Chapter 72 -- IZDMNUQANRMTJ
Mark Anthony attached a small black box to the phone, pressed a couple of buttons,
and dialed Leo's number.
"Mark, how are you?" Leo said.
"Depends on what you have for me," Anthony replied. "How's the voice?"
"I'd say it's working. I could've used something like this, back
in the day. All right, here we go. Call this number and say 'Blue Whale'.
That's supposed to get you connected."
"Thanks, Leo. If this works out, you'll have not only saved the
future of your kids but many others."
"Maybe it will atone for at least some of my sins," Leo said. "Vada con Dio, Mark."
He told Margaret he would be unavailable for an hour and went out to his car.
On the beltway he found a place to stop. Parking in a remote of the parking
lot of a hotel he made the call. When the call was answered he spoke the words Blue Whale.
He had switched to a male voice, but one distinctly different from his own.
"How may I help you?" asked the voice.
"Leo told me to call you," he replied.
"Leo said you may be in a position to solve a serious problem," the voice said.
"By the way, call me Ishmael. For the time being. What position are you in?"
"Chairman of the joint chiefs," Anthony replied. So much for hiding his identity.
But it was too late for that. If the call was intercepted and decrypted, so
be it.
"I have complete authority," Ishmael said, "to commit the PLA, as I understand
we are being called now, to any arrangement you propose. That is, where a
truce is concerned. Is that why you're calling?"
"Not exactly," Anthony replied. "This call is completely unauthorized. I believe
there is no possibility of the government agreeing to negotiate with you. For
that to happen, some people may have to be eliminated. I am prepared to
arrange that."
"What do you propose?"
"Your best chance, I believe, is to secure the persons of the president and his
inner circle. As you must know, he is merely the mouthpiece for the people
who actually run the government."
"We presume as much," Ishmael said. "Do you know how that can be managed?"
"Quite possibly," Anthony replied. "Are you familiar with the president's
personal property at Carver's point?"
"We are."
"In a few days the president and his people will be there. Everyone needed to
make decisions and have them carried out. I will be there. If you can cut
off the area where the compound is located and neutralize the Secret Service,
I will handle the inside details. They will do whatever I tell them - not a
one of them has any idea how to get out of this."
"What is your plan?" Ishmael asked.
"Once you have the place secure, with your men in control of the compound, I
will have a company of army troops seal off the area. By the time we arrive,
the announcement that martial law is in effect - whatever that means - so the
move will seem logical. I have the army under control sufficiently. Can you
do your part?"
"We've studied the presidential security extensively over the years," Ishmael
said. "We are confident we can handle this scenario. We can put over two hundred
men, with the capability of Navy Seals and then some, in there by sea. Once
we are in control we can bring in more long before the Coast
Guard or other government assets can get there."
"Good. Here's how we plan to play it once we're in control. There won't be
any rescue attempts as long as negotiations are going on. I'm going to
attempt to persuade the president to be reasonable. If I have to knock off one or two of
his inner circle to convince him, I will do it. Once they realize they won't
leave there alive unless they play ball, I'll be able to play him, and them.
Once he's committed himself with a public speech and set in motion certain
things, he won't be able to retreat."
"I believe I see what you're planning," Ishmael said. "I'll begin making
preparations. We'll be prepared by the time you get there, whenever that is."
"It looks like two or three days. Probably the next time you
hear from me will be after we arrive."
"That should be satisfactory."
Anthony powered off the the phone and replaced it in his briefcase. He was
exempt` from most routine scrutiny by security operations, but if the call was
intercepted and decoded, it would be a simple matter to find the phone, and him.
He called General Talley.
"Jim," he said when Talley answered, "if you get a request for a brigade or so
of men to secure Carver's Point, how quickly could you manage it?"
Talley didn't ask why. He knew what Carver's Point was - it was often in the
news as the president spent a considerable amount of time there.
"In two days we can have it locked down with resources from Camp Holland," he said.
"That sounds good. We won't be there for a couple of days yet. Stay close."
"Will do."
He looked at the television screens. Each one showed news of the growing
chaos. One screen showed a map of the country with incidents marked with
symbols of fires and explosions. There were a lot of them. The phone rang.
"Mark, Dean. We have a meeting in a half hour. Strategy room."
"Got it," Anthony said. "I'm on my way."
It was the entire group, the president included. He was usually not there.
"We'll be making the move to Carver's Point tomorrow," Jordan said when he entered. "I'm sure
it will be leaked before we can get started, but that's all right. Once we
are there the president will announce the imposition of martial law. Carver's
point will become the seat of government until the crisis has abated.
"Most of us will be travelling with the President. Harry, you and Bob," he
nodded at Barwick, "will be going with the vice president to an undisclosed
location and joining us later.
"The Secret Service is preparing now, and barring any unforeseen problems we
will leave tomorrow around ten. Any questions?"
"We don't know how the public will react," said Anthony. "When they suddenly
and unexpectedly learn that the president has gone, we don't know what may
happen. Are you confident of the security arrangements?"
"What do you think of the situation?" Jordan asked.
"I'm thinking we can't be too careful," Anthony replied. "Everything that has
happened has been unexpected and uncontrollable. If martial law is in effect,
having an army brigade or two to secure the place might be prudent."
"Harry, can you see to that?" Jordan asked the Secretary of Defense.
"I'll see to it," Springfield replied.
Springfield would tell General Talley what to do, and Talley would see to it
that a trustworthy commander was chosen to do the job. Once the secret
service was neutralized and the compound under control, the army would have no
need to know that its commander-in-chief was a prisoner. If he did his job,
he would be free. And alive, which was better than some of his inner circle
would be.