by Dan Kelly
Joel whispered back, “Chill out, Barb. I don’t think you’ll be having any more trouble with Perry. You gave his ego a pretty good going over. Besides, he likes working here. He knows Hank doesn’t make idle threats. He’s a valuable member of our team, so I hope his bruised ego heals quickly and he can put the incident behind him.”
Hank came out of his office and without preamble said, “Ashok, I just spoke with the President and he asked me to tell you that your hunch about what killed the sub-committee members was right on. The autopsies revealed that their cause of death was carbon dioxide poisoning. Canisters with timers attached were found concealed in all of the ducts leading to the room they were meeting in. The investigators are trying to figure out how they were planted without the culprits being seen. All maintenance personnel, internal and those of outside maintenance companies, are thoroughly vetted and must have appropriate credentials to get into any non-public area. Somehow, a way was found to circumvent these measures.
“Also, the Homeland Security people have told him that your latest antidote for the most recent virus our enemy came up with is working beautifully. There have been no reported incidents of major computer system crashes anywhere in the country for the past several days now.”
Ashok just sighed and smiled at hearing the good news. He wasn’t much for accolades. They embarrassed him. He always thinks he should have done better. It was one of the things that endeared him to his colleagues.
Barbara noted, “Whoever planted those canisters had to have advance notice regarding where and when the secret sub-committee would be meeting. Chances are that was some more of Ferguson’s work.”
Everyone nodded in agreement and Hank continued with, “These people hold a high opinion of themselves and think they are destined for great things. They think they are smarter than the rest of us and that their success is inevitable. They are so full of themselves that they never thought we would identify them or be able to deal with the weapons they have used to drive us up the wall. Well, we proved them wrong and that must be driving them up the wall, maybe even causing some doubt of their inevitable success.
“These people are nothing more than killers, murderers who have no code of ethics other than to do whatever is necessary to achieve their goal. Their egos are the chink in their armor and that’s what our trap must exploit.”
Kirk Dodson suggested that before they do anything they should run the idea by the President and the Vice President to make sure they’ll go along with what they have in mind.
Hank responded with, “I’d like to have a plan in hand when we approach them because the first question they’ll hit us with is ‘What do you have in mind?’”
Kirk came back with, “Why waste all the time and energy only to get shot down?
Joel put his two cents in with, “Kirk, the Administration’s back is to the wall. I can’t see them turning down any reasonable plan to get them out from under everything that’s fallen on them the past several months. I think they’ll be eager to finally go on the offensive and I think they’ll expect us to come with a plan in hand.”
Kirk relented with, “Okay. I was just thinking about the warnings Hank has been giving us about time running out with these guys and thought it best to avoid wasting any of it on something that might not come to pass.”
Hank said, “You’re making a good point, Kirk, but so is Joel. If we approach the Administration without a plan and they concur with what we want to do, and I agree with Joel that they’ll jump at the chance to fight back, we’ve wasted the time we could have spent on developing a trap. So, let’s not disappoint them. What have you people come up with to take these cretins down?”
Collette started the ball rolling with, “The most challenging obstacle to overcome is going to be dealing with the security details assigned to the Vice President. As you all know, whenever he is out in public security personnel are all over the place and any assembled crowds are cordoned off to prevent contact with him.
“Any trap we come up with must make access to him appealing without it appearing suspect. Any attempt on the VP’s life will not take place in the White House or in his residence. The security there is top notch and tighter than capris pants on a 275 lb. woman.” This got some chuckles, especially from the women.
“So, I’m thinking that there has to be an apparent spontaneous, accidental breach in security during one of his public outings.”
Sal Peralta joined in with, “The President could hold a press conference during which he can announce that the Vice President will be traveling to large metropolitan areas around the country to get the public’s input regarding the effect of the recent attacks on their community and what is needed to rectify the damage done to their way of life as well as to allay their fears that the Administration is at a loss as to what to do to put a stop to all that is happening. Shortly after the press conference, an itinerary could be released to the press detailing where and when he’s going to be in the coming days.”
Perry noted that the Vice President wasn’t the only one going to be exposed to serious risk. “Any crowds assembled are going to be exposed to serious risk as well. Whatever means the enemy uses to try to assassinate the Vice President, a sniper, an automobile crash, whatever, there could be accompanying collateral damage to boot. These people don’t seem to be concerned about that.”
