With that Rodriguez sat down allowing Sammy to take the floor.
Sammy's tanned face and arms stood out in contrast to the short-sleeved white shirt and light-blue denim jeans he wore. The immediate impression created by his casual attitude misled others to think he was sloppy but Sammy Binks was anything but sloppy. He had a mind that was as sharp as a surgeon's scalpel and a memory like an elephant's.
"Thank you, sir," he said with respect to his divisional head. "As a Special Agent in the FBI, I became involved with the OLF about three years ago and started working my way towards gaining Jackson's trust, eventually becoming the person who made things happen. This was difficult because some of the things I had to do bordered on being illegal."
Sammy began summarizing his involvement, building his input to the Valkyrie plan, step by step—the approach made to Malcom Ensley, a staff sergeant at Peterson Air Force Base. Ensley's file showed that he might be the right person to "turn" toward the interests of the OLF and was in the exact position to provide the information they needed.
For the sake of secrecy and final aim of the deception the AFB Command was not informed that the hijacking of the SWANC system was a set-up. It was also therefore, a good test of the Base's general security systems. Sammy had orchestrated everything, from recruiting Ensley to getting him out of the country; from setting him up with the equipment to control the Cerberus system to the final press-of-the-key.
What Ensley did not know was that General Hollings had set up false iris scan material before Danielle Gruber's visit to the Pentagon. Sammy had recruited Danielle to actually break-in and steal the memory stick and make the OLF believe they had the real scans. The cipher codes were extracted by the use of a quantum computer in Saudi Arabia and Condor had arranged this himself. Ensley's control system, however, once set up on coordinates for firing could only fire if the uploaded iris scans were genuine.
Sammy ended his testimony with a chuckle. "With the false iris scan information, this did not happen. I arrested Ensley the moment he received the "decline to arm" warning, the computer being unable to verify the false scan information. We had achieved what we set out to do by getting Condor to connect remotely."
He sat down, relief written all over his face.
Again, Cassie Williamson stood to his feet. "Thank you, Sammy. We could not have achieved our objective without you. You did an outstanding job."
The Chief of Staff looked over at a couple sitting to the right of Jake and Colleen. The man in his mid-forties, with one arm in a sling, took Williamson's brief nod as affirmation to take the floor. Next to him was an attractive Chinese woman, who had been holding his hand throughout the entire process.
The man stood up slowly and appeared to be very weak. "My name is Doctor Jethro Goodman, employed by the Canadian Space Agency, and this beautiful woman next to me is Liu Wong, of the Chinese Space Agency. We were until recently, employed on the Lunar Mining Project supplying Helium-3 to the participating countries of the Global Energy Accord."
Jet explained his position as the Resource Specialist for the project and his function in the mining process. He retraced to the first incident, when sudden disruptions began, almost taking his life through the explosion at the solar array. He paid homage to Chen Ng who had saved his life that day, then paused for a brief moment to allow an emotion of grief to pass.
If dropped, a pin would have been heard, as everyone realized that Chen Ng was one of the fallen heroes of the project. The general news was that there had been several deaths by "accident." The public knew nothing at this stage of what had really transpired on the moon, a subject that would have to wait until a full enquiry had been completed and the astronauts had been through a substantial debriefing.
Jet cleared his throat and continued his testimony. "I cannot say too much regarding the chaos that reigned for a short while because it is classified and still under investigation, but I will say this. Helium-3 mining will not stop. A concerted effort was made to disrupt and retard the process—to a degree the enemies of the Accord succeeded, but it will not stop us."
Jet looked down, lovingly at Lui Wong and said, "Twice my life has been saved—once by Chen Ng and then again by Lui Wong. Lui is my hero and soon-to-be wife. Again, I cannot go into the details here, but she has more than just saved my life physically, she has saved it emotionally, mentally and spiritually." He grabbed her hand as she stood alongside him and raised it above her head. Everyone started clapping as the couple embraced each other and kissed.
After the clapping died down, Jet pointed to the two men in NASA jackets and introduced them. "I want to pay homage to our rescuers, Colonel Ian Masters and Captain Darryl Thompson, pilots of the Spirit of Victory. If they had not intervened when they did, we may not be standing here before you."
Both Ian and Darryl gave a short bow and waved at everyone and the clapping started again.
Cassie Williamson waited for the two pilots to be seated again before making his concluding remarks.
