The Phoenix Agenda: A Thriller (A Rossler Foundation Mystery Book 6)

by JC Ryan

  Apart from the saddening absence of Robert and Joseph, the numbers of the Rosslerites were complete again. It quickly became evident that the arrival of Daniel and his two companions were an enormous boost to the morale of the entire group. It was as if they were all injected with a substance that instantly created a sparkle in their eyes and a new zest for life.

  Their present circumstances could not determine where they would go; it merely dictated where they would start.

  The chair or the cage?

  When it was time for the daily gathering of the Steering Committee, Sarah and others had already brought Daniel up to speed with all that had happened since the first group landed at the Rabbit Hole. Daniel, Raj, and JR of the old core group and Mark and Doug as special guests were invited to attend the meeting, chaired by Sarah.

  They worked through their agenda, calling in people as required to report about their projects’ progress and to help them resolve any issues they had. JR had already informed them, shortly after he and the others arrived, about Owen and Alison’s involvement, Mount Ararat and the idea of the safe house. Daniel now filled them in on the latest plans that they all welcomed, as it resolved one of their major issues – the replenishment of supplies. Without the availability of the safe house that would have been a major challenge with many risks for them.

  With no more projects to discuss, the talks turned to the question on everyone’s mind. What about the future? Were they going to accept the situation and live the rest of their lives out in these caves, or should they mount a resistance and attempt to overthrow the new regime?

  Sarah said she had deliberately kept the discussion off the table because she didn’t want the people here to make hasty decisions until they were all together. She’d had faith that the Rossler group would all be together again, and that it would then be the right time to have the discussion.

  Now, she went around the table and gave everyone a chance to speak his or her mind. One after another, they told the meeting why they believed that there was no question about it; they were not willing to accept the status quo. Although they didn’t know as yet how and with what they were going to do it, there was no doubt about it. They would have to attempt at least to get rid of this evil.

  Daniel spoke second to last and confirmed what everyone else was saying. “I agree with everyone that spoke before. I cannot sit back and just let it be. The seven of us who were on the run for the past few weeks, as well as Owen and Alison, discussed this. We all feel the same about it."

  Luke wanted to know if their discussions had brought up any ideas as to how it could be accomplished.

  Daniel explained, “No we didn’t go into that much detail. We felt the same as you here. We wanted to have everyone together before we start looking at a plan of action. But we did discuss what we felt we had going for us.”

  “I guess we’d all like to hear more about that, Daniel,” Salome said as she took the words out of Sarah’s mouth.

  Daniel continued, explaining how they’d concluded that they didn’t have much on their side at that moment. Their determination not to accept the way things were and would become wouldn’t be limited to just their small group once Brideaux was in charge. “As we gathered from Owen and Alison’s reports when they went on a reconnaissance trip around the area after Brideaux’s takeover, we were right to think so. Many out there are not going to accept this new world order. Especially here in the western states, where gun ownership is held to be an almost sacred right. It will be up to us to find them and motivate them to join us in our undertaking.”

  “That might take a long time, but I agree that would be one of the things we’ll have to take advantage of,” Luke replied.

  “Yes, it might be very slow initially, but keep in mind that Brideaux has promised the people his idea of heaven on earth so far, and I'm sure he is not done yet. As soon as the people that are now so supportive of the utopia idea realize what it really means, it can be expected the tide will start to turn in our favor. I think it will grow rapidly from there,” Daniel explained.

  Most agreed that it would be a natural reaction once they experienced Brideaux’s utopia.

  Daniel continued, “We also concluded that the 8th and 10th Cycle libraries could contain the key to our eventual success as it has done so many times in the past.”

  Sinclair said, “Yes, I have the same feeling about the 10th Cycle Library, but I’m not so sure about the 8th Cycle one.”

  “Why is that?” Daniel enquired.

  “Well, my understanding is that Brideaux got away with what could be the most valuable information, That is, the foils containing the details about the Beast.” Sinclair answered.

  “Oh, I thought you knew?” Daniel responded.

  But before anyone could get another word out Raj jumped in and said, “Before anyone says another word I need to know that all of you understand the meaning of the legal term double jeopardy.”

  By now Daniel, JR, Mark, Doug, and Roy all had a hard time controlling their sudden urge to laugh and keep a straight face. Sinclair and the rest sensed that something they had no knowledge of was afoot, but obviously they had no clue. Everyone else at the meeting looked perplexed.

  Raj continued, “So you all know that double jeopardy means a person can’t be punished twice for the same crime?”

  Sinclair broke the silence that followed, “Raj, we are talking about the 8th Cycle Library. What has that got to do with double jeopardy?”

  Raj answered, “I am sure that is what Daniel is going to tell you right now.”

  When Daniel finally got his laughter under control, he explained, “You see Sinclair, we thought the same as you do. The thing is, Raj actually made a complete copy of all the disks and translations that Brideaux took with him. He just forgot to tell us - that is until a week or so ago.”

