Endangered Species: PART 1 (7 page)

Levell propelled his wheelchair down a wide
stone-paved hallway to the library and waited for the others to
begin filing into the room. Impatience was his norm and today was
no exception. He fidgeted in his wheelchair until the others began
to arrive. Once all of them were there, Timothy flicked the light
switch on the wall by the door to the library several times. The
three –foot square section in the floor dropped quietly down and
slid back underneath the adjoining portion of the floor. No one
made a move to descend into the chamber below. Levell always went
first. Not because he insisted; but because the others did. It was
a matter of respect. Two powerfully built members of the staff
lifted the wheelchair and its occupant and wrestled it carefully
down the stone steps.

Six people joined Levell at the table. He
sat at the middle. In terms of group dynamics, it was the weakest
position. Levell always chose to sit there for two reasons. It was
a way of making a statement that he didn’t think of himself as more
important than any of the others. It also spoke to the magnitude of
his personal power that he could sit anywhere and would be the
undisputed leader. The group’s number two, Marine Corps Major
General Roscoe “Buster” McCoy sat at one end of the table. To
prevent several of the others from squabbling over the seat at the
opposite end, the Mueller brother in attendance that evening,
Alfred, took it.

The remaining guests included the chairman
of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, and the Deputy
Director of the CIA’s National Clandestine Service, an Air Force
general who was the current chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The only woman among the group that evening, Maureen Delaney, was
chief executive of one of the largest technology companies in the
world. Over time at these meetings, she had gone from sitting
wherever a chair was available to sitting next to Levell. It made
Alfred Mueller, the oldest of the brothers at eighty-three, smile.
These were two of his favorite people. Both were exceptionally
intelligent and capable. He could see that, despite their mutual
shyness around each other, something was developing between
them.

Levell looked around the table, his back
ramrod straight. He was clear-eyed and, at seventy-three, his full
head of iron-gray hair was cut short and neatly combed. He turned
to his right and looked at Maureen Delaney for a moment longer than
he had the others. She smiled sweetly and patted his hand that
rested on the arm of the wheelchair, causing him to blush
slightly.

“
As usual,” he said, “I
thank each of you for coming. It seems these meetings are becoming
more frequent.”

“
More shit keeps hitting
the fan,” McCoy said. His voice was a low growl, appropriate for a
forty-year veteran of the Marine Corps. He also was Levell’s oldest
and closest friend. Realizing he had cursed, he pulled the unlit
stub of a cigar from his mouth and said, “Oops, sorry
Maureen.”

“
Not to worry, General. As
I’ve told you before, I grew up in an Irish Catholic family with
six older brothers, all of them Marines. I’ve heard far
worse.”

“
Buster’s right. Things are
intensifying,” Levell said. “They have been ever since Chaim Laski
was removed from the scene.”

The CIA’s Clyde Seaton said, “We knew Laski
was a glorified bagman laundering funds from the Russians and using
it to support a variety of left-wing causes. But I, for one, am a
bit surprised that his death didn’t cause a more substantial
disruption in those activities.”

“
It just demonstrates how
well organized and powerful these devils are,” the senator
said.

McCoy pulled the cigar from his lips again
and said, “And how deeply entrenched they are.”

“
Why shouldn’t they be?”
Seaton said. “They’ve been at this for generations, infiltrating
and subverting the news media, unions, educational institutions
down to preschool levels, the entertainment industry, anything that
helps them reinforce their message and recruit more and more
voters.”

“
As we’ve all said before,
it may take a generation, likely two, to undo all they’ve done. It
will have to be a bottom up effort to capture control of one of the
major political parties and change the national direction,” Delaney
said.

“
Laski was just a tool. So
are the Russians and any other enemies of the American democracy,”
Mueller said. “They’re all fools, but dangerous ones, letting
themselves be used, yet blind to that fact because of their intense
hatred of the United States.”

“
Well,” Levell said, “we
all know who really is behind this.”

Around the table, the others nodded their
heads.

“
AGU, the Alliance for
Geopolitical Unity,” the Air Force General said. “And isn’t it
ironic that most of us sitting around this table also are members
of it.”

McCoy snorted. “Cliff and I are the only
ones who aren’t. Good thing the rest of you are. It’s good to have
spies in the enemy’s camp.”

“
Membership in AGU is
almost mandatory for those of us who are at the top of their games
in politics, industry, academia, the military and other important
disciplines,” the senator said.

Delaney said, “It’s a prerequisite for
achieving and maintaining a pinnacle position in one’s chosen
profession, and has been ever since it was founded by a group of
international bankers and their cronies.”

“
Their goal is to further
their control of wealth via a world banking monopoly to be
empowered and protected by the establishment of a global
government. It’s something that has driven the Left for
generations.” Seaton said.

“
Unfortunately, its inner
sanctum is ruled by a cadre that consists solely of international
bankers and financiers.” Delaney said. “None of our SAS members
have been admitted to that group.”

Levell chuckled. “But the
secretary of the treasury
is
a member and he has a very loose tongue around his
mistress. She happens to be on our payroll.”

Sitting back in his chair, the Air Force
general said, “Throughout history, there have been countless
efforts to create the idyllic society, one in which there is no
poverty, war, economic inequality, or social injustice. The end
result has always been the loss of personal freedoms, including
freedom of speech, freedom of action, freedom of self-expression,
freedom in the choice of work, freedom of conscience, even freedom
of thought. All in the fantasy that individuals can’t make good
decisions; only a central, dictatorial person or autocracy can
create a better life than the individual.”

