by Dan Kelly
Joel is in Hank’s office and they are discussing the viewer response to the story that Sal Peralta arranged with his Italian journalist contacts to be included in the news programs of all the TV channels broadcasting in Northern Italy. Vigorously rubbing his face Hank says, “We’ve fired our last round of ammunition with this news blitz, Joel. If it doesn’t drive these animals over the edge of caution and prod them into making some serious mistakes, if it doesn’t generate some serious leads as to their whereabouts, we’re going to have to retreat back into a reactive strategy and hope that they will give us an opening to clobber them. So far, there’s been a lot of calls to the number we set up, but nothing we can hang our hat on.”
“Have the Rangers gotten anything useful out of the men they captured?”
“Just the name of the man they work for, Robert Feldman. We already were convinced that he was one of the players, but none of the men captured knew where he was hiding or who he is working with.” They’re just hired help and are useless to us.”
“Have you talked with the President since our day in the park? Is there anything new on that front?”
Before Hank could answer the phone rang. It was Vincent Torizzio. “Hank, I think this Last Resort crowd has just screwed up big time. I just got a call from a policeman friend of mine who’s a sergeant with the Polizia di Stato, the Italian state police. He’s stationed in an upper class ski resort area in the Italian Alps, Breuil Cervinia.
“There was a single car accident about 45 miles outside of the village and the driver was killed. The driver was George Palmer. My friend doesn’t think it was an accident. He said at first glance he assumed it was. It had been raining and wet roads coupled with excessive speed is the perfect combination for disaster. On taking a closer look, however, he came to a different conclusion. He said there were deep tire tracks and food prints at the site of the accident that indicated the car had stopped there and then was pushed over the cliff.
“This hasn’t been picked up by the Italian news stations yet, but it will be shortly. I contacted Alberto when we first determined that The Last Resort was hiding somewhere in Northern Italy and asked him to let me know if he came across anything that would help us catch these guys. I had emailed him copies of the pictures we have of these men so he recognized Palmer right away.
“With your permission, I’d like to go to this resort area and sniff around. These people are very rich and used to the better things in life. An upscale resort like Breuil Cervinia would be very appealing to them.”
“Where are you now?”
“I’m in New York running down some leads I picked up on the possible whereabouts of these people, but so far all I’ve run into are dead ends. This one looks very good, Hank.”
“Okay, how are you for money?”
“I’m okay.”
“I’ll cover your expenses when you get back. Keep me in the loop.”
Hank hangs up and shares the news with Joel. “It looks like our high pressure tactics are taking effect. These pricks are starting to make mistakes.
“To answer your question about my talking with the President, we talk on a daily basis, but until now there have been no new developments. I’ll call him now and you can go tell the others what has happened.”
Hank reaches for the phone and Joel heads for the door.
Chapter 66
-Breuil Cervinia, Italy-
Basil and his band of not so merry men are gathered in the drawing room that is being used as an office watching the breaking news segment of the local TV news program and once again The Last Resort is the lead story.
The commentator is telling the viewing audience about the accident and the identity of the man who was killed. No mention is made of the Italian state policeman’s conclusion that it wasn’t an accident, but Palmer being a member of The Last Resort for which American arrest warrants have been issued is.
Baltzinger, who was the one who found the note taped to the veranda door, asked, “What do we do now? With Palmer being found so close to here, we can expect the gendarmes to start poking around the village as the search for us intensifies. If we stay here, we’re betting against the odds that we won’t be discovered. I don’t mind doing that in a casino once in a while, but not when my freedom, not when my life are the stakes.”
Of course Halkias disagrees with him and says so. “No one knows we’re here. The staff will be staying with us and keeping their mouths shut so there’s no need for us to hightail it out of here. In a few more days, it won’t matter anyway because we’ll have everyone shaking in their boots, eager to do our bidding.”
“That’s if Bob’s researchers can work out all the bugs in their override and control software before the police come knocking on our door.”
Feldman has been out of the room talking with his research department in New Jersey while this exchange was taking place. He caught Baltzinger’s last statement as he was walking back into the drawing room and said, “I just finished talking with the head of my research department and he told me we’re now ready to go, so we’re very close to being in the driver’s seat. Basil, give the word and that atoll will be dust.”
“Tomorrow when the sun comes up in Washington D. C. Let’s spoil the President’s day.”
Chapter 67
-Washington D. C.-
It’s a little after six in the morning and the President has just sat down to breakfast when he gets a call from Brigadier General Paul Freeman, the commanding officer at Minot AFB, North Dakota. The President mumbles to himself, “I just know this is not going to be good news.”
