“That ain’t what they are going to do, son. Damn, you should know this more than anyone. Right now, those boys in D.C. want some skins on the wall for that turkey shoot. They ain’t going to ask questions. They are going to come to get you and your buddies. And, if you resist, they kill you all, then they have their suspects,” said Pops plainly. “Haven’t we learned this over the last two years?”
Zach’s mind was racing. He knew Pops was right, but every now and then he caught himself thinking life could be normal and he wouldn’t be worried about how his political beliefs and push for Texas independence could have warped into the dilemma he now faced.
“If we hunker down and hide, then we look guilty. Do you believe they have any real evidence, sir?”
“They don’t need it,” Pops said seriously. “They need scapegoats.”
“You know they will manufacture evidence, Pops. Whatever they produce that may look like it ties to us on the surface, please do not believe it,” begged Zach.
“If you’d told me that ten or fifteen years ago, I would have dismissed it as hogwash. Damned if I know how our government got this screwed up, but I’ll tell you what.” Pops looked directly at Dyson, who was listening intently. “All these pieces link together―Chief Justice Noyner, the plane crash, and Milsap. God help us all if the government, by God, was involved in this mass shooting.”
“No way. I think they are capable of many things, but killing kids for political ideology, no way,” muttered Dyson under his breath so only Pops could hear him.
“Sir, the things I have seen while I was in the CIA that our country would do in the name of patriotism or some sort of perverted American interest, would make your heart hurt.” His response indicated Zach had heard Dyson’s comment. “It’s why I got out. The Constitution means nothing to the Deep State.”
“I’m not sure what to tell you to do at this fork in the road, son. I’ll go on up to Dallas and see what we’re dealing with. In the meantime, distance yourself from your Rambo dude.”
“Already have, sir, already have.”
Chapter 50
“The right to revolt has deep sources in our history.”
- Justice William O. Douglas (1898-1980)
U. S. Supreme Court Justice
Beard rushed into Zach’s office in the Bunker.
“Jesus, Zach—look at this. This is a message we intercepted from Ottosson to CIS off one of his encrypted phones,” urged Beard.
Madison underway…
“Madison underway? What the hell?” Zach exclaimed.
“Look at the time, date stamp!” said Beard.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Zach noted the message was sent approximately fifteen minutes after the first reported shots were fired from the Dallas Literacy Festival. “Do you have messages yet that tie Ottosson to Volkov?”
“No, we don’t know how they are communicating. We’re tailing Ottosson 24/7 and he hasn’t met with Volkov since Alexandria,” answered Beard.
“Why in God’s Holy Name would CIS be involved in such a dastardly event? It makes no sense to me.”
“Boss, it’s Madison… Madison!” Beard emphasized, becoming instantly animated and referring to his earlier reference to the Founder. “The entire nation is in a frenzy over repealing the 2nd Amendment! They murdered Noyner and flipped the Court. We’ve now got a new chief justice who is openly anti-2nd Amendment. The president is crafting a series of executive orders. Ottosson was a regular at the White House. We’ve got dead children and families on TV and we could be a very convenient scapegoat!”
Zach was stunned. Will walked into the office just as the conversation started, and also read the message from Ottosson.
“Zach, think about it in this context, too. If they can link us to this somehow, it will absolutely be a death blow to the Texas independence movement because they will make us look like far-out, far-right lunatics who would kill children and bomb the IRS. The support the movement has today in Texas would likely evaporate!”
Zach stood, cracked his neck and shoulders and stared out the window in a distant gaze at the Katy prairie. “I’ve clearly underestimated the Deep State. I’ve got to get a call into Pops as soon as possible”
“Do you want me to see if I can reach him for you?” asked Will.
“Yes, but one more thing,” stressed Zach. “We have to implement Ghost.”
Will was surprised at the suggestion, but Beard wasn’t.
“I totally agree,” said Beard. “It makes sense when you think about it.”
“Worldwide?” asked Zach. “It would be the first time to call Ghost worldwide…” He turned back to the others. “Before we do that, I need one more piece of the puzzle. I need our people in Europe. Get them on the satellite,” he told Beard, despite the fact that it was nearly midnight in Brussels, where his primary European operative was stationed.
Ten minutes later, Beard had the Brussels contact on their encrypted satellite phones.
“Any leads on Volkov?” asked Zach after apologies for the late hour. “He’s completely off the radar. He’s got to be out of the country.”
“Zach, I just got this information in the last couple of hours. I was waiting for one more piece before I messaged the team. Two of Volkov’s known accomplices have turned up dead, one in Brazil and the other in the UK. We’ve lost track of the other one, which is likely an indication of his fate, too,” said the operative. “To me it appears Volkov is erasing evidence. It’s a scorched-earth philosophy he has always had. No witnesses, not a scintilla of evidence or possible links to him.”
“How in the hell does he get people to sign on with him?” Zach wondered. “They’ve got to know his history.”
“Volkov is a charismatic killer,” the operative explained. “He has the innate ability to convince guys who should know better that he is their best friend. It also helps that he pays his people exorbitant amounts of money. His jobs are so dirty that he commands a king’s ransom, but he gets it. When he is done with his accomplices, they either completely disappear, never to be heard from again, or he sends his own kind of message.”
