by Dan Kelly
Halkias picked up the strain of conversation again and resumed with, “Okay, the next item of business is where do we go to ground and when.”
Hollingsworth piped up with, “The answer to the last part of that question is a no brainer, immediately.”
Not so surprisingly, everyone concurred. They might have stopped their squawking, but they are still very much shaken up over what was revealed in the news conference and what has been presented to them in this meeting.
“Fine. The best answer to the first part of the question is going to be a little harder to come by. It should be someplace out of the public eye, since our faces are familiar to just about anyone who reads a major newspaper or watches the news on TV, even mine despite my attempts to stay out of the limelight. It can’t be so remote though that it doesn’t possess the required means of private communication, travel and access to the media. It must be reasonably close to stores that can provide the necessities, yet off the beaten path enough to avoid being stumbled upon by nosy busybodies. Are there any suggestions?”
Many suggestions were made, but all were rejected for one reason or another. They all were becoming very frustrated over not being able to come up with a satisfactory base of operations and were starting to take out their frustration on each other. Halkias has noticed this and is thinking to himself, “The enemy has accomplished what he set out to do. He has set our nerves on edge. This will never do. I’ve got to find a way to put a stop to this now!”
Fortunately, James Hollingsworth came to the rescue before things got out of hand. “Everybody settle down for a minute, will you? I think the answer to our problem just popped into my mind.
“A few months ago an international real estate broker approached me with a proposition involving a huge chateau situated high in the Italian Alps. He was trying to find a buyer whom he could convince its conversion into a hotel for the upper class would be a financial triumph of magnificent proportions. I was shown pictures of it and it is something to behold. The town fathers were willing to give tax concessions and other favors in exchange for the contributions the hotel would make to the local economy. From the property description, it appears to have everything we need. It even has a heliport.
“I declined to have any further discussion about the proposal because the asking price was astronomical and I’ve always refused to invest in other countries because of the potential political risks involved. I don’t know if it’s still on the market, but it’s my understanding that the owners, two brothers who are getting up in years and no longer use the place, are fed up with the financial drain on their capital to maintain it and have been trying to unload it for quite some time. If we were to make an offer close to the asking price, we might have the ideal place to seclude ourselves and finish what we’ve set out to do.”
When Hollingsworth was finished, quiet had returned to the conference room. The money wasn’t an issue. They had tons of it. They were all thinking that the purchase of the chateau would be a reconfirmation of their commitment to change the country and perhaps even the world because it would mark their embarkation on the final leg of their journey into the history books, for good or bad, and there was no turning back.
Halkias broke the silence with, “Okay, I think we might have the answer to the first part of the question. Jim, if the chateau is still up for sale how long do you think it will take to close the deal if our offer is accepted?”
“I don’t think it will take very long at all. The brothers are anxious to sell and the town fathers are eager for a new job creating enterprise to come to town. I think every attempt will be made to smooth the process for the transfer of ownership. I think if push comes to shove we could all move in before all of the paper work is done.”
“Okay, if there are no objections Jim will contact this broker ASAP and try to make a deal. We will postpone launching Phase Three until we know where we stand on the purchase of the chateau. Bob, if the tests on your new weapon are successful proceed with their use as we have discussed. I think it appropriate that our first target for water supply contamination be the seat of all the political and military bullshit in this country, Washington D. C.” This got a laugh from everyone and for the first time that evening Basil felt confident that his team would stay the course.
“In the meantime, all of you get your business and personal affairs in order for a prolonged period of incommunicado, probably six to eight weeks. You’ll have to be creative in coming up with convincing stories for your staff, colleagues, friends and families, but I’m confident you’re up to the task. Just remember, the simpler they are the more convincing they’ll be. If Jim makes a deal, I want all of us to be ready to split on a moment’s notice. Each of us will travel separately, using different routes to the chateau. If we are under serious surveillance, this will make it very difficult for big brother to connect us.”
After adjourning the meeting, Halkias returns to his office with one disturbing thought spoiling the satisfaction he felt about the meeting ending on a positive note. “How do I deal with Sam Ferguson? Going forward, how will I communicate with him? We won’t be able to use Hollingsworth anymore. He’s not going to like being left behind when the rest of us take off for Italy, but it makes perfect sense to do so. There’s nothing about him that would put him under suspicion and he’s the ideal source of intelligence on what the administration is planning to do to deal with us, but he’s a loose cannon when he’s under stress and especially when he’s angry. I can’t let that happen. I’ve got to appease him some way, convince him that leaving him in place is the smart thing to do. If I can come up with a satisfactory means of keeping him in the loop where he can continue to participate in the exchange of ideas, I think that will do the trick. If I can’t, I’ll have to treat him as collateral damage. There are no other options.”
