by JC Ryan
As the council members got up to leave the meeting, Ruben Weinstein walked over to Rafael Martinez. “You got time for lunch?” he inquired.
“Always amigo, always. One o’clock at the Comme Chez Soi?”
“Sounds good to me. See you there at one.”
***
“Mr. President, Chief Detective Pierre Bertrand is here for his appointment.”
“Show him in!” Brideaux barked back.
“Bertrand, give it to me in five minutes or less. I have a lot to do.” he growled at the bewildered police officer.
“Yes, sir. As you requested, all councilors are now under full surveillance 24/7. All their phones are tapped, and their homes bugged. In my report, you will find the details of everyone - sexual preferences, partners, drug use, friends, meetings, extramarital affairs, and all activities of the past week. Is there anything else you want me to take care of?”
“Yes. I want to see a report like this on my desk every week. If you find anything that looks suspicious, you contact me immediately. Make sure no one knows about this, and I mean no one. Make sure the people working for you understand this as well. If this leaks out, I am going to push buttons, and yours will be the first. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir I understand.”
“We are done. Make sure you don’t screw up, Bertrand. If you do, you might not be so lucky as to find your ass in Siberia, as a few others did."
***
Brad Johnston received a personal call from President John Brideaux to inform him of his promotion to Director of Security in America. A very unsympathetic reminder to make sure there were no ‘screw ups’ during his watch accompanied the call.
When Johnston placed the phone down, he wondered if he had the right to decline the promotion or maybe resign. From the tone of Brideaux’s voice, he got the impression that would not be the case. It was an ‘until death do us part’ proposition, and he knew all too well death was what was going to part them unless he could find a way out.
As he had been doing hundreds of times the last few days, he sat back and considered his options. The answer, however, remained the same – with the chip in his body, he had no options other than suicide. The list containing the names of more than a thousand people killed on the night the news of the Harper escape broke served as an unambiguous notice of his hopeless situation, and it enraged him. What was infuriating beyond description was the rumor doing the rounds about the Supreme Council’s bacchanalia while killing the unsuspecting and innocent people that night.
His troubled mind was raging with thoughts. Think Brad Johnston, think. There must be a way out. You have been a security agent all your life - there must be a way out somehow.
Despite his efforts to focus his thoughts, nothing was forthcoming by the time his phone rang. It was his secretary letting him know that his senior investigator was there for their scheduled appointment.
“Come on in Cathy.” He waved Cathy Ballmer into his office and pointed her to a seat.
After the usual courtesies, he got straight to the purpose of the meeting. “Okay Cathy, what news do you bring me about the disappearance of the Harpers their agents, the Rosslerites’ family members, and their security guards?”
“Mr. Johnston, I am afraid there is no progress to report. We have worked on the assumption that every one of them would be dead because of the activation of the kill routine in their chips. We haven’t found one single body. No trace of them, not even rumors. We’ve checked every hospital, clinic, morgue, and graveyard in the entire country – we’re still none the wiser. We’ve questioned their friends, surviving families, and acquaintances - no results.”
“That is bizarre - there were eight families, twenty-five people in the Rosslers’ family group plus their eight agents, the two Harpers, and their six agents - in total, forty-one people. They’re all dead, yet there are no bodies. Mr. Johnston, do you think there’s a chance they could perhaps still be alive? I wouldn’t know how they would have been able to escape death, but maybe it is a possibility we should at least consider.”
“No don’t waste your time on that,” he said in a brusque tone. “They’re all dead - you and your team have to find those bodies. Keep on digging. Something is bound to turn up eventually.”
“Yes, sir, that’s so, but...”
“Cathy, you have a chip. I have a chip. Do you want to flip a coin to decide who of us is going to take the chance to verify your theory? Those chips would not have missed anyone, take my word for it. Just look at this list. There are more than a thousand names on it. They are all dead, and that’s been confirmed. It doesn’t make sense that they’re all dead but forty-one somehow miraculously escaped.”
“Yes sir.”
“You will have to excuse me - I have an urgent matter to attend to. Keep me posted with your progress.”
When the door closed behind her, Brad had a big smile on his face - he could barely control his excitement. Of course they’re still alive! Cathy and her team have proved that beyond reasonable doubt. The question is how did they manage to do it? They found the way out.
Despite the stress and anxiety threatening to drive him over the edge, Brad Johnston was certain of one thing. He was not going to let anyone know he believed there were forty-one live people on that list of the dead.
On his computer, he browsed to the top-secret folder about the Rossler investigation and typed in his access code. He firmly believed the answer he was looking for would be somewhere in those files.
***
Ruben Weinstein was the third-richest man in the world, just five billion dollars short of Rafael Martinez’s hundred and twenty billion empire.
Weinstein came from a low-income family and humble beginnings. Hard work and perseverance made him a fortune in the offshore oil industry. Martinez, on the other hand, came from a rich family - he inherited a giant telecom company from his parents in his mid-forties and expanded it into the largest telecommunications provider in the world. Only John Brideaux, who’d accumulated more than two hundred billion, was richer than they were.
