Jenson and Anders responded with a resounding “Yes” and an awkward high five.
Mr. Washington moved away to seek out Anthony Hahn. Hahn stood with Murray in the corner of the room checking his iPhone. As the president approached, Murray turned and walked away, already dialing his bride to make sure she was home safe and sound. He was anxious to tell her about the mornings events, which he delivered to Dottie with the enthusiasm of a grade-schooler telling his mother he got straight A’s. From what he overheard of the tone of the conversation, Mr. Washington surmised that Jack’s wife approved of their plans.
He turned his focus on Anthony. Hahn looked up and the General asked if he could have a word with him. The duo moved toward the window.
“Mr. Hahn, I want to ask what your thoughts are on this whole idea of a candidacy for president. Do you think it possible?”
Hahn had hoped and waited for the opportunity to advise Mr. Washington. He felt the president valued his opinion and he knew of Mr. Washington’s admiration for Alexander Hamilton and his reliance on Hamilton’s viewpoints in colonial days. Hahn pounced.
“It can be done, it could work. I was thinking about it in the car and the main thing that needs to be taken care of right away is your identity. You need a foolproof identity that could not be questioned, especially if you’re going to run as a conservative candidate. The liberal media will dig and have a field day if they could find anything detrimental. And secondly, in my opinion, you cannot run as a Republican. You need to be a third party candidate to buck the norm, to fly in the face of the establishment. I think you would be the perfect Tea Party candidate, but that is just my opinion.”
Hahn said he was steadfast in his opinions and was ready to debate anyone that may disagree. He looked at Mr. Washington’s face and realized that the leader agreed with his views. He decided to throw one more idea onto the table.
“Plus, you’re going to need a lot of money. As a third party candidate, you won’t have the Republican infrastructure backing you so we will need to raise a whole lot of money to see this thing through. I think having that guy over there involved can make it work.”
Hahn was pointing to Josh Anders, the mouthpiece of the conservative movement. George took note of the reference as he glanced at Josh and Jenson in deep discussion. Again, Mr. Washington seemed to be in full agreement with his young adviser.
Hahn began to think out loud, verbalizing ideas about securing a new identity for Mr. Washington. He talked about a method called paper tripping, where an individual could assume the identity of a child that had died shortly after birth. He mentioned that questions had arisen concerning the current president and the question of his birth certificate and citizenship. Hahn told George of the possibility that the current Commander-in-Chief had used this method to secure an American identity. Mr. Washington was appalled at the thought that a man could catapult to the presidency using this method.
Another method Hahn was all too eager to describe involved building layers between the original identity and the person assuming it, in essence laundering an identity as if it was money. He said that he had read about this method and stressed that the keys to it included finding a person that died prior to 1988 with no social security number listed in the death file, with a name as generic and common as possible. Again, Mr. Washington cringed at the depths one would go to change an identity. He shook his head in amazement as the sound of a knock at the door overtook the room.
Anders walked to the entrance way, opened the door, and shook the hand of a distinguished looking gentleman as he entered the suite. He held a briefcase in his right hand as he surveyed the room and addressed Josh Anders by his first name. Hahn breathed the word “Wow” under his breath, which was audible enough for Mr. Washington to hear. He turned toward Hahn.
“Who is that man?”
Hahn looked back at George and stated that the man before them was William Pepper, the founder and man behind the new Tea Party. Mr. Washington did not change expression as Anders and Mr. Pepper approached the first president.
“Is this the man of the hour?” said a smiling Bill Pepper. He extended his hand toward Mr. Washington and offered a handshake. George stood tall and shook Pepper’s hand.
Pepper, a cool customer in any situation, remained calm and all business despite just being introduced to a person who had apparently risen from the dead. He sized up the man they called Mr. Washington and immediately decided he was one to be reckoned with. He certainly looked like the paintings of Mr. Washington, except for his hair color. Pepper identified a rare elegant confidence in the physically imposing man. His handshake was purposeful and strong, his hands large and meaty. While he noticed the well manicured finger nails of a colonial gentleman, his palm had the leathery, calluses of a manual laborer.
Pepper had listened on the phone to Anders’ story of how he met this man and trusted Anders’ opinions, but was this guy really the father of the country Bill Pepper loved? If Bill determined he was the George Washington, then he had a job to do. There would be time to reflect on the moral, ethical, and spiritual ramifications later. Bill began the conversation by relaying that he had heard part of Mr. Washington’s impromptu speech at the memorial through Josh’s phone and it gave him goose bumps. He also said that a video of it already hit the web.
Mr. Washington’s face revealed his uncertainty about the words being used, so Jack jumped in to explain that the web was synonymous with the Internet. George lightened as Pepper also described the YouTube video that had the full speech, start to finish, following the potential candidate from the Lincoln statue to the bottom step.
The billionaire businessman proclaimed that the speech was truly inspiring.
Mr. Washington thanked him for his kind words.
