by Bobby Akart
Several residents came to his aid. One pointed out that timber rattlers were generally timid and only strike when provoked. Another, a longtime nurse in the community, testified that she had never seen a rattlesnake bite at the local clinic. A third argued humans were a bigger threat to the harmless timber rattlesnake than vice versa.
Archibald and the Allen brothers also knew the timber rattlesnake was the most dangerous snake in North America due to its long fangs, impressive size, and high venom yield. Despite their timidity, they would strike if startled. If their bite was not treated within hours, limbs were lost. Within a couple of days, lives were lost as well.
Archibald and Pearson had instructed the Allens to fill a boat with the deadly snakes, which had now multiplied many times over on Mount Zion. They were awaiting orders to make a special delivery—to Prescott Peninsula.
Chapter 42
Thursday, September 29, 2016
5:30 p.m.
Prescott Peninsula
Quabbin Reservoir, Massachusetts
Donald received the call over the radio that Sarge had arrived at the front gate with the others. Sarge and Steven cautioned against leaving 100 Beacon unoccupied, but after installing several families of the Mechanics in the lower floors, they considered the building well protected.
This was the first gathering of the Loyal Nine together since the cyber attack. Donald, and especially Susan, was distressed over the purpose of the meeting at 1PP, but it was necessary. They gathered for the first time to discuss the potential false-flag events and the ramifications of Morgan’s involvement. They needed to trade notes without emotions getting in the way. Therefore, the initial meeting didn’t include Abbie.
Donald walked into the kitchen, where Susan and Brad were talking with Stella Peabody. The girls were having their dinner of mac and cheese at the kitchen table.
“Stella, would you mind watching these hellions for a little while?” asked Donald.
“Oh my, of course I wouldn’t mind, Donald,” she replied. Stella patted their heads as they continued eating their beloved mac and cheese. Donald thought the girls were oblivious to the hellions reference. “They are adorable angels, young man.”
Penny looked up at her dad and smiled.
They hear everything. “Yes, the adorable hellions, then. Thank you. We’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
Donald looked at Susan and Brad, nodding his head to indicate it was time to meet. He wasn’t sure where Abbie was, which was just as well. He didn’t want to lie to her about where they would be. Not telling her about the meeting was a big enough lie. They jumped into the four-wheeler and headed toward the front gate. When they met Sarge’s OJ-40, they would pull into a quiet place to talk.
As the eight of them greeted one another and exchanged a few pleasantries, Donald nervously picked up some pinecones and tossed them into the woods. This was going to be a difficult conversation, but nothing compared to the one to follow with Abbie and her dad.
“Well, shit, we all know why we’re here,” started Steven. “Let’s get on with it.”
Sarge stepped into the middle of the group and spoke. “J.J., I’ll ask one last time because I know this subject is going to touch a raw nerve with you. Are you sure you wanna be a part of this?”
“I am, guys,” replied J.J., looking at his friends. “I love Sabs and I’ll never forget her. But you guys are my family, as is Abbie. This cloud is hanging over our heads, and we’ll all be better off when it can be dealt with. My feelings toward Morgan may never change, only time will tell. But I won’t let my animosity towards him cloud my judgment, or yours.”
Susan gave J.J. a hug, and Donald patted his friend on the back. J.J. had accepted the loss of Sabs, and now they were a group again.
“Okay, good,” said Sarge, looking at Steven. “Steven and I have known John Morgan all of our lives. He’s our godfather and has been a dad to us since we lost our parents. We’re also grown men and understand the implications of what we think we’ve concluded. Because decisions have to be made, we need to make sure we all understand what we think we’ve observed.”
“I agree, Sarge,” said Donald, who picked up more pinecones to help him with his nerves. “Based upon what I’ve heard from everybody, Katie should go first. Chronologically, it makes sense.”
“Everybody knows my job was to be Mr. Morgan’s mole in the White House,” said Katie. “I certainly doubt I was the only one. His reach into the deepest, darkest closets of Washington politics is the stuff of a Tom Clancy novel. He insisted that I report every piece of information that I learned during my briefings. At times, he told me to withhold intel for several days without explanation.” Katie dusted off a large boulder and sat on it, then continued.
