Getting up to leave, “Ok I need you to handle this for me. It’s your top priority today.”
“I’ll get right on it Ahmad.”
Chapter 22
Smithtown, on Long Island, was much more than a town. It was made up of three incorporated villages; Head of the Harbor, Village of the Branch, and Village of Nissequoque. When he and his wife, Karen, moved there after his retirement, Josh Redmond loved the Village of Nissequoque but said “We can’t move here. I’ll never be able to pronounce that, let alone ever spell it correctly.”
That seemed to Karen like a pretty stupid reason to not move somewhere, so she told her husband just that. In the military, Josh was used to being in authority, and while some men respected him enough to tell him when something didn’t make sense, most under his command merely said “Yes Sir” or “Yes General.” At home, though, things were different. Karen had no qualms about telling her husband when he was thinking or doing something that made no sense.
But when all was said and done, they ended up moving to Head of the Harbor, along Long Island’s North Shore. Josh was happy to get his way. Karen was thrilled to live “exactly” where she wanted to live in the first place while letting Josh think it was all about what he wanted.
Head of the Harbor hadn’t grown much over the years. The 2040 census put the population at around 1,520 and 535 homes. When asked to describe where they lived, quaint was the first word on everyone’s lips.
Their ranch home was on Mill Pond and had just a gorgeous picturesque view. Josh loved to sit outside on the porch and read, especially in the spring. He could see the lighthouse and the small sail and fishing boats coming and going. At night he’d listen to nature’s symphony created by the owls, frogs, and whip-poor-wills. Even winter didn’t stop him from enjoying his home as he’d go out on the porch in frigid weather with a winter coat. He’d freeze his ass off, but he never let on that he was cold. Karen suspected as much when he came inside after a half hour or so and asked for some hot chocolate.
He was stubborn like that; which made him a difficult person to live with at times but it made him a great general.
Karen was a very lovely woman of 44, seven years younger than Josh. She wasn’t model gorgeous, but she was cute and had a petite yet very sexy figure. And her smile could light up a room. Despite her small frame, whenever Karen walked into a room, people could not help but stare. She had a certain air about her that ensured that she never went unnoticed.
They first met when she was an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Alabama and Josh was a newly minted Army first lieutenant stationed at Fort Rucker. She had gone out with some friends to a local restaurant and was sipping a Shirley Temple while Josh was on a three day pass in Birmingham celebrating his silver bars with some of his friends. They didn’t hit it off at first. In fact, they were like the odd couple. To this day she couldn’t tell you how a wholesome, Shirley Temple drinking, co-ed from Birmingham, AL ended up dating, let alone marrying, a stuck on himself Army lieutenant from White Plains, New York. But Josh had a great sense of humor and her grandmother always told her “Karen if you find a man who can make you laugh, you hog tie him and marry him ‘cause he’s a keeper.” Her grandmother was right. He wasn’t very experienced in the bedroom and, truth be told; he was a little clumsy. Oddly enough, though, he was always able to get her off every time starting with the very first lovemaking session. But after twenty-four years of marriage, Josh could still make her laugh. And that was what she cherished most.
Over dinner, Josh talked at length to his wife about the possibility of his running for president. He knew she didn’t like the idea, but she always gave in to him when he was sure about something. She would this time too. The problem was that this time he wasn’t sure himself. If he thought that his running would bring about the necessary changes in the country, he would run. But Josh knew better.
He finally changed the subject to his lunch meeting with Saul.
“You know Karen, when we were kids I never thought much of Saul. He was a nice enough guy alright but he seemed like someone who would never amount to anything. And over the years, I was not the least bit surprised that he never became a successful businessman or anything. Seeing him today gave me a new perspective on the man.”
“What in heavens do you mean?” she replied in her charming southern drawl.
“Well, he still doesn’t look like much. Hell, he looks even worse than that, Karen. I swear to God he looks like Moses. “
“You mean he’s thousands of years old,” Karen egged him on.
“No, we’re about the same age, although I have to admit I look a hell of a lot younger than he does. He has this long gray beard and long gray hair. And he dresses like a homeless person from skid row.”
“Did you give him a dollar to help him out,” Karen laughed out loud.
He smiled. It was obvious that her husband still loved her. He made her feel so beautiful, and no matter how bleak things looked at times, they had this knack for making light of everything.
“You’re a goofball; you know that. It’s hard to have a serious conversation with you.”
“Me? You’re talking about this old, gray-bearded rabbi who looks like a street bum but is your best friend from your childhood, and you want me to take you seriously. Could there be any bigger mismatch between two friends?”
“Ok, you got me there. But we had an interesting conversation, and then I treated him to a corned beef on rye.”
“How is his darling wife, Beth?”
“Dead.”
“Dead? You mean dead as in not alive?”
“Is there another dead?”
“No, but you never told me that she died. When did she die? How did she die?”
“It slipped my mind. She was about 40 I guess. She died of cancer about five years ago.”
