W: The Planner, The Chosen

by Alexandra Swann

  This time David looked at Keith, “You need to do a lot better than that. I’m supposed to turn over photos that technically don’t exist of people who barely exist, and you don’t want to tell me what you’re going to do with them because you have to show me?....”

  “Trust them, David,” Keith encouraged his new friend. “These guys are the best at this. Kyle wouldn’t say he could do it unless he really can.”

  “Enough with the love fest,” Jessie rose to his feet and Kyle followed, still keeping one eye on David. “We gotta get outta here. I don’t want to run into your sister. Send me the pictures, and I’ll be back in touch. And Keith,” he waved a hairy arm in David’s direction, “don’t ever sandbag me like this again. I’m serious, man.” Huffing and puffing he climbed the basement stairs with Kyle in close pursuit.

  David and Keith watched them go. “I have to get back too. As soon as he sets up the email account, text me on the phone I gave you.” David moved the desk and the artificial wall which had been placed in front of the basement wall opening and stepped into the tunnel.

  “Do you think this will work?” Keith asked.

  “It has to work; it’s all we have,” and David disappeared into the darkness. Keith moved all of the furniture back into place and was sitting upstairs in front of the television when Kris finally returned from doing her interview.

  Later that night, Keith received a coded text message from Jessie that read, “The dog was hit by an oncoming car.” Using the cipher he and Jessie had set up years before, he was able to decode the email address, and then he texted it to David. Within two hours the first photos were received into the email account, and after Kris had left the following morning, Kyle went to the basement and copied them onto a flash drive.

  Within three hours Keith received a second text from Jessie that said simply. “Turn on your computer. Gone viral.”

  Chapter 20

  Kyle’s new concept was designed to invade the homepages of internet users all over the U.S. He had designed it to circumvent virus protection programs and pop-up blockers and tied it directly to the engines of the major internet service providers and entertainment pages. Therefore, when people logged onto their homepages, they were immediately confronted by Kyle’s pop-up, but since it was coming directly from their internet service providers, none of their blockers worked.

  Photos of three detainees simultaneously appeared on the screen, along with a brief description of each detained person—name, age, occupation, and religious affiliation, or lack of religious affiliation, if known. Jessie had insisted on this last piece of information, and he made certain that each set of photos displayed people of varied ages, races, ethnicities and faith persuasions. He wanted to show Americans the diversity of the people being detained so that every person watching, regardless of his age, social status, ethnicity, or religious persuasion would eventually find a person with whom he could closely identify.

  As Jessie explained to Keith, “It’s real important that people don’t look at these pictures and think—NDAA is just the Feds against those other people—just one group. I want them to look at this say, ‘Oh my God! They’re after everybody!’”

  As the pictures scrolled by, each was captioned at the top with one of the following phrases:

  This could be your mother

  This could be your father

  This could be your sister

  This could be your brother

  This could be your husband

  This could be your wife

  This could be your child

  This could be your best friend

  This could be YOU.

  After a series of pictures had scrolled by the following phrases appeared:

  Because of the NDAA, since 2015, more than 100,000 Americans have been detained by the federal government without formal charges or trials. More than 1000 Americans have been executed.

  The United States Constitution guarantees Americans the right to a speedy trial by a jury of their peers:

  “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury…”

  Tell the Government to stop enforcing section 1021 of the NDAA. Every American Deserves a Trial.

  The entire message took about 30 seconds to cycle across the screen, and Kyle made certain that it appeared with alternating photos 24 hours a day. It was a profoundly moving campaign as hundreds of millions of internet users were confronted with the reality of what was happening in their own neighborhoods and communities to people just like them.

  Within hours of the initial set of photos circling the internet, Kyle’s project and David’s photos were the topic of conversation in millions of households nationwide as people speculated as to whether the information was authentic or merely an elaborate hoax by a hacker. Mainstream media outlets tried to ignore it, but as the photos continued to circulate and public interest and questions continued to grow, soon the talking heads were discussing The Line Up.

  Keith had not breathed a word of this new project to Kris because he wanted her to have deniability if asked. More importantly, he wanted her to be able to express genuine surprise if questioned. For her part, she was so absorbed with her work on behalf of Michael and Jeff that she did not see the campaign during its first few days. She was very surprised, therefore, when a few mornings later she received an 8:00 A.M. phone call from Julian. “Be in my office by 9:30 this morning,” was his abrupt greeting.

  Kris was very startled. Julian never called personally—he always had Anne call her, so for him to pick up the phone himself was significant. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Just get over here. Don’t be late.”

  Keith did not say much when she told him that Julian had called her in for a meeting. She told him that she was taking the Jeep, and she left him standing silently in the center of their tiny living room.

  When Kris arrived at Julian’s office, he was pacing up and down with his laptop open on his desk.

  “Do you know anything about this?” he pointed toward the screen. Kyle’s campaign was completely random, but someone had managed to capture some of the images with the messages and put them on a video website. Julian had brought up the video to question his client about it.

