Bonner Incident

by Thomas A. Watson

  The next stop was a sporting goods store. He bought a canvas gun case that looked like a guitar case. As he was looking around, he saw boxes of the match grade .338 Lapua he shot and grabbed them, since he wouldn’t be using his reloading kit at home anytime soon. Granted, he had several hundred rounds at the dugout but more never hurt anybody and at ten dollars a shell, the feds should feel privileged he was shooting them with it. A part of him felt they should send him a thank you card for the thought.

  Grabbing a few more items, he left and stopped at a private mail store. He sent the envelopes and left to find another hotel nearby. It took two hotels till he got one with a room on the ground floor that he could park beside. He didn’t want to be seen hauling shit up and down the stairs. It wasn’t a top of the line hotel, which was exactly what Joshua wanted. Looking at the cars around the lot, he saw an old beat up van and walked over to it, dropping two credit cards and the license that belonged to one of the state troopers.

  Then he went into the small bar at the hotel and found what he thought would be there; shadier citizens. He went straight to the bathroom and laid the other troopers credit cards and license beside a toilet and left for his room. Walking out of the bar, he saw the van was gone but so were the credit cards. Moving the stuff from the BMW to the room, he closed the blinds.

  Setting up his laptop first, he checked the news and the site still hadn’t posted the video. On every major news site, the BATF announced that the explosion was from a generator being too close to the fuel tanks. The Homeland Director had issued a memo outlining safety at all government facilities to make sure it never happened again.

  “Set up another one like that close to home and we’ll see,” Joshua said shaking his head. Scrolling down, he paused upon seeing the death toll so far was over three hundred with more wounded, but the total was expected to rise. “Yeah, see what happens when you mess with the family? This Joshua doesn’t blow horns to make walls fall down, he blows them up.”

  Sitting at the little table, Joshua continued writing and refining what he planned to do and how to do it.

  ***

  When Joshua was buying clothes at Goodwill, Agent Griffey was stepping out of a limo at the White House. Following a Secret Service agent, after having his briefcase scanned, Griffey was led to one of the conference rooms and told to wait. He sat down and opened his briefcase, pulling out his notes and folders.

  Ten minutes later, the President, Homeland Director and the Speaker of the House walked in, and Griffey jumped out of his chair to stand, as the three walked to the other end of the table. After they’d sat down, he took his seat again.

  “Agent Griffey, what the hell is going on out there?” the Director asked, leaning back in his chair.

  “Sir, it was an unfortunate event, but we will catch Mr. Anderson. The terrain and the remoteness presents many problems. We are talking over a million acres sir, with very little road access. The teams have to climb up on mountain tops just to radio or use a satellite phone.”

  The Speaker leaned over the table. “Have you been watching the internet? They are making this Joshua out to be some kind of savior to fight against the evil of Washington. We can only control the mainstream media for so long and they will be forced to report it.”

  “Mr. Speaker, I assure you, we are moving with all haste, but unlike others we’ve faced before, Mr. Anderson isn’t holed up in a cabin or barn. We will get him, I assure you.”

  The Director shook his head. “Agent Griffey, if Mr. Anderson leaves Idaho in custody and alive, you will be lucky to get a job flipping burgers. We can’t be seen as ‘taking from the working class’. The IRS has gone through a lot of trouble to seize the assets that our agencies have targeted.”

  “Understood sir, and I’ve informed my agents in the field. I have at minimum, two Homeland agents on every team.”

  “So, care to explain why you are here and not at a press conference, telling America how he died in a shootout with us?” the Director asked.

  “Sir, Agent Moore…” Griffey stopped as the Speaker slapped the table.

  “Agent Griffey, choose your words carefully here. Agent Moore is highly decorated. He’s had movies made about some of his captures. Trying to place any blame on him will be detrimental to you.”