The general confirms his premonition. “Sir, we have a DEFCON 2 situation here. Somehow someone has taken control of our nuclear missile systems and one of them is about to be launched. We can’t get into the systems to override the commands. We can’t even determine what the intended target is. We’re locked out of everything sir?”
“Holy shit! Isn’t there anyway to prevent the launch?”
“There may be, sir, but we don’t have any time to find it. It has just left the silo!”
“Track it and let me know where you think it’s headed, so I can issue warnings to those in danger. It won’t be much of a warning though. Those suckers travel at a speed of just under four miles a second. That’s 240 miles a minute. This has got to be the work of The Last Resort. Damn them!”
The President slammed the phone down only to pick it up again to call Hank Aldridge. “Nuts! It’s only 5:15 in the morning there. Nobody’s going to be in their offices yet.” He called anyway to leave a message for Hank to call him as soon as he got this message, emphasizing it was an extreme emergency.
The President doesn’t know the general very well as he seldom sleeps more than two, three hours at a time when he’s in war mode and he’s been primed for battle for months now. Hank picked up on the second ring. The President almost dropped the phone when Hank growled hello, thinking it had to be a wrong number at this hour.
“Hank?” When Hank growls, it doesn’t sound like him.
Hank recognized the President’s voice right away and said, “I’m sorry sir. You’re the last person I expected to be calling me at this hour. What’s up?”
“What your gut’s been telling you for a while now has just happened.” He told Hank about General Freeman’s call and who he thought was behind the launch. “Under the circumstances, this question may sound ridiculous, but I’ll ask it anyway. Do you have any ideas about what our next move should be that you haven’t shared with me, no matter how cockeyed they may be? I’m a desperate man, Hank.”
“These people’s chimneys are definitely clogged, Ira. I suspected something bad was going to be coming down the pike very soon, but not anything like this. This is nuts! When other countries find out some of our missiles are in the hands of these crackpots, there will be global pandemic panic that could lead to nuclear war. How can guys as intelligent as this pack of screwballs obviously is do something as stupid as this? It boggles
my mind! The only thing we can do right now is wait to see what happens. I’m sure after pulling a stunt like this they’ll be making contact with you directly or through the news media to show you what they blew up and to scare you into meeting their demands. That’s the only reason this could possibly make any sense at all to these fatheads. I’m fresh out of ideas, sir. All we can do is react to any opening The Last Resort might give us and hope we can use it to take them down.”
“Damn! I’m sick and tired of fighting these people with one hand tied behind my back. The only bright spot in all of this is what Vince Torizzio might find out at that Italian ski resort. We need a break soon, Hank, or this country is going to be in serious trouble. I’ve got to go to a meeting now. Please call me as soon as you hear from Vince.”
When the President hangs up, Hank takes out his frustration on his wastepaper basket by kicking it clear across the office and pounding his desk with his fist. “These guys belong in padded cells with nothing to do but vegetate and complete their trip to never-never land. Hell, it would be a short trip. They’re already flying first class and are close to landing. Nuclear missiles, geez! What’s next? Neutron bombs? ”
Chapter 68
-Chicago-
Joel and Barbara have just finished breakfast and are catching the news before heading into the office. Midnight is sitting on his haunches by the door, eager to get outside to the new sights, scents and sounds he experiences almost every day. He seems to know their routine. Barbara’s convinced that he recognizes the commentator’s voice and uses that as his signal to get ready to flee the coop.
Ten minutes into the program, the commentator puts his finger to his ear piece, listens a moment and then says, “We have some breaking news and are going to switch over to Bill Masters at our studio in Washington D. C. for the details. Bill, what’s going on?”
"A video has just been emailed to the station that we want to share with all of our viewers. Folks, what you are about to see and hear is not someone’s idea of a joke on the American people, something like the Orson Welles’ radio episode simulating news bulletins about a Martian invasion of Earth back in 1938. President Weinstein’s press secretary, Sam Ferguson, has verified that this actually happened earlier today.”
The video begins with some aerial shots of a tiny island surrounding a beautiful lagoon. The narrator identifies it as Atoll de Clipperton, an uninhabited coral island somewhere in the middle of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. A few seconds later there’s a tremendous explosion and the island disappears.
The narrator resumes with, “What you have just seen is the complete disintegration of an island with an area of approximately one half mile by a nuclear missile launched by The Last Resort thousands of miles away with pinpoint accuracy. This demonstration hopefully will convince anyone who views it that we have the resources and capability to annihilate any city we choose to target.
