by Dan Kelly
“Sniping is going to be high on the assassin’s list of possible methods to use to take the VP down. However, another method he might consider is explosives delivered by aerial bomb, torpedo or a device planted on the yacht before it leaves the harbor or even after it’s at sea.
“Since apparent accessibility is one of the things required to make the bait attractive this can be accomplished by using stealth aircraft to patrol the skies over the VP’s yacht and a sub and Navy seals to conceal themselves in the waters beneath the yacht. The yacht and its occupants must appear unprotected, but in fact people taking a stroll in the park will be in more danger than those involved in setting this trap.
“Hank, do you think the President and the Vice President will buy into something like this and can the military be brought into the picture without anyone who doesn’t have a need to know finding out about it?”
“We’ll find out when we get back to the office. We’ll get him on the speaker phone and do our dog and pony show for him and see what he has to say. Thanks for your input, Vincent. We’ve addressed the issues you brought up, but you’ve provided some very helpful detail.”
A half hour later they are all back at the office sitting around the conference table sipping some plum wine Hank had stashed behind the bar in his office. Midnight is sitting at Torizzio’s feet enjoying the attention he’s getting from his new friend.
Hank has just finished dialing the President on his private line and has put the call on the speaker. After a half dozen rings he answered. “Good evening, Mr. President.”
“Hi, Hank. Please, forget that Mr. President stuff when we’re not in public. Ira will do just fine.”
“Will do, sir. I’m calling from my office and I’ve got you on the speaker so the rest of my team and Vincent Torizzio can hear you. This line is secured so there’s no need to be concerned about eavesdroppers.”
“That’s fine with me. Hello everybody.”
“Ira, we’re calling to propose a means to trap the people who are behind all of our recent troubles. This proposal involves the Vice President and if it is at all possible I’d like to present it to the both of you at the same time. Could you get him to come to the White House and we’ll call you back in an hour?”
“Your timing couldn’t have been any better. The Vice President and his wife are here now. We’ve just finished dinner and were getting ready to play some bridge. I need to do something to temporarily get these maniacs off my mind or I’ll go nuts myself.”
“That’s terrific.”
“Hold on. I’ll go get him.”
A couple of minutes later the Vice President joined them and Hank puts on the best dog and pony show any of them has ever seen. If anybody didn’t know already, they did now. His powers of persuasion are something to behold. It is easy to see why he had risen to the rank of general and was one of the youngest generals ever to serve in the United States Army. He is on the offensive and has left no doubt in anyone’s mind that he definitely is going to kick some ass.
Hank finished up with, “Well, gentlemen, there you have it. What’s your answer?”
Barbara is flabbergasted at the coolness he’s showing while interacting with the two most powerful people in the free world. She has a new respect for the man she has come to admire a great deal.
A very long minute goes by before the Vice President asks, “If the Dover Rover gets damaged or scuttled, who bears the cost of repair or replacement? Me or the taxpayer?”
The Sentry team can’t believe what they just heard. Joel’s thinking, “This guy cares more about his damn yacht than he does about someone getting killed, even himself! I can think of a lot of questions I would ask and that isn’t one of them. Sheesh!”
By the President’s response it’s obvious he’s more than a little taken back by the Vice President’s question. “There’s more at stake here than your bloody yacht! You’re worried about indemnity while our country, our way of life is under attack? I don’t give a hoot how or if you’re ever reimbursed. Hell, write any loss off on your income tax and tell the IRS I told you to do it. Maybe that’ll work. However, your financial risk is not germane to the question that’s been asked. Do you give a thumbs up or a thumbs down to their proposal?”
According to Collette, the Vice President doesn’t take to criticism or chastisement very well, especially in public, and the VP’s lack of response is leading everyone in the conference room to believe that any chance they had of getting him to go along with their idea has been blown. So, after several minutes have gone by without an answer, astonishment appears on all of their faces when the VP says, “I’ll give it a thumbs up.”
Hank responds with a quick and enthusiastic, “That’s the right answer, Mr. Vice President. You’ve just sealed the fate of these lowlifes. They are going to regret the day they got the idea
to mess with us. That’s a promise from me to you.”
“I think I know of a manufacturer that can provide the bullet proof head gear you mentioned. My family is a major stockholder in a company that makes that kind of equipment and they contract with the Defense Department. I could make a discreet phone call and set that ball in motion.”