His thoughts were interrupted by his phone ringing. It was Feldman calling him on his cell. “What are we going to do about Sam?”
“I was just thinking about that. The key to that dilemma lies in having a way to keep him actively involved in the decision making process even though he stays where he is. Do you have any ideas?”
“How about encrypted email? My people have developed a system of encryption that is virtually undetectable. We haven’t had the opportunity to use it in the field yet, but it’s ready to go. I can arrange to have the software programs which are on disks delivered to Sam and he can install them himself. Anything sent or received will go through the encryption process and only at his computer. Once the software is successfully installed, the disks will self-erase. We can set up the encryption process on our computers at the chateau when we get there.”
“That’s fantastic! Have Hollingsworth relay to Ferguson in his usual way what was discussed and concluded at our meeting and what our plans are going forward, including what you and I just discussed. We can bring the rest of the group up to date on our future communication with Sam when we’re settled in at the chateau.”
Feldman said, “Will do.” and broke the connection.
Looking at the happy face staring back at him in the mirror on his office wall, he whispered to himself, “Look out world, The Last Resort is coming your way and there’s going to be hell to pay!”
Chapter 26
-Chicago-
At mid-morning the following day, the proverbial doodoo hit the fan. All communication and electrical power systems in Bismarck, ND had been sabotaged. There had been a catastrophic disruption of municipal, utility and broadcast computer systems throughout the city brought about largely by a literal meltdown of computer hardware. Although a few drones were spotted, they managed to elude the Air Force pilots who were pursuing them. One exasperated pilot explained, “They’re so damn small they can hide almost anywhere.”
About a half hour ago, Hank had been informed by the President about the latest maneuver of their still unknown foes and they had just assembled to discuss how they were going to respond. Hank didn’t appear to be th
at upset over the resumption of attacks against the American people and a few minutes later they knew why.
“We knew this was going to happen. Ashok warned us about this eventuality and as usual he was right on. So, what are we going to do about it? There’s only one course of action open to us. We’re going to have to take a presumptive leap and launch our own frontal assault.”
“Against whom?” Joel asked.
“A reasonable question to which I believe I have a reasonable answer. The tails you requested came up with some interesting information. Last evening the men in question were all followed to the offices of Basil Halkias after they were closed for the day. Several hours later they and another individual on our list of people of interest, David Zadikoff, were observed leaving together engaged in some serious conversation. They were all talking quietly, too quietly for our people to overhear, but we now know there’s a connection between six of the people we’ve identified as potential members of the group that’s behind all of this chaos. I want to confront them, threaten them, challenge them and see what develops. If our news conference had the desired effect, this will upset them even more. Keeping them rattled is our best chance of goading them into making a fatal mistake that will lead to their downfall.”
Kirk Dodson spoke up with, “We’re on thin ice here, Hank. All we really know about these individuals is that they apparently have some kind of relationship with each other. So far there’s nothing to connect them to the incidents that have been plaguing the American people for weeks now. If we accuse them of anything regarding the attacks that have taken place without any proof we can use in court and they decide to call our bluff, they could put their plans on hold, sue us for slander, defamation of character and anything else they can think of, maybe even have criminal charges brought against us. This would tie up our time and financial resources indefinitely, effectively removing us from the field of battle.”
Perry Jacobs offered an amendment to the proposed plan of attack. “We could use confrontation to intimidate them through implication and innuendo without saying anything specifically that could force us into a change of battlefield in a courtroom. We could use Sal’s connections in the media to put these confrontations in the public’s eye. The public has definitely been primed for an historical uproar and with the latest development in Bismarck it shouldn’t take too much prodding to push them over the edge and have them try to take out these folks without us having to lift a finger.”
Allison De Angelo expressed her concern in her typical humorous way with, “What you’re proposing is a kind of public insurrection. We could all wind up in jail. I never thought Elvis’s ‘Jail House Rock’ was so great and I sure don’t think busting up any boulders in some jail house quarry is a pile of fun either.”
“Whoa! Stop and think a minute. What these creeps have done to date has resulted in deaths all over the country. Sure, they didn’t point a gun at anyone’s head and pull the trigger, but dead is dead and they’re responsible. There’s not a jury in the entire country that would convict us of anything. Hell! There’s not a DA or private prosecutor who would even consider taking a case against us to trial even if some misguided nut brought charges against us.
