by Don Brown
The three JAG officers in the room nodded their heads.
"It's in your hands, my friend," the admiral said.
"Give me twenty-four hours," Noble snarled. "I'll find a sacrificial lamb."
CHAPTER 30
United States Disciplinary Barracks
U.S. Army Base
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
9:00 p.m. (CST)
The sun had already set by the time the United airplane from San Diego touched down at Kansas City International Airport. Shannon and Barry picked up their baggage and signed for the rental car, then began the short drive up the Kansas side of the Missouri River to Leavenworth, Kansas, in the dark. Shannon was disappointed not to see Kansas in the daytime, but sightseeing was not part of their agenda.
They pulled off the interstate and drove through the gates of Fort Leavenworth in less than ten minutes. Barry parked the Chrysler Le Baron near the United States Disciplinary Barracks, where the U.S. military housed many of its long-term prisoners from all five branches of the armed ser vices. It was also the site of the execution of the three Islamic navy chaplains Diane Colcernian and Zack had prosecuted.
That execution, which was the first by the U.S. Navy in over 150 years, had been covered by the international press. It had set off wild riots in the Arab world and remained an international flash point even today. Zack, along with several high-ranking navy officials, had been ordered to witness the execution.
Shannon and Barry were met at the entrance of the mammoth barracks by the on-duty army warrant officer.
Shannon flashed her NCIS badge. "I'm McGillvery. This is my boss, Special Agent Barry MacGregor."
"You guys are here to see Commander Quasay, right?"
"You nailed it," Shannon said.
"Sign here." He pointed to a visitor's log. "Attach the plastic visitor tags to your lapels, please." The warrant officer picked up the telephone. "Sergeant Hansbrough, the NCIS agents from San Diego are here. They'll need an escort up to see Quasay."
A moment later a powerful buzz was followed by a loud clanging like hammers striking steel bars. Then two steel doors down the hallway swung open slowly to the sound of another electronic buzz. A U.S. Army enlisted man, a military policeman, approached the warrant officer's desk.
"Ready, sir," the MP said.
"Sergeant Hansbrough, these are Special Agents McGillvery and MacGregor of NCIS. Would you accompany them to their prisoner, please?"
"With pleasure, sir." The MP turned to Shannon and Barry. "Follow me."
They walked through more than a dozen steel security doors and down tile hallways reeking of ammonia, rubbing alcohol, and other chemical smells, which Shannon guessed were cleaning solvents of some sort.
They turned right down yet another fluorescent-lit hallway, walked a few feet, and reached a room with a chicken-wired glass window in the steel door. Above the door was a sign marked Inmate Visiting Area.
The MP opened the door. "Wait here, please. Commander Quasay will be here in a moment."
They sat on one side of the rectangular steel table. Shannon checked her watch. By now, it was almost 10:00 p.m. local time. She and Barry said nothing during this interlude, and a moment later the door swung open and a thin dark-haired man wearing a bright orange jumpsuit, his arms and legs bound, came shuffling into the room.
"Special Agent McGillvery," the MP said, addressing Shannon as if she were in charge of the McGillvery-MacGregor duo, "I can remain in here with you if you'd like."
"Thank you, Sergeant. That's not necessary."
"We'll be right outside if you need us, ma'am."
The sergeant stepped outside and closed the door.
"Well, well, Commander Quasay, so good to see you again."
"Special Agent McGillvery." The former navy pilot's voice was pleasant, almost as if he were happy to see the woman who was responsible for his prosecution. "It's been a long time since I've had visitors."
"This is my boss, Special Agent Barry MacGregor."
"Agent MacGregor."
"Please be seated, Commander," Barry said.
Quasay complied and seated himself across the table from Barry and Shannon.
"Commander Quasay," Barry said, "let me get to the point. We don't think you've been forthcoming in giving us all the information you promised when you plea-bargained."
"I am insulted, Mr. MacGregor."
"I'm the one who is insulted, Commander," Barry roared.
"Look, Mr. MacGregor, my life was on the line. We had a deal. I cooperated with the navy. I verified the existence of the Council of Ishmael. I gave you information about sleeper cells in the navy. I gave you a statement that the council planned the attack on the Dome of the Rock by U.S. Navy fighter planes --flown by Islamic U.S. Navy pilots -- to make it appear that the U.S. was striking back at Islam's third holiest sight in retaliation for 9/11.
"Since I made that statement, my life has been threatened several times, even here in prison. I've gotten death threats in the mail. There have been attempts on my life. I've had other Islamic prisoners in here tell me that when the MPs aren't looking, they're going to cut out my heart.
"It's not my fault that none of the Islamic nations believe what really happened, or that many millions of Islamic people throughout the world believe the Council of Ishmael's version. I've given you all I can. I have nothing else to give."
Barry flew to his feet and leaned over the table. "I think you're lying, Commander!"
"I don't care what you think!" Quasay also stood.
"Hold on, gentlemen," Shannon said. "Commander, you've been cooperative, that's true. Barry didn't work your case. I did. So please just have a seat."
Both men sat.