“Five years ago? I spoke to Saul since then. You mean that she died five years ago, and y'all never told me about that. I feel downright awful.”
“Why should you feel awful, you didn’t even know about it, and before I told you, you were fine.”
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me. I could have done something.”
“What could you have done? Cured her cancer?”
“You know what I mean. I could have baked something special for the family or something.”
“They don’t eat ham.”
“Ugh, you’re impossible sometimes.”
“Ok, I’m sorry. Something must have come up at the time, and it slipped my mind and then over the years, I just didn’t think about it again. Send him a ham now,” joked Josh.
“You know he doesn’t eat pork, but I’m going to send him a note regardless. I didn’t know her that well but she seemed like such a lovely person. Do you remember that time when you were stationed at Fort Dix, and they joined us for a night on the town in the city? That was a fun night.”
“I barely remember that but I do recall that Saul was a rabbi who liked scripture, the New York Giants, and my picking up the tab; and seeing him today made me realize that he hasn’t changed one bit.”
“I swear you’re a nut case. My grandma was right. She told me that you’d always be a clown.”
“I said I was sorry. Why are we fighting over a person who died five years ago?”
“I give up. Go ahead and tell me about your lunch with Saul.”
She listened as he told her about his meeting with Saul and about their plans to meet with a group of anti-Abbas people. He said that Saul had intimated that there was some talk of uprising, and since Saul is a peace loving rabbi, he had called Josh. Josh assumed that he was called to do the dirty work.
“Josh, it sounds like you want to lead this group but have you considered how leading a group like this would impact your running for office, should you decide to run?”
“Yeah, that’s the tricky part but can you imagine how hard it would be for Abbas to get a beat on what I’m doing while I’m right in front of his nose
?”
She hadn’t seen him this animated in years. “I just want you to be careful. You’ve spoken about running for congress and eventually even the presidency. If this group is viewed as unpatriotic or worse yet, un-American, it could ruin any chance of you winning an election.”
“Karen I’ve gone over this in my mind so many times I’m getting nauseous. I just feel that this is something that’s more important than my ambitions.”
“So the North is seceding from the Union? And you are going to work for Saul?” she joked.
“Yeah right. Me and the rabbi. I guess I’d be his altar boy.”
“Rabbi’s don’t have altar boys. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear that you’d led a sheltered life. But I love you just the same,” she said as she bent down to kiss him. Three glasses of Chablis was all it took to loosen her up. It had been a few weeks since they had made love and for some reason, all this talk about a rabbi and his dead wife hadn’t completely turned her off. In fact, talk of an uprising must have subliminally turned her on.
She wanted him and let him know with another long passionate kiss and a few undone buttons on her blouse.
His rebellion could wait until tomorrow. Her libido couldn’t.
Chapter 23
“Tarif, it’s so good to hear from you,” said Qasim after answering the phone. “What can I do for my old friend?”
“Well, I’m not sure if I’m calling to see if you can help me or if I can help you.”
“I don’t understand. Do I need help?”
“I met with the president and his key people this morning,” Tarif began.
After listening to Tarif tell about the meeting and the concern of some of the president’s inner circle about the possibility of some action to remove the president from office, he was asked: “Have you heard anything about this?”
He hesitated before responding, a sure tell. “I’ve heard talk no different than what you’ve heard, nothing more. As far as I know they’re just rumors.”
“Well, what does your gut tell you, Qasim?
“My friend, my gut has been out of practice for quite some time, but I’ll ask my brother when I see him. In the meantime, when will you be back in Boston? I’d like to get together for lunch or dinner to just catch up. It’s been a long time since we’ve done that. I almost feel as if my old friend has left me.”
Qasim had heard through the grapevine that Tarif had been poking around asking questions about him. At first, he dismissed any notion of Tarif being a spy for the president, but couldn’t help but wonder what he was up to. He almost called to confront him but decided to wait in the hopes of finding out more. No doubt Tarif was up to something, and he needed to find out what it was. How much did he know? Could he be on his team or was he solidly in the president’s corner on some covert mission?
On the one hand, he wanted to meet him face to face but at the same time, it bothered him that Tarif had jumped at the chance to get together.
“That sounds great,” said Tarif. I’ll be back in Boston later tonight. Let’s do lunch tomorrow.”
“I can make that work. But how about we make it dinner instead? Come to my house around six tomorrow evening so that we can have an early dinner and then sit and talk without either of us having to worry about work? And, that will give me more time to catch up with Makim to see if he’s heard anything.
“Very well, I’ll see you then,” said Tarif
“Sounds good.”
After hanging up the phone, Qasim continued to wonder about his friend. Tariff rarely called out of the blue like this. Had they been in touch more often, maybe Quasim would feel more certain that his friend would be someone in whom he could confide. But he hesitated for good reason. Tarif was close to Abbas. And Qasim was more than a member of an anti-Abbas group. He was now their leader in Boston. Did Tarif know this? Did he have a real and personal interest in what he was doing or was he merely on a recon mission? He hoped that a face to face meeting might reveal the truth.