Barbara said, “Perry’s right. We’ve got to come up with something that doesn’t put the public in any danger. I read somewhere that the Vice President is an avid deep sea fisherman and has his own yacht with all the fishing gear any angler could hope for on board. He keeps his boat, The Dover Rover, he was born and raised in Dover, Delaware, in a marina in San Diego and it’s always ready to go. If we were to set up our trap at sea, the public would be out of harm’s way. We could tie in the fishing trip with his visit to San Diego which we’d put first on the list of major cities he’s planning to visit on his cross country journey. Any innocent but curious fishermen that stray too close can be kept away by the VP’s security detail.”
Perry quickly jumped on board with her idea. “That’s the ideal scenario for several reasons. One, public safety wouldn’t be a concern. Two, there would be an unobstructed view in all directions from the yacht. Anyone approaching would have nothing to hide behind, other people or anything else. Three, even if an approach is made from the air or from under the surface of the ocean it would be seen. I’m assuming that since the yacht has every piece of gear a fisherman could dream of that gear would include sonar. If it doesn’t, we could arrange that.”
Barbara responded with, “Four, the yacht would appear vulnerable because it would be out at sea all alone with no one but the VP and members of his security detail. Five, we can keep the VP’s exposure to risk at a minimum by having reporters interviewing him and taking pictures of him as he prepares to head for the open sea, but once he’s out at sea he can be removed from the yacht and replaced with a secret service man disguised to look like him.”
Perry asked, “You’re thinking of using one of those two men submersibles to make the switch?”
Barbara answered with, “Yeah. A lot of these rich sports fisherman have them. If it is seen by the enemy, it shouldn’t arouse any suspicion. It’s well known that our VP is filthy rich and loves his toys.”
Perry came back with, “Okay, we’ve addressed accessibility and the risk to the public and the VP. Now how do we make the bait smell uncontrollably enticing? We’ve concluded that these people are extremely intelligent and highly conceited. Why don’t we have the VP launch a fusillade of insults aimed at our tormentors, really scathing rips at their self-esteem? Let’s get them boiling mad. This will accomplish two things. If he’s not already, it will put the Vice President on their hit list as someone whose death will get the desired public response and give them additional motivation to take him out, revenge.”
Barbara concluded their impromptu one-on-one with, “That works for me.”
Suddenly,
they both became aware that there was utter silence in the room and everyone was staring at them. As if on cue they both said “What?”
With a smile on his face Hank said, “It was nice of you two to allow us to sit in the audience. Do you serve refreshments when the show is over?” Everyone broke up, Barbara and Perry embarrassingly. They hadn’t realized that they had been putting on a performance that fascinated their colleagues. One minute they’re at each other’s throat and the next they’re in step like those folks on Dancing with the Stars.
Hank brought everybody back to the task at hand with, “Okay, if we’re all in agreement with what Barbara and Perry were saying, let’s get down to the specifics as to how, step by step, we’re going to set this up.”
There were no objections, so they spent the rest of the afternoon fleshing their game plan out. A little after five that afternoon Hank announced that he was hungry. “Dinner’s on me tonight. I hope you all like Chinese. This new restaurant just opened up down the street and I hear their food is the best in Chicago.”
Chapter 45
-Breuil Cervinia, Italy-
Basil Halkias and Bob Feldman are sitting out on a large veranda that runs along most of the eastern side of the chateau. It’s early in the morning and they’ve just witnesses a beautiful sunrise which has illuminated the typical morning mist, casting a golden halo over the township below. There’s an array of birds of all kinds, sizes and colors singing their songs and soaring through the sky above. It’s a scene you’d see in a Hollywood movie. It’s breathtaking and it’s completely out of synch with the nature of their conversation.
Halkias is extremely upset over the latest countermeasures that have been deployed by the government to deal with their newest computer virus. Feldman has just told him that it could be some time before his people could remedy the situation. “Damn it, Bob, you told me that you would be able to keep these government lackeys completely baffled over how to deal with your software weaponry, that it was paramount to anything out there. Contrary to your hype, they have been able to develop effective defenses for everything you’ve come up with. The success of our revolution is based on keeping a steadily escalating pressure on the American people and as a result the United States government until the moment of unavoidable capitulation is reached.
“Select leadership assassinations alone won’t be enough for victory. If the administration thinks that they’ve got the upper hand in dealing with the attacks on the country’s infra-structure and they can convince the American people of that, a lot of the pressure will be off and they will become more determined to bring an end to the assassinations and would definitely not be inclined to surrender.
“We’re starting to lose ground, Bob. I was hoping things wouldn’t come to this, but we’ve got to come up with something really devastating to gain the ground we’ve lost and move forward. We’ve got to seriously consider the use of our most potent weapon.
