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Chapter 12

Roundup

Central Intelligence Agency

Langley, Virginia

0024 Hours

Bill Loadman, director of Internal Security, was sleeping soundly when the telephone started to ring. It had only rung several times, and he had it in his hand. “Hello, Loadman here.”

“Sorry to wake you, sir. This is Mark Osborne. We have something strange going on that doesn’t make sense. We need your help.”

“What is it, Mark?”

“Sorry, sir. It’s so big we can’t trust even a secured line. You will need to come in here. I’ll send a car for you, sir.”

Bill hung up the phone and dressed rapidly and told his wife there was an emergency and would call her later. Bill knew it would only take fifteen minutes for the car to arrive for him, but it seemed like only minutes had gone by when there was a knock on the door. He opened it and two agents stood before him.

“The car’s here, sir. Are you about ready to go?”

“Yes, let’s go.” Walking to the car, Bill started asking questions about the emergency.

“Sorry, sir. We don’t know all the details. You’ll need to get them from Mark. All we know is it’s big.”

The car pulled away from the curb and was headed toward CIA headquarters. The two agents were busy talking about the office, the new president’s latest proclamation, and the cutbacks the agency was getting and how it was going to affect them and national security. Then the car made a detour and was headed south of the agency.

Bill looked up and realized they were heading in the wrong direction. A cold tingling sensation went down his spine, and the hair stood up on the back of his neck. Yes, something was wrong but not at Langley. It was in the car he was riding in. He slipped his hand inside his coat and onto the butt of his gun. Suddenly he felt the hard nose of an automatic sticking into his side.

“Sorry, sir. I’ll have to have that. Please take it out slowly with two fingers and give it to me.”

Bill pulled the gun out and gently dropped it into the agent’s hand. “You want to tell me what’s going on here?”

“Sorry, sir. You’ll find out soon enough.”

The car slowed and turned off the main road onto a winding dirt road, stopping at the end of it. There standing silently was a navy helicopter. When the men boarded the aircraft, the pilot started the engines, and within minutes, they were airborne.

*****

Diana was sitting on the edge of her bed, worried about her mother and Tork, what had happened to him, where he was, or if she would ever see him again. Who were these people and what were they up to? Question after question went through her mind. She had asked for her mother to be notified that she was all right, but not knowing what was really going on, she didn’t know if they would call her. Anything to calm her mother’s fears.

*****

Colonel Duncan looked at both men. “What am I going to do with you two?”

Cal looked over to Tork, smiled, and said, “Send us home!”

Tork chuckled and said, “Yeah, you know, give us the keys to the car and we’ll be on our way.”

“Ah, gentlemen, I wish it were that easy, but unbeknownst to you, you have stumbled on a project that will change the face of this country and return it to the people, to Americans.”

Tork sat silently for a few moments. Then he stood up, faced the colonel, and said, “There is no place in this country we cannot go or anything at all we cannot do. How can you claim you are giving America back to the people? We already have it.”

“Tork—May I call you Tork?” The colonel went on not waiting for Tork to reply. “This country has undergone extensive change over the past several years in all parts of it. You can travel, yes. You are, however, restricted in many ways. Your constitutional rights have been taken away. European forces have entered your country and taken by force your personal weapons. No, I don’t think you already have it, Mr. Albertson. Not at all!

“In addition, the country’s revenue system has forced all the most productive corporations out of the country. We have lost an immense number of jobs to this exodus, and there are millions of Americans that were once the envy of the world now living in substandard conditions. A third of our country is on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards. Once the greatest country in the world, we are now on the verge of becoming a third-world economic country. I say becoming when I should say we are now a third-world country. We are only steps behind Russia and others.

“As foreign countries see us growing weaker, they prepare to move in and take over. The war on terrorism and the influx of the Arab warring nations have caused the world to see us a paper tiger with no fangs. Europe wants to control not only all of Europe but also the world, with both the EU and Islam bidding for the chance to do just that.”

