Spontaneous

by DiMirra

  At the moment, violence is mostly sporadic in Panama and Nicaragua.

  South America

  The entire continent is in upheaval showing first signs of anarchy.

  All local currencies, with the exception of the Chilean Peso, are in free fall. Banks have closed in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Venezuela, Argentina and Brazil.

  A state of emergency has been declared in all these with the smaller countries to follow soon. Acts of civil disobedience, sabotage, takeovers and violence are too numerous to cite. Suffice it to say that many embassies are evacuating their personnel.

  Civil services are sporadic, gasoline and food are in short supply.

  Root causes include devaluation of currency, access to cash, access to social services, and pension and healthcare cuts.

  Conclusion: expect the entire continent to go dark within 96 hours. Then all Hell will break loose.

  European Union

  Virtually every country is in some stage of breakdown. Those holding up best for the moment are Great Britain and Germany. Faring worst are France, Spain and Greece.

  Root causes are the same as for South America -- diminishing access to social services and cash, with cuts across the board in pensions and healthcare and devaluation of the Euro.

  Animosity between Muslims and indigenous people is increasing at a frightening rate. Civil disobedience is rampant. In spite of the cold weather, multitudes have taken to the streets.

  There are multiple reports of widespread grid outages due to unknown causes and worsened by cold temperatures.

  Considerably more violence occurs in France, Holland, Greece, Spain and the Nordic countries, including riots, robberies, and rapes.

  Police and hospitals are being overwhelmed. The worst violence is in Amsterdam, Stockholm, Paris and the South of France.

  Note these caveats -- our intel (Charley Group) puts the actual numbers at three times reported. It's unknown which side the military will take in each country. We suspect France, Holland and Greece will each have a change of government in next 96 hours with indigenous people in control of the military.

  Stock markets worldwide are down for the tenth day with runs on the banking systems imminent. We suspect food stocks will be next.

  Conclusion: the two strongest and most homogenous countries -- China and Russia -- will come out ahead in this world insurrection. They have the will and the military forces to put down any uprising. There is a saying going around, "Russia is for Russians." They have not lost their national identity in these countries. That is what makes a people, and therefore a country, strong.

  As you know, Father, Iran has seven atomic weapons with crude means of delivery. We have it on good authority that they intend to launch an attack on Israel while the rest of the world is preoccupied. So much for appeasement. Will we never learn?

  Also from the same authority -- two Kilo-class subs, the Tareq and the Yunez, left their port at Bandar Abbas weeks ago. These are Russian boats, not the Iranian-built junk. Both carry atomic weapons rated at one hundred kilotons or more.

  At the moment, two more weapons are unaccounted for. We are working on their location and destinations.

  This is even more disturbing, although I do not have many details -- there are two small towns, with a combined population of about three thousand, where apparently all inhabitants are dead from an unknown biological agent. One town is in eastern Afghanistan and the other about 30 kilometers north, in neighboring Tajikistan. Both are on the border with China. Source states the Chinese have dispatched a task force to quarantine the area and establish what happened.

  Request your immediate presence.

  -- Ali

  Ali has always been focused and calm, so I took his request for my support and presence seriously. I was holding court in our family compound about fifty miles south of Bogotá, Colombia where our granted lands begin and run to the borders of Brazil, Peru and Ecuador. They date back to the earliest land Grants of the 16th century in the Viceroyalty of Granada -- the richest of the Spanish realm.

  We honor, to this day, our infamous and distant relative Sebastian de Belalcazar and the one million hectares in land grants that he wrested from the Spanish Crown to establish our destiny. Those were hard times and hard men, although I cannot condone his activities some 500 years ago. I look to Winston Churchill, whom my Grandfather, Don Francisco, insists that we all read. These words of his always struck a chord deep within me -- "If the present tries to sit in judgment of the past it will lose the future."

  After communicating my imminent departure to Ali, I dined with my wife Maria Cristina, of the influential Uribe family. She was my choice (and my Father's) as we wish to further cement our position within the Colombian power structure. She's a woman of extraordinary intelligence and beauty. Wherever she goes, a hush falls over the room and heads turn. Her hair, as black as night without stars, swishes and cascades when she moves her head. Her eyes of emerald green with yellow flecks are so piercing you get lost in them. She's thin, yet heavy-breasted, with legs that will not stop, nor would you want them to. Perhaps a more understanding and wise woman does not exist.

  She gives me incredible latitude and support knowing that my Father is grooming me to become head of the family. When he chooses to let go of the reins will be soon enough. I am in no hurry, given that "uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." I am reminded of this daily by implementing the decisions of the family.

  It's always difficult to leave the one you love for some unknown mission. I knew what would lie ahead, more so than most. I found it best for us to give ourselves to each other in that universal act that binds men and women together for eternity. There was a chill in the air and the crackling fire was both a comfort and a place to lose ourselves as we smoked in silence, my departure looming large.

  "You've got a lot to do you know" I said. I saw her lips stiffen and said, "Did you hear me Cristina?"

  "Yes I did," she replied. "Take me to bed now, Johnny."

