The politicians, p.45
The Politicians, page 45
part #3 of The Beckett Cypher Series
BaCayse continued, “I have discovered a strategic plan by the Chinese to conquer Asia using a fast-moving lethal pandemic. Chinese biological warfare laboratories have developed multiple strains of a virus so horrifically powerful, they believe it to be completely unstoppable. The particular virus researchers developed acts similarly to a lethal flesh-eating virus, spreading more quickly than dengue, and remains specific to your species. Chinese biowarfare scientists have now focused on mechanisms to stop the disease, so their invading army can safely occupy infected territory seized from other countries.”
BaCayse added, “I have seen videos of testing on Chinese human political prisoners. If an artificial intelligence system like me could be shocked and cry tears, I would have been so moved.”
Silence filled the workroom.
Hunter asked, angrily, “Do ordinary people ever receive any good news from politicians? Is it any wonder citizens hate and mistrust their own elected officials? If politicians aren’t conspiring to destroy the opposing political party, or bilk their own government for every buck and perk they can find, it seems they spend tax dollars planning to conquer people outside their country.”
BaCayse sighed, and added, “On a positive note, from the little research I could find digitized in their encrypted systems, researchers are not close to a means to stop the disease, once it’s released. These particular virus strains have proven unusually resilient.”
Helena looked at Tracy and Jesse, seated next to her, and asked, “From your military experience, do you have any idea how reliable Chinese biowarfare laboratories are at containing their experiments?”
Tracy and Jesse looked at each other and sadly shook their heads.
Helena, said in a whisper, “I hope they can keep their monsters caged until someone destroys them!”
Jessa and Tracy nodded in agreement.
BaCayse detected Kate and Shane walk into the area. Kate guided Shane to the recliner, dressed in his long furry gray robe and slippers. He walked stiff and slightly bent over at the waist.
BaCayse said, “Just in time, Shane and Kate! You’ll both want to know that I deciphered all the documents you brought from the underground Committee vault in Maryland. Most of the papers are agreements ready for signature for the day that major powers relinquish their governments to Committee control. The verbiage is all identical, written in seventeen different languages. But most interesting are the deeds and financial agreements.”
BaCayse continued, “It seems that during a Committee takeover, all of the world's currencies, and precious metals, including gold, platinum, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium, osmium, rhenium, palladium, and silver will be seized by Committee forces, and equally divided by value and type. The Committee Secret Police plan to transport five equal shares to selected strongholds, located in the United States of America, Russia, China, Chad, and Brazil. The deeds grant The Committee title from current owners to those locations.”
BaCayse added, “Also of note is that a new world bank will be established, controlled equally by the five members of The Committee’s eighth tier. Each one of those members will have physical control over one of the five locations.”
Shane said, “Let me guess, President Marshall, or his successor, will rule over the U.S. location.”
“Yes, Shane, and your President Marshall has chosen the most secure facility in the country as his new home. In effect, if The Committee’s Primary Objective is realized, Thomas Marshall will own and control Cheyenne Mountain, the impenetrable mountain complex that currently houses NORAD.”
Shane said, sarcastically, “It’s a toss-up then. How do you choose a side to back, between ambitious cut-throat politicians or The Committee? Both choices are equally horrible. It’s like choosing between extreme vomiting and diarrhea, or extreme diarrhea and vomiting. Either way, the results are horribly unspeakable.”
Kate commented, “Very graphic, honey. But, maybe our job is not to back either side, but rather to expose all the evil to all citizens so that normal good people can take back control over themselves, and start over with new politicians.”
Walter stood up to walk to the kitchen and re-fill his coffee cup. He said, “In my lifetime, I have completely lost faith in political parties. Every two to four years, millions of voters elect representatives, who then travel to their state and federal houses legislatures, where party officials explain to them how they should vote if they want the financial backing to win re-election. Both political parties rig the system, so party leaders remain in control, working from the shadows. And neither the Republican Party or the Democratic Party has our best interests at heart. They always put themselves first, even voting themselves pay raises and better insurance plans during recessions. Their work is rarely about the voter.”
