Molon Labe!

by Boston T. Party

  The tech nods in agreement. "Hmmm, that makes sense. Hey, you know I once testified in Gray's court about five years ago? Seemed like a high-handed ass to me. Was a real bulldog for Justice, I heard. Hated anti-government types. I saw him send a guy away for three years — just some average Joe who had an AR15 with an M16 hammer and didn't know it."

  Almond frowns with recollection. "Oh, right! What a shitty deal."

  "Yeah, lost his business. Wife left him. Everyone but ATF and IRS thought it was pretty fucked. Hell, F-Troop4 probably switched the parts."

  "Wouldn't be the first time," Almond snorts.

  Lou is suddenly animated. "Oh, shit! — remember that cancer woman who grew pot for the nausea? The one who died in FPC? Geez, what a flap that caused! That was Gray, too. Hey, you think this could be another KK? The prick was a perfect candidate, you know."

  KK was Bureau slang for "Krassny Krime." Some waggish agent in the WFO came up with the acronym and it stuck.

  Almond had been wondering the same thing since he first arrived. Is this KK34? He decides to be noncommittal. "Too early to tell. We'll look into any threats made on Gray."

  "Yeah, and I'll bet you find a bunch, too. The guy was unloved, even for a federal judge."

  Special Agent Almond has a bad feeling about the case. Somehow he senses — knows, even — that Jonathan Douglas Gray is probably very, very dead, and will likely never, never be found.

  He's done what he can for the evening. "OK, thanks, Lou. Good work. Let's call it a night here. We'll keep the park cordoned off and interview any joggers who show up tomorrow morning. Maybe they saw or heard some-thing. I'm going back to the office to see if there were any morning NCIC requests on any vehicles which could be our man's. Maybe a clean, white OldsmoBuick got stopped for speeding or something."

  Lou is skeptical. "Yeah . . . maybe."

  "Hey, they caught the Son of Sam through a parking ticket."

  "True. I'll call if I come up with anything more, but I'm not hopeful. I'll do some impression tests around dawn to get a better estimate of the guy's weight at the same soil temperature. Gray weighed 165 according to his DL, so I may be able to narrow the abductor's weight to within 20 or 30 pounds. And, we may find some trace evidence during the day — when we can see."

  "Right. Talk to you in the morning. Tomorrow I'll look for any security cameras between here and the highway. That's paid off before."

  Lou grins. "Big Brother is watching. Hey, speaking of which, you got flags on all his credit cards?"

  "Yeah, but I doubt anything'll hook. Wallet was found on his dresser intact. No credit cards missing. You dusted the place and came up with nada. I'm sure the guy never entered the residence."

  "Yeah. Got his package in the park and hauled ass."

  "Yep, that's about it. Grab-n-go."

  "Oh, well. We'll keep at it. We could get lucky, you know. You find Gray and the guy who took him, you're senior ASAC for sure. Then you can finally get a Bucar and leave your crappy POV at home."

  Almond grins. "Gee, thanks. Then I'll get to be your boss someday. Were you planning on a lengthy career with the Bureau?"

  2009 USA political news

  There are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.

  — James Madison

  To say that a government that serves the people is allowed to disarm the people is a simple contradiction in terms and a legal impossibility.

  — Donald M. Smith

  On the 75th anniversary of the National Firearms Act of 1934, Congress passes the Assault Weapons Registration Act of 2009 which declares all "assault weapons" to be "destructive devices" under the NFA34. Those owners (who had already complied with DWA 2007 ) unwilling or unable to meet the registration criteria and pay the now $1,000 tax must surrender their weapons within 90 days. Companies selling gun parts and accessories are raided for their customer lists. Many firms (having been tipped off by sympathetic cops) shred their hard drives beforehand, thwarting the raids. Dozens of ATF raids on gunowners result in bloody shootouts.

  Vice President Wiedermann is investigated for income tax fraud.

  After wisely waiting until after its hosting of the 2008 Olympics, China goads Taiwan into declaring independence and then invades the "renegade province." The Western nations pout furiously, just as they did in response to Hitler during the 1930s.