“Bodies were found? If that’s the case, he’s sending a message,” said Zach.
“The guy in Brazil was decapitated. His head was put in a microwave.”
“Geez.”
“In London, that body was found with his genitals in his mouth.” the operative said.
“Are you sure these are the men we identified in Alexandria?”
“Affirmative,” confirmed the Brussels guy.
“So, this is a message, but to whom?” Zach asked.
“Maybe the third dude is in hiding and it’s a message to him?”
“Volkov ain’t going to leave loose ends,” Zach stated firmly. “He’ll get this guy. He always does. I’m sure if the guy is alive, he’s gone completely underground.”
“Hmm, we’ll have to figure it out.”
Thoughtful, Zach thanked the operative. “I appreciate the info. Please contact me if you get any additional information.”
“Man, you’ve got a shit storm there back in Texas. Good luck!
“Thanks, we need it, but your info is invaluable,” Zach told him. “Appreciate it as always!”
Zach hung up his satellite phone and sat down at a table with his team.
Will walked back in. “I haven’t reached Pops yet.”
“Implement Ghost now…” Zach said calmly.
Zach asked for the rest of the crew to be brought into the conference room, and for the entire team to get on an encrypted satellite conference call in two hours.
Two hours later, Zach had his entire team worldwide on the conference call, with some participating in the wee hours of the morning, based on where they were located.
“Let me be very clear,” Zach announced. “It’s our belief here that Lofton and his team are behind the IRS bombings. Although it’s not an understatement to say that we enjoy seeing IRS employees fearful about going to work, what this has don
e has brought increased federal scrutiny on us, and you can bet your britches that we’re about to have the full weight, power and vengeance of the United States government drop squarely on our heads. Although I do not have any proof, I’m sure we can thank Hank and his team for this, as he has handed them a very convenient reason to launch on us.”
“Please tell us, Zach, that Hank is not involved in Dallas,” said the operative from Brussels.
“We have no reason to be believe that is the case. In fact, we just received evidence that this is a massive conspiracy orchestrated by the Deep State, and it has Volkov’s fingerprints all over it. We know he has gone completely underground, and two of his trusted associates have turned up dead and mutilated,” said Zach.
“Is Volkov still the lead suspect on the plane crash?” asked another.
“The feds officially don’t believe the crash was anything but an accident. Texas Ranger Pops Younger, who has turned out to be a very good friend of this organization, is convinced Volkov orchestrated that crash and the double-murder suicide of the mechanic and his family. Beard theorizes Volkov got to the fuel tanks and added a coagulant to the fuel that stalled the engines, leading to the crash. It sure appears that way, but the NTSB is focused on pilot error.”
“Wait a minute, slow down. Are you telling us the federal government is somehow involved in the murder of those children?” pressed a U.S. operative. “I know they are capable of unspeakable crimes, but are you telling us our federal government is complicit in this mass shooting?”
“We have intercepted a text from Ottosson going to CIS that the code name they were using for some kind of operation was underway. It was sent fifteen minutes after the shooting started. The code name was Madison.”
Almost in unison, groans came from several operatives on the call. They all knew the significance of Madison regarding the 2nd Amendment.
“How far does this go, Zach?” asked another.
“We have to assume, and we believe it goes all the way to the White House.”
“Jesus, Zach, and now they’re trying to pin the IRS bombings and this on us? What the hell are we going to do? This is going to get serious fast,” stated another operative.
“If they are coming after us, which plan are we implementing?” asked an operative in D.C.
“By midnight tonight Central Time, I am implementing Ghost,” Zach announced. “I don’t suggest you wait that long.”
There was a momentary silence on the phone.
Ghost was an operational term that, when implemented, mandated that all operatives were to go completely underground. It meant tightly controlled communications on a limited basis, on highly secure platforms only. It also meant operatives with families were to go to predesignated safe houses off the grid and known only to the individual operatives.
Zach implemented this silo approach to secrecy because of the high probability of torture being used. No matter how badly an operative was tortured and eventually broken, the operative wouldn’t have the knowledge to disclose his compatriots’ whereabouts.
To this group, Ghost meant total disruption of operatives’ family lives if they had spouses, kids in schools, and some semblance of a normal life, for an undetermined amount of time. Zach’s team was made up of ultimate preppers and, if there was any group of individuals who could instantly vanish and not only survive but thrive, this was it.
“Zach, do you believe this is absolutely necessary? You know many of us have wives and children. You know what this ultimately means to us?” asked the D.C. operative.
“Team, this is Will Turnbow. I hate to say it, but you can partly thank Lofton for this. Y’all know Zach. We have never had to do a worldwide Ghost. If Zach is calling for it, rest assured your lives and the lives of your families are in jeopardy.”
“Do we have specific intelligence that the feds’ actions are imminent and in what timeframe?” asked another. “Are we implementing Ghost strictly based on what CNN is reporting and on this text?”
Will was annoyed that anyone would think Zach would implement Ghost without extreme prejudice.