"As Mia Anderson, our CIA Deputy Director said, exposing the business of Arthur Jackson and his involvement with the OLF was not the main objective. We needed to expose the key player who was directing the Valkyrie Process, a dastardly plan to assassinate all the heads of state involved in the recent G8 Summit, to replace them with puppets, and to seize control of the United Sates government."
All eyes were on the Chief of Staff. "I had informed the president at the beginning of his term that someone was plotting a conspiracy and that the outgoing president had also known of this. President Baker gave me permission to continue with the counterplan to protect his administration."
Williamson was enjoying himself. There was one final bit of information he wanted to share and finally he had arrived at its door.
"We gambled that Condor would want to be in on the final stroke. He had stayed behind the scenes for years preparing, giving orders, and successfully staying out of sight. But on that final day, the day his diabolical plan was to accomplish its final phase, he wanted to be there. We were waiting for him when he made his one and only grave mistake—connecting to the computer Ensley was using to set up the SWANC firing system."
Cassie was flying high at that very moment. He told his audience how ecstatic he was when they had picked Condor up and charged him with conspiracy to commit acts of mass murder and high treason. A day before the summit an interesting bit of information to tie Condor to the OLF, the Valkyrie plan and the moon mining project had been gleaned by one document that Jake had photographed while in Jackson's office.
It was the communication between Jackson and someone with the initial "E", regarding Valkyrie and the disruption of the Lunar Project. Colonel Ian Masters had reported the entire sequence of events on the moon to the NSC. The initial "E" had a bearing on two people, either of whom might have been deeply involved with the OLF. One of these two was the OLF's "moon agent!"
Williamson looked toward the back entrance of the briefing room and nodded at someone who was waiting to get his attention. He stopped with his explanation and said, "Everyone, please rise—the President of the United States!"
The members of the group were all astonished to see President Richard Baker and the members of the National Security Council enter the room. Everyone stood as the President took the podium. The NSC all stood behind him.
"Please take your seats again, ladies and gentlemen. I will be brief. There's a late lunch being served in your honor after this, and I certainly don't want to stand in the way of the hungry."
Everyone laughed and felt the sudden tension of the moment disappear. The circle of people hastily moved their chairs to face the podium. The President paused and looked everyone in the eye before continuing with his speech.
"I would have been here to hear your testimonies but there were some important issues to get through in the Oval Office. I understand that Cassie and Mia have filled you in on much of the remaining detail regarding the bringing to justice of those who have perpetra
ted murder and treason. Valkyrie was an ill-conceived plan by one man, who managed to get the support of some very wealthy oil barons in several of the oil-producing countries. We only knew of him as Condor."
The President paused and stared through his round-rimmed spectacles, gathering everyone's attention.
"I am going to expose this person to you today because you deserve to know. Tomorrow it will be all over the news and will become common knowledge.
Cassie was telling you that one of two people on the moon mining project was doing the OLF's bidding. These two people were Evgeny Chekov and Elizabeth Eaton."
The President, wanting to be brief quickly related the rest of the story. When they had done research on the two people in question, they found that Elizabeth Eaton had a connection to Condor. She had been married to his son many years ago but had kept her own name. Unfortunately, her husband who later worked for the CIA, was killed in the line of his duty. Elizabeth had remained in constant contact with her farther-in-law and became an underground member of the OLF. This had given them the final clue to Condor's possible identity. The certainty came when Condor could not resist being involved in the final move of Valkyrie's first phase—connecting to Ensley's computer remotely from his residence in D.C.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Condor is none other than the Vice President of the United States, Basil Horne!
∞∞
Epilogue
The soft rays of the morning sun warmed Jet's skin as he sat on a bench with Lui Wong at his side. The bench was the same one that Jackson, Anderson, Binks, and Rodriguez had sat on during their final meeting in Lafayette Square Park. The couple, of course, had no knowledge of this trivia and were simply enjoying the sights of the gardens and parks surrounding the White House.
Lui asked Jet if he thought Beth Eaton was an attractive woman and he answered with a scowl, looking deeply into her large, brown eyes. He told her that sometimes woman were very beautiful on the outside but the inside was just a black hole. He told her that Beth was such a woman. "But you," he said, "are absolutely beautiful, on both sides!" She blushed and placed her head on his good shoulder.
Beth Eaton's final strategy was really unknown. Would she have killed everyone and told the pilots of the Super Shuttle that she was the sole survivor of a mass murder and that she had finally prevailed over that murderer? Nobody knows. Did she act on loyalty to her ex-father-in-law, Condor, and the OLF? Or was she, perhaps motivated by the bitterness and anger of having lost her husband so early in life? She had refused to speak to anyone and was in prison awaiting trial.
