by David Archer
The four senators looked at one another, then Wellborn turned back to the president.
“You’re willing to compromise with each of us on some of our more critical points?”
“Haven’t I shown you that already?” he asked. “Gentlemen, and lady, of course, I am not your enemy. I realize that we often seem to be on opposite sides, but the truth is that we should be on the same side, which is the side of the American people. I’m willing to bend; are you?”
Wellborn looked at him for several seconds, then nodded. “I’ll have my office prepare some proposals for compromise,” he said. “We’ll see what your response is, then. In the meantime, I’m afraid we are not going to completely abandon our search for Ms. Peterson and where the assassination group may have gone. The last thing we need is to have them come out of the woodwork as a surprise down the line. I’m sure you can understand.”
“Of course, no problem,” the president said. “In fact, if you find them, I’d appreciate it if you’d let me know. To be honest, there’s a few of them I’m not too sure we want running loose.”
The four senators filed out of his office a moment later, and the president sat down once again behind his desk. He stared at his desk for a moment, then took the special cell phone out of his pocket and hit the one icon in its speed dial list.
It rang twice before she answered.
“Hello, old friend,” Allison said. “I wasn’t expecting to hear from you this soon.”
“I wasn’t expecting to call you this soon,” POTUS said. “I’m afraid we may have a bit of a problem, and I want your input on it.” He told her about the visit he had just had, and how it had gone.
“Sounds like they are bluffing,” Allison said. “I’m absolutely certain the drug that caused the heart attacks cannot be traced or identified. As unlikely as it may seem, the deaths of Clark and Mitchell are going to end up looking like just another pair of strange coincidences.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” the president said, “but these guys are out for blood. I may have stalled them, but they are just the tip of the iceberg. Now, obviously we can’t kill off every senator, and I certainly would not want to. I’m wondering if there might be some way to give them the idea that pursuing this would be a really bad idea. Any suggestions?”
“Not just at the moment, but give me a couple of days to work on it. I’ll see what I can come up with, okay?”
“Sounds good. Just remember, they are all looking for you hot and heavy. We may need to throw them a sacrificial lamb, someone they can publicly vilify. Any of your people you could give up for that?”
“Not if I can avoid it,” Allison said. “All of these people have served our country, Mr. President, and that would be a pretty dirty trick to play on them. Let me see what I can come up with and I’ll get back to you within a couple of days.” She paused for a moment. “On second thought, there is a team of my people in DC right now. I understand they have been temporarily assigned to DHS; the lead agent is Mark McCullers, so tell him that I told you to put him on these senators. He can monitor the situation and let me know if there’s a problem coming our way.”
“All right,” POTUS said. “I’ll make contact with him as soon as I can. I have a feeling this could turn into a serious problem if we don’t nip it in the bud right away.”
“I agree. I’ll wait for further information.”
The phone went dead, and the president put his special cell back into his pocket. When he had first taken office and had been briefed about the existence of E & E, something had told him it was going to blow up in his face eventually. This was one time when he wished he hadn’t been right.
McCullers, she had said. He punched the button on his phone and told his receptionist to get Charles Maybury on the phone. Maybury was the director of DHS, and he was put through less than a minute later.
“Mr. President,” Maybury said. “How can I help you today?”
“You’ve got a team on temporary assignment,” POTUS said. “Lead man is named McCullers. I need him and his team for a special job.”
Maybury hesitated for a split second. “Yes, sir,” he said. “What would you like him to do?”
“I want him to report to me, as soon as possible. This assignment is under the highest possible security compartmentalization, so I want it going from my lips to his ears.”
“Yes, sir,” Maybury said. “I’ll have him there within two hours.”
“Excellent, Charles,” POTUS said. “I probably don’t need to tell you that this is a good time to watch your back, do I?”
“No, sir,” Maybury said. “With the current climate here in DC, we may all be lucky to hold on to our jobs until the next election.”
The president said goodbye and hung up the phone. He dealt with other routine and nonroutine matters for the next hour and a half, and then his receptionist buzzed him again.
“Mr. President,” she said, “there are some people here who say they were sent by DHS.”
“Excellent,” the president said. “Send them right in.”
Five people filed into the Oval Office, and the president got up from behind the desk and invited them to sit on the sofas. When they had done so and introduced themselves, he began to brief them on the situation.
* * *
“I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him,” Senator Andrews had said, as soon as she and her compatriots had left the White House and were in their limousine. “He’s too devious. We all know damn well there’s no way both of those senators would’ve had heart attacks so close together. The odds against it are astronomical, I’m sure.”
“Not necessarily,” said Senator Hester. He had stayed quiet while they were with the president, but they knew he had his own agenda. “If you really think about it, in any sampling of people as large as the Senate, the chance of two of them dying by natural causes within a short time is really fairly high. I’m not siding with the president, but he is correct in his assessment that our jobs put us under a lot of stress. Heart attacks come from stress more than from any other reason.”
