Rigged

by James Rosone

  Standing up, Peng exclaimed, “Forget the risks! There will be war if Sachs remains President. He has to go. Your elections are a joke. Less than 50 percent of your population even votes, which means the US and the rest of the world is left with whoever receives the votes of 26 percent of Americans. Enough is enough! When the election is over, and you are President, those who voted for you will obviously accept you as President and those who didn’t vote for you…they can be dealt with later.”

  “Peng, please calm yourself. Sit back down. Let’s keep this civil,” Erik said, trying to play peacemaker. Turning back to Senator Tate, he added, “This is serious, Senator. There are more than seven billion people in the world. We can’t allow the global economy to be dictated to by Sachs and his small group of supporters. When you win, you will have our full support and backing. We’ll assist you in any way possible to make sure your transition is successful and your administration succeeds.”

  “If there are problems with people accepting you as President—or worse, let’s say Sachs doesn’t want to relinquish power—then I need you to request the UN send in a peacekeeping force to assist you in a peaceful transition of American democracy,” Johann said. “You’ll have the backing of the UN and the majority of the world’s major economic players. You’ll assume control of America and right this economic ship.”

  Marshall just sat silently for a moment, stunned. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Then again, as much as it disgusted him to think of what these men might do to influence the election, he couldn’t fathom another four years of the Sachs administration either.

  Perhaps they’re right, he finally decided. Maybe extreme measures need to be taken to right the world order.

  The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on him. Here he’d gone to Washington to fight this exact type of cronyism, and yet, there he was, in a dark room with powerful men who wanted to reclaim the puppet strings. Only this time, he’d be the puppet they would be controlling.

  Chapter 7

  United Nations Mandate

  October 12, 2020

  Tampa, Florida

  US Special Operations Command

  Newly promoted Lieutenant Colonel Seth Mitchell was still getting adjusted to his new position. Following his recent promotion, Seth had been moved over to the commander’s office and was now working on a collection of special projects for the general.

  In June, General Liam Royal had taken over command of US Special Operations Command. He had previously been the US Army Special Operations Commander at Fort Bragg and had a long history of working in a number of other classified programs within Special Forces, so he was well known and well liked. When he’d learned that Seth had previously been posted to the CIA and worked in the D.C. area, he had immediately looked to leverage him and his skill set.

  Sitting on the Gulfstream as they headed to another last-minute meeting at the Pentagon, Seth thought this might be a good time to ask the boss a question about something that was bugging him. “Sir, if you don’t mind me asking, what are your thoughts on the new UN leader?”

  Looking up at Seth, his reading glasses halfway down his nose, General Royal replied, “Alexander the Great once said, ‘I do not fear an army of lions led by a sheep, I fear an army of sheep led by a lion.’ Behr is a lion, and the UN is an army of sheep. I think he’s dangerous.”

  “They say Sachs is a nationalist—if that’s the case, then what is Behr? The man wants to create a large standing UN army to go around the world to ‘impose’ peace on various warring factions. I mean, what gives him the right to choose sides and dictate the internal workings of a nation?” Shaking his head in disgust, General Royal added, “I don’t trust him. As the German foreign minister, he was dead set against President Sachs’s trade stances and did everything he could to undermine the US in Europe.”

  Seth snickered at the bluntness of the general’s assessment. “So, he’s not on your Christmas card list, then?”

  The general just gave him a disapproving look.

  “I take it you’ve had some personal dealings with him in the past?” asked Seth. He wondered why his boss had such an obvious disdain for the new UN Secretary-General.

  “When I was stationed in Germany, he caused us a lot of problems. I just never really cared for him. He’s a bit of a German nationalist and seems to believe that if everyone would just be and act more German, the world would be a better place. I also don’t like how Germany has economically enslaved Greece, Spain, and many of the other poorer nations. As the foreign minister, he’s been heavily involved in that since the 2010 economic crisis. However, this new idea of a free-standing UN army is something I’m just not comfortable with.”

  “Who’s going to foot the bill for this new force, and who’s going to provide the soldiers? That’s what I’d like to know,” Seth added.

  A minute later, the steward came over and told them they were going to start their descent to Reagan International, which abruptly ended their conversation as they got themselves ready for the landing.

  Two hours later, Seth found himself sitting against the back wall with a notepad and pen, ready to take copious notes for his boss along with two other junior captains who were the true scribes to their little party. Also in the room was the Secretary of Defense, along with the service chiefs of the other branches. To round out the meeting were the agency reps from the various intelligence agencies, who’d provide a quick brief before the meeting returned back to the full-time military soldiers, or “green suiters.”

  Clearing his throat to get everyone’s attention, Secretary of Defense Charles “Chuck” McElroy started the meeting. “OK, everyone, let’s cut the chatter. We have a lot to discuss today. First, let’s turn our attention over to the DIA. John, what do you guys have for us?”