The funerals of the nine fallen astronaut miners were to be held the following week, which gave Jet and Lui some time off to see the sights of Washington, D.C. They planned to get married at the first opportunity, once everything was behind them. They had not decided if a return to the moon mining operation was still a viable option for them since it had proved to be fraught with physical difficulties and dangers. It might be much better if they simply took up posts with any one of several opportunities that would be open for earth-bound careers. They would cross that bridge once the full debriefing was completed.
The President of the United States and his staff of loyal advisors settled down to work once again, confident that the second-term privilege of Baker's presidency, when it came, would rest firmly on the fact that they had endured and dissolved a deadly conspiracy aimed at toppling the government. The Energy Participation agreement was intact. Helium-3 would still be the choice of a new energy source for the future and the lunar mining project would continue.
Mia Anderson had softened her attitude to Charley Baines and Greg Gladstone who had both received promotions for the dangerous part they had played in bringing down the conspiracy.
Martin Rodriguez was back in his normal role as Divisional Head of Counterterrorism and Rubin Klein was still Special Agent in Charge, waiting for the next drama to unfold.
Kevin and Evelyn Dodd were reconciled after Kevin, with the help of a surprise visitor to their home, Cassie Williamson, had explained Kevin's involvement.
Sammy Binks received a promotion and was moved to another branch of the FBI.
Camilla Jackson disappeared from Baltimore and the political social life of the Senate. Having filed for divorce, she had opted out of the socialite role in search of a quieter life.
*
Jake and Colleen sat together at the kitchen table enjoying a delicious fried egg and sausage breakfast. It had been two days since the meeting with the President and all the others who had been involved in exposing Valkyrie. Kenny had come home and was out in the driveway shooting hoops while his parents made new plans for their lives as a family.
Their breakfast discussion still tracked elements of the presidential meeting and the honor that was so lavishly bestowed on them by the President and his Chief of Staff. They had both been overwhelmed by the commitment the others had displayed in the exposing of Jackson and Condor, wondering if their own contribution had really made a difference, but it had helped to turn the tide.
Basil Horatio Horne had abused his position as a trusted leader to further an objective of power and retention of wealth for the oil barons of the world. He was a ruthless, pragmatic man who gave the impression of being a supportive pillar to the most powerful politician in the free world. Yet beneath the surface, he had plotted and connived to gain what did not belong to him. Horne had always wanted the top job, but his motivating force was greed, and greed is the vice that covets power, strangling all the goodwill of a system that strives to bring political harmony through honor and justice.
The term impeachment is commonly performed on the office of a president but vice presidents and other government officials are also impeachable. The process of impeachment for a vice president requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate.
Colleen had given the full story to one of her trusted journalist colleagues at the Daily Mail and edited the story herself. The news agencies were overflowing with the saga, not only of the vice president's impeachment but that of Senator Jackson as well.
It was a great boost to Jake's self-confidence to finally be free of the Jackson yoke, not only for his self-esteem but also for his future career. Cassie Williamson had asked Jake if he would like to take up a position as assistant to the press secretary at the White House, paving the way for a new career. Jake did not commit himself immediately but asked for a few days to discuss it with Colleen first.
The issue of the cocaine abuse had been degraded to a minor problem, hopefully to be dealt with in the near future. He had promised Colleen to go on a detox course and quit the habit completely. After all, he had every reason to be clean. Before them lay the foundation of a great future, not only in the reconstruction of their marriage, but also in the promise of a close family relationship. Kenny was ecstatic that his parents were together and he could rely on having his father back home again.
Colleen was cautiously optimistic regarding the offer made to Jake by the Chief of Staff, and they talked about it for hours. Finally they made a joint decision that he should take it and use the expertise he had gained as a news professional and investigative journalist.
*
Suffice it to say that heroes never really ride off into the sunset. The saga of the conspiracy was over and peace reigned for the time being. Jake finally took the position as an assistant to the White House press secretary and Colleen resigned her job as a senior editor for the Baltimore Daily Mail. Jake would need every bit of his wife's intelligence and calm resolve to bring him through the temptation and potential self-destruction that could follow through the pressures of his new office. Was Jake up to the task? Only time would tell!
The End
∞∞∞
ook with friends
The Helium-3 Conspiracy Page 22