True Lies - Redux Ch. 12

"Anyway, they've only turned up one name that seems significant - a "Darwin Moore" that is apparently some kind of DHS investigator. Moe is trying to run this guy down and will interview him if he can locate him. He's got some friends in the Chicago PD "Intelligence Division" that owe him some favors big time - and Moe's calling them all in on this deal. It's possible these guys can finger him."

"Allie, see if you can get Grayson to come here sometime early this afternoon and we can all talk. Don't tell him me and Rachel are here. Well, me for sure. OK?"

Allie was able to do that and Grayson came by about 2PM.

Rachel and I walked in right after Grayson entered Allie's room.

"Ah, hello Jim. Hello, Mrs. Johnson."

Rachel ignored him.

"Did you hear about Jennifer?" I asked him.

"Jennifer? No - nothing recent."

"She was killed yesterday. Sniper bullet while she was standing right besides me. Sniper missed me..."

"Ah, shit. My condolences, Jim. Sincerely. I want to assure you I had nothing to do with that..."

"If I thought you did - you'd already be dead. But I do have a question for you that's been bothering me just a tad...why are you still alive, Grayson? You don't have all those big bucks protecting you any more - so I'm thinking it's something else. Either a very powerful friend or friends, or merely insurance of one kind or another. So explain exactly what it is."

"It's pretty simple. I don't know where ALL the bodies are buried, but I know enough on many of the key players. And I've taken precautions and made sure those players know of the "info bombs" already in place."

"Alright. The gloves are off on their side - and my side too - so you need to start playing your part and really start pressuring everyone in that meeting you already told me about. I need to know who gave that kill order. And I need to know this as soon as fucking possible. And a hint for you - you don't have any crap on me that I care about, and if I'm taken out, or Rachel or anyone else - guess how long YOU'LL stay alive? Don't even think you could disappear. Not a chance, actually. Trust me on this. So start working."

******************

Grayson -

Time to turn the screws on "Chuckie", Senator Charles Reyburn.

I called his office but couldn't get through to him directly and was forced to leave a message.

Short but sweet, I thought, "Is your life insurance paid up? Mine sure is. Made any trips to Southeast Asia lately?"

As I explained to Jim - I WAS still alive, if maybe barely - because I DID know where the bodies were buried. Maybe not all of them, but enough.

The Senator called me back within the hour.

"What the fuck kind of message you sending, Grayson?"

"A serious message. It's THAT serious, Chuckie."

"Oh, fuck off."

"Who killed JFK?" I asked him.

"Shit. Stop screwing around and talk."

"Not on the phone. You know that. And not your office, either. Offsite tonight, someplace."

"Alright. Come to my house at 8PM."

"I'll be there. And I have insurance, spread around. Don't even think of messing with me, Senator. Clear?"

"Now Grayson, don't be getting all paranoid on me." And he tried to chuckle comfortably - but he couldn't pull it off.

What I had on Reyburn specifically was hard evidence he liked underaged girls - sexually - and he occasionally indulged. I had flown him there myself for these purposes on more than one occasion - "there" being Thailand - as part of T.P.P. "investigative" junkets and other trips to Southeast Asia - including South Korea and Japan and even Vietnam once. All places where it was easy to carve out a day or two for just "fun" in Pattaya or Bangkok.

If this became public knowledge he might not end up in jail here in the USA, but his political career would be toast and he knew it. And he LIKED his career and all the perks of being a US Senator - and just maybe on the short list for a VPOTUS run, at some point in the next 8 years.

I was on time and shown right in to his most private study - and only had to wait 10 minutes before he graced me with his august personal presence.

"Alright - what's so damn important?" Reyburn started with an annoyed tone.

"Well, hello, Chuckie. Is your life insurance all paid up and current? Because mine sure is now. I'm not feeling all that confident I'm going to be around much longer. When I was a billionaire I used to self-insure. But, I'm not anymore...and it's not only Met Life I'm insured with. I've got some friends in low places with access to certain safety deposit boxes with various documentation - videos and such - of you doing certain...things...well, YOU know. And it would be VERY unfortunate for you and Reade and Carliosi if I should die or just disappear. Very unfortunate. We're not just talking "National Enquirer" but Wall Street Journal and NY Times type news publicity. Especially for you as one of those evil conservative Republicans. Bad news PR. Career ending. And if your public service career ends - can your life not soon be ended as well?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Who killed JFK? Do you know? Humor me."

