COVERT WRITERS TAKEDOWN, Joe Bergeron [epub e ink reader .txt] 📗

her eyes seriously focused.
“Don’t do it to be a hero, Michael.”
Breacher One returned to his thoughts.
“I had a call from our friend who likes
newspaper stories. He’s expecting to see quite a few
next Friday.”
“You changed the subject.”
“So did you. I’m telling you what’s going on -
you’re not. You look like you’ve been through Hell.”
She held the thought for a moment.
“Michael - sit down.”
He complied.
Kneeling - hands placed on his thighs, she
drew a breath.
“I’m going to tell you some things, not
everything, but some things you need to think about.”
Adjusting her legs on the carpet, she once
again drew a deep breath.
He didn’t speak, his mind reconciling itself to
logic, and analysis. His eyes assumed a non purposeful
set, an instinctive action less to meet the requirements
of what was to come, than to allow her into his being.
His presence, hardly demonstrated, was
internally demonstrative.
Her lips parted.
“When you were recruited into Yankee Echo by
Robert, the organization was already established. It
was running just fine. You were brought in for a special
purpose. You also weren’t told the whole truth.”
Her hands pressed on his legs.
234
“Think about the information you get. Where
do you suppose it all comes from. Do you think our
computers are generating all that stuff? How many
research analysts to you see at JGM exports - maybe
half a dozen? I know you understand the power of
Yankee Echo - but you don’t know where the power
behind the power comes from. Trust me when I tell you
it’s big.”
She paused before giving him the next part.
“You’re working for people who have incredible
power and money for their operations. It’s not just my
father or McKenzie Industries. Yankee Echo isn’t run
by just my father or Robert. It’s controlled by some of
the smartest, best qualified people in the world with
resources that are almost endless.”
“If you continue with your plans, and I already
know what they are, there could be a lot of danger in it
for you. I want you to know that there’s a force behind
you that will back up every move you make, but if these
people feel threatened by what you’re working against,
or if they feel the organization’s been compromised too
much, they’ll destroy it themselves and set it up
somewhere else in a couple of weeks.”
She pressed even harder on his legs.
“You can walk away from this any time you
want…these people know how to take care of trouble.
At the same time, I also want you to know I’m glad
you’re directing it. That may seem paradoxical to you,
and I’m not going to get into all the philosophy behind
it. I know you’ve got a plan going with Andy. You may
think you’re in charge, but you’re not in the driver’s
seat. I just wanted to make you aware of all this. I told
you from the beginning Yankee Echo was too
manipulative. I just didn’t tell you everything. Maybe
it would have made a difference.”
She laid her head on his knees knowing he’d
need time to think before responding.
She was right.
235
‘Endless resources? A back up force that would
destroy Yankee Echo and set it up somewhere else?’
She was identifying a covert operation running
an already covert operation.
He had to start with the last part first. He
needed to be careful. She had a hidden agenda, so she
also had reasons for keeping it hidden until now.
She was innocent - no, she wasn’t.
“Kay - how long were you going to keep this
from me?”
She spoke softly as if her response was both
anticipated and expected.
“I don’t know - I hoped you’d get out…maybe
forever.”
Things were crumbling.
“Why are you telling me now?”
“Because…I love you.”
“You loved me before but never told me.”
“I don’t want you to get hurt.”
‘Controlling - use Seven.’
He hated acting like this with her, but he
needed an answer.
“Kay…your brother, John, was shot by
Tollman.”
Immediately standing - she backed up five feet,
arms folded across her chest.
Her voice shook.
“What was on the tape?”
He spent the next fifteen minutes
describing what he saw, and how he came to his
conclusion. The Sixth Law.
“Michael - what do we do?”
Control had changed.
“We can do one of three things.”
He rose, walking away from her and speaking
at the same time.”
“We can ignore it; we can ask the Military
Review Board to reopen the case…”
236
Turning to face her, he made direct eye contact.
“…or, we can make him come to us.”
She was weakening.
Seven worked. She’d been neutralized.
He acted quickly.
“Who’s controlling Yankee Echo?”
Kathleen McKenzie had promised her father
she’d always keep the information to herself. But she
knew this man. She knew he’d eventually find out.
And when he did…would he hate her for not telling
him?”
“…fifty corporations, and the CIA.”
Although she’d spoken just above a whisper, it
felt like her words had been thrown at him rather than
spoken to him.
‘Holy shit.’
“Who’s the Controller you told me about?”
“A man - David Eisenberg, he’s a Deputy
Director at the CIA.”
“Who knows this.”
“My father - Robert - and me.”
“What about Andy?”
“No.”
He stared straight at her. She knew he could
mentally and emotionally crush her.
‘Not now, maybe later, no, I love her.’
“Kay, go lie down - you’re exhausted.”
She walked to the bedroom, aware she’d given
away the big secret.
She wanted to, had to - and didn’t care.
There was more to be told - he’d find out.
‘Fifty corporations and the CIA? What the hell
else don’t I know?’
237
Friday, May 26, 5:45 a.m.
He’d spent the evening editing and finishing
the TAC he’d written on Tuesday.
