It took Lynn about 30 seconds to figure it out.
“Jack, they’re not trying to rig the democratic primary election, they’re going to rig the presidential election! They have a way to discredit the top candidates from both parties and steer the election to the candidate of their choice. We don’t know whether their chosen candidate is a Democrat or a Republican, but whichever it is, there won’t be any incriminating files on him. They only planted files on candidates they might want to force out of the race.”
“That’s good, Lynn, really good. It all holds together, at least based on what we know so far.”
Jack immediately saw the implications of Lynn’s hypothesis. But he was still clueless about who ‘they’ were. Who is behind this plan? The name Hermetrius came to mind. He needed to find out more about him, her, or it, but if he started looking for a major player like Hermetrius, things might get even more dangerous for them. Hermetrius has already killed three FRA agents and the man at the Hyatt to cover up his plot, so he will do whatever it takes to shut Harriet, Tom, Lynn, and himself up.
His phone interrupted his thoughts. Jack answered “Hello?”
“Hi Jack. I’m here at the Charlottesville bus station.”
“So you made it here, Tom. Any difficulties along the way?”
“Nothing except an angry businesswoman who won’t ever find her purse again. It was a good score - $900 in cash. I didn’t have to risk using her credit cards.”
“Stand out in front of the bus station in 15 minutes. Lynn is driving a grey Jeep Wrangler.”
#
Jack and Lynn listened as Tom told them everything about his capture and questioning.
“I’m glad you called with the bank account number before you got caught. Your story about DNI involvement was priceless. The way you slowly led them down the path to believing you a little at a time. You have a gift there, Tom.”
“So whose name is listed on the account?”
“Tom Dalton, a Republican congressman from Florida. He’s not a front runner in the primary race, but that could change, especially if one or two of his opponents get knocked off in the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries. Lynn, explain your idea about where all this may be leading.”
“I think whoever is behind this wants to put a particular candidate in the White House. The files showing fraud by six of the candidates can’t all be used – maybe one or two of them – or else the press will see something fishy is going on. The candidate chosen by Hermetrius to be elected president won’t have any files on him, or her.”
“That seems like a pretty good hypothesis. There are some holes in it, mostly about how the one selected candidate will rise above the others. Voters are unpredictable, so it seems to me that getting a selected candidate into the White House is not a sure thing. If your hypothesis is correct, there will have to be some other events planned to manipulate the voters – pull them strongly to one candidate.”
“That makes sense, Tom. Do you have any idea who’s behind this. Who this Hermetrius is?”
“I don’t know who he is but I might be able to identify him by his voice. When they took me to the warehouse, they took the hood off my head for awhile, but put it back on when another car drove in. The man from the car had a deep, gravelly voice that I think I could identify. Everyone deferred to him, with lots of ‘yes sirs’ and ‘no sirs.’ I think he may have been this Hermetrius fellow.”
“It’s getting late. Why don’t you get some rest, Tom, and I’ll call Harriet to see if they have found a place to hide out.”
“I definitely need some sleep; I’ve been awake for over 24 hours. Wake me when you’re ready to head for Harriet’s place.”
Chapter 35
“Harriet? It’s Jack. Tom got here a few minutes ago and is catching up on sleep. What’s happening at your end?”
“Rick came through for us. He found an empty place in the Virginia farm country west of here and leased it for six months. It’s got plenty of room – six bedrooms, four baths, a fully equipped kitchen, an office in the basement, and a four-car garage. It’s on 80 acres of cleared land so we’ll be able to see anyone approaching. We plan to head up there tomorrow morning and pick up some groceries on the way.”
“That sounds perfect. We’ll leave Charlottesville before noon tomorrow and meet you there. Tell me how to get there.”
“It’s out past Leesburg. The address is 45236 Squire Woods Road. Your GPS will be able to find it. There’s a gate at the entrance with a video link back to the house. Call us from there on the intercom and we’ll open the gate for you.”
