Читать книгу Sigma Rising - John Randolph Price - Страница 3

Washington, D.C., November, 2021

The large black sedan stopped at the South Gate of the White House, the driver's window lowered part way. The marine guard peered inside, stepped back and saluted. The driver nodded and continued through the cold misty rain to the West Wing.

In his early sixties, tall, well-built, with pale blue eyes and brownish gray hair, FBI Director Wallace Edward Brent was not looking forward to the meeting in the Oval Office. He had been awake most of the night searching for answers, reasons, motives, anything he could tell the president that would make sense. He had come up with nothing, not even wildly imaginative scenarios involving the lunatic fringe. Brent felt helpless. He was known for his hands-on command and quick-strike actions in solving more than a dozen crimes of domestic terrorism. He didn't like the raw sense of futility gripping him this early morning.

A secretary announced his arrival. As he entered the Oval Office the president gave him a quick glance of acknowledgement and returned to the morning paper, turning the pages for any news related to the director's visit. "Be with you in a moment, Wallace."

Brent removed his topcoat and sat on the sofa to the right of the president's desk, waited for him to complete the scan, wondering why the first lady didn't advise him on how to dress for power. His gray suit was ill-fitting, the top of the coat hanging back two fingers from his blue shirt collar, and the blue and tan stripped tie loosened at the neck decidedly inappropriate. Brent suspected he was wearing the usual heel-worn loafers.

Director Brent prided himself on being a meticulous dresser: smart, stylish, well-groomed. Quite a difference, he thought, including their backgrounds. Brent was a west Texas rancher's son who deserted his boots, straw hat, and dust-in-the-mouth heritage to study law at Harvard, later becoming an FBI special agent and competitively maneuvering his way to the top of the Bureau. Despite his uneasiness at the moment, he knew the job as though it was created for him.

The president, a city boy governing the most powerful nation on earth, seemed more like a back-country tourist who had stopped by the White House for a visit. Brent could see him cast in a movie as a small town high school coach selling life insurance on the side to make extra money. The ironies in life amused him.

The president folded the paper. “All right Wallace, let’s hear what you have.”

“Mr. President, I appreciate you seeing me before the others arrive. They've all got to be a bit apprehensive. I admit I am, and I thought that maybe together we could assuage the anxiety and get a productive forum going."

President Samual Underwood looked up, shook his head. "This isn't something that makes me strut with confidence either. I've cancelled two off-premise meetings today. Wallace, there has got to be a logical explanation for what's happened."

The FBI man rubbed the back of his neck. "Logical does not mean benign, Mr. President. Have you read my report?"

"Yes, when I returned last night from the London conference. Vice President Ranston called me yesterday with what he knew, then Bob Evans gave me a summary on the chopper ride from Andrews. I agreed he should call the individuals you requested for the meeting--Ranston, Defense Secretary Pellman, Director Santana of the CIA, NSC's General Lindly. I also asked Evans to attend. I don't know what he told them except that it was an emergency session."

"Your chief of staff shook them up. Secretary Pellman called me last night. He's nervous as hell."

"They are due in less than thirty minutes," the president said as he leaned back in his chair and looked at his watch. "If we're going to calm them down and have a constructive meeting, I've got to have more details."

The FBI Director moved to the edge of the sofa. "As I reported, Mr. President, seven top government people, including two of the Joint Chiefs, have vanished into thin air in the past three days. I've got most of our field offices working on it. Tony Voger is heading up the domestic investigation and Langley has alerted CIA case officers to check sources for any related information on foreign terrorist activities. But right now we're still in the dark. Not a single clue."

The president looked at the report on his desk. "Evans said Ambassador Livingston-Vance was seen at mid-morning leaving the private garage at the UN in her limo. As I understand it, her aide told you the ambassador had been informed her husband was seriously ill, but she never arrived at their home on Long Island."

The director leaned closer. "That was three days ago, and neither the NYPD nor my agents have found any sign of her, the car, the driver, or the person who supposedly gave her the message. Oh, and something else that wasn't in the report. We can't find her husband either. We've checked every hospital in the area, and no one by the name of George Vance has been admitted."

"The FBI was called in because of a possible kidnapping." The director nodded. Massaging his forehead with both hands, the president asked, "But what about the media? Evans said there hadn't been anything on the news, and there was nothing in the paper this morning."

Brent smiled. "We covered that with some crisis management. A party line has been developed for each missing person, with the appropriate people, aides, staff members, and both the New York police and Metropolitan cops here cooperating with us. We'll keep a lid on it as long as we can."

"Good thinking."

"Just hope I covered the bases quickly enough. That same day, Attorney General Ames received a call on his cell phone while having lunch at the Round Robin. The people with him said he listened for a minute, put the phone back in his pocket and excused himself, said he was going to the men's room. He never came back. His wife is also missing. That afternoon Admiral Jessops of the Joint Chiefs was supposed to board a flight at Andrews. He didn't show and hasn't been seen since. I figured we might be involved in a far-reaching conspiracy, so I alerted the Secret Service and beefed up security on the Hill and other appropriate spots. Also closed down the media pipelines. There's probably a lot of rumors going around, but at least we've got a handle on it for now."

