The only concrete evidence Noble had on La Fratellanza was their video-recorded testimonies. However, they had already received conditional immunity in exchange for their statements, which was uppermost in Noble’s mind. He also believed the gang of four had no real knowledge of Simon’s ulterior motives, but only harbored their suspicions. Consequently, the only provable evidence of a crime was the events that linked directly to Simon. Of especial import was Simon’s falsification of the president’s identity.
No matter, Simon had vanished.
In the final analysis, it was Noble’s responsibility to close the book on the entire multifaceted conspiracy. According to plan, it would be a way to minimize the damage to the country, and square it with the American people.
At the time the plot had unraveled, Hamilton and Noble felt bound by their patriotic duty, but recognized they would be the targets of critics, and possibly face court trials and lawsuits; no doubt, it would have provided fertile ground for congressional investigative committees, ad nauseam. In the end, they considered it a small price to pay to protect the United States.
Now—all the risks aside—Hamilton had determined the decisive moment had arrived.
Noble was committed to honoring his decision.
—
Noble took a moment to call Paolo to see how he and Natalie were doing and to tell him about Hamilton’s death. “I also want you to know about a decision I have made,” he announced, with noticeable sadness in his voice. He trusted Paolo, who was pivotal in upending Simon’s original plot, and wanted him to prepare Natalie for any fallout. Noble informed him that he was going to expose the president, but would try to protect La Fratellanza within legal limits in the process.
Paolo was equally dismayed to learn about Hamilton, but was even more sympathetic toward Noble, knowing what he was facing, and the steps he was about to take. However, hearing about Hamilton caused Paolo to recollect an unusual conversation, which had taken place between the president and Hank a short time after Hamilton left for Florence in 2009.
“I have some information that may be of importance. I’m just sorry I had forgotten about it until now,” he said hesitatingly. “Hank acquainted me with a conversation, but at the time I wasn’t focused and was trying to deal with my own problems at home.”
Paolo explained that according to Hank, the president confronted him, telling him the director of the SIA had discovered his identity, and then asked him what he knew about Simon Hall.
“Hank said, ‘I feigned shock and decided offering half-truths is better than no truth.’”
Hank told the president Simon was a classmate at Harvard and contacted him in 2002, asking for his help. Hank’s fabrication was that Simon was the person who had informed him that a team of powerful men had identified a brilliant young man living in Italy. Simon claimed this powerful group wanted Hank to take whatever measures were necessary to have the Chosen One elected president of the United States, with their full support and total financial backing.
“You know Hank can be quite full of himself, and as he relayed his version, when speaking with the president, he puffed up and declared—‘Now the SIA knows that young man is you.’”
“How did the president react?” Noble asked.
“Evidently, the president asked Hank if he had disclosed the information about his identity.”
“I surmise Hank denied it and said the leak must have come from either Simon or the group of supporters, whose identity of course had remained anonymous.”
“Exactly, you’ve got his number.”
“Did the president accept his explanation?”
“Yes. Without further inquiry into Hank’s involvement, the president told Hank that Simon Hall had stolen funds from his TSAR account, the funds which had been set aside for his social programs. The president then suddenly erupted, ‘All of it, over five hundred billion dollars, is gone!’ Hank told me he was shocked, and this time it was genuine. I must admit I was even more surprised. We had suspected Simon was up to something, but I never imagined to such a degree,” Paolo commented.
“It’s a far cry from the alleged game,” Noble admitted.
“Noble, you’ll love this. Hank told me he almost fell off his chair when the president announced he wanted him to gear up for his reelection campaign for a second term. Hank, unfazed, said, ‘At one time I was concerned with the president’s arrogance and guile, but I am no longer concerned because now I find it an appealing asset that will win over the public,’” Paolo conveyed with disgust.
Noble could hear Paolo mutter, “The guy is unbelievable!”
In a short time, the president had lost his ill-gotten social programs funds, his phenomenal source of political contributions, his communications director, and Seymour, the man who created and maintained his image in the media. Of particular importance, the president had squandered his precious political capital on a variety of dead-end issues. And even with the prospect that Director Scott would one day reveal his identity, Baari forged ahead. Ignoring the impossible headwinds, he enlisted the help of Hank, who was quick to climb on board, to win a second term.
“Obviously, unbeknownst to the president, he had no idea of the extraordinary talent he’d lost, with the disappearance of Simon.” Noble scoffed.
“Hank was quick to report the president’s last comment.” Paolo sneered, “Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.”
Hank knew the quote well; it was Saul Alinsky’s.
“After relating his conversation with the president, Hank blurted out, ‘I feel more like Dr. Frankenstein than Henry Higgins,’ whom he used to boast about comparing his resemblance to the My Fair Lady character.”
“Hank may have thoughtlessly created a monster, but evidently, he still feels responsible for the care and feeding of that monster.” Noble teased.
Hank decided to ride the wave with the president for as long as circumstances allowed. He had not given up on his original agenda and wanted to ram through as many social programs as possible while they had control of the Oval Office.
“According to Hank, ‘He’d find the funding later.’”