“Oh, get real,” Lewiston said. “They were both thorns in his side, and now they’re both gone. What do you really think are the chances he didn’t have something to do with it?”
“Slim to none,” Andrews said. “Gentlemen, we have it within our power to find out what really happened to that group. I suggest we use the tools at our disposal and expose this before it gets any worse.”
Wellborn shook his head. “I don’t know, Teresa,” he said. “You’re talking about using foreign agents. If it ever got out, that would blow up in all of our faces.”
“It won’t get out,” she said. “It’s a necessity, gentlemen. We need to find out where this group is located, and whether they are still operating. Finding Allison Peterson would be a bonus, but I would almost bet you that she’s right back in the saddle with those people. Now, if none of you have the balls to do this, I’ll take lead on it. Any objection?”
All three of the men looked at one another, then slowly shook their heads.
“Fine, I’ll handle it.” She leaned back in her seat and took out her cell phone, dialed the number from memory and put it to her ear. “Alex, this is Teresa. Remember that little problem we discussed yesterday? Yes, that’s the one. I need you to find out everything you can about it, where they are, what they’re doing and who’s in charge. How soon do you think you can give me an answer?”
Her eyes went wide. “Seriously? That quickly? Fine, then do it. I’ll be waiting for your call.”
She ended the call and put the phone away, then looked at the three men. “Alex says he can have them located by this time tomorrow. As soon as he does, he’s going to try to infiltrate the organization and learn all he can about what they are up to. If Ms. Peterson is there, he’ll know by the time he calls me back.”
Lewiston let out a sigh. “I hope she’s not,” he said. “If she is, that group is even more dangerous than they’ve
ever been. I’m quite sure she wouldn’t bat an eye at eliminating any of us.”
“Of course she wouldn’t,” Wellborn said. “Why do you think she got the job in the first place?”
* * *
At seven o’clock the following morning in Guildford, the Home Robotics factory sounded its starting bell for the first time. Three hundred new employees made their way to their workstations and got ready to start assembling these exciting new appliances. The chassis and body components had already been made, and now it was just a matter of each station mounting the individual parts that would turn them from raw components into ready-to-sell products.
It took them an hour or so to get into the swing of things, but then new machines began rolling off every three minutes. Molly had suggested that they produce several thousand as quickly as they could, so that the marketing department could promise rapid delivery as soon as sales began coming in. Her demonstration videos were complete, and the advertising agency she’d hired out of London was creating the commercials that would begin airing worldwide within a couple of days. Her analysis indicated that they would be selling two or three thousand units a week for the first couple of months, with that number growing rapidly throughout the first year.
Despite the fact that so many people had been hired already, the personnel office was very busy. Milford Stratton, the personnel manager they had hired, had turned out to be a godsend since he knew almost everyone in the area. That included knowing who had a reputation for being late to work or simply failing to show, so he was able to eliminate a lot of trouble before it could even get started.
He had organized the personnel office well, hiring a couple of people to do nothing but intake interviews and refer likely candidates up the line to him. Most of the time, if it was somebody local, he could simply accept or reject them without having to speak with them personally. When it was someone he didn’t know, however, and the application or CV showed promise, he took the time to conduct a personal interview.
Such was the case with one application that came in that morning. Alexander Paulson had spent the last twelve years working for another major appliance manufacturer, and was qualified in almost every position. Milford read over his CV and then picked up the phone and called his name over the PA system. Mr. Paulson appeared in his office only a moment later, and Milford invited him to have a seat.
“Mr. Paulson,” he said. “I want to thank you for your application. You seem to be exactly what we might be looking for—potential executive material.”
“Thank you,” Paulson said with a grin. “When I heard you guys were opening up, I thought this might be a blessing for me. My mother is retiring here in a couple of months, and I’d like to be established in the area before that happens.”
“How fortunate for us,” Milford said. “I wanted to ask you, though, why you left your previous employer. Was there a problem that we should know about?”
Paulson smiled. “No, there wasn’t any problem,” he said. “To be honest, I simply had the feeling I had risen as high as they were going to allow me to rise. The company is owned by the Chinese, as I’m sure you’re aware. They don’t mind having blokes like me as foremen, but it’s very rare that an Englishman finds his way to the executive levels. I’m afraid I was rather outspoken with some of my superiors regarding shoddy business practices, so there was very little hope I was ever going to get off the production floor and into an office. I’m hoping that my experience might be useful in a more responsible capacity, here.”
“Indeed,” Milford said. “As it happens, we do have a few middle executive openings. Considering your experience, I think you might be quite well suited for production manager. The pay is quite good, more than twice what you were earning before, and you would be responsible for maintaining order and efficiency in all of the production department. The shift leaders and foremen would report to you about any problems they might find, and it would be up to you to find solutions. Does this sound like something you might be interested in?”
Paulson’s smile grew wider. “Why, of course,” he said. “Entry-level management, but that’s what I’m hoping for. This is such an innovative company that I’m looking forward to getting to know some of the people behind it.”