“Great. It’s a couple hour’s drive from here, so we should get there in early afternoon.”
“Good. But I don’t know what you look like, so send me a selfie of you, Lynn, and Tom so I can recognize you.”
“O.K. I’ll send it in the morning as soon as Tom wakes up. We’ll be driving two vehicles – a dark green Ford SportTrac and a gray Jeep Wrangler. Send me a photo of you and Rick.”
#
Jack left early for Harriet and Rick’s place. He wanted to check out the territory before they went in. He told Lynn to wait down the road while he drove past the gate to have a look. Everything looked clear so he called Lynn and told her to meet him at the gate. Judging from the fancy gate, the owner must have been a gentleman farmer trying to impress visitors. He buzzed Harriet to open the gate and drove through with Lynn right behind him. The road curved left and right before they got a clear view of the house. Lynn called him to say “Wow! I’m impressed. If we’re going to hide out we may as well do it in style.”
Rick greeted them at the door. “Come on in; Harriet is dying to meet you. We’ll get your bags later. Rick had his wife set up in the master bedroom, still in the traction bed they brought from the hospital. She looked pretty good considering her injuries. Her leg was still in traction, but the visiting doctor said they could release her from that by Saturday. In spite of her casts and bandages, Harriet greeted them cheerfully and insisted on a hug from each of them. Lynn excused herself to let O’Malley out for a run. He immediately started exploring the place, sniffing around the barn and looking back at Lynn now and then to make sure she was still there. After fifteen minutes Lynn called him back to her and took him in the house to meet their new friends.
“What a beautiful dog!” Harriet exclaimed. Is he house broken? We’re only leasing this place and I wouldn’t want him to make a mess.”
“He is housebroken and very well trained. Call him over to your bed.”
“Come here – what’s his name? – O’Malley. That’s what you said. Come here O’Malley.”
The dog looked up at Lynn for permission and, when she nodded her head, he went over and licked Harriet’s hand.
Jack said “Don’t ever call him J-a-s-p-e-r. He turns into a vicious mad dog.”
“He’s not that bad, Jack, but he is a great watch dog. He’ll know when anyone comes this way long before we will.”
#
Jack pulled his truck and Lynn’s Wrangler into the attached garage, and Rick helped Jack unload the stuff from his truck – a couple of duffle bags along with guns, ammo, and electronic gear – plus the backpack from the Jeep and a large bag of dog food.
“You travel fully equipped, don’t you Jack.”
“We have no idea what will happen from now on so we have to be prepared for anything.
Thirty minutes later the were sitting around Harriett’s bed in comfortable chairs they hauled up from the living room having a drink. “I can’t wait to get out of this medieval torture device and into that huge bed so I can snuggle with my husband. It’s been awhile and I want to make sure he still loves me.”
Rick blushed at that and changed the subject. “Well, now that we’re all together, we need a plan. Where are we going? What needs to be done now and what can wait a bit? What Government resources can we trust? Who are our most likely adversaries? And who is behind this whole thing – the probable murders, atte
mpted murders, surveillance on us, and the suspicious activities we have noticed? We need to figure out everything we know or suspect.”
Harriet spoke up next. “Here’s what I propose. We all have our own experiences that we have been through. As soon as we start sharing them, our perceptions and thoughts on those experiences will be influenced by what we hear from the others. So I think we should spend the afternoon with each of us writing a report of our own experiences – with all the details we can remember, including our first thoughts and impressions about what was happening to us. Then, tomorrow morning after breakfast we will read each others’ reports and write down new thoughts that come to mind. After lunch we will regroup back up here to discuss everything. When you finish with your reports give them to Rick and he will print copies for us.”
Lynn followed up with her opinion that it was a great strategy, and everyone else agreed. They all took their laptops and found a comfortable place in the house to put together their reports.
