THE WARNING A Novel of America in the Last Days (The End of America Series Book 2) (8 page)

National Museum of American History

Stars and Stripes Café

“We
are now focusing our resources on those we know least about.” TSA Website

        
At first, Barry couldn’t believe what he was reading. The
highway contractors’ trade magazine contained a media release disclosing that
the Department of Homeland Security had ordered hundreds of portable four feet
by 16 feet bullet proof shelters, with stop and go lights, halide security
lighting and built-in HVAC units. Barry assumed that the traffic control booths
were for use at military bases. But, then it occurred to Barry that DHS doesn’t
have any military bases. Plus, any military base he had ever attended had
permanent traffic control booths built into the entry gates of the base. So,
what the heck, he wondered, was the possible use for all those highly
securitized booths?

        
As a widely-read DC blogger Barry knew that he would be able
to find out well before most of official Washington. His widely-read blog, DEEP
INSIDE DC, regularly carried insider disclosures from federal employees who
weren’t enamored with the current administration. One of his best inside
sources just happened to work at the DHS. Sandy was a girl whom Barry dated
back in Boston before they both moved to DC ten years ago and went to work as
federal bureaucrats in different agencies. Barry had often reflected on the
fact that Sandy was untraceable as his main source at DHS because the two of
them had no known connection in DC. To their best of their knowledge, no one in
DC knew that they had earlier dated in bean town. Sandy, like Barry, was a
patriotic American who was willing to help Barry tell the truth, even at some
personal danger.

        
To avoid any potential for Sandy to get caught as Barry’s
DHS source of inside information they never spoke by phone nor communicated by
e-mail. If Sandy had something to reveal to Barry, she pulled up the venetian
blind slightly on the window of her apartment facing Connecticut Avenue.
Sandy’s street was on Barry’s way to his favorite coffee shop. He could just
glance up as he walked by her apartment building and know if she needed to
meet.

        
Like her fellow DHS employees
Sandy was regularly interviewed, screening her as a possible insider leak in
the Department. To avoid being caught Barry had trained Sandy on how to think
during a lie detector test. She thought of a calm blue lake, afloat in a boat,
with the sun and a cooling breeze on her face. In each interview Sandy quickly
passed the intrusive questions. She always felt that she was a good actress,
going back to her days in high school when she starred in three dramas. DHS
interviewers didn’t seem to suspect her of anything.

        
As Barry walked towards his morning 2% latte, with extra
espresso shot, he glanced up at Sandy’s window. The blind was up a few inches.
Barry knew that he would be meeting Sandy for lunch in the Stars and Stripes Café
located in the National Museum of American History, at 14
^th
and
Constitution Avenue. Barry and Sandy meeting places for lunch were in the
public restaurants located at one of the eight Smithsonian museums in downtown
DC. The two varied their meeting location by following the Smithsonian’s list
of eight tourist attractions posted on its website. Their last meeting at been
at the food court at the National Air and Space Museum, so now it was time for
the National Museum of American History. By meeting at public restaurants in
crowded tourist attractions Barry and Sandy knew that they would meld into the
crowds, making it highly unlikely that they would be noticed.

        
Barry arrived first, before noon, and ordered a chicken and
arugula wrap and iced tea. He took his food to the farthest back corner of the
patriotically themed café, knowing that Sandy would find him, which she did
upon her arrival right at noon. Sandy, a petite brunette, brought her spinach
and mushroom quiche and diet soda and sat down across from Barry at the small
two person table. Barry was admittedly somewhat easy to spot. He had a small
male pony tail and usually wore a New York Yankees navy blue baseball cap and
Italian sunglasses. Sandy gave Barry a quick half smile, followed by a quick glance
around the café to see if she recognized any one.

        
“Hi, Barry. You’re going to be glad we met. There’s some
really
big do-do
stirring at DHS; in the TSA, specifically.”

        
Barry finished chewing the bite of his wrap, then he asked,
“What? How could it possibly be
bigger
do-do
than buying all that ammo? I’m still thankful for your tip on those
Requests For Proposal. Thanks to you we broke it
first
on my blog. So what’s up now?”

        
“I assume that you already know, from this week’s trade
publication, about the purchase by the DHS of those traffic control booths?”

        
“Funny you should ask. I read about the control booths
yesterday. My first thought was that you must know more than what the trades
revealed.”

        
“Sure do….Barry, you
won’t
believe….yeah, you
will
believe it.
You don’t trust
anything
this
government does, do you?”

        
“I wouldn’t say
anything
Sandy, just
most
things. I’m down
with most of what comes out of the Pentagon….though now that I’ve said that….I
can think of
a few
….”

        
“OK, OK….I only have 45 minutes, so….take notes. Those
several hundred booths were ordered by DHS for the use by TSA on the nation’s
interstate highways. They will man each booth with between four and six TSA
blue-shirted employees. And, get this;
each
access control employee will be armed with a
revolver
. In addition, DHS just ordered
several few hundred AR-15 rifles
, enough for two weapons in each
booth.”

        
“
Stop
, Sandy….I
get the weapons thing, of course. But, go back to the
placement
on….how did you say it? On the nation’s
interstate
highways?
For what
? How can they
possibly
justify….”

        
“Here’s the official line. TSA is not finding any terrorists
in the nation’s airports. It’s
embarrassing
how many
billions of dollars
have
been spent to support the huge TSA workforce in the nation’s 503 airports with
commercial service. They grab an occasional knife in some hapless passenger’s
carry-on luggage that they forgot. Once in a while they even find a gun. But,
not belonging to a terrorist, just a forgetful American, even a couple
Congressmen, if you recall. “

        
“Yeah, it is disgusting how much we spend ‘fighting the last
war’, as they say. Jihadists won’t be bringing down any more airplanes in our
lifetimes. So, why not just
back off
on groping the old women and little kids? Why not cut back on the number of TSA
employees to a
realistic
number?”