Meanwhile, Hank’s Chestnut Foundation continued to be plagued with investigations, the president’s influence notwithstanding.
Hamilton had warned the president years ago that the day of reckoning would come. The president, having no choice, lived up to his word more or less. He halted some of the spending and made moderate efforts to reduce the huge deficit. Without his $500 billion slush fund, he had no choice but to unwind some of his social programs, and much to Hank’s chagrin, prevented Congress from imposing others.
“I guess I feel a whisper of sympathy for Hank, Chase, and Seymour, and would be deeply saddened if my actions affect you and Natalie. However, I hope you understand that, feelings aside, there could be another puppet waiting in the wings to step into the president’s role, and the prospect of that happening again trumps any feeling of regret I may have.”
“I understand what is at stake, and I know America can’t afford to have this happen again. You have my full support,” Paolo avowed.
“Thank you, my friend, this means a lot, because when I meet with the president I will explain to him that the wheels are in irreversible motion. He has had years to prepare for this moment. I’m giving the president sufficient notice to carry out his plan in response to the exposé. At that time, I will disclose his citizenship to the media, followed by a press conference.”
“I gather you will strongly encourage him to step down immediately?” Paolo inquired.
“Most certainly. He will have no choice, or I will implicate him in the Treasury scandal as well, especially with regard to his manipulation of TSAR.”
Noble also shared his belief with Paolo that it was best to identify the mastermind of the plot as Simon Hall. Others were involved to varying degrees, but he was blatantly guilty of committing numerous felonies. Exposing Mohammed al-Fadl at this time was a
n issue Noble would wrestle with for some time.
What would be the consequences? He would repeatedly ask himself.
Since Simon was still at large, he reasoned the revelation would have a large-scale negative effect on the American people, heightening their terrorist paranoia. Besides, Noble was never able to determine Simon’s underlying motives. He could only assume the money siphoned from TSAR would have been used for more deadly events, even worse than those he had committed in the past. Since Simon’s escape in April 2009, Interpol had been relentlessly hunting him down, to no avail. After mulling over the pros and cons almost incessantly, Noble had concluded it was a battle to be fought another day. For the present, Simon’s true identity would not be exposed.
“There will be no legal or political need to implicate the rest of the La Fratellanza, so long as they live up to their vow of silence,” Noble assured Paolo. “Baari may ultimately choose to implicate Hank for his role, but there is no advantage for Hank to expose La Fratellanza, unless he is forced to by events beyond his control,” he added. “I’m sure I don’t need to remind you of the conditions of immunity.”
“No, I remember vividly—one of us talks, we all go down.”
“Don’t hesitate to jog the memories of your brethren.”
“No need to worry about Chase and Seymour, but Hank could be a problem.”
“There is no advantage to Hank. I’m confident he’ll remain silent, knowing the consequences. Besides if he did talk, I’m sure he would take all the credit for the care and feeding of his monster,” Noble joked, even though it wasn’t far from the truth.
He could hear Paolo chuckle from the other end of the line.
“Paolo, with all seriousness, the main purpose of this call is to make you aware of what is about to happen. I trust you and Natalie will remain silent, as well. Give my love to Natalie and Mario, and I’ll see you both soon.”
—
Left alone with his thoughts, Noble began to ponder how he would broach the conversation with the president and how he would deal with the media.
His first priority was to inform the vice president that he would be stepping into the breach in accordance with the president’s plan, and to caution him that, in the interest of national security, he must remain silent on the matter until he was specifically released from his pledge of secrecy. There were only a few months before the election, and Noble believed the vice president could be kept under control during that time—in fact, his own party, having to defend his gaffes continuously—would see to it.
Second, and equally vital, Noble began to sort through his options. He needed to determine the degree of information that would need to be divulged, producing the least amount of backlash.
Of course, the president knew Paolo, Seymour, and Chase, but only as legitimate staff members during his presidential campaign in 2007, who he retained during his administration. He had no knowledge of their involvement in the master plot or that they were aware of his identity. He only knew they had resigned from their positions for personal reasons, which he accepted. Noble was confident their roles in the plot would remain confidential.
However, there were other factors in play. He knew he would have to take careful measures when describing Hamilton and his unorthodox methods to expose the entire conspiracy—placing himself at greater risk.
Word had leaked, from an unknown source, about the missing funds, so Noble would adeptly diminish the role of the Treasury secretary by simply stating that he hired Simon as a consultant, based on his impeccable qualifications, to design TSAR, as a system to manage the accounting of the TAP fund. He would make clear that the Treasury secretary had no idea of Simon’s ultimate plot to steal those funds. Once again, all evidence pointed to Simon—he alone siphoned off the money—a point that would be stressed nonstop.
Noble would illustrate how he and former Director Hamilton Scott uncovered Simon’s plot to defraud the United States and how they traced some of the stolen funds to a bank account in Florence, Italy. He would explain how the president sent the former director to Florence to oversee a sting operation in conjunction with Interpol. Unfortunately, he would report that Simon escaped before they could retrieve the money.
