As Stevenson waited for Ken’s answer, the telephone rang. He picked it up. Rolinda said, “I have the Israeli Prime Minister on the line, Mr. President. Should I put him through?”
“Yes, please do.”
He waited and heard David’s voice, “Hello, Stevenson,” he said in his Yiddish accent, “what I can do for you today?”
“Are you in a secure place that we can talk David?”
“Yes, I’m in my office. You just caught me. I was just leaving to have dinner with my family this evening.”
Stevenson explained the situation to him and said that the US would not hold Israel responsible for anything that had happened, but it would be best if they wrapped this up quickly. David said that he understood. He also questioned Stevenson about Jack, “Are you sure you don’t want us to break him? He is here and he is a threat to all of us. It is raining here, like in the Sahara and that may soon cause us problems. We may be able to crack him.”
“No. Just put him and whoever he was with back on their jet. I just hope this never makes it to the press. Once again, thanks David. I really appreciate your help. And, yes David, we will sign the agreements on the bombers and after some of this calms down you should be getting them. Thanks again.”
Stevenson put the phone down, and then looked over at Jamal, “Fortunately, they want the bombers more than they want Jack. So he will do what is necessary to make sure that he is released,” he said.
He then turned his attention back to the Attorney General and said, “Now Ken, what’s it going to be?”
Chapter 80
8:55 PM CEST Day two of 1260 Ramat David Air Force Base, Level III Interrogation Room
They had turned off the lights and left. Again, it was pitch black. I doubted if they believed what I told them about the binder. What was strange to me is that I could actually read it and I had never ever seen anything like it before; but then obviously, they had not either.
My mind was playing with me again and I was still very cold. I was not looking forward to being tortured to get me to tell these people what I had said on national TV yesterday. That was about all they would ever get from me anyway. I really knew nothing else. I guess they could question me about the desert and the cave meeting, but they probably would not believe that either.
I was not sure what was going to happen to me. According to Old Testament scriptures, many were imprisoned for their beliefs. Maybe God was just testing me and this was just a part of the seasoning that he put his messengers or prophets through. I also wondered if I was strong enough to handle it and still be able to function afterwards. I wasn’t sure, but I did know that Gabriel had said that although I was chosen, I still had one-hundred percent free will; and if I chose to go against God’s wishes, I could do so.
I would not let that happen. If they beat me, I would tell the truth, no matter what, and let God take care of the rest of it. I started to recite the Lord’s Prayer when the lights came back on.
Chapter 81
9:00 PM CEST Day two of 1260 Ramat David Air Force Base, Level I Interrogation Room
Moshe had left the room, but the door was locked, so she was still a prisoner. She had no intention of trying to get out anyway. She would not get very far. Veronica felt that Moshe had probably gone to see if her story corroborated with Jack’s. If it did not, then they would turn up the heat and try to find out more, using their techniques.
She could well imagine that Jack was probably shackled, naked, and scared out of his wits downstairs. However, she also knew that he was now a man of God and this may well be some good seasoning for him. She had joined this group of Gabriel and Ariel’s several years ago after Shraya and she had had their little tryst. Then Shraya had explained who he really was. After she got over the initial shock of it, they recruited her. She converted to Christianity, resigned her position, and was sent to America to begin to lay out the plans, long before Jack ever knew he was going to be who he is now.
To think Jack thought she must be an angel. Well after today, he would know the truth and then she would tell him again that she is there to protect him and keep him safe; that this had all been worked out some time ago. However, she mused, she was not doing such a good job now, even in her own territory. Therefore, she was thinking about what must have happened in America that someone had stumbled on their whereabouts and overshot their authority. It really boiled down to three people that could order this. That would be the President, The Attorney General, or the Director of the CIA. No one else could make the request.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the door open. Moshe walked in sat down and said, “Veronica, you must really have friends in very high places. Your jet is being refueled and your pilots and your precious Jack are being returned to you. However, I think it is important that you let Mr. South know that none of this really took place today. It might not bode well for him to run to the press and tell his story.”
“I can assure you that I doubt if your threats would be of much concern to him. I can also tell you that he has no reason to dwell on this; and I will do what I can. Now may I leave?”
“Sure you can. I wish you would stay longer though. Dinner with a bottle of fine wine would really make my day.”
“Go screw yourself Moshe. You know how I feel about that. Also, please return the binder that you removed from the plane.”
“Certainly, you can also have the other papers, including Jack’s passport.” He handed the binder to her. She noticed, as she looked in the folder that the papers were copies, not the originals. Where are the originals Moshe?”
“Ah, those we will keep here. I want to have it analyzed, especially if it really came from God. Then we may find out something else interesting. I am sure that Jack and I will meet again very soon, maybe in Jerusalem. Are you sure we cannot have dinner together again, just like old times?” he pouted.
“No, Moshe. Not now, not ever.”
“Okay my dear. Maybe you can fly back to the caves and get Shraya too,” as he laughed.
