The Krakow Klub (15 page)

****

Later that evening, Stoellar sat in the
softly lit living room and gazed out at the dazzling display of
city lights from the many buildings surrounding Central Park. The
night scene always put him in a mellow mood and gave him the
opportunity to consider his next move.

After a few minutes, he picked up his secure
satellite phone and called Number Two. Number Two was a trusted
ally and had been the first person with whom he had shared his
audacious plan. Number Two was also a billionaire, very ruthless in
business, and very intelligent. They had forged the perfect
partnership.

They briefly discussed moving up their
timetable for the United States. Number Two agreed that there would
be little additional risk involved. “After all, Number One, once
the first domino falls, the rest will tumble quickly. Other nations
would surely not dare risk a confrontation with the mightiest
military force in the world.”

After that brief conversation, Stoellar
continued to sit silently in the darkened room pondering his next
steps carefully. Such a massive project would require the utmost
coordination, planning, and skillful execution.

His mood
changed,
and he
began to think of the busy streets just outside his penthouse
building. They would be alive with activity at this time of night.
Cars would be starting and stopping in what could be considered
well-orchestrated
chaos. Where were they all
going? What were they thinking? Their lives were totally
unimportant to Stoellar. In his opinion, the masses were only
marginally intelligent. They would follow any charismatic leader
like sheep. But that was okay; he thought of himself as that
leader, and he would control his flock with an iron hand.

It was this perceived collective stupidity of
the crowd that Stoellar counted on so heavily in his plan. The
crowd would react to a crisis by
panicking,
and his well-trained minions would step in and take over. They were
prepared to lead the crowd into the new order, and then there would
be no turning back. By the time the crowd caught on to what was
happening, it would be far, far too late.

Stoellar had studied history extensively. He
knew that the military would be crucial to his success.
Hitler had successfully replaced the Weimar government without
significant protest from the people.
Only a few dared to
speak up in opposition, and they were
dealt with
quickly
. Most
of them were discreetly
eliminated
. The military remained passive as Hitler catered
to them extensively.

Another important factor, Stoellar noted, was
you must have a scapegoat, someone to take the blame for the chaos.
Hitler had used the Jews. Stoellar had several scapegoats in mind
for his use. He believed multiple stooges were preferable to just
one.

Stoellar would use his knowledge of the
military to his advantage. All U
S military
enlisted men are required to swear an oath to obey the Commander in
Chief, which
is
the
president.

However, officers swear an oath to protect
and defend the Constitution. That little difference would be a key
factor in the takeover. Stoellar believed that the military was
controllable by a relatively few properly placed
high-level
officers who would bear allegiance to him, not
the Constitution.

Based on the wording of the oath, officers
could potentially disobey the president if his orders
were
determined to be unconstitutional. Nevertheless, to
disobey a presidential order would be extremely dangerous, no
matter how justified it might be. Stoellar knew that the vast
majority of officers would never have the intestinal fortitude to
refuse to obey an order of the Commander in Chief that
was passed down
from his commanding officer. The few
brave souls who might do so would be quickly isolated and then
eliminated.

Stoellar had long believed that the American
public had little interest, and even less knowledge, about what is
constitutional and what is not. In fact, he believed that a
significant number couldn’t even tell you what the Constitution was
all about, much less how it came to be.

The Krakow Klub plan to take over the
government was much like that of the Hitler’s Nazi Party in one
respect. They intended to use the election process for the final
phase of their takeover. The people of Germany elected Adolf
Hitler. Once he was in office legally, he quickly abandoned the
legal process and moved to take absolute control of the nation. A
neutral military was essential to that plan.

The Krakow Klub would follow that same
scenario. Once they had the White House under their control, they
would move to control, or at least neutralize, the military. Once
martial
law was in place, the rule of law
could be abandoned and they would be free to get rid of all
resistance quickly and without due process. It was not a complex
plan. That is what made it so dangerous. It was simple enough to be
possible.

The new president, Henry Wilkinson, was a
small part of the plan. His primary function would be to put Carla
Montrose into the vice presidency. Then, he would no longer be
useful.
Indeed,
he would need to be
eliminated. And that act would be intentionally performed in a
spectacular manner. A staged terrorist attack! It would be
horrible. And it would the beginning of the end of democracy in
America.

There would be numerous other attacks in
several parts of the country. The government would declare a
national crisis. The new president, Carla Montrose, would declare
martial law to handle the crisis. The public would not suspect a
thing; not
until it was too late.

Any question about the rules of succession
that put Montrose in office would
soon be forgotten
in the ensuing chaos.
It would be too late for the Supreme
Court to act. In fact, there probably would be no Supreme Court by
that time.

Carla was feisty and had no fear of anything
or anyone. She was one of Stoellar’s
more
unique
creations. She was prone to rather unconventional
behavior,
but that only intrigued him. Her
tantrums and antics amused him at times. He secretly hated her, but
she was perfect for her
role, which was
meant
to be a temporary one.

All Americans have the right to bear
arms,
and many do just that, but Stoellar
brushed them off as a threat just as one might brush off an
offending mosquito. They were much like mosquitoes in his mind.
They were large in numbers, relatively speaking, but not organized
and trained. Individually, they might inflict a temporary
discomfort, but little more. They would be no match for the
military. And once the
country
was under firm
control, guns could be easily confiscated if needed.

