by Marc James
Faraday had no response, he knew he was way out of his depth.
“Get this straight kid. You are only here because Abaddon needed your help with Hoover, he is allowing you to live because he gave you his word that he will send you home. But understand this, you are of no value to us anymore. You have already taken care of Hoover, if I shoot you right now, it will essentially make no difference to our plan. If you try to stop me, I will kill you.”
Faraday could feel his legs were about to give way. What had he gotten himself into?
“Carlos!” Jacob screamed.
One of the Cubans entered the room, he too had a gun.
“Take Mr Faraday to his room.”
Carlos nodded and pressed the gun into Faraday’s back. He was led through the same metal door that Chase had been led through. He entered an even dingier room than the room before. The guard that had led Chase away was standing in the room, whilst Chase was sitting on a mattress on the floor.
Faraday was pushed into the room and both guards left, before locking the door.
He looked down at Chase and saw how terrified he was.
“Are you okay?”
“What are we going to do?” Chase asked.
“I have no idea.” Faraday admitted.
“What did he say to you?”
“He is going to hand us over to Castro, and blame the uprising on the US.”
“We will be executed!” Chase screamed.
“What have I done?” Faraday muttered.
“What?”
“I just can’t believe this has turned out this was Chase, I’m sorry.”
Chase didn’t reply, he just stared at the wall, looking dejected.
“Our only hope is Bobby.”
“What can he do?” Chase asked.
“I have absolutely no idea.” Faraday conceded.
Both men were silent as the room was filled by the sound of the song “It’s a small world.”
Chapter 68
Bobby awoke and felt as though he had only been asleep for a few minutes, he glanced at the clock and saw that it had been three hours. It was 08:00 on Friday 28th of February, he had been up half the night trying to track down Will and Mengele. He had eventually decided he could do no more at 04:00, and decided to get home to bed.
They had managed to track down a man they believed was Mengele, but there wasn’t much he could tell them. He had been burnt to a crisp and dumped in Greenbrier State Park in Maryland, roughly an hour away from where Will had taken him. The autopsy was being carried out, when Bobby had eventually decided he could do no more.
He knew that today would essentially be a washout with it being J Edgar Hoover’s funeral, he hoped that perhaps Faraday or Chase might get in touch, but he doubted that would be the case. He forced himself to rise from the bed and struggled to his feet, his hip was in agonizing pain. It always seemed to play up whenever he was under pressure. He thought back to John Wilkes Booth for a moment, he really hoped that he had suffered in the moments before he died.
He struggled from his bed to his wardrobe and put on his red dressing gown. Using his cane he hobbled from the room to the staircase. He took a moment to compose himself before embarking on the stairs, he wasn’t sure he could make the bottom. He began the descent slowly, he could hear the radio playing in the kitchen. David must be up, he hadn’t spent time with David since the day of the car bombing. They had once been so close, and now they were like ships in the night.
When Bobby eventually reached the kitchen, David was sat at the breakfast bar, already dressed in his black suit drinking a coffee and eating toast.
“Good morning David.”
David almost jumped in his surprise. “Been a while Bobby.” He almost smiled, but didn’t.
Bobby wandered past David into the kitchen and poured himself a coffee, he took a seat on the other side of the breakfast bar from David and lit a cigarette. The two men were sat in silence as Strawberry Fields Forever by The Beatles played on the radio.
“So how have you been?” Bobby eventually asked, before taking a draw of his cigarette.
David looked at Bobby and lit a cigarette of his own. “Busy, how about you?”
Bobby took another draw and then a sip of his coffee. “Much the same.”
“How is everything at the FBI?”
“It’s a mess David.” The telephone ring made both men jump. Bobby lifted the receiver.
“Hello.”
“Bobby what a first day you had!” Kennedy said enthusiastically.
“How do you mean?” Bobby asked, genuinely puzzled.
“The Washington Post article!”
Bobby had completely forgotten about that. “How is it?”
“It’s great Bobby, she has retracted everything! She has even announced that Jacob Cohen is in Cuba and there is a picture of him on the front page. Castro will see it, the Soviets will see it! If he does anything else in an attempt to wage a war, then we have him nailed already. I am planning on calling the Chairman this evening to ensure he understands what has been going on.”
“Excellent.” Bobby said, genuinely delighted. David looked at him is surprise.
“I’ve spoken with Teddy, he told me about Mengele.”
“So it was him?” Bobby asked deliberately leaving out the name, he didn’t want David to know anything.
“Dental records have confirmed it. I know he was a lead Bobby but we can live without him, we know Cohen is in Cuba. I doubt Mengele knew much more and the world is a better place with him dead.”
“So you’re not angry?”
“Bobby I’m ecstatic, you have already achieved more in one day than Hoover has achieved since December. If Chase and Faraday have some luck, hopefully we will be aware of their plans.”
“There is one thing that doesn’t sit right with me.”
“Oh?” Kennedy asked, the nervousness clear in his voice.
