by J C Ryan
He told them about the attack on Freydís and the circumstances that led to the capture of nine of the attackers, who gave up information about who had ordered it. Then he talked about the Director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) of Russia, Peter Nikolaev, who was behind that.
One of the committee members raised his hand at the mention of Russia. “Are you telling us that Russia is in league with these Nabateans?”
Bill answered, “No, Senator. I was just about to get to that. We have every reason to believe that Nikolaev was one of the twelve members of the Council of the Covenant of Nabatea. However, before we could act on our information, Nikolaev was killed in a skiing accident, or so it was reported. Based on our knowledge of their MO, we believe he was murdered to preserve the Council’s security.”
Davis was puzzled. “Getting back to the attack on Professor Carter’s ranch. I assume a man of his wealth—and given the secret nature of his association with A-Echelon—he would have had the latest in security measures installed. How did these Russians get as far as they did?”
Bill explained, “That’s a very good example of why A-Echelon exists. The assailants had a device advanced enough to defeat the latest and best security measures, including those of the CIA. Fortunately, it was captured during the attack, and it’s now been reverse engineered. It is no longer an advantage to them or a threat to national security.”
Bill deliberately left out the role of Executive Advantage in defeating the raid. No one had mentioned them in the press or during the questioning, so it was his hope that’s how it would stay.
Satisfied with Davis’s nod that she understood, he went on. “I’d like to conclude by helping you understand that between the media making this ruckus and you taking all of their rambling seriously, you’ve been playing into the hands of the Nabateans. We have discovered a senior member of one of the security agencies working for the enemy. He called himself Shadow, and he was the source of everything you’ve heard.
“This man traitorously gave all this top-secret information to a journalist who recently died under suspicious circumstances after starting this media circus. Though the lead detective’s ruling was suicide, we suspect he was murdered.
“We now have reason to believe that someone even higher in government—someone who has access to highly sensitive information—is leaking it to the Nabateans. Can you now understand why we have been reluctant to further expose A-Echelon operations to the public?”
The silence that followed his question was fraught with tension. The majority of the committee believed him outright with no further proof required. If Davis had polled them, the hearing would have ended immediately.
However, Davis still had an issue with Bill, and even though she was beginning to see the error of her ways, she was determined to salvage some of her authority before she let it go.
“I assume you have proof of what you’ve told us,” she said. “Can you show it? Or are you still going to hide behind the national security smokescreen?”
Bill shook his head. He’d thought his words alone would sway the committee, and in fact, he was sure he’d swayed most of them. But Davis still seemed to be after blood.
He nodded. “If I may, I have some information on my laptop that will interest you.”
Davis gave him a moment to set up his laptop and connect it to the projection device so they could all see it on the big screen. When he had it done, he opened a folder labeled “Patch Barracks.”
He flipped through picture after picture of the gruesome scene, and when the silence in the room told him he had everyone’s undivided attention, he said, “You thought this was a meteorite? Let me tell you what it really was. This, Senators, is the aftermath of an antimatter bomb.”
The committee erupted in tumult. Two common questions emerged. “What’s an antimatter bomb?” and, “I thought that was nothing but science fiction?”
Davis rapped her gavel for almost a minute, calling for order. Bill waited it out patiently suppressing a grin. He knew what was coming next would be even more explosive, no pun intended.
“An antimatter bomb is simply the collision of matter and antimatter. Antimatter was once indeed the subject of science fiction, but any physicist today will tell you it is quite real. In fact, it’s being produced in minute quantities by various scientific facilities across the globe. The biggest producer so far has been CERN, known as the Large Hadron Collider, in Switzerland.
“And the result of the collision of just a small quantity of antimatter particles with matter will produce devastation that looks exactly like this. No crater, no fire from the explosion itself. It simply vaporizes anything within the blast radius as it did here. This, Senators, was a warning shot. Oh, and before I forget, the experts think this antimatter bomb, at Patch Barracks, could have been the size of a woman’s lipstick or smaller.”
The senators were gob smacked. But Davis wasn’t convinced. “Why should we take your word for this? Who can verify it?”
Bill sighed. “We have scientists, at DARPA, who can verify it was not a conventional explosion. Beyond that is process of elimination. I can bring them here if need be, but let’s move on to something else if you aren’t convinced.”
He then proceeded to tell them about the dolphins.
Now Davis had an expression of complete disbelief. “Are you presuming to disrespect this committee with an outrageous claim like that? I’ll have you charged with contempt of Congress!”
Murmurs of support came from the committee.
Bill said, “Okay, give me a minute.” He didn’t have the images he needed on his laptop. A short consultation with Carter bore fruit as Carter confirmed he had some video and audio. They switched laptops, and Carter showed them what he had.
When Carter’s presentation ended, Davis stated, “Any Hollywood producer could have created those. That isn’t proof.”
Exasperated, Bill replied, “Okay, then, why don’t we call the Chief of Naval Operations in? He knows all about it. What do you say? Or better yet, why don’t we go out into the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, and we can all have a chat with Joanna and her pod? Hell, I’d bet she’ll be glad to hear from us. We haven’t had a chat since that video was taken. That was Joanna talking to us.”
