by Dan Kelly
“When Ferguson first receives the document, he’ll know something has happened that shouldn’t have happened. He’ll most likely be curious, but I don’t think his suspicions will be aroused. He has no reason to think that his cover has been blown. He’ll just credit it to a lucky happenstance and wait for a good time to get off an email to his friends. If he does get an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach over his good fortune and decides to hold off on passing the information along, or even if his stomach acts up after he sends his email, Lorraine’s performance should settle his tummy down.
“When Lorraine asks him if he has seen the information, the safest thing for him to say is something in the order of not having a chance yet to go through his inter-office mail. This would cover him as to why he didn’t immediately notify her that he had received the Top Secret document. I think this is the likely scenario that will play out if we go ahead with what I’m suggesting.”
Perry Jacobs was quick to speak his mind. “That might work in Hollywood, Joel, but I very much doubt it will play out the way you want it to with Ferguson. Remember, these guys are off the scale when it comes to intelligence. This Ferguson guy is going to be hard to fool.”
Joel just as quickly countered with, “You’ve never met Lorraine Caldwell. She’s a phenomenal woman. I’m confident she’ll give an Oscar winning performance and Ferguson won’t suspect a thing.”
Hank asked, “What do the rest of you think about Joel’s idea?”
Collette Cummings said, “It’s a little off the wall, but I’ve seen things work in the political arena that are way more farfetched than Joel’s idea. I think it has a good chance of working.”
Barbara quipped, “I know Joel has a very keen sense for exceptional women,” pausing to coyly bat her eyes, “so I’ll go along with his assessment of the President’s admin.”
This got a round of chuckles and a give-me-a-break smirk from Hank.
After Hank has gotten everybody else’s input, he ends the meeting with, “Okay, with the exception of Perry, you all think Joel’s idea has a good chance of working and with the same concerns that Perry has so do I. I’ll call the President to get his approval and ask him to make the pitch to Lorraine. If she has any reservations about getting involved, he’ll know best how to address her objections. Hell, they’ve worked together it seems like forever.
“Joel, when I get the go ahead from Weinstein I’ll give you the go ahead to start the ball rolling with Lorraine. Oh, one last thing everyone. As you know, security and related procedures have been significantly beefed up around here. I want to remind you all that from now on you must be extremely vigilant in everything you do and say. Your lives and the rest of ours may depend on it.”
On that sobering note, the conference room emptied in silence.
Chapter 55
-Washington D. C.-
It’s 10:30 in the evening and the President is winding down from another long and stressful day, savoring a snifter of his favorite brandy and enjoying some light conversation with the First Lady. They are about to turn in for the night when the phone rings. It’s Hank Aldridge from Sentry. “I’m sorry for calling you so late, Mr. President, but what I have to say is in the ‘don’t delay’ category.”
“No apology is needed, Hank. If you’re calling me at this hour, I know it must be important. What’s up?”
Hank told him what the team had done re: the bogus message from the Secret Service and why. “Mr. President, we believe we have a very good chance of pulling this off if Lorraine will agree to play the part of the harried and worried admin. If you’ll approve our suggestion and can get Lorraine on board, we can start the ball rolling tomorrow. Joel will coach her as to what she should say and how she should act. The ball’s in your court, sir. What do you want to do?”
“You and your team will be in serious danger once you lay this trap of yours. I agree with you that the odds are in our favor of its working, but it’s based on assumptions. I get real nervous when a plan is based on assumptions and not on facts. Your assuming that Ferguson’s suspicions won’t be aroused by him getting the message in the inter- office mail, your assuming that Lorraine will be a convincing actress, your assuming he will promptly send the email to his compatriots, your assuming that his comrades will react in a vengeful way because your assuming that your profiles on these people are accurate. If any of these assumptions is wrong and they get wise to us, we could wind up in deeper trouble than we’re in right now. However, we’ve got nothing better up our sleeve to try to turn things around in our favor, so with some trepidation I’ll give you my approval. I’ll speak with Lorraine first thing in the morning and let you know immediately what she says.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Hank breaks the connection and the President says, “I think I’ll have another drink. I’m not going to get much sleep tonight.” The First Lady’s been here before, so she gives her husband a hug and a kiss and leaves him to wrestle with his conscience over whether or not he’s made the right decision.
At eight o’clock the next morning, the President calls Lorraine into the Oval office and tells her about Hank’s phone call the previous evening. She not only agrees to do what Hank is asking, she’s relishing the idea of being able to play an active role in the, to use her words, “demise of this traitorous scum”. The lady is not only smart; she’s tough and is way up there with Hank Aldridge when it comes to patriotism.
