Backlash, p.6
Backlash, page 6
Chapter Twelve
At 7:00 a.m., Nate put the key that had been given to him earlier into the lock on the side door of the mayor’s personal residence. As in the past, the lock lit up in a blue circular pattern then clicked. The door opened. As he stepped inside a voice spoke.
“Good morning, Detective Reigns. Your host will be notified of your presence.”
Nate glanced around expecting to see Sapphire, but the room was empty. Then it dawned on him, it was the AI system responding. The aroma of coffee filling the air inspired Nate to walk to the butler’s pantry area of the room where he knew the coffee maker was located. The first time he was invited to the room he was in awe of the setup. The most intriguing part to him was the floor to ceiling wine bottles encased in temperature-controlled glass shelves. He had vowed to have one installed in his home. However, life had taken control of his time and he never got it done.
“Coffee,” Nate exhaled with a slight smile of appreciation.
As he poured a cup for himself, Nate thought of the security features of the secure space in the mayor’s home. It was the one place they could discuss all the intricacies of what was happening in the city without fear of being overheard. He never asked how or why this space was set up here rather than City Hall. He understood from previous cases that the mayor’s office in City Hall had been bugged. He could have easily added a clean room to discuss city business there.
After what happened with his brother, Nate knew he would never bring business to the place where his family lived. Having a clean room set up would have been a no brainer for LT. He was a billionaire before running for the mayor’s office. Palmer Innovations was one of the leading software companies in the world. The first two games personally designed by LT, had more than a billion players worldwide. With only six games under their belt, Palmer Innovations had garnered worldwide acclaim and constantly ranked in the top ten software games for the sixteen through twenty-nine demographics. Hell, Nate owned several of Palmer Innovations game systems and games himself. He once read an article that indicated Palmer’s games were widely received because of his attention to details.
Nate had experienced that attention to details at every aspect of this situation with the city. Between Palmer and his fiancée Sapphire, nothing was left to chance. Nate took a seat at the table as he thought about Sapphire Lassiter. He was still trying to figure the woman out. She was a young, brown-skinned beauty who had access to information and resources that he could not understand. He had learned not to question the woman though. She had come through for him on every turn.
“Nate,” Mayor LT Palmer held out his hand as he walked towards him from the door leading to the house. “Thank you for coming at an ungodly hour this morning.”
“Trying to get an early start on what I’m certain will be a hectic day.” Nate replied as he shook the man’s hand.
“Your dedication to this situation is commendable,” LT stated. “I’m not certain many officers in your position would step up to such a monumental task.”
Nate hesitated for a moment. “I realize Sapphire is your fiancée, however, I have to ask, how much of our findings has she shared with you?”
“Everything,” LT replied as he prepared a cup of coffee. “She and my Chief of Staff, Grant Hutchinson, filled me in on what occurred with your brother. Sapphire indicated the ointment used on his back will help him to heal faster than the traditional cream.”
“When I spoke with him, he was up and moving around,” Nate replied. “Thank you for whatever role you had in assisting him. It is not every day, at least not these days, that a man is attacked with a whip.”
“Yet, it has occurred twice within your family.” LT exhaled as he took a seat at the head of the table. “Someone is trying to either slow down your progress or deter you from continuing on the course you have taken.”
“It motivates me to keep searching for the people responsible.”
LT nodded. “Determent activities fuel some men while stopping others.” He took a drink of his coffee. “I am aware of the situation with the P.I.E. organization. As you know the Chief and I have been working on their infiltration of the police department. At the time, we did not know who was behind the disruptions we were experiencing. Thanks to you and Skylar Burrell, we know a lot more than we did before. Now that we know for a fact the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office has been infiltrated, we have to find a way to get ahead of them. Just knowing what’s happening is not enough. The P.I.E. organization has to be stopped.”
Nate nodded as monitors mounted on the wall behind LT came to life. One showed Chief Williams, Joshua Lassiter, and Grant Hutchinson, entering the pathway that led to the outer door of the room they were in.
“Do your neighbors ever question visitors to your home coming to the side door?” Nate asked out of curiosity.
LT smiled. “I guess they would if they were visible to them.”
“Excuse me?” Nate raised an eyebrow.
“Once you step through the shrubbery at the entrance, the only way you can be seen is if you are flying over the home. There is a sensor on the stones. As you step onto the walkway a shield is activated. No one can see if you go to my front door or to the side of the house. To surveyors this room does not exist.”
Nate snapped his fingers, “Advengier II, the entrance into the duke’s home.”
LT smiled with a nod. “We simply took the concept from the game, created a live prototype and installed it here.”
“Get the hell out of dodge.” Nate acclaimed. “Don’t mind this silly look on my face. I’m in awe.”