“After Abbie’s computer was hacked, I took it upon myself to learn what happened. Normally, that is a job for the secret service, but Abbie, Steven and I agreed to conduct our own examination. My analysis of Abbie’s laptop crossed paths with my investigation of the cyber attack on the Las Vegas power grid, leading me to Andrew Lau and the Zero Day Gamers.”
“Katie, when you advised Abbie of their involvement, was there any appearance of recollection by Abbie of Lau’s name or the ZDG?”
“None at all,” replied Katie. “I can’t remember whether I ever discussed them with Abbie prior to that one time. She didn’t ask me to hide my findings either.”
“Okay,” said Sarge. He joined Donald in the pinecone-toss game. “As I understand it, you first mentioned this to Mr. Morgan over the telephone, right?”
“Yes,” replied Katie. “But it was not the first time I had discussed the Zero Day Gamers with him. Back in the spring, I briefed him on their activities, and he instructed me to bring him any information on them I could find. So I called him to reveal the hack on Abbie’s computer.”
“Then what?” asked Susan.
“Nothing,” she replied. “We had a very short phone conversation about it, and he appeared to be excited about what I discovered. Then I heard nothing from him for almost two weeks.”
“Weird,” mumbled Donald. He wiped his hands of the debris and focused on the conversation.
“Out of the blue, he summoned us to his office,” said Steven. “He had an Aegis team surveilling Lau and his people. I thought it was odd because he would normally include me in an operation like that. Then he revealed his plan to us.”
“He sure did,” added Katie. “He and Malcolm Lowe put into place an elaborate ruse to employ the ZDG.”
“I’ve met Lowe only once,” said J.J. as he pulled down his shirt sleeves. It was getting darker and a fall chill was in the air. “He doesn’t seem like a covert-ops guy.”
Steven spoke up. “He surprised me too. Not only did he think out the plan thoroughly, he carried it off flawlessly. We caught Lau totally off guard. In fact, I barely said a word. Lowe negotiated with Lau and ostensibly hired the Zero Day Gamers for some kind of hack to gain leverage on a legislative matter important to Mr. Morgan. Hell, I fell for it too.”
“Did you know what he was up to?” asked Brad.
Steven paused before answering. He allowed two ATVs to pass on the gravel road to their east. “Not really, Brad. Hell, you know how it is. Good soldiers take orders and do their thing. Then things got interesting.”
“How so?” asked J.J.
“I got a call from Lowe to come up to 73 Tremont. Mr. Morgan told me to assemble my team with the instructions to snatch Lau and those gamer geeks. Lowe had set up this state-of-the-art computer center in an old abandoned warehouse for the geeks to finish the job—whatever it was.”
“Wait. I have to know. Wasn’t Drew Jackson part of your team? Did he know about this?” asked Susan. Donald touched her arm to calm her down. She seemed agitated.
“No, no, Suzy Q,” said Steven. “Slash, I mean Drew, was on Abbie’s security detail full time at that point. He wouldn’t know anything about it. I’m sure the guys wouldn’t have a need to let him know about the op.�
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“Okay, sorry,” said Susan. “I feel bad for what happened to him. I’m glad Drew wasn’t involved.”
“That’s okay, Susan,” said Julia. “Then what happened, Steven?”
“Well, this was the last day of August, a Wednesday, I think. Lowe and I continued to play the game, telling the geeks that it was for their own protection. Lowe took over from there, and his own team handled the operation the rest of the way.”
“That was three days before the cyber attack,” stated Donald. He looked around at everyone. “Has anybody had any contact with Malcolm Lowe since then?” They all shook their heads, indicating they had not. Then Julia spoke again.
“We’ve seen Lau, however,” said Julia. “Sarge and I went to Mass General to help out after the pipeline explosion. We didn’t know who Lau was or his possible involvement in the cyber attack. It was purely coincidental. I took a liking to him, out of pity, mainly. He was burned pretty bad and incoherent.”