"Look, Mohammed," Shannon said, "some new information has surfaced that has a lot of people upset. People think you withheld some important stuff from us. I, on the other hand, know how easy it is to forget some things. The problem is that there are forces out there who would advocate withdrawing your deal and seeking the death penalty, even now, if they think you withheld something."
"They can't do that."
"I don't know what they can do. I'm not a lawyer. But do you want to take that chance, Mohammed? You want to hack off Commander Brewer? He stuck out his neck for you, and he's angry about what's going on here."
"I told you, I know nothing else." He spoke with reinvigorated resolve.
"All right, I believe you," she said. "But remember, I have no control over Commander Brewer. If he thinks you withheld anything, and if you know anything at all about Lieutenant Diane Colcernian that we don't know, and if we find out about that, you'll be in the execution chair faster than I can say un hum del Allah.
"Come on, Barry, let's go." Shannon stood, and Barry did the same. They knocked on the door, and the MP opened it. Shannon turned and glared at Quasay before they walked out. "Just remember one thing, Commander." A pause. "Plan 547 is now in effect."
Quasay's face twisted. "What did you say?"
"I said" -- she slowed the pace of her words -- "I said that Plan 547 is now in effect."
"How do you know about that?"
Bingo.
"Never mind how. The point is we know all about Plan 547," she bluffed. "That's what has Commander Brewer upset. That's why there's going to be such an outcry to withdraw your life sentence and put you to death. The only thing that stands between you and that... is me," she bluffed again. "But like you said, you've already told us everything you know. Come on, Barry. Let's get out of here."
"Wait!"
"Commander, we've got a 1:00 a.m. flight to catch to San Diego. I'd be glad to wait, but it had better be worth waiting for."
"Please come back. Now that you mention Plan 547, that does remind me of some details I may have forgotten. All in innocence, of course."
"You've got one shot to come clean, Commander," Shannon shot back. "One shot. And then that's it. Unless you tell us everything, there's nothing else I can do for you. It will be between
you and Commander Brewer. Understand?"
"Okay, okay. Please sit. I'll tell you everything."
Jackson Gallopoulous's suite
Claxton campaign San Diego County headquarters
Hotel del Coronado
1500 Orange Avenue
Coronado, California
7:15 p.m. (PST)
Jackson had showered, bought himself an extra thirty minutes by feigning to have a stomach ailment, then managed to remain pokerfaced at dinner with Eleanor, Mary-Latham, and several other members of the Yale mafia. The shower had not washed away the slimy feeling of what he had done, or what he had learned. After dinner, he excused himself on the grounds that he needed to prepare for the next morning's political briefings.
He needed to check on poll numbers around California, he had told Eleanor, so he could report what effect the campaign's strategy to co-opt the Eckberg defense was having on liberal voters in the Golden State. What he had not told Eleanor was what he had done that afternoon, or what else he would be researching -- besides poll numbers -- when he returned to his room.
Remain true to the polar star of virtue, and it shall carry you far.
The polar star of virtue.
Please.
Jackson ran to the commode again and heaved.
What would Edmund Gansky think if he knew his star student had slipped a bug into the private suite of his employer, the woman who could become the first female president of the United States? What would Professor Gansky think if he knew his star student had tape-recorded a private conversation between the most powerful woman in the Democratic Party and one of her closest advisors?
Jackson flushed the toilet and walked from the bathroom to the kitchenette, where he swigged more ice water.
On the other hand, what would the professor think if he heard the surreptitious recording that Jackson now had in his possession? Did Eleanor mean what he thought she could have meant? Was politics a corrupt business full of thieves and murderers? Was idealism a false utopia? Was Eleanor crooked? Was Professor Gansky one of them too? Or was all this Jackson's imagination?
What if the small recording device that he'd purchased from Radio Shack was discovered? Should he resign?
The phone rang.
"Gallopoulous."
"Jackson?" Eleanor was on the other end.
"Hi, Eleanor." Stay calm."Any poll numbers yet?"
"Not yet, boss. It'll be the morning before we can establish any solid trends."
"Raymond is coming in tomorrow morning, isn't he?" She was referring to Raymond Everton, the campaign's private pollster.
"Yes, Eleanor. I've spoken to him. He's in LA tonight watching all the data. He and I will be in touch tonight, and he'll be in first thing in the morning."
"Good. I want to know just as soon as you've got anything."
"Got it."
The line went dead.
He rewound the recording.
"You think radical Islam is dirty? You haven't seen anything. What goes on out of the public's eye makes 9/11 look like a picnic in the park. Get my drift?"
Okay, so maybe her speech was just figurative. He rewound the tape just a bit.
"And what do the voters in the Bay Area think about Karen Jacoby?"
"Eleanor, relax. This was a vigilante murder. Everybody knows it. No one knows she was a potential problem for us. No one will know, except those of us in the closest circle. That's the way it will remain. Trust me."
"Okay, okay. But listen, Mohammed -- no more deviations from the script. Got it?"
Dear Jesus, Jackson found himself praying. What is she talking about?
