Revenge in Advance - Final Hearing

Revenge in Advance -- Final Hearing

This story is the latest update to my sequel based on edrider73's 2014 story, "Revenge in Advance," in which a wife purchases an insurance policy that ultimately details the revenge her husband would face if he was caught cheating on her.

To understand the full context of what is happening here, I suggest you read that series, made up of "Revenge in Advance - A Sequel," in which Oscar escapes his wife's plot and gets his own revenge, followed up by "Revenge in Advance - Derby's Dose," a tale of what happened when one wife's revenge went too far, "Revenge in Advance: Pat," in which Oscar arrests and confronts the woman who started his odyssey, and "Revenge in Advance - Mona," in which the Task Force finally takes down the top conspirators.

The fifth part in the series is "Revenge in Advance - The Briefing," in which Oscar and the Task Force deals with yet another plot against the president, this time involving players from both sides of the Atlantic. "Revenge in Advance -- The New Way" is the sixth story in the ongoing saga.

I would also suggest you read Colinthedog's story,"Retreat," in which Oscar plays a role and my series, "The Warren Files." This story takes place about ten years after "Revenge in Advance -- The New Way." The events of that story and others are referenced here.

Many thanks to edrider73 for giving me permission to write this sequel and any others that may come from his original story, and many thanks to QuantumMechanic1957 for giving this a beta read.

I decided to make this my 200th submission here as my first was the initial "Revenge in Advance" sequel -- making this story something of a personal milestone...

Many thanks to those who offered comments and constructive criticism on my previous stories. Please refer to my profile for more on my personal policy regarding comments, feedback, follows, etc. (And yes, I moderate comments) And please remember, this is a work of fiction, not a docu-drama...

...

Oscar Warren sat at his large desk and looked out the window as he sipped on his morning cup of coffee. Once upon a time, he would have been doing this with Bill Jackson, his friend, boss, mentor, father-in-law and one-time lawyer.

But Bill passed away some four years ago after a stroke. He never regained consciousness and died two days later. By then, Oscar had been made Deputy Director of the Task Force, and Bill's death put him in the central chair.

He didn't want the job, but it was his. He would have much rather remained in the field, but he knew his days of chasing the bad guys down were over.

It had been ten years since the incident with the New Way, the organization that took control of England and nearly devastated the U.S. Mississippi Basin. A lot of hard work had gone into the recovery of that area, and there were still a number of people suffering from what had been done to them and their communities.

But with the death of Allison Gatsby/Hornsby, and her associates, the Task Force was finally able to completely close the books on the old Mutual Marital Assurance Society, or MMAS -- or so they thought at the time. The organization, started by a crazed, man-hating lawyer who wanted to punish the male of the species, had caused the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands of people, and the destruction of untold number of families, both in the US and overseas.

Even though the organization itself had been shut down some thirty years ago, several copy-cat groups sprang up, hoping to carry the torch lit by Mona Larsen. Over the years, lawmakers responded to the threats with volumes of laws and regulations. Some were good, but many others, like the Enhanced Patriot Act, or EPA, caused more problems than they were intended to solve.

Fortunately, the Supreme Court overturned the EPA, correctly arguing that it was completely unconstitutional and stripped Americans of their basic civil liberties. But by then, the damage had already been done. Hyper-partisan politicians from both sides of the political aisle often used the words of the EPA to lash out at their political opponents, causing more than one open brawl on the floor of the House or Senate.

Once the damage caused by the New Way was largely mitigated, the Task Force itself had come under increasing scrutiny, with politicians arguing it was no longer necessary. For years, Bill fought off those initial assaults, but eventually, the politicians began to win.

The reinforced Marine battalion that had been at Fort Apache for more than twenty years was disbanded, its troops and equipment reassigned to other other locations in the name of national security. Corporate sponsorship of the Task Force had dropped considerably and was now almost non-existent.