“That is not our intent however. This demonstration along with all of the other things we have done to demonstrate our capabilities, the assassinations of corrupt politicians, the communication and power disruptions and the pollution of select water supplies were given to persuade the American government and the American people to give The Last Resort a chance to make this country once again the most free, the most caring of its citizens, the most economically successful, the most powerful on Earth.
“One week from today, at nine in the morning, we want President Ira Weinstein to resign and all branches of the United States military to recognize The Last Resort as their Commander-in chief. The present elected officials in positions within the Federal Government as well as those appointed to Federal positions, including Federal judges, will remain in their positions until such time as The Last Resort deems it necessary and/or appropriate to make changes.
“If our demands are not met, a major city will pay the price for failure to comply by being wiped off the face of the Earth. We sincerely hope this does not become necessary. It is not our intent to be ruthless dictators, but rather saviors of the American dream. When that dream is restored, The Last Resort will fade into oblivion.”
All during the narrative the spot where the island used to be is on the screen. A minute after the narrator stops talking, the screen fades to black.
Joel said, “Once again, Hank’s gut was right on." With looks of astonishment still on their faces, they head out for the office. “Man, Hank’s really going to be on the warpath now. There’s no way the President or the military is going to give in to these nuts and Hank is a do or die kind of guy. It scares me to think what might be going through his mind right now. He’s probably planning an invasion of Northern Italy.”
Soon after they got into the office Joel found out that he hadn’t missed the mark by much. As soon as Hank spotted Joel he barked, “Get everyone into the conference room.”
Five minutes later they’re all assembled in the conference room and without saying a word Hank picks up the phone, puts it on Speaker and angrily pokes in a number. After a half dozen rings, a woman answers. It’s Lorraine Caldwell. “Hi, Lorraine, this is Hank Aldridge. Can he talk?”
“He’s in a meeting with his cabinet and other advisors, Hank. Hold on a sec.”
A couple of minutes later, she was back. “He’ll be picking up shortly, Hank.”
“Thanks. Lorraine.”
When the President did pick up he sounded out of breath, like he had run to the phone. “Have you heard from Vince?”
“Not yet, Mr. President. You told me to call you if I came up with any ideas and I’ve come up with a doozy. I’m in my conference room with the rest of my staff and I’ve got you on the speaker. Is that okay?
“Sure, go ahead.”
“Sir, I’ve had it with these jokers. As one of my men who’s a sports trivia guru would say”, thinking of Kirk Dodson, “it’s time for a full court press and any foul goes. We’re pretty sure that The Last Resort is hiding out somewhere in the Italian Alps, probably in the area of this ski resort Vince is checking out. Let’s ask Italy’s Prime Minister to commit his military to a blanket search of every city, town and village within a hundred mile radius of Breuil Cervinia and have him enlist the assistance of the local police in those municipalities in those searches. Let’s flush these vultures out and blow them away.”
“Hank, I don’t think the Italians will be willing to do that. They’ll view this as an American problem and none of their business.”
“Mr. President, this is not an ordinary business problem we’re dealing with here, it’s nuclear business and if these people get it into their heads to spread their philosophy abroad, Italy could be their next target. Hell, Mr. President, these dagoes are supposed to be our allies. Make them prove it.”
Joel’s not surprised at Hank’s suggestion. He’ll always have a battlefield commander’s mentality and be the most aggressive warrior on the field of battle, but he is somewhat taken back by Hank’s usage of an ethnic slur. That’s not like him at all. It’s a sure sign that he is not going to let anyone or any nation for that matter stand in the way of his pummeling the enemy into the ground. Hank hates to lose, at anything. Joel’s heard him say on several occasions, “Show me a person that doesn’t get upset when he loses and I’ll show you a loser.”
The President didn’t respond right away, obviously thinking about how he would approach the Prime Minister and weighing his chances of convincing him to go along with the idea. When he spoke up, it was with cautious optimism and determination. “Okay, you’ve convinced me that it’s worth a try. I hope I’m as convincing.”
“Hell, Mr. President, you convinced the American voters to elect you President and that was no mean feat. This should be a piece of cake.”
“Was that an attempt at some humor, General? Not bad for your first attempt, not bad at all.”
“Don’t believe everything you hear about me, sir. I don’t take nasty pills on a daily basis and I’m not the offspring of a grizzly.”
With a little chuckle
, the President started to end the call, but Hank didn’t let him. “Don’t hang up yet, sir. I want to caution you about not telling anyone about this unless you absolutely have to, especially Sam Ferguson. It makes no sense to telegraph our move to our opponents if we can avoid it.”