A Dubious Race: The Phoenician Stones (A Colton Banyon Mystery Book 14)

by Gerald J Kubicki

  “I’m well aware of that,” the President snapped back at her.

  “Do you think that this has to do with Nazis?” she came right back.

  “Is that a Nazi flag on a pedestal?” The President was incredulous. This didn’t look like part of America, it looked like Nazi Germany.

  “Yes,” the major responded “There is a picture of Hitler on the wall as well,” The major issued an order. “Sergeant, please pan your camera over at the wall over there,” he said as he pointed. The camera shifted away from the major and to the wall at the front of the room. The framed picture could clearly be seen.

  “This is unbelievably revolting. I can’t believe it,” the President said in a pugnacious voice.

  The major had more to say. “There is another portrait picture next to it, but I don’t know the man in the picture.”

  “Let me see it,” The President demanded. As soon as the camera moved to the picture, he suddenly let out an audibly gasp. “Why! That’s James Ryder. I know him! He’s the President and chairman of the board of Goblin International. He is also Tony Ryder’s father. Is he mixed up in this?”

  “I would guess so,” the major replied with distaste. “The plaque under his name says ‘Fuhrer’.”

  “Son-of-a-bitch,” the President uttered weakly. “Goblin International is one of our largest defense contractors. And now I find out that it is a racist organization. How could this possibly happen?”

  “It doesn’t mean the whole company is rotten, Mr. President,” Marlene broke in. She then pointed out that Vice Admiral Leghorn alluded to the fact that he was not alone in the weapons scandal.

  “He was bluffing,” the President huffed.

  Marlene countered. “Maybe he meant there is a major conspiracy going on here and figured he had leverage — a way out?”

  The President, who normally was a very cool customer, exploded and raked several binders off the desk next to him. They slammed against the wall and laid there on the floor. No one dared to pick them up. He shook his finger menacingly at the screen. “That bastard has sat in my office and pontificated about all his humanitarian efforts while all the time he was the head of a neo-Nazi organization. I can’t believe it.” He flapped his arms in revulsion. “Why didn’t I see this before now?”

  “He is also one of the largest contributors to your campaign fund, Mr. President,” Marlene pointed out. “He made you believe in the good side of him. He wanted you to feel like you could trust him.”

  “I realize that too, Marlene,” the President screamed at her. He had a nauseating feeling in his gut. The lure of campaign funds had clouded his judgment.

  “I was just trying to point out that this will have political ramifications,” Marlene shot back.

  “I wonder, did he actually think I would look the other way when we discovered his sinister organization?” The President said honestly.

  “It’s been done before,” Marlene said sarcastically.

  “Well, guess what, he was wrong,” the President yelled out with determination. “I’m going to stop these bastards.” He sat down wearily at the table and held his head in both hands in despair.

  ***

  Meanwhile, Major Ball’s men spread out in the hidden room and began looking for evidence against Goblin. They found a desk with a computer. One of the SEALS sat down and started typing on the keyboard. They also found an area on the back wall with unframed pictures. An X had been drawn across each of the twenty-six pictures placed there. The caption over the pictures read, “Hall of Fame.”

  “What in God’s name is that?” The President uttered in disbelief when it came on screen. He was really feeling the pressure now. One of his biggest contributors was a confirmed racist, his company had stolen several top secret weapons — they had attacked innocent people, several people had died — and it all had happened on the President’s watch. He was well aware the political repercussions could bring him down. He needed to move swiftly and decisively, but didn’t actually know what he was dealing with yet. Frustration was clearly evident on his handsome face.

  One of the cameras zoomed in on the pictures. There were names posted below each of the crossed out photos. “Sir, I hate to say this but these people were all minority leaders or people who supported minorities in America. They all died suspicious deaths. Some go back over fifty years.”

  “Holy crap,” the President uttered as he stared at the big screen. “There are pictures of John F. Kennedy, and his brother Bobby, on the wall. Did these creeps have a hand in their deaths?” The President now stood back up in stunned silence. He ran his fingers through his thick hair. For the first time in his political career, he wasn’t sure of what was going on and what to do about it.

  The SEAL working on the computer suddenly spoke. “I can’t get into the files. They are password protected and encrypted. Someone with a lot more computer skills then me needs to take a crack at this machine.”

  The President hesitated then quickly said. “Can you give me the IP address?”

  “Can do, Mr. President,” the SEAL replied. “Here it is.” He read him the address. Marlene wrote it down for the big man.

  “Keep looking for evidence. I’ll be right back,” the President ordered. “I know someone who can help.” He then dialed his cell phone and walked over to a corner of the situation room to talk.

  “Colton Banyon,” a voice said into his cell phone.

  “Banyon, this is the President,” he said bombastically into the phone. “This is an emergency. I know you have a guy who can hack into any computer. I need him to get into this IP address right now and open it up so we can see what is on it.” He handed the phone to Marlene who gave Banyon the numbers. Then he grabbed the phone back.

  “I’ll call him as soon as we get off the call,” Colton Banyon replied. “Does this have anything to do with Goblin?”