The vacuum caused by the loss of corporate sponsors was quickly filled by the feds, who began scouring the Task Force's books with fine-toothed combs, looking for anything that might seem a bit suspicious. They never found anything, but that never stopped them from digging even deeper.

Then Oscar got word of a Senate investigation led by none other than Sen. Susan Chambers, an outspoken critic of the Task Force. Now that her party was in control of the Senate, she was free to pursue her dream. Which explained the email he just received from her office.

"Director Warren, your presence is requested at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Rm 226, for a hearing to be held by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary," the email said, giving the time and date. Oscar knew the email was basically a polite order and his failure to appear would be followed by a subpoena.

He looked at his calendar and realized the hearing was set to be held in two days, giving him very little time to prepare. Of course, that was Chambers' objective, he thought to himself. He pressed a button on his desk intercom system and spoke to his assistant.

"Ms. Davidson, could you please come into my office?" he asked.

"Right away, sir," Julie Davidson, his executive assistant, said. A few moments later, the door to his office opened and a woman in her early forties entered the room.

"My presence has been 'requested' in Washington in two days, Ms. Davidson," he said.

"Yes sir, I saw that," she said. "I've already reserved a jet for you. You fly out tomorrow at 9:00 am. Sharp. I've also got a room reserved for you at the Hilton Garden Inn, and Special Agent Haskill will meet you at the airport." Oscar looked at her as she spoke. He was always impressed by her efficiency.

"Well, it seems like you're on top of things," Oscar said. She smiled at that.

"I've also taken the liberty of putting together a dossier on Sen. Chambers," she said, handing him a folder. "And on the other members of the committee," she added, handing him another folder. "I believe you already know Sen. Walters. He's expecting a call from you."

"Thank you, Ms. Davidson," Oscar said. "I'll give the good Senator a call. Is there anything else?"

"No, that's all, Director," she said.

"Thank you, Ms. Davidson," he said. She turned and started for the door, then turned back to him. "Is there something else?"

"What's going to happen to us, Director? With the Task Force, that is," she said, sadness and concern in her expression.

"I don't know," he said. "Don't worry. We'll get through it." She nodded her head and smiled.

"I know," she said. "It's just... the place seems so quiet these days."

"Yes, it does," Oscar said. "A bit... too quiet. It'll be okay, Julie."

"Thank you for saying so, Director," she said before leaving the office. After the door closed, he pulled up his video messaging application and contacted Sen. Jack Walters. After a few moments, Walters' face showed up on his monitor.

"Director Warren, thank you for calling back," the senator said. "I take it you got Suzie's little invitation."

"I did," Oscar said. "Didn't give me much time to prepare. What's going on?"

"Seems she's really got a burr under her saddle about your task force," Jack said. "She wanted to have federal marshals hand deliver that invite to you, but I got her to back off. Look, I'm in the hallway here, getting ready to go cast some votes, so I really can't get into it here. Can you give me a call in about... three hours? I should be back in my office by then and we can talk a bit more freely."

"Sure, Senator, I can do that," Oscar said. They said their goodbyes and Oscar opened the dossier Julie had put together.

According to the Dossier, Susan Chambers was 76 years old and had served in the United States Senate for 35 years. Oscar already knew that much. The dossier went on about Susan's political career and the initiatives she had championed over the years. Oscar already knew much of this, but scanned through it anyway.

What caught Oscar's attention, however, was the fact that Susan Chambers had legally changed her first name from Suzette after a contentious divorce from her first husband just over 40 years ago. Shortly after that, she met her current husband, Alex Chambers, a well-off businessman with a number of high-level contacts in business and government.

Chambers, in fact, was the person who got Susan interested in politics, and helped bankroll her first campaign for the Senate. Nothing out of order there, Oscar thought. According to the dossier, Chambers was still involved with Susan's Senate career and had actually benefited from it considerably.

But Julie's dossier didn't end there. Susan's divorce records had been sealed by the court for some reason, but there was a reference to an old Task Force case that pre-dated Oscar's recruitment. He logged into the Task Force's records system and pulled up the old case file.