  Kris watched the images scroll by. This was her first viewing, and she was both moved and horrified. Julian was watching her reaction.

  “No, I don’t know anything about this. How could I?” She turned to face Julian squarely. She was almost being truthful; she had never seen the images until that moment in Julian’s office. However, as soon as she saw the images with the phrases and heard the description of how they were being hacked into all major internet service providers, she knew immediately that this must be the work of Jessie and Kyle. Who else would have both the skills and the desire to orchestrate something like this? But she did not let on to Julian.

  “You’re sure, Kris? Because this looks an awful lot like the work of whoever did The Wall. You said that Michael and Jeff put that together.”

  “Michael and Jeff did put The Wall together. However, as you know, they are in prison at the moment, without access to the internet. Anyway, I don’t really see a connection between these two; The Wall was a website while this is—I don’t know. The world’s most aggressive pop-up?” She looked back at the screen. “It’s good, though.”

  “It’s better than good—it’s genius. It’s completely brilliant. And it’s rattling cages. That’s why I needed you to get over here. The White House Press Secretary has called a press conference at 10:00 to address this situation,” he pointed again at the computer screen, “and also Michael’s and Jeff’s petition before the Supreme Court. I wanted you to be here to watch it with me so that we can go over the major points.”

  He had opened an enclosed area in his bookcase to reveal a large flat screen television, and he clicked the remote to the
“on” position just as Press Secretary John Null walked into the White House Press Room to meet with the reporters.

  “Good morning, everyone. I have just come from meeting with President Quincy. The President wants everyone to know that the allegations made by an unknown group of hackers claiming that the NDAA is responsible for the arrests and detentions of more than 100,000 U.S. citizens are simply untrue. The indefinite detention provisions of the NDAA were put into place by Congress and the President to give the President necessary flexibility in cases of domestic and foreign terrorism. Thanks to these provisions, this Administration has been able to move swiftly to detain dangerous individuals with an agenda to harm our nation. The dangerous and violent nature of the crimes that have been attempted by the perpetrators make them an imminent threat to the national security of our nation, and for that reason, we stand behind the NDAA’s indefinite detention provisions. But I want to assure you that this law is used only to detain high value targets.

  “Second, I want to address the issue of the case currently headed to the Supreme Court which was brought by Kristina Mitchell Linton on behalf of Michael Linton and Jeff Conners. The plaintiffs in this case are alleging that Linton and Conners were detained illegally and are being held without charges because they disagree politically with the Administration. Nothing could be further from the truth. The facts of this case will show that these men are, indeed, terrorists. Michael Linton has ties to the state of Israel, which the U.N. Security Council and the U.S. State Department have both recently named a terrorist state and a threat to our national interests. We have also determined that Linton’s brother is a known member of the Mossad. We believe that the state of Israel and the Mossad, working in connection with a domestic terrorist organization, may be responsible for the content of this internet material.”

  “We are presently waiting for a decision from the Justices as to whether they will agree to hear this case. In the meantime, we are working to stop this invasive propaganda from disturbing citizens in their homes, on their jobs, and in their schools. We consider The Line Up, as the media has dubbed it, to be in and of itself an act of terrorism, and we are prepared to treat it accordingly.”

  Press Secretary Null was now ready to take questions. The press corps had only a couple of questions about the likelihood of the Court agreeing to hear the case, and none about Michael or Jeff, but they did have questions about the faces and names appearing on The Line Up.

  One senior reporter asked the question that was on everyone’s mind, “You say that the indefinite detention provisions of the NDAA are being used to detain only ‘high value targets.’ Can you give us an idea of how many Americans are currently being detained without trial under these provisions?”

  Null fumbled around for a minute, “I don’t have that exact information, but I can tell you that it’s nowhere near what you are seeing on The Line Up.” He tried to move on, but other reporters brought him back to the subject. Finally, after a number of waffling attempts to deflect the question completely, he stammered into the microphone, “I don’t have an exact number. It’s less than a hundred.”

  Julian clicked the remote to turn off the television. “The Mossad? You didn’t think that was important?”

  “No,” Kris answered without a trace of testiness. “My husband is not a terrorist. He has given money to Israel, but Israel was an ally until a couple of weeks ago. His brother was in the Mossad; that doesn’t make Michael a threat to the U.S. And Jeff, they can’t even make up something on him. He’s the nicest guy you’ll ever meet.”

  “Good,” Julian clapped his hands together, “That’s what I wanted to hear. Now you are going to go out and repeat those words to the rest of the country.”

  “What?” Kris looked puzzled.

  “The White House press secretary just referenced our case and you, Michael, and Jeff by name in a national press conference. That means that we’re going to be able to get you on every major news show and talk show in America. This isn’t just local shows anymore—this is national. Everywhere you go, I want you to tell their story—who they are as people—and I want you to hit hard on the fact that they are not and never have been terrorists. And no matter what happens, I don’t want you to ever mention The Line Up. If anyone asks, you don’t know anything about it.”

