Eddy's Current (31 page)

“How did the bomb get into the U.S.? How could it possibly be that it was smuggled in? Across the border?” Downing realized how stupid these questions were in less time than it took the words to leave his lips.

Downing and Yamamoto awkwardly spoke at the same time. “Those are just not very smar—” Yamamoto began. Downing spoke over him, “Those are not very smart questions, are they?”

“With all due respect, Mr. Downing, no, they are not very smart questions. Our borders are a joke. Any determined eight–year–old could smuggle a bomb into our country,” Yamamoto said.

“Okay, go ahead,” Downing said.

Yamamoto and Hernandez both were relieved that that detail of their story was no longer needed.

“I have no idea of the name of the terrorist who actually transported the bomb to Crimpton, but he took the bomb there, set it to explode — highly likely that it was on a timer — and drove out of town. It was that simple.”

“What do the two of you recommend?”

Hernandez spoke to Downing, but looked at Yamamoto while he was talking. “Torture al Istaad. He’ll talk. He’ll tell you that he armed the bombs and he’ll tell you why he did it. He’s a scientist, not a terrorist or military person. He won’t withstand the torture. He’ll sing loud and long. President Barnes can then take it from there.”

“Okay, Hernandez; how is it that the USFIA was negligent in all this?” Downing asked.

“Golden Boy knew about the bombs. He and his friends at USFIA believed that they could save the world. They’re the ones who brought the bombs to Pakistan for safe keeping. Before long, though, a few punks stole the bombs out from under their noses. Listen, it’s this simple: They needed a P.R. victory. They needed to brag to the world that they were responsible for locating the lost bombs. Rather than turn their achievement into a victory, the idiots allowed the bombs to be stolen, this time by terrorists. Rather than implement sound procedures that would keep the bombs safe, they messed it up completely. They botched it, plain and simple, and they botched it in every way there is to botch it. They’re responsible for the destruction from the Crimpton bombing. Their negligence caused Crimpton.

“They even knew about al Istaad. They did nothing. They set a few agents outside his office well after the bombs were armed by him and long after they were missing. It was like a made for television comedy movie on how to turn a serious intelligence investigation into a clown act. It was a disaster. They’re probably erasing the entire thing from their history as we speak. It’ll all come out, though. You can’t tell them what we just talked about. Our national security is at stake. You have to make a move unilaterally, completely independent from USFIA.”

“We’re under them in the chain of command. I have to work through them,” Downing said, but with a tone in his voice, and facial movements — especially his uneasy eyes — that offered little in the way of conviction, and that also asked for reasons from Hernandez and Yamamoto to violate the chain of command.

“National security takes precedence over organizational charts,” Hernandez said.

Downing quickly relented, and agreed to move against the Pakistani scientist without notifying the USFIA.

U.S. special forces arrived at al Istaad’s home in Pakistan twenty–one hours after the nuclear bomb explosion in Crimpton. Al Istaad was lifted from his bed and taken directly to a secret location, a mobile interrogation unit owned and operated by the CIA.

“Don’t ask him anything until you begin the torture. We have no time to waste, and I don’t want one answer given from casual questioning and another, conflicting answer, while torture is administered. We have to get accurate information on the first try. We don’t have time for long–term torture that includes sleep depravation or anything that takes more than a few minutes. Use your imagination, but get him to talk, and get him to talk now. The president has made it clear that he wants information as soon as possible so we can begin the retaliation strike,” Army Intelligence interrogation specialist, Lieutenant Brian Davenport, who was in charge of the interrogation, said to the three other interrogation “agents” after al Istaad was brought to them.

All players in the game had a serious problem on their hands, but only a select few knew it. Al Istaad knew nothing about the arming of the bombs in question or about any other bombs. He had armed nothing. He was a scapegoat. Hernandez and Yamamoto had fabricated their story under direct orders from Peterson. They were both secretly employed by Peterson. Their entire story was rubbish.

The interrogation proceeded.

