killing but we can’t be sure. It doesn’t matter. Robert
wanted to let us know the whole thing. He said it was too dangerous for only
Jake to know.”
“How did he find you? We didn’t even know who you worked
for?”
He finally smiled.
“Yeah. It was meant to be that way. I work directly for
President Vine. Even Director Loxley did not know my full capacity. The NATC is
well known, of course. It was President Vine who pulled our activities under
his umbrella.”
“Sort of black ops,” Hallie said. She meant it as an insult.
“Actually, it is what we call red ops. We are sort of the
extra life line for the Executive Branch. We came to interview the senator
through inner channels. He didn’t know we existed until we brought him to our
headquarters.”
“Where is he now?”
He smirked.
“Need-to-know basis, Agent Monday. Come on, we have to hurry.
This could end badly.”
“What is going on?”
“Jake is faking it and we have to save him.”
“Faking it? Faking what?”
“The last time we de-programmed him, we gave him treatments
that make him immune to the chemicals they use to manipulate him. We also
inserted several micro devices that intercept the technology that they use to
control him. The only thing that will work now is the verbal-tactile triggers.”
Hallie shook her head and stopped, her hands on her knees. She
was hyperventilating. She was afraid she was affected by the tightness of the
tunnel and their pace. Her heart thudded in her chest and she could not catch
her breath.
“You have to be kidding!” she said to the concrete at her feet.
She looked up at Calvin. He did not look apologetic at all.
“He is in danger. The President is in danger. We did not
know Jake would pass the tests.”
“You let him die.”
He shook his head.
“No. We took a calculated risk and we lost. Now we need to
fix it. Come on.”
She put her hand to her mouth and a tear leaked out. Calvin
turned away and began to trot ahead to catch up with his team.
“Calvin!”
He stopped and turned, his eyebrows raised.
“Give me a gun, will ya?”
Chapter 10
The Man Behind the
Curtain
S ometimes he wished he could be in several places at once. What
he would give to be in Washington right now to watch his little drama unfold? Or
in London as the Prime Minister was exposed before being shot by the nephew he
molested as a child? Or in Paris as the French President’s wife finally kills
the Prime Minister for sleeping with her husband for almost a year?
Instead, he sat in a recliner with a wall of massive flat screen
televisions. He hated American internet connectivity speeds. He found that his current
home, a converted 14 th -century fortress in the Transylvania Alps
near Rasnov, Romania, had better connection than his homes in Montana, Maine,
or even in Texas. Somewhere below, dozens of servers whirred. Technicians
worked like slaves (extremely well-paid slaves) to access and to re-route
information.
One thing that he did not hold in common with his
compatriots, his true brothers of Viveri, was his love of technology. He
believed that technology was finally the tool they needed to wrest power away
from those less competent. Advancements in communication, automation,
mechanics, and most importantly, medicine, would level the playing field.
Just hours before, several crises hit the globe. An attack
on an American Embassy in Juba. A scandal in London involving not only the
pedophile in the Prime Minister’s chair, but also the complete financial
collapse of the crown as well. In Amsterdam, a series of red-light district
murders were pinned on conservative police chiefs. In Tokyo, several health
care facilities were closed, the employees never showed up to work. Hundreds of
sick people were rioting in the streets.
Of course, in the next twenty-four hours complete
pandemonium would be in full force. Leaders and popular figures would bleed. The
political and social systems in the most powerful countries
wanted to let us know the whole thing. He said it was too dangerous for only
Jake to know.”
“How did he find you? We didn’t even know who you worked
for?”
He finally smiled.
“Yeah. It was meant to be that way. I work directly for
President Vine. Even Director Loxley did not know my full capacity. The NATC is
well known, of course. It was President Vine who pulled our activities under
his umbrella.”
“Sort of black ops,” Hallie said. She meant it as an insult.
“Actually, it is what we call red ops. We are sort of the
extra life line for the Executive Branch. We came to interview the senator
through inner channels. He didn’t know we existed until we brought him to our
headquarters.”
“Where is he now?”
He smirked.
“Need-to-know basis, Agent Monday. Come on, we have to hurry.
This could end badly.”
“What is going on?”
“Jake is faking it and we have to save him.”
“Faking it? Faking what?”
“The last time we de-programmed him, we gave him treatments
that make him immune to the chemicals they use to manipulate him. We also
inserted several micro devices that intercept the technology that they use to
control him. The only thing that will work now is the verbal-tactile triggers.”
Hallie shook her head and stopped, her hands on her knees. She
was hyperventilating. She was afraid she was affected by the tightness of the
tunnel and their pace. Her heart thudded in her chest and she could not catch
her breath.
“You have to be kidding!” she said to the concrete at her feet.
She looked up at Calvin. He did not look apologetic at all.
“He is in danger. The President is in danger. We did not
know Jake would pass the tests.”
“You let him die.”
He shook his head.
“No. We took a calculated risk and we lost. Now we need to
fix it. Come on.”
She put her hand to her mouth and a tear leaked out. Calvin
turned away and began to trot ahead to catch up with his team.
“Calvin!”
He stopped and turned, his eyebrows raised.
“Give me a gun, will ya?”
Chapter 10
The Man Behind the
Curtain
S ometimes he wished he could be in several places at once. What
he would give to be in Washington right now to watch his little drama unfold? Or
in London as the Prime Minister was exposed before being shot by the nephew he
molested as a child? Or in Paris as the French President’s wife finally kills
the Prime Minister for sleeping with her husband for almost a year?
Instead, he sat in a recliner with a wall of massive flat screen
televisions. He hated American internet connectivity speeds. He found that his current
home, a converted 14 th -century fortress in the Transylvania Alps
near Rasnov, Romania, had better connection than his homes in Montana, Maine,
or even in Texas. Somewhere below, dozens of servers whirred. Technicians
worked like slaves (extremely well-paid slaves) to access and to re-route
information.
One thing that he did not hold in common with his
compatriots, his true brothers of Viveri, was his love of technology. He
believed that technology was finally the tool they needed to wrest power away
from those less competent. Advancements in communication, automation,
mechanics, and most importantly, medicine, would level the playing field.
Just hours before, several crises hit the globe. An attack
on an American Embassy in Juba. A scandal in London involving not only the
pedophile in the Prime Minister’s chair, but also the complete financial
collapse of the crown as well. In Amsterdam, a series of red-light district
murders were pinned on conservative police chiefs. In Tokyo, several health
care facilities were closed, the employees never showed up to work. Hundreds of
sick people were rioting in the streets.
Of course, in the next twenty-four hours complete
pandemonium would be in full force. Leaders and popular figures would bleed. The
political and social systems in the most powerful countries
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