        
“Are you kidding?
Reduce
the number of federal government employees? How long have you
covered
DC?”

        
Barry smiled broadly and responded, “Ya’ got me there.
That’s
not gonna’ happen, but back to
the interstates. What does the lack of terrorist take downs by the TSA at
airports have to do with these traffic control booths?”

        
“Simple. The TSA will announce that the terrorist threat has
shifted
from the nation’s airports to
its interstate highways. The TSA actually tried this line out when it set up
five temporary control booths in Tennessee recently. It apparently worked,
because no voices were raised in opposition.
No
complaints, even by the motorists who were stopped to check their
papers in order to….unhuh, sure….
look for
terrorists
. What will happen is that these several hundred traffic
control….make that
access control….
booths
will be placed at strategic locations throughout the US. They almost ordered
their use after the Boston bombings, but they weren’t quite ready. The next
terrorist event, false flag, or not, and you’ll start seeing the booths spring
up across the country. They plan to start on the interstates between the major
urban cities, then expand their use.”

        
“Wait, Sandy, are you saying
each
motor vehicle will be stopped at
each
booth? How will that work? People won’t put up with that….not
for a moment.”

        
“
Really
Barry
? If you had been told ten years
ago that your body would be scanned, showing what it looks like under your
clothing….or that eighty year olds would be groped for weapons….or agents would
feel toddlers private areas….and that people would
put up with it
? They have a plan to make sure that Americans will
accept
access control points on their
interstates.”

        
“I’m
all
ears.”

        
“I don’t know the fine details, yet, but during breaks you
can learn a lot at DHS, just by sipping your soda and sitting near your fellow
employees. There is coming a major false flag event, probably
a series
of similar false or black flag
events. They’ll be violent; a
lot more
violent
than the shooting of Larry McAlister or Aurora or Sandy Hook - a
lot
more. I don’t know anything more
than that. I’ll keep my ears open, of course. I should be able to find out
what’s being finalized.”

        
“Do that, Sandy. I’ll post this insider leak right away, but
if you can get me some details on the planned black flag events that would be
huge
. If we can blog the truth about
faked domestic terrorist events,
before
they actually happen, it could blow their cover and
stop
the whole charade. Sandy, if you can get me the details….we
could both
change history
….and….maybe
save our country from plunging into bloody violence. If they successfully pull
off this fraud it could be the final nail in the good ol’ U.S. Constitution.
It’ll be like all those old Nazi movies, ‘
let
me zee your papers
”.”

        
“As soon as I learn anything, you’ll be the first to know.
Watch my window.”

13

Federal
Court House

Dallas,
Texas

        
“
All rise
,” the
Bailiff cried out calling the Court to order, “The United States District Court
for the Northern District of Texas is now in session. The Honorable Frederick
Rodriguez, presiding. You may be seated. Visitors are advised that they will be
removed from the Court Room and may be arrested should they applaud, speak or
express any other disruptive behavior in this honorable Court. You are so
advised.”

        
“Bailiff, call the first case, please,” the Judge asked.

        
“Today’s docket begins with the case of the United States of
America versus John Madison II, cause number….”

        
“That’s fine, Bailiff, I have the file. Is the Defendant
present? You’re John Madison II? Please stand to be sworn. Is that your counsel
with you? Yes, I see your appearance, now, here in the file. Do you swear to
tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, Mr. Madison?”

        
“So help me God, your honor,” Jack Madison replied.

        
“Mr. Madison, we don’t use that phrase, any more. As a
pastor, which I understand you are, you should know about the separation of church
and state.”

        
“With all due respect, your honor, my swearing to tell the
truth, or anyone doing so for that matter, has little meaning if it’s
not
based on swearing before our
God….Your honor.”

        
“Mr. Madison, we
aren’t
here today to debate theology. This is a court of law. Let’s get to it. You
have been charged by the people of the United States of America with various
crimes, most arising from purported violations of the federal hate crimes act
as well as the McAlister Hate Speech Act. I assume that you’ve consulted with
your counsel. The purpose of today’s hearing is for the Court to receive your
plea to each count of the criminal indictment. How do you plead, Mr. Madison?”

        
“Innocent, your honor, on each count.”

        
“As I expected, Mr. Madison. The next issue we will consider
is your freedom pending trial. What says the United States on the question of a
bond?”

        
The U.S. District Attorney stood, and responded, “May it
please the Court. The United States strongly opposes any bond for this
defendant. He
is
a flight risk, of
course. He even said to an arresting officer that he might not show up here
today, saying something like “if the Lord is willing”, which the government
takes to mean that he may flee, if he feels that his god is telling him to do
so. In addition to being a flight risk, his hate speech would be further
disseminated into this community, and the nation,
if
he is allowed to be out on bail. Pastor Madison’s hateful words
need to be contained within a federal facility and not broadcast on the public
airwaves, as he has done, so widely and
hatefully
,
in the past. Thank you, your honor.”

        
Jack Madison’s counsel stood to respond, but he was hushed
by the Judge, “Counsel, you don’t need to respond. I decided this morning when
I read this file how I would rule on the question of bond. I grant the
government’s motion. There will be no bail. Defendant Madison is ordered to be
removed to and incarcerated in the federal detention center in Dallas.

        
Both Jack and his counsel were speechless. Neither had
expected Jack to be accorded the kind of treatment given to serial killers.