  The last glow of a glorious sunset painted the bedroom in crimson, gold and copper. We toasted our love with the last of the cabernet, a good vintage, tasting of chocolate, plum and cherry.

  My hands touched her shoulders and moved to her back, unzipping her dress and letting it sprawl on the floor. My hands went to her back and unhooked her bra as she shuddered with uncontrolled delight.

  We kissed with a wild, impulsive passion, our tongues dancing in each other's mouths. I could feel the heat from her body as I cupped her ample breasts and sensed her growing readiness. She was warm and misty as I took control and brought her to orgasm after orgasm, again and again, until the room radiated with her sweet scent.

  We fell into that place where one floats in bliss. I never knew how long it was until I jerked back to the chilling reality that awaited me. This was not an evening to lie in bed, sated and with abandon. The afterglow would linger with each of us.

  As I was about to leave, I asked Cristina to summon my personal bodyguard and lifelong friend, Uwishun (oo-wee-shun), which means, in the Shuar Indian language, "someone who knows all the secrets." We have a direct blood link. We share the same Father, again by design, to form that trust and blood bond among brothers.

  This tribal relationship of my family goes back over 200 years. It is rumored much longer, and it shall continue, for it binds us to the land and our people. Uwishun comes from a very long line of Shuar chieftains and shamans whose fame and power are without equal in the Amazon Basin. We spent many idyllic summers together in the Basin on the Rio Vaupes near the border with Brazil, doing what wild young boys love best -- hunting, fishing, exploring and chasing young girls.

  That was a time for spiritual growth and exploring the depths of shamanism with ayahuasca under the guidance of my Uncle. From that time forward, I was more aware, more peaceful and healthier. I discovered the world, as I had never seen it before. I was able to see behind me, to process all possibilities that any situation I encountered could present in an inst
ant and select the most likely outcome. I was really alive for the very first time in my life.

  The third summer there was the time of my right of passage from childhood to manhood and inclusion into the tribe. It was then I met Wakani, a Shuar princess trained by the Old Ones in the art of lovemaking. Such is the customary role the older women play in teaching uninitiated men how to please. Given an average lifespan of 47 years, an older woman was 25. I was 13.

  It was the most miraculous six weeks of my short life. Wakani was a teacher with understanding of how to teach, a trait not common with most. She was gentle and reassuring. She took me through the rituals of lovemaking, one step at a time. It involves the use of all of the senses -- touch, smell, taste, hearing and seeing. Each sense will signal what is desired next if you are attuned to your lover, the real secret to satisfying that person.

  She brought me along slowly and by the end of two weeks I had mastered her desires and could bring her to climax at any time, in moments. She taught me the difference between clitoral and vaginal orgasm and how to combine the two for ultimate ecstasy.

  She gave me a gift that can never be repaid including a wonderful baby boy, Etsa, so named for the sun. Etsa graduated from an Ivy League business school, the first Shuar to ever do so, and just finished a four-year stint on Wall Street. He's now in Lugano at our Banking Center with his cousins under the tutelage of my brother, Diego, who runs the financial side of the family business with oversight from Miche.

  When Uwishun arrived, I briefed him on the urgent communication from Ali and asked him to have flight operations prepare our Gulfstream 650, the newest and fastest jet in our fleet. During the 1980s, we were fortunate enough to strike a deal with US government to build a complete airport with a 12,000-foot landing strip, on a 99-year lease, for their drug intervention efforts.

  The irony in this arrangement was the CIA and DEA actually engaged in more drug running, arms shipment and other, much worse activity than interdiction. We keep good records, that's our business. This helped us coerce a gunship and several advanced attack helicopters.

  We provide the ways and means to do things they must do but cannot be caught doing. The truth is, nothing, no matter how terrible, ever happens without government approval. The problem isn't with the doing of things, it's with the people in power having to admit they knew about it when they're exposed. Like I said, this business makes for strange bedfellows.

  Our flight would take 7 hours and put us in Marrakech about 8AM. Then a short helicopter flight would put us at the headquarters of our intelligence and security company, Gardien de Securite, S.A., in the Draa river valley of Morocco.

  I'm not really a desert person but that valley on the south side of the High Atlas Mountains in Morocco is one of the most beautiful and most desolate places on the earth. It was originally settled by the Berbers, who still control it. They're a fierce nomadic tribe with an independent streak a mile wide. They make great warriors when properly trained -- absolutely fearless.

  "Uwishun, a few more items," I said. "Advise security in all areas of the farm to go on high alert. Be ready for anything. Leave Stefan in charge. Tell him to pay special attention to the Cartels."

  "Will do Johnny," he replied. "By the way, the G650 is already loaded with five hundred kilos of refined gold for delivery to Lugano. What do you want me to do?"

  "Leave it on board. Our second stop will be Lugano. In flight, we'll notify all the heads of the Family of an emergency meeting there, on Sunday, at 14:00 hours. Or on second thought, we may leave it in Taroudant. It may come in handy with what is about to happen.

  "Last but not least, call Ali and ask him to send the AC130 with extra wing tanks we picked up in Afghanistan last year. Include a crack company of Spanish-speaking troops. Have Stefan deploy them where necessary with a platoon here at the compound in reserve. He needs to keep a close eye on the remnants of that FARC group that's just over the border in Ecuador. I have a bad feeling about them. Maybe we'll even do a preemptive strike. It would piss off the President, but I don't care."