  Sinclair and everyone else looked at Raj. He held up both hands as he said, “I had my punishment, and I have apologized – you can’t punish me again – double jeopardy you know.”

  They all fell about laughing at Raj's expense when they were let in on the details of the swift justice that was measured out to him, as Daniel related their discovery of his crime, his trial, conviction and punishment.

  JR commented that every time he thought about how that beef korma had him in tears, he was not sure who were punished in the end.

  After this humorous interlude, Sarah gave them her thoughts on the question of resistance or not. “I sometimes feel I just want to drop out of society, live in peace, bother no one, and have no one bothering me. But then I also realize I can’t just think of my family and myself. There is my sister, Meg and her family, and there are billions of people out there who will be living in hell soon. Although they might not know it now, they will very soon.

  “We are the only people I can think of who might be able to get everyone out of that hell again. I agree, it might not seem as if we have much going for us at the moment, but that has never stopped us in the past. What we have now is enough to start with.”

  To nods of agreement around the room, she continued. “

  It will take time. It is not going to be easy, and many more might die and suffer in the process. Nevertheless, I am convinced we have no other option,” she concluded as everyone applauded her.

  Daniel suggested that they call everybody in the Rabbit Hole together in a town hall meeting and give them a chance to talk about this as well. After all, it affected everyone, including the children. It was only fair to give everyone a chance to air their agreement or dissent.

  The final matter on the agenda was that Sarah wanted to hand the reigns back to Daniel to take over the chair.

  “You asked me more than a month ago to hold the fort while you were away, and I did that."

  She got a big cheer from everyone present as recognition for the brilliant job she did.

  Daniel said he had no issue whatsoever if Sarah remained in the chair. In fact, he liked it, but Sarah was not keen on
that idea.

  Daniel explained, “This is the new world, and seeing that the patriarchal system landed us all in this mess, maybe it’s time to give the matriarchal system a go.

  I am sure the matriarchs couldn’t make a bigger mess than the patriarchs did. There are many examples of very successful matriarchal systems all over the world – don’t forget the Amazons.”

  By this time, everyone was laughing.

  When Sarah, who did her Ph.D. in mythology, finally got order restored, she said, “Listen, Daniel Rossler, I hope you are not insinuating that any of the women in this room, or outside, even remotely resembles an Amazon! If that is the case, I will get my tribe together immediately and kick most of the men out of our territory and put the rest of you in cages. I am not sure if you know, but in the Amazon society men were not allowed to live in their territory. The ones that they allowed were kept in cages as sex slaves. Only once or twice a year they would have sex with their slaves to prevent their race from dying out, and all male offspring would be killed at birth. So, what is it going to be? The chair or the cage?”

  Under the roaring laughter of everyone Daniel said in a high-pitched voice, “You made a strong and convincing case my dear. It will be the chair.”

  ***

  The next night everyone gathered in the Town Hall to talk about their plans for the future. Daniel opened the discussion with an overview of what the Steering Committee discussed the day before and was quite surprised to find they all felt the same. There was no one who wanted to accept the new world order. Even the oldest members of the group, Bess, Martha, and Sinclair were very vocal about their dislike of the idea of letting Brideaux stay in control of the world.

  Every one of them knew that there were going to be many sacrifices to make in the process. There was going to be suffering and risks, but they were prepared to accept that to regain their freedom.

  Many of them pointed out that there was no other option. They knew that Brideaux and his new government were not only looking for the people whose names and faces were in the media. He knew about the rest of them as well, and each was in as much danger as any one of them. Their will to be free was their motivation and driving force – they would not give that up. The Steering Committee received their mandate, and would get busy right away to create their roadmap to freedom.

  Ryan then brought up a matter that had been of concern to almost all of them. “Daniel, I think what I am about to say is something that has been foremost in the minds of nearly all of us and that is the well-being of our family members on the outside. Our oldest daughter, Meg, her husband and two children are down in Florida, Emma and I have not only been worried about the danger that they might face, but also the fact that we have disappeared without a word to them. I can just imagine the agony they must be going through.”

  Daniel responded, “Ryan, thank you for bringing that up. It is something that Sarah and I have been talking about for some time now, even during the planning stages of Enigma. It has been a major concern for us, and I am sure for everyone else in the same position. I guess many of them would have put two and two together by now and have figured out that everyone who was somehow connected with the Rossler Foundation has gone with the ones they saw on the news. But unfortunately, up till now we could not think of an easy way to resolve that problem.”

  Ben spoke next, “Nancy, Bess and I have been thinking about this and have talked to most of the people here already, except for the O’Reillys, the Mendenhalls, Luke and Sally and of course, the Rossler clan who all have their immediate family members here. Everyone else has immediate family members on the outside. It is imperative that we find a way to either get them here or at least get a message to them that we are alive and well.”