  2009 USA privacy news

  It will soon be possible to assert almost continuous control over every citizen and to maintain up-to-date files containing even the most personal details about health and personal behavior of every citizen, in addition to the more customary data. These files will be subject to instantaneous retrieval by the authorities. Power will gravitate into the hands of those who control information.

  — Zbigniew Brzezinski, "The Technotronic Era"

  Since the encryption cat was long out of the bag, Congress copied the British Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act of 2000 (R.I.P.) which allows the courts to demand from defendants (at the threat of contempt of court for noncompliance) their encryption passphrases. In response to Americans destroying their hard drive encryption keys before seizure, Congress passes CALEA III which makes a federal felony of failure to willfully provide functioning keys and passphrases pursuant to a court order. Although this is in direct conflict with 5th Amendment protection against compelled self-testimony, the ACLU and other alleged civil liberty organizations are curiously muted in their opposition to CALEA III. Burden of proof for willfulness is now on the defendant, just as in Britain. Britain never had a pesky 5th Amendment, and now neither does America.

  CALEA III also requires in every new vehicle RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) VIN chips, which are trackable by satellite.

  A police state is a small price to pay for living in the freest country on earth!

  — C. Montgomery Burns

  2009 USA economic news

  The OPEC nations, including Russia, formally adopt the Euro as their account currency — dumping the U.S. dollar. Since nearly two-thirds of all U.S. dollars are circulated overseas (giving the US Government interest-free credit), these former Eurodollars have no choice but to "come home," thus wrecking the price/goods equilibrium.

  People rush into gold, which rockets to $2,278/ounce. All other commodities rise sharply. The Dow falls to 3,721. Annual inflation is 21%.

  Washington,D.C. FBIHQ

  July 2009

  The FBI is comprised of Divisions, which have Sections, which have Units. Divisions are headed by Assistant Directors (ADs), Sections by Deputy Assistant Directors (DADs), and Units by Chiefs.

  The Assistant Director of the Criminal Investigations Division (CID) heads up the Bureau's most important division, with 70% of its agents. He had called a meeting of his Section Deputy Assistant Directors to discuss the KKs for his briefing of the Director and the rest of the FBI brass before they leave for vacation in August. Present are the DADs of General Crimes (GC), Counter-Terrorism (CT), Terrorism Section (TS), and the Chief of Terrorist Research and Analysis Center (TRAC), a Unit of TS.

  Also in attendance is the Chief of the Special Operations and Research Unit (SOARU) from the FBI National Academy, a unit which began as the Terrorist Research and Management Staff under chain-smoking, ex-Marine Conrad "Connie" Hassel. The unit, informally known as "the wild bunch," originally had to make do in the basement — between the gun-cleaning room and Hoover's old fallout shelter. SOARU, a sort of SWAT think-tank, is known for its superb CT-planning and support.

  The Homeland Security liaison was also present.

  The Assistant Director's 7th floor office has a panoramic view of Pennsylvania Avenue and the Mall, although the optical quality of several inches of bulletproof glass is less than crystal-clear. It is a typically muggy July day. He begins the meeting by asking the TRAC Chief, "Have you uncovered any organization, any links?"

  "No, sir. Harold Kras
sny acted alone — just as he wrote in his suicide note — and had no accomplices. The copycat murders and abductions against VIPs are apparently being committed by lone, sporadic perpetrators, all UN-SUBs5. It's like a multi-headed serial killer. Their only link so far seems to be Krassny's publicized idea. It's the Bureau's worst nightmare: a solitary crazed individual who, by his warped example, foments a string of action by like individuals, none of whom know each other. If a single-person 'cell' can conceive, plot, and execute a deadly crime, leaving little or no evidence, and then manage not to brag about it to a friend or bartender, then there is less than a 2% chance of his apprehension. Such a perpetrator has only 1 in 63 odds of capture. This is not widely known by the public."

  The AD nods. "And let's keep it that way. Disclosure would only encourage the unstable. Go on."