"Fuck. All I know is that Warren Commission was a joke. The outcome of that little public play was decided way before that commission met. But, no - I don't know who killed JFK. Might have been Oswald - but not as a "lone crazy." No fucking way."

"I'll tell you what my own dear old father told me - right after he warned me to pretty much keep my own mouth shut about it and never, ever, try any deeper inquiries on my own. His major point is that if JFK could be killed with impunity, pretty much anybody in the world could be. I'm not safe right now and neither are you as a sitting Senator and certainly not as a retired one. There are some people after you, now. Not necessarily powerful people - just deadly ones - like the actual "shooters" of JFK."

"Who the fuck is after me - and why?"

"I'll get to that. Hear me out. JFK was killed by a conspiracy - and a fairly large one with lots of parts and lots of layers. It was a "combined ops" of Cubans, CIA, and the Chicago Mob - but the power behind those players were all Texans - and that included the TOP Texan - LBJ himself.

JFK's biggest problem was that he was a fuckup - from a family of fuckups - and he was unfaithful. Not just unfaithful to Jackie - but unfaithful to anyone but his own fucked up family. He needed help to get elected President. Hell he needed help to win the nomination, and the Mob and Teamsters "carried" West Virginia for him in the primary elections in that crucial state. Then in the general election he needed some more help - again the Mob gave him Illinois in a very close result - just an 8,000 vote margin for the whole state. But that's what LBJ was for - delivering Texas - and LBJ bragged on that margin of victory, "What you want to win by son? 100,000 votes? 200,000? You pick a number and I'll deliver it!" And he did.

"It was just some sweet dealing. Organized mobsters LIKED having "their" President in the White House. They fully expected just a little bit of recompense and respect. LBJ expected his own honest shot at the brass ring in 8 or maybe even 4 years. But JFK kept dicking around with anything with a cunt and kept screwing up lot's of other things. The whole Bay of Pigs fiasco and JFK definitely leaving LOTS of men behind - pulling all support halfway through the mission. Just "little" men. Nobody important... About 1000 times worse than that Benghazi fuck up. CIA field types, ex-US military "Black Ops" folks, and many, many militant Cubans ready to fight Castro and the Communists to the end were all betrayed by one person - in their mind - JFK.

"Then the direct consequence of that, the Cuban Missile Crisis and as close to Nuclear War as ever occurred during the whole Cold War. The Kennedy's all spun it as some kind of "wise" and steady Presidential leadership, but it was just another Kennedy fuck-up, like managing to get his PT boat actually run over by a Jap destroyer during WW2. Or his older brother, Joe Junior, managing to lose his own bomber plane in a non-combat mission. Bad luck? A curse? Karma? Or just the normal consequences of egotistical bad decision making fuck ups?

"Then JFK and his brother RFK, Attorney General, went after nationwide "organized crime" real hard. REAL hard, to squash any rumors or actual blackmail attempts from the real fact Joe Kennedy Senior had made the necessary deals, with promises, that got JFK elected with organized crime help! It was just "smart politics" to the Kennedy's - but it wasn't all that smart in the end.

"And finally, JFK was about to just cut LBJ loose - replace LBJ with Bobby as Vice Pres in that 1964 election. This did not sit well at all with LBJ, and his own vast ego. It would have ended his political career and his own power and he knew it. No chance for his own Presidency with Bobby as heir apparent. So the decision was made by LBJ and his Texas cronies in several meetings where only possibilities were discussed - and the MAJOR possibility was that IF LBJ should happen to become Pres - he would remember who his friends were and would not betray a single one of them. That was the extent of LBJ's part - but was crucial. Oh, and the fact LBJ himself would be "owned" as a President far more than normal by certain "benefactors." A totally fucked up Vietnamese War that needed huge military-industrial complex spending was one consequence for LBJ. Again, who the hell benefited from Vietnam fought as it was? Who could actually fuck that up so badly UNLESS some unstated goals were the ones really in play?

