Still watching Merchant picking over his steak salad, Mills could not help but reflect on their history together. The two of them had met many years ago at a New York fundraiser for Rudy Giuliani's failed senate run against Hillary Clinton. The event was at the Waldorf Astoria and they both happened to be sitting at the hotel bar watching a television interview of a local black politician who had sponsored legislation to decriminalize marijuana. As the politician stumbled over his words, Merchant said, “It would be nice if we could understand what the fuck he is trying to say.” He then caught himself and said, “Sorry, I have had too much to drink.”
Mills immediately chimed in. “No need to apologize, my friend. He is probably doing the best he can.” He then extended his hand. “Steve Mills, nice to meet you.”
Smiling, Merchant grabbed Mills hand and said, “Same here. Bill Merchant.”
From that initial meeting, they learned how much they had in common regarding their shared views on the inferiority of ethnic minorities. Mills had been raised in Nassau County, New York by a working class father who had been eased out of his manufacturing job by an incompetent black colleague benefiting from affirmative action. As a result, the Mills family continued to struggle financially. At least that is how Mills’ father saw it. At an early age, Mills had vowed to become financially successful. He was also determined not to be victimized by incompetent minorities.
Merchant, however, was raised in a well-to-do New Haven, Connecticut household. His parents were both college educated. His father owned the most successful insurance company in the state, while his mother taught at Yale. Even though both parents hid their unpopular views on race, their thinking was passed on to their only child. Merchant grew up believing in the inherent intellectual superiority of white people.
Merchant also introduced Mills to The Turner Diaries, a book depicting a violent revolution in the United States which leads to the overthrow of the federal government, nuclear war, and, ultimately, a race war. In the book, all groups opposed by white supremacists, such as Jews, gays, and non-whites, are exterminated. The Turner Diaries is the Bible of the white supremacist movement.
Before long, Mills and Merchant secretly explored ways in which they could support a white supremacy movement. Initially, they covertly funded hate groups in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and the Dakotas. They soon settled on the fact that indirect, clandestine social disruption activities were far more effective than the aggressively violent actions employed by hate groups. They began to feel out rich friends on the far right to see if others shared their views. Though years in the making, their efforts were on the verge of yielding results far beyond their initial expectations. Mills knew that his overexcitement threatened to destroy all that they had built over the years.
“Look Bill, I fucked up. And I cannot overstate how appreciative I am of our friendship and your support. But our cause is too strong for us to turn back now. I promise you, we will claw our way back from all of this. I am leaning hard on Livermore. He thinks he has a new solid lead. Let's stay connected. That is the only way we can make it through, Bill.”
Merchant bit his bottom lip and nodded. “Yes, we must stick together. I will try to keep the others at bay, but there will be a face-to-face soon. I hope to God this is all done before that meeting.”
“Me too,” Mills said. “Me too.”
__________
Jackson did not know how long he had been asleep when he awoke with a start. He must have jumped up as soon as he heard Ronnie come in through the back door. As Ronnie sauntered in, Jackson was rubbing his eyes. “I was hoping you were able to fall asleep. Good for you. Even better that my coming through the door woke you up, because I was quiet coming in. It shows that your sense are still on full alert. You're gonna need that. You still with me, buddy?”
Ronnie could tell that Jackson was still reeling from the trauma of the last several hours. Ronnie knew the look well, having seen it on fellow troops in combat and even on the faces of some of the best black op agents he had ever seen in the field. We all bleed, Ronnie thought.
“Yeah, I am getting there, Ronnie. Was having a cup of coffee - thanks, by the way - and then turned on the televisions. It made me feel sick, so I didn’t watch long. I pulled out your article and fell asleep while reading it.” He was glancing at Ronnie's fishing attire, rounded out by a fishing hat with hooks in it.
“I figured you would turn on the TV. You needed to see what is out there. Sorry, I was gone longer than I thought. There was another boat of fishermen on the river. Had to play it out. Any thoughts on the article?”
