tell ‘em we only need to borrow it for a few hours.”

  “Sure, but swear that you won’t leave until you’ve finished shooting your scenes. Please?” Anna compassionately asked.

  Heather contemplated the request and sighed, “Fine, I promise.”

  Chapter 22

  “Okay, Ms. Jameson,” the Senator began after gaveling the session back to order. “The Committee has had a chance to review Operation Cloverleaf in the documentation provided, but I’m afraid that there’s not much available in the archives to supplement this information. Please explain how this is relevant to these proceedings.”

  “You’ll have to forgive me, ma’am. I was only told about the conglomerate’s connection to this a few hours before Edward Tomason had my plane shot out of the sky. Unfortuna
tely, I wasn’t permitted the use of a computer while in protective custody until recently.”

  A Congressman to her right spoke up and said, “Just tell us what you do know, Ms. Jameson.”

  “Very well,” she replied and began. “As you can see in the transcripts, Mr. Tomason made reference to Operation Cloverleaf when I feigned complicity in his schemes and pressed him for information. From what I’ve gathered thus far, this government program was revealed in a report written by a Dutch research group. He indicated that it was one of the few conspiracy theories that had any teeth.

  “The document in question is titled ‘Case Orange’ and I was instructed to look it up when we landed in D.C. According to him, and I quote, ‘It’s surprisingly accurate’. I only know what I have been able to ascertain from the downloaded copy I obtained while in protective custody. To be frank, the researchers and Edward Tomason would be better suited to answering this line of questioning.”

  “Since we don’t seem to have that report handy, please indulge the Committee and hit the highlights,” Senator Grayson stated.

  “Okay, but it’s patchy at best,” she began. “During the Vietnam War, scientists working with the military used cloud seeding to extend the monsoon season over Laos and the Ho Chi Minh Trail. As a result, they were successful in their attempts to flood the main corridor for goods and supplies to the Viet Cong. The project was known as ‘Operation Popeye’.

  “According to my research, clouds can be seeded using silver iodide from an airplane or a ground based mechanism. For high altitude disbursements, liquid propane is used. When the war ended, the technology, and ‘know how’, existed to make it rain, but someone asked the question, can we cause a drought? At the time the answer was ‘no’. So a team was put in place and ‘Operation Cloverleaf’ was initiated.”

  “How does this have anything to do with GMOs?” the Ranking Member pressed, her patience running thin with three colleagues arrested.