LT pushed a button on the controller that was in the center of the oval shaped table. “A few others will be joining us. Sapphire received a number of calls regarding the concern with the activities in the city. A member of her team will be joining us to decipher through all we know.” LT stated as he took a drink from his coffee cup. “What do you think is happening here, in your own words?”
Nate wondered why people were calling Sapphire and not LT. After all, he was the mayor. This let him know his thoughts on Sapphire not being who she appeared to be were correct. There was something more to that woman.
“Do you want a clean version of my thoughts, or may I speak freely?”
“Down and dirty,” LT replied.
Nate nodded. “Okay, Mr. Mayor, I believe forces of evil are testing us. I think Richmond has been a target for white supremacy since we took down the confederacy. I know for a fact, your predecessor turned a blind eye to what was happening with the police department to line his own pockets.”
“Broaden your thoughts away from just the city,” LT suggested. “Look at the totality of what can be if what we suspect P.I.E. is up to becomes a reality. Think about this, in the game Advengier.”
“I, II or III,” Nate nodded. “I have all of them.”
“I appreciate the support,” LT nodded then sat forward. “The goal of the game is to conquer the world, pure and simple. There are several phases of the game. Each phase brings you closer to world domination. I believe we have a fraction of people in this country and others working together for a similar goal.”
“World domination,” Nate raised an eyebrow of skepticism.
LT smiled. “You have doubts?”
“That’s a little far-fetched.” Nate shrugged. “These P.I.E. people call themselves patriots. Leading me to believe they want things to go back to the way they were when they could get away with whipping a Black man.”
“You’re speaking from a limited spectrum. Authoritarian governments infiltrate the mass media to control the narrative. Does that remind you of any particular network operating in this country? Authoritarian governments make laws and policies without any regard to what the people of the country prefer. Does any of this sound familiar? Think about what is happening in our Congress right now. The people of the country are crying for gun control and what do the representatives who were voted in by the people do…they pass a bill to allow guns in the building where laws are made. Authoritarian governments use military force or other means to get and retain power. Does the military pushing people out of the park in DC or the actions that took place on January 6th come to mind? Some authoritarian leaders have even taken over the court systems to determine who or who does not get prosecuted. Look at what is happening with our Supreme Court. Take a good look at the state of our country right now and tell me if what is happening here is different from what we have seen occur in other countries who now are under authoritarian control.”
Nate sat forward. “A thought hit me while I was in the shower this morning.”
“Is this a clean thought?” LT asked.
“It’s clean,” Nate smirked. “It seems to me they are taking control of cases at all levels. RPD, establishes a case. Commonwealth Attorney’s office, handles prosecution, and the judicial system makes the judgment. It can be appealed to Virginia Supreme Court. If they lose there, it goes to the governor for a pardon. Why do they need that control?”
“Authoritarian governments do not want to be prosecuted for any wrong doings. What better way to get the American people to accept their wrongdoing then by taking the issue before a court where the judge under their control can rule what they did was legal.” LT shrugged.
“Law and order are at the heart of our democracy. Cut that out and all we have is…”
“Authoritarian control.” LT finished his statement.
“Following this chain of thought is it possible the governor, Lt Governor and/or the attorney general are in their path?”
“I don’t think that is a possibility,” LT said, “It’s more of a probability. I think you are catching up with the magnitude of the situation.”
“Damn,” was all Nate could say.
Chapter Thirteen
The office door opened, “Good morning, Nate,” Sapphire walked in with a man he did not recognize.
“Good morning,” Nate stood and replied to Sapphire as the outer door opened.
“Good morning Chief Williams,” the automated system voice rang out. “Good morning Mr. Hutchinson. Good morning oh handsome one.”
“Good morning, Genevieve,” Joshua replied.
“Oh handsome one?” Nate raised an eyebrow.
Joshua shrugged. “Women love me, what can I say.”
“Even Artificial Intelligence of the female persuasion,” Frank smiled. “Good morning, I just had this same experience in the vehicle that was provided,” Frank said as he shook hands with LT and Nate. “What are you doing here?” He bumped fists with the man standing next to Sapphire.
“He’s with me,” Sapphire stated. “Genevieve has been used for a number of years. AI is only new to some, not to all. At least we had the good sense to have a female leading the charge.” Sapphire nodded as she placed the items she was holding on the table. “This is going to be an information and planning session. As we witnessed last night, P.I.E. activities are escalating in regard to RPD.”
The outer door opened again. “Good morning, Judge Fontaine.”
“Good morning,” Regan Fontaine responded as she stepped inside the door. “I have Skylar Burrell with me as requested.”
“Thank you, ladies, for coming,” Sapphire acknowledged. “Please take a seat. May I offer anyone refreshments?”
“Coffee would be great,” Skylar replied as she removed her pink coat. “Point me in the right direction and I can get it myself.” She punched Nate in the arm as she walked by. “You just couldn’t give me one day without causing problems?”
