The Krakow Klub (43 page)

If Dr. Cheong
were
rushed
to the airport immediately after finishing with
Stoellar, he could be at the White House in Washington, DC, shortly
after
10 PM

But with
whom could
she
safely switch
devices
?

Then it came to her.

“Yes, of course! What a brilliant idea!”

“Remember that even in war
there is a time for restraint. A time to hold back your
sword.”
-
Suzanne Collins
,
Gregor and the Code of Claw

John Scott was
worried,
but he did not want to show it. He would have to keep his feelings
to himself for now. He wasn’t worried about his ability to defeat
the Krakow Klub. That was not the issue.
The
ultimate
victory was a sure thing. His Mylean legacy now
included more than a thousand remote spacecraft. Even the least
powerful of his craft was a formidable opponent for any earthly
adversary.

Each of his craft could detect incoming fire
of any weapon, and at a great distance. It then had the means to
protect itself in various ways, including simply deflecting the
projectile with a gravity shield. Or it could totally destroy it
before it reached its target. Maxxine had assured him that it would
take less than one hundred of his craft to defeat the combined
military might of all the armies on Earth. That left him with an
enormous reserve force if it came to an all-out war.

It was conceivable that a thermonuclear
device could destroy one of his remote
craft,
but that was highly unlikely. If a warhead
were
launched at one of his ships
, the remote would sense the
incoming missile and respond at the speed of light. The missile
could be vaporized instantly along with those who had launched it.
Or, the remote craft could simply avoid the projectile, and take no
action at all against the source. It depended on
several
factors, including the relative degree of danger
the remote sensed.

John shook his head sadly. If the military
were to mount an attack in
strength,
it
wouldn’t be a war; it could easily turn into a mass slaughter. The
thought of that truly made him sick to his stomach. He knew that
getting involved as he was made it possible that he might
be responsible for
thousands of lives being
taken. It made him sick to think about it.

The only way that he would ever feel the
thrill of victory would be if he could win with minimal loss of
innocent lives. But, now, the scene for confrontation had already
been set. A CSF
was headed
toward Scott
Key and would certainly press some form of an attack.
If anyone or anything attacked his island,
he would have to
stop it. There would most likely be bloodshed. But he could not
allow any harm to be done to his island or anyone on it, even if it
meant totally destroying the entire CSF.

He almost hated to admit
it,
but to save his Julia, he would kill many—a great
many. Probably all that the situation required. It was a
frightening thought.

****

John arrived at the living quarters where Jim
and the freshly dressed president were waiting.

Jim greeted John, asking, “What is the status
of Scott Key? Are Julia and Sylvia safe?”

John replied, “All is well there. I’ve made
all my resources available to Mister T and Maxxine to defend it,
and I’ve authorized lethal force to be used if necessary. Be
patient; you’ll see for yourself in just a few minutes.”

President Wilkinson suddenly spoke up, “Just
a minute! I understood that we would be going directly to
Washington.”

John gave Wilkinson an approving nod, “Mr.
President;
we’re only stopping at the island
briefly, and then we’ll head directly to the Greenbrier after that.
There’s no need to go to Washington, DC, at the moment since the
entire government, except for Carla Montrose and her staff, are
already at the Greenbrier.

“We don’t need to go to Washington, DC, until
we’re ready to confront the Krakow Klub openly. There are things
that we must do before we are ready for that confrontation.

“Incidentally, sir, you look much better in
your fresh
duds.”

The president had asked for a suit and
tie
for his return to the White
House,
but Jim Slater had suggested otherwise. “Mister
President, think of all the times you’ve seen a television
broadcast at the scene of a natural disaster or in a war zone. Did
you ever see the mayor, the president, or anyone else of status
dressed impeccably in a business suit? No! They would be wearing
something like a windbreaker, baseball cap, and casual dress. You
don’t want to look like you’re untouched by the crisis. You
certainly don’t
want
it to appear that you
wouldn’t want to get your hands dirty. You’ve got to look like
you’re ready to jump in and join the first responders or the
military.”

Wilkinson had thought for a minute and then
agreed. “You’re
right,
of course, Dr. Slater,
I’m not yet accustomed to thinking presidentially. But I learn
fast. Please bear with me.”

The president dressed just as
Jim Slater had suggested. He wore a dark blue windbreaker with the
presidential seal displayed over his heart, a matching dark blue
baseball cap with stars and stripes across the bill, and a tan
shirt with khaki trousers.
Quite understated, but for the
occasion, quite presidential.

Jim Slater had wondered as he selected the
president’s clothes from the closet,
How
the hell did Maxxine come up with these in such short order?
He
then wondered,
Can she anticipate the proper solution
for th
e many other problems we
will soon be facing?
He silently prayed that would be the
case.

John said, “Gentlemen, it’s time for us to go
home. Please follow me and we’ll be on our way.”

They were soon in the shuttle craft and on
their way back to Earth. John had already described the craft and
how it worked
for
the president. To his utter
amazement, the man was as cool as a cucumber and showed no signs of
fear or anxiety about his first conscious ride in a space ship.

John left the viewing camera on for the
entire trip so that the president could see Earth as they
approached. He was staring at the screen in awe for the entire
trip.

There was
not much
conversation other than small talk during the short trip. The
shuttle craft soon landed on the island and the hatch slid
open.

Julia, Sylvia, and Mister T were waiting for
them at the landing area. Julia stepped forward and gave John a big
hug, but Sylvia didn’t move. She still just couldn’t bring herself
to put the past behind her; not yet.

