Gordon Ryan - Uncivil liberties

Pug and Rachel stood and silently followed the young man down the corridor. They were engulfed by a bevy of reporters and White House staffers. As soon as they sat, another staff person came through the door and announced the arrival of the president. Pug and Rachel stood along with the occupants of the room as the president mounted the dais and took his position behind the lectern.

“At 11:20 this morning, local time, Homeland Security Secretary William Austin was killed in a car bomb attack in Brussels. Secretary Austin was attending a conference of security leaders from European nations seeking ways to confront terrorism. Once again, it has been demonstrated that terrorists do not want peaceful solutions to the ills of the world. Secretary Austin served this nation for four decades, both in war and in peace. He was seeking further methods to assure peace when he was needlessly killed. The United States puts these terrorists on notice that we will follow every path to find and kill or capture those who planned this murder. I personally offer my sincere condolences to Mrs. Austin. The general was…”

Dulles International Airport

Washington, D.C.

June

Sometime after 10:00 PM, Pug drove Rachel to Dulles International Airport to meet her mother’s plane. The president’s visit to the Austin household had been difficult, to say the least, but Pug recognized in President Snow the gentle hand of a compassionate man, belying the weight of his office. Mrs. Austin was a remarkable woman, her strength resilient, her expression of gratitude to the president sincere. Despite the many other occasions when Pug had met her, his admiration for the woman took on a new dimension during the president’s visit. Shortly before they had left, Christine Austin’s sister had arrived to fill the absence of family. With no children of their own, Rachel had been concerned that the older woman would be alone for the night and had offered to stay, but Mrs. Austin had declined, grateful that Rachel’s mother would be coming to visit tomorrow.

As they waited near the luggage carousel at Dulles, Pug held Rachel close, his arm around her shoulder.

“These are not the circumstances that I envisioned for us to become friends, Rachel. I’m truly sorry for this loss and the memories it fosters.”

Rachel raised her hand to her shoulder, covering Pug’s hand. “The circumstances are not important, Pug. I’m grateful you were with me. Uncle Bill was like a father to me and I know he was fond of you, trusted you, and that his feelings were reciprocated. It’s your loss, too. I feel numb, actually. I might-”

Suddenly, Rachel leaned to the right, scanning the passengers coming down the escalator. “There she is,” she said, quickly walking forward and embracing her mother as she stepped away from the moving throng of people. Pug remained quietly behind. After a few moments of tears and hugging, they approached him together.

“Mom, this is General Pug Connor. Pug worked with Uncle Bill for the past several years. They became very close.”

Mrs. Thompson extended her hand and showed the briefest hint of a smile. “I’m pleased to meet you, General. Thank you for meeting me.”

“My pleasure, ma’am. Your luggage will be on carousel eight. I already have a trolley.”

“I only brought one bag. I have some of my things at Rachel’s home.” She turned to Rachel as they walked toward the luggage carousel. “Do you know when the funeral will be held?”

“Yes, Mom. Friday morning at Arlington. Christine did not want any public ceremony, but agreed to the president’s request that Bill be buried in the national cemetery. I have us both booked back to Kansas City on Friday night.”

Mrs. Thompson nodded. “That’s my bag, General,” she said, pointing to a light gray case which Pug retrieved.

Thirty minutes later, Pug placed the suitcase just inside the front door of Rachel’s home.

“Rachel, if I can be of any assistance over the next several days, please phone. I’ve called a meeting of my team tomorrow morning to discuss several items, but mostly to deal with our new reporting line to the president’s office. Please, do call if I can help.”

Rachel looked up at Pug for several seconds, then stepped close to him, placing her hands on his shoulders. She then kissed him lightly on the cheek, pulled back, and looked into his eyes. “You’ve already been helpful, Pug, perhaps more than you know. Thank you.”

“If I don’t see you beforehand, I hope to see you at the funeral on Friday,” Pug said.

“I’ll arrange it, Pug. My staff will organize seats for us.”

“Good night, Rachel.”

Office of Strategic Initiatives

Washington D.C.

June

Wednesday morning, Devlin Hegarty sat in John Harford’s office, discussing the latest turn of events and the final plans for the Saturday events in San Antonio and Kansas City.

“Who could have envisioned that Homeland Security would lose their secretary so quickly? General Austin was one of the staunchest opponents of Domestic Tranquility, or so my inside sources tell me. We’re well-rid of the bastard,” Harford said.

Hegarty wondered silently whether Harford had other teams working on such events, or if it was truly a coincidence and Al Qaida was behind the attack.

“One more thing, Devlin. It’s come to my attention that Senator McKenzie of Kansas will be at the Marriott on Saturday morning, giving an address to the city managers who are holding a convention. That’s actually a stroke of luck.”

“Do you want the explosion timed to her address?” Hegarty asked.

“Absolutely not. That’s what I’m saying. She’ll speak at 11:00 AM, giving the keynote. I want the explosion no earlier than 2:00 PM. She sits on Culpepper’s intelligence committee and I think she can be swayed in favor of Domestic Tranquility. A close brush with death will help convince her. I need her vote.”

“They reconvene at 1:30 after lunch, so 2:00 PM it will be,” Hegarty replied. “The Overland Park mall will be hit earlier in the morning, followed by the Marriott. San Antonio will take place about 4:00 PM. Texas is in the same time zone, so about two hours after the Marriott explosion. Saturday will be a busy day for Fox News and CNN, not to mention emergency services.”

“Yes, well, if this doesn’t wake up America, I don’t know what will. Are you sure the San Antonio SI security team is prepared to intervene successfully?”

“Absolutely. The team leader of the SI defense squad is ready. I’ve worked with him before. Sean Kilpatrick. A good man. His great-grandfather trained my father in Belfast in the old days.”

Harford gave a quick chuckle. “No matter the cause, there always seems to be work for enterprising young men, eh? How are things in Ireland these days?”

“Too peaceful,” Hegarty replied.

“Well, we can thank our lucky stars for Al Qaida then, right? Catholic or Protestant, Muslim or Christian. Some religious group always wants to kill another religious group. It’s a good thing we have all these men of faith, or there might not be any wars to prosecute.”

Hegarty nodded assent. “And some financial wolf is always ready to help them through the process with no religious compunctions.”

“I’m sure you’ve noticed that your Swiss account has increased substantially. Be certain you share some of those proceeds with your key players. I don’t want any disgruntled employees complaining and drawing attention because they weren’t paid.”

“Not to worry. Everyone is taken care of. Everyone who will live to spend it, that is,” Hegarty replied.