“Today, we have Mr. Jack South, winner of two jackpot lotteries: the Super Ball and the Multi Rich Millions. Mr. South used the exact same numbers in winning both lotteries and, in the same week. His net winnings are close to a half a billion dollars after taxes. That makes Mr. South the largest winner ever of a lottery in the history of lotteries. And,” he paused, “according to sources, his chances of winning both at the same time were zero. So Jack, how did you do it?” Brad asked as he turned to me.
“Simple, I bought two tickets in two different states and when they drew the numbers, I had won.”
“What did you do when you found out you had won?”
“I called my attorney, took the tickets over to his office, signed them in front of witnesses, and asked him to take care of it.”
Brad paused for a moment, and said, “Now Jack, since you have won both lotteries, a lot of controversy has come up as to how you could have possibly been lucky enough to win not one, but two lotteries back to back. In addition, it has come to our attention that you have retained the services of one of the largest criminal defense firms in the nation to the tune of twenty five million dollars. How do you explain that?”
It had not taken long for Brad to go for the throat to throw me off track, I thought to myself. It was time to tell him the truth and I knew he was not going to like it.
“Do you believe in messengers, Brad?”
“Messengers…what kind of messengers, Jack?”
“Biblical ones, Brad, you know, like the ones that come from nowhere and give you a mission. Like as in Abraham, for example, or Moses, Matthew, John, and Luke, to name a few.”
“Well, I know the Bible, if that’s what you mean. However, what does that have to do with you winning the lottery and getting a defense team together right afterwards? Are you saying God gave you the numbers? I don’t understand.”
“Okay Brad. Here is what happened, since you want to know. I had two messengers, by the names of Gabriel Massinger and Ariel Roberts give me an interview for a job based on an application I had sent in over the internet for a job posting. After two meetings, they hired me to do something for God, and I accepted the job. The job was to prove what the Bible said about God was true and to ensure that I had enough capital to see it through to completion. They gave me the numbers and I won the lotteries. And in addition, today, I am going to prove that through God’s power, I can see the future when He chooses that I do so.”
“Wow!” Brad said, seeming uncomfortable. “You are telling us God sent messengers to you, then you won the lotteries and they have hired you as an employee of God? That is a remarkable story. So how would you prove this?”
After I had said all this, I could see Brad was seething. I was sure that he did not like having people on the show that wanted to get out their own message. That is what good editing abilities and time delays are for, I assumed. Almost enjoying myself, I reached inside my pocket and said, “Let me read this to you.” I noted the time on my watch. It said 7:15.
“What is it?” he asked.
“It’s proof that I was visited by messengers. I assume you don’t want to believe what I told you.”
“Jack, do you really expect me or anyone else to believe what you are telling us? Are you trying to cover up the real truth of how you won the lotteries?” He watched as I unfolded the paper and saw that I was ignoring him completely.
Brad asked again, “Jack, why did you spend 35 million dollars for an attorney and a PR firm? Did you do something wrong?”
I looked up at Brad and could see the anger starting to show on his features. “Look Brad, if you let me read this it will help to explain what I am saying and that what I am telling you is the truth.”
Brad figured that in the worst case, they would not air it, so he asked begrudgingly, “What does it say Jack?”
I picked up the paper again, put on my reading glasses, perching them on the end of my nose and began to read the document. “At 7:59 Eastern Standard Time, originating from the fault known as ‘The Sierra Madre Fault’, there will be a major earthquake extending over an area of 400 square miles, centered in the San Gabriel Valley of Southern California. The magnitude will be exactly 7.9 on the Richter scale and will last an unprecedented four hundred and twenty-two seconds. Property damage will be estimated at one hundred billion dollars in damages to the infrastructure alone. And Brad,” I hesitated, looked directly into his eyes, then said, “If you do not air this and warn the people of California, what will happen is that the death toll will be exactly 83,125 people, and exactly 134,876 injuries. If you air what I just said and warn these people, the number will be only 9,124 people killed and injuries will be 15,232 people. Property damage will not change. These are the exact details with a map and knowledge only God would know.” I offered the document to him.
As he reluctantly took the document, he looked at me and retorted, “You are a frigging nut!” He looked over at his production crew and the camera operator and said, “We’re sorry people, please stop taping this now and kill the feed immediately. I’m not sure what is going on here.”
He turned back towards me and said, “You are insane and I don’t interview insane people that come and say God told them to do it.” He turned back to the camera people and the producer and said, “Have the Enquirer interview him. I will not.”
He stood, and then turned again to me. He was now standing directly over me as I sat on the couch. In a voice that seemed more like a high-pitched growl he said, “Jack, you’re a piece of crap who won’t tell the truth! Our news department will investigate everything about you and you will be destroyed. When we’re through, you’ll most likely end up in jail for a long time or in an asylum. I guarantee you, we will find the underlying cause of this; our investigators are the best in the world…earthquake predictions and messengers from God? You picked the wrong people to piss off.” With that, he turned and stormed out of the studio.