When we were in the planning stage of The Last Resort’s rebellion, you told me that you had assigned a team of your scientists to work on developing a way to access the U. S. military’s nuclear defense system via electronic means. Have they made any progress?”
“At the beginning, yes, but after the government’s people began introducing sophisticated countermeasures to our software viruses, I had to take them off that project to assist in dealing with the government’s countermeasures.”
“Put them back on that project and instill in them that time is of the essence.”
“The man I put in charge of the project is a former nuclear scientist with the Defense Department and had a Top Secret clearance. The knowledge he brought with him when I hired him will allow us to save a lot of research time.”
“Good. Get him started immediately.”
“Are you going to suspend further assassinations?”
“No, we must continue to keep the pressure on in any way we can. I want our next target to be someone whose death will really rock the nation at large. It may be a politician or even someone from another walk of life, someone the general public holds in high regard. I don’t have anyone in mind yet, but over the next few days I’ll find the ideal person for our purposes.”
That evening at dinner Basil told the rest of the group what he was contemplating. There was a mixed reaction, George Palmer’s the strongest which he kept to himself. “Halkias is going off the deep end. I didn’t sign up for anything like this. I knew people were going to die, but not on this scale. This is utter madness. The man has gone berserk! What the hell am I going to do? What can I do without exposing myself to incrimination and ruin? I’ve got to do something. I’m guilty of a lot of things and I’m definitely not going to be crowned ‘Man of the Year’, but killing tens of thousands of people in a nuclear blast to get what we want is out of the question for me. I’ve got to warn somebody, but who and how and what am I going to tell them? Shit! I’ve really stepped into one hell of a cesspool.”
After dinner Halkias pulled Feldman aside and said, “I’m worried about Palmer. He didn’t say a word during dinner and that’s not like him. He usually has an opinion about everything we are planning to do. When he’s that quiet it’s usually a sign he’s not happy about something and is looking for a way to make things more to his liking. I’m beginning not to trust our medicine man. I think we should keep a close watch on him.”
“I’ll make the necessary arrangements, Basil.”
Chapter 46
-Chicago-
The Sentry gang is seated around a huge round table which is completely covered with the best selection of Dim Sum goodies any of them has ever tasted. As far as they are concerned, Dishi’s Delectables is going to be around for a long time. Up until now, there’s been little conversation because it’s hard to talk with your mouth stuffed with food. Hank has stopped feeding his face long enough to answer his cell phone, but no one else has skipped a beat. It is Vincent Torizzio. He’s over at the office and says he has something important to pass on, but wants to do it in person. Hank surmises that he is worried about wire taps. Hank tells him where they are and invites him to join them.
A few minutes later he walks into the restaurant and demolishes their appetites. “I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is I’ve got a line on who the assassin is. My sources tell me that the killings appear to be the work of a man known only by the name Malcolm. Supposedly, he’s the best there is and, like the Canadian Mounties, always gets his man. Nobody has ever seen him. He makes contact by encrypted phone or email messages and is paid by deposit wired into a numbered bank account in countries like Lichtenstein, Switzerland or the Cayman Islands. He purportedly is extremely shrewd and doesn’t come cheap.
“The bad news is he probably knows that Sentry is behind a lot of the roadblocks that have been put up to hinder his employers’ efforts to bring our country to its knees. My sources tell me that he’s been making a lot of discrete inquiries about Joel and Barbara and someone linked them to Sentry. How I don’t know. You folks really know how to fly below the radar, so I have to assume the info came from someone you’ve dealt with in the past. One thing is for sure, you folks have got to start watching your backs.”
Joel let out a whoosh and said, “Halkias must have had us checked out after he saw us in his office building in Elizabeth and found out that the company I was using as a cover was a sham. This probably made him more curious and Barbara and I were then really put under the microscope. Well, what’s done is done. What we found out during our visits in Elizabeth was worth discovery.”
Hank clued Vincent in on their plan to set a trap for the assassin and then asked him for his input.
“Well, protection for the Vice President and the others involved has to be the number one priority. To make an attractive target for a sniper, the individual posing as the Vice President must be visible a lot of the time. That individual, as well as anyone else who appears on the yacht for that matter, should wear not only a concealable bullet proof vest
, but a bullet proof flight jacket as well. It can get pretty chilly out on the open sea, so the extra bulk in clothing shouldn’t arouse suspicion. I would also have these people wear bullet proof head gear as well. There are hats available with neck pieces for people who are out in the sun a lot. Give a top secret rush order to a bullet proof head gear manufacturer to make bullet proof head gear that resembles this type of hat.