“The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Pepper. I trust you have joined us today to assist in our plan for a presidential candidacy? The men you see here have my undying trust and support for this endeavor. They have brought you forth as an important cog to the machine that will drive us over the coming months. Please share what you have in mind. But be patient. This is all happening quite fast and it is a lot to absorb for a bloke such as me.”
If he had any doubts that this man was the real Mr. Washington, they were instantaneously dispelled when George opened his mouth. His voice was distinct, but unfortunately so were his teeth. Pepper gasped to himself that they were not only from another time but perhaps from another species or planet.
The businessman immediately pulled Anders aside and demanded that before they act on any plans, an appointment with a dentist was in order. He had the name of a doctor who worked with him on a few things before and would ask no questions. Bill whispered in Anders’ ear.
“Try to keep his smiles to a minimum for the time being, will you?”
Anders told him to be serious. Bill Pepper smiled and asked everybody to take a seat. The men found spots around the room, settling on love seats and lounge chairs in the living area of the suite. Josh Anders decided to stand next to Pepper as he began his plan.
“First of all, I thank you for allowing me to enter your close circle. Josh explained to me what transpired over the last few days and I am excited to be involved. You have my full support and backing. Now, let’s get down to brass tacks.”
Pepper began by explaining the magnitude of financial backing Mr. Washington would have if he were to go all the way. He reassured the group that money was no object and that he would do everything in his power to get the Tea Party behind his candidacy. The men looked relieved at the mention of bottomless pockets of cash, but a couple founders spoke up simultaneously about the identity problem. Pepper then laid the plan for Mr. Washington going forward.
“As I mentioned just now, money is no object. We’re going to spend some bucks. We are going to buy the identity of someone, a person similar in stature and age to our first president and, most importantly, someone who is near death. We will need an individual willing to sell his identity upon his
death while securing his next of kin financially for the rest of their lives.”
Anthony Hahn immediately spoke up, voicing his and everybody else’s concern that it was impossible to do without any information getting out to the public.
Murray seconded this statement, referring to the plan as a pie in the sky scheme. He thought finding a donor who matched all of the needed criteria was nearly as impossible as Mr. Washington showing up in Philly. He caught himself and everybody noticed. He shrugged his shoulders at the sheer craziness of it all and told the smart man before him that he was interested in all the detail behind the grand plan.
Pepper took a sip of the bottled water which Josh had handed him thirty seconds earlier. As one of the top executives and a founding family member of the largest private company in the United States, he was used to pointed questions and, hostile, but intelligent discussions. He was neither intimidated nor knocked off point by Hahn and Murray’s direct challenge. Bill was ready.
“Nobody said this was going to be easy, Mr. Murray. This is a daunting task, but I believe it can work. First off, we need to leave next to no paper trail ourselves. This means no written notes. And we need to limit all electronic written communication. Any leaks would be a disaster.”
Bill had the full attention of the candidate and he could not believe it. One of his three favorite presidents was sitting before him, in the flesh, hanging on his every word. In all his years in the business world, Mr. Pepper had never had a more surreal moment. He took a deep breath and composed himself.
“Sorry. I digress. We need to find a man that is similar to Mr. Washington in age, height, and weight. Eye color is important too, although the colored contacts have made this a little easier.”
The General looked in Jenson’s direction as Tim studied his eye color, if only for a moment.
“Secondly, it would be preferable if the individual was self employed. Employees of big corporations have a paper trail a mile long so it is paramount that our donor be an entrepreneurial type, having started his own business, ideally an internet type entity. The man could be still active in the business or be recently retired, either way the plan can move forward.”
Bill Pepper had everybody on the edge of their seats, fully engrossed in their lesson on identity purchasing. As they leaned toward the speaker, Murray, Jenson, and Hahn took mental notes. Even Anders stayed quiet understanding fully that the speaker was a man who knew what he was talking about. Pepper continued.
“Our donor needs to be an orphan. We want no parents and hopefully, no aunts and uncles, too. Our guy would ideally be an only child as well with no siblings or step brothers. In addition, we would need a gentleman with a clean criminal record and, hopefully, a clean driving record although that could be a little tougher. Once we have a man with as many, if not all of these credentials in place, we can put the plan into hyper-drive. When we have our donor, and I think we have someone already, we move to the second phase of the identity mission.”
Three of the men in the room mouthed the words, “Have someone already,” all at once. Murray raised his hand like one of his high school students. Pepper pointed to him like a professor.
“You said you have someone in mind already? Seems to me Mr. Pepper that you may have done this kind of thing before.”
Bill Pepper cryptically explained that this kind of identity change had been done before. George and the team were in the good hands of some serious men prepared for any eventuality. Feeling he had said enough, Pepper simply smiled and continued on with the plan. Jack’s heart skipped a beat, understanding that he and his newfound colleagues had just been called up to the major leagues.