Jackson smiled a little before answering. It came back to him how much Ronnie liked word games and puzzle solving. Even with his penchant for the grassroots side of the military, Ronnie was stimulated by strategy. Jackson remembered how much Ronnie used to drill his son, Ronnie, Jr. with mind games. Rose always thought Ronnie pushed Ronnie, Jr. too hard. Of course, that did not change Ronnie's approach one bit.
“I read most of it. Ended up dreaming about it. It says a lot about where we are that rich people are so fearful of the masses losing control that they are now building these secret underground bunkers. It seems like with the money all of them are making, they could easily join together and put policies in place to help level the playing field more. But they want to run and still be exclusive while doing so. Reading it reminded me of those zombie movies. It is hard to believe that we have gotten to this place. Why did you want me to read it, Ronnie?”
By now, Ronnie had taken off his coat, gotten his coffee and sat in one of the side chairs while Jackson was still lying prone on the sofa, leaning back on his hands held together by his crossed fingers.
“Jack, when I saw you on that screen, I knew you had stumbled into something beyond your wildest imagination, even with your experience as a federal prosecutor. A lot has happened in the years since we’ve talked, my friend. The article is right about our system creating this unhealthy tension between the elites and the rest of the population. But what the article did not point out are two things that I am sure the author didn't get. One, there are probably ten, maybe twenty times as many bunkers out here than he thinks and those bunkers were not built by zillionaires. Not at all. They have been built by people like me. Law enforcement, military, and espionage types who see another tension that could be worse than that between rich and poor.”
“What tension is that, Ronnie?” asked Jackson, now fully interested.
“The tension between the people and the government, not over the economy, but the government's potential to start ruling with an iron fist. We rail about Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Castro, and Kim Jong-un in North Korea. We say it could never happen to us. Well, for those of us who have seen how these things start and ultimately end in other countries, we look at the old US of A and say, 'wait, I have been in this movie'. That is why more and more of us are taking our precautions. At its core, survivalism is about preparing for the breakdown of society. While I did not believe it to be possible years ago, it could happen Jack, sooner than we think.”
Jackson was taking a lot in. “Okay, let's say that premise is true. How does that relate to Amy? How does it relate to my situation?”
Ronnie put his coffee down and leaned forward putting his forearms on his knees. “This is it, Jack. Whatever led these guys to kill the daughter of our next possible president and drag a respected former prosecutor through the mud is big beyond belief. Whatever it is, it must have the potential impact to help destabilize all of our systems. The chaos created by that instability is what leads to another Hitler or Kim Jong-un. I know it without knowing anything more than what I have seen on the networks. As soon as I got the gist of what was happening, I sent Rose and Ronnie to our bunker.” Ronnie then lifted his hands spreading them wide. “This here is just a secure hideaway. Not a bunker for the long term. Like those mentioned in the article, we have a bunker that is fully sustainable for years, if need be.”
Jac
kson was slowly shaking his head. “How do Rose and Ronnie, Jr. feel about this?”
“They understand. Hell,” he laughs out loud. “They live with me! Truth is, I told them this is just temporary. We all were praying that you would call me and then make it here. Rose always liked you, Jack. She said, 'I trust Jackson to do the right thing while you both save us from whatever this madness is'. That's high praise, my brother.”
Rose's words warmed Jackson. Jackson's ex wife, Pam and Ronnie were first cousins. Both of their parents were born and raised in Marietta. When Jackson first got married, they spent a lot of time going back and forth from D.C. to Ohio. They spent a lot of time with Ronnie and Rose. That was a good time period for Jackson.
“Yes, it is, Ronnie.” Jackson now stood up, still processing all that Ronnie had said. Factoring all that he knew, which Ronnie did not, made everything Ronnie had just said pretty remarkable and scary.
Ronnie was not finished. “There is one other thing that sealed my thinking, Jack.”
