The Krakow Klub (40 page)

Eleven spoke directly to Dr. Wu, “Take the
thing to your lab and study it carefully. Call me as soon as you
figure out what the hell that thing is.”

She glared at Wu, saying, “This operation is
to remain secret. If word of this gets out, I will know. Do we
understand each other?”

With that, she whirled and trotted out the
main entrance to the limo that had been waiting for her. Within
minutes, she was back at the airport and boarding her plane.

Wu called a colleague at the university and
asked a favor of him. He explained that he
was
involved
in a top secret study for a major electronics
company and that he needed access to an electron microscope. He
asked,
humbly,
of
course,
if the scientist could do the scan for him.

The associate was more than happy to assist
Dr. Wu since he had been most helpful to him in the past. He knew
that vast amounts of grant money would be at stake and that he
would
likely be sworn
to absolute secrecy.

After ending the call, Dr. Wu rushed to the
research laboratory where his fellow scientist performed the
scanning procedure while they both waited anxiously for the
result.

****

John had already ordered another chair for
the president before he arrived in the control room.

The door
opened,
and an
obviously shaken and deflated individual made a very
un-presidential entry into the control room.

John extended is hand, “Welcome Mr.
President. Please, take a seat right here. We have much to
discuss.”

The president wearily fell into the chair. He
was still rather
pale,
and his hands trembled
uncontrollably. His tattered clothing smelled of smoke and
gasoline.

John reached out and patted him on the
shoulder, “Mr. President, you are safe now. No harm will come to
you. You’ve had a substantial
shock,
but
you’ll be just fine. Besides that, I have some good news for you.
That quack, the White House physician who was appointed by your
predecessor, is associated with the Krakow Klub.
And,
of course, so was the former president.

“Dr. Newton has deceived you from the
beginning. Your heart is completely healthy and always was. I’ve
had a complete battery of tests run since you’ve been here.

“It seems that Dr. Newton was a long time
pawn of the Krakow Klub. They put him through medical school and
arranged for his commission in the Navy. He is on their payroll,
and for whatever reason, they instructed him to diagnose you with a
serious heart problem way back when you
were first
nominated
for vice president. All your medical records have
been faked to reflect the supposed heart condition.

“The medications that you were taking had
nothing to do with your heart. In fact, a couple of them were just
placebos. The primary one, that little blue capsule, was a rather
clever innovation by the Krakow Klub. One of their research
scientists at Athena Pharmaceuticals came up with that little
formulation just for you.

“The medication is a modification of one of
their more popular antidepressants. However, the formulation was
adjusted so that you were susceptible to suggestion. No, you
weren’t taking a happy pill. You were taking a pill that made you
agreeable to whatever
Newton
and his higher
ups wanted from you.

“Erik Stoellar was never your friend. He
pulled you into his plot very carefully over many years. You’ve
been an unwitting and unwilling pawn in his scheme. But that’s over
as of today.

“Oh, by the way, remember that new medication
that Dr.
Newton gave
you the night before your
heart attack in the Oval Office? Well, that medication was to make
you dizzy and disoriented. Then, remember that injection that he
gave you before that mad dash to Bethesda? That caused a severe
dysrhythmia
that was almost fatal.

“You’re quite lucky. The bastard would have
given you a final injection just as you were being carried into the
hospital. That one would have been deadly. In just a few seconds,
you’d have been a goner.

“There is something puzzling me. Normally,
Newton as White House physician would have ridden in the ambulance
with you. For some reason, he ordered the other doc to attend you
en route. I’ve come to believe that Newton had a suspicion or
premonition that there might be
foul
play on
the way to the medical center. If so, he’s going to be very
frightened. He will surely know that he should have been the one
incinerated instead of his innocent colleague. By the way, that
colleague, Dr. Allen I believe,
was also saved
from that inferno. He is currently doing well and is safely in our
hands. The world thinks that you’re both dead.”

The president was stunned. This day was
becoming more and more unreal. He shook his head in disbelief and
tears formed in the corners of his eyes.

“Yes, Mr. President, you have been betrayed,
as have we all. But, that’s in the past. We have a job to
do,
and you are needed to play an essential
role in wresting our nation away from these psychopaths.”

John directed his attention to the large
screen in front of him. The screen immediately lit up with the
recorded scene of the fiery crash of the white van into the
ambulance. As the scene unfolded, John described the planning,
organization, and perfect timing required to orchestrate such an
event successfully.

Henry Wilkinson watched the scene with a
horrified look on his face. His voice shook. “How could you have
possibly saved me from that inferno?”

“Mr. President, there is much that I will
tell you and much that you need to know. But, for now, time is of
the essence. You must grasp the extreme seriousness of the
situation. Our nation is
in a dire
crisis. The
most powerful nation on the
planet has been
brought
to its knees.

“It’s only one day after your so-called
assassination, but the Krakow Klub is moving rapidly toward the
completion of their coup. They plan to overthrow the government and
are ready, willing, and able, to kill anyone who might stand in
their way. We have no time to waste. You must pull yourself
together and trust that I have the best interests of the United
States at heart.

“I have the resources and power to defeat
this
organization,
but it won’t be easy. The
blood of many innocent Americans could be lost in the process if
we’re not extremely careful. But, we have no choice. We must
control this
evil before
it devours our
government and then spreads throughout the world like an
uncontrolled malignancy.”

The president straightened his
shoulders,
and John noted a new look on his face. There
appeared a steely determination. His eyes narrowed and focused on
John.