The President calls Hank, Joel calls Lorraine and the ball starts to roll.
Chapter 56
-Washington D. C.-
Later that same morning Sam Ferguson is sitting in his office dumbfounded over what he has just read. His emotions are in turmoil as he’s alarmed at the message’s content, pleased it has fortuitously fallen into his hands and more than a little curious about how this could have happened. “Top Secret documents just aren’t delivered via inter-office mail and I don’t have a Top Secret clearance anyway.”
The first sprouts of doubt about the true nature of this development were beginning to shoot up into his conscious mind when Lorraine Caldwell suddenly burst into his office, scaring the daylights out of him.
Lorraine’s performance was a director’s dream. If Joel had been there he would have stood up and applauded until his hands were raw. All reservations blown out of the water by Lorraine’s stellar portrayal of a lady who has just realized she has messed up badly, Ferguson was at his computer as soon as she left with the inter-office envelop that he ‘hadn’t had the chance to open yet.’ The ball hadn’t just started to roll, it was picking speed. Everything had gone as Joel had anticipated.
Chapter 57
-Breuil Cervinia, Italy –
Bob Feldman has just received Sam Ferguson’s email and is worriedly sharing its contents with Basil Halkias. “Basil, things are definitely not going our way. We’ve got to come up with something damn quick or our asses are going to wind up in a 6’ x 8’ room with a steel door that has a little window in it so we can be observed like animals in a cage.”
“How are your people doing with the military launch codes?”
“We’re getting very close. We’re at the point now where we can access the active launch codes, but we still can’t override the pre-set commands as to targets.”
“Okay, stay with it. In the meantime, let’s concentrate on removing this thorn in out sides, Sentry. I’ve had it with them. Now that Malcolm can’t help us anymore, what are our options?”
“Malcolm has no peers when it comes to his area of expertise. There’s no one that I know of outside of our organization that I would have confidence in to get the job done. We’re going to have to do this ourselves. I have people in my employ that are capable of doing what we have in mind and, if properly rewarded, will do as we ask and keep their mouths shut.”
“How would you go about it?”
“Well, I’ve thought about what you said about if the head of something is severed another perhaps more formidable one oft
en grows to take its place, so you’re better off to destroy the entire body. I agree with you, so I think our target should be the entire staff of the Sentry operation. With this in mind, we’ll have to become acquainted with Sentry’s daily operations and where and when we’re likely to find them all assembled in one place. As to the method of removal of this thorn, that will be best determined by the time and place of the extraction.”
“Knock it off with the fancy rhetoric. Save that imagination of yours for the task at hand. Let me know how you plan to get the job done and when you plan to do it. For the time being, let’s keep this latest development to ourselves. There’s no need to upset the rest of our group unless you run into obstacles you can’t overcome.
“What’s going on with our friend George Palmer?”
“So far, he’s behaving himself. We haven’t detected anything out of the ordinary in his daily activities.”
“Alright then, get cracking and keep me in the loop on everything associated with your planned surgery. See, you’re not the only one who can spout off euphemisms.”
Without responding but for a slight shaking of his head, Feldman left the room to attend to the elimination of Sentry personnel. The fact that he was planning on murdering people bothered him not in the least. The man truly has no conscience. He has no qualms about doing whatever it takes to solve a problem.
Chapter 58
-Chicago-
Almost a week has gone by and nothing out of the ordinary has happened. Joel and Barbara are sitting in Joel’s office going over everything Sentry has done since they got involved with The Last Resort. They’re hoping that something else will cross their minds that will help them to crush the dirt bags once and for all. So far, not a blip of an idea has shown up.
Barbara is in one of her rare what she calls narky moods. When she first came into the office this morning she was her usual observant, talkative, humorous self, but as the morning progressed she became crankier and crankier. Joel knows it’s best to leave her alone when she’s like this or she’ll clam up and not talk to anyone at all until she resolves what’s bugging her. Her Irish temper won’t let her be silent for too much longer, so Joel figures to wait her out.
As if she has read his mind Barbara blurts out, “Sitting here doing nothing reminds me of something I heard my granddad once say in a similar situation. ‘Sitting here doing nothing is like sitting in a pub nursing a glass of water with nicker in your trousers, a complete waste of time.’ Let’s do something!”
“Nicker?”
“Quid, pounds, money.”