“When Katie and I went over to the hospital a day or so later, Julia gave us the name of a patient to check on,” said Steven. “It turned out to be Lau. I about shit myself when I saw him. This guy holds the answers to this whole freakin’ thing.”
“Did you speak to him?” asked Susan.
“Not really,” replied Katie. “He was still out of it and bandaged up. Plus a nurse was hovering around.”
“Do you guys think Morgan orchestrated this cyber attack?” asked J.J., looking at Sarge and Steven.
“It’s too coincidental,” replied Steven.
Donald knew it was time to disclose to the Loyal Nine the final pieces of the puzzle. “There’s more, and I apologize for not telling you sooner. You guys had your hands full at 100 Beacon and I felt the rest of this story needed to be told in person. Today was the first available opportunity.”
“What is it, Donald?” asked Julia, looking at Sarge, who was also puzzled.
“Susan overheard a conversation between Mr. Morgan, Walter Cabot, and Lawrence Lowell. Right, honey?”
“Yes. On the night of the martial law declaration, I was back by the bungalows and I heard voices from the edge of the woods. It clearly wasn’t the security guys, so I went to check it out. The three of them were discussing what the President’s address would be about. I heard words like going according to plan and double-cross.”
“Are you saying they knew about the martial law declaration in advance?” asked Steven.
“I think so,” replied Susan. “But I never heard them say anything about the cyber attack.”
“What does according to plan mean?” demanded J.J. He appeared to get angrier with every new revelation. “It sure sounds to me like those three were a part of something.”
“Hang on, J.J.,” said Brad. “We don’t know that.”
J.J. backed off.
“There’s more,” interrupted Susan. “Mrs. Lowell has acted withdrawn and angry at times. I know her, and this is not normal. I think she knows something.”
“We noticed it too,” added Julia. “She was that way when Sarge picked them up. Her anger was directed at her husband. Maybe he let something slip?”
It was getting darker. Also, they had been gone for a while. Donald needed to move this along.
“It’s possible, but we need to wrap this up and make a decision,” said Donald.
“Listen, I’m not gonna defend the old man,” said Steven. He folded his arms defiantly. “He’s had me do some fucked-up shit this year that defies explanation. But I haven’t heard anyone say that he arranged this attack.”
Donald rubbed his face with both hands and spoke. “Now, we need to tell you about Abbie.”
Susan placed her hands on his shoulders and smiled. “Let me,” she said. “Abbie was having nightmares about Drew when they arrived at 1PP. They were falling in love prior to that night, but the ordeal brought them closer together. When Mr. Morgan insisted upon leaving in the helicopter with her, Drew was being brutally beaten. She was crying hysterically, and she initially recalled Drew shouting out to her I love you, I love you.”
“She must be devastated,” interjected Julia. “It must be horrible for her to relive that nightmare over and over again.”
“It still is difficult for her,” said Susan. “But now for a different reason.”
“We understand this is a difficult time for her, Susan, as it is for J.J.,” said Katie. “But what does this have to do with Mr. Morgan’s involvement?”
“She kept playing the whole event in her mind because of Drew’s words,” started Susan. “She was troubled because she couldn’t seem to confirm what he said. She wasn’t certain he was saying I love you.” Donald moved closer to his wife to give her support.
“If it wasn’t that, what was he saying?” asked Sarge.
Susan looked them all in the face before speaking. “Drew was shouting he knew, he knew.”
Chapter 43
Thursday, September 29, 2016
7:00 p.m.
Prescott Peninsula
Quabbin Reservoir, Massachusetts
“I’ll see you down there in a minute,” said Sarge as he leaned into the window to give Julia a kiss. As the car slowly pulled away, the gravel crunched beneath the tires until he and Steven were alone in the dark. The brothers began the fifteen-minute walk to 1PP in silence before Steven spoke.
“Are you sure about this, bro. We can just let it go. Move on. Fuck it, right?”