“Sarah Salmond told me that it was Jacob Cohen that informed her of the Soviet attack on the ship. How could he have known that if Howard Hughes was not involved?”
“Bobby the simple fact of the matter is that we don’t know who is funding him. Howard Hughes would not sail out on a ship that he knew in advance was going to be torpedoed. The same applies to David.”
“How could he know then? Unless it was Abaddon?”
“Abaddon and Howard are both doing their best for the country they are no longer suspects in my eyes.”
“Well who could it be then?”
“I have spoken with Richard Nixon and I’m fairly sure it wasn’t him. I had thought perhaps it was some of our Federal Reserve bankers.”
“I can’t see that being the case.”
“Why not?”
“If they wanted to prove their point they would have delivered the message by now, or quite simply they would have killed you. They could have blackmailed you already. Is there any chance that it could be Onassis?”
“No, I have spoken to Jackie recently and she told me that she had never told anyone outside of the family about Rosemary. He would have no need to do any of this, we may not get on but what does he gain in having me removed from power?”
“I don’t think it is very likely either.”
“We are making progress Bobby. I shall see you at the funeral.”
As Bobby replaced the receiver he took a sip from his coffee, David looked incredibly awkward on the other side of the breakfast bar.
“Have you heard anything from Faraday?” David asked.
Bobby shook his head. He felt incredibly uncomfortable in David’s company, it was so strange that a nine year friendship had turned into a mutual distrust and awkward silences. Bobby swallowed the final mouthful of coffee and struggled to his feet once again, he hobbled from the kitchen and then slowly up the stairs to his bedroom. It was time to prepare for the funeral.
Chapter 69
Will watched as the doctor exited the main entrance of Cape Cod hospital, it was 15:00. Sindey Gott
lieb did not so much as glance towards the Lincoln. He had just finished after a gruelling double shift and he was eager to get to his car. The Lincoln slowly approached Gottlieb from behind, he stepped out of the way and watched as the car came to a halt and the driver’s window opened.
“Dr Gottleib, do you have a minute?” Will asked pleasantly.
Gottlieb looked at the man for a moment before responding. “Have we met?”
“Yes I came to see you with my colleague Mr Faraday.”
Gottlieb nodded his understanding. “Of course, would you like to come up to my office?”
“If you just want to hop in the car, I’ll only be a minute.”
Gottlieb again nodded. He walked to the passenger door and sat down beside Will.
“What would you like to discuss?”
Will did not reply to the question, instead he grabbed Gottlieb’s head and smashed it hard into the dashboard. Gottlieb let out a screech of pain before he lost consciousness.
Will drove the short distance to Nickerson State Park and headed deep into the pine forest. Gottlieb was beginning to stir and Will decided they were in deep enough. Once he had stopped the car he looked at Gottlieb, as he swayed in his attempts to come round.
“Gottlieb!” Will yelled.
Sindey’s eyes opened almost dozily, it took him a few seconds to realise what was going on. He looked at Will, the fear apparent on his face. “Why did you hit me? Where are we?” He asked frantically.
“We are here Sidney because I am going to kill you.” Will replied coldly.
Sindey looked horrified. “Why? I’ve never done anything to you!”
“No not to me. But you are still pure evil.”
“No I’m not, I’m a good man.” He protested.
“You torture the most vulnerable people in society and you think that you are a good man?”
“I do that for our country, it is research.”
“You are no better than Josef Mengele!” Will snapped back.
Gottlieb appeared to be on the verge of tears. “I am employed by the OSS, it is my job.”
Will removed the gun from his holster and pointed it at Gottlieb.
“What did you do to David Lewis?”
“What?” Gottlieb replied, the appearance of the gun had increased how terrified Gottlieb was.
“He was in for one day and you tested him with LSD. I was then ordered to follow him to see what he was doing. So what did you do to him?”
“Nothing.” Gottlieb stuttered.
“If you tell me what I want to know I will let you live.”
“Really?” Gottlieb asked hopefully.
“Yes, now tell me what is David doing?”
Gottlieb eyed Will suspiciously.
“Tell me!”
“He is working for Abaddon.”
“Doing what?”
“I don’t know!” Gottlieb pleaded.
Will raised the gun and pointed it at Gottlieb.
“They are trying to get rid of Kennedy!” Gottlieb shouted in panic.
“Are they going to kill him?”
“No, everything that has been going on, like the ship being blown up has been an attempt to destabilise his position.”
“So is Abaddon working with Jacob Cohen?”
“Yes.”
“So what is David doing?” Will asked again.
Gottlieb was silent.
“I swear I will kill you if you don’t tell me.”
“He’s going to kill Martin Luther King.”
“What? Why?”
“They are going to blame Kennedy.” Gottlieb replied.
“Who are?”
“The blacks.”
“Why would they blame Kennedy?
“They’re going to make it look like he planned the hit.”
“How?”
“I don’t know.”
Will raised the gun to Gottlieb’s head.
“I swear I don’t know!” He yelled.
“Well what do you know?”
“I’ve told you.”
“What about Jacob Cohen?”