"Whoever actually put the JFK assassination together did an excellent job of compartmentalizing everything and undoubtedly used the revolutionary "cell" concept. No one knew it all. Ex-CIA agents found the angry Cuban sniper team. They communicated with current CIA agents interfaced with the Secret Service protective detail and found out the auto route in Dallas for that day - and then LBJ staffers made sure it did NOT change. Oswald was just a perfect patsy who was but one of a few in Dallas. The route went by his place of employment and thus he was chosen. His gun was used for the assassination but he didn't actually shoot it. He wasn't even in the same room as the real sniper team. And the Mob took care of Oswald afterwards anyway - via their own patsy Jack Ruby. Ruby always wanted to be a "made" member of the mob but it was too late. He already had an incurable cancer - but his family was very well taken care of after his death while in prison and also while keeping his own mouth shut quite well.

"If you look at the old newsreels of LBJ, he looks absolutely scared to death for that first week after the deed was done. He friggin' WAS scared because once a King is killed, the very next King feels his own head very much at risk. He finally settled down and played his role.

"What really helped was the Machiavellian way the real conspiracy was hidden by the purposeful spread of just a few "conspiracy theories" that soon took on a life of their own. That's how you hide a real conspiracy - and get away with it. LBJ naming Earl Warren as head of the Commission to investigate the assassination was just more politics as usual. Warren was a huge liberal and his price was LBJ's wholehearted support for both "civil rights" for minorities but also a huge shift towards socialism if not outright communism that resulted in LBJ's "Great Society".

"And inevitably a lot of people actually involved DID die early deaths. Which merely fueled ever more "tin foil hats" false conspiracy theories...while protecting the one REAL conspiracy.

"Now the point of all this? Anyone can be killed and some very dangerous trained US Intel agents - just "little people" themselves - are now targeted for death by someone powerful and they know it, and have headed underground but ARE fighting back - and your head is one they're after..."

"Is this all part of that fuckin' Iran deal? Christ, my support for that was just a little political quid-pro-quo and we got an actual budget passed that ONLY has about half a trillion in deficit spending in it. You know how hard it is to work with those "progressive" ideologues - plus Barry's fucking ego? Who the hell want's to kill anyone over that? One way or the other? Hell, you're the one that lost your billion dollars - seems like you would more than anyone else..."

"Yeah - but it's NOT me. I think it has to be Jameson or Nance - the only two non elected officials in our little meeting at your farm - remember? And the only ones I don't have any dirt on already - not like you three. They could care less if my own "insurance" info get's out. See your problem as well as mine now? We need to start working on taking those two down and out of the picture. This might entail an impeachment proceedings - or just a credible threat of one. You better get working on it before it's too late...that's all I've got to say right now. Christ, I don't even much care about that promised $50 mil anymore. I'd just like to live a little longer myself."

"Alright. Fuck it. I'll open a brand new Senate Committee Investigation into this whole Iran Nuclear and Normalization treaty AND I'll start boiling some frogs. Keeping the heat and the pressure on and slowly raising it. And if they start squealing too much I'll try to get to find out just who is doing what more privately. I really don't KNOW for sure - but I'd guess it would be Jameson more than Nance. Nance has POTUS's best interests above ALL else at her heart - whereas Jameson seems like more of a loose cannon and maybe some different ultimate goals.

"Uh, are these other agents as dangerous as you think, really?"

"They're the ones that took me down - all the way - and I didn't have a chance against them. I'd be real cautious if I was you. Ask the FBI about that Jennifer Smith shooting - and those two CIA execs that were also killed, same day and same place. Harrera and Gilbert. Have you heard anything about that?"

"No. Not yet. I'll try to help. You're in communication with these guys? Keep 'em under control. I'll need some time."

"Yeah. I'm trying. But the clock is ticking and it will go off at some point no matter what. And if another assassination occurs of these "rogue agents" group - my life and your career and just maybe life will ALSO be over. And I really think they are just as resolute as the Kennedy assassins. Don't screw around on this one."

****************

Next day - Chicago

Moses Birger was actually visiting Woodfield Mall for a little personal shopping for one of his favorite niece's 12th birthday coming up - next Saturday. He didn't go shopping himself much in person. He had people that could do that for him, but he just felt like it today. Harry accompanied him as always, as did Jeff, his chauffeur. Both Harry and Jeff had some former professional military type experience and liked a few toys they were both familiar with. Especially the discrete military grade encrypted radios for personal comms.