Curious, Jackson asked, “What was that?”
“Remember my undercover days in Montana? Well, I was getting closer and closer to the real food chain, I heard some of the local leaders talk about the money folks. The name Steve Bills came up a few times. When the bust went down, we sent a bunch to jail, but that white nationalist crowd is a pretty loyal, close-mouthed bunch. We could never find a Bills or Bill or even Stevens that made sense. We ended up thinking it was some code name. When the first report came out about Amy Duncan, the news said that the senator and his wife were hosting a dinner at their home with guests Steve Mills and Bill Merchant. In the statement from the senator's office, which was read on all the stations, Duncan and his wife thanked 'Steve and Bill for their understanding and support during this troubled time'. Then, it really hit me. All this time, our Montana team had been thinking about one main money guy, that was our focus. What if Steve Bill was Steve and Bill, two high powered, wealthy Republican donors who were angling to improve their influence? Jack, I do not believe in coincidences. I need to know more about these guys. It feels like there is something to this.”
Inside, Jackson was marveling at his friend's sense of intuition. Jackson was also feeding off of Ronnie's sense of purpose. He could feel himself moving from a place of grief to a place of action.
“All I can say is that all of your instincts are dead on, Ronnie. Now, it's my turn. Let me tell you all that I know. Then, let's do what Rose expects us to do and fight this madness.” Jackson then preceded to tell him everything. From the very beginning.
__________
After getting the needed information, the bird drone returned to the two men in the fishing boat on the Ohio River. The men who had been fishing within fifty yards of Ronnie Thomas.
While at first glance they looked like a father and son, Dick Strother and Russ McNair were actually two of the best clandestine operatives in the country. When it became clear that Jackson had lasted through the night, with no leads from the Livermore led team, Steve Mills and Bill Merchant's co-conspirators decided that enough was enough and they independently secured the best. The fact that they did so without the knowledge of Mills and Merchant spoke volumes.
Prior to last night's debacle, major doubts existed about the competency of Livermore and his team. But to allow an untrained, black college professor go undetected for twelve hours, without any clues as to his whereabouts, was the last straw.
Within an hour of being hired by Roger Tyler, Strother and McNair had dispatched five active teams to surveil folks from Jackson's past, like his former college roommate who had been a navy seal, and the prosecutor who was part of Jackson's orientation class at the U.S. Attorney's office who later became an active CIA field agent in Romania. But more importantly, the most obvious target of all was Jackson's ex-wife's first cousin, Ronnie Thomas, the former Marine and black ops expert--a force to be reckoned with in his own right. For Livermore to not even know about Thomas was unforgivable and was a direct indictment against the leadership of Mills and Merchant.
That morning, the new contractors caught up with Thomas as he was pulling his Ford truck into his favorite fishing dock on the Ohio River. While the occupants in both boats faked their interest in fishing, a satellite was set in place to lock in on and monitor Thomas.
Once the satellite was in place, Strother and McNair pulled anchor and left the area - but only so far. The bird drone they controlled via smartphone hovered until Ronnie pulled ashore on the West Virginia side of the Ohio. From there, the drone video captured Ronnie's trek through the woods, as well as his uncovering of his hideaway. Once Ronnie was secure inside, Dick Strother uttered his first word of the day, “Bingo!”
__________
Steve Mills has always had a problem with Roger Tyler. Actually, more than one. Sure, the man has connections.
What Hampton-Powell chairman wouldn't? But the man is a bit self-righteous, if not just plain arrogant. Mills has always thought that was an all too common trait found in people who come from money, a luxury Mills did not have. Mills had to work for everything he ever got and no one handed him anything.
To those who know them both, the biggest contrast between the two men was stylistic. Mills wanted to be in charge, anyone around him could tell that. Tyler was the type that would be in charge with no one knowing that he was.
Needless to say, Mills did not smile when he saw that Tyler was calling him.
“Hello, Roger,” Mills said, devoid of emotion.
