Daniel sat in silence, staring at the handcuff around his right wrist. After his recent encounter with Demérs and Horchoff, Harvell’s story made sense.
“So how did Gordon end up with a different last name? And how did they manage to fool Richfield? And how did Gordon Demérs end up the leader of the…you called it the Birthright?”
“I think…” Harvell paused for a breath as he stood up from his chair, “…we should start at the beginning. How much do you know about who you’re fighting?”
Daniel stared blankly at the closed door in front of him as he pondered for a moment. “I guess I never really considered myself as fighting anyone. I was trying to stop Gordon Demérs, who I understand works for a group of extremely rich people who believe they are entitled to rule the country.”
Harvell bobbed his head up and down as he paced around the opposite side of the table from Daniel. The story clearly went a lot deeper than that.
“The group of rich people you are referring to calls themselves ‘The Birthright of the Elite,’” Harvell explained.
Daniel perked up at the sound of the last word in that sentence, which rang in his ears like a gong.
“We’ll get to that later,” Harvell told Daniel, noticing his reaction.
Eva Stoned sat silently, her eyes occasionally moving from a fixed spot on the table up to Daniel, and then back down to the table again.
Harvell continued his narrative. “The Birthright was formed just after the colonists defeated the British in the American Revolution. Believe it or not, not everyone who lived in the colonies wished to be independent from the British Empire, and that was especially true for a group of British nobles who had moved to the colonies seeking a position of power. In Britain they had been just minor nobles—though still given preferential treatment over any commoners—but in the colonies they were considered the elite. There was no class higher than their own.
“Throughout the period leading up to the revolution and the revolution itself, these nobles had chosen to lay low. They expected, like many, that the colonies had no chance of winning their independence, and decided rather than openly oppose their subjects, they would help the British military discretely, and then reclaim their positions of power when the dust had settled, all the while lending a false sympathetic shoulder to those colonists who had gone up against the greatest military power in the world and paid dearly for it.”
Harvell took a moment to lubricate his throat, and Daniel leaned forward on his forearms. He found early American history fascinating, especially when it involved secrets that had never been revealed to the public.
Harvell continued, “As we know history took a different course, and the American colonists defeated the British, claiming their independence from a monarchist government. Naturally the British nobles still in the colonies did not appreciate this, and began plotting their revenge. They still believed the Americans would fail—that their new elected government would collapse beneath them and when it did they would be ready to pounce.
“And they were almost right. They early government under the Articles of Confederation did fail, but our founding fathers were more resilient than the British nobles could ever have imagined. After the establishment of our current constitution the nobles began to realize that if things were to reverse back to the way they were, they would need to take matters into their own hands, and so the official organization of the Birthright of the Elite was formed in secret.
“But as we’ve learned already, the Birthright continually underestimated the early Americans, and the congress soon learned of the Birthright’s intention to overthrow our freedoms. They therefore created a secret task force to thwart their every attempt to reclaim power.”
“I take it that’s you guys,” Daniel interjected.
“This was an earlier version of our current task force, yes,” Harvell affirmed. “The group assigned to monitor and prohibit the activity of the Birthright has served under the umbrella of a number of organizations throughout history, and as far as we know it has never itself carried a specific title with it.”
“As far as you know?” Daniel inquired.
“The task force was so secretive in its early stages that even we don’t know all of the details,” Harvell responded. “Though it is believed that the earliest group may have been associated with the Free Masons.”
Daniel’s jaw dropped. “Illuminati?” He asked with excitement. Had one of the greatest secrets in history just been revealed to him?
“Possibly,” Harvell replied hesitantly, “but doubtful. Though some of the myth and mystery surrounding the secretive nature of the early Masons did probably have something to do with the opposition of the Birthright.”
“And now you’re a part of the FBI,” Daniel concluded on his own.
Harvell gave a single nod before continuing, “J. Edgar Hoover was one of the leaders of the opposition, and when he established a federal police force it seemed only natural that the opposition operate under its umbrella. We operate as an independent organization but we carry the badge and titles of the FBI. Only the president, a few close members of his cabinet, and the chief Director know of our existence.”
“Why keep it such a secret?” Daniel asked, accepting of all the information Director Harvell had laid out for him. After everything that had happened to him there was no reason not to believe the director.
“In the hundreds of years since their formation the Birthright has managed to infiltrate just about every corporate and government organization,” Harvell explained. “They are everywhere, and although we can usually sniff out the top brass, it is impossible to know just who we can trust. Therefore we must go to extreme lengths to keep the identities of our operatives a secret.
“After a while it no longer became about bloodlines and British nobility. Eventually the Birthright began to target all of those who had achieved a social status that they deemed acceptable. In time it became a radical movement devoted to transferring power to a ‘higher class’ of people regardless of family history. If the Birthright considers you useful in helping them to achieve their overall goal they were will bring you in. There are now members of the Birthright in Congress and every major police force across the country. The threat of attack is now more imminent than ever, and you and Gordon Demérs are the center of attention for both sides.”