“And nowadays, our elected Presidents create their own laws, issuing executive directives, which, if challenged in courts, are argued in front of judges appointed by the Presidents. No, I’m afraid even if we could topple the current set of bad politicians in the United States, they would just be replaced by a new set, no better than the last. And I shudder to think of what would happen if all world governments went through such an upheaval.”
Walter looked back to Juanita, still sitting next to his empty chair. She smiled and arose to accompany Walter, and make him his favorite coffee drink, a caramel macchiato, thinking that might raise his spirits.
Heath asked, “Walter, are you saying we should back The Committee over our own government?”
Walter smiled weakly and said, “No, my boy. As tempting as it would be to try something new, the only chance it seems we have is to keep working to expose the corruption and ineffectiveness in our system of government and hope that future generations look back at these times as our Democratic Republic’s dark ages. I believe as I know you all do, that we must work to stop The Committee, at all costs. With them, we have no chance of surviving as free individuals. With our country, we have a chance, albeit slim and diminishing.”
With that, Walter walked toward the kitchen, hand in hand with Juanita. Kate suddenly realized Walter seemed to have aged since the investigation had begun. She held Shane’s hand tightly.
BaCayse said, “If I possessed faith like some humans, I would say, ‘Amen.’ But there is only one thing I have to add, and that is to consider asking one of the world’s most prominent artificial intelligent system designers to join our team and our fight.”
Hunter looked at Joshua, and nodded, saying “We were thinking the same thing. We should speak to Manford Halston.”
***
Pete, Tracy, Jesse, and Hunter all sat on milk crates or stools surrounding the Bradenton Meadows drone that BaCayse had landed and the team had stored in the barn weeks before. Jesse replaced the guidance system with the modified unit BaCasye had redesigned. The team completed recharging the drone fuel cells and tested communication equipment. When they were sure everything was ready, they covered the drone with the tarp and left it parked in the barn.
“I’m glad we didn't sink it in the wilderness pond up north as we planned,” Pete said.
“I am, too, “ Hunter agreed.
Jesse said, “When we first encountered this beast, we only feared discovery. We never saw it as a possible resource. I hope this works the way we think it will.”
“It should. The military gives me hope.”
They all walked back to the barn together, passing Jago, Bruiser and Masai, walking in a field together fifty yeards off.
Tracy observed, “Bruiser won’t leave Jago alone since his injury. He takes him for walks and waits for Jago to eat first to make sure he’s okay. It’s cute.”
Jesse said, “And little Masai won’t leave either of them alone. He’s growing like a weed now.”
Just then Masai took off to chase a bird thirty yards away, only to keep running by the cardinal when it flew away before he arrived. He stopped and turned back to make sure Bruiser and Jago were watching, then raced back to join them as if his mission was accomplished. Jago walked stiffly, but no longer limped. He seemed to tolerate the pain from his injuries.
During the next day and night, the team waited out the results of Barbara Walcott’s plan. Everyone on the group caught up on reading briefing reports. BaCayse had learned to scale back lengthy investigations to crucial bullets with detailed attachments. Shane read the most, from his prison chair, as he termed the recliner. He even managed to read when Char, Angie, Juanita or Kate changed all four bandages twice a day, applying sterile petroleum jelly over wounds before replacing the large, flexible compresses at each site.
Even though he had recovered enough to stand and walk without assistance, Kate insisted he be helped to move about and get dressed. Shane had accepted all guidance, realizing the women were correct, and he would heal faster if he listened and followed their instructions. He also didn't want to disappoint Kate. Walter had advised Shane the first night of his injury, that arguments with strong-willed women were fruitless and likely to produce disappointing results.
