Chapter 78
Aaron Rudzinsky sat anxiously in his Lincoln down the street from the residence of Secretary of Treasury, Thomas Hilton. Months ago when the planning had just started, and he and Josh were working toward the goal whereby Josh could wrestle the reins of power from President Abbas, Thomas Hilton and Lawrence Richter, weren’t even in anyone's thoughts.
They had assumed that both of these men would be in attendance at all official functions, but it was learned earlier in the day that Hilton was the designated survivor so he would not be attending the president’s speech this evening. Richter had announced earlier that he would be forced to miss the speech for personal reasons. No other explanation was given.
The problem was magnified when they realized that both men were in the line of succession. With all other successors removed, one of these seemingly staunch supporters of Abbas would assume the presidency. Swift action had to be taken to ensure that they would pose no threat.
General Redmond approved the plan that Aaron had presented earlier in the day.
At approximately 7 pm, Secretary Hilton got into his car for the short drive to his favorite restaurant where, unknown to anyone, he was to meet Larry Richter. He buckled his seat belt and turned on the ignition. A massive explosion left his car incinerated in his driveway.
Aaron sped off feeling pretty good about his day’s work.
An hour earlier, Aaron had spied on Lawrence Richter from over 100 yards away through a pair of the latest Laser Rangefinders. Richter’s wife and two children were away, visiting relatives in upstate New York. Richter was supposed to attend the president’s speech but plans had changed when he received a call earlier in the day from Tom Hilton.
Aaron saw Richter going into the bathroom to shower. Time was of the essence as he didn’t know how long Richter took to shower and dress. Aaron, wearing coveralls and driving a stolen Paul’s Auto Repair Service truck, pulled into the driveway of the two story townhome in Potomac Hills, climbed underneath the Secretary’s two-year-old Lexus, and made a small slit in the brake lines.
Forty minutes after leaving Hilton’s residence Aaron was driving north on I-95 in Maryland. He loved listening to some of the greatest rock music ever streamed. While his Streamer was usually set to block news feeds, he removed the block to hear what was being said about tonight’s events.
The feed reported the shocking news report about Hilton’s death. That was followed by another report suspecting a link to the death of Mr. Richter, who had been killed when his 2046 Lexus SE failed to negotiate a dark winding curve on the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Virginia sending the car over a small embankment and into a large southern oak tree.
Aaron smiled. His father would not be proud of what he had done. He wouldn’t expect it from the rabbi. But the general, being a man of action, would. Aaron had tied up the loose ends by killing two traitors and clearing the way for a return to the United States that he once loved. No, his father would be upset but he was confident that General Redmond would recognize these as heroic acts and Aaron as a true patriot.
Chapter 79
News reports of these terrorist attacks were instantaneous and often a mixture of fact and half-truths. One thing was certain; the face of America had just been altered again.
At 10:15 pm, The recently appointed Deputy Chief of Staff of the White House, Franklin Mills, briefed reporters and the country on National TV.
“As you know, there was an attack on the Capitol Building tonight,” started Mills. “President Abbas, the vice president, the White House chief of staff, most of the cabinet, the newly appointed Joint Chiefs, the justices, and all but a few members of Congress were killed in the attack.”
“There were only ten members of Congress who did not attend the address tonight. I have been in contact with each. They are in hiding at this moment. John Barrington, Interim Chair of the Joint Chiefs, was excused because of illness. Two members of the president’s cabinet were not in attendance, but they too were killed in two separate incidents. Secretary of the Treasury, Thomas Hilton, purposely excused from attending the session, was killed when his car exploded in his driveway. Secretary of The Interior, Lawrence Richter was killed when the brakes on his car failed, sending the car over an embankment and into a large tree. Both men had been alone at the time. As you know, these men were in the line of succession to the presidency. Their deaths were neither accidental nor the result of some terrorist organization but the work of Nationalists who had staged a coup just a few short months ago. Retired Major General Josh Redmond, the leader of the Nationalists, has assumed the presidency on an interim basis and will speak to you now. I give you President Redmond.”