Sarge didn’t answer immediately. He had wrestled with this decision since the thought first crossed his mind—weeks ago. The information he just received confirmed his suspicions. John Morgan was capable of many things, but he certainly underestimated the impact of this. Or did he?
“What’s the last memory that you have of Pop?” asked Sarge.
“Look,” Steven replied as he pointed up to a meteorite soaring across the southern sky. “You think that was him?”
“Shut up, seriously.”
“You know, I was a lot younger than you when he died,” said Steven. “I can’t really say I have a last memory. I remember when I found out he was gone. But most of my childhood memories are of Mr. Morgan.”
“Exactly. He stepped into Pop’s shoes and looked after us like we were his own. Abbie was his blood, but we were his sons.”
They continued down the road as Sarge thought about his words. We are family.
“Are you saying we give the old man a break?” asked Steven.
Sarge hesitated for a moment. “Not necessarily. I’m just making sure I know what the purpose of this is. What do I hope to accomplish?”
“Calling him out isn’t gonna change anything,” replied Steven. “We might get more answers, and then we might piss him off. How would that you make you feel?”
“Pretty damn lousy considering what he’s done for us,” replied Sarge.
“And to us, bro. Don’t forget, he may have helped us along the way and bankrolled all of this preparedness shit. But he’s the one who brought the shit down on our heads too.”
Sarge laughed as they rounded the bend and the final fifty yards to 1PP. “Did you ever get the feeling we were like a bunch of lab rats being experimented on?”
“Fuck yeah. Like a damn puppet on a string.” Steven held his hands high in the air to imitate a puppeteer.
“He’s the puppet master, and we’re the dancing toys on the stage,” said Sarge.
Steven stopped as the two men stared at Morgan’s bungalow. “I guess it’s showtime.”
They walked to the tiny house shared by Abbie and her father. She would be there, but Sarge wouldn’t ask her to leave. He didn’t like excluding her from the earlier conversation, but allowed everyone to speak freely. He knew Abbie, and he was certain she had no knowledge of this beforehand. In fact, bringing it out in the open would help ease the burden on her shoulders. She knows he knew.
“Hi, Sarge,” greeted Abbie. “And Steven too. I didn’t know you guys were coming. Is everything okay?” She gave them both a
hug, and then Sarge felt her eyes probing for an explanation.
“Yeah, everything’s fine,” replied Sarge. “We’re all here, in fact.” Damn, this is going to be hard.
“Hello, Henry,” said Morgan, who was sitting in a simple wooden dining chair at a small two-person table at the back of the bungalow. This was the first time Sarge had been in one of the bungalows built for the Boston Brahmin when they were occupied. It was pedestrian compared to the opulence to which Abbie and Morgan were accustomed. He knew, yet he has sacrificed too.
“Hello, sir,” announced Steven as he fit his large frame through the doorway. “Wow, this is very old school. This is the first time I’ve seen the inside.” The open floor plan helped mask the cramped quarters shared by two adults.
“It is quaint,” said Morgan dryly. “Is this strictly a social call?” He knows.
Sarge’s palms began to sweat. Was he capable of confronting one of the most powerful men in the world about the biggest false-flag event in the history of mankind? Morgan was not as intimidating as in his normal surroundings at 73 Tremont. He was not wearing his usual Armani suit, opting instead for khakis and Bass Weejuns. He looked like a regular guy. But he’s not a regular guy.
“No, sir. It’s not,” started Sarge. He looked around for a place to sit. He didn’t want to tower over his godfather—the man who had provided him so much after his dad died. Abbie stared at Sarge and then over at Steven, who led her by the arm to a small sofa. Sarge pulled up a chair at the dining table and sat across from one of the greatest negotiators on the planet.
“What’s on your mind, Henry?” said Morgan, leaning back in his chair with a glare. He seemed to dare Sarge to speak his mind.
“Sir, we need to talk about the events surrounding the cyber attack—before and after.”
Morgan leaned back and crossed his legs while tapping his fingers on his knee. “Let’s talk, then. Go ahead, Henry.”