Stoellar was most pleased with himself. That
ungrateful traitor of a president who resigned without his approval
had possibly done him a favor. Maybe this little inconvenience
would be a blessing in disguise since his plan c
ould
now be advanced
by more than two years. He was delighted
that he would see the fruits of his labors while he was still young
and strong enough to enjoy them.

At last, he got up from his chair and pressed
a switch that would electronically close the massive curtains that
separated him from the outside world. Stoellar turned on the lights
and instantly illuminated the vast penthouse filled with the finest
furnishings from the most famous designers of the day. He picked up
the nearest phone and called his favorite restaurant, Stacy’s, to
make a reservation for dinner. There would be no problem. He could
go
at any time, with any number of guests. In
fact, on one occasion, they had opened the restaurant on a day off
just to please him.

****

After the meal, Erik returned to his
penthouse and again opened the curtains to reveal the magnificent
city lights. There was one more thing he wanted to do before the
day was over. He wanted to talk with Number Eleven. The general
rule within the Krakow Klub was that messages moved from one to
fifteen, skipping the two numbers of deceased
members, and of course,
the number thirteen.

As Number One, Stoellar had the singular
privilege of talking directly to all other members at any time he
chose.

Number Eleven was the only female member of
the group. She was Chinese by birth and of impeccable ancestry. Her
family had amassed enormous wealth before the revolution and had
been able to hide it safely away in another country prior to the
Communist takeover in mainland China.

Number Eleven had a unique history in the
organization. Her father had originally been recruited by Stoellar
and assigned that number. After a few years, he had earned the
utmost respect of Stoellar for his expertise in Far East affairs
and especially his contributions to the bottom line of the Krakow
Klub. He seemed destined to be second-in-command one day.

He was as ruthless in business as
Stoellar,
but he had one weak spot: his only daughter. He
had planned for her to rule his financial empire from the day she
was born, and she possessed all his talents for business and his
thirst for power.

Number Eleven had always prided himself on
his physical strength and good health, but even the mighty cannot
conquer all things. He
was unexpectedly
diagnosed
with an incurable disease that would surely take
his life in months.

He approached Stoellar with a very lucrative
offer. His daughter would take his place as Number Eleven in the
Krakow Klub and he, in return, would contribute a sizeable portion
of his estate to the organization.

Stoellar agreed to consider the
offer to show his respect for his associate. He arranged a meeting
with the daughter.
And, he never regretted doing so.

She was a young and very beautiful woman on
the outside. That made her easy to look at, but it was the inside
that attracted Stoellar even more. Like Stoellar, she was of
extraordinary intelligence and possessed a ruthlessness only
surpassed by his own. She would be the youngest member of the
group, by a large margin. After their meeting, he was
more than happy to accept his dying partner’s offer. There would be
a new Number Eleven, and he would mentor her personally.

He thought of her as “The Dragon Lady.” She
was fascinating and most beautiful. She was also fluent in many
languages and skilled in martial arts. Stoellar found her to be the
most interesting and perhaps the most dangerous person that he had
ever met, regardless of
age or
sex.

Stoellar used the enormous amount of money,
amounting to several
billion
, as a valid
reason for accepting the transfer of membership. The other members,
some reluctantly, finally agreed to accept it. The Dragon Lady
quickly became Stoellar’s most trusted confidante and strongest
ally.

With that in mind, he had made the wise
decision to speak with her concerning his updated plans.

Stoellar knew that she was in New York at the
moment,
and he invited Number Eleven to his
penthouse for their meeting. She was one of the very few people
ever afforded
that
privilege,
and she knew it. Thirty minutes later, his
doorbell
rang,
and he opened it himself. His
protégée
entered dressed
in a black pantsuit
and a low-cut white lace blouse. At her throat, she wore a demure
necklace of perfect white pearls.

She swept past him with her usual catlike
grace and took the chair with the most spectacular view. She
remained silent and held Stoellar’s eyes with a very direct and
intense look. He bowed slightly.

Stoellar asked, “The usual? I’ll have your
martini ready in just a minute. Relax, I’ll be right back. By the
way, you look stunning, as always.”

She nodded absently and adjusted a strand of
hair that had strayed to her forehead.

She was small but had the strength and
expertise in martial arts to humble most men. Her black hair was
long, but this evening it was pulled back into a classic chignon
that emphasized the fine bone structure of her face and her smooth,
porcelain complexion.

Stoellar returned with two martinis and
gallantly
bowed as he handed her the drink. He
sat across from her in the softly lit room. They raised their
glasses in a simultaneous toast, “To the Krakow Klub.”

He proceeded to inform her of the most recent
events that had occurred and how the plan had been affected. He
explained that he had been forced to make some minor adjustments
but assured her that there would be no negative impact on the
outcome
.

She sat without speaking until he had
finished, and then she looked him straight in the eyes, an act that
few others had ever dared. She tilted her head and placed a finger
to her lips. “Say no more. Your plan is perfect. You took a
potentially disastrous situation and turned it to your advantage.
I’m sure that you have a fitting reward planned for your traitorous
president.”

She reached out and lightly caressed his
cheek. For the tiniest of seconds, he felt vulnerable.

“I salute you for your endless talents. You
are the leader of all leaders, a man among men. Soon, you will rule
the world.”

Her voice was only graced with the tiny hint
of an accent and her soft tone belied the forged steel beneath her
calm exterior.

Stoellar smiled faintly in return and
thought,
One of these days, I might just eliminate the other
members and entrust Number Eleven to be my sole partner. The others
will certainly be expendable soon, and why should I keep them
around when they might eventually become a liability?