  “Mr. Speaker, I was going to say Agent Moore provided me with assessments of how to improve our teams’ functions in the field. We were implementing them when the tragedy struck. I’m certain if we would’ve been able to implement these recommendations, we would’ve seen some strong results,” Griffey said, trying to remain calm because that was definitely not what he’d been about to say.

  The Speaker rifled through some papers and held one up. “Were those recommendations about increasing team size, training them in basic mountain survival, learning how to operate long range radios… Stuff like that?”

  “Yes Mr. Speaker.”

  “In my report, these recommendations from Agent Moore were made before he ever landed and yet, you waited over a week before even attempting to implement them. If you thought so much of them, why didn’t you implement them sooner?”

  “In my haste, I thought with enough manpower, we could sight the suspect and corner him. I highly underestimated the terrain and the training needed to operate in it.”

  With a slight nod, the Speaker grinned and leaned back in his chair. “Yes, I can see how you’ve risen through the ranks so fast. You downplay your failures with eagerness and zeal, but accept responsibility. Let me fill you in, Agent Griffey. Civil asset forfeiture has grown out of the billions son. It’s become a viable revenue for this great country. We can’t have people thinking they can fight us when we take their money and possessions so our country can prosper.”

  “I understand completely, Mr. Speaker.”

  “These last three years your team alone has brought this country almost seven hundred billion dollars. That’s great work for your country, son, but letting the masses see one of their own fight back and though he’s not winning, he is fighting back and that can’t be tolerated.”

  “Agent Griffey,” the President said, leaning back and swiveling his chair slightly side to side.

  “Yes, Mr. President.”

  “How come I signed a presidential order to secure the suspect’s child, to assure his safety from his father, and this child isn’t in our possession? You think a sheriff in Idaho supersedes my order?”

  “Mr. President, Sheriff Harper arrived at our command area with over a hundred armed people and had another hundred coming across the lake to hit us in the back, unless we turned the child over to him. I refused, as my order instructed, and Sheriff Harper ordered his men to spread out and prepare to fire. His instructions were to kill every federal personnel on site and secure the child of Mr. Anderson. Agent Moore intervened and ordered our men to stand down and return Mr. Anderson’s child to the sheriff. In Agent Moore’s defense, he didn’t know of the order as I was instructed and later stated we would be fighting the entire region if the sheriff had opened fire.”

  The President slapped the table, looking at the Speaker. “I told you, these sheriffs have too much power in their counties. How can they justify not following federal authorities?”

  “I know Mr. President,” the Speaker said solemnly. “Agent Griffey, how do you plan to solve this problem?”

  “I’ve made a report Mr. Speaker,” Griffey said taking several stacks of paper out and carrying them to the end of the table. “I’m relocating my command area to a Forestry Service airfield south of the town of Nordman. I want to isolate my command and operating area from the locals. Though we haven’t proved it, we think they are providing Mr. Anderson with information on our movements-,”

  “How? You have the phones and radio monitored?” the Director asked, reading the report.

  “Word of mouth sir,” Griffey said looking at his own report. “Like I’ve said, we haven’t proved it and we’re working on it, but the information we had built up i
s gone now and we will have to start over. Likewise, Agent Moore was working on refining his profile and narrowing the search area and as you know, his top aide, Agent Kellogg was murdered. All that work will have to be repeated also, as it was destroyed in the blast. Agent Winters should be there by now and Agent Moore says she is as good if not better than him.”

  Reading the report, the Director shook his head. “So, you need two more weeks to get set up again?”

  “For full operations sir. I’ve got twenty teams now out in the field. From Moore’s recommendation, most are ten man teams. They will keep the search going, but until those two projects are complete and I have my full complement of agents in the field, I have little hope that they will actually spot Mr. Anderson. But I feel it’s important to the people that they see we don’t stop, even in adversity.”

  “I like that part,” the President chuckled. “That should send a message to others until you capture him.”

  “Yes Mr. President. I want to show that we will never stop.”

  “Agent Griffey, in your recommendations, you are asking for those civilians whose houses were destroyed to have us force their insurance companies to rush payment and also provide them housing until this is over and they can rebuild,” the Director said reading, then looked up. “Why should we take the trouble?”