  “Yes,” the President replied tersely. “The SEAL team is at their warehouse right now and found a hidden room,” the President answered. “It looks like a German beer hall. It appears they were running a racist organization from there, with Nazi flags and everything.”

  “I’m not surprised,” Banyon uttered.

  “We found a computer in the room. I’m guessing it has the names of the people who are involved in this mess. I want those names so we can round them up tonight.”

  “What good will any names be in stopping Goblin?” Banyon inquired. “We know who the ringleader is, don’t we?”

  “The SEALS have uncovered what looks like a huge conspiracy headed up by the Chairman of the Board for Goblin. I need to find out how deep this runs and stop them right now. They need to be stopped tonight.”

  “Sir, I’ve just sent you an email,” Banyon countered. “I’ve uncovered a conspiracy as well. Let me tell you what is in the…” The President cut him off.

  “Get your geek on it now,” he said with force.

  “Hold the line, I’ll be right back,” Banyon immediately replied.

  ***

  He came back on the line in two minutes. “Sir, he is working on it right now,” Banyon said. “But the email I sent you will explain a lot.”

  The President turned to Marlene. “Colt sent me an email a few minutes ago. Get it printed out.” She rushed over to a technician. “Give me a thumbnail,” the President ordered into the phone.

  “It outlines a conspiracy involving the Ryder family and the Smithsonian Institute,” Banyon replied.

  “The Smithsonian!” the President gasped. Everyone in the situation room turned and looked at the President. They had never seen him so out of control.

  “My geek found evidence of many racist activities by the Ryder’s such as suppression of archeological findings, intimidation, stealing, and even murder,” Banyon continued. “There are several emails attached which outline some of those events. I believe there are many people involved in this mess.”

  “My God!” the President muttered. “This is getting worse by the minute. I need
to stop this before we all get sucked into it.”

  “Sir, the major has found something else,” Marlene called out. She had taken over wearing the head set.

  The President left Banyon on speakerphone. “Let’s hear it.” His voice sounded horse and weary.

  “One of my men found an old agenda that had dropped below the podium. It is dated from a week ago,” the major said.

  “What’s in it?” The President asked curiously.

  “It talks about some land and how they were going to get it,” the major supplied. “It appears that they were offered some support by an unnamed party.”

  “Can you tell me how many people were there?”

  “There were over a hundred people at the last meeting. We found that number written in the margin of the paper. The reason we know that is they voted to change their name. It passed 102 to 0. The organization was originally called ‘The Sons of Izzak’ but has now changed their name to ‘The Effort’.”

  “What!” The President once again roared and became animated. “I thought we had eradicated The Effort years ago!”

  “You can’t erase hatred,” Banyon replied dryly.

  “How come you haven’t spotted them before this, Banyon?” The President said accusingly. He knew that Banyon’s spirit could see anything he wanted.

  “Sir, I have to be aware they exist. Up until now, they have stayed hidden,” Banyon responded. But he had the same question for Wolf.

  “You’d better find out something about them…” But he didn’t get to finish.

  Just then everyone heard someone yell. “I’m in,” the SEAL at the computer desk let out. All three cameras moved over the man’s shoulder. He began to open files. The first one he opened was listed as “Org Chart”.

  “It appears to be a very flat organization. Everybody reports to Tony Ryder. He is listed as the deputy Fuhrer,” the SEAL said as he read.

  “And we do have him in custody,” the major’s voice said for clarification in the background.

  “Oh, wait,” the SEAL said as he scrolled down. “There is another page. It’s the board of directors.”

  “Holy shit!” the major exclaimed. “There are some very prominent people on their board. I see two senators, one from Nevada and one from Arizona. There are also two more members of the Ryder family, another son and a daughter. Then there is Vice Admiral Thomas Leghorn and an Army General named James Pickering also on the list. James Ryder is listed at the top as the Fuhrer.”

  “We’re going to round all of them up tonight before they get wind of their defeat and can slip out of the country,” the President stated with anger.

  “Look!” the SEAL on the computer exclaimed. “Here is a list of all the people on the org charts. It has their full names, their addresses, and phone numbers. They even listed their cell phone numbers here.”

  Marlene Moore now took over. As Secretary of Homeland Security, she was the head of all law enforcement in the country. “Good, we can locate all of them using their GPS chips,” Marlene noted calmly. “It’ll be a big task to get them all, but we already have thirty-four of their members in custody — I think.”

  “We’ll confirm that,” the major replied.

  “Can you tell me where most of them live?” Marlene asked.

  “That’s easy,” the SEAL replied. “Las Vegas.”

  “Send all the files from the computer to here,” Marlene ordered and gave him the email address. “We’ll coordinate the take-down from here.”

  “Sending now,” the SEAL answered.

  “How far away from Las Vegas are you guys?” Marlene asked because she realized that she didn’t have many resources available in Sin City.

  “We’re about ninety minutes by car and thirty by chopper, but it’ll take time to arrange a ride once we get there,” the major said.

  “Okay, take everything that seems important and head back to your base,” she ordered.

  “You guys did a good job today,” The President said as he tried to regain his dignity. “Remember, this is top-secret and can’t be discussed with anyone.”