#
After writing their reports they met for dinner. Rick turned out to be a pretty good cook – spinach salad with vinaigrette dressing, chicken alfredo, wine, and fresh brownies for dessert. They purposely kept the conversation away from their reports; there would be time for that in the morning. Jack talked about his retirement and the place in West Virginia. “But it’s nothing compared to Lynn’s ski lodge in Colorado. Tell them about it, honey.” . . . Then he realized he had called her his favorite name for Helen. That brought tears to his eyes and he had to excuse himself and go to his room. Lynn was moved, both by what he called her and by his emotional response. She told them about her place in Telluride for a few minutes, and then said she was tired and went upstairs.
Lynn and Jack had chosen adjacent rooms that shared a bathroom. Lynn went into her room and immediately went through the bathroom into Jack’s room.
“Do you want some company, Jack? I can tell that brought up some painful memories for you.”
“I don’t want to talk. . . . Just lay beside me while I try to work my way through this. I feel the depression closing in on me again and I need to figure out how to head it off. I spent the last six months being sucked down into that black whirlpool and I just can’t go there again.”
Now the tears were streaming down his cheeks as a sob caught in his throat.
“Oh, Jack! Come here, let me hold you.” She wrapped her arms around him and held on until they both fell asleep.
#
After breakfast Rick handed out copies of the reports to everyone and they retreated to their rooms to write their comments and thoughts in the margins. At one o’clock they gathered in Harriet’s room to discuss their ideas. Jack gave Lynn, Tom, and Rick a legal pad each with a different heading on it - What We Know, What We Suspect, and What We Need to Find out.
“Let’s start with the facts we know.”
Six FRA agents planted files in contractor’s records each designed to make a potential Presidential candidate look guilty of embezzlement.
These missions were authorized by a man or group named Hermetrius.
Some unknown organization is trying to kill the six agents, and were successful with three of them.
This organization is well funded and equipped. They deposited almost $10 million in the five accounts we know about, and their drones and military systems are state of the art.
Given their freedom to operate and the high-end equipment they use, they must have a strong Government connection somewhere.
“Anything else for this list? Alright, how about the theories; what we suspect is going on.” Lynn lead off with her idea about eliminating all but the candidate ‘they’ want in the Presidency.
Jack added “We have a problem here in what we call our opposition. First we have whoever is trying to kill us. Then we have whoever is behind this entire conspiracy. Finally we have Hermetrius. These may all be the same organization, or three separate but connected groups, each with their own part of the plan. To keep it straight, let’s give each entity a separate name we can use among ourselves. Any suggestions?”
“How about Bad Guys for the first group. And lets just shorten Hermetrius’ name to Herman.”
Lynn added, “That works, Harriet. And we can call the one who is at the top of all this, the head conspirator, ‘Boss Man.’
“O.K. We’ll use these names to keep it straight who we’re talking about. So lets start our theories list with Lynn’s idea.”
The Boss Man is planning to use these false embezzlement claims to discredit candidates that threaten the nomination and election of his chosen candidate.
Boss Man and Hermetrius, Herman, might be the same person.
Presidential power alone won’t be enough without a Congress to support the Boss Man’s plans for changes in Government policies, and the budgeting to go with it.
Putting the right Congressmen and Senators in place must have started already.
Based on Tom’s reverse interrogation of Willie Wonka, the Bad Guys might include a private security agency.
Herman might have a gravelly voice easily identifiable by Tom.
“Good. Really good.” Jack commented. “Let’s cut that list off for now and move on the What We Need To Know list. These should be actions we need to take to confirm or eliminate our theories on the second list. What are your thoughts here?”
Harriet spoke up. “If the Boss Man has been getting selected Congressional candidates elected for the past few years, we need to look over all the recently elected Congressmen and Senators to see if we can spot a trend, maybe similarities in ideologies and stances on important issues, to look for a common thread. That’s one I’ll volunteer for since I’m still bedridden
“Tom, since you were the one with the private security firm idea, why don’t you chase that one. Make up a list of all the firms that might be involved in something like this and find some dirt on them so we can apply pressure to get information.”