  Standing up, the Defense Intelligence Agency rep surveyed the room before he spoke. “The DIA has picked up increased chatter on a number of extremist forums we regularly monitor. While some of the threats have been vague, we are seeing an increase in excited activity about some possible attacks we believe are potentially underway or are going to be timed to cause chaos and general fear in the lead-up to the election. We’ll send out an alert as we start to narrow down what the targets may be, and possible timelines of when the attacks may take place.”

  The DIA rep quickly changed to another slide, highlighting China and Russia. “Intelligence shows an increase in military preparedness taking place within both China and Russia. Normally this would not be seen as a big deal; however, there are no joint military exercises or other military exercises planned by either nation until the spring of 2021. We’re still working our sources to try and figure out why both nations’ militaries appear to be ramping up their readiness. In addition to the increase in troop training, we’re seeing an increased stockpile of spare parts, munitions and fuel—reaching some of the highest levels since we first started monitoring these types of military action precursors. Again, we’ll send out a flash report if we identify anything suspicious or out of the ordinary as we identify it. That concludes the DIA’s brief.”

  Great—short and sweet, with little substance, thought Seth. He shook his head at what constituted a brief.

  “US Cyber Command, you’re up next,” Secretary of Defense McElroy announced.

  The next speaker, a short, rotund man with Coke bottle glasses and disheveled hair, stood up. “Ah, yes, well. In the last several weeks, we’ve seen a substantial increase in the number of cyber-attacks against the nation’s election systems. Most of the cyber-attacks appear to be aimed at the various state voter registration databases. We’re also seeing attacks being directed at the iVote app vendor, which is of course responsible for running the blockchain voting system. While none of these attacks have been successful in penetrating the systems, the sheer volume of attacks being directed at them is cause for alarm. It’s abundantly clear that numerous foreign actors are attempting to interfere, or at least influence the outcome of our upcomi
ng election, especially on social media.”

  Before the man could go any further, the SecDef interrupted, “What’s being done to stop these attacks? Do we know who’s perpetrating them?”

  “Um, yes,” the man said, wringing his hands nervously. “The attack signatures correlate directly to a series of known Russian and Chinese hacker groups. As to what we’re doing to stop them—well, the NSA has taken it upon themselves to launch a series of direct counterattacks against the groups and organizations behind them. In one instance, a series of hackers were found to be operating out of Cyprus. In that particular case, those four individuals, who had been working out of a rented office space, were summarily arrested by the local police at the behest of the FBI. Those hackers are now in the process of being extradited to the US, where I suspect the Department of Justice will probably be filing charges against them.”

  The man smiled. “Another group was carrying out attacks from a location in Hong Kong. However, their computers were fried by a malicious code.”

  McElroy nodded and appeared happy to hear that something was actually being done against those who were attacking the nation through the internet.

  The CyberCom guy awkwardly concluded, “That completes our organization’s current hot topics.” Then the man sat down, clearly relieved to be done with his brief. Seth reflected that the poor guy looked like he was more comfortable behind a computer in a dark basement than briefing the Secretary of Defense and other military leaders.

  Next came a tall, good-looking Hispanic man from the Department of Homeland Security. Seth thought the man was better suited to be a GQ model than a Homeland briefer.

  “We’re officially a week away from early voting in most of the country. While we have seen an increase in the number of cyber-attacks against the vendor responsible for the blockchain voting app, there have been no breaches of the system. There have also been no breaches of the voter rolls being managed by the individual states or the replicant copy being held by Homeland.

  “Another area of concern is polling security. Due to the increased chatter on a cluster of extremist chat boards, we’ve established eighty-two regional support teams of investigators, technicians and federal agents to assist local law enforcement at locations deemed likely terrorist targets.

  “We’re also monitoring the entrance of known foreign intelligence operatives into the country. What is of particular concern is a recent spike in Chinese, Russian, and surprisingly, German intelligence operatives entering the US. In the past week, we’ve seen more intelligence operatives from these three countries crossing our borders than we’d previously detected in the past two years. This has, of course, been handed over to the FBI’s counterintelligence group, who is actively monitoring what these individuals are doing and who they are meeting with. That concludes our brief.”

  The man immediately sought to sit down and seemed to disappear before he could be asked any questions. Sadly, like most of the folks in the room, Seth knew he was just a briefer and wasn’t going to be able to provide much more depth than what he’d already provided. It usually meant folks like Seth were stuck formulating follow-up questions to send to their individual points of contact for further clarification.

  Seeing no further questions, the SecDef dismissed the interagency briefers, which just left the military commanders in the room. Now that it was just them, he shook his head and slammed his hands down on the lectern. “We know everyone and their brother is gunning for us in this election. The administration has made some serious enemies these past four years, and everyone wants their pound of flesh, especially the Chinese.”

  He took a deep breath, steadying himself. “As of right now, we’ve been given no orders or direction by the administration in the case of foreign interference. While there may not be a military solution the administration can hand down to us yet, I can assure you CyberCom and the NSA are kicking the hell out of the hacker groups that are causing us some problems. I’ve been fully authorized to allow CyberCom to go on the offensive against these organizations and groups.”