John was the first to speak. “Julia, Sylvia,
Mister T, I’d like to introduce you to the real president of the
United States. President Wilkinson will be our honored guest for a
short while this evening. We’ll be taking a brief rest for a quick
meal before heading off to West Virginia for an important meeting
with Congress.”

The president moved forward taking the hand
of each of the ladies in turn into his and bowing slightly while
saying, “I am very pleased to meet you and honored to be your
guest.”

The president then saluted Mister T and then
shook his hand. “I’ve heard of your actions in defending this
island. Such bravery in a time of crisis and danger are those of a
heroic military leader. From now on, I think that you should
have
a more fitting title.
How
about General T? Or perhaps Admiral T?

“
I think that, as
the President, I must surely have the authority for a
field promotion in times of war, and this certainly is a time of
war.”

Mister T bowed slightly. “Thank
you,
Mr. President. I think that I would prefer to be a
general. I have very limited knowledge of admirals, and with all my
electronic circuitry, I usually try to avoid the water. But I have
studied several of your army generals and their military tactics in
depth.”

“Then you will be a general! General T, you
will continue to report directly to Mr. John
Scott,
and I’m ordering you to be in command of all
things military for this island.”

The newly appointed general saluted the
president and then led the way to the villa where he would serve
the group dinner on the veranda. Not exactly the normal duty of a
general, but that didn’t bother him in the slightest.

John, with his arm around Julia’s shoulders,
led the group into the house.

Jim Slater followed behind and engaged Sylvia
in conversation. She was inwardly very happy that he had returned
safely, but she still wasn’t ready to tear down the protective wall
that she had built around herself for the past several years. She
was
congenial
but kept a cool reserve.

As they neared the villa, Akiro and Mitch
dashed out excitedly to meet them. Mitch flew down the path and
jumped into Jim’s outstretched arms. Even though he had
been gone
only a short time, she had missed him
terribly.

Akiro was a little more restrained and only
danced around John’s feet, sniffing to determine just where he had
been. During John’s absence, Mitch had been tutoring her little
pupil in the fine art of mastering humans. He was an adept and
willing student and was already on his way to being “the boss.”

Inside, Julia headed straight to the
bar,
and John expected her to make martinis
for everyone. However, she surprised him. “You’re going to have a
very busy evening and you’re going to need all your mental
faculties functioning at the highest level. Therefore, I’ve opted
to make some very light wine spritzers.”

“Good thinking my dear, and if
you would please pardon
me for a few minutes, I must make
a couple of telephone calls.”

He
was gone
longer than
anyone expected and, when he returned, his face betrayed nothing
that would give them a hint as to what he might have just
learned.

General T served the meal on the
sun-dappled
veranda. The group was rather quiet and only
picked at the food. Having the president in their midst made them
acutely aware of the turmoil gripping the nation.

Halfway through the meal, as the fiery sun
hovered on the horizon, John began to address the others. It would
be a magnificent
sunset,
but the spectacular
display of light and colors would go almost unnoticed by the
group.

Mister T, make that General T, was slightly
hurt that no one had bothered to ask him about the unusual cloud
over the island. He had carefully planned it so that it
was only seen
from the outside as a cloud. From the
island, the sky was clear as usual. “Oh well, it had impressed
Maxxine. Perhaps John would notice someday.”

John addressed the group, “There will be a
special session of Congress in about an hour. That will be the
perfect time to reveal that President Wilkinson is alive, well, and
still the legal president. I’ve arranged to speak to the group, and
at that time, I’ll give them unquestionable proof that the Krakow
Klub has been behind the assassination attempt and the subsequent
terrorist attacks. I will make it clear to them that they have no
alternative other than trusting us to abort the total takeover of
the government.”

Sylvia interrupted him, “What about secrecy?
The organization will immediately know that they’ve
been identified
as being behind the coup.”

“You can thank the illustrious President
Montrose for providing me with such an excellent opportunity. You
know how she loves to torture people. Well, when she shipped the
entire government off to West Virginia, she had all their cell
phones and computers confiscated. They have no contact whatsoever
with the outside world, even with their families. They are virtual
prisoners and just don’t know it.

“As for television, the only thing available
to them is programming and news that she has specifically approved.
The programs
are streamed
to the resort
exclusively. They have no access to the regular media. The whole
thing is quite diabolical but well thought out.”

He continued, “My original plan didn’t
include President Wilkinson. Unfortunately, my original opinion was
that he was your typical Washington, DC, insider, out for only his
interests and with little thought for the public.” He raised his
glass toward the president in a silent toast. “Since the attempted
assassination, my opinion has drastically changed.

“Thanks to Maxxine, I know that
the Krakow Klub kept him drugged
for several years. He
was falsely diagnosed
with a serious heart
condition,
and he believed that his
medications were for that condition.
However,
the drugs were to assure that he was compliant to Stoellar and his
group.

“Fortunately for him, and for us all, the
drugs were flushed from his system by the IV fluids that he
received while he was our guest on the space station.

“The man with us here today is no longer a
puppet of the organization. He is a strong and capable leader who’s
going to play a crucial role in retaking the government. As the
lawful commander-in
-chief,
he can order the
military to stand down and return to their bases. With a little
luck and some careful
planning,
we can end
this thing with a
minimal
loss of life. But we
must proceed with extreme caution. The opposition must not know
about us until we’re ready to act. If they learn of our plans
before we’re ready, the outcome will be hard to predict. Our
actions must be well planned and timed to perfection.”