He'd heard the rumors all those years. The rumors about people dying who had been associated with the campaigns of Vice President Claxton and Senator Claxton. But all that was just envious Republican mudslinging. Wasn't it? Of course. It had do be.
Jackson fast-forwarded the tape.
"Let me put it this way, Mohammed. You aren't the first individual to work for me or my husband and carry out the duties that you do. Now, some of those people are still around. Some aren't. The ones who aren't deviated from the script. Some decided to take inside information from our campaigns and use it for political or monetary gain. Some tried blackmailing by threatening to go to the authorities or the press.
"But now they are gone, Mohammed. Every one of them."
Jackson punched off the tape, put the recorder in a drawer under his clothing, and walked across the room. By "gone," Eleanor meant "fired." Right? Of course. People get fired every day for disloyalty in politics. That was it.
He felt better.
But if he felt better about it all, then why was he reaching for his laptop? Why was he tapping into the hotel's wireless ser vices? What was compelling him to do what he was about to do?
The welcome page for the Del popped up as soon as Jackson clicked on Internet Explorer. And after another click agreeing to the Del's boilerplate "terms of ser vice" found on its home page, Jackson typed in a search engine address.
He took a deep breath. "Dear Lord, forgive me if I'm wrong," he prayed, then closed his eyes and typed his query: Deaths associated with Vice President and Senator Claxton.
The search yielded about 97,000 hits. He scanned the list.
Scholarly articles for Deaths associated with Vice President and Senator Claxton
Traumatic brain injury in the United States: a_public... - Thurman - Cited by 112
National vehicle emissions policies and practices and... - Mott - Cited by 8
Is daily mortality associated specifically with fine... - Klemm -Cited by 25
The Claxton Body Count
These men and eight others associated with CLAXTON's visit to the Roosevelt all died within four... He had information on the deaths of James, Stack and Blanzy...
www.jeoffmetcalf.net/397.html - 20k - Cached - Similar pages
The Claxton Body Count
These men and eight others associated with former Vice President Fred Claxton's visit to the Roosevelt... At his death, he was the national finance co-chairman of the Claxton for...
www.theforbiddenknowledge.net/hardtruth/claxton bodycount.htm - 33k - Cached - Similar pages
Enigma Journal Issue 19: Claxton Deaths
Claxton Deaths by Jack Tigay | Winter 2007/2008... there are 58 reported deaths of people closely associated with the Claxtons...
www.cropcircleresearch.org/enigma/issue19/claxton.html - 13k - Similar pages
QCTimes.com -- The Quad-County Times Newspaper
Published daily for Claxton, Muscatine, Scott and Rock Island Counties. National and local news, sports, columnists, entertainment, classifieds and...
www.qctimes.net/ - 40k - Cached - Similar pages
Earl's Hideaway
Dr. Malak has been involved in numerous Claxton-associated questionable activities and activities surrounding autopsies. * Henry and Ives deaths: Keith Koney...
groups.msn.com/EarlsHideaway/claxton ampstrange deaths. msnw - 33k - Cached - Similar pages
KoiVet.com -- Dead folks associated with the Claxton administration
KoiVet.com Jokes and Humor -- Dead folks associated with Vice President Fred Claxton and Senator Eleanor Claxton... Richard Summers -- Was a suspect in the Ives and Henry deaths. Was...
www.olivet.com/html/coolstuff/jokes_details.php?joke_id=45 -40k - Cached - Similar pages
Claxton Body Count
Sudden Death Syndrome. A number of persons associated with former Vice President Fred Claxton and Senator Eleanor Claxton or Mississippi politics in some way have died of unnatural causes over the past six years...
www.xpub.com/un/un-bc-body.html - 16k - Cached - Similar pages
WorldNetDaily: The Claxton_Body Count
In recent months, a list of more than 80 deaths associated directly or indirectly with Claxton has been the buzz of the new media. In the last week alone...
www.worldnetdaily.uk/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=14583 - 33k - Cached - Similar pages
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br /> Claxton Casualties
The Associated Press: Vincent Lester: the death investigation that hasn't ended... These men and eight others associated with Claxton's visit to the Roosevelt...
www.jeremiahproject.org/prophecy/claxtbodycnt.html - 48k - Cached - Similar pages
Urban Legends Reference Pages: Inboxer Rebellions (The Claxton...
Origins: A new version of a lengthy list of deaths associated with Fred and Eleanor Claxton began circulating on the Internet in August 2006...
www.snopes.com/inboxer/outrage/claxton.htm - 13k - Similar pages
Jackson tried soaking it all in. Could all this be political dirty tricks? He'd heard about the suicide of Eleanor's good friend Samuel Lester, who had been found with a gunshot wound to the head near an old Civil War cannon in a Washington D.C. park.
Jackson clicked one of the links.
Lester, the link claimed, who had been one of Eleanor's law partners when they practiced together at a large law firm in Jackson, Mississippi, was found dead -- shot in the back of the head -- only weeks before he had been subpoenaed to testify before a special prosecutor investigating the law firm's billing practices.