Davis shook her head. “Move on, Mr. Griffin.”
Bill was beginning to wonder if it would take the Nabateans attacking the building to convince this stubborn woman of anything. He’d hoped not to have to play the next card but had no choice.
“You know about the discovery of an ancient library in the Egyptian desert, the City of Lights as we call it. That city existed more than sixty thousand years ago. Upon studying the library, Professor Devereux and his team discovered that the race of Giants who inhabited that city had the secret of nuclear energy, as well as the nuclear bomb. Because it was imperative we find any still in existence before anyone else got hold of them, Professor Devereux launched a global search and was able to find them with the help of the dolphins you don’t believe talked to us.”
Bill wasn’t about to give up the information about the location in the Alboran Sea, nor about the technology to neutralize them. If that got out, well, he didn’t want to think about it.
Once again, Bill’s revelation was met with skepticism. One of Davis’s supporters flatly called him a liar. “We were the first humans to build a nuclear bomb.”
Saying nothing, Bill once again hooked up his own laptop and showed the pictures of nukes being hoisted out of the sea. In the shocked silence, he spoke. “I’ll be happy to let the scientists at LANL come and testify concerning what they found. In fact, I’d be more than happy to take every one of you to Los Alamos and let you see and touch the five-hundred some-odd sixty thousand-year-old nuclear bombs in person!”
Davis looked uncertain. “You can back up all of this with physical proof?”
Bill wanted to snarl, but he drew upon all his patience. It was late, everyone was cranky from hunger, and besides, Davis
would simply push back if she were challenged.
“Yes, Senator Davis. We can back it all up with physical proof. I know you have a poor opinion of me for some reason. But even you can’t believe I’d be stupid enough to spin a fantastic tale like this without physical proof.
“I’d be happy to show you every speck of it.”
It was enough, at last, to convince the rest of the committee. What he’d just said swept away all doubt.
One by one, they came to the same conclusion.
They’d been duped. They’d been persuaded by the half-truths and falsehoods in the press and nothing more than Davis’s passion to destroy Bill Griffin, her old enemy the President, and anyone associated with either of them.
And the committee members were shamed by their gullibility.
With Davis paralyzed by the conflict between her ego and the irrefutable evidence, her vice-chairman stepped in.
“What can we do?” he asked. “I think I speak for the majority when I say we see we’ve done damage to the security community of our country. How can we help repair that damage?”
Bill’s shoulders lifted with the removal of the burden, and he had a ready answer. “First, get off our backs and let us do our jobs.
“Second, now that the damage has been done, you can help mitigate it by delaying your rulings while we continue to hunt down the high-level spy.”
The vice-chairman nudged Senator Davis and whispered they should have a private consultation. She nodded and dismissed the witnesses for a fifteen-minute break so the committee could air their opinions in private.
Davis was a dejected woman. Everything she’d believed in her whole life was now suspect, and she’d made a complete fool of herself with this hearing.
When a member of the opposition party suggested they do as Bill had asked and create delaying tactics as a smokescreen, Davis found she had no support to argue against it. She said that as chairwoman she’d have to abstain, thereby avoiding a reversal of her previous position, and with no nays, the vote carried to do exactly that.
When the fifteen minutes had passed, the witnesses filed back in and were given the good news. It was the best outcome they could have hoped for. And it was all thanks to Mackenzie schooling the committee.
Carter had never been more proud of her.
***
Despite the late hour, the public and the media were still waiting outside. They understood something big was going on inside and were not at all happy to have been kicked out. They were going nowhere without some resolution.
The media especially were up in arms. They had a feeling the Gold Rush of news was over, and they’d missed it.
When darkness fell, the crowd became restless. Mackenzie had become their darling, and they imagined she was being grilled inside.
A few began to chant, and eventually most of them picked it up. “Leave Mackenzie alone. Enough is enough! Free Doctor Devereux!”
Chapter 81 - Let’s take it to them
May 15 late night
The crowd had dispersed except for a few die-hard journalists with midnight deadlines by the time Davis gaveled the hearing dismissed for the evening. The journalists made a half-hearted effort to stop someone, anyone, for a report on the outcome.
All they got was a curt “No comment!” from Michelle Davis.
Carter and Mackenzie were whisked away to a new safe house, where Sean and Dylan waited for them with hot pizza. Carter stuffed most of a slice into his mouth, with a muffled, “Thanks! Starving!”
“How’d it go?” Sean asked. He’d already heard some of it from James, but he wanted to hear firsthand how Mackenzie had gotten the best of Davis. Carter had immense pleasure in relating the drama to Sean and Dylan. When the story was done, the Devereuxs taking turns between wolfing down their pizza, Sean and Dylan applauded.
“Okay, we’ve got the Intelligence Committee off your backs now, but we’re no closer to finding the traitor in the NSC,” Dylan noted.