At that point, I was sure that with the built in tape delay, the bulk of the interview had been deleted. Therefore, no part of the interview was broadcasted. I looked over at Mark, who was still taping. I got his attention, gave him the high sign signal we had prearranged which meant, “Send it now.”
I looked at my watch. It was 7:16 a.m.; forty-three minutes to go.
Chapter 9
7:19 AM EST New York - Anthony Williams Advertising Corporate Headquarters
At the offices of Anthony Williams Advertising, Martha Johnson, was sitting waiting for the email of a video that she was to reprocess and send out. It came in at 7:19 a.m. to their New York office’s email box. She validated that the data was there, and ran a quick virus scan so that other email programs would not reject the attachment. Once she was satisfied that the file was clean, she immediately put the video into a queue that sent it to over thirty million email addresses worldwide. She also sent the video to every news station in the world, including but not limited to, government TV stations in China, Europe, Russia, the Middle East, and most countries of Africa, and South America. It was loaded up to Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter with prearranged fake user blogs already set up.
She then sent it to conspiracy theorists and outspoken individuals who did not like any form of government, as well as several non-conforming organizations in the world.
Next, she picked up the phone and called what was nicknamed the Rouge Network in the U.S., legally known as Bear Network. They were a non-conformist network that employed the right wing, John Roddenburg, as their primary news anchor. Martha knew that they originally wanted Jack on their show, and that after they saw this video, and the events it predicted, they would move heaven and earth to get him into their studios for an interview. She told John’s assistant that a video of the Morning Headlines that had not been broadcasted was in John’s in-box and that Jack South should be available for an interview after the event described in the video. Jack could be there at the studios somewhere between nine to eleven a.m. She asked the assistant to
call her back immediately to confirm.
Next, she calmly sent a confirming message to the source of the video. She explained that the video was now worldwide and confirmed; and that she fully expected John Roddenburg at Bear Network to be calling within the hour.
Then, she settled down to watch the interview herself.
Chapter 10
2:25 PM CEST Brussels - The Waldger Group Corporate Headquarters, David Matthews’ Office
David Matthews had been watching the Morning Headlines and right after the leading question about how he had won and why he had hired a major defense firm, the show had cut to commercial. No answers to the questions were aired. He knew immediately that the producer had stopped the live feed on purpose, in order to avoid broadcasting the answer.
For what reason was the live feed interrupted? He knew there was usually a one to two minute delay on live interviews, so they could bleep out a cussword or anything deemed necessary to be eliminated. However, he was surprised that the entire interview was now gone. They had cut to a commercial and then back to the news desk. It was as if the interview had not happened at all.
As he turned away from his monitor, his phone rang. It was Wendy, one of the senior internet surfers. She simply said, “I think you need to get on your PC and look at the video feed and the internet blogs about Jack South. The rest of the interview is there; and you will not believe what it contains.”
He hung up, logged on to his computer, located the file, and within five minutes was on the phone directly to Aafre Waldger.
Chapter 11
7:25 AM EST New York - The Network Interview Studio
Jack sat on the couch, not moving. Mark walked over and said, “Jack, I sent it and I just got confirmation from Luke’s firm that it was okay and sent out as planned. Now what?”
“Wait till they throw us out; and please start videotaping everything until we do leave. We may get some more action from these people. They’re volatile.”
As if on cue, the side door suddenly burst open and Jonathon Langer walked in. He was screaming at the top of his lungs coming to a stop directly in front of me. “Who the hell do you think you are? I have enough problems keeping the end of the world signs off the plaza and off the air and you…you come in and screw up the whole dammed thing with your bull!”
I calmly looked at my watch and saw that it was 7:26 a.m.; thirty-three minutes to go. I looked up at Langer and politely asked, “Are you going to warn the people in California? You still have time, Mr. Langer.” As I said this, he began ranting and raving again. He screamed for security to remove my attorney and me.
I stood up from the couch I had been sitting in and said, “Hey, no hard feelings.” I started backing away from him and as I did, I said loud enough for others to hear while addressing Langer, “By the way, after this is done, sir, you will find it hard to find a job as a trash hauler in Jersey. But to make your life easier, I’ll give you the winning pick three and pick four for tonight’s New York lottery drawing.”
Langer’s jaw just dropped. I looked around and saw everyone looking my way. I said, “369 for Pick 3 and 6667 for the Pick 4. Remember those numbers. You may need the money after today.”
Jonathon Langer began ranting again. His face was puffy and beet red. His eyes were almost bulging from their sockets. With his arms in the air, he screamed, “Homeland Security is getting a copy of this tape! You have tried to cause panic in this country! You will be arrested, prosecuted, and thrown in jail! As a matter of fact, you cannot leave this studio until I contact the authorities. You’re a jerk Jack.”
“Okay, Mr. Langer, I’ll wait for them to come. I have no problem waiting.” I sat back down on the couch and said nothing more. I thought about pushing him further to see what his reaction would be, but chose not to, because it really did not matter. Everything he had said and his refusal to air the warning was all on tape and would soon be on the internet along with the interview he and Brad had stopped. He could explain to his viewers and his boss why they had both gone into a tirade, stopping the interview, with the result that they would be contributing to the deaths of over eighty-thousand people.
