The Illuminati (62 page)
“There was evidence that the Christians organized terrorist squads,” Galt countered. “They attacked the police when they couldn't force their way on the public.”
“You don't believe that any more than I do, Galt,” the general said angrily. “You'll see evidence that the Society staged the whole event, and the media bought into itâhook, line, and sinker.”
Galt sat silently for the remainder of the trip. General Abbott could not have known the real impact of his words. They confirmed Galt's worst fears: he had allowed himself to be used to undermine the country that had given him so much. In his younger years he had been tough but fair. Now he was just greedy, and for what? Power? Wealth? What?
Maybe just greed itself
, he thought.
The van stopped at the farm serving as CRC headquarters where several men were waiting to greet the elderly Galt.
“Thank you for coming,” a middle-aged man with a pleasant smile said, as he opened the van door.
“You're John Elder, aren't you?” Galt said. “I recognize your face from pictures.”
“Yes, sir,” Elder replied. “You certainly carried my photograph enough in your newspaper,” he added, without any tone of bitterness. “Let me introduce you to my friends. I believe you already know Donald Shepperd.”
“By voice only, I'm afraid,” Galt said as he weakly extended his hand.
“And this is Jeff Wells . . . and his fiancé, Karen Eison.”
“Jeff, I know you by reputation,” Galt said. “I understand you have been a real thorn in the side of the government.”
“We do what we can,” Jeff said with a sly grin on his face.
“We have some things to show you, Mr. Galt,” Shepperd said. “And not a lot of time.”
The next three hours were spent reviewing the data that had been collected about the Society and the role the Society members played in the assassinations of the Supreme Court justices, President Hunt, and a host of government officials.
The evidence that it was the Society's infiltrators who initiated the violence against the police in the riots two years earlier was irrefutable. But the final straw for Galt was the evidence gathered through Wells' snooping in the government's own records that the deception of the media had been planned, funded, and executed by members of the Society.
When Shepperd finished his barrage of information, the effect on Thomas Galt was exactly what he had hoped for. He was a man shaken in his basic convictions. “What do you want me to do?” Galt asked as his trembling hand tried to hold his pipe still enough to light it.
“We need to launch one final assault on the Society, and we need your help,” Elder said. “We know if the government happened upon this camp and captured us, it would be only a matter of weeks until the emphasis would shift back to their side. Right now, Americans are fed up with Data-Net and, consequently, with the Alton administration. But that's only because Jeff is able to force errors into the system.”
“And although we still control the military at this point, the administration might just win in a showdown. After all,”General Abbott said as he reached over to light Galt's pipe, “The president is still the commander in chief. How well would the nation sleep knowing that Razzak had control of three thousand nuclear weapons?”
“What do you want from me?” Galt asked.
Jeff outlined the plan for Galt. When he was finished, Galt said, “If I didn't know what you people had already accomplished, I would say you were nuts. Are you sure you can do what you are proposing?”
“We have no choice,”Abbott said angrily. “Razzak is certainly nobody's fool. He knows that we're able to watch every step, thanks to Jeff here. He has something in the wings that none of us wants to risk. We can't afford to wait and see if he's crazy enough to do it.”He then explained what they knew about Razzak's plans to obliterate the camps with nuclear bombs.
“You can't be serious,” Galt said as he tried to imagine someone evil enough to destroy two million innocent people.
“Deadly serious,” the general replied. “We must act quickly, and decisively.”
“I'll help,” Thomas Galt said with an excitement he hadn't felt in years. “You just be sure the other pieces are in place.”
“Now let's talk about something important,” John Elder said with a smile. “Mr. Galt, if you died today, do you know where you would spend eternity?”
Thomas Galt was sure he knew exactly where he would spend eternity, and it frightened him so much he couldn't sleep at night. His pride kept him from answering honestly. Instead he said, “I guess I'm not really sure.”
John Elder spent the next hours discussing how Galt could be forgiven of his sins and could be certain he would spend eternity with Jesus Christ. It was not until Shepperd interrupted for the tenth time saying they had to get Galt back to Atlanta to make the preparations that the meeting broke up.
“I'll think about what you said,” Galt said, shaking Elder's hand warmly.
This is a man who knows what he believes and is willing to die for it
, Galt thought as he headed back to the van.
I'm only willing to die to get away from the things I don't believe in
.
On the way back, Galt noticed that the curtains were not drawn. When he asked why, the driver said, “Pastor Elder said it would not be necessary.” Galt was impressed more than he let on. Elder certainly was a man of his convictions.
A desperate meeting was taking place in the White House Oval Office, with three people in attendance: Amir Razzak, Kathy Alton, and Cal Rutland. The room had been swept clean with the most sophisticated electronic sensors in existence. Two miniature microphones had been detected in the room. One was concealed in the overhead light fixture. The other was truly ingenious. It was no larger than a penny and was actually planted in Kathy Alton's purse. Rutland knew the range of the small device had to be very limited, so he had the sweep extended to detect the base station. He was shocked to discover that his own secretary had hidden the transmitter in her desk. She was out sick or he would probably have shot her on the spot. What Rutland didn't know was that all the Christian sympathizers had been warned to get out of Washington.