Chapter 24
General Redmond knew as soon as he spoke to Saul that, if there was going to be a resistance movement, he wanted to be a part of it. Saul was hoping to bring up the idea once more and to finally convince the general to run for president. The argument was the same as had been made for Eisenhower and other former high-ranking military officers. The general was well known and respected; having served as the commander of the coalition forces in the Middle East during the last two wars. But Josh had already spoken to his wife and some trusted friends. He had thought long and hard about it and the answer was a resounding no. He had no stomach for politics right now, and he didn’t see himself running for office as a solution to the problems in the country.
The two had attended a meeting at the Temple Beth Shalom Community Center in New York City and after speaking with various members of what he started calling the Nationalists, Josh had agreed to join the group.
During the second meeting, Josh was promoted to commander of the group. The general knew that Saul wanted to stay connected, but he also knew that having the rabbi actively involved in this group was ill advised and not conducive to the type of planning and action that was likely to be needed. Saul still believed that actions through the democratic process were viable but Josh knew better. Yet Josh knew that he would need Saul’s help so he convinced him that he was needed to keep the meetings straight and be the liaison to the group in Philly.
Josh always found it interesting that the CIA, FBI, and NSA all claimed to know everything that was going on in the intelligence community, if not the world, and didn’t even know that he had retained his secure cell phone when he retired. It was supposed to be turned in, but Josh figured that, with a maniac running the country, he might have to use a secure line sometime. He didn’t realize that the time would come as soon as it had. He’d only been retired eight months now and used it to call some of the greatest soldiers with whom a man could have served.
The hard part was figuring out who were friends and who were foes. Which members of the military were loyal to the US and which were loyal to the president? When he was a second lieutenant, they were one and the same because the president was the face of the country. He was more than that, though. As the commander in chief, the president held the lives of every serviceman in the palms of his hands. Josh knew that all too well as one minute he was home having dinner with his wife and children and the next minute he was packing for an all-expense paid trip to Libya or Turkey to fight yet another war.
Times sure had changed, and two years ago Josh began privately reviewing the records of each colleague, each key officer under his command, and the key members of the joint chiefs, and the president’s cabinet. Despite the government’s intelligence capabilities, Josh felt confident that he had been able to vet them all in a way that would not raise suspicion. There could be no mistakes, or he would be arrested for treason and executed. So the tricky part in all of this was figuring out who to call and who not to call. Josh created a special list of people whom he felt he could trust and who he hoped would be willing to support him.
Josh called his old friend, Kyle Simpson, who had served as a Colonel under Josh during his Military Intelligence days. Over the past two years, Josh and Kyle had many conversations about what was happening in the country. Like Josh, Kyle was one of those “loyal to his country, not his president.” Kyle was now the department head for homeland security. He jokingly told Josh that with that fancy title came all of the privileges of the position which were namely taking shit from everyone in the government, working long hours to protect the country, and possibly getting blamed for every stinking little thing that could go wrong with national security.
After some small talk about his TV appearance later that night on The Face of The Nation, Josh got to the real purpose of his call. He explained to Kyle that most of the military personnel who had secured phones were in their corner but that there were a few who were loyal to the president.
�
�If what you’re doing is discovered, Kyle, you’ll be tried for treason. I need you to understand that because you’ll be taking an enormous risk,” said Josh.
“Roger that.” was Kyle’s only response.
So from Josh’s call list, Kyle developed a secured channel with real-time voice and data encryption and decryption. It had taken Kyle a couple of weeks to coordinate, but he managed to call the nine key leaders in the DOD and the head of the Secret Service with the excuse that he had to update the crypto software and settings on each of their secured cell phones. All came in with their phones, and all phones were adjusted, according to Josh’s instructions.
There were nine people who Josh wanted referred to as The Assembly of Nine or simply Assembly during the conversation. Josh, of course, was the head of the group. The others included Kyle, Deputy Secretary of Defense Demetri Kotsopoulos, Deputy Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral John Barrington, Secretary of the Army General Raymond Rivera, Secretary of the Navy Admiral Terrance Combers, Secretary of the Marine Corps General Bradley Gallant, Secretary of the Air Force General Richard O’Meara, and Commandant of the Coast Guard Admiral Jesse Happ.
Josh had spoken to each of the nine on the secured phone that he had, taking a chance that no one else was listening. At various times over the years, Josh had spoken to each of these men about national security issues. They were all of like minds in almost every way. Unlike the pansies in Washington who thought that being a career Congressman with a fat paycheck and cushy benefits was serving their country, each of these men loved his country, and each would be willing to die for it. More importantly, during his last year in the Army, Josh had spoken to these men about the president and what was going on. Each hated everything that President Abbas stood for and told Josh that if he ever wanted to compete for the big throne, as they called it, they were with him. Last week when he called them, each expressed a willingness to back Josh no matter the plan, no matter the consequence. They were willing to risk everything so it was mission critical to Josh that everyone had “eyes and ears” on the White House.
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