It was now evident that William had a plan and the motivation, the resources, and the know how to execute it to success. Pepper described the important actions that the donor would agree to upon payment. Their chosen man would agree to cremation upon death, with ashes scattered at some remote place and time. There could be no gravesite. The team would also ensure that the death could not be recorded anywhere. No hospital, coroner, newspaper or cemetery could be alerted to the individual’s passing nor would the family be allowed communication with any official agency. Pepper’s men would get a copy of the donor’s credit report as soon as possible to ensure that all debts were settled and no credit issues lingered.
Anders leaned toward Jenson’s ear and whispered that he knew introducing Pepper was a good idea. But he was concerned about Mr. Washington who remained stoic throughout the discussion. He was about to say something when his new found friend beat him to the punch.
“Mr. Washington, what do you think so far?” interjected Jenson, his voice also showing concern. Mr. Washington, seated at attention with perfect posture, turned toward Jenson and nodded.
“Mr. Pepper is very well prepared. I am impressed so far.”
The General turned back toward Pepper and surprisingly asked that he continue. Murray and Hahn were shocked that Mr. Washington did not even flinch at the dark plan to get the candidate a new identity. They vowed the night before to follow this man through thick and thin but now the second thoughts were popping up. Did this man have as much integrity as the history books reported? While it mattered to Murray and Hahn, the man holding court didn’t care.
Pepper was energized. Having been complimented by his hero from another century, he was more than happy to elaborate.
“I need to explain a couple more important steps to get this done. We would love our man to live in a college or university town. Towns like those have a lot of population turnover and normally do not have solid community bases or strong civic associations. His state of birth must be different than where he dies, even if we have to move this person to another state on his deathbed. This creates a new layer on the trail, which would at the very least dissuade a media type from digging further. Next, get hold of all of his bank and investment accounts and change the institutions where these monies and securities are housed. Do the same on 401k plans and any other account that may linger. Doing this is threefold. We put the additional layers down, get the monies under our control, and take away any personal relationships that may have been fostered over the years. Sounds abrupt but it has to be done.”
Pepper was rolling and had every man in the room intrigued. Mr. Washington’s mood softened as he leaned back in his chair, more impressed than earlier. He did not understand all the terminology used by Pepper but he did grasp the concepts. Like any good executive, George read the self-assurance and confidence in Pepper’s body language and bought into the plan.
Pepper was not done as he paced the room explaining that they needed to settle any lingering accounts including all unclaimed property in the donor’s name. Once they had those issues settled, they would bring Mr. Washington to the department of motor vehicles with all of the donor’s paperwork and get him a new driver’s license.
He further explained that creating the story of a lost license would not raise any red flags, and if there were any concerns, they would do a test run with one of the men in the room. Once he had a driver’s license with his current picture, it would quell the identity issue among doubters.
The group realized that this plan was hardly some fly by night idea. It was well thought out, but the intricate detail involved continued to make most of them nervous and uneasy. They knew Pepper had obviously done this sort of thing, but after his reply to Murray earlier, none of the men wanted to know any specifics.
Faulk reported on the Lincoln Memorial speech in his magazine and had been trading texts with Murray since. Murray trusted the sage Faulk and although Pepper called for a written communication embargo, Murray provided updates to a skeptical Faulk. There seemed no stopping this steamroller now. Jack wasn’t sure he liked Pepper, but he was sure the guy knew what he was doing. If anyone was going to pull this off, it would be him.
Then there was George. The president seemed more concerned about the risks of expanding the inner circle than about the ethics of the scheme. Mu
rray found that disconcerting. However, he asked himself what George was supposed to do.
Somehow Providence brought him back and it wasn’t to drive around in a limo. No, the logical side of Murray overruled the moralistic side. He was nervous in charting these unknown waters. Murray was on board, but needed some of his questions answered before he would have confidence in the plan’s success.
The sight of their leader agreeing to the Pepper plan and backing it one hundred percent calmed the team’s nerves a little. They may have come up with the plan to run for president but the new founders believed they had one leader. And his name was George Washington.
As Pepper finished his plan for an identity switch, Mr. Washington stood at attention and approached the speaker. He raised both hands and placed them on Bill’s shoulders.
“Mr. Pepper is obviously a very prepared and capable individual which provides me great comfort.”
Mr. Washington looked from man to man with a smile that eased their fears for the moment. He firmly stated that they had been brought together for a grand cause, old friends and new friends like Mr. Pepper.
“Fear not my brothers. I believe that Providence has guided us to this point and will see us through to bringing our ultimate success of restoring to America the principles that made us great.”
The men now encircled Pepper and the first president. They fed off the positive energy Mr. Washington created. Murray was the last to join the semi-circle and, staring directly at his new leader while addressing Pepper, had to say his peace.
“I agree that George Washington should be president. I think we all do. Mr. Pepper, this scheme you presented is well detailed and a little bit extravagant. But once you have the donor, and it sounds like you do, what will you do about friends and extended family? How are you going to handle that? How are you going to ensure that in this day and age of cell phones, YouTube and the internet, that you’re going to be able to keep all of this under wraps? Mr. President, I do not want to be disrespectful, but somebody here needs to play devil’s advocate.”
The New Founders Page 14