AYE WRTS 5/26
MICHAEL - MICHAEL
PREP CBA WRT
CHNG DIRECT
IMP WRT NEG
SHRT TERM
RPT WRT NEG
USE TACS TO FLW
ST TO ST
INSDT6/2
DTL ECON ACT LEAD INDS AS DIR
AMER INVEST IMPROPER
RPT SHRT TERM
NO QUEST
MICHAEL - MICHAEL
The directions to Yankee Echo writers were
specific. Prepare Cuban writes, change direction,
imperative to write negative. This is a short term
directive, state by state, TACS would follow. Insertion
date would be June 2nd. Detail economic activity by
leading economic indicators. American investment at
this time would be improper. There would be no
questions.
‘I hope Breacher One and his friends aren’t
going to count the number of stories, but they sure are
going to like the results. By Monday, half the country
will be scratching their heads on the Reform Plan.’
238
His thoughts returned to Kay.
‘Why now? Why did she hold this information for so
long - would she have ever told me? God damn it, Kay.
What the hell, Courtney, you’re just involved with the
President of The United States, The President and Vice
President of Cuba, the CIA, a secret organization that
manipulates millions, a murder that happened years
ago in a war. Hell, what’s the big deal, you can handle
this - you’ve got forty Laws to fight half the freakin
world.’
Pen in hand, he drafted a brief note. She’d be
fine alone. The CIA was probably all over the hotel.
Went to see Robert
Take a cab over when you get up.
Friday, May 24, 9:41 a.m.
The manila envelope in the center of Fleet
Admiral Bruce Turner’s desk contained a personal,
hand-written letter, and another sealed envelope. The
Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff had expected it.
A brief alerting phone call from the Best Navy Zero he’d
ever known told him to be watchful of its arrival.
Pulling out the contents, he read one and held
the other.
Bruce,
I need a favor. The enclosed, sealed envelope,
needs to be delivered to the President as soon as
possible. This can’t go by courier. It has to be hand
delivered. Believe me, you’re indemnified in this issue.
I need a credible deliverer, and you are the most
credible I have. If you have any questions, please call
me.
Thank you,
Andy 239
There would be no questions. St. Croix had
established his credibility years earlier.
How easily he’d described to him the essence of
any command position.
From a side drawer in his desk, he pulled a
well worn piece of paper. On it his friend’s handwriting
Keep nothing to yourself. Give everything
away. By constantly evolving, you will become
constant. By constantly renewing yourself, you will
endure.
Applied metaphysics had not only aided Turner
in earning his rank, but also had assisted him in every
command authority he held.
Andy St. Croix was a trusted friend.
The letter would get delivered today.
Friday, May 26, 12:01 p.m.
He only had a fifteen minute window of time.
Normally, Randall Benson would have told any
military man who approached his office to use the
Chain of Command, and go through the Secretary of
Defense. Bruce Turner was a friend though, and the
highest ranking military officer constantly made him
look good.
He only needed five minutes with the President
and Benson didn’t understand what could be
accomplished in such a short time frame.
He’d granted the request for the visit.
Turner was to be shown in on his arrival.
He now walked the red carpeted hallway
leading to the oval office.
Service Dress Blue and Service Dress White
uniforms, are worn for official functions not rising to
the level of full or dinner dress. It is commonly worn
when traveling in official capacity, or when reporting to
a command.
240
Fleet Admiral Turner cut an impressive figure
in he Service Dress Blues complete with campaign
ribbons.
A number ten envelope, unopened was carried
in a plain manila folder.
As he reached the outer door of the Oval Office,
two secret service agents, previously alerted to his
arrival, greeted him cordially, the senior of the two
addressing him.
“Admiral Turner, good afternoon, Sir. The
President is expecting you, please go right in.
Military courtesy is one of the defining features
of a professional military force. These courtesies form
a strict, and sometimes elaborate code of conduct. Fleet
Admiral Bruce Turner was well aware of the protocol.
Two steps into the sanctum of power, he halted,
brought his feet together, and raised his right hand in a
perfectly formed salute.
“Mister President, thank you for seeing me.”
Benson, returning the military
acknowledgement much less formally, gestured to one of
two chairs in front of his desk.
“Sit down, Bruce, what can I do for you?’
Turner got right to business.
“Mister President, I have an envelope in this
folder. Its contents are intended for your eyes only. I
was asked to courier this to you by someone I trust
implicitly…”
While retrieving the letter whose contents were
unknown to him, he continued.
“…I don’t know what’s inside, but I’m certain
it’s urgent by virtue of its sender.”
He shifted in the chair.
“I really have no other business here, Mister
President.”
Turner placed the unmarked white envelope on
Randall Benson’s desk.
The President eyed it, and stood. 241
“Bruce, I’ve trusted your judgment many times
before, and have a lot of respect for you, so I won’t ask
who gave this to you.”
Benson, now tapping his fingers on the
envelope continued, looking straight into the Admiral‘s
eyes.
“I’m sure whatever is in this envelope is
important, but the fact that it’s sealed and you don’t
know what’s in it probably means you never will. Are
you comfortable with that, Bruce?”
The inflection in his voice was serious.
“Yes, Sir, I am. I trust the sender. If he said it
was important, it is. You should know, however, that
the contents of the envelope may not have been written
by