Lynn spoke up again. “Since I’m not wired into the spy community like you guys, why don’t I go through news clips of all the powerful men in the country and pick out those with a voice like Tom described. Then he can sit down and listen to all of them at one time.”
“That’s great. Look at politicians, corporate kings, union leaders – any group that might want to swing the entire U.S. Government toward their goals. If you don’t find anything among U.S. citizens, expand your search to similar groups from other countries that might have an agenda for our country.”
“What would you like me to do?” Rick asked.
“Just keep up the good cooking, and care for your wife. And you’re the only one of us who can go out in public safely, so you can take care of anything we need done on the outside.”
“I have an idea about how I can help, Jack. In your report you listed the amounts and dates of the five deposits you were able access. All five deposits were made within a two-week period at the end of October of 2012, just before the first FRA agent switched the contract files. With my financial connections I can look for where that money might have come from here in the U.S. I’ll be looking for the transfer of five specific amounts of money, from the same account, in that time frame. It’s a long shot – I’ll have to look through lists of several thousand transfers looking for five needles in a haystack – so it will take me a couple of weeks. But it might payoff for us.”
Jack thought for a minute. “Rick, what if I wrote some custom software for your computer that could do high speed searches for you. That should speed things up. It will take me awhile, but if I pull an all-nighter like I did in my college days I can have something for you by morning. In the meantime you identify what financial data bases you need to get into to search. I can help you hack into those if you need me.”
“I can definitely use the search software, but I have my own black book of contacts and access passwords to get me into the right data bases.”
Jack closed the meeting with “O.K., we all have our
assignments for the next day or two, so let’s get to it.”
#
Jack was still hunched over his computer at 2 a.m. when Lynn come in and spoke to him.
“Aren’t you tired, Jack? You’ve been sitting there for six hours straight.”
“I’m doing O.K. My shoulders and back are complaining loudly, but I can tolerate it.”
Lynn swung his office chair around to face her. “I’m in charge here and I have declared a break for you. Come over and lay face down on the bed and I’ll massage your hurts.”
Jack gave in and did what she asked. Lynn went into the bathroom and came out with a bottle of lotion. “You will have to take your shirt off, Jack. Unless you’re self-conscious about your skinny muscles. You probably wear padding under your T-shirts to bulk you up and impress me.”
Jack laughed as he pulled his shirt over his head. “No they’re all mine – what’s left of them, anyway. I haven’t worked out in almost a month.”
Lynn poured some lotion in her hand and leaned over his back to start the massage. “What are those scars on your back, Jack! You have four round scars that look like . . . Oh my God. Are they from bullet wounds?”
“Yeah, just some souvenirs from my secret agent past. I have a couple more in my chest.”
Lynn said with concern “Do they hurt. Is it alright for me to rub lotion on them?”
“They don’t hurt anymore. They did for the first year or so, especially in cold weather, but now they’re mostly numb.”
She put some lotion on his back and started her massage. Jack fell asleep after only a few minutes. If he wasn’t careful he was going to burn out in a few days. He needed some rest.
Chapter 36
Charles Winston stood in front of a floor-to-ceiling, frameless corner window in his penthouse apartment. He loved the view from up here, with the entire financial district of Atlanta laid out below him. His apartment was on the 41st floor of a new office tower he built as corporate headquarters for his largest company, Winston Financial Holdings. It was the mother ship for fifteen other subsidiary companies he owned in the investment and financial world. His lawyers had set up the subsidiaries, along with several shell companies, with indistinct lines of separation to make it impossible for Government auditors to figure out which firms held specific assets. He used this structure to keep the Government from robbing him of his income through their unfair tax system. His financial success was due entirely to his genius for investing, and the way he saw it, they had no right to any of it. He realized that tax money kept the country moving, and he was willing to pay a fair amount for that, but only if every other working person in the country paid their share. If his plan worked, he would have a flat tax in place within a year after the election.