“Nothing,” Chip mumbled and then asked, “So will someone finally tell me who won the game?”
CHAPTER FIVE
After dinner and a couple of video games with James and Anne, Chip sat in the den making small talk with Mary, while Steven helped Maria tuck the kids into bed. He then made a brief call to some subsidiary somewhere with a problem that couldn’t wait until the next day. Once he’d finished, the three of them sat in leather recliners in front of the fireplace and talked about the horses and the estate for a few minutes. Mary then excused herself, leaving Chip and Steven alone behind closed doors.
“So, have you turned in your papers?” Steven asked as soon as Mary closed the door.
“No, I still haven’t had the time to fill them out. I can’t seem to figure out what I’ll do with myself if I retire. It’s not like I’m going to take up golf or something,” Chip stated as he slowly swirled the ice in his glass.
“Maybe you could spend time with your son and his family,” Steven stated. He was purposefully pushing his friend’s buttons. He knew Chip would go crazy just hanging out and being underfoot. Steven was hoping to lead him into a conversation about the real reason he’d been invited over for dinner with the family.
“That’ll get old after a week or two,” Chip sidestepped the baited hook that Steven had thrown out. “No, I need something to keep me busy when I’m not playing grandpa. Not that I want a full time job or anything, it’s just I can’t stand to sit around the house—never have—and I doubt that I can learn to do it now. I don’t think I’ll fit in with the regular retiree group down at the old folk’s home either. I can’t see me playing bingo, going to woodworking classes or group shopping.” He took a gulp from his drink, enjoying the warm, burning sensation as he swallowed, leaving Steven an opening to interject.
“Perhaps you could remarry. I’m sure there has to be dozens of women that Mary knows who are single,” Steven goaded him a little.
“Maybe, but they’re all twenty years younger than me, and besides, who would want an old, broken down war horse like me?”
“Some old broken down nag,” Steven teased sarcastically.
“Can I borrow that forty-five I gave you? I need to shoot my so-called best friend who thinks I’m so bad the only woman I could get interested in me is some old hag.”
“What is it you always tell me? Oh, yeah, I’m the best kind of friend to you, an honest one,” Steven retorted.
“Okay, so lie to me some of the time.”
“What and miss out on all the fun?” Steven taunted him again, before adding, “But seriously, a wife might be good for you, or you could take my offer and become my security chief.”
“I thought I already had that job? After all, I keep getting strange calls at all hours of the day and night, and my retirement fund keeps growing.”
“You know what I mean. It wouldn’t be full time; you’d have flexible hours and lots of overseas travel if you want it. You’d get to stop by the subsidiaries, check out any problems and fix them. It would mean much larger checks. Plus, I would greatly appreciate your help unlike your current employer, and you’d have a chance to meet a whole lot of smart, vibrant women,” Steven cajoled, pitching the job offer for the fiftieth time. When Chip didn’t respond, Steven continued.
“Did I mention you’d set your own schedule and be able to go see the grandkids whenever you liked? You’d be more the boss than you are right now.” Steven floated the idea past Chip, but he just seem to brush it off.
“But I won’t have any stealth bombers to play with,” Chip replied sarcastically.
“If I buy you a stealth bomber, will you take the job?” Steven asked just to tease Chip. Chip ignored him and continued.
“I just can’t seem to come to grips with the fact that I need to retire, even though I don’t seem to be the right man for the job anymore. Hell, just today, I spent two hours being lectured by some snot nosed kid, who’s barely out of college about diplomacy and the need for a proper foreign policy.
“Most of these political morons have no military training and no real world experience. They’re the inbreds of Washington and the Ivy League. Hell, they’ve probably never had a job where they had to get their hands dirty doing real work. Their grandfathers would be rolling over in their graves to hear them talk about how we can’t go around acting like the superpower that we are. Their grandfathers and great-grandfathers fought and died so that these jackasses could be super powerful.”
Chip paused and then added sarcastically, “They say we have to be nice to our enemies as well as our allies. We have to be considerate of the rest of the world’s opinions and beliefs. What these idiots don’t understand is that the rest of the world’s leaders hate our guts! They could care less about our opinions and beliefs. I practically puked when one of them said we needed to understand why they hated us and we needed to change how we interacted with them.
“What has really fried my ass lately is that these popfarts in the White House have decided to try to understand them; and to do so, they have created a new cabinet position. The new cabinet position will be the ‘Secretary for Peace.’ They actually think if they name some moron the ‘Secretary for Peace,’ the rest of the world will suddenly be willing to talk and stop trying to destroy us.”
“You’re joking, right?” Steven asked incredulously.
“It’s no joke. Ask your contacts. That’s how crazy these idiots are. What’s this new cabinet secretary going to do? Hold peace talks with every crazy dictator in the Third World? The people Starks brought in to run this country don’t understand that if the Arabs agree to hold peace talks with you, they only do it to gain time to rearm and regroup. The only peace they will accept is the peace where they have run Israel into the sea and the rest of us in the West have converted to Islam. It’s in their play book—the Koran.