  The SecDef leaned forward on his hands. “What the briefers left out was the half dozen cyber-attacks we launched last week against the People’s Liberation Army and the Russian GRU. I firmly believe the Russian and Chinese mobilization of troops is in direct response to our electronic meatgrinder we just put them through. They’re pissed, and they’re going to look for ways to hit back. I want you guys to make sure your commands are ready for whatever they may throw our way.”

  Turning to look at his European commander, McElroy continued, “I especially want you guys to keep an eye on what that kraut UN leader is doing. I don’t like this idea of a UN standing army that is answerable only to him. I really don’t like the idea that Germany and France have already agreed to place their national armies largely under UN control should they ever be needed. I also want you to keep an eye on what the Russians are up to. Make sure our Polish and Romanian allies are kept in the loop too. If things kick off with Russia, chances are they’ll be the only allies we’ll be able to count on for help.”

  Shifting his gaze, the SecDef now looked at General Royal. “I want your snake eaters ready to deploy at a moment’s notice wherever they are needed. I’ve been told by the administration that if there’s a terrorist attack or massive civil unrest up to, or following the election, JSOC may be asked to provide ‘advisory support’ to local law enforcement. As we get closer to the election, keep your guys on a short leash.”

  The meeting lasted another thirty minutes as the senior military leaders discussed a few contingency plans. Should things heat up in Eastern Europe or Asia, either prior to or shortly after the election, they already had protocols in place.

  Secretary of Defense McElroy concluded the meeting with one final thought. “It’s during these periods of possible transfer of government power between the two political parties that America finds itself in its most vulnerable position. If the party in power loses, then the last thing we want to do is cause or rush into a military conflict that might tie the hands of the incoming administration. Unfortunately, America’s enemies know this and often try to use that transition period as a time to cause chaos. We have to make sure that our enemies know we’re ready for them, so they don’t try to get frisky.”

  With the meeting done, Seth found himself and their two junior captains quickly following the boss to their waiting vehicle that would take them back to Reagan for the two-hour flight back to Tampa. It had been a short trip, but an enlightening one.

  The flight went by quickly, with the captains typing up their notes and drafting up follow-up questions that would be sent to the various interagency groups. When they returned to MacDill, they’d have their hands full tracking everything down for the command brief that would be held the following day.

  *******

  The next morning, Seth walked over to the interagency bullpen in the operations center and quickly found Special Agent Leslie Clancy’s cubicle. Her office space was a corner cubicle, completely adorned with Ole Miss paraphernalia, including a decorative rebel gnome. As Seth approached her cube, he knocked on the edge of the half-wall, announcing his presence.

  Leslie swiveled around on her chair to face him, a perplexed look on her face. “Oh, hey, Colonel Mitchell. How are you doing?” she asked.

  “I’m good, Leslie. You can just call me Seth,” he replied. He pulled up one of the empty chairs that was close to her cubicle and took a seat.

  “Sorry, force of habit when I work with you military types,” she said, cheeks ever so slightly flushed. “What can I do for you, Seth?”

  “Well, first, what has you so perplexed?” he asked. “You looked like you were trying to figure something out when I walked up.”

  “We just received a flash message from Homeland before you came over. They think there’s going to be a terrorist attack on the first day of early voting in Mississippi.”

  “Really? Do they have an idea on where or who may be in
volved?” Seth asked, genuinely concerned.

  Leslie shook her head. “No, not yet. I mean, no, they’re not sure where in Mississippi it might happen, but they’re pretty certain ISIS is behind it.” She paused for a second as she turned around and reached for some papers. Finding what she was looking for, she turned around and handed Seth a paper with two mugshots on it. “These two guys were apprehended last night at the Canadian border. They were caught trying to cross at Highgate, Vermont.”

  Raising an eyebrow, Seth quickly read the background on the first guy. He had previously been encountered by US forces in Iraq in 2009, when he was apprehended during a targeted raid on a terrorist safe house. He’d spent four years in prison before he was broken out of a Taji prison facility in 2013. Since then, he’d been a suspected ISIS leader in northern Iraq and Syria. His capture at the US border would raise a lot of security concerns.

  “Any idea on who this other guy is that’s traveling with him?” Seth asked as he looked over what little info they had on him so far.

  Shaking her head, Leslie responded, “Not yet. Neither of them is talking, either. Then again, we’ve only had them in custody for nine hours, so it’s still early.”

  Hmm…maybe the boss could get JSOC involved in the questioning process, Seth thought.

  “Are you able to make a copy of this for me? I’d like to show this to the general and get his take on it.”

  A grin broke across Leslie’s face. “You want to see if he’ll get some of your folks from Bragg involved, don’t you? Well, don’t. This whole case is about to get blown up in the media. The FBI Director is going to make an announcement around noon about this apprehension. They want to highlight the administration’s efforts to ensure election security and further justify Sachs’s efforts in moving forward with the border wall funding outside of Congress.”