Daniel sighed, remembering Demérs’ proposal back at the mansion. He had signed up to be a protector of the wealthy, and now he knew he was nothing more than a pawn in their war against the U.S. government.
“But of course the pendulum swings both ways. There have also been some who have defected to our side,” Harvell added, glancing down at Eva as he finished his statement.
Daniel raised an eyebrow at the female agent.
“It was actually my grandfather who left the birthright,” she explained. “Our family lineage was of noble blood—the Duke of York. For nearly two-hundred years they were with the Birthright, but when my grandfather was drafted in World War Two, he saw the destruction Hitler had caused, all in the name of the ‘Arian Race,’ and it terrified him. As he fought alongside soldiers who believed that their family’s freedom was worth dying for, he further realized that the Birthright had it all wrong, and that democracy was a just and worthy cause, and he understood why the colonists had risked so much to achieve it. When he returned home he denounced the Birthright, and though it cost him his life, our family knows the value of freedom and will fight to protect it every day of our lives.”
Eva looked as though she might say more but was halted by her emotions for her grandfather attempting to surface themselves.
Daniel felt a wave of emotion wash over himself following her story. Her grandfather seemed like a great and genuinely noble man, unlike his counterparts in the Birthright.
Daniel began thinking aloud. “So the Nazis and other governments, groups, and regimes that share similar interests, they aren’t related to this Birthright?”
&nbs
p; “Not directly, no,” Harvell answered. “But many of them do find a welcome home when they flee to the United States. That’s where our Doctor Horchoff comes into the story.”
Daniel glanced up at the director, urging him to go on.
“Doctor Horchoff’s father was a Nazi scientist. It was his duty to find a scientific way to manufacture the perfect human—a representative of the Arian Race. This isn’t too surprising given Horchoff’s obsession with the same subject, and we believe his father—Gordon Demérs’ grandfather—may have had something to do with Demérs’ mutation at birth.
“Regardless, when the Nazi Regime fell, Gustav Horchoff defected to the United States. A member of the Birthright who was working for U.S. intelligence at the time identified Horchoff’s presence in the country and approached him, asking him to go to work for the Birthright. Having been a strong believer in the overall mission of the Nazi Regime, Gustav Horchoff immediately jumped at the opportunity.
“Joseph Horchoff is later born, brainwashed by his father to believe in the mission of the Birthright, and later Joseph and his wife Elena welcome into the world a son, named Gustav after his grandfather, who they would later discover has the unique ability to control the parts of his brain that to other humans is inaccessible to the conscious mind. When the birthright gets ahold of this they take young Gustav Horchoff and change his name to Gordon Demérs to try and hide him from the opposition. They then groom him to be their savior and lead them into salvation when the time comes.”
“And I take it the time has come,” Daniel interrupted.
“You, sitting here right now, signifies that it has,” Harvell concurred.
“Now Demérs has the knowledge he needs to create more of me, and lead an army of super soldiers against the U.S. government,” Daniel pieced together.
“Not necessarily,” Eva corrected.
Daniel looked up at her with a questioning glance.
“You are proof that it can be done, yes,” Harvell told Daniel, building on Eva’s statement. “But you are merely the first success in a long line of test subjects.”
“Wait!” Daniel shouted, stopping Harvell in his tracks both physically and verbally. “Richfield told me that I was the first one.”
Harvell sat back down in his chair and began to rub his nose between his thumb and forefinger.
“Haven’t you learned by now that you can’t believe a word Chuck Richfield says?” He asked Daniel.
“Why?” Daniel demanded, already knowing the answer but wanting to hear it come out of Harvell’s mouth.
“Because he is one of the highest ranking members of the birthright,” Harvell admitted softly. “He is currently in a turf war with Gordon Demérs for the top spot in the organization. For a long time Richfield was the guardian of the Birthright, creating a security force of outstanding individuals who would protect the members of the Birthright from any and all threats. Now Gordon Demérs is threatening to take Richfield’s position at the top of the organization. The two have been fighting among themselves for over almost a decade now.”
Daniel threw his head back in disgust. He had never felt so stupid in his entire life. Even after learning he had been played he discovered he was being played again. When would he learn?
“That’s why they wanted me. That’s why they chose someone who would be motivated to take out Gordon Demérs once they had the ability to do so,” Daniel uttered.
“You think you’re the only person who wants Gordon Demérs dead?” Harvell asked in revolting surprise. “The man had taken over unofficial leadership of an organization based on arrogance and self-entitlement. Richfield had Horchoff tried the procedure on a dozen or so members of the Birthright who were on his side, all with no success.”
“What happened to them?” Daniel asked, afraid to know the answer.
“From the twelve we can confirm, ten died and two are in a vegetable-like state for the rest of their lives,” Harvell responded.
Daniel felt his face go white. He felt like he wanted to throw up.
Eva remained silent in her chair.
“What did they do differently with me?” Daniel managed to get out the question without losing his lunch.