There would be no mention of setting up the Zurich accounts—or the transfer of funds for safekeeping—which the director deliberately left out of his briefing on the amended flash drive. At the time, Hamilton determined that if they transferred the recovered funds back to the Treasury, there would still be opportunities for the administration to squander the money unless he maintained control of the funds.
In keeping with Hamilton’s instructions, Noble would escrow those funds and transfer them into the TSAR holding account on January 19, 2017, the eve of the swearing in of the new president, whoever that might be.
With every new administration, the General Accountability Office reruns the numbers and the new president inevitably discovers an inherited surplus or a deficit, a ritual on which Noble relied.
To be exact, this new administration would discover a surplus of $479,848,376,702.00.
—
Before Noble arrived at his office that morning, he had stopped at the National Depositors Trust Bank in Georgetown. He wanted to be absolutely certain he left no stone unturned. Not knowing the contents of the safe-deposit box, he felt it imperative to pursue what could be another lead.
Noble met with the bank manager and asked for access to safe-deposit box #698. Using the key Noble had found in the envelope Aldo had given him, the bank manager was able to retrieve a large, square metal box. He left Noble alone in the room, with a guard posted outside the door.
With some uneasiness, he opened the box slowly, as if expecting a shock of some kind, even knowing it was from Hamilton. Taking a deep breath, he lifted the lid and noticed two envelopes. Noble opened a small gray envelope first. This envelope contained the flash drive, no surprise to him. He clasped it tightly, realizing he literally held the president’s future in his hands. I can hear Hamilton now, as he describes the masterful plot orchestrated by Simon Hall, he contemplated. This same envelope also contained a set of the six memory sticks holding the video-recorded interrogations.
Noble placed both the flash drive and the memory sticks in the envelope and returned them to the metal box for safekeeping. Then he opened the smaller white envelope to find a single folded sheet of paper with an account number and, in an elegant script beneath it, the words “Onorare il direttore,” signed by Aldo. He recognized the account number as that of a bank, and suspected it was the same bank where he was standing, but that would have to wait.
He had a crucial meeting scheduled within the hour.
—
Noble opened the meeting by informing the president that Director Hamilton Scott had died.
The president expressed perfunctory condolences.
“Before his death, Director Scott instructed me that the time had arrived to take the steps we should have taken many years ago,” he said, speaking forcefully. “I feel there is no need to lay out the case for impeachment again—the same explanation that Director Scott presented to you years ago.”
The president listened, and Noble was convinced he remembered the conversation vividly.
“And I am sure you will recall that we have concrete evidence to expose the appropriations you earmarked in TSAR. As has been agreed, it will continue to remain classified, unless you choose not to comply.”
Noble sensed strongly that the president understood that he had already been granted a lengthy grace period to plan an exit strategy. The president showed every sign that he recognized that his time had run out.
“I still have the flash drive and the memory sticks containing all the evidence, and there are other strategically placed copies.” Noble looked directly into the president’s eyes and warned him. “I have made the same arrangement as Director Scott, in the event I encounter any suspicious, unexplainable events in my life.”
The entire tim
e Noble was speaking, the president listened intently and without interruption, especially when Noble informed him about revealing his identity to the media, followed by a scheduled press conference.
When Noble finished making his case, the president tilted his head back, never losing eye contact. He knew what was about to come next.
He had a retort ready, but out of respect for the office of the presidency, he refrained and sat back while the president said, “I get it.”
Noble stood up, thanked him for his time, and left.
Somewhat shaken by all that had just occurred, he felt enormously relieved at the same time, as he walked down the stairway back to his office. With the door closed behind him, Noble sat at his desk, tilted his head back, clasped his hands over his chest, and closed his eyes.
He began to contemplate his future.
“After my statement to the press, my prospects may be bleak,” he bemoaned.
On occasion, he thought about his cubicle buried in the bowels of the CIA with fondness—he didn’t long for a cubicle with bars. Even without knowing what his future held, the weight on his shoulders began to dissipate. He was more convinced than ever that he and Hamilton had made the honorable choices.
“Damn it, Hamilton,” he admonished himself. “You are forcing me to hack ‘unofficially’ into another banking system once again. I swear this will be the last time!” he fumed.
Noble managed to locate the online account at the National Depositors Trust Bank from the account number Aldo had written on the piece of paper. As he clicked on the Account Summary tab, the account balance took him aback. Taken aback was an understatement—shocked more aptly described his feelings. As he regained his composure, he noticed the words Aldo had written, “Onorare il direttore.”
Of course, Hamilton knew I’d do the noble thing.
Although he cursed Hamilton mildly once again for placing another burden on his shoulders, he sat back and began to explore his options. He started to think of the many worthwhile programs that had their funding cut from the federal budget recently. After some careful thought, he gave a lot of consideration to the No Child Left Behind program, feeling it was worthy of continuation. He remembered Baari reduced the funding in favor of the Inner City Youth Core Training program set up to teach community organizing. It was one of Baari’s pet projects to spawn more advocates of his beliefs.
Brotherhood Beyond the Yard (The Simon Trilogy) Page 28