With that introduction, General Josh Redmond of the US Army two-star variety stood before the cameras and spoke for the first time as president of the United States.
President Redmond assured the country that there was nothing for them to fear and that this was not an instance of coincidence or a terrorist attack on US soil, but the culmination of a plan that was put in place almost a year ago. He told the nation that he had selected a new vice president, recently retired Navy Admiral John Barrington, and that he had already assembled his cabinet and would be meeting with them shortly. He promised to speak to the nation in a couple of days to introduce the cabinet members and to discuss the status of the union at that time.
The military was under the command of his longtime friend and mentor, US Army Four-Star General Aloysius Barr, who had been briefed on the plans six months before the coup. Many of the key military brass had been supporters of the coup and those gentlemen were in place to maintain order. Those who had been loyal to the former regime had been assassinated earlier in the evening, the final piece to Americans reclaiming their country. While there was no sitting Congress at the moment, the nation should consider that nothing more than a temporary situation, no different than when they were in recess. Special elections would be held over the next few months to replace the deceased members of Congress. There would be a special presidential election in the future, but the date for that could not be set until the country was back on its feet. Until that time, the military would be in charge of the country with him at the helm and martial law would remain in effect.
The president then thanked what he called the “real allies of America.” He singled out Canada for providing a refuge for himself and many of the patriots who were forced to flee the country after the first stage of the coup. He then mentioned what he called the best kept secret of the coup; the unwavering support that he received from the leaders of Israel, Great Britain, and France.
The president warned supporters of former President Abbas that all eyes were on them, and any attempts to vindicate his death or to usurp the new administration’s authority would be dealt with harshly. He told Syria and Iran that he would not be bound by the unlawful terms of the prior administration’s treaties and warned them to stay out of the affairs of the United States because further actions by them against this administration, or this country, would be considered acts of war.
Before wrapping up, the president announced that he was immediately commuting the sentences of Angela Marie DiPietro, Qasim Khalid, Nicky Gervasi, the former Joint Chiefs, and all others convicted of treason as a result of their actions on July 4th. While the prior administration considered these brave people to be traitors, history will bear witness to the fact that they were, in fact, the patriots that he claims them to be.
In his closing remarks, President Redmond asked the country to mourn those who gave their lives to ensure freedom for all. While she was not a part of this conspiracy, Redmond praised Carol Carson. It was her call to arms speech during her trial and the sacrifice of her life that made her a catalyst that transformed social unrest into revolution.
He praised Demetri Kotsopouos, who, by his actions on the morning of July 4th likely saved the lives of millions of Americans. He expressed deep regret over Demetri’s execution for treason on August 5th
. He then expressed his deepest sorrow for those, who history would consider “collateral damage” who were killed tonight inside of the Capitol building. He expressed his regrets that many had to lose their lives, especially White House Chief of Staff Tarif Mansour, members of the highest court, and the members of the press, but reiterated that there was just no other way to bring about the needed radical change in such a short time.
His last sentence only served to show the nation that he was in fact in charge as he ended with “Please keep my administration in your prayers. Thank you. May God bless you and may God bless these United States of America.”
Chapter 80
Three days had passed since the final day of the regime of purported extremist Ahmad Abbas. President Redmond was preparing another presidential address. It was unusual for a president to address the nation twice in three days but these were far from ordinary times.
What should the president tell the American people?
Should he simply tell them that the ten members of Congress who did not attend Abbas’ last State of the Union address had been supporters of his who were told not to attend? One, Senator Landry of New Jersey, had been an explosives expert under Josh in Afghanistan. He led the team which planted the devices that ultimately took down the entire Capitol building. As he had promised his old friend, he would die with that secret.
Should he pay homage to some really brave people by talking about the grassroots effort to take back the country and the hard work of persons like Angela, Tony, Nicky, Saul, Aaron, and Qasim? Should he tell of the bravery of Qasim’s brother, Makim, who gave his life in support of the mission? Does anyone need to know that the sole purpose of assassinating the White House chief of staff the month before the coup was merely to get Abbas to move Tarif into the position of chief of staff so that Tarif could report on Abbas’ actions?