“You must face the fact that, in the eyes of
the world, you are dead. You have
been properly
mourned
. There are plans for a state funeral service to be
covered by all the networks. If it were to become known that you
are still alive, the Krakow Klub would take immediate action to
kill you.

“We’ve got to get you back into the White
House as soon as
possible,
but we must protect
you during the process. And our timing must be precise and well
thought out. The military command structure has
been
heavily infiltrated,
so we can’t count on their support at
this time. In
fact,
we will have to consider
the military to be our adversary, at
least
at
this point.

“Mr. President, with all due respect, I am
the only person available with the power and resources to deal with
this situation. But I need you to help me.”

****

Halfway through Number Eleven’s flight to
Honolulu, Dr. Wu called her on her satellite phone. He was so
excited that he could hardly speak and mixed his usually flawless
English with some rather interesting Mandarin expletives.

“Stop where you are, Wu! Calm down and tell
me what you’ve found. Take a deep breath and speak slowly and
clearly!”

Regaining some composure, he added, “This
thing is
very
interesting. I’m sure that it is
an electronic device. But I’ve never seen anything remotely like
it. The electron microscope energized it briefly during a scan.
It apparently is active only when activated by some
signal.

“If I had to make a guess, I would wager that
whoever designed and built this thing had discovered the Holy Grail
of electronics. These circuits are so tiny that they appear to
function by transmitting only a single electron to trigger an
event. I’ve always dreamed that one day we could develop SEP
electronics,
but I never dreamed that I would
actually
live
to see
it
for myself.”

“SEP electronics?”

“Single electron path electronics.”

“I have never heard of such a thing.”

“That’s because it doesn’t exist, at least
not in our world. It’s merely a dream at the moment.
As
I said,
the
Holy Grail of
electronics.”

“Don’t tell me that you think this thing is
from another world. Are you crazy?”

“I haven’t considered the origin of the
device. As a researcher, I am up to date in all the latest
electronic technologies, but this thing is far beyond the current
capabilities of any laboratory in the world. Therefore, by
deductive reasoning, I would suggest that there is a possibility
that the device came from a civilization other than one on Earth,
if you believe in such things.”

He paused for a moment before continuing,
“Even more curious and interesting is how the device became
embedded in your head. I’ve never encountered such a strange
occurrence in all my years of science.”

The Dragon Lady was becoming angrier with
each passing moment. Wu knew her well and was wise enough to avoid
her wrath at all costs. Any misstep could prove very painful if not
fatal.

“Just before your call, I spoke with Dr.
Cheong. He had additional information regarding the device. It was
his opinion that the transmitter had probably
been
in your head for a very long time, possibly since
you were an infant. I don’t know how he reached that
conclusion,
but I respect his scientific opinion
completely.”

He continued to speak softly, “Again, dear
friend, there is so much that you need to know and, unfortunately,
I am unable to provide you with specific information. As far as I
am concerned, you were never in California
today,
and I haven’t seen you in months. You can rest
assured that Dr. Cheong will carry this secret to his grave.”

With that, he ended the call but had
misgivings
about
using the term “carry the
secret to his grave.” He fervently hoped that he had not tempted
fate for either one of them.

Her parting words to him had been, “If you
want to continue with your successful academic life, or, for that
matter, any life at all, you will keep your mouth shut. You’ll hear
from me later. In the meantime, I want you to study that device and
try to determine its purpose. Keep it safe and keep it quiet.”

“I understand perfectly; you can trust
me.”

Wu hung up the phone. A chill ran up and down
his spine. He was excited and terrified at the same time. He had
the opportunity to study something far more advanced than anything
he had ever seen or heard of before.

It was a researcher’s dream come true, but to
have the Dragon Lady involved made it a nightmare.

****

The president stared at John Scott for a very
long time. He was apparently deep in thought. His face slowly
changed from an obvious angry visage to a very somber but resolute
state.

Finally, the president replied, “Mr. Scott, I
am placing myself and our nation in your hands. I now see that I’ve
been lied to
for
years by those
who were supposed to protect me. T
hat makes me very, very
angry.

“As I look back, I can see that what you’ve
told me is true. I haven’t been myself for several years. I was
chronically tired and had very little energy. Every time that I
brought the subject up to Newton, he would just reassure me that
everything was due to my heart condition. I came to lean on him
completely. What a fool! But, no more! That poison
has finally been eliminated
from my
body.
I feel stronger and more confident than I have in
ages. Newton will pay dearly for his
dastardly
part
in this plot!”

The president reached out and shook John
Scott’s hand. “Mr. Scott, together we will thwart this treacherous
takeover. How can you use me in your plan?”

“Mr. President, I had a
plan,
but that was before I knew all of the facts,
particularly about you. Originally, I thought that you were just
another political pawn for the organization. I don’t usually make
quick
judgments,
but I’ve come to believe that
you are a potentially strong person and a capable leader. My head
is spinning with possibilities. Just trust me that we can,
together, work some magic and soon end this reign of terror.

“But, we’ve got to move fast. Virtually the
entire top level of the federal government is being relocated to
the Greenbrier. You know about the bunkers there. They are being
told that it’s for their protection. But it’s not.

“The Krakow Klub has plans to kill them
all
and blame it on terrorists.”

Wilkinson could hardly control his fury. “Mr.
Scott, let’s get back home
immediately
so that
we can destroy those bastards before they do any more harm.”