Systematic Attrition

by Waggoner, Robert C.

  Agent Jones replied to his statement, “I want to join up and anyone knows where a guy could attend one of their meetings?”

  Another of the table talkers said, “Rumors have it they are a closed group of young lawyers with connections. Speculation has it that one of them is a member of Gainesforth, Billings & Westward a Wall Street firm that only hires Ivy League top of the class lawyers.”

  The last one said, “Also, rumor has it anyone blabbering will find themselves dead in a dumpster. These guys mean business. I’m sorry gentlemen, but I’m out of here and back down to Texas if I can get a flight out of here.” At that all got up and went their separate ways. Agent Jones made it look like he was in no hurry and went to the counter and had a piece of pie he didn’t want. Twenty minutes later he was on the phone to the Round House.

  The Undersecretary was on his way home when Agent Jones made the phone call to Brad. He was reading some reports and going over what he would report to his boss and the president. England was nervous about China gobbling up all the available oil and even cozying up to Russia for a pipeline down from their oil fields through Mongolia and into China. The president would not be happy when he reported in tomorrow his thought as the fasten seat belt sign came on for the last time he would see it or ride an airplane again.

  That next morning, as the Undersecretary was supposed to hear the wake up knock of his housekeeper, no answer was heard. Finally the housekeeper, a Filipina opened the door and saw her boss sleeping on his side facing the nightstand with the light still on. A plastic medicine bottle lay on the floor and he had a pool of yellowish fluid on the bed and it has run down the side onto the gold rug barely visible blending in nicely. She saw his eyes were open along with his mouth and ran from the room to the kitchen phone and dialed 911.

  At nine thirty am that same morning as the former Undersecretary Ronald Livel was being transported to the morgue, Nancy Longstreet was on the phone with Brad at the Round House to report the murder. She told him it was supposed to look like suicide, but no note was discovered. She also told him no clue at the Washington Monument was found probably because of the snow storm. Brad then informed her of recent developments of Agent Jones and Mike Henshaw having two good leads to follow up on as to the identity of the group known as PAE. He rang off asking her for a complete report on what they found out about how the assassin got in and out and all things related, like footprints in the snow. Check for fibers as that may give us a clue to where he is from he told her.

  Brad no more than hung up when Steve called him. Brad had the portable phone and was pacing around the living area while the rain continued beating against the window. The old Master was drinking his morning tea with his wife. Brad had cleared out the sofa and the floor tables sat next to the old wooden table contrasting their style. The Master had been using the space for training until the weather broke. Sujin told him he didn’t much like rain so he was training her to walk on newspapers without making a sound or having them move. Brad was impressed as his wife after only a few attempts walked across soundlessly. He tried it and failed miserably. However, he kept at it until he could walk across the newspapers mostly without making a sound. Then the hard part came when the Master made a circle of the newspaper and made Sujin run around the circle doing the impossible task of not moving the papers or making a sound. What Billy and Wendy didn’t know was the Master would not ask anyone to do something he couldn’t do. Meanwhile the training talk continued and Brad was listening to Steve tells about how the president went through the roof when he heard about his friend and cabinet member murdered. They talked a while longer and then Steve told him the president wanted to see him as soon as he could get there. Brad told him he would alert the pilots and be there by dark.

  Brad made a call to North Bend where the pilots lived and told them to ready the plane for takeoff. He walked downstairs and woke up Wendy and told her to get ready for a plane ride to Washington. Through sleepy eyes she jumped out of bed and made for the shower while he went to tell Billy what the plan was and to pack a bag for Washington. Rocky was outside and Sandy was next to the baby sleeping in the crib when Brad packed his bag. Twenty minutes later he gave his baby and wife a kiss and all left in the van for the flight to Washington DC and a meeting Brad really didn’t look forward to at all. Tenseness in his gut knowing full well the president was going to ask questions he had no answers for kept reminding him of a fateful meeting to come.

  Rocky was happy to be going somewhere again and during the flight he paced around the new plane and then finally jumped into a seat beside a downcast Billy. Billy and his friends had come up empty and realized the one key was to find where the message was sent from escaped them. Maybe then a trace on who had access to the mainframe would tell them the ‘who’; and then the ‘who’ could be found and stopped from killing anymore servants of the government.

  The Switch

  Chapter 6

  The new Gulf Stream landed at Andrews Air Force Base on a bright sunny setting sun to the west on the day after Martin Luther King’s national holiday. The storm was out over the Atlantic while the east coast dug its way out of a two week's snow storm. Brad and his team were ferried by helicopter to the White House. They were led by Steve to a conference room where the FBI director and his special agent in charge Nancy Longstreet sat together and on around the table where the head of the secret service; Homeland security, NSA, CIA and the head of Brad’s agency the portly Neanderthal looking guy only known as Mr. X and Brad and Steve. Various other cabinet members including the Secretaries of State and Defense looked up as Brad and Rocky entered the room giving off a displeasure of seeing a large German Shepherd next to the man some were calling the next super hero after stopping the Senior Killer. Most were unaware of his previous operations and that he had a price on his head from the elusive Bin Laden.