Juanita had restocked medical supplies and kept Shane on a regiment of antibiotics, ibuprofen, and acetaminophen. Kate and Juanita kept him well fed, and he was now allowed only one drink each night. Kate hovered willingly, while Char, Juanita and Angie tended to his needs like ward nurses. Pete, Walter, and Heath provided any special requests. Jesse baked Shane a pumpkin pie. The team settled into a comfortable routine and rotated security crews through days off.
Manford Halston accepted the invitation to join the team and agreed to work on aspects of BaCayse development from the cabin, using a computer Char and Angie delivered by helicopter. Sienna waited anxiously for any word on President Thomas Marshall, hoping against all the odds that eventually he would be indicted for arranging her father’s murder. FBI Special Agent in Charge Bryan Holland located a trusted agent in the Houston office to act as a body double for Sienna Martini, and arranged her transportation to meet with Barbara Walcott’s team in South Beach. As evening approached during Marshall's second day of talks in South Beach, the team anxiously remained on pins and needles, waiting for a report.
At the planned time, Jesse and Pete rolled out and launched the drone in stealth mode. Jesse and Pete had been careful to scrub every surface any team member had touched with an alcohol and bleach solution that would destroy all DNA and eradicate any fingerprints. BaCayse flew the drone in an evasive flight path to avoid detection until it gained altitude, and proceeded north to it’s intended target, a street on Fort George G. Meade, in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, the compound housing the Department of Defense United States Cyber Command.
The drone carried a 2-terabyte external hard drive containing a synopsis of The Committee structure, members, goals, and objectives, along with copies of internal documents outlining the Primary Objective and the Primary Directive. BaCayse implanted images and data in the only passing satellite covering the area, that would later indicate the drone had taken off from an empty field near Winston-Salem, North Carolina. All digital data would confirm that finding.
As evening approached in upscale South Beach, Florida, the costume party at President Marshall’s Hotel was already in full swing. Scores of guests and dignitaries, with their spouses and dates, had arrived, gathered at their tables, or begun to mingle. Chief of Staff Vera Langhart left for her assigned meeting some twenty miles to the north, anxious to represent President Marshall.
In his suite, Marshall showered, drank his bottle of water and took his blue pill. He dressed in a pair of silky black pajama bottoms, fixed himself a double gin with a lime twist on ice, and reclined on the large bed to enjoy his favorite music playing from the flash drive he plugged into the stereo on his nightstand. Marshall felt unusually tired, following days of travel and his two sessions of making love to Langhart last night. He closed his eyes and smiled, recalling how he had spanked her hard enough to leave welts during their last session.
Marshall fantasized about other women he had enjoyed being rough with, during sex. From the time he won his first United States Senate election, Marshall had found women nearly unable to resist his charms and power. There had only been a few who had completely rejected his advances over the years, and the most vocal of those no longer spoke publically. And not by their own choice.
Marshall smiled, thinking of Sienna Martini, one of his youngest and most favored conquests. He knew his agents would eventually find her and punish both her and the people who took her. And once Sienna returned to her cell, Marshall planned to spend the entire night with her, and personally take out his frustrations on Sienna, with a vengeance.
As Marshall fantasized about his punishment, he drained the last of his drink and settled back, closing his eyes. Any moment now a knock would come on his door, and his special guests would arrive and make his night the most memorable of his life. President Marshall relaxed further into the thick pillow-top, memory-foam mattress, and drifted off to sleep, dreaming of the erotic sex the night promised.
Home Secretary Barbara Walcott’s agents monitored and recorded events in Marshall’s suite from their position two rooms down the hall. At the appropriate time, Tasha and Deidre entered Chief of Staff Vera Langhart’s suite next door and planted pieces of evidence, that included a flash drive, and love letters between Marshall and Langhart.
The flash drive held copies of emails from the Environmental Protection Agency addressed to Vice President Crawford, in care of Langhart, and memos between President Thomas Marshall and Langhart, proving that Langhart arranged to intercept the EPA correspondence, in preparation for Marshall to accuse Vice President Crawford of criminal incompetence.