Colonel Duncan gazed at both Tork and Cal evaluating them carefully. Satisfied at what he observed, he continued, “We have no desire to control any nation. These factors have proven to us that we are losing ground. The president’s latest concession to the United Nations has given control over this country to the United Nations with absolute power. Our total law enforcement in this country is in the United Nations’ hands.

“If there is a riot in Los Angles, they will have the right to send in UN troops, and under the conditions of the law, we cannot intervene. They have integrated the US Department of Education with the United Nations to act as an example to the world of how they too can be rewarded by adhering to the United Nations’ authority. The new world order has not lived up to the standards expected by the framers of the constitution. Did you know that as we talk, there is a treaty being drawn up by the president to ship American technicians and craftsman to nations such as Africa, India, and others that lack the trade and crafts to build up their nation’s industries? Sounds good, doesn’t it? But there’s a hitch—those that go will be forced to go as a condition for their families to receive their welfare. No work, no eat. Yes, Tork, you can go where you want to now, but how about tomorrow? In-country passports are being readied for internal travel control as we speak.”

Tork looked at the colonel, thinking about his statement and what had been happening over the past few years. The Congress was lopsided, and the party in power had caused most of the industrial base to move to Canada, Mexico, and China. Hell, half the Mexicans in California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah had started moving back to Mexico for the jobs that moved south. Maybe this man had a point. Those that were staying were getting full amnesty and could stay with citizenship on the way.

“Maybe you’re right and maybe not,” Tork said. “I would have to see more than just trust in what you have said to join in a treasonous plot that is obviously going on here. What have you got, Colonel, a couple of hundred men here, planning and plotting? Come on, Colonel. Once the army gets wind of this, you’re gone.”

The colonel smiled and pushed a button on his desk.

An orderly entered the room. “Yes, sir,” he said to the colonel.

“Take this young man over to the holding area and make him comfortable. Give him a room with a view.”

The orderly moved over to Cal and handcuffed his hands behind his back. “Sorry, sir. Just a precaution.” He then led Cal away.

The colonel looked at Tork and thought for a second. “I’m sending you to meet a very special guest of ours just to let you know we have a few more involved than you think we do. I’ll introduce you to them after you have met our special guest.”

He instructed the guard that had been standing by during the interrogation to take Tork over to VIP quarters, and he gave him a room number on a slip of paper that would make two people happy.

After Tork left, the colonel picked up the phone and put it on the scrambler and called Washington.

“Ah, Senator, Colonel Duncan here. I have good news, sir. Both intruders have been interrogated. As we thought, it was a fluke. One had stumbled onto the base by mistake. Had we laid low and had not attempted to apprehend him, he would have turned around and left. It seems he had car trouble and was looking for a town and a garage. Bad decision by security. We have them both now in custody and will hold them until this is over.”

A curt reply and a keep all informed was made, and the game was still in play and they were moving closer to Freedom Earned.

The guards led Tork through a number of underground tunnels past a well-orchestrated group of well-trained men and women, all in civilian clothing, but they were military. Tork was looking, noting, and thinking he had made a bad estimate on strength. He knew he was off by a couple of hundred or more. This place was too big for such a small number of personnel.

They arrived at a corridor that was softly lit and paneled in a medium oak, with doors and peek holes. This must be the VIP area, he thought. It had crossed Tork’s mind he was going to a holding cell when they told him they were on the way to the VIP quarters.

The guard stopped at a door halfway down the corridor, inserted a key, and knocked several times before he opened it. He looked inside before entering. He knew his business.

Tork could not see inside, but heard the guard say something to a woman inside. He came out, removed Tork’s handcuffs, and told him to go in.

Tork looked at the man, wondering why he had joined such a perilous venture. He then walked through the door and entered a large spacious apartment. There sitting on the sofa was Diana. She looked up and seeing Tork burst into a smile, tears running down her cheeks. She was so happy to see him that she balled like a baby.

Tork took her in his arms and held her. “What happened? I left you at home, so how did you get here?”

Diana told him everything about her abduction, the injection, waking up inside a hangar, and her interrogation by the colonel. “What’s going on, Tork? Who are these people?”