He called me a few more names before leaving the room. I looked at my watch again as Mark and I sat on the couch. It was 7:29 a.m. In 30 minutes, the entire world would change. We were right on schedule.
Chapter 12
7:30 AM EST New York - The Network Interview Studio
Mark leaned over to me and said, “You know the producer is right. If you’ve caused a panic, you can and will be, prosecuted. And it will not take them long to come get you.”
“First of all,” I replied, “that is why we hired you to make sure that does not happen. Secondly, if what I said is going to happen, does actually happen, then I did not cause a panic and I am sure you are aware that prosecuting me for foretelling an event is not against any law. Nevertheless, we will wait until the earthquake hits, and then we can go. They might in the meantime think, I believe, that I might get arrested if we stay here until then.”
Mark just looked at me.
I suggested he call his office and start running interference. “Contact Homeland Security and the FBI and tell them I am your client and send out the additional video of this guy’s tirade. Anyway, I am sure they most likely will not really be interested in arresting me or taking me in for questioning, not yet at least.”
I watched as Mark sauntered away. He began making calls and uploading, I assumed, the video of the producer’s onslaught moments ago. I thought that I had probably been rude to Mark, but decided not to say anything for now. I looked at my watch again. This time is was 7:32 a.m. I wished I had access to a computer. I was curious about what blogs were saying in regards to the video and the reaction to the full interview. I hoped that by the time the day was over, all the participants in this show and its anchor would be history, and looking for a job somewhere else. I doubted this would happen. However, even more so, that the American public would lose faith in their primary network and would quit believing the stuff they fabricated or lied about. That would be a victory. Disabling The Network was a primary goal. It was now 7:33 a.m. With twenty-six minutes to go, I waited on the couch.
Chapter 13
7:44 AM EST New York - The Network, Anchor Brad William’s Dressing Room
The makeup people had been waiting for Brad to come back into his dressing room to do the customary touch up before he went back on the anchor desk. As he entered the room, Sherry said, “Brad do you want us to do some touch up?” She could see he was quite angry.
“I need all of you out of here now. And I mean now!” yelling at them.
“Sure, Mr. Williams.” She motioned to her assistant and they scuttled out the door as quickly as they could go. She noticed that he made no additional comments as they were leaving. That was good for them.
As he watched them leave, he sat down in his chair and realized that he should not have been so rude. However, he was quite upset; not only with Jack, but also with himself, for losing his temper. How this idiot had gotten the better of him, he had no idea. He looked at his watch. It was 7:46. Luckily, only thirteen minutes left to go before Jack South was proven a liar. Then he would go on the air and make a statement to that fact; and start the process of destroying him. He did not like anyone making him look like an idiot. He knew he should be on the news desk right now, but after the tirade with Mr. South, he really needed to calm down and get himself together. He had even tried walking around the Garden Roof to get his composure back; but he was still quite angry.
As he sat in his chair, he was thinking that in spite of the fact that this person probably broke the law with Homeland Security and was a nut, he had failed to get what was asked of him. In hindsight, he knew that he should have kept probing Jack and made a fool out of him. After all, he was Brad Williams, the best at this. Somehow, South got the better of instead.
Who in the world would ever believe his story anyway? God gave him the
numbers and God was going to destroy Southern California? What bothered him above all was that Jack had said that if the network did not warn the people and the authorities, then the death and injury toll would be almost ten times more than what it would be if they did inform them. The other fact was that with the odds at zero, he had won the lotteries; so maybe he could tell the future. He stopped himself from thinking this way. No one could predict such an event with exact details. It was not possible. He still had a bad feeling about all of this and was getting concerned.
He leaned back in his dressing room chair and closed his eyes, trying to clear his head. He had to get back on in a few minutes and act as if nothing had happened. All of a sudden, he heard the door open abruptly and was immediately awake. He glanced at the page standing there and then looked at his watch. It was 8:00 a.m. He must have dozed off.
The page, looking sheepish, said, “You need to come immediately to the Control Room, Mr. Williams. The interview you gave is all over the internet, every word of it. You walking out, everything you said, as well as the producer’s comments afterwards to Jack.”
“What?” Brad said. “How in the hell did that happen?” He ran all the way to the newsroom.
By the time he made it to the Network Control Room at around 8:02 a.m., everyone was looking at the big sixty-seven inch high definition screen on the back wall. The sound was turned up very high. On the screen was the news anchor for KTIB in Los Angeles, one of their affiliates. He was reporting that a major quake had just hit the area. They could all see the shaking right on TV. Brad looked at his watch. It was 8:02. He went to a chair in the corner and just sank into it.
Jack South had been right and he had just blown the biggest story of his career. He began watching the clips on the internet with the computer monitor next to him, showing him walking out of the interview with Jack, including cussing him out, and all the rest of it. He knew then that it was all over the world, and all the other networks. This might just end his career. Jack had set him up.
Chapter 14
8:03 AM EST days New York - The Network Control Room