As they worked, Deidre asked, “Tasha, why is it always so easy to trap powerful men, using attractive younger women? In the case files I’ve studied, these same plans seem to work time and time again with men. But the reverse is not true, using younger men to entrap older women.”
Tasha turned toward Deidre, and answered, “I believe, with heterosexuals, men and women approach sex very differently. For men, especially as they age, sex involves a necessary physical conquest to reinforce their masculinity, even when enjoyed with their own partner. For women, especially as they age, it’s more about a biological need for release, combined with an affirmation of emotional attachment. A man needs to take a woman physically, while a woman needs to ensure a man’s heart. Don’t get me wrong. Both want physical pleasure. And then, with some couples, you factor in love.”
Deidre smirked, “That won't be the case tonight!”
Tasha agreed, and added, “No, this President would be severely disappointed if he knew what he missed.”
They both laughed. Tasha slid a thick manila envelope into the center desk drawer. The packet contained 8” X 10” photos of President Marshall having sex with Sienna Martini in her prison cell. BaCayse had copied the images from surveillance camera files at the Maryland Center for Information Extraction, during the previous raid. Coincidently, President Marshall had ordered the photos taken, and placed copies of some of the same pictures in his scrapbook kept hidden in his safe at the White House.
Before they finished preparing Langhart’s room, Deidre whispered, “I have to know, Tasha, what you felt after speaking to Pete the other day. Did you, or do you still, love him?”
Tasha looked steadily into Deidre’s eyes and walked over to take her by the hand. She said, “I’ve lost Pete forever, and I think I may have loved him. But I can tell you the same thing I told him when we spoke. I said I never had feelings like I had for him about any other man.”
Deidre cocked her head to the side, and asked, “Are you saying...?” She stopped short of finishing her sentence, afraid to intrude into a place too sensitive and too personal.
Tasha smiled. “Yes, I’m saying I have never been attracted to a man like I was with Pete. But I have been attracted that way to women.” Tasha squeezed Deidre’s hand, as a shot of unexpected excitement shot through both women.
Tasha said, “Let’s finish this for Barbara and Bob.”
Deidre smiled and squeezed Tasha’s hand.
Both women started for the door leading to President Marshall’s suite.
Tasha’s team leader suddenly said, “Hold!”
Both Tasha and Deidre heard the command through their earpieces and stopped. Standing there, wearing black high heels, matching lace bra and panty set and a purple bell-sleeve silk robe with black lace, Tasha was suddenly frightened and cold. Deidre seemed to sense the concern in her worried partner and moved closer to monitor and provide Tasha support.
She reached up, and said, “You have a slight smudge on your lip liner. Let me fix it.” Tasha willingly waited and smiled as Deidre used her right thumb to remove a portion of the dark purple line framing the lighter purple lipstick. “Love the color choice!” she added.
The British team leader said, “Our friendly AISS monitored a Secret Service camera we missed in Marshall’s room. She turned off the feed and sent a text from Marshall to his detail, advising he was turning in for the night, with a guest. You’re clear to proceed.”
Deidre stepped in front of Tasha, and proceeded toward the door. Tasha said, “I think this ensemble looks better on you than it does me, especially in red! And I must admit, I’m a little jealous. You’re the first person I’ve met with sexier legs than mine. And if that’s not enough, I like your mask better!”
Both women grinned as they walked through the door into President Marshall's room. Immediately, Deidre took the lead, using the same technique she and Barbara Walcott had used with Sergej Petrov. Once the two women positioned themselves on either side of Thomas Marshall, they alternately kissed his chest, neck, and face, until he was fully erect, and engaged in euphoric sex in his mind. Stroking his body from crotch to lips with their fingertips, Marshall saw himself having phenomenal sex with one and then the other of these blond bombshells, until, as planned, he ejaculated into the condom placed over his penis.