The first thing that struck him was the name of the agent who handed the case -- Frank Michaels, the agent Oscar worked with after graduating from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. Frank died in the line of duty, but Oscar never forgot the man's last words to him: "Get the motherfuckers, Oscar."

Even after all this time, Oscar still got emotional thinking about Frank. The crusty old agent thought so much of Oscar that he gave him an old cabin up in North Idaho, overlooking Lake Pend O'Reille. Since then, Oscar had the cabin finished and planned to retire there with his wife, Rita.

According to the case file, Suzette Bradshaw, as she was known then, learned that her husband at the time, Allen, was cheating on her with a woman from his workplace. After confronting him about it, he promised to end the affair and go to counseling with her.

He went to counseling, but never ended the affair. Instead, he simply became more careful. Suzette suspected something was going on, but didn't have the funds for a private investigator. She saw an ad on the Internet and signed up for a weekend "spa retreat," which was how MMAS used to recruit their members.

The rest was pretty standard stuff, or at least as standard as MMAS operated in those days. One day, when Allen returned home, he found himself taken down by two "contractors," who stripped, shaved and tied him to a chair. When he woke up, he was beaten severely, then forced to watch Suzette have sex with three very large men.

When they finished with her, Allen was ordered to clean her with his tongue. When he refused, Suzette grabbed his testicles and squeezed so hard he passed out. The contractors beat him some more, even though he was unconscious. They later took him to a hospital and dropped him off at the emergency room.

Allen lost a testicle as a result of her assault, and was placed in a medically-induced coma to let his head injuries heal. Police were brought in when he regained consciousness. He told them his story, and later contacted the Task Force on the recommendation of the detective who took his statement. By the time Frank was involved, the authorities had already arrested Suzette for the assault.

According to Frank's case file, the prosecuting attorney offered a pretrial diversion program, something allowed under Indiana law at the time. The defense accepted the offer, which included counseling for anger management at an in-patient facility. Suzette was also required to pay restitution to Allen and agree to not harass or stalk him. Prosecution was withheld and after a three year period, the court dismissed the charges. There would also be no record of the charges having ever been filed.

Allen accepted the restitution, but had already filed for divorce, citing adultery and cruelty. As part of her restitution and agreement, Suzette accepted the terms Allen gave, provided that he agreed to have the divorce records sealed. As part of the divorce agreement, she reverted back to her maiden name, Hastings.

Oscar saw the side-notes Julie left for him on the dossier and smiled. She was working with legal to have the divorce records unsealed. In addition, she had tracked down Allen's current address. According to her, he was now retired and living in Richmond, Virginia.

Always so efficient, Oscar thought. He made a mental note to discuss this with Rita, as she was the one in charge of the Task Force's legal department. He looked at the time and realized he needed to call Jack. He fired up his video messaging application and contacted Jack.

"Right on time," Jack said when his face showed on the monitor. "We just wrapped up business."

"So tell me, Senator, what's this hearing all about?" Oscar asked.

"Well, Oscar, it seems the good Senator from Indiana has it in for your task force," Jack said. "She tells me she has some salacious information she thinks her constituents need to know."

"Her constituents? Really?" Oscar asked. "More like her party bosses and the media."

"Yeah, probably," Jack said.

"What kind of 'salacious' information does she claim to have?" Oscar asked.

"Don't know," Jack said. "But she claims some of it involves you."

"Me? That doesn't make any sense," Oscar said.

"That's what I said, Oscar. Hell, you make straight arrows look bad. I don't know what kind of information she has. Wouldn't even give me a clue," Jack said.

"I have a bit of information of my own to share," Oscar said.

"Oh?" Jack asked.

"I'd rather not get into it here, even if this is a secure connection. I'd rather talk to you about it in private," Oscar said. "I'll be at the Hilton Garden tomorrow about 1:30 pm your time. Think we can meet there?"

"I think we can do that," Jack said. "Is there anything else?"