“Besides, the public might not resort to physical violence. Just the threat of it might be enough to get these fanatics to think twice about pursuing whatever course they’re on. Folks, we’ve got to take the gloves off. These are dangerous people we’re dealing with and they aren’t fighting by any Marques of Queensbury rules, so it’s time we throw the rule book out the window as well.”
The silence that followed Perry’s remarks made it clear to everyone in the room that they all were seriously considering meeting the enemy head on. Were the risks involved worth taking? What were the odds on their getting the desired results, the elimination, perhaps the annihilation, of the source of the troubles plaguing the nation?
After several minutes had gone by, Hank broke into their thoughts with, “Some very valid points have been made. Does anyone have anything else to add?.... No? Alright then, this is what we’re going to do. We may not have any proof that can be used to convict these people, but the empirical evidence is strong enough to convince me that we’ve zeroed in on the bastards that are causing all of this turmoil.
“We’re going to get into the faces of these buggers and make them sweat bullets. Heeding Kirk’s words of caution and following Perry’s suggestions, we’re going to be relentless in our dogging there every move and in turning up the heat every chance we get. Sal, get your contacts in the media on board. The rest of us will spend all of our time finding out what our quarries calendars look like and preparing the script for our confrontations. This is going to take us several days to put together, but please don’t lose sight of the fact that time is not on our side. The sooner we can engage the enemy the better.”
Looking at Hank, Joel was admiringly surprised to see him smiling. “The old guy still likes a good fight and there’s no doubt in his mind that his opponents are going down for the count. I sure hope you’re right General.”
Chapter 27
-Washington D. C.-
A couple of days later the President is in his office with his admin, Lorraine, when his private line rings. It’s his chairman of the Joints Chief of Staff, Bill Caruthers, and it’s not good news. With every passing second, Weinstein’s face gets pastier and pastier. If Lorraine hadn’t been there she was sure the air would have been filled with expletives. “How bad is it, Bill, and how long will it take to repair the damage?”
One expletive did slip out and it was a pip. With a glance in Lorraine’s direction, he ended the conversation with a curt, “Didn’t you just tell me yesterday that our defenses were impervious to this kind of infiltration?”
Apparently, he didn’t like the answer he was getting because he yelled “Bullshit” and slammed the phone down to break the connection. “I apologize for the cussing, Lorraine.”
“No apology needed Mr. President. You must have received some really bad news for you to lose your temper like that.”
“Bad just begins to describe it. Our enemy has broadened his target area and just hit a bull’s-eye with his new weapon. He’s invaded some of the Pentagon’s computer systems and destroyed their internal hardware. It’s going to take weeks to get operations back to normal which is no great accomplishment if we have no defense against it happening again.
“Caruthers has people working on that, but who knows how long that will take. Hank Aldridge has a guy on his staff that is a real crackerjack when it comes to computer security. I’m sure Hank’s got him working on a countermeasure to deal with this new high tech weapon and I think we could speed up the process if I were to arrange a joint effort with Caruthers people. Get Aldridge on the phone for me and would you get me something to settle my stomach and keep me out of the bathroom? I must have caught some kind of bug.”
“You know, I’ve been having the same problem. There must be something going around.”
Lorraine got Hank on the phone and then called the President’s physician to see if he could prescribe anything.
“Hi, Hank, I’ve got some more bad news.” He briefed Hank on the latest development involving the Pentagon and told him about his idea for a joint effort to deal with the new computer virus.
“That sounds like a good idea to me. Whom do I contact?”
“I’ll have Caruthers instruct the individual heading up the research in his department to call you as soon as we’re done here. Where are you in your investigation into identifying the people behind all of these attacks?”
Hank had held off on appraising the President of their plans to overtly make a move on their prime suspects until he had everything ready to go and had all of the answers to the questions he anticipated the President would ask. He would have liked to postpone divulging what they were up to for another day or so, but the President is the President and, although retired, in his mind’s eye he was still his Commander I
n Chief. You just don’t dance around the bush with someone like that, so he laid everything out. When he was through explaining, the President was quiet for an uncomfortably long time. This prompted Hank to suggest, “Sir, if our efforts fail and we wind up in a heap of trouble, you can disavow any knowledge of or involvement with what we intend to do. I’ll keep my mouth shut or, if I think it will help take the pressure off you, confirm your disavowal.”