The president stood and walked to the window. Light rain had turned to snow. He watched as the lawn and gardens were slowly camouflaged, a patchwork quilt of colors soon to be an unblemished blanket of white feathery crystals.

As a forty-four year old Miami lawyer he had won his first political race and came to Washington as a congressman. Ten years later he was tapped as the ideal number two man in Governor Morris' run for the presidency. Morris had said with Underwood's centrist philosophy, his charisma and Hollywood-handsome looks, he would be the media's darling. Of course Underwood had no idea James Morris would drop dead after only six months in office. Samual Underwood didn't enjoy being the President of the United States, not at this moment. He took a deep breath and turned around to speak to the director.

"Wallace, according to Evans' briefing, the next one to disappear after Admiral Jessops was Senator Obrey, and you say he was having dinner with friends in Georgetown?"

“Yes, the Albrights. That was night before last. Senator Obrey practiced law with Joseph Albright before entering politics. Since Obrey is majority leader, an agent was assigned to go with him and waited outside in the car. Mrs. Albright said she left the senator and Mrs. Obrey alone in the kitchen for a few minutes and when she returned they were gone. The agent saw no one enter or leave the house. We checked the Obrey home--empty--and his office hasn't heard from him."

The president returned to his chair behind the large desk. "And even with the increased security, Secretary of State Matthews, General Craig, and Justice Ellenberg are also missing."

"Yes, since yesterday afternoon. I thought we had a damn good net in and around State, Justice, the Capitol, the Supreme Court Building and the Pentagon. But it's as though the three of them were seen one moment and gone the next. Vanished. And while I hate to say this, I think we have to consider the possibility that all seven are dead."

The president closed his eyes. "I'd rather think otherwise. Now, other than a government or military connection, what are the common denominators?"

"Our computer analysis came up with four. One, all are what you might consider middle-readers, political moderates and fairly liberal in their religious beliefs. No extremism."

"That would seem to eliminate foreign terrorists. It doesn't seem these people would draw a zealot's attention."

"You may be right, but their mainstream approach could be anathema to hardcore militias and those who might be angered by people perceived as too judicious, too normal. To them, if you are not a radical righter you're suspected of treason. You know how they feel about you, particularly after you spoke of freedom as being a higher priority than security. Then your ardent reliance and cooperation with the U.N. to solve international problems caused some negative reactions."

President Underwood nodded. "There are still a few pockets of resistance, some discontents, but Americans are enjoying a sense of peace and plenty once again." He paused, thought for a moment. “Wallace, since the turn of the century this nation--and the world I might add-has gone through difficult times, and we still have much work to do. But we've turned the corner with our focus on government obedience to the people rather than passing more laws to suppress their rights. Believe me when I say that my reorganization of the government has nothing to do with the missing people. Now, what are the other similarities?"

"All are happily married with no children, and in every case the spouse is also missing. And the third coincidence, if there is such a thing, is that four of the seven were adopted."

"I'm assuming you're following through to see if there is any significance to that element."

"Yes sir, we are. Of course, background checks for security clearances don't always make the distinction between natural and legal parents. In the case of the four, the information was volunteered in early bio sketches. But we are initiating new probes into the backgrounds of the others to see if anything turns up."

"Have you found any other top people who were adopted as children?”

"Only one so far, House Speaker Andrews, but we're checking the records of essentially all elected and appointed officials."

"And the other common denominator?”

"Each one came up from nowhere. Obscure one day, bright young stars the next. The latter point is an exaggeration, but I think you know what I mean.”

The president nodded. "Secretary Matthews immediately comes to mind. He taught history at a small college in the Northeast, wrote a book on the Arab-Israeli peace process and was recruited by State to serve as a consultant on Middle East affairs. There were a lot of moans in the inner circles when President Morris called him to fill the secretary of state post in the new cabinet, but he's served his country well."

The president shifted in his chair, looked again at his watch. "The others should be arriving shortly. We'll see what we can do to make sense out of this and avoid a national panic."

***

Megan Andrews, wife of House Speaker Julius Andrews, paused in the large living room and looked around. "Up to the bedroom,” a voice said, "let's go.”

She frowned. More time, she wanted to say, to stretch the seconds and relish the moments of their lives in the lovely old Georgetown house. She saw the flowers on the side table by the couch, the camellias laced with baby's breath she had brought home from the florist only the day before. She lifted her eyes to the painting above the fireplace, a print of Monet's Old St. Lazare Station, Paris. Was the train arriving or departing? Probably the latter, she thought, like me and Julius. Not yet, please. Megan was feeling tender, nostalgia sweeping over her. She and Julius had lived in this home for twenty years. Now it was about to be over. No time for regrets. She felt a hand on her arm, leading her up the stairs.

***

It was almost noon when the meeting with the president and his advisors was concluded. There had been one interruption. An incoming call reported that four additional senators and the Speaker of the House had suddenly vanished. The president said he would consider all recommendations and that the media blackout would continue. He spent the rest of the day in the residency with his wife Julia.

***

Ambassador Merriam Livingston-Vance paced the small windowless enclosure, counting the stone inlays from one end of the room to the other. She was remembering her first day at school in this country.