“Did you arm two nuclear bombs for your terrorist friends?” Lieutenant Davenport demanded to know, using al Istaad’s preferred native language, Urdu, as the other three agents administered torture to al Istaad.

“Yes. Yes, I did. Stop! Stop! No more. No more,” al Istaad pleaded.

“Were these terrorists members of the Pakistani Resistance Force?” Davenport demanded, as the level of torture was increased.

“Yes. Yes. The Pakistani Resistance Force. Yes. That’s the group. That’s the group. Stop now. Stop now. I have a wife. I have children. Please, please,” al Istaad begged, in complete agony.

“Take him out of here. Get him to the detention center. Hold him there,” Davenport ordered.

The torture ended a few short moments after it began. The radiation caused irreversible damage. Al Istaad would not survive to see his children grow up. He would now be tossed aside. He was never seen again after his short stay at the detention center.

Davenport phoned Downing on a secure phone line to let him know of the information provided by al Istaad.

“He broke. He told us that he did it, that he armed the bombs. He also said that he did it for the Pakistani Resistance Force. I have no doubts about this one. This is for real,” Davenport reported.

“Thanks. But you’re sure, right? Did he admit to it himself or did you lead him on?” Downing asked.

“Full admission. It took some doing, but it’s solid. No doubt about it.”

“You’re absolutely sure?”

“Yes, sir. It’s a grand slam.”

Downing, Hernandez and Yamamoto went to the White House to meet with the president, vice president and chief military advisors. Downing would report only what he had discovered and not mention a word about his decision to go around the USFIA unless he was asked about it.

Hernandez and Yamamoto were not to speak unless the president asked them a direct question. Even then they were to respond only if the president made it clear that he wanted a response from them. Otherwise, Downing would answer all questions.

“Mr. President, we have more than enough to prove that the Pakistani Resistance Force was behind the bombing of Crimpton. Additionally, we know that they have another armed bomb exactly like the one they used on Crimpton,” Downing reported to President Barnes. “The whereabouts of that second bomb are unknown. USFIA is not going to admit that they don’t know where it is. We have got to move on this, and we have got to move now.

“Where’s Albert?” the president asked abruptly.

“USFIA can’t be involved,” Downing replied curtly.

“I’ll decide who’s to be involved and who’s out, not you, Mr. Downing. Now, I ask you again. Where’s Albert?”

“USFIA blew it,” Downing said. “They’re obsessed with covering up their mistakes. They were responsible for the bombs. The bombs were under their protection. They botched everything. They can’t get close to this thing. We have to sort out everything — find out all the facts first — before we can even consider bringing them back on board.”

“Look, I don’t have time for your petty squabbles. I was sickened long ago by the fighting among the intelligence agencies. Albert should have straightened this out years ago. I am not going to waste your time or mine having you walk me through exactly how it is you know all this, Mr. Downing. I simply want you — the deputy chief of the FBI, and the acting director — to look me in the eyes and tell me again who it is that was responsible for the Crimpton bombing. I can tell if a man is convinced of what he says by looking into his eyes as he says it.”

The two of them looked directly at each other’s eyes as Downing spoke, “Mr. President, the Pakistani Resistance Force was responsible for setting off the nuclear bomb that destroyed Crimpton, Idaho, killing more than seven thousand Americans. And they still have one armed nuclear bomb in their possession. The USFIA could easily have prevented the bombing if they had any conceivable idea what they were doing,” Downing said, without blinking.

There was five seconds of an awkward, almost twisted silence.

“Turn the military commanders loose,” the president ordered. “I want every known asset and all known members of the Pakistani Resistance Force destroyed within twelve hours.”

“We’ll have to invade Pakistan in order to do that, Mr. President,” the secretary of defense said.

“I am fully aware of that. Don’t invade with ground forces yet. You should be able to accomplish ninety percent of what’s needed with bombers. We’ll deal with the rest later. I fully understand that it will take months for our ground forces to root out all members of the Resistance Force — and make no mistake about it, we will root them out — but you should be able to cripple them beyond repair within twelve hours.

“You all heard my orders. It’s time to get on with it.”