  “That’ll be easy, since I don’t know anything about it. But national shows—I don’t know whether I can do that. I don’t know whether I’m the right person…”

  “Kris, what did you do for a living when you met Michael?” Julian was now seated across from her.

  “I was working for the federal government; I was a Planner for the Federal Municipal Planning Division.”

  “Before that?”

  “Before that I sold residential real estate in Phoenix for 19 years.”

  “Good. Then you know how to close. Think of this as the most important sales job you will ever have. You’re going to go out there and sell people on the idea that your husband and brother-in-law are innocent. You are going to try to ‘close’ with every viewer by making them want you to get this hearing before the Court. And when you’re finished, if it works, you’ll have your family back.

  “When we started, I told you that all it takes to defeat tyranny is for average people to stand up. Well, average Americans are beginning to stand up. This is the time for you to stand up and tell your story.”

  ∞

  Kris did not have to try to get booked on the national shows. Within hours of the Press Secretary’s news conference she was being swamped with calls from all the major networks. While she was still in Cicchetti’s office, the various news agencies began calling him to find her. Conservative Voices hosted by Rod Mayfield wanted her on his show that same evening. Kris did not know how she would be able to make the trip to New York in time for the 8:00 P.M. broadcast, but Cicchetti assured the person on the other end of the phone that she would be there.

  As soon as the call ended, he buzzed Anne. When she entered his office, he said, “Kris is doing Conservative Voices tonight. Book her on a flight to New York. Then take her shopping, have her hair done, and buy her some makeup. From now on she’s got to look good.”

  Kris was dumbfounded, “Mr. Cicchetti, I don’t have any money. My brother is paying for everything, and I can’t ask him to meet all of these expenses. Besides, he’s spent so much already that I don’t know how much he has left, but it probably isn’t much.”

  “The Freedom League will cover all of your expenses.”

  “Who?”

  “Didn’t Lena St. Clair tell you what I do?”

  “No. She didn’t tell me anything. When I asked for her help, she told me that she would try to find someone who could help me and that she would be back in touch. She sent me a text message with your name and phone number. That was it. When I called you, I had no idea what I was getting into. In fact, Keith and I were pretty nervous. We were afraid that you would call the Feds and have us arrested.”

  Cicchetti smiled, “You’re gutsier than I thought. I founded The Freedom League in the eighties when freedom of religion was coming under attack by a lot of atheist groups who were demanding that the government assist them in ridding our nation of all references to God. All of our funding comes from private donations so that we can cover the expenses of cases like yours. So stop thinking about money and start thinking about what you’re going to say tonight.”

  “Thank you.” Kris threw her arms around him and gave him a big hug. Turning to Anne, she said, “Let’s go.”

  ∞

  As Kris sat in the green room waiting to go on the show she looked at herself in the mirror directly across from her chair. Anne certainly knew the drill. She had gotten Kris’ sizes and shopped for her while Kris was having her hair and makeup done.

  By the time Andrea had finished with her, Anne had returned to the salon with a beautifully cut blue-gray suit that exactly matched the color of her eyes. Simple high-heeled pumps and a matching handbag
completed the outfit. It was perfect. Her attire was simple, tasteful, and expensive. Kris turned her head from side to side to see her hair. For the first time in several years her hair had been professionally styled and colored to cover the gray. Andrea had matched her natural color perfectly and cut it into a style that said, “I am beautiful, but I am someone to be reckoned with.” The dark chocolate tresses fell almost to her shoulders and gleamed under the artificial light.

  Kris had become unaccustomed to seeing herself in makeup, and she suddenly felt young and glamorous. Andrea’ assistant had applied the makeup expertly, and Kris’ skin glowed, and her perfectly made up eyes looked luminous. As she waited, Kris felt more confident than she had since she had begun working to get Michael and Jeff released. Quietly she prayed, “Oh, dear Jesus, thank you for what you have done for us and for what you are doing for us. This is a miracle that only You could provide. To be sitting here waiting to go on a national show to tell our story is a miracle. If you had done nothing else, that would have been enough. But you also gave me these clothes and the hair and makeup. I am so in awe of Your kindness. I am so filled with gratitude that You would do this for me and my family. You have opened a path for me. Help me to do exactly what I need to do tonight. I pray, Lord, that you will guide my words and that I will not speak even one word that I am not supposed to speak and that I will not fail to speak even one word that I am supposed to speak. Give me boldness and courage, I pray. And, Lord, please bless Julian Cicchetti and Anne for everything they have done to make this possible. Give them back one-thousand times over what they have given to me.”

  The door opened and a smiling young woman escorted Kris to the desk where Rod Mayfield was already seated. She introduced him to Kris and left. “As soon as we return from the break, we’ll start the interview,” Mayfield said smiling. “We’re going to do something different tonight—something we’ve never done before. After I ask you a few questions, we’re going to invite the viewers to call in with questions for you. Don’t worry if no one calls. When people are really interested in something, sometimes they don’t call, so if you don’t get any calls, don’t worry about it. I started out in talk radio, and I know all about how those telephone calls work.”