“I’ve been thinking about that the whole day while Mackenzie was schooling the senators.” Carter grinned. “Let’s take it to them. Divert attention away from us to the Nabateans.”
“Interesting thought. How do you propose to do that?” Sean asked.
“Scare them into making a mistake,” Carter answered. He had the beginnings of a grin playing around the corners of his mouth.
Sean put his hand to his chin. “And? How do you propose to do that?”
“Let’s break the story that we have their library! There’s no time to translate it, but that doesn’t matter. Just the fact that we have it and we can prove it could bring them out of hiding, or at least cause them to make stupid mistakes.”
“Could be dangerous,” Dylan muttered.
Mackenzie got excited by the proposal. “Next, we break the story about them—the Council—and show them for what they are. Show the public the contents of Algosaibi’s laptop. That will certainly take the attention off us and at the same time make them furious enough to make the mistakes Carter’s talking about.”
Mackenzie and Carter missed their kids, Freydís, and their friends. It was time to kick ass, take names, and go home.
Carter tag-teamed Mackenzie’s suggestion. “We’ll tell the public about McCormick, just using the name Shadow, and how he was the one stirring up the ruckus in the media all this time, interfering in our political system and all. We don’t have to reveal any of the top-secret stuff, just expose him as a traitor.”
Sean thought for a moment. “Dylan’s right. It could be dangerous. Rattling their cages might bring them out in the open, but they’re powerful, sneaky, and vindictive. They won’t just roll over. Chances are if they do come out to fight, it will be with a bang. Then they’ll disappear as they always have.”
“By bang, do you mean you think they’ll explode another antimatter bomb?” Mackenzie asked.
“Could be. They had one, and I can’t believe they’d use their only one on Patch Barracks. I mean, it was quite a symbolic statement, but they could just as easily have crippled our government by planting it in the Congressional Building. They have an end game. I reckon your plan could throw a wrench into it.”
Everyone was too wound up by the victory in the hearing to go to sleep yet, so they started brainstorming how to pull off Carter and Mackenzie’s plan.
Foremost in Carter’s mind was to get his hands on some of the copper leaves from the Nabatean library and translate them. That would lend credibility to their claim that they had it. They’d need Italy to cooperate and go along with the story afterward. Sean said he thought he had a line on how to accomplish that. The grin he gave them was infectious, and Carter started laughing.
“It wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain lady from Texas, would it?”
“Good lord, don’t ever let Sam hear you say that!” Sean said. But he had a twinkle in his eye.
“Remember, too,” Mackenzie said, “that Durand’s laptop hinted they had the means to paralyze the stock markets. We should warn them, in case the Nabateans go for retaliation first.”
“Good idea,” Sean responded.
“And everyone who’s been exposed by this media circus needs extra personal security,” Dylan added.
“What else could they do?” Mackenzie mused.
“The biggest thing I’m worried about,” Sean said, suddenly much more serious than he’d been a minute before, “is if they have more antimatter bombs, which they surely must, where they’re likely to set them off.”
“I think you hit the nail on the head earlier,” Carter said. “We need to double down on protection for Capitol Square.”
***
Carter and Mackenzie got up later than usual the next morning because of their late night. As she prepared breakfast, Mackenzie had a thought.
“Can we go home now, Carter? I miss the kids more than ever. And we’re no longer on the Most Wanted list.”
Carter took her in his arms. “Mackie, I wish I could say yes. Mayb
e you could, but I need to stay here to help. And remember, we’re both targets for the Nabateans. I’m sure it would be easier for EA to guard us if we were together. That’s why we’re still in a safe house now instead of a downtown hotel.”
She sighed. “You’re right, of course. I just miss them so much.”
“I’ll see if there’s anything they can do about that. Don’t worry, Mackie. It’s going to be over soon, now that we’re taking the fight to them.”
Carter left the room until Mackenzie called that breakfast was ready. When he came back, he had a grin a mile wide, but he wouldn’t tell Mackenzie what it was all about.
Within the hour, Dylan and Sean arrived and asked if the Devereuxs were ready to go.
“Go where?” Mackenzie asked. “We’ve only been here overnight. We have to move again?”
“One last time,” Sean said. He winked at Carter, mystifying Mackenzie even more.
“Okay, you guys, what are you conspiring about?” she asked.
Carter put on a look of innocence. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
Mackenzie knew there’d be no use asking further. She’d find out soon enough. The second surprise came when Sean and Dylan took them to a nearby private air field, instead of to another safe house. When she saw the helicopter, she got her hopes up for a trip home, but the flight didn’t last long.
They settled on a helipad in a clearing in what appeared to be a woodland park.
“Dylan, you’ll see to their luggage while I take them up to the Lodge?” Sean asked. Dylan gave a thumbs-up, and the other three took a waiting golf cart to a rustic but elegant lodge. They passed under a hanging sign that said “Camp David”.
Mackenzie gasped. “Are you kidding me?”
“Nope!” Sean laughed out loud, and Carter was grinning from ear-to-ear. It had been hard to keep the secret from her, and he was glad he hadn’t had to keep it for long.