  “Sir, the population is actively resisting. If I can just make them neutral, it would make my job a lot easier and I can be done that much faster. I’ve provided a copy of the letter from Sheriff Harper in that report that explicitly states; if any agent ventures on private land without consent or a warrant to do so, they will be held accountable. Further, he states that if the owner of the land is forced, harmed or fired on and returns fire, his deputies will respond to assist the landowner. He concludes by saying they will figure out what went wrong as they stack up federal agents’ bodies.”

  The Director glanced at the President, “We need to remove this man.”

  “Director, I would highly advise against that right now,” Griffey said. “As Agent Moore pointed out to me, even if the sheriff had a genuine accident causing his death, we would be fighting the populace. We would have a thousand Mr. Andersons running around in the mountains.”

  “I agree,” the Speaker said, reading the report. “You want two thousand federal agents to do this search?”

  “Using Agent Moore’s recommendations, that would be the minimum to field ten man teams. Remember, a thousand alone would be used in support. We don’t have the local law enforcement that usually fills those roles.”

  The President held up a sheet of paper. “Yes, the governor of Idaho had this hand delivered to me yesterday. He refuses to mobilize the National Guard and if I federalize them, he announced publicly that he would issue blanket pardons for any that refused to mobilize. The attorney general has confirmed he can do this and the soldiers can’t be prosecuted.”

  “We need to change that,” the Speaker said, looking up from the report. “I’ll talk to the security council.”

  “Sir, if I may,” Agent Griffey said clearing his throat and the President nodded. “I don’t want any local help that isn’t in a federal department. I understand Agent Moore’s thoughts on this, but they have shown time and time again to only hinder our progress. I suggest we take care of this from the top.”

  The President looked at the Director. “What do you think?”

  “I’m going to have to agree with Agent Griffey. I’ve read the daily reports from the supervisors and they all said just about the same thing that he just did.”

  “Give him what he needs,” the President nodded, and Griffey felt all tingly inside.

  “Hold on Mr. President,” the speaker said raising a hand and the tingles left. “Griffey, you had over fourteen hundred agents and from the latest reports, you’ve lost over forty percent and I have a feeling when the body count and wounded are tallied up, the two hundred and seventy some odd agents who are actively working now will be the extent of what’s left,” he said leaning back. “And you think that just increasing this by a few hundred more to start over will actually yield results?”

  “Mr. Speaker, I know what this exercise costs and have the projected daily figures with the new request and I brought that into account as I made the report.”

  “Yes, I saw, and you’re not getting what I told you earlier. Civil asset forfeiture nets us almost a sixty billion a year and is growing very fast, yet your projected cost is only two hundred and fifty thousand dollars a day to run this operation. You really think it’s not worth investing a little more to protect that revenue?”

  “Sir, I’m an agent and have always been instructed to monitor Washington’s money, and I have done so to the best of my abilities.”

  “Agent Griffey, think. With the money we get from civil asset forfeiture we could fund your search for Mr. Anderson for six million years with a daily cost of a quarter of a million dollars. Don’t you think we need to invest a little more in protecting this valuable revenue, so others don’t get the same idea and we end up spending that on ten search areas?”

  The Director glanced over at the Speaker, “We can’t use troops on our own soil, even for a lone wolf, the backlash would escalate dramatically,” he said in a low voice.

  “Director, we have more than a hundred and fifty thousand federal agents who are licensed to carry firearms and make arrests. That’s not including the State Department with their tremendous assets. You have double that in paper pushers that you could use to support those in the field.”

  “I’m very aware of the numbers sir,” the Director said curtly.

  “If we can’t solve this with those numbers alone, against one man, people with deep pockets will replace us with others who can,” the Speaker said and looked at the President, giving a slight nod.

  Leaning over the table looking at Griffey, the President lowered his voice. “Agent Griffey, you will draw up a new proposal to accommodate four thousand personnel for this task force. I expect to see the rough draft in ten hours.”