  "Ok, Johnny," Uwishun replied. "The base chopper will be here in 30 minutes. Meet you at the pad with our gear."

  I visited with Maria before departure, knowing the value of a long hug, a lingering kiss and taking the scent of my woman with me for what could turn out to be the defining event of my life.

  Chapter 3

  Over the Atlantic: January 16

  Destination: Marrakech

  With wheels up and feet wet, we were cruising at 610 MPH and 40,000 feet.

  I spoke first to my Father, who was in New York, by heavily encrypted satellite phone, on our own communication satellite system. I briefed him on current conditions and asked him to stop in London on the way to pick up my wife's brother, Juan Carlos, who was Ambassador from Colombia to the Queen's Court.

  Then I contacted my father's brother, Tio Rafael (Raffa) who resides in Hong Kong. He is head of our Asian family branch through a marriage into an old and venerable family there. He was currently renewing a deal with the Government and Bank of China. The deal was for the sale of 100 tons of gold per year, at ten percent below market, with commissions paid to the right people.

  Also included -- some of our nanotechnology data and select intel support for an additional five years. All of this in exchange for continued technology and support on human cloning, six more of their new Sharp Sword military drones, with ordinance, and a company their second-generation human-clone colonial troops, only known to a select few, as 'Guardians.' These Guardians would be used for our joint Africa missions in which our interests were aligned with China.

  Our gold fields have always been the source of my family's wealth. They originated from the Spanish Grants of El Dorado in South America, and contained proven reserves of three billion ounces. That's about half the gold ever mined.

  We remain the private family that no one has ever heard of and we like it that way.

  Raffa had a long range Dassault Falcon 5X. He would need to take on fuel in Dubai. Having to travel the farthest, about 14 hours with one stop, he would start almost immediately.

  Don Francisco, our family patriarch, would follow on Saturday, taking the Boeing Business Jet, a refitted, state-of-the-art 757, stopping in Miami to pick up my youngest and most intelligent daughter, Helene. She would play a huge role in the preservation of our line. She married into a very prominent, conservative family in the United States giving us some clout we would need on occasion.

  I then called my cousin, Elizabeth Grosvenor Castillo, to advise her that my father would be there to pick her up on the morrow. She was married to Vasily Annikov, the son of a Russian mining oligarch. They resided in Mayfair, Central London.

  My last call went out to Kenyatta, in Nairobi. He was head of African Operations, a family member, and a physically huge man with a voice to match. I asked him to bring the company's Cessna Citation X and land at our compound for tomorrow's meeting. That location has a short airstrip but will take a light jet.

  Flying over the ocean in the dark of night is always a time of reflection for me. I had much to ponder on this particular night, planning our response and getting in front of the events that were taking place with the ultimate goal of picking the winning sides and positioning the family for another generation.

  Switzerland was still an oasis amidst all of the chaos in Europe, as it had always been, due to its location. It was the perfect place to make our final plans operational. With this thought, I remembered another of Grandfather's adages -- this one from von Moltke -- "The battle plan rarely survives the first encounter with the enemy." Whatever the final strategy, it needed to be well thought out and flexible.

  Our strategic plan was code named "Sustainability." It was the offspring of three years of planning for just such events that were occurring now. The developed and developing countries had been digging their own graves for the last 50 years. To stay in power, they made promises to their populations that they would never be abl
e to fund. That falseness was now coming home to roost.

  As our jet penetrated the night, I mused, recounting the thoughts that drive me crazy and wrench my guts --

  ". . . Medicine always continues to advance. People that should be dying live indefinitely and drain the system at the expense of those yet to be born. It sounds cruel when spoken, but even so, that's a major part of the worldwide population problem.

  "Politicians, behind closed doors, speak of population control, and have for many years, but no one had the courage to do anything about it. At the rate we destroy the only habitable planet in our galaxy, we have less than a century before apocalypse. Great plagues have become uncommon so nature has no cure for the new virus that's destroying her, known as Humanity.

  The vast majority of the world's population has lost touch with nature and with themselves. They have become total consumers -- they create nothing and consume everything.

  "The best scientific and philosophic minds estimate the sustainable world population at 2 billion people. This number allows for everyone to have the resources they need for a comfortable life, as long as sustaining balance and harmony with nature remains the ultimate deciding factor. The "technology will solve these problems" claim is simply too little, too late. It's only a hope and prayer. Hope and prayer, no matter how desperate, do not make a plan.

  "Obviously, the moral implications of consequent undertakings are beyond staggering. Are we, and am I, ready to play God? Is it better to have two billion live in relative comfort, safety and harmony with the Earth? Or is it better to let the madness of unconstrained growth run its winding, tortuous, and inevitable course?

  "My answer is an unequivocal insistence on long-range survival. An exempt political elite will no longer control us. We will not leave immensely strategic decisions to the very people that get us to places like where we are today.

  "Some may consider me mad, and that I may be. Even so, the time for action is upon us . . ."