“The sooner the better, sir. Mr. President, we haven’t heard your answer to our proposal yet."
“Hell, I was on board before you finished your sales pitch. Hank, you and your people are doing
a great job. Your country owes you big time.”
“Thank you for the sentiments, sir, but thanks aren’t in order yet. We’ve got to put these suckers
out of action first. I don’t want to mislead you. We’ve done our best to plan for every
contingency, but there are risks associated with any tactic. The one I’m most concerned about
right now is secrecy. The fewer people that know what we’re up to the better and that includes
the military.
“The individual assigned to be in charge of this operation must be one of the Vice President’s
security detail on that yacht and all communications will go through him or her and those
communications must be secured. Mr. Vice President, since it’s your neck that will be sticking
out you pick that individual, but don’t inform him until you’re on your yacht. In fact, tell none of
your security detail what’s going on until all of you are on the yacht. The individual in charge
must be ordered to communicate with no one but the military personnel involved and you, Mr.
President or you Mr. Vice President.
“From this moment on, this operation will be referred to by the code name ‘Black Widow’. Mr. President, if we can limit the number of military personnel that must know what we’re planning to do to the pilots, seals, submarine crew and their respective commanding officers, that would help tighten security as well.”
“It’ll be done.”
“Okay then. It looks like we’re good to go. Mr. President, let me know when you have things set
up with the military and, Mr. Vice President, we’ll get that inflammatory script to you sometime
tomorrow afternoon so you can be blasting these scumbags on the six o’clock news. We’ll be
using our media contacts to ensure that it is replayed over and over again on all the news
programs for the next week or so. You might also take advantage of any impromptu one-on-one
interviews with reporters to throw out additional insults regarding their intelligence and
character. There’s no doubt in my mind that you are going to be a shoe-in for the number one
slot on their hate list. Also, keep me in the loop when you get those hats.
“When the military arrangements have been made and the hats have arrived, you can call a press
conference, Mr. President, to announce the Vice President’s cross country jaunt and then the
hard part comes, the waiting to see who is lured if anybody.”
Soon after the conference call ended, the Sentry group settled in to write the script that they
hoped would incense their enemy to kill again, this time a target they chose.
Chapter 47
-Breuil Cervinia, Italy-
Several days later Basil Halkias and his gang of miscreants are sitting in one of the drawing
rooms watching for the umpteenth time a replay of the segment of the news where the Vice
President had lambasted them unmercifully during a news conference. They’ve also been
reviewing the interviews he’s had with reporters over the past few days during which he’s been
relentlessly pummeling them. They are more than a little peeved. None of their names have been
used, but they’ve all become convinced that they are being sought for serious interrogation
because Feldman has ascertained that their homes and places of business are under around the
clock surveillance and their employees, servants, colleagues, etc. have been repeatedly
questioned as to their whereabouts.
Basil speaks up with, “You’re looking at our next target. The public’s fear and anger will boil
over and scald those impotent clowns who have the audacity to consider themselves our leaders.
Originally, I thought that he should be left alone because if anything happened to the President
he would be the ideal person to be next in line to surrender to us when we reach that stage. I’ve
changed my mind. His ranting I’m sure has bolstered the American public’s waning courage to
fight us. His death will deflate that spurt of fortitude and give us the impetus we need to go into
the final stage of our revolt against these hypocrites. It also will be extremely gratifying to shut
him up.”
Bob Feldman was shaking his head and it was clear he had a lot or reservations about this idea. “Basil, taking out the Vice President of the United States is going to be a monumental task even for the likes of someone like Malcolm. With all of the kooks that are running around these days, security surrounding the President and the Vice President has been doubled and in some cases tripled.”
“Bob, when Malcolm agreed to work with us he stated that no target was off limits and that was one reason why he demanded such high fees for his services. The other reason was that he never failed to get the job done. Let’s hope he’s all bite and no bluster. Give him his marching orders.”
Looking around the room for any other signs of concern or disagreement and seeing none he said, “Someone turn that damned TV off. It’s time we move on to other things. Bob, how are you guys coming along on those launch codes?”
“There are many levels of security that must be breached in order to gain access to the information we need. So far, we’ve accessed four and have obtained some info regarding chain of command and procedure, but nothing yet that will enable us to override the dictates of the protocol. What we’re currently concentrating on looking for is direct access to the launch codes as they are determined because they’re frequently changed.”