“Oh. What would you suggest we do?”
“The security around here is too tight. If these miscreants haven’t tried to get to any of us here by now, they’re exploring other options. Let’s give them one.”
“I’ll be very surprised if you don’t have something in mind. What is it?”
With a mischievous smile she said, “How about a picnic in Perrington Park? I know of a large secluded area there with lots of bushes and trees that has a cleared section with some picnic tables and benches. When the park first opened, it was the only area set aside for picnicking. People use to ride their horses in the park and stop there to put the feedbag on. There are miles of equestrian trails and footpaths throughout the park, but they are seldom used now because more acreage was added to the park and now there are tennis courts, baseball diamonds, basketball courts, soccer fields, horseshoe pits, a club house where folks can go to shoot pool, play shuffleboard, shoot darts, play cards and other indoor games, a large indoor swimming pool and a snack bar to occupy the visitors.
We wouldn’t have to worry about anyone else getting hurt and the site would provide great cover for a contingent of armed professionals, SWAT personnel, Army Rangers, whatever. “This scenario would ooze temptation from every conceivable angle. We would all be in one place at the same time and in a secluded place without any witnesses. The brush and trees would also provide the ideal cover for these animals to do their stalking. What do you think?”
“How do you know so much about this park? It’s a ways from the city and a little off the beaten path. I only know about it because it was in the news a while back when a motorcycle gang rode into the park and started harassing the visitors. When the manager of the park confronted them and told them to leave, they tried to run him down with their bikes. Fortunately for the manager, an off duty cop was in the park with his family and wound up shooting the leader of the gang. Someone had called 911 and before the rest of the gang could haul butt the Illinois State Police had closed off the exit to the park and arrested them all.”
“You get around in my business, Joel. I found about the park when I was tailing the husband of a client of mine who suspected her husband was cheating on her. He was. Big time. She got $1.5 million dollars out of the philanderer and I got my fee and knowledge of the park. I used to go there a lot before I hooked up with Sentry.”
Joel liked the idea and said so. “I think the Rangers are the best trained and most capable of doing what we need them to do. They are masters at camouflage and moving around without being noticed and they are experts in all kinds of fighting, including hand-to-hand. Whether it’s one person or a group that comes after us, we’ve got to capture somebody that can lead us to the vultures that spawned this plot against the American people. If anyone can do that and scare the daylights out of whoever is captured into giving us information that will enable us to close this chapter in American history, it’s the Rangers.
“I’m sure our office is under surveillance, so it should be easy for us to get the word out that we’re planning a picnic and when and where. You and I could walk down to the corner deli and order food for the picnic and while doing so tell the person serving us as well as anyone who might be within hearing distance what we’re going to do. No special occasion, just want to get back to enjoying normal, fun things again.
“Today’s Tuesday, so let’s plan the outing for this Saturday, rain or shine. We can bring portable propane grills for cooking or heating anything up and outdoor canopies for inclement weather.”
Back to her positive, optimistic self she said, “Hell, if we don’t attract anything but ants at least we’ll have had a nice picnic. It’s a win-win all the way.”
“I’ll run your idea by Hank and if he gives it his stamp of approval ask him to arrange for a Ranger unit to contact us so we can work out the details. He may shoot it down because the only thing between life and death for us will be the Rangers. It’s the beginning of July, so wearing clothing that covers protective gear is out of the question. That would be a red flag to anyone contemplating committing bodily harm. Whichever way he decides to go, Barb, you’ve demonstrated that there are things we can do to make things happen while having some control over the outcome. I’ll make sure I point that out to him.”
“Oh, aren’t you sweet. Do you want to be president of my new fan club? I think I’ll call it ‘Barb’s Boosters’. I need all the good publicity I can get after my fiasco with Perry.”
Joel laughed and said, “I wouldn’t worry about that. If I know Hank, he’s already put that in his circular file where it belongs. Perry was out of line and everybody at that meeting knows it. Even Perry seems to have changed his attitude where you are concerned, so forget it ever happened.”
“I hope you’re right. I’d kind of like to stick around here for a while. I’ve met this terrific hunk of sugar which I’ve become addicted to and although highly caloric it causes nothing to expand but one’s love and affection. I’m told this kind of weight gain is very good for the heart.”
With a big smile on his face Joel responded with, “No one can spew malarkey like the Irish and I’m a sucker for it. You want to go someplace and fool around?” Before she could come back with one of her funny wisecracks, the mood was shattered when there was a knock on the door. It was Hank.