“And I’m sure they’ll find you quite a benefit. Very well, I shall approve you. Do you have time for an orientation today?”
“Certainly,” Paulson said. “There is no place else I’d rather be at this moment.”
Milford grinned. “That’s the pluck,” he said. “Let’s get the paperwork out of the way and then I’ll introduce you ’round.”
One of Milford’s secretaries came in and took Paulson to another room to start filling out all the employment paperwork that was required. That would take about an hour, and Milford told her to bring Mr. Paulson back to him when it was finished. As soon as they had left his office, Milford picked up the phone and dialed the extension for Noah’s office.
“Travis Lightner,” Noah said as he answered the phone.
“Yes, Mr. Lightner,” Milford said, “Milford Stratton in personnel. I have found a candidate for production manager, and I’d like to bring him to meet the executive staff. Would that be possible in about an hour?”
“Certainly, Milford,” Noah said. “Just bring him to the conference room, and I’ll have everyone there.”
“Very good, sir,” Milford said. “We shall see you then.”
He hung up the phone feeling confident. Paulson was exactly the kind of man they needed to fill such a responsible position.
He returned to Milford’s office right on schedule, and the two of them walked down the hallway and up the stairs toward the executive office area. The conference room was just across the hall from the stairwell, and Milford was delighted to find all of the top people there waiting.
He made the introductions quickly, and then all of them began asking Paulson questions. He had excellent answers to all of the questions, and it was evident from the expressions on their faces that they were very pleased to have him coming aboard. By the time the meeting was finished, he was on a first-name basis with everyone and was scheduled to start work the following morning.
“Alex, we are really looking forward to having you aboard,” Allison, whom he’d been introduced to as Judy, said. “Be sure and let me know if you run into any problems. I’ll be more than happy to help.”
Paulson smiled at her. “I’m delighted to be part of something so exciting and innovative,” he said. “I think we’re going to have some great times together.”
He left the offices then, walking out to his car in the visitor parking lot. He started up the three-year-old Land Rover and drove out onto the main road, then took a phone out of the glove box. He dialed a number and listened as it rang four times before Senator Teresa Andrews finally answered.
“Alex? Is that you?” Andrews asked.
“It’s me,” he replied, his natural Russian accent replacing his previous British one. “I told you I would find them, and I have. You’ll be happy to know that you were right, and Peterson is with them now. My only question is what you want to do about it.”
Andrews was quiet for a moment, then cleared her throat. “Alex, would it be possible for you to eliminate them? All of them?”
“Possible? Yes, but it’s not going to be either easy or inexpensive. I would need help, but I know where to get it. Do you want to know where to find them?”
“No! Goodness, no. I don’t want to know anything about this beyond what you’ve already told me. As for expense, how much are we talking about?”
Paulson was quiet for a moment, then said, “I’m thinking about three hundred thousand American. It’s rather obvious that these people are capable fighters, so I’m going to need some of the best. Send the money through the normal channels, and I’ll take care of it.”
“You’ll have it before the end of the day,” Andrews said. “And, Alex, when it’s done, I want photographs. I need proof that
Peterson was there, and that they are all dead. You understand?”
“Of course,” Paulson said. “I guarantee you will be happy with the results.”
The line went dead and Paulson drove on into Guildford. He had a hotel room there, and got himself settled inside before he started making his other calls. Within two hours, he had arranged for a twelve-man team to work with him on eliminating all of the executive staff of Home Robotics, LTD.
* * *
Team Aladdin had been monitoring the four senators since receiving their assignment the day before. Bugs had been planted in their offices before the end of the day, and each of their cell phones had been successfully cloned. They were all sitting around Mark’s hotel room as they listened in on every phone call and office meeting.
Kate Henderson had been especially focused on Teresa Andrews, because the president had indicated that she seemed to be the spokesperson for the group. She was kicked back in a chair with a pair of earbuds in place and a laptop on the end table beside her.
Suddenly, her eyes opened and she held up a finger to get Mark’s attention. She tapped a few keys on the computer and unplugged the earbuds so they could all hear the recording she’d just made of Andrews’ conversation.
When it was finished playing, she looked at Mark. “This is bad,” she said. “Whoever this Alex is, he has apparently located Noah and the rest there in England, especially if he knows that Allison is with them, now. We need to let Noah know what’s going on, and right away.”
“I agree,” Mark said. “I’m not supposed to call him unless it’s an absolute necessity, but I believe this would qualify, don’t you?” He was taking his phone out of his pocket as he spoke, and he dialed with his thumb then put the phone to his ear.
“This is Camelot,” Noah said. “Aladdin?”
“Indeed it is,” Mark said. “Boss man, we have been working on something for the top guy and it’s just paid off. There is a man named Alex, no last name at this point, who is working with Senator Teresa Andrews and a few others to try to locate and expose you. He just called her to say that he had accomplished that mission, and that Allison is there with you.”