“Okay, keep working on it 24/7. What’s the status on our virus countermeasure battle?”
“So far, nothing new. Whoever the Government has developing these defense measures is extremely good.” Feldman was interrupted by his cell phone beeping. He answered and it was Malcolm. After a few minutes of intense listening, Feldman said. “Hold on.”
Halkias asked, “Who’s that?”
“Malcolm. He’s found out who the Government has helping them and wants to know if you want him to deal with the problem.”
“What did he find out?”
“This Joel Jergensen and Barbara Sheehan work for an outfit called Sentry, a top flight investigative think tank run by a retired general with powerful clients all over the world. Evidently, he’s one tough nut and no one to mess with if you don’t want to pay the price. He’s assembled a team of very intelligent people from varied backgrounds and has a reputation for getting the job done where others couldn’t.”
“How big is this Sentry operation?”
Feldman passed the question on and when he got an answer he passed it back to Halkias. “He doesn’t know any more than he’s told us. He says that that isn’t important because if the head of anything is cut off, the rest of the body will die anyway. What should I tell him?”
“Thank him for the information and tell him we’ll get back to him.”
After Feldman hung up Halkias said, “I don’t agree with Malcolm. In many sectors of our world when the head is cut off the body generates a new one and sometimes the new head is far worse than the old one. You’re better off to destroy the entire body. I’ll have to think about this. In any conflict, it’s imperative to know everything you can about your enemy. We’ve just learned some valuable information that could help us achieve our objective. I just don’t know how yet.”
George Palmer is revisiting his delusions and doesn’t like what he’s seeing. “Ever since I got involved with The Last Resort I thought of myself as some white knight riding into battle to save the American dream. What I’ve actually done is become a member of a cult of murderers who have deluded themselves by rationalizing their behavior, no matter how extreme, as necessary for the restoration of our forefathers’ quest for a truly free country where its citizens can pursue their goals without ‘big brother’ interfering. But, in reality, like all conquerors, their true aim is to fulfill their lust for power and riches whether they realize it or not. How the hell am I going to extricate myself from this quagmire?”
Chapter 48
-Washington D. C.-
President Weinstein is in the Oval office preparing for his press conference during which he will
announce the Vice President’s cross country trip with the itinerary being provided in a couple
of days once things have been arranged. Lorraine Caldwell is furiously taking notes because it
will be her responsibility to tweak and fine tune his comments for maximum presidential impact.
If it wasn’t for her, his public image would be that of someone who seldom stayed awake during
English class throughout his formative years. When angry, excited or preoccupied he has the
tendency to talk in disjointed phrases, assuming you are getting the message.
As they were finishing up, the President’s private phone rang. It was Hank Aldridge. “Hi, Hank.
What’s up?”
“It looks like the VP has ruffled some feathers. Ashok just told me that your press secretary just
received an interesting email from some fictitious person in Nassau in the Bahamas. As we now
know, its place of origin can be anyplace as these guys have the knowledge and ability to set up
those types of smoke screens with ease. What makes the message interesting is the succinct
request for the VP’s itinerary for the next couple of weeks with updates if it is revised.”
“Well, I’ll make it easy for him to oblige. I’ve just finished with my comments regarding the
Vice President’s cross country trip which will commence five days from today. It will take that
long to get everything and everybody prepared and in position. I’ll shortly be calling him into the
Oval office to arrange the news conference and tell him what it will be about.”
“With respect to the VP’s itinerary, Ira, there’s a change I’d like to make. Instead of making San
Diego the first city to be visited, make it the third or fourth. Make the security so tight during the
visits preceding the one to San Diego that this Malcolm will wait for a better opportunity. When
he checks out the San Diego situation, he’ll start to drool at the apparent window of opportunity.
The bait will become even more tempting.”
“I think you’re right, Hank. I’ll make the necessary changes. We’ve
got to catch this guy. He’s
our key to the door that will lead us to the masterminds behind all of our troubles. Hell, as of this
moment, he’s our only key. You’d think with the international manhunt we’ve launched to find
these people holed up somewhere in Northern Italy we’d have gotten some leads by now, but
we’ve gotten nothing, absolutely nothing.”