The two men ordered drinks and food and settled down for the discussion they’d both known they had to have, for some time now.
“Rafael I trust that what is going to be said here today will remain between us?”
“You have nothing to fear, amigo. What is said in Comme Chez Soi, stays in Comme Chez Soi.” Rafael laughed.
“Well then, now that we have agreed about that, how can I put it?”
“No need, amigo. I can see you are not a happy man. If it makes you feel any better, neither am I. This is not what I had in mind.”
“Yes exactly. We signed up to make the world a better place, to eradicate poverty, sickness, and inequality. Conversely, we have succeeded in creating a terrifying life of oppression, inequality, and hardship for everyone. I am deeply ashamed of what I have done. I regret every moment of it. I would have killed myself if I did not sincerely believe I could undo the evil I have committed.” Ruben got tears in his eyes while he was talking.
“We have to do something to stop this madness, Ruben. I am on your side. But I think you know as well as I do the danger we are creating for ourselves and our loved ones. We will have to be very, very careful.”
“No doubt about that. Nonetheless, I feel obligated to undo the evil I have helped to create. To that end, I will commit every resource I have available to me, if it costs me my life, then so be it. That would be a small price to pay for my evil deeds.”
“I could not have said it better. Do you have any ideas?” Rafael responded with the emotion clearly audible in his voice.
“Not a specific plan yet, if that is what you are asking. I wanted to talk to you first.”
“I have been looking for an opportunity to talk to you. I don’t have a specific plan either but I am convinced with our combined means we can certainly find a way out. Like you, I commit everything I have to the cause, even my life if it’s necessary.”
<
br /> The two men were relieved to discover their mutual feelings and trust. They decided to spend a few days to think about a strategy and compare notes at the next meeting.
***
A few miles away, John Brideaux’s security detail delivered him to his luxurious residence. One of them opened the door for him, while the rest formed a guard of honor, saluting him while he walked past. He smiled. I love this life! The absolute power in my hands! Feared by every human on the planet! I am God!
When he walked into the house and saw the three young beautiful scantily clad girls waiting for him in his lair, he popped the second amphetamine tablet of the day. There was no way out. He had an all-nighter coming, and he would need the energy and the euphoria.
Getting the wheels in motion
“Jack Symonds is an ex-Delta Force operator. One of the best of the best ever produced by that elite Special Forces unit.”
As Sam briefed them on their assignment in Los Angeles to activate the third non-existent, Peter and Kelly listened carefully.
“Wow, Delta Force! No one fools with those guys!” Peter exclaimed.
“You can say that again. It's going to be difficult to find him and convince him of who you are. He is a lone wolf with strange habits - probably what kept him alive so far. When I pulled him out of Delta Force to come and work for me, he already had five years of die-hard frontline experience. He’s seen more action than most of us had hamburgers in our lives.”
“Tell us more about his training and skills,” Peter asked.
“He’s gone through the most arduous training in the armed forces. He’s highly skilled in counter-terrorism, counter-intelligence, recon, and taking down high-value targets. He's had sniper, small tactics, weapons, and explosives training and is an expert at Krav Maga, the Israeli military contact combat self-defense system. In his advanced Delta Force training, he also acquired skills in lock picking, unconventional demolition techniques, bomb making, and a variety of espionage skills including surveillance and counter-surveillance.”
“Good grief Sam, this guy sounds terrifying, almost like one of those old Rambo movies!” Kelly laughed.
“Those are the training and skills Delta Force operatives get. He doesn’t look like Rambo, I can assure you. He doesn’t strike an imposing figure, and that is exactly what makes him so lethal. People always underrate him.
The night I met him he was with his girlfriend. Two guys, both of them almost double his size, insulted her. What happened next you only see in the movies - less than a minute later the two bullies had a broken arm and two broken noses between them, and Jack was finishing his beer as if nothing had happened.”
“I’ll take care that we don’t make an enemy out of this man,” Peter remarked. His dry tone emphasized the simple statement.
“Well, you’ll first have to convince him that you aren’t the enemy.” Sam laughed. “He isn’t an aggressive man by nature - he has a sound mind and strong psyche, highly intelligent. You don’t have to fear him.”
“Are you at liberty to tell us about the operations he was involved in?” Peter wanted to know.
“I don’t mind telling you. With this new government, I am not bound by my oath of secrecy anymore, but I would prefer if we get him over to our side first. If I have his permission, I’ll tell you. However, for now just take my word for it - there were a lot fewer bad people around, and the world was a lot safer when he worked for me.”
“What is his personal background, and what was he doing last you heard of him?” Kelly wanted to know.
“The last time I had contact with him was a month before I retired. You two will remember that was also the last time I had contact with you. When I recruited him, he left the force and became an antique dealer. That was the ideal cover to allow him to travel all over the world in search of rare antiquities. His shop was on Camden Drive, in Beverly Hills.
“He grew up in the Laramie Mountains of South East Wyoming close to Cheyenne. He had an older brother, two sisters, and at last check, both his parents were still alive. He had a girlfriend at the time, whose name was Sue-Ellen.”