  When the White House Chief of Staff came in he asked all to be seated and the president would be with them shortly. Ironically everyone was seated and it was obvious the Chief of Staff was nervous as hell Brad thought. Brad looked around the table and to a person all were either filling their glasses with water or doodling on legal pads. Then all eyes rose as the side door opened and in walked the president with a grim look on his face. In his usual manner, as Brad came to know it, he made eye contact around the table as if the teacher was taking role call to see if anyone was absent. When his eyes met Brad, he gave an almost imperceptible nod and continued around until finally he sat down. A file lay on the table and he absently picked it up and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, needless to say, we are being seriously challenged by an assassin with special abilities. Not since the Senior Killer of last year have we had such a threat to our nation and its citizens. From what I understand we have a group of people calling themselves the PAE or again if I understand it the PAE stands for People Against Exploitation assassinating people and in this case right wing politicians. I’ll not go there with the right or left, but we will go from where I’m sitting to the heads of security in this country to tell me what they are doing about stopping the assassinations. A 911 call to the police had just as well been in the press. Most I assume have seen the evening papers and the news on the TV and before tomorrow the media and our friends around the world are going to take a dim view of our political system. And on the other hand our enemies are rejoicing in the streets. Now let’s start with the FBI and move next to the NSA.”

  The FBI director stood up and all could see he was not having his best day. He said, “We, unfortunately, have no leads to speak of. We suspect the assassin is of Asian heritage trained in martial arts. This evidence of the poison dart discovered in the former speakers neck and some small footprints in the snow around the secretary’s house shows a rounded print indicating a type of shoe worn by martial arts experts. No fibers or prints other than household members have been discovered. The autopsy showed an overdose of very powerful sleeping pills. No other marks on the secretary’s body were found. We ran a profile on
the secretary and discovered no suicidal tendency in his past. We can assume he was forced to take the pills. We had security placed on the streets watching the house as well as secret service agents both outside and inside. Our agents reported no sign of an intruder and we are at a mystery how the assassin entered the house and left without being noticed. That is all I have to report at this time other than the fact we are trying to trace this PAE group, but so far nothing tangible has come up.” The director sat down and took a sip of water and wiped his brow with a handkerchief. Brad felt a little sorry for him, but the FBI was mostly out of the league chasing a black clad ghost.

  The NSA director stood up and said, “Mr. President, we have nothing to report above what was stated by the FBI director. We have placed our agents where we think they are needed within your cabinet. In addition, from what we observe, each of your cabinet members has a small army following them and in and out of their homes. Complaints are coming in and we are working closely with the FBI and other agencies.” She sat down and no one volunteered to report as the president looked around the table with a disgusted look on his face.

  He said, “All of you report back here at eleven am tomorrow with some plan of action. Now you are excused except for Brad, Steve and Mr. X.” The meeting over all filed out as hanging heads were seen with genuine concern on their faces. After they had left, the president said, “Brad you have two of your team members waiting outside, would you like them to join us for an informal discussion?”

  “Yes sir, I would,” said Brad. The president nodded to his Chief who left to bring Wendy and Billy into the conference room. Soon Billy and Wendy were sitting next to their boss and the president was introduced to them. The president was waiting for Brad to speak as his eyes were for him only. He ignored Steve and Mr. X. Brad was his man and knew he would get the true picture from him. Brad acknowledged his role and said standing up, “Mr. President, this is what we have to date. We have one member here in Washington who has a line on this PAE group as well we have another in New York who discovered the possibility of two members of this group working as lawyers for a very upscale Wall Street firm. We have two names and are doing a deep background check now. We prefer to keep this quiet for the moment and then we will bring in the FBI to put a watch on them. Meanwhile one member of our team is watching both of them as they live not far apart from each other. Now to the assassin, he is definitely Asian and skilled in martial arts. We will find him, but when is not known at this time. I can’t tell you more than this now, but when a plan is set, I will make sure word get to Steve and on up the line. If you have any questions or suggestions Mr. President I would be happy to answer them the best I can. I can tell you this much, catching this assassin is going to take a bit of luck and even if we identify their group and its members, chances are only one of them makes contact with the assassin. Finding that information is slim to none, however we are not helpless here and if we get another clue, which I doubt, we might know who the next victim will be. It would help sir, if we could have files on all of your cabinet members going back thirty years. That information is vital to our knowledge of who might be the next victim.” Brad sat down and the room went quiet. The president looked at the team members and Brad wondered what the president thought of Billy who was dressed in his usual blue jeans, hiking boots and a giant overcoat that looked like it came from the Salvation Army.

  The president said, “Brad I know you are doing the best you can and the news that you have a line on this group of fanatics is good news. But I fear the press is going to make the leftist drum pound coming out in force voicing a troop pullout on both fronts in the Middle East and Asia, not to mention a drastic overhaul of our air quality and fossil fuel use. Anyway keep me updated through the chain of command and God wish us luck.” He stood up signaling the meeting over and Brad and his team left with Mr. X following the president in the Oval Office.