  "Since the victims are particularly chosen by their assailants for purposes of retribution, we have been analyzing any threatening correspondence, emails, and letters to newspaper editors. The smart perps, however, would never have threatened their targets or complained in a public forum."

  To the DAD of Terrorism Section, the AD asks, "Who have we identified as potentially at risk?"

  "Based on the characteristics of the thirty-nine victims so far, we've constructed a list of VIPs whom we believe are at heightened risk. Predictably, it reads like a Who's Who. The list includes virtually everyone of any prominence in the Democratic National Party, liberal Republicans, TV and film production, media, and radical environmental organizations. At the top of the list are those who have what Krassnyites would consider extremely liberal credentials. Since eight of the victims were, or had been, federal judges, we've paid close attention to the judiciary. Judges and U.S. Attorneys who've been involved in controversial tax and gun cases, as well as everyone involved with Ruby Ridge and Waco, have all been notified to take precautions. Many of them have hired armed security. As you know, the Bureau has offered anyone on the risk list firearms training at Quantico."

  "Any takers?" the AD asks, mostly out of general curiosity.

  "Yes, sir. Several, however the shooting instructors tell me that judges are even worse students than doctors. Their God-complex inhibits learning and subordination."

  Several in the room chuckle at this.

  "Did Judge Gray go through the course? He was a friend of mine, you know," the AD says.

  "No, sir, he declined the course. Said he wouldn't live in fear."

  "A pity. He might have had a chance in that park. Any progress in his investigation? Any ransom note?"

  The DAD of Terrorism Section answers, "No, sir, no note. No progress. It's gone completely stale these past five months. No witnesses, no video evidence, and no useful forensic evidence. We fear that Judge Gray is probably dead. At this point, the only leads we'll likely get are when we find his body, which may be never. The case agents are not optimistic — sorry."

  The AD is solemn, pensive.

  The Deputy Assistant Director of Counter-Terrorism speaks up. "Sir, we think we may have learned something interesting."

  "Yes? Go on, Cliff," says the AD.

  "Although the phenomenon originated from the right-wing, the eco-extremists and corporate-bashers seem to be chiming in. It's surprising to see that both sides have many common enemies, such as those in international banking and multinational corporations benefitting from GATT and NAFTA.We recommend expanding the general investigation to suspected left-wing domestic terrorists. We could see some proactive success there."

  The AD comments, "Good idea, Cliff. Go with it. You know, I'm still amazed that this whole thing hasn't broken in the news."

  "I don't think they'd ever touch it, sir. Remember that guy in Washington state back in 1995 who posted that Internet essay 'Assassination Politics'? It described the idea of awarding anonymous cash prizes to those who 'predicted' the death of government employees who violated the Bill of Rights. It was nothing less than a call for a wave of assassinations. The media barely reported it."

  The DAD of Terrorism Section retorts, "You're comparing fruits to nuts, Cliff. James Dalton Bell was nipped in the bud. IRS took him down two years later. Bell was a crackpot, but Krassny was a successful crackpot who got away with two murders and has so far engendered nearly two-dozen copy-cat crimes that we know of. The only thing that will prevent this story from breaking is if we persuade the TV execs that they are personally at risk from the Krassnyites, and that publicizing their successes will only embolden them. The KK perps are Internet savvy, and so far it's only an Internet locus of origin. That works to our favor because it's a community and it can be tracked. Even in 2009 over half the American public does not surf the Net, thank God. Broadcast stories on network TV about abducted and murdered VIPs — and the Bureau's inability to do anything about it — and this thing would go from epidemic to pandemic. Instead of 39 cases, how about 1,039? It'd turn into a shooting gallery. We'd never catch up. Remember the D.C. sniper back in 2002? We all worked on that for weeks; everything else was back-burnered. This Krassny thing breaks on national TV and the entire Bureau will be slammed with new cases. Sir, I recommend that we ask for a media blackout under USA PATRIOT Act II."

  "I understand your feelings, Fred, but the Director will deal with that when the time comes," the AD replies. "Now, who can tell me more about the kidnappings?"