Delaney said, “The evidence of AGU’s end
game is clear—fostering global socialism, the push for
international disarmament, and gun control laws at home to prevent
the possibility of a citizens’ revolt. Add to that the destruction
of currency values through legislation that promotes market
bubbles, which cause financial collapses, leading nations into
bankruptcy, and ultimately the creation of a global currency and
one-world economy controlled by the leaders of AGU.” She looked at
Levell then continued. “It’s frightening to know that the Federal
Reserve System was formed by the same people who founded AGU, and
who control its every move.”

“
As Baron Rothschild, the
international banker, wrote, ‘Give me control over a nation’s
currency and I care not who makes its laws’,” McCoy said, with the
unlit cigar still clamped between his teeth.

“
Yes, yes,” Mueller said
impatiently. “None of us would be sitting here today if we did not
understand the gravity of the situation and the effectiveness of
our opponents’ insidious tactics. Nor do any of us underestimate
how dangerous our actions are to each of us personally. If we had
not created our own organization, the Society of Adam Smith, and
carefully recruited and vetted our members, we could not hope to
effectively combat AGU. But, for us here today, the pressing issue
is measuring whether our strategy is succeeding.”

* * *

Levell and the others broke for dinner. He
was in the lounge area near the dining hall enjoying a pre-dinner
cocktail with McCoy and Delaney when Rhee motioned to him from the
entrance. He rolled his wheelchair over to the Korean and followed
him a short distance down the hall. Rhee purposely made no attempt
to assist Levell. He knew the man’s pride would forbid it in Ms.
Delaney’s presence.

“
What is it, Mr. Rhee?”
Levell said.

In heavily accented English, the Asian man
said, “While in meeting, you get call from Mr. Whelan.”

“
Whelan?” There was a note
of surprise in Levell’s voice along with a trace of
concern.

Rhee’s attitude never
reflected emotions; he was the essence of stoicism. “He say very
important. He want you call him quick.” He handed Levell the
special satellite phone.
It had an
extraordinarily high degree of encryption and operated on a system
of communications satellites that was owned and operated by a
Brazilian company. It, in turn, was owned through a series of other
international entities that ultimately were controlled by the
Mueller brothers. The satellites operated commercially, but also
harbored highly encrypted communications accessible only by persons
specifically designated by the Muellers. That meant certain members
of the Society, including Levell and a handful of
others.

Levell nodded to Rhee and the small, wiry
man began pushing him down the wide, stone paved hall to a room
that appeared to be an extraordinarily well-equipped media room.
Artfully concealed in the A/V equipment was the communications gear
necessary to send and receive messages over the Sat phone. The
antenna on the roof was indistinguishable from a lightening
rod.

Following the destruction of Chaim Laski and
his financial network, Levell and other highly placed members of
the Society had arranged what appeared to be the deaths of Whelan
and his fellow operatives in the Sleeping Dogs. Afterwards, the
Society had helped each of the men to go to ground. In the process,
Levell had provided Whelan with one of the special Sat phones. He
knew the Irishman wouldn’t use it without an extraordinary reason.
He didn’t like the thought of that.

As soon as he heard Whelan on the other end
of the call, he said, “Back from the dead, are we?”

“
Like a bad
penny.”

“
I assume you have a very
good reason for this call.”

“
I do.” Whelan paused for a
second then said, “Maksym.”

There was silence for a few moments. Levell
broke it. “Has he become a problem?”

“
He tried to kill me and my
family.”

Levell let the statement sink in for a
moment. “Unsuccessfully, obviously.”

“
This time.”

“
So, you were right about
him eventually seeking his revenge.”

“
He’s my brother. He’s like
I am; take no prisoners.”

“
He didn’t come personally,
did he?”

“
No. He sent five
Ukes.”

“
Five! Dumb ass. Like that
would ever be enough.”

“
He won’t make that mistake
next time.”

Levell appreciated the concern in Whelan’s
voice. “What actions are you taking to be ready for a ‘next
time’?”

“
It’s clear that he knows
where we are. Any ideas how he might have gotten that
intel?”

Levell thought about the question for a few
moments. “No. As far as I know I’m the only person who has that
information, and I sure as hell didn’t share it with anyone.”

“
He might have figured it
out. He and I were born near Dingle. It would just be a matter of
time before he pinpointed the Fianna. But there also is a
possibility that the information might have been leaked by someone
in the Society.”

“
So, I’m asking again, what
do you plan to do?”

“
Caitlin’s extended family
is large and tightknit. We have armed people watching us
constantly, but that won’t stop Maksym indefinitely. They’re no
match for him.”

“
What would you like me to
do at this end?”

“
Let the others in the unit
know that someone may be coming after them, too. Maksym found me;
he can find them.”

“
I’ll do whatever I can
from here. Be prepared; there are things developing that will
require your services.”

“
I don’t like the sound of
that, Cliff. I told you after the Chaim Laski operation that I’m
retired from wet work.”

“
I don’t think you have a
choice in the matter, Whelan. If you still care about the country
that took you and your parents in and provided opportunities you’d
never have found anywhere else, then the Dogs are going to have to
be reactivated.”

There was a long pause. Finally, Whelan
said, “What’s the problem, Cliff?”

“
This nation is quickly
reaching a point where it can’t effectively oppose its enemies. The
current administration has weakened the country by, among other
things, polarizing the population along racial and economic lines,
destroying the middle class, reducing its military power and space
program, leading from behind in global affairs, and eschewing a
rational foreign policy.”

“
Is it just the president
and his party, or are there others involved?”

Levell made a sound that
wasn’t like anything Whelan had heard him make in the past. It
sounded very much like a weary sigh. “You’re very observant. No,
it’s much deeper than that. There’s an organization, the AGU
or
Alliance for Geopolitical Unity. Its
members are the top financial people in the world, Wall Streeters
and their ilk around the globe.”