“From what we can tell,” Harvell responded, “absolutely nothing. Every time Horchoff performed the experiment it was unclear why it had failed. He seemed absolutely certain that it should have worked. He concluded that it was a matter of will power.”
“Will power?” Daniel echoed, recalling Demérs’ earlier statement about the strength of Daniel’s will.
“Apparently the earlier subjects did not have the mental capacity or strength to survive the surgery. You on the other hand, you went in with a purpose—a strong sense of resolve. You wanted to better yourself –to become something special while the others believed they were entitled—that they already were something special,” Harvell replied.
“That’s ridiculous!” Daniel protested.
“I agree,” said Eva.
“Well whatever it was that made the procedure work on you it was beyond scientific,” Harvell concluded. “And because of that there is no reason to believe the operation will be successful the next time.
“And beyond that,” he continued, “There is no way to control you. Your mental resolve is believed to be part of the reason you survived, and that resolve is the very reason you would never join the Birthright.”
Daniel’s mind was reeling. There were still so many questions left unanswered. At least he felt as though he had finally found someone willing to give them to him.
“And Blank?” he asked, unsure of why his mind had chosen to ask about the mysterious man in the hat first.
“Another victim,” Harvell replied. “Used by Demérs to get Richfield to do his dirty work. While Demérs had numerous connections inside and outside of the Birthright, he knew that they paled in comparison to those that Richfield had built while with the CIA. The only way for his father to complete his work was to get him networked in with Charles Richfield.
“Knowing that Henry Blank had a good heart and would never willingly allow the Birthright to gain that kind of power, he revealed his connection to the group and staged his father’s request for funding. Demérs also knew that Blank was acquainted with Charles Richfield and trusted the fact that he was ex-CIA. He also knew that Richfield would jump at the opportunity to steal the project out from under Demérs’ hands.
“Blank going to Richfield played out exactly as Demérs and Horchoff had hoped it would,” said Harvell.
Daniel felt both relieved and sorrowful at the same time. He was glad to find that the man he had trusted most had not used him for evil, but he felt sorry that Blank was just as much a victim of the Birthright as he himself was.
“So the other agents at Elite?” Daniel inquired.
“A select few are loyal to Richfield and will kill without question. Whether or not they know just what their boss stands for is unclear, but it doesn’t seem to matter. Most however, are just as clueless as you were as to the true purpose of Elite Personal Security Force.”
Daniel nodded. He was glad to know that not all of his friends were bad guys. “How do you know all of this?” he asked.
“We have people on the inside, monitoring the progress of Richfield’s operation. Demérs has proven difficult to get to, but it’s rather easy to get agents inside Elite. Richfield has a ‘type’ when it comes to selecting agents,” Harvell explained.
Daniel smirked. He had an idea of who that undercover agent might be. “Charlie,” he said confidently.
Eva let out an audible laugh, then covered her mouth in slight embarrassment.
“While a good FBI agent,” Harvell began, “Charlie Barner has never been associated with our department.”
“Then who?” Daniel asked, rattling off twenty or so names in his head of who it could be.
Harvell folded his hands on the table in front of him and began staring at them. His upper lip sank beneath his lower as
sadness suddenly appeared in his eyes.
Eva was staring at the same spot on the table as she had been the entire conversation, only now her eyes were glossed over.
With fainted breath, she managed to say, “Norma Amiri.”
Daniel’s heart plunged into his stomach, and again he felt as though he wanted to throw it up. So many things made sense now, while so many more did not. He now understood why she had needed to be so aloof when it came to their relationship, but why hadn’t she told him or warned him about his true purpose? And why had she really died?
“Richfield found out—somehow—that Norma was working for us. Every month we would have one of our informants within the Birthright call and hire her for a job, at which point she would report on everything she had learned. Richfield must have found out, and he sent one of his men to track her and murder her and the informant.”
“How do you know it was Richfield?” Daniel asked, fighting back tears.
“Security footage at the dock shows a black male, around six-five and two-forty entering the warehouse just after Norma. You know him as Titan. Titan comes out a minute later while Norma never does—at least not until the ambulance arrives just a few seconds later,” Harvell explained.
Daniel could no longer prevent the tears from coming. He had considered Titan a friend, and that friend had murdered a woman that he had grown to consider much more than that.
“It was him, Daniel,” Eva said, on the verge of breaking down herself.
Daniel looked over to Eva and somehow knew that he could trust her, the same way he had with Mr. Blank, even though Blank had himself chosen to trust the wrong people.
“Richfield made sure to retrieve the body before we could,” Harvell concluded.
“She was my friend,” Daniel nearly squeaked.
“Mine too,” Eva added, assuring him that he was not alone in his pain.
Daniel lifted his head and did his best to sniff away the grief. “Now what?” he asked.
“Now,” Harvell began, pulling a key out of his pocket and reaching forward to release Daniel from his handcuffs, “Agent Stone is going to take you back to Elite. What you do from there is completely your decision.”
Elite 2: The Wrong Side of Revolution Page 16