“Hi, Steve. I am sorry for all you have been through the last several hours,” he said.
“Thanks. We think we are close to getting things back on track. We got a lead that the man we are looking for may have been dropped off at a suburban Maryland metro station. Liver....” Tyler cut him off.
“Sorry to interrupt, Steve, but Livermore is incompetent. We can talk more about that later, but I took the liberty of securing a contractor to help us out.”
Mills was livid. He really wanted to give Tyler a piece of his mind. He held his tongue largely because he knew that his own carelessness had led to the mess.
“Well, that may be been a bit rash, Roger. This new lead has reliability written all over it.”
Roger Tyler sighed. That self-righteous, arrogant sigh that Mills hates.
“Steve, that lead means nothing. Our contractor has been on the job just a couple hours and thinks he knows where our guy is. We can talk about all of this in detail later. In fact, we all need to meet. In the meantime, tell Livermore to stand down for now. The contractor will come to see him, so that we all can get integrated. For now, the contractor is in charge.”
Mills wanted to push back, but was stunned when Tyler said that the contractor had already found Lowery. If that is true, Livermore has some answering to do.
He asked, “Is the contractor who I think it is?”
“The very same, Steve. He is expensive, but he gets the job done.”
“Fine, Roger. I will let Livermore know. Hopefully, this will all be stabilized soon.”
“That is my hope as well, Steve. It truly is. Oh, before I forgot, there is one more important thing. We are no longer looking to damage the target's reputation. We are now well beyond that.” he hesitated.
Mills hesitated as well. For once, however, he found total agreement with Tyler's way of thinking.
“Good,” Mills replied. “No loose ends.”
“Agreed, Steve.” Tyler said.
__________
Ronnie had listened patiently as Jackson told his story. While Jackson was talking, Ronnie did take the time to whip up some eggs and fried potatoes, southern style. Ronnie also heated up some honey and biscuits. It was all washed down with two bottled waters each and a fresh pot of coffee. Ronnie had made sure to flip a couple of switches to vent the air and minimize the smell from the food. The two friends sat at the table and enjoyed their meal when Ronnie finally commented on all that Jackson had said.<
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“Well, of course, as you know, it all fits, Jack. I am sorry about Amy. She sounded special,” he said sincerely.
“Thanks, Ronnie. She was, though I really did not know her very well. Funny, we both obviously had this attraction for each other for some time, but, as usual, I was stuck in my head.”
“For good reason,” Ronnie said. “It is not a good practice to fraternize with your students.”
“No, I get that. And I agree. I guess what I am saying, Ronnie, is that I really liked her.” Jackson was looking to change the subject. He had been, after all, married to Ronnie's first cousin.
“I know, man. And again, I am sorry. Right now, we need to do two things. First, we need to decide if we go on offense or defense. I can tell you right now, that going on offense puts both of us more at risk, but probably paints a straighter line to the truth.”
“Is that even a question? I pick offense. So that's two votes,” he said with a smile.
Ronnie smiled back. “Okay. I will come back to that. The second thing is that we really need to talk through the meaning behind what Amy heard. How do you exterminate or severely cripple an entire generation of black and brown folks? We need to talk about how who is in the White House could impact on all of that.”
“I know. I was thinking about it a lot while driving here.” He then told Ronnie about his who, what, when, where, why, and how approach to investigating cases while practicing law. “But let's take a step back. Let's not think in terms of eliminating a 'certain' group of people. Maybe we should start by discussing generally how you eliminate wholesale amounts of people, period, irrespective of race.”
Ronnie scratched his head. Jackson's point resonated with him. “Gotcha, Jack, I see where you are coming from. Let's go backwards from there. List the ways.”
“A virus? Disease? Contaminated food, air, water?”
Ronnie chimed in. “Some form of weaponry? Poisonous gas? Fires? It has to be one of these things.”
The Plan (The Jackson Lowery Trilogy Book 1) Page 7