“That CNN report was based on an actual leak; it was not supposed to be released. We believe they are moving on us as we speak,” Will stated unequivocally.
“So there is no separate specific intelligence that supports the CNN report?” the same operative pressed.
“Beard and his team have successfully hacked the CIS data centers in four locations. He is breaking down encryption protocols, but it may take several days. I don’t believe we can afford to take that chance, based on what we know at this point.”
“Zach, it’s time to grab that son-of-a-bitch Ottosson. A little rendering of him will reveal a lot,” suggested another operative, suggesting kidnapping Ottosson, taking him to another country, and using advanced interrogation techniques to gain intelligence.
“In due time. He’s somewhat of a useful idiot to us right now. Sending that text about Madison was about as amateur as you get,” Zach told them. “Let’s all remember he’s not CIA, MI6 or Mossad. He’s a damned lobbyist and a semi-accomplished wealthy criminal who thinks he can operate at our level. Like every criminal, he’ll make mistakes.”
“Besides, even if you had Ottosson, he’s likely not being told the plans the FBI, ATF and Homeland have for us,” added Will.
“That’s absolutely true,” agreed another operative.
“There’s a Deep State master plan here, gentlemen, and we are getting closer to figuring it out every day. It’s also possible that this cancer runs so deep and is so evil that we really never comprehended how embedded it is in our political systems and government bureaucracies. It is beyond anything we originally envisioned,” Zach stated.
“Are we all on board?” asked Will.
“Ghost it is,” said the D.C. operative.
“Affirmative. Ghost is implemented for all operatives,” said Zach.
Chapter 51
“I have no reason to suppose, that he, who would take away my liberty, would not, when he had me in his power, take away everything else.”
- John Locke (1632-1704)
English philosopher and political theorist
Dyson handed the cell phone to Pops. “It’s your buddy Turner.”
Pops took the phone and walked a few steps for privacy.
“Younger here.”
“Pops, I’ll make this very short and to the point. I know you are at the mass shooting site. That shooting is tied to Ottosson and Volkov. It was Madison, named after James Madison who penned the 2nd Amendment. That damned shooting was a Deep State operation, sir,” stated Zach firmly.
“You are sure of this? You have proof?”
“We have an Ottosson text message intercepted fifteen minutes after the shooting that Operation Madison had begun.”
Pops was silent for a few seconds as he tried to digest what Turner was telling him.
“My Jesus… The world is going to hell in a handbasket right in front of us,” lamented Pops.
“Sir, not sure if you are hearing the news reports, but they are trying to tie this on us, this and the IRS bombings. We are about to go underground. You won’t be able to reach me through normal channels. I’ll have to reach to you from time to time as I have opportunities.”
“Son, I may need you and I have to have a way to get hold of you.”
“Give me twenty-four hours, sir, and I’ll have another method. I’ll be in touch soon. Give ’em hell up there.”
As Zach hung up, Pops stood silent for a few minutes as Dyson watched from a distance.
“What the hell was that about?” asked Dyson, who knew full well by Pops’ reaction that he just learned something important and likely to do with the mass shooting.
“Dick, this shooting wasn’t no crazy nut job. This was a cold and calculate assassination of these kids for political purposes.”
“No way? Are you serious?”
“Let’s get in there. Those boys in that tent are over
their damned heads.”
Pops Younger stood in a packed circus-sized tent on the site of the mass shooting in Dallas with dozens of other law enforcement officers from the FBI, ATF, Homeland Security, Dallas police and various other agencies that Pops didn’t even recognize. The media was kept out of the tent.
Pops was the most experienced law enforcement official in the tent, yet nobody solicited his opinions on solving the largest mass shooting of its kind in American history.
That morning, the Dallas police chief stopped them all in their tracks as the discussions became heated on what evidence existed that there was more than one shooter. Nobody had found a weapon up to that point. Law enforcement had combed every vendor tent, trailer and trash can to find any evidence of who was responsible.
Pops breathed a sigh of relief as he realized the news report he had heard on the way to the Dallas shooting site had no basis in fact. He wondered who the “unnamed source” was that had provided misleading information to gullible media.
“We have literally searched every square inch of this site, and there is no weapon,” claimed the FBI regional director, who somehow had inherited de facto control over the investigation despite the fact it was Dallas police jurisdiction, and the chief wasn’t happy about it.
“I’ve heard theory after theory. We have no weapon, and no lead on the shooter,” claimed the FBI regional director.
“He obviously got his weapon off the grounds somehow,” offered another agent.
“From what I understand, in the chaos that ensued, anything was possible. We have positive ID on one shooter and the description was the same from all witnesses so far. He had to have gotten out with the weapon,” offered the ATF lead agent.
Frustrated with the progress of the investigation so far, the Dallas police chief looked around the tent and found Pops standing in the background, easy to spot with his tall lean stature and wearing his signature Stetson cowboy hat.
“Pops, can you come up here a minute and tell us what you think?”
A couple of groans came from federal agents, one even saying under his breath, “Gee, now we get to hear the hick with the cowboy hat,” barely audible, but loud enough for those immediately around him to hear.
Purge on the Potomac Page 29