“You don’t want to get involved with that man.”
“I’m not afraid of him.” Will stated.
“That’s because you’ve never met him.”
“Where is he?”
“Havana.”
“Why?”
“He’s arranging a plot against Castro, but he’s going to betray the Cubans helping him. He has two of your friends with him.”
“Helping him?”
“No he has them held hostage, he’s going to hand them over to Castro once the coup has failed.”
“Jesus, when is the uprising?”
“Sunday.”
“How do I find them?”
“You can’t stop them.”
“How do I find them?” Will repeated.
Gottlieb sighed and glanced at his watch. “My colleague Donald Cameron will be flying down to Havana tonight, aboard a private jet.”
“Why?”
“He is going to hypnotise your friend.”
“To do what?”
“Accept all responsibility for the uprising and state that they were working under Kennedy’s orders.”
“Can you get me on that flight?”
“There’s nothing you can do.”
“You don’t know that! Can you get me on that flight?”
“I could say that you are a bodyguard for his trip.”
“Let’s do it.”
Chapter 70
After the service Bobby managed to get away from David for a minute and approached Annie, the poor woman looked absolutely terrible. She had been one of the few in attendance to have cried. Bobby had almost felt emotional but he had managed to remain composed, Clyde Tolson was inconsolable. J Edgar Hoover was laid to rest in the Congressional Cemetery next to the graves of his parents, and a sister who had died when she was an infant.
As he hobbled towards Annie she nodded her head to acknowledge Bobby.
“How are you feeling Annie?”
“It’s just so terrible, who would have done this?”
“We’ll catch them Annie.”
“I hope you do.”
“How’s your head?”
“It’s sore.”
“Have you remembered anything that could be useful?”
She shook her head. “I never saw him coming.”
Bobby sighed. “We’ve had people out in the area asking the neighbours, no one saw anything. We managed to lift some prints but as of yet there is no match. Will you be okay financially without Hoover?”
“Well I’m certainly not retiring, I’ll find something.”
Bobby nodded his head and smiled politely. “Well if you ever need anything, you know where I am.”
He turned away from Annie and saw Teddy Kennedy standing just down the path, towards the exit of the cemetery speaking to David. He hobbled over to Teddy and David.
“How are you Bobby?” Teddy said.
“Well it was a lovely service.”
David nodded his head in agreement.
“Have we got any leads on Will Carter?” Teddy asked.
“We didn’t have any earlier, we have agents out looking for him.”
“What happened?” David interrupted.
“He abducted Josef Mengele and set him on fire. He’s dead.” Teddy explained.
“Not much of a loss really.” David replied.
“That was actually something I needed to discuss with you Bobby.” Teddy began.
“How do you mean?” Bobby replied.
“We broke the law holding Mengele, we never charged him with any crime. We never told the media of the arrest and he was killed by one of our own.”
“He is not one of our own.” Bobby argued.
“Well regardless you hadn’t spoken to him, so he hasn’t officially been fired. We are letting him go.” Teddy stated.
“I fired him.” David interrupted.
“Yo
u did?” Bobby asked.
“Yes he was following me.”
Bobby blushed.
“Regardless the President and I have discussed it, and we are not going after Will.”
“I can’t believe you.” Bobby replied.
“If the truth got out about how he was held we would be seen to have broken the law. He was a Nazi, no one will miss him.”
“Agreed, but what Will did was disgusting.”
“Mengele deserved what he got. Just focus on Hoover and Jacob Cohen.”
Chapter 71
“It’s a small world after all,
It’s a small, small world.”
There was a brief second of silence before the song started again.
“I can’t take anymore of this. I need to get out Faraday! Turn the fucking music off!”
The stench in the small dark room made Faraday wretch as he sat on the single mattress. They had been locked in the room for bordering on twenty four hours, and they had not even been given a bucket. Both men had used the corner of the room to do the toilet, and in the heat the smell was truly repugnant.
The smell was nothing in comparison to the song that kept repeating. It had been playing nonstop since they were locked in the room and the volume was almost deafening. Faraday rose from the mattress and began pounding on the metal door.
“Let us out! Turn off the music at least!”
Even if there was anyone on the other side, they probably wouldn’t be able to hear him over the sound of the music.
“What are we going to do Faraday! I just want to die, I can’t take anymore of this!” Chase shouted.
“I know but we can’t give up yet, they are trying to make us lose our minds!”
“They have already fucking done it!” Chase yelled back.
Faraday took his seat back on the single mattress and tried desperately to think of anything other than the song. “It’s a small world after all.”
“Fuck off!” Faraday screamed.
Why were they doing this? He was on their side! He was not sure he knew why he was on their side, although to be fair he couldn’t think of anything other than the small world. He glanced over at Chase who had his hands in his ears.
Faraday started to cry. He put his hands in is ears as he did so, it made no difference, the volume was so loud. He looked around the room desperately for something, anything that could be used as a weapon. The only item other than the mattress was the lamp, but without that the smell and the noise would be even more unbearable, it would take away another sense.