  Salome was next, “As you know, my parents passed away years ago, but I have a brother on the outside that I am concerned about. Luke and I have been considering some options over the past few days, but it is as Daniel said before, there is just no easy way to do it without putting them and us in danger. We can’t just walk out of here and go and get them or phone them and tell them not to worry. I would bet everything I have that our family members and every one of our friends will be under very close surveillance by the authorities, in case we make contact with them. Furthermore, their knowing of our situation puts us all at risk should anyone forget and speak carelessly.”

  Daniel gave everyone a chance to speak and made notes of their suggestions and concerns. They decided the Steering Committee would try to come up with a plan and let everyone know within the next few days.

  JR introduced one more topic. “I have been wondering if we could name this meeting place the Robert Cartwright Town Hall from now on, to remember and honor Robert, a close friend and loyal supporter of the Rossler Foundation cause and the first victim in the war to regain our freedom.”

  It was a somber topic for all of them, but it met with immediate approval from everyone. Even those who didn’t know Robert personally were in favor, because those who did had only high praises for him as an honorable and trustworthy man and loyal friend who, to the end, was prepared to put himself in grave danger to save his friends.

  Forty-year-old promises

  Sam Lewis, head of the CIA during President Nigel Harper’s administration, retired three months after the Sword of Cyrus crisis. At the time, he was in charge of the entire operation that exposed the group of delusional men from Iran who called themselves the Sword of Cyrus and believed they were destined to restore the Persian Empire of Cyrus the Great. Sam, together with a few others, including the Rosslerites, was decorated for the outstanding work they did to avert the crisis and save the world.

  On the day after his retirement, Sam, who had been a fly-fishing fanatic from the day he landed his first trout at the age of nine, packed his fishing and camping gear into his 4x4. He was on a trip with no end date in mind.

  He'd been planning this trip for the last forty years while working for the CIA, and nothing was going to stop him. He deserved it. It was on his bucket list to visit the top ten fly-fishing spots in America, and time was of no concern to him.

  However, one matter had precedence over the fishing. That was a promise he made to himself forty years ago. That promise was the reason the first leg of his trip took him the two thousand four hundred miles from Washington DC to Boise, Idaho. That was where Susan Walker, formerly Susan Collins, his college sweetheart, lived.

  Since that painful day forty years ago when Sam broke up with Susan, there’d been no contact between them. Sam could never have imagined how painful it was going to be for him to walk away from the only woman he ever loved.

  There was never another woman in his life. He never got married, because he could never bear the thought of dragging anyone, let alone the person whom he loved so much, into the treacherous and dangerous world of CIA operations.

  But on the day when he walked away from Susan, he made a promise to himself that if he survived until retirement, the very first thing he would do on the day after his retirement was look her up and explain to her why he'd done it. Although he’d never contacted her, Sam made sure that he always knew where she lived, what she was doing, and that she was okay. He had her address, and he knew she’d been married. He also knew that her husband passed away about five years ago and that she had two boys who were in their early thirties.

  Sam couldn't be sure what to expect when he saw her again, but he had the promise to keep. He had to see her once more, and if she were prepared to listen to him, he would try to explain. If she didn't want to see him or talk to him, he would accept it, and that would be the end of it. He would have kept his promise.

  Five days later, Sam was standing at the front door of Susan’s house in Boise, Idaho, too scared to ring the doorbell. His palms felt sweaty, his hands were shaking, and his throat was dry. How is this possible? He thought. I am more nervous than when I asked her out on our first date. Sam Lewis was the envy of many a male student on the campus when he
and Susan started dating. Her smile, her laugh, her personality, the way she walked and talked, were all perfection personified. Her tender and caring ways and much more made the blonde and elegant Susan Walker a beautiful woman from head to toe, inside and out.

  Come on Sam Lewis, pull yourself together man. You were a field agent in the CIA. What’s wrong with you? Lift your hand and ring that bell. Come on, do it. Maybe it’s better if you come back tomorrow? That will give you a chance to plan the thing better. What the hell, after forty years you still don’t have a plan?

  What happened next was not part of the scheme at all. Sam’s hand was still halfway towards the doorbell in the same position, where it became frozen in mid-air three minutes ago, when the door opened. Susan Walker stood there, not a single day older than the day he last saw her forty years ago and still as breathtakingly beautiful as ever. Sam’s heart missed several beats; he opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Sam Lewis, the tough CIA field operative was speechless and motionless.

  Susan had that man-paralyzing smile when she spoke, “Samuel Lewis, what is your plan? Forty-two years ago, you made me watch you through the window when you stood in front of my door for fifteen agonizing minutes to ask me on a date. Are you planning to do that to me again today?”

  “Well huh. You see … Hum. I … No … Sorry … Ah, shit!” was all that he could get out before the laughing Susan grabbed his still stretched-out hand and pulled him into the house and herself into his arms. This was not how he had been planning this moment for the past forty years - it was much, much better.

  They stood there in each other’s arms without saying a single word for what felt like an eternity. Sam finally got his emotions under control and his voice back. “Susan I made a promise to myself a very long time ago that if I could stay alive until retirement I would come back and give you the explanation I could not give you forty years ago. It has burdened my soul all these years.”