  Nancy was waiting for Brad and the others to drive them to her office. The streets were mostly cleared off and the first stop was for dinner. Agent Jones was a pleasant surprise as he was waiting for them in an Italian restaurant sipping some red wine. He stood up as the others walked in and soon the conversations were flying around the table. Rocky gave Agent Jones a hello with his nose and promptly lay down under the table with his master’s feet. Brad just listened as Agent Jones filled them in on his overheard rumors and then Wendy told him about Mike finding two suspects in New York. Billy chipped in by saying he had no news to report, but just then his cell went off as he excused himself and left for the chill of the night for both a cigarette and the phone call.

  Brad told Nancy pretty much all that was said at the meeting with the president and she told him while waiting for him her boss informed her to have files on all cabinet members ready for your inspection by morning. Billy came back smelling like an ashtray, but nobody said anything as he reports saying, “Good news boss, we located the source of the transmission. My buddies in California did a great job. It is located in the basement of the Citibank near Wall Street,” he said with a big toothy grin.

  “Good work Billy,” Brad said. “Now in the morning very quietly Nancy we need to check it out for any prints and such things, Better yet, now would be the best time as most have gone home and the only security is probably there. Have your agents come in two at a time and no more than necessary to dust the place. I fear our PAE people are probably not on any fingerprint files, but at least we can eliminate the ones that are. Maybe we can get lucky and next time these boys go to lunch, we can get a fingerprint or two.” The table was filled up with minestrone soup and fresh bread. The smell made Brad realize he was hungry for the first time all day. He noticed Billy’s hand go under the table giving Rocky some bites of bread with cheese on it. Brad felt warm and comfortable with his team and now that Nancy was playing her part not adversely fighting the team, a cohesive fighting force was developing. Something now was happening. A lead to the source of the signal; a line of two guys who worked near the bank in question; and the knowledge of Agent Jones who found some scuttlebutt about a group of disenchanted people bent on bringing down one side of a balance of government.

  The world was a balance and all things intrinsic with the universe holding sway from tipping over upsetting the balance of all things. Good and evil; black and white; hot and cold; and on and on. Fools such as Hitler tried to ply their beliefs on the world and failed in the end. Brad thought about Alexander the Great. What was he so great about? All he did was rape the land and people until he ran out of geography. Think about all the small and large cultures he wiped out that could have fed our history books with rich knowledge to further our education. Then along came the religious wars. That was two thousand years ago and man was still at it today. Christians and Muslims were the players nowadays and even though both religions are similar in many ways, only the far left or right stirred the people.

  “Brad, are you with us?” Wendy said. “You look like you were a million miles away. Could you elaborate a little about the assassin and with our guest at the Round House?”

  Brad appreciated Wendy not mentioning the Master being there and said, “Nancy we have a plan to bring out the assassin where he will be challenged and not being able to refuse the challenge. I can’t tell you a whole lot more, but we have to be patient and let it develop. One thing I wonder is can we make our move before this assassin strikes again. I, we, have no idea what their schedule is and what if they hire another hit man or wait until one of the cabinet members takes a trip abroad or to another state for example. Wendy, give me what you know or surmise about this PAE fellowship of what appears young lawyer environmentalists.”

  “I called and talked to my old graduate adviser and she said this is fairly typical of the mindset today with young professionals but why these guys have gone over the edge is a mystery to her. The only thing is that they are feeding off each other and like a vigilante group in the old days where the fever of the moment took away all reasoning. We a
lso agreed that one member is more influential and holds more power over the group, but not necessarily making the final decisions on his own. For example, he broaches a statement and waits for all to agree or disagree. Remember these guys are critical thinkers educated in one or more of the best universities in the world. Their reasoning power is excellent and they have the ability to persuade with fallacies to the uneducated, like their families. We are up against a very intelligent group of guys who should and will command our respect. My adviser suggested some sort of negotiations might be one way to stop the killings.” Brad perked up with the mention of a negotiating with these guys. How would that work? An ad in the newspaper or the underground message left at the coffee shop. Then he remembered that this administration would not negotiate with terrorists. Even more, he thought, no way would this administration's change policies set in motion way back during the Regan days. No, he decided, negotiations were out of the question. Nothing but good police work and like a bloodhound on the scent, continues until the prey was stopped.

  “Okay, let’s start with the 911 call to the police. A high level murder or suicide would not go unnoticed by the police. Who answered the call and at what level did the police respond. Nancy do you know who from the police responded when the victim was ID?”

  “Let me see,” as she looked at her notes, “a police lieutenant by the name of Bill Morris a twenty year veteran with a damn good record of homicide cases solved. I understand he knows his way around DC very well. I’ve asked to see him in the morning.”

  Good. I want Agent Jones to work with this guy and we are going to New York and see Mike and check on what he has discovered.” Taking a sip of wine the main course of spaghetti arrived smelling like it should: garlic, onion and all the Italian herbs that go with it. Hot garlic bread from the basket arrived as they all dug in until nothing was left except the plates with red sauce lying naked on the checker board clothe tables.