Tears came to Redmond’s eyes as he thought of the hundreds of thousands of people who had died during the first stage of the coup. Should he let the nation know that the rioting in the streets was a planned diversion? Would the American people forgive him for staging a ploy that ultimately cost so many lives?
He could never say it out loud, but one thing would haunt him the rest of his life. Once President Abbas had learned the basics of their plans, Redmond knew that the original plan had no chance of succeeding. A coup d’etat relied heavily on the element of surprise. It was in that context that Plan B became not a viable alternative but the final critical stage of the plan. He was the only one who knew that. It was the only way to ensure the element of surprise.
Reflecting again on the loss of life saddened Josh. He had anticipated that the number of casualties during the first stage would be minimal. And it would have been had Abbas not called his friends in Syria and Iran to ask them to send more troops for deployment along with those already at Ft Belvoir and Andrews AFB. Many of the 400,000 people who were killed were outright slaughtered by Syrian and Irani troops who were sent to the major cities before the protest marches even started. Redmond still wondered how Abbas knew about the riots in enough time to position the foreign troops at the right spots, at the right times, to squelch the riots and cause so much loss of life. Why hadn’t Tarif known about Abbas’ plan? Or did he, in fact, know about it?
Redmond didn’t have the answers to the last few questions. But when it came time to make a decision about who he should warn about the Capitol bombing, he had decided that he could not trust Tarif with even the knowledge that there was a Plan B. So Tarif Mansour, who had been instrumental early on in providing much-needed intel, gave his life. Was he a martyr, a Judas Iscariot, or merely collateral damage?
Josh Redmond finally decided that it was simply time to move on. The heroes of this fight knew who they were, as did those who were such an important part of its success. They didn’t get involved so that they would be praised. Receiving accolades was the farthest thing from their minds. No, thought Josh, simply getting on with their lives was all they had ever wanted and that, in itself, was their just rewards. Saul could go back to just being the spiritual leader of his synagogue. Though she had to face her future without Tony, Angela would, at least, be able to dress as she wished and eventually begin a new career as the White House chief of staff. And, Qasim could go back to being a chemical engineer, taking pride in knowing that he and Makim, like their father, had stood up to fight for what was right.
So tonight President Redmond would focus on the future and the need to heal. His speech would be reconciliatory. He would ask the American people to judge Muslims, not on the basis of the former president and other extremists. He would highlight the brave efforts of Qasim and Makim Khalid and others like them; who came to this country for a better life. They were no longer immigrants but Americans who were willing to stand up for what was right.
Tonight he would tell the American people what they needed to hear. The union was once again strong. He would let them know that the government by the people and of the people was once again fully operational and truly “for the people.” He would introduce his new cabinet and outline the plans he set in motion for the election of new members of Congress. Then he would announce his proposed changes to the constitution, including the reversal of the harsh executive orders of the former president and the imposition of term limits on Congress. He would also tell them about the five men and four women centrists who he would nominate to the Supreme Court; three Christians, two Muslims, three Jews and an Athiest. Finally, he would announce the date for a presidential election stating the obvious that he would be seeking the office of Commander in Chief. He would run as a member of the newly formed ‘Nationalist Party of America.'
Josh hoped that, like war heroes of the past; Washington, Jackson, and Eisenhower, he too would be rewarded with his first elected four-year term. He secretly wondered if he would be fondly thought of throughout history as a man of principle who, like Thomas Jefferson; was a patriot above all else. Or would history prove unkind, remembering him as a traitor for his acts of sedition?
It didn’t matter, as he was heading down his charted path. But Josh would never forget the recent history, mistakes that were made in the country, and he would ensure that he his administration would not repeat those of the past. The future was at hand and tonight Josh would focus on that future. Americans deserved hope. America needed closure.
The End
Acts of Sedition Page 28