“While we’re trying our damnedest to broker a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, the Muslims are playing games designed to continually swindle us out of more and more money and land. They are continually claiming that they long for an honest broker from the West. All the while, they are undermining the process and laughing their asses off at us. We’re at war and Starks and his cronies haven’t got a clue.
“The Muslims continue to spread out all over the planet claiming they only want peace, while the leaders back home fund and encourage the lunatics to attack us.
“In every country that the Muslims are immigrating to they are also seeking to gain public office. Once elected, they can affect public policy and the laws under which the countries are governed. France and England are both placing Sharia laws on their books because the Muslim immigrants are demanding that their religion be acknowledged and respected.
“You don’t see anyone screaming that they have to have Christian laws in Muslim nations, do you? If someone did, they would simply kill them, as it would be considered an affront to Islam. Hell, many of the Muslim nations won’t even let a Christian visit their country, let alone immigrate there. They are working behind the scenes to undermine the very foundations of the Western world while they cry wolf, claiming that we’re doing the same thing to them.” Chip concluded his little lecture.
They sat quietly for several minutes just watching the fire in the fireplace before Steven spoke again. “I belong to a business group that feels like you do, Chip. Well… like we both do. We strongly feel that America—or the West to be precise—is being weakened by constant political turmoil due to the political correctness fostered by the progressives and foreign influences in America and Europe.
“We feel that they are being funded by overseas interests as well as by some interests here in the States, set on weakening the West’s political and economic prowess while building theirs personally. We feel these overseas interests are behind the terrorists, and that our governments will not take the action needed to protect us because it’s against the financial interests of the very people we’ve elected to lead us.�
�� Steven paused, letting his words sink in. Chip appeared to be just watching the fire, but Steven knew the wheels in his head were turning.
“Several past presidents,” Steven continued after a minute of silence, “have routinely traveled to the Middle East and Asia, giving speeches and providing private consulting to the tin-pot dictators on how to undermine and manipulate our system. They coach them on how to get more favorable trade terms and how to influence our courts and Congress, making millions in the process.
“In years past, these men would have been shot for treason. But now, not only do past presidents sell us out, but most of Congress take fact-finding tours to the top resorts in the world as guests of these tin-pot dictators through their lobbyists, which allows them to buy political influence and control over how the popfarts vote on trade and security issues.
“I’d bet a billion dollars that at least three-quarters of the pernicious pinheads in Washington have taken bribes from foreign governments or their spy agencies. They make it sound acceptable by calling them fact-finding trips, or speaking per diems, or campaign contributions.
“My group feels that we have to take matters into our own hands. We need to develop a defensive strategy for our corporations and, in some cases, our countries. The strategy needs to provide us with the ability to defend, physically as well as politically, our employees and properties across the globe. We’ve already taken economic steps to protect our corporations from the economic war that is being waged against us as we speak. These steps protect us against the constant hostile takeover attempts, industrial espionage, kidnappings for ransom, product piracy, stock manipulations, currency manipulation, computer hackers, economic chaos caused by terrorist attacks, murders of corporate officers, piracy, excessive taxation, excessive regulations, bribes and blackmail. You think you deal with a lot of threats in your job? Get in line.” Steven paused for a deep breath and glanced at Chip who was swirling the last of his drink in his glass. Having seen the same look on his friend’s face before, Steven knew he had Chip’s full attention so he continued.
“The group operates in over sixty countries, all of which have problems, some worse than others—some a lot worse. Eighty percent of the countries on this planet are dictatorships. Though some make a show of holding elections, there is typically little or no opposition to most of them. Everyone is too afraid to speak out. If you speak against them, you die, your family dies; hell, they even kill your dog and cat.
“We have already formed a business alliance to coordinate a defense against a number of these threats, but we still need help dealing with the physical threats. I’m not talking about some street punks, although there is some of that. The people threatening us are far too organized, too well funded and too well armed to be your everyday punks. We need someone who feels the way we do about America. Someone who knows how to handle physical threats yet has a tempered strength with strong moral and ethical groundings. We need you!” Steven sighed heavily, relieved that he had finally broached the subject.
“It sounds like you want to overthrow the government,” Chip quietly retorted without making eye contact.
“What? No! America is the greatest country on the face of the planet. America’s corporate culture is what has made America flourish, but it is the style of government that allows corporations to exist. No, the group doesn’t want to overthrow the government, at least not through violence, only through the ballot box. We’ll be ready for the next elections, and we won’t back down because we don’t want to be politically incorrect, either,” Steven stated.
“We’re going to fight the left with the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. No more worrying about the left calling us mean spirited, or claiming we’re using smear tactics, or calling us racists, anti-gay, or claiming we beat our wives. We’re going to buy the mainstream media—or at least most of the talking heads and their editors—just like the left did in the last election.”
“That’ll make the news pukes happy and rich,” Chip threw in sarcastically as he filled his glass once more.