“The room is clean,” Rutland said to Razzak. He could see the insanity in Razzak clearly now. As more of the system had broken down over the last several weeks, Razzak's communications had digressed to fits of rage and wild rantings.
“We will not lose what we have gained!” Razzak railed at the two who represented his inner circle. Since the death of Jason Franklin and the disappearance of Marla West, the circle had grown much smaller. President Alton was still a true devotee. Rutland was still committed to the Society, but he had less confidence in Razzak. Rutland was a pragmatist. He knew the noose was tightening. Already Kim Loo had fled, leaving the Data-Net system in shambles. Rutland had not even told Razzak about that.
“We will move immediately on the plan,” Razzak said as he paced around the room. “We have two thousand agents ready to go.”
“Yes, sir,” Alton agreed. “Since the agents are unable to use Data-Net to secure transportation, they will steal the vehicles they need.”
At the mention of Data-Net, Razzak's face darkened. “We have them,” he said in a hiss.“Wells is smart, but he is not infallible. Dr. Loo will make the system impenetrable. And with the bombs in place, the military will be forced to comply.”
“Yes, sir,” Alton agreed again. “The bombs will turn the tide for us.”
Rutland thought he was going to be sick. The president agreed with anything Razzak said without question. He knew that at best they might round up transportation for two hundred men. How they would transfer three more bombs to the camps without the military intercepting them, nobody knew. With Wells in charge of the system and Gorman in charge of the spy satellites, they would know before the mob moved a hundred miles. Since Dr. Loo had fled, he knew they had virtually no access to Data-Net.
“I disagree, sir,” Rutland said firmly. “It would be better to send a small group of agents into the area to secure the camps first.” Rutland had already decided what he must do: flee to an area where Data-Net didn't control everythingâperhaps Japanâbut he would have to make his move before the whole country came down on them.
“You had your chance,” President Alton said as she glared at Rutland, “and you blew it. We will crush the traitors while they sleep. We will not fail.”
Rutland felt his face flush. He knew the plan was doomed. And with it his only hope of escaping.“You are an idiot!”Rutland shouted at Alton.
“Quiet!” Razzak commanded in a voice that was somehow not his own. His eyes mirrored his tormented soul. “I will decide what happens now,” he shouted maniacally. “The first bomb will be exploded just as planned. We will also transport a bomb to Camp Two. This will give the military something to think about.”
“The military won't stand idly by,” Rutland said bluntly. He knew he was on thin ice with Razzak, but he was desperate to stall the plan. It was suicidal.
“Next we will attack the SAC base at Hanover,”Razzak railed, now out of control again. “We will capture the bombers housed there and equip them with cruise missiles. Once we do that, the military must obey. If they do not, we will destroy their command centers with hydrogen bombs.”
“But, sir . . .”Rutland started to say, but he stopped as he saw Razzak's eyes. There was a madness in them that told him the Leader was beyond reason. Razzak was living in a dream world created by his own insanity.
At eight o'clock on the evening of September 12, 2015, Jeff Wells typed in the command for Data-Net to reprogram all satellite demodulators to channel six on Westar Four, the channel operated by WNN.
Owner Thomas Galt had instructed the network chief to take the video feed from a laser-optic telephone line, also controlled by Wells. At exactly eight o'clock, all the networks and independent stations had their regular programming interrupted with a message from Thomas Galt, who had not made a public appearance in more than two decades.
In the message, prepared at the Mississippi camp, Galt addressed the nation:“My fellow Americans, we have interrupted this regularly scheduled program to bring you a message of vital importance. As you know, the United States government is in turmoil. But what you may not know is that there is a secret Society operating within our government that has initiated and sustained this turmoil for the purpose of taking over our country.”
At the White House, Cal Rutland's phone rang. When he picked it up, it was President Alton, who asked frantically, “Are you watching television?”
“No,” Rutland replied. “I rarely watch television.”
“Well, you'd better turn it on now. Thomas Galt of WNN is talking about the Society.”
“What!” Rutland shouted as he reached for the channel selector.
“The message is being broadcast on every channel in the country. Someone has tapped into the main distribution system and reprogrammed it.” The president added soberly, “It would appear that our time has run out.”
“It has to be Wells again,” Rutland blurted out. “We should have killed him when . . .”
“Watch what you say,” Alton warned. “We're probably all being monitored.”
Rutland turned his attention to the television. Galt was saying: “The messages you will hear were taped from actual conversations within the White House. I trust it will be as clear to you as it was to me earlier that we have been the willing dupes of an evil group of power-hungry people determined to control this nation.”
The sound track being aired carried conversations between President Alton and Amir Razzak regarding the elimination of all Christians and Jews. The nation heard the discussions and plot to kill the secretary of defense, as well as the actual instructions from Razzak to Cal Rutland to eliminate Fred Lively, the acting attorney general. The video image showed photographs of Razzak, Alton, Rutland, and several other members of the Society together.