Tork looked at her, thinking how he was going to tell her they were the middle of a coup. “Diana, it seems Cal stumbled into a plot to overthrow the government, and now it appears we are in the middle of it. At this point, I don’t know just what to think, but they do have a strong argument. And if they pull it off, the people just might buy it.”

Diana looked stunned at Tork, her mouth open, unable to mutter even a sound.

Tork sat on the seat next to her and started to think. His thoughts went to the present conditions, to what was happening in California. The rights of the people were slowly being abolished as congressional changes were made. They were being made at lower levels. State, counties, and cities were all engaged in reducing the rights of each citizen. Slowly and secretly, they were taking them away. The gay marriages and other liberal changes were destroying society. A little unnoticed law is changed, and only those directly involved see it happen. It did no good to complain; the people had arrived at a conclusion that if it didn’t concern them, they didn’t care. Life went on.

People complained about not having jobs, listening to the president as he claimed everything was the fault of the past, and they were all working diligently to improve and make it all right again. Soon everyone would work again. They were at peace, and the world was moving toward a united world, a new world where all would be equal and all could share together. No one could point to another and say that they had more or less. Only in the old Soviet Bloc nations did you see a difference. They had lived through it and knew what freedom meant. They knew they could only earn and not take freedom for granted. They knew there could never be equality, that there would always be those who could create more for themselves, and if they couldn’t do it legally, then they would do it anyway they could.

Yes, there were millions out there that were ready for a change, a change that would bring back yesterday, return the industries, and open the mills and factories. Yes, it was time investments were made by all, to bring them back and put America back in control.

The military was being used to control the hot spots in the world and to enforce the will of the United Nations. The United Nations, as usual, was ineffective and had to rely on the United States and the European Union to bring the hot spots under control. Then the United Nations moved in to police.

Tork’s thoughts filled his mind. Soon the president would give them the power to police. They would be controlled by those who could not govern themselves, a council controlled by countries that were not long ago warring on one another and still unable control their own. The United States of Europe was controlling the UN General Assemblies and Security Council. They had called for and had all veto powers stripped from the members. Only the secretary-general had the veto. They had managed to control the United Nations. All wondered what was next.

A complete retreat from the laws of the land and a surrender of what was left of the constitution—not much left of it, Tork thought. It had been in the papers before all this happened. Tork remembered it, a limit on or to stop anyone from leaving the country without government approval had been passed by Congress and the president had signed it. A rider on the bill had allowed their borders to be opened through the United Nations. Anyone wishing to enter the United States only had to petition the United Nations for entry. They had given the authority to the world to enter and do what they wanted without regard to US law or its citizens. The amnesty to all who entered gave them the right to citizenship and the welfare that went with it too.

The United Nations had the power to arrest, try, and incarcerate any citizen.

They answered the question when the left-leaning leaders loaded the Supreme Court with liberals that struck down their immigration laws as unconstitutional, and they were forced to accept everyone from all nations that thought their governments were unfair. Yes, the Caribbean had flooded the east coast of Florida with Haitians. Florida had become the state of three languages. The government had decreed that English, French, and Spanish would have to be used as official languages. Many people had left the state in chaos. It was difficult for harmony to exist.

It had become a forgotten state; only the rich could afford to visit there, and their numbers were becoming smaller and smaller. No, the United Nations had control of who could enter. Once again American people were betrayed by the administration and the Congress.

Thought after thought of what was happening was going through Tork’s mind. The loss of family farms, industries being forced out of the country because of law and high taxes, and mandatory health imposed on small business forced thousands of them to close, putting thousands out of work.

Tork hadn’t noticed what was going on. He seldom read a paper or watched television. Subconsciously it was all collecting, coming together, bit by bit, and he was beginning to understand what these people were doing. He was thinking it might be time to join in this new American revolution, a civil war of wars.

Tork turned to Diana and began to explain everything to her. It might be time for them all to stand up and be counted. After all, they caused it with a vote, but how were they deceived? This was one answer they needed to fully understand. What had happened and why?