“Hey, I did not include you on this, she did.” He pointed to Sapphire.
“All right children,” Sapphire teased.
“You are the youngest person in the room. How are you calling them children,” Joshua chuckled.
“I call it how I see it,” Sapphire stated as she took a seat.
As everyone settled into a seat, Sapphire pushed a button on the controller in the center of the table. The room darkened as their attention went to the monitors on the wall.
“Thank you all for gathering at this early hour. I assure you the information we have could not wait.” She began. “Before we get started, we have a few new faces at the table. It is imperative that we all know and trust the members of our team. You are in this room because my vetting indicates you have a skillset that is needed. You are a person of moral character and integrity. Before this is over, both will be tested. There are others who will be assisting us as we move forward, however, only those at this table will have a say on how we proceed.” She reached for a tablet that was placed on the table. “Ms. Burrell, you are new to us. This is your tablet. All notes about this meeting and those before today are loaded on here. The contact information for everyone here is also available to you. Any actions taken by this committee will be summarized with each member’s area of responsibility. There is a non-disclosure document we will require you to sign. All of our communication regarding P.I.E. will be through this device or in person. Skylar would you take a moment to introduce yourself to the team?”
“Skylar Burrell is my name. I have an identical twin, Tylar who is smarter and prettier than I. That is not being self-deprecating, it is a fact. She is an internationally known inventor and runway model. I am a federal prosecutor with a drive to put criminals behind bars, no matter the level of criminality. I do not have a problem speaking truth to power or expressing my thoughts. I am clumsy, opinionated and will kick the ass of anyone who attacks people I care about.” She glanced at Nate. “Did I leave anything out?”
“You’re bossy.” Nate replied.
“Confrontational,” Frank added.
“Feisty,” Regan nodded.
“Modest.” The man Nate did not know stated. He turned his attention to the man.
“Over your short five-year career with the US Attorney’s Office, you have initiated, investigated and closed six major cases, assisted with twenty-two lower-level cases and argued before the Supreme Court twice, each time they ruled in your favor. That is a hell of a resumé for someone so young.”
“Thank you,” Skylar beamed. “You know quite a bit about me, but I don’t believe we have met.”
The man reached across the table to shake her hand. “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Albert Epstein Day. My friends call me Turk.”
“Full disclosure,” Frank spoke up. “Al is my son-in-law.”
“Full disclosure,” LT spoke. “As a child Turk was my mentor.”
“Full disclosure,” Sapphire spoke. “Al is the adviser to an organization I am heading up called The Administration.”
The note from the card that was left on Nate’s deck was signed TA. Nate now knew what that stood for and who left it there.
“Al was appointed by President Jeffrey Harrison, who is his brother-in-law, and confirmed by Vice President Phoenix Lacey, who is also an adviser,” Sapphire explained.
Nate sat up giving his full attention. “Nice to meet you, sir.” His attention went to Sapphire. “A new organization has entered the fray. One that is connected to the President of the United States.”
“No,” Al responded. “It is an organization that was established during his administration when we realized our democracy is at a fragile state. Each level of government, be it federal, state or local can be infiltrated and probably has been infected by members of the P.I.E. organization or others that have yet to be identified. President Harrison had the foresight to see something needed to be put in place to prevent our government from being compromised again. Let’s be very clear. We have been compromised. With that realization, President Harrison understood that the government cannot police itself. He suggested a few like-minded brains should have a discussion on how to establish an organization to uncover and eliminate any threats by a domestic entity attempting to interfere with our democracy.”
Sapphire picked up. “That is how The Administration was established. I am the Commander of TA. We currently have a team of six that includes Al, my brother, Joshua, who you may or may not know was an operative for the CIA, and myself. We have others who you will more than likely meet when they are needed. We also have technical specialists working directly with our computer systems and satellite systems to ensure we have 24-hour coverage in a variety of areas. My team has been vetted at the highest level. Most are trustworthy, ex-government officials with the sole purpose of protecting democracy against domestic enemies at any cost. We are privately funded to prevent any governmental influence or oversight. There will be times when we must fight fire with fire. At times when our enemies bring a knife to the fight, we will bring weaponized satellites.” Sapphire stopped then glanced around the room. “Does anyone need a moment to digest what I just stated?”
No one spoke. She nodded then continued.
“We have been following the situation here in Richmond for well over a year now. It seems the P.I.E. organization strategically placed people in significant positions within state and local government. They have established roots and are attempting to change those governmental agencies and our fundamental way of thinking. They have had time to put their people in place so deeply, we will have to basically destroy departments to rebuild them. We will be playing catch-up. Because of this, there will be times, when we will kill first then ask questions later. Is there anyone at the table uncomfortable with what I have just stated?”