Woodfield Mall was one of the ten largest in the USA, in the Chicago suburb of Schaumberg close to O'Hare Airport and also not far from Moe's estate in Long Grove.

There was the normal midweek after school crowd in the multi-level mall with over 300 stores. Lot's of soccer Mom's and their soccer playing kids were in the mall. And also a team of...others.

One of these others had entered the mall a full 45 minutes before his mates and casually shopped in stores that brought him closer and closer to the Mall's security center.

Then he casually walked in and shot the three people inside. None of them were armed. None of the private security employees paid $11 an hour (starting pay) by the mall management company were armed. The man then turned off all the automatic alarms - especially those that would alert police or fire and then gave the "go" signal using his own short range civil band radio.

The plan was simple - just kill as many of these godless infidels as possible - and then possibly escape to do it again - or if Allah willed it - martyr themselves here today, as long as they took hundreds with them.

It was a three team concept - each team composed of two men, a primary shooter and his armed protective wingman. One team started at one end of the mall on the ground level. Another team started at the other (longest) opposite end, and the third team - which the security room neutraliser was a part of - waited on the upper level midway. The "wolf" teams were tasked to herd the sheeple into an ever more crowded mass below them. Then shrapnel laced homemade grenades - more sophisticated than simple pipe bombs - would be dropped on that crowd to maximize casualties - and the six terrorists would simply change their clothes and mingle with the panicked crowd that was allowed to escape. With only six people it was impossible to try and control everyone of course - but a high number of infidels should be killed or wounded - at least in the hundreds and maybe approaching a thousand.

Each team carried a large briefcase with them that contained a high-powered cellphone frequency jammer. This should help slow down police and other emergency first responders notification and arrival. The plan was good because it was so simple. The key part was taking out that security room. Everything after that should have been easy with only minor problems encountered and easily adjusted for.

After all, Chicago was very much like a "European" city, these Saudi terrorists had been told. The population was already legally disarmed by the strict gun control laws.

Except Americans WEREN'T Europeans and a lot more of those casual shoppers were armed than the terrorists expected. These included more than a few off-duty police officers that always carried, even more "gang banger" druggie "lieutenant" types shopping with their own personal security "posse", and a LOT of soccer moms now that were formerly members of the US Military and decided to carry - whether legal or not - to protect themselves and specially their children from an apparently ever more violent and predatory world. And a few people like Harry - private professional security types that did have legal licenses to carry, even in Chicago.

So things didn't exactly go as planned.

The first wolf team entered the mall and started chaining the doors behind them right after starting the jammer. One pulled his full auto AR-15 out and just started shooting at anyone he saw. Most people DID start screaming and running away and this was almost orgasmic for the shooter. He did hit several people and the tumbling .223 bullets tore into them and their blood flew. He felt so powerful - like Allah in Allah's guise of Al-Mumit, the Destroyer, the Bringer of Death, just one of the 99 names of Allah in that "religion of peace."

But that feeling didn't last. Suddenly he jerked as several .40 rounds hit him in the chest like hammers. His vest absorbed that impact OK, but the next one hit him in his left eye and he went to his place in Paradise - or just maybe not. His partner was just as surprised and struggled to pull his own AR-15 out of the duffel bag and was wildly looking around for the shooter, when a large angry looking African-American with lot's of garish "bling" on him walked right up to him and shot him right between the eyes with his quite illegal Glock.

"Shooting at all those women and kids...that's some sick shit, you raghead motherfucker." He then shot the lock off the chained doors and he and his posse walked out and drove away. "Geesh, can't even go to the mall in peace anymore..." he muttered to himself.

The other wolf team made it a little further and shot a few more people before a combination of five separate shooters replying from ambush took both of them down. It was actually 2 off duty cops and three soccer Moms. The two policemen - well one was a woman - got commendations, and the three soccer Moms had their weapons confiscated and received rather stiff fines for their illegal carrying. But somehow, just anonymously, brand new replacement guns and more than enough cash to cover the fines appeared for all three women. And the kids of all three women were suddenly a LOT more respectful of Mom from then on.