“They made up a lot of stuff this past election to help the left. They did it believing it would help them get their own personal power back. They did at the expense of America, and we won’t allow it to happen again,” Steven continued, ignoring Chip’s sarcasm. “We’re ready to match their spending on a two-to-one basis, and we’ll do everything legal we can to intall a good, honest American—someone who still believes in America—in the Oval Office. We’ve already started pressuring congressional leaders to find a way to strengthen our borders and reverse the coming orders to abandon the offensive military actions that have held the terrorists at bay so far.” Steven stopped to catch his breath and sweeten his drink, giving Chip a chance to interject. He knew he had to get Chip involved to get him to buy into doing the job.
“The Starks administration is going to let it leak Monday that they are going to return to the policy of seeking justice for any terrorist attacks on America in civilian courts,” Chip stated.
“They want to try these people in the state and federal court systems or at the World Court. Can you believe that—the World Court? How stupid is Starks? Does he really think that the World Court will rule in our favor on anything? They haven’t yet. They are controlled by the United Nations which is controlled by the dictators of the world who just happen to be our enemies,” Chip practically shouted. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t live in France, and I don’t want to act like I do.
“Starks is also going to recall our troops from Afghanistan, just as Obama did from Iraq. You see what good that did as the country is now posed to be taken over by the Iranians. Starks believes that shedding American blood overseas based on the policy of preemptive intervention is the wrong policy; and if we leave the Middle East, we can build better relations with the Arab world, thus reducing the threat of terrorism,” Chip shared.
“As part of his new policy, Starks ordered the Navy to no longer patrol for pirates in the Gulf of Aden, the Straits of Malacca or even the Caribbean. It has been our nation’s policy to protect our commercial shipping interests since we first took on the Barbary Pirates in the early eighteen hundreds.
“He says things like ‘we can’t be everyone’s policeman’ and ‘if we let the local governments handle the pirates, we’ll be better liked by the rest of the world.’ He forgets, or won’t accept, the ships they are attacking are our lifelines. They supply our energy, our raw materials, our food stuffs and consumer goods. Not to mention, most of the attacks take place in international waters where jurisdiction is cloudy at best.
“It’s as if Starks wants us to give up our national sovereignty in the hope that the rest of the world will like us then,” Chip stated sarcastically, took the last sip of his drink and then poured another half glass full minus the ice.
“The comment was made the other day in Congress by one of Starks’ cronies,” Steven piped up after several minutes of silence between them, “that if we stop trying to be the world’s policeman and let the U.N. take over the role of international dispute resolution with our military being strictly used for national defense or humanitarian relief efforts as directed by the U.N., we can use the money we save to balance the budget. Can you believe how short-sighted they are? Like saving a few billion will have any effect on the twenty-six trillion dollar hole we’re in. And what’s this crap about putting our troops under the control of the U.N.?” Steven asked.
“Ah…actually, they already did that under Clinton,” Chip interjected.
Steven sat quietly trying to remember if that was true or not, then decided to just skip it.
“They want to try these international thugs in our courts, rather than kill them like they and their followers deserve. No more threats of violence or death if they harm Americans, just ‘we’ll put them in jail.’ Like that’ll stop them,” Steven lamented which seemed to spark something with Chip, for he quickly interjected with his own thoughts on the subject.
/> “Hell, most of those guys have already done time in places that make a Turkish prison seem like a Hilton, and putting them in our nice, neat, clean, and relatively safe jails is going to scare them? These guys are fruitcakes, fanatics! They’re coming here to kill us and themselves. Jail means nothing. Jail’s just another place for them to spout their religious vitriol. Sending them through the court system does nothing except give them a forum from which to preach their hatred.” Chip’s voice trailed off as he took another sip of his drink, so Steven added some more of his thoughts.
“Of course, they’ll be provided with three healthy meals a day, a Koran and Al-Jazeera on satellite. Otherwise the ACLU and the liberal justices on the Supreme Court will be claiming that it’s cruel and inhumane treatment. Can’t have that! Oh no! I wonder if they’ll change their minds when their family members are beheaded for being Jewish or gay?” Steven questioned.
“Now that Starks is going to let the U.N. become the world’s protector, it’s just a matter of time before he orders the pullout from Afghanistan. That’ll leave the U.N. to decide if peacekeepers are needed to keep the Taliban from killing off everyone who doesn’t share their religious views. Hell, the U.N., other than the U.S. and our so-called allies, is ripe with human rights violators. Not to mention that the U.N. itself has violated most, if not all, of the treaties that they are charged with enforcing. It’s a joke! Starks is just asking for more oil for food scandals, more Darfurs, and more of the Balkans ethnic cleansing. The man can’t see past his own ambition to be popular,” Steven ranted on.
“You sound a lot like me,” Chip observed. “But we have laws against going around killing people no matter how much they deserve it.”
“No one is going to go out and just start shooting people. Every country frowns on people killing other people. When it reaches the point that we have to take action then we’ll take quiet action,” Steven explained.
“We’ll have the best intelligence anyone can get before we move, and we’ll know who, what, where and when. That way, there will be no question of their guilt. We also want to make every corporate property a fortress, and when it comes to dealing with threats, we want to take them on before they can do damage. I think you would call it ‘going on the offensive.’”
Reprisal!- The Eagle Rises Page 6