"I'll talk to you about it tomorrow," Oscar said.

"Alright," Jack said. "You have my contact info. Ping me when you get in."

"Will do, Jack. And thanks."

"Any time," Jack said, ending the call.

...

"Why don't we just turn in our paperwork and retire, Oscar?" Rita asked after he slid into bed that night. He put his arm around her and held her tight.

"Sounds like a plan to me, dear," he said, giving her a kiss. They had been talking about retiring for a while now, and Oscar was at the point that he had simply had enough of the political bullshit. "Maybe after this hearing is over."

"What's the problem with this Senator Chambers?" Rita asked.

"I have no idea," Oscar said. "We've found nothing that ties her directly to any of the old MMAS structure. She was just one of thousands of women who got caught up in the snake oil they were selling. Did you get anywhere with her divorce records?"

"I've been told they've been unsealed and a certified copy will be delivered to Special Agent Haskill tomorrow," Rita said.

"Well, then, there's noting left to do but wait," Oscar said.

"Wrong answer, G-Man," Rita said with a sly smile. "There's a little problem here that you need to take care of."

"What's that?" Oscar asked. Rita climbed on top of her husband and gave him a deep tongue kiss.

"This," she said as she lowered herself onto him.

...

Alex Chambers considered Susan as he sipped on his bourbon. He understood that she had a lot on her plate lately, but this whole thing with the Homefront Security Task Force seemed to become an obsession lately. A rather unhealthy obsession, and one he wished she would let go.

"Are you all right, Susan?" he asked. She put her paperwork down and looked at him.

"Of course, Alex," she said with a faint smile. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm... concerned about you," he said. "This whole thing with the task force..."

"It needs to be shut down," she said firmly.

"Of course," he said. "But you've had what, thirty years to do that? Why now?"

"I made a promise," she said. "And I intend to keep it. I was always the group's last hope. It has to be done this way. Now please, stop interrupting me. I have a lot to do before the hearing." Alex nodded his head and downed the rest of his drink.

"Very well," he said, standing up. "Do what you need to, just make sure you succeed. I'm heading to bed, dear."

"Good night, dear," she said, letting him kiss her cheek, something he rarely did since even minimal contact caused him pain. "I'll be up for a while. Let me know if the light bothers you." She sat back in her chair after he left the room and thought back to the day she met Mona Larsen. She was a young woman at the time, and had just barely escaped jail for what she had done to her first husband.

"Things are not going so well for us, Suzette," Mona told her. "In fact, I may not survive the year."

"What do you want me to do?" the young woman asked.

"Bring down the task force," Mona said. "Especially that asshole Oscar Warren."

"But how can I do that?" Suzette asked. "I'm no one. I have no power."

"You will, my dear," Mona said with a smile. "When the time comes, you will. There's someone I want you to meet. His name is Alex Chambers. He will help you get where you need to be. Remember, only strike when the time is right. Not before."

"But I thought you said men are useless," Suzette said.

"And they usually are," Mona said. "But this is different. He will be very useful when the time comes."

Mona turned out to be correct. Alex turned out to be exactly what she needed. He was quite rich, very eccentric, and unlike other men, didn't constantly pester her for sex. In fact, he rarely touched her. The few times they had sex, he insisted on wearing a condom. And he had connections -- the kind of connections one needed to get someone elected to the United States Senate.

He pulled the strings, and everything went exactly as they planned. He was the one who got her divorce records sealed. And since there was no longer any record of her arrest, she was in the clear. Her first husband had left the state in disgrace and no one ever asked any embarrassing questions about her past.

As time went on, she came to respect, and even love, Alex. He was smart, rich and powerful. And he let her lead their marriage -- at least when no one else was around. Because of his skin condition and his fear of germs, he let her take other men into her bed, provided that he could watch from an adjoining room where he had installed a two-way mirror.

After Susan's first election, Alex immediately began preparations for her re-election. To the public, they were a loving couple -- exactly what the state needed in Washington.