She hated that laugh, hated it so very much.
Chapter 82
2:10 PM EST Day two of 1260 Somewhere over the Atlantic, AM4000 Jet
Aafre was still in the forward cabin’s communications room when the phone rang. He picked it up, listened to the caller, and said, “Thank you.” He hung up the phone and stood to return to the lounge.
He laughed and said to himself. It was amazing how simple and trusting people really were. He had known about the file that Jack had, and using his considerable skill, had suckered the Attorney General into turning Jack in, thereby getting Jack into one of his associate’s clutches and getting the original document that had supposedly come from God. Even the Israeli government did not know that Moshe and the Director worked for him when needed. All men were corruptible, he thought. He would have to make sure they received a very large bonus soon. Now he needed to make sure Mr. Ken Giles, the Attorney General, would never have the opportunity to ever write a book or anything else. He was sure that he would not be missed, for Stevenson hated the man. Easy come, easy go. It was so easy.
Chapter 83
2:20 PM EST Day two of 1260 Camp David, Maryland
Ken left the President’s office furious. Screw him, he thought. He would not take this lying down. He had friends too and Stevenson would not like what he may be able to do or dig up on the old man. He and Stevenson had been at each other since he could remember and this was not the first threat he had ever gotten. It was his own connections that had assured him the AG spot when Stevenson took office. In addition, he knew that if he played his cards right, he would be President in the next few years. He had a lot of party support.
Resign. No way, José, he thought to himself. Never!
He knew he could not go back to the meeting, so he called for a limo from the carpool available to the government and said he needed to get back to his office. The limo should be here shortly he thought, as he waited outside the door smoking a cig
arette. He did not normally smoke much, but it did help calm his nerves.
He saw the limo coming from around the edge of the woods leading up to the Camp’s administration building. He reached down and grabbed his briefcase, put it on his shoulder and stood by the road. He would get his other things later or they could send his bag to his house. He needed to get out of there.
The car stopped and he opened his own back door of the limo and sat inside. He knocked on the window and told the driver he needed to get back to Washington D.C., to the office. The driver grunted as he put the car in gear and drove down the driveway.
The limo passed the gates and started down the access road to 15, which would then take them to the beltway, and then on into D.C. He figured he would just lean back and enjoy the ride. The helicopter ride had only taken about a half an hour. However, that was not an option today; but depending on traffic, he would still get back around five or so.
Then, he thought, he‘d start pushing the buttons on old Stevenson. Resign? He doubted it.
He was looking out the window when he eventually realized that they had turned off 15 and were going down some road he had never been on before. He banged on the glass that separated him and the driver, but got no response. He suddenly felt that he was in danger. The hairs on the back of his neck started sticking up and his whole body grew tense. He lived on intuition and trusted it. He knew he was in trouble.
He tried opening the door, but it was locked. He continued banging on the glass separating the driver from him, to no avail. He picked up his cell phone and tried to dial, but there was no service. The car started to slow down, and he watched as it came to a stop in the middle of the woods. The driver got out, opened his door, and the last thing Ken Giles heard was the shot.
Chapter 84
9:25 PM CEST Day two of 1260 Over Ramat David Air Force Base, Israel Airspace
I sat in my seat on the jet, strapped in, as it took off from the airbase. I looked out the window even though it was becoming dark. With the lights, I could still see the sprawling desert that surrounded the base and the buildings that made up the area. I was trying to decipher which one I had been in, but could not.
Veronica was also looking out the windows until she turned to me and said, “It was the building to the right of the very large hangar,” and she pointed it out. I looked at it and noticed it was just like all the others, but I still could not shake off being held prisoner there, although it had not been for very long. I kept staring at it from the window.
After they had questioned me about the file, they had left me there, again in the blackness. It had seemed forever before they came back. This time I kept my eyes closed until they adjusted to the light again. There was only one guard and he had a bundle in his hands. It was my clothes and personal items. The soldier reached behind me and removed the handcuffs from my wrists and then bent down and released the shackles from my ankles. He simply said, “Get dressed,” before he turned and walked out the door. This time they left the lights on.
A few minutes later, they put a blindfold on me and took me back to our jet. When I got out of the car, they took the blindfold off and stood there while I walked up the steps. They had not said a word. Veronica was already in the cabin.
“Strap yourself in. We are leaving.”
She pulled up the hatch and sat down. I could hear the jet’s engines start up. We began taxiing out to the runway then the jet turned and started down the runway. Soon, it lifted off the ground. I realized that I had been holding my breath the entire time.
I looked over at Veronica who was just staring out the window and I asked her, “Have you been here before?”
“Yes,” she said. “I used to work here. And the people that you met were my co-workers.”
“Couldn’t you have just put in a good word for me so I wouldn’t have had to go through all of that?”
“I tried, Jack. I really tried; but it appears someone in the U.S. Government wanted you taken in, and so they did.”