  The DAD of General Crimes is heard for the first time. "The abductions are causing the most concern amongst case agents. From an investigative standpoint, finding bodies would be preferable. And, the victims' families would have closure. But when a former Deputy Commerce Secretary simply vanishes with no warning or ransom note, we must establish that he didn't merely run off with his mistress. Before that, we must first establish if he even had a mistress to run off with. Inexplicable disappearances cost us nearly a week of time interviewing family and acquaintances, and analyzing phone and email records, airline reservation and credit-card data, security-camera tapes, and so forth.

  "Then, once we've established that he is not willfully missing, we must then rule out the possibility of a solitary accident. Did he drive into a ravine? Have a boating accident? Get lost hiking in the Rockies and fall down a mine-shaft? All of these possibilities must be eliminated before we can finally conclude foul play, and even then we're never really quite certain until we get a break. So, by not leaving a body the perpetrators automatically gain a week head start."

  "It's like we get hit with a seven-day handicap right from the beginning," the AD observes.

  "Exactly, sir. And after a week, any clues they might have left are likely stale, contaminated, or destroyed."

  "Have any bodies of the abductees been discovered?" asks the AD. "No, sir. Of the twenty-three we have classified as likely Krassnyite victims, only six were found at the crime scene. None of the other seventeen have so far been found. We do, however, expect some of them to start turning up. It is quite tedious and time-consuming to totally dispose of a body, especially without witnesses. Short of incineration or chemical decomposition through acids or alkalies, human remains have a stubborn habit of surfacing. Hunters and hikers are constantly discovering buried remains. We believe that the perpetrators are inexperienced, even though they have so far managed to avoid apprehension. As amateurs, they are bound to have made some errors, so it's just a matter of time before we get forensic leads. From there we may get DNA, tire tracks, fingerprints, cigarette-butts, witnesses, security-camera evidence, etc.

  "At the moment, however, we see no breakthroughs on the horizon, and five of these cases are over four months old. The agents must move on to fresher cases after that much time."

  The AD nods. He had been a Philadelphia Special Agent and SAC, and well understood case work. "What about the six murders?"

  "We may soon have a break there. Four of the murders have similar MOs, suggesting two serial actors. One pair were stabbed; the other shot. Analysis of ballistic evidence looks promising. Spent shell cases were found at both crime scenes. An id
entical H&K .45 USP was used. We're comparing the cases to our database6. If the handgun was made after 2000 and if it hasn't been stolen or altered, we should be able to identify the owner through NICS7 data. We're cautiously optimistic on this."

  "Glad to hear that. What about the stabbing victims? Any success there?" asks the AD.

  "Not yet, sir. But unless lots of hydrogen peroxide is used it is very difficult to totally remove all blood residue from surfaces, and we'll likely be able to tie the knife to the two victims once we locate their assailant. His knife won't help us catch him, but it will help us convict him."

  The AD says, "OK, what about backtracking this whole thing? Working from the point of contagion, so to speak. We know that Krassny posted his deeds on the Internet via several dozen websites, chat rooms, and forums. What about traffic analysis of log-ons? We learn of these people the same way they learned of Krassny. That'd give us an initial lead base to work with."

  The Counter-Terrorism DAD picks up the baton. "Yes, sir, we're already on it. Many of those sites are visited through secondary browsers, such as anonymizer.com. This muddies the trail considerably. What has been more profitable is to DCS1000 search for all emails which contained URL links to Krassny posts. Let's say that Smith originally happens upon such a post. Though he declines Krassny's example, he forwards the link to Jones, who is made of more volatile stuff. And Jones to Brown, and so forth.

  "We are concentrating on individuals who sent and/or received the most number of Krassny posts. From there, we compare them to rosters of known hate criminals, militia members, illegal tax protestors, sovereign citizen types, patriot agitators, etc. Within this list, we focus on males under 35 and those over 60, meaning males likely without families. Given the intellectual and physical demands of committing these crimes, we tend to dismiss the very young and the very old, such as under 25 and over 70."