  “Mr. President!” Griffey gasped, feeling terrified and thrilled at the same time. “Just setting up the infrastructure to house, feed and support a task force that size will take a month. Homeland, the Justice Department, FBI and other agencies only have so many that can set up a command area. I would have to use most of the manpower just to carve out a place to set up.”

  The President looked at the Speaker, who nodded and turned to Griffey. “When we get your report in ten hours outlining the operations area, the Corp of Engineers will move in and start setting it up tomorrow morning. I assure you, they will be done before your new agents arrive. They may operate in that function and will depart when they are done.”

  “If I may take my leave sirs. I need to start immediately,” Griffey said gathering papers and looking up.

  “We expect results,” the President said.

  Griffey paused in gathering his papers. “With this, I can guarantee them.”

  “Agent Griffey, do you know Homeland Senior Agent Benjamin Wagner?” the Speaker asked and the papers fell from Griffey’s hand.

  “Yes sir,” he swallowed hard. “I’ve worked with Agent Wagner before.”

  “Yes, he’s a snake, but he knows how to accomplish a task, much like yourself,” the Speaker chuckled.

  The Director grinned. “I’m assigning him to replace Burrows. The FBI is furious, but we need someone who can play ball.”

  “Sirs, why not move Agent Moore to second in command?” Griffey almost begged. Where he was a zealot in his job and duties, Wagner was beyond a fanatic.

  “Agent Moore has his uses, but as I’m sure you’ve found out by now, he will hold back from worrying about consequences that could be handled later,” the Speaker said. “Don’t let that confuse you that he isn’t listened to around here. He’s captured more serial killers than any other law officer in the country, not to mention terrorists. Use his strengths, but don’t try to make him the fall guy for y
our failures.”

  Griffey’s eyes grew wide staring at the Speaker, and the Speaker smiled. “I see you understand now,” the Speaker said. “He’s untouchable while you and the others aren’t. Unless you’re an idiot, you’ll see that Moore is excellent in finding, capturing and sometimes, eliminating violent suspects. He’s too well known, liked and intelligent to be caught up taking the fall for a mistake. As third in command, he is far enough away from the top to not be hurt if it goes bad, but close enough to the top to receive praise as a key element when this ends in a job well done.”

  Slowly closing his eyes as he nodded, “I understand Mr. Speaker,” Griffey said.

  “Any other questions Agent Griffey?” the Director asked, scooping up the papers in front of him.

  “Yes sir. Has Agent Wagner been notified that I’m in charge and no actions are to be taken without my approval?”

  The Director laid his papers down and looked at Griffey. “Yes, he’s been informed that if he attempts another stunt like Miami, he will be shot in a dark room and buried in the desert. I informed him personally.”

  Letting out a huge sigh of relief, Griffey gathered his papers. “Then we are good, sir. I’ll have my preliminary report outlined and in your hands in ten hours. The completed report, I’m requesting another ten hours to go over the details with my team.”

  “You have twenty,” the President said. “When will you be able to resume full operations?”

  “Sir, I would like to bring the personnel in as groups that can be trained before putting them in the field. Space and instructors will be an issue, but with a hundred field agents arriving every three days when the command area is ready, we can be up to full operation in thirty days.”

  “It’s unavoidable, but I see no other choice,” the Director said, looking at the President and Speaker. “Agent Griffey, make sure you keep a tight lid on leaks. We don’t need the public finding out anything that we don’t want them to know.”

  “Yes sir,” Griffey said, stuffing papers and folders in his briefcase.

  “Agent Griffey, I would like you to give a message to Agent Moore from me,” the Speaker said staring at him with a grave expression. Griffey nodded with a smile. “Tell Agent Moore to quit writing letters asking to pull back and not escalate any further. Tell him he’s invaluable but not irreplaceable, so stop avoiding his chain of command. We will not show weakness here!” he finished by slapping the table.