  “Roger that,” Major Ball replied. The screens went blank.

  “Get everybody on my staff in here now,” the President said with authority. “Marlene you handle the capture of these scumbags.”

  “Yes, sir,” Marlene replied. “What part do you want to play?”

  “I’m going to be busy trying to find a spin on this mess so we don’t have another impeachment in the White House.”

  Chapter Eighty-One

  Colton Banyon ended his call with the President and looked at Loni with a troubled expression. He had put the call on speaker phone and she had heard the entire conversation. When the President had revealed that the Goblin hierarchy was involved in a conspiracy beyond stealing weapons, he was not surprised. But when the President said they had hooked up with the Effort, Banyon was truly shocked. Banyon and his team had fought the Effort many times in the past and thought they had eliminated the last vestiges of the Nazi organization a few years ago. But like a bad penny — they were back.

  “At least we know who the leaders are and the President is working on rounding them up,” Loni quickly said.

  “He may be calling me to help find some of the people on the list,” Banyon reasoned. “We’d better stay prepared.”

  “Well, no one is going to attack us — that’s good isn’t it?” Loni had found a silver lining in all the problems.

  “Yeah, we took care of them pretty well didn’t we?” Banyon laughed. He didn’t remind her that they were still in some jeopardy.

  “But I’m worried about the rest of this mystery.” Loni whined. “When will this be over? We have a new house to get to, and I have a huge headache.” Banyon now realized the whole mystery had started only about twelve hours ago and was far from over.

  ***

  Banyon now thought about the questions he still needed answered and the solutions to the problems surrounding the Cherokee stones. He wasn’t too worried about the roundup of the Goblin people. Marlene had an immense organization to rely on to get that done.

  But, he wondered: What to do with the stones? Was Kayah telling the truth, or was there another plot he didn’t know about? What to do about Joey and his premonitions? The dreaded NSA gift squad was due at the ranch in the morning. How could he stop them from taking Joey? What about Bobby, they couldn’t just let him go. Then he didn’t know what to do about Professor Lisa Lange either. He couldn’t just let her run around knowing about his secrets.

  Of course, there was also the container of Vril. What should they do with it? Previne also said there was another jar with a scroll in it. Was that important? Then he also had to deal with the people that Lisa had told about the Cherokee stones. How could he stop them from revealing what they knew? And who leaked the information that led to the NSA people going to the Vril site?

  He then wondered how they would cope without Previne to Freud-a-size people. In fact, how would they deal with not having the Patel clan around for at least three months? The last question that popped into his head was where the hell was his partner Bart?

  “Loni, close the bedroom door, will you,” he said with a wave of his hand. “I need to get some answers from Wolf.”

  “Okay,” she replied sweetly.

  “Why didn’t you tell me about Goblin and their Effort connections? Banyon asked Wolf accusingly.

  “Because I didn’t know about them until you did,” Wolf replied. “I’m only one spirit and I can’t watch everyone in the world. It never occurred to me to look into their background until you found out about the Smithsonian connection.”

  “Have you found anything new to help take theses bastards down?” Banyon asked.

  “Actually, I have,” Wolf replied. “There were two men at the meeting the major mentioned who are not listed on any of the organizations charts because they belong to an Effort group out of Germany. It appears they attended the meeting to solicit a name change an
d to offer financial assistance to get the rare earth land. In exchange, they would share in the profits and use them for Effort plans in Germany.”

  “Do you have names and where they are located right now?” Banyon knew they would have to be captured.

  “Yes, of course,” Wolf explained. “They are staying at James Ryder’s home in Washington D.C. They’re guests of Ryder, and are currently having drinks in his back yard. Ryder is with them.”

  “I’ll get back to you, Wolf,” I need to call the President right now.” Banyon uttered

  “More trouble?” Loni asked with concern.

  “Nothing we can’t handle,” he said with a smile and called the big man. Their conversation lasted only a minute. He then asked Wolf another question.

  “What about Kayah, is she telling the truth?”

  “The Cherokee elders realize they had made a mistake. Joey wasn’t meant to protect the Cherokee stones. Kayah was sent to bring them to the reservation. They are not aware that Joey still cares for her.”

  “Good, maybe we can fix some of the problems surrounding this mystery at least,” Banyon said as he clinched his fist. Loni smiled when he said it.

  “Here’s my next question,” Banyon said.

  Chapter Eighty-Two

  Banyon and Wolf discussed the still open issues surrounding the mystery of the Cherokee stones for another ten minutes. Loni waited patiently by the door to protect from anyone barging into the room. She could hear Banyon’s questions, but had no idea what Wolf was telling Banyon.

  When Banyon was finally done, he smiled at her. “I think that we can resolve most of the problems,” he said. “Thanks for being patient.”

  “Let’s go see how everyone else is doing,” Loni replied and opened the door as she wrapped herself around him.

  When they arrived back in the front of the ranch house they noticed that everyone was on the porch. They rushed to see what was going on and soon realized that Chase and his people were leaving.

  “Are you heading back?” Banyon yelled out.