“What about approval from the congress?” the president’s chief of staff asked.

“To hell with them. I don’t care what they think. It’s time to move. The American people did not elect me to this office so that they could hear me whine to the congress every time I have to make a decision to defend this country against imminent danger.”

The Pakistani Resistance Force was a known radical political organization, but they were not suspected by experts to be a radical terror group. The president was not interested in the opinions of the experts. Members of the Pakistani Resistance Force were known for their intimidating ways, and they were known for an occasional murder and act of extortion, but mostly they worked from the inside. They held seats in Pakistan’s parliament. Their members were political servants and even teachers and doctors. They were woven into Pakistani society. Many were well–respected citizens of Pakistan.

Yamamoto knew this, just as he knew many of the facts of the nation of Pakistan. He had a good memory regarding the things of Pakistan. Yamamoto also had a good long–term memory. He remembered that his father and his father’s father, both of whom fought bravely against the U.S. so many years ago, died a few days apart. His father was the first of the two to be killed, in Hiroshima, on 6 August 1945; His grandfather was killed three days later in Nagasaki. Neither was buried because neither body was ever located. Yamamoto knew of his family’s torment and shame. He remembered well his relatives’ tears as they talked from time to time at family gatherings about how they missed their dear family heroes.

Peterson’s cronies found it easy to convince Yamamoto to work with them because they discovered his hated family secret. Yamamoto was now in his eighties, but the pain of his father and grandfather’s fate at the hands of the Americans so many years before was fresh in his mind when he was approached by Peterson’s disciples with an offer.

Peterson offered to “make up” for the deaths of Yamamoto’s father and grandfather by setting up all descendants of theirs with a first–class life style. Peterson had guaranteed this life style for generations unlimited into the future.

Hernandez was even more easily corrupted. He was eaten alive with jealousy and he was constantly covering his tracks for having sold his soul to a foreign spy. Peterson and his boys went from point A to point B with Hernandez’s corrupt life in about twelve seconds. The FBI and USFIA had been stuck in a political battle over Hernandez for years. Neither agency was capable of finalizing the investigation of Hernandez, firing him, arresting him and gaining a conviction, ending his corruption.

Hernandez kept getting in deeper, though he had dreams of letting it all go and turning it around somehow. Peterson learned of Hernandez taking bribe money for his father–in–law’s cancer treatment. Peterson and his supporters learned it all, then they went to work on Hernandez. So Hernandez worked for Peterson now, and he would do as he was told. It made him feel important. He hated himself for it, but he knew Peterson was all he had.

So for Hernandez and Yamamoto, work for Peterson was more than just a job. They had been completely corrupted. They were required to talk when direct lies were needed. They were required to keep quiet when silence was needed to conceal the truth and allow the lies to flow like a raging river, flooding the entire earth.

The president’s justification for the invasion of Pakistan unraveled before the last bomb was dropped on the camps of the Pakistani Resistance Force. It was too late, though. Members of the Pakistani Resistance Force hid in the open; locating and destroying them was easy. All of the Resistance Force’s known members were either dead, captured or on the run.

The USFIA was completely caught off guard by the invasion of Pakistan. Albert arrived at the White House soon after learning of the invasion but was initially denied a formal meeting with President Barnes. The Secret Service agents were under direct orders to restrict President Barnes’ access from U.S. government officials. No one was sure who, if anyone, could be trusted to meet with the president, so the policy was that the answer was “no” to nearly all requests to meet with the president. This was a blanket order that did not contain an exception, even for Sydney Albert.

Albert gambled that he could make quick work of the agents. He was allowed onto the grounds, just outside the north entrance to the White House. Once there, he challenged the agents directly to allow him to proceed or shoot him. “You are our boss, Mr. Albert, but our loyalty is to the president alone. You are forbidden from entering the White House. Please leave at once,” the senior Secret Service agent ordered.

“Yes, your loyalty is to the president and to him alone, but this is a matter of extreme urgency. I am ordering you to allow me to enter the White House,” Albert replied.