“Any idea who?”
“No, I’m not sure. It had to be the President, the Attorney General, or the Director of the CIA. Otherwise, they never would have forced our plane down; especially here. So it had to be one of them.”
“I guess you aren’t an angel then.” I laughed at some more of my dry mid western humor.
“No Jack, I’m not. Now you are playing with me. This is serious, not a joke. I am your protector and helper, as I said before, but I could not foresee this happening. I had no inkling that someone would have done this. Fortunately, nothing bad happened and I can assure you, I will not let this happen again.”
“Where are we headed now, since you are my personal tour guide?”
“New York, to refuel, then fly to Kansas City. We should be in Kansas City by Wednesday afternoon. Your sermon is at 7:30 p.m., Thursday. Gabriel will tell you what is next after that.”
“Thanks,” I said trying to take all this in. The past two days had been like a jumble of words, country jumping and an incredible race that seemed to never stop. “Mind if I smoke?”
“No, go ahead. I will get you a Coors Light. Can I ask a favor?”
“Sure, what is it?”
“I want a cigarette too, and a shot of whiskey.”
“Help yourself.”
“Oh by the way, Jack.”
“What Veronica?”
“Don’t talk about any plans or anything, other than small talk please.”
“Why?”
“Because, if I was still working there, this plane would have so many bugs in it, you could call it an infestation. When we get to New York I will have some associates meet us there and have the jet swept.”
“Can you hear me Moshe?” she asked as she laughed out loud.
Chapter 85
2:30 PM EST Day two of 1260 Camp David, Maryland - Conference Room
When President Stevenson returned to the conference room after dealing with the Attorney General, they were just getting sandwiches and drinks from the buffet table up at the end of the room. The conversation levels were pretty high. It seemed everyone was talking at the same time and in small groups. As he walked towards the buffet table, he scanned the room to see who was grouping together. As a seasoned politician, he knew that when people ate, they usually liked to be close to those with whom they felt most comfortable. In his years in the state legislature, then the senate, he had found that watching this could sometimes point out people who really were not on the team or had other agendas.
Most of the people around him were on his team, but he knew that there were those who had doubts about his abilities and his integrity. The sad thing for those gathered was that they did not know the power was given only to those willing to allow others to have power over them. Being President of the United States was a tradeoff between what you wanted to accomplish and whether or not the real powers to be wanted your agenda to happen or not. The reality was that money had the power; whoever had the most money, had the most power. Even the wars of Europe were financed by the money brokers. No money meant no war.
He, like most of his predecessors, got to this position with money. It took a lot of money and it took many promises. Surprisingly enough, as he clawed his way up through the system, he started finding out where the real power lay, and it was not in the U.S. He mused a bit on the thought and then sort of laughed to himself. If the world really knew all of this, they would all be immediately taken out and shot by the people. Then in time, it would start all over again and in a few hundred years, it would be just as it was now.
Jamal started walking over to Stevenson. He said, “After lunch we are going to start tackling the logistics of moving and relocating most of the eastern seaboard, parts of Florida and the Gulf coasts. General Stoups told me that he might have a good plan that we could put into effect, starting with the first strike in Houston, and then work our way around the coasts. He also has a plan to move our national treasures from DC and New York. I suppose, Mr.
President, that at least we have time, and it is not like a nuclear attack where we would only have a few hours or less.”
“You’re right, Jamal. Having time does help but it only delays the inevitable. What kind of resources will this take? Did he say?”
“No, not really. He said that he felt he would just tell everyone at the same time and then we can work it out from there. By the way, since we are going to Kansas City and then The Waldger Group meeting is right after, are we going to be coming back to Washington or are we going straight to Cheyenne?”
“I don’t know Jamal. I really do not know. We’ve only just started on the process to move necessary equipment and some staff.”
“Okay. Thought I would ask, because we need to make press releases and work out the final details. Vice President Johnson will be on the ground in about three hours and on his way out here. We had a delay in getting him out of China for the state visit he was attending. Do you want him brought directly here from the airport or wait until tomorrow morning?”
“No, tonight. We have a lot to cover and a very short time to do it in.”
“I will take care of it then.”
Jamal started for the doors to the communication’s room and as Stevenson watched him leave, he thought, even as President of the world’s superpower, he felt overwhelmed; and he knew that it was only going to get worse.
Chapter 86
1:30 PM CST Day two of 1260 Kansas City, Missouri - Arrowhead Stadium
In Kansas City, Mayor Madeline Sipes was surrounded it seemed, by every agency that existed on the planet, not to mention those belonging to the United States. There were people from Interpol, the Vatican, secret service agents from several countries, and to top it all off, brass from every military unit in the U.S. They were meeting in makeshift quarters at Arrowhead Stadium using the Chief’s media room, which was the only place that was capable of handling this amount of people in a single enclosed space, and away from the press, which was camped out at City Hall. How the feds got their people here so quickly, she had no idea.