Sam’s briefing continued for a while longer until they were satisfied that they had exchanged all the necessary information. They decided that Owen, Alison, Peter, and Kelly would take a trip to LA to visit the Hollywood studio, where one of Owen’s books was being filmed, while they were there.
***
Soon after the video conference with Kelly and Peter ended, Daniel called Sam and the rest of the ops team over to Raj’s computer center for a demo of the deactivation of the nanobots.
The techies were beaming - they had good reason. With a computer emulation, Raj showed them how they were able to take an active chip, recall the nanobots, and destroy them while the rest of the chip continued operating as usual.
“What about signals going out of the chip?” Salome wanted to know.
“We have discovered and analyzed all the signal-generating events in the chip and found the one that would alert the Skywalkers of the inactivity of the nanobots. We had to make a small code change to the deactivation process. During the recall routine, a few lines of new code will be loaded into the chip’s firmware, and that will guarantee it keeps on sending ‘all-is-well’ messages to the Skywalkers,” Mandy explained with a big smile on her face.
Salome high-fived with Mandy as the rest of the audience gave her a big round of applause.
“Excellent work team!” Daniel congratulated them. “You mentioned earlier that you destroy the bots after you have recalled them. How do you accomplish that?”
Roy explained. “The nanobots are miniature robots that follow preprogrammed instructions. Thanks to the Tectus hackers, we already had every bit of code that controls the bots. All we had to do was change that code so that it instructs the bots to return to the carbon nanotubes from where they came. Once inside the tubes, the hatches are closed, and the bots are given instructions to self-destruct.”
“Roy, you and Raj always make these things sound so easy,” Daniel commented.
“It was not difficult, with all the work we have done - we probably understand these chips as well as any of Brideaux’s scientists,” Roy replied.
Luke summarized the significance of the achievement. “I’m stoked! This means we can go out and recruit helpers amongst the chipped. They can pass through any scanners, and no one will ever know because they will be under the ideal cover.”
“It is as you say, Luke,” Salome joined in. “However, don't forget the chips still have a location tracking feature that will tell the Skywalkers where the person is at any given moment.”
A long silence followed as the reality of Salome’s remark dawned on them. Daniel caught the silent exchange of looks and raised eyebrows between Raj and Roy.
“Have you two perhaps forgotten to tell us something? Or should we convene a summary trial to find out?” Daniel looked at them with a blank expression on his face, struggling not to laugh.
Roy and Raj looked at each other, then at the group and then at the door.
“Don’t even think about it.” Daniel grinned. “I am much closer to the door than you are. Talk or face the consequences.”
Everyone was staring at them. “Daniel what’s going on here?” A worried Nigel wanted to know.
“Just hang on Nigel, you will find out in a moment,” he said, pointing at Roy and Raj. “I suspect our two friends here have forgotten to tell us something very important.”
Everyone’s eyes turned to the accused.
Raj turned to Roy. “I have made a mistake like this before and got punished for it. It is your turn to take the rap.”
“Ahh well, how can I put it ... ahh, mhh. Okay. We have actually solved that tracking issue of yours Salome. I am sorry, but we just didn’t have the opportunity to tell you yet.”
Roy looked like a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Okay, explain what you forgot to tell us. We are all ears darling - mummy won’t sm
ack you.” Salome started laughing.
“Raj and his team developed a program that overrides the tracking feature and can make the chip carrier appear in any place we want. The same sort of thing we did with the GPS tracking devices in the vehicles of Sam’s agents in Boise. Oh, and before Raj and I get into more trouble - we can also swipe the ID number from any active chip and use it in another."
When Roy finished the clarification, chaos erupted. Everyone shouted and cheered while Salome grabbed Roy and started kissing him passionately.
“From now on I am going to keep on forgetting things until I get a kiss like that!” Roy gasped when he was able to get a breath.
When the jubilation subsided, Nigel and Sam just looked at each other and shook their heads.
“These guys did all of that in less than twenty-four hours,” Nigel whispered. “It’s incredible isn’t it?”
Sam nodded. Nigel, Sam, Ryan, and Luke left soon after. It was time for the musketeer’s happy hour, and today they had something huge to celebrate.
***
Dennis McMahon and Eric Winchester dialed into the video conference requested by Salome. They still didn’t know the position of the Rabbit Hole or the name of the place. As a security measure, it was agreed long ago that none of the Tectus members would ever ask or try to find out.
With the greetings and introductions out of the way, Sam started. “Dennis I believe you and Eric will agree that the teamwork between Tectus and the Rossler Foundation has produced spectacular results so far. We’re here to find out if we can count on continued cooperation.”
Dennis came to the point right away. “No need to ask, Sam. We would like nothing better than to work with you and your team. Tectus and all its resources are at your disposal.”
“That’s exactly what we were hoping to hear, and we are truly grateful for your help,” Luke replied.
Sam continued. “We would like to invite the two of you to join the operations team and dial in via video conference during our meetings from now on. Would you be able to do that?”