Eddy's Current (44 page)

“It is my hope that Mr. Perez will overcome his current challenges. He seems to be struggling to find his place as a strong leader in the U.S. Congress. I have offered to help him by doing whatever I can to assist him, but I must be honest with you all by saying that his challenges must be met with success. He cannot fail. He must be victorious, in spite of the fact that he has stumbled out of the starting gate. We are all pulling for him, yet he has got to learn to ask for help. Clearly he needs it.

“I have proposed a nine–point plan that will assist him in getting our nation and our world out of this mess. I offer it to him as a sign of unity and a willingness I have for all Americans to work together to save our nation and incorporate our governmental process into the world system that is proceeding so rapidly, and is soon to come to full fruition. I call on you today, representative of our nation’s young people and new thinkers, to contact our government and adopt my plan. It will work. It must work.

“Mr. Perez believes that the time has come for action. I believe that that time came quite awhile ago. I call on Mr. Perez to put his words into action, the very action he speaks of. It’s time for leadership…”

Wallens’ speech continued in the same vein—all about Wallens. His interview with Brighton was even worse.

“Mr. Wallens, how to you feel about the job Mr. Perez is doing?” Brighton asked.

“Mr. Perez is a fine man, a fine example of minority participation in our political process. I’m proud of him.”

Brighton was not smart enough to ask a follow up question for clarification and to ask why Wallens had not answered his question. Instead he proceeded with another question. “Mr. Perez seems to be struggling with all that’s going on. Shouldn’t we have seen progress by now? It has been three months. He’s a fourth of the way through his first year as Speaker, and he only has two years.”

“Yes. Two years is not a long time. The Speaker has to be decisive. He has to be a quick read, a solid decision maker. Things really are bad right now. I think you’re right. They really are bad. We need to get moving.”

“Should Mr. Perez have taken the job? Does he have the clout to get things done?”

“Mexicans are good people. They work hard. I have a plan that will work, but I’m not sure the Speaker has time to work with me. He’s trying, though.”

Again, Brighton didn’t get it. He went on to a different question.

“Was it right for us to move forward with seizing foreign–owned assets?”

“Mr. Perez moved that one along fairly quickly through the House. Some foreign governments are angry. They’ve been angry for quite sometime now. This might cause international outrage. My plan would remedy that, though.”

Even Brighton had his limits.

“What plan? Tell our viewers specifically about your plan.”

“Well, I mean, I mean, my proposal has nine points. I am very much concerned. We must begin to listen to one another in this country, and we must listen to what the rest of the world is telling us. The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives needs to be a good communicator. That’s very important to me.”

Brighton’s interview of Wallens was a joke and everyone in the world except Brighton knew that. Wallens had been allowed to present himself as the focus of all that is important in the world, and to begin the process of tainting Perez’s abilities, laying the foundation for Wallens’ own run for Speaker.

Brighton and his producer banked on the fact that T’kina Hancock would allow Wallens’ interview to pass. Hancock had been burned by Perez in the past. Even though Hancock and Perez had officially patched things up, Brighton’s crew believed that Hancock would remain silent and not speak up to defend Perez.

But Brighton and his crew were wrong. Hancock blasted Brighton and Wallens. Hancock spelled out the issues clearly during his following night’s program. He brought the hammer down on Brighton like never before, calling Brighton “so obviously stupid and incompetent that his own parents would be compelled to point it out to him.” Hancock dismissed Wallens as an egotistical maniac who was as fake as a mirage of a lake painted directly on the desert sand while a camera was rolling. Wallens’ whole strategy backfired on him. Maybe he wasn’t so street smart after all.

“Okay, Ms. Dominici,” Alex said, half jokingly, to Kathy, “what do we do about Brighton, Wallens and Hancock?”

“Nothing.”

“We don’t ‘engage’ them?”

“No. Let them fight it out. You remain above it all. Leave them in the mud.”

“You’re just like your Dad.”

“Thanks. So, if you’re asked, you will tell people that you’re busy doing what you were elected to do, that you’re not paying any attention to the bickering, and that
we
, the American people, are making great progress, and that you are certain our nation will move forward and even prosper.”

“You’re too good, Dom Jr. You’re too good. What if I’m asked to go on Hancock’s show?”

“Then you will have to go. We don’t want him to feel alienated or shunned. He deserves a one–on–one interview with you. But I hope it doesn’t happen.”

“Why’s that?”

“Brighton will demand equal time. He’s a disaster. We can’t win by going on his show, and we’ll get a black eye if we refuse his request after accommodating Hancock. Let’s just hope it dies.”

The three members of the USFIA Governing Council were missing. There was no trace of them. Their immediate family members were also gone, as were their closet relatives outside of their immediate family. Those who ventured a guess believed that they chose to disappear, that they chose to become a part of Tyler Peterson’s group. They had given in, most said; they sold out. Many believed that they would resurface and issue a public statement supporting Peterson, but that was only speculation. No one knew for sure. Three of the most powerful people in the United States simply vanished. Sydney Albert was now the lone person in the world with the power and the guts to do something to stop Tyler Lee Peterson.

In addition to being the closest of friends, Speaker Perez and Senator Milton shared a common concern for their nation and for the welfare of the entire world. Both knew that Peterson had to be stopped, neither had the official power to do it, and neither knew anyone who did.

U.S. and U.N. laws were intertwined now and it was unclear as to which was to be followed. Perez and Milton decided to chuck all laws that were not in the best interest of the United States, and simply do what they believed needed to be done in order to save the world from Peterson and restore the U.S. to independent–nation status. They would conduct many secret meetings, planning ways to bring down Peterson. It was risky. U.S. government officials were required to yield to international laws, and everyone everywhere was expected to yield to Peterson.

As elected government officials in the U.S., Perez and Milton had been required to swear their allegiance to the mission of the WWCA and its leaders, policies and laws. They had to swear their allegiance or be forced to give up their positions. Their decision to remain in the congress and senate gave them a remote chance to topple Peterson. From the outside, though, that would not have been a possibility for them. So they did as all other political leaders and government employees in the U.S. did. They placed their left hand on the
WWCA Decrees For Governance
, raised their right hand and swore their allegiance. Neither had any intention of abiding by what they had sworn. Millions of other U.S. politicians and public employees also swore their allegiance, including police officers and school teachers—anyone at all that was considered in a vocation in service to the public.

Perez and Milton knew about River, and they were sure that what they knew was good. Congressman Perez’s congressional committee had investigated River, but they had concluded that River had been setup by Hernandez. It was not clear exactly why he did it.

While Perez knew Albert well, he still feared that their plans and proposals could not be shared with Albert. On the other hand, even a U.S. congressman and a U.S. senator could do nothing to mount a rebellion without money, an intelligence gathering apparatus, guns, and soldiers. Albert had plenty of money in the form of USFIA’s budget, he had the intelligence gathering capabilities of the USFIA, plenty of weapons, and an army of his agents who could serve as soldiers. If Perez and Milton could mount a successful rebellion, the U.S. president, now a hapless puppet, could be re–empowered and could lead the U.S. back to independence and freedom. If Perez and Milton’s rebellion failed, the president would not be held accountable for their actions. They would tell the president nothing of their plans.

Perez and Milton decided to roll the dice and meet with Albert and Warwick. They would not hold back. They agreed to submit their full ideas. They contacted Albert and set up the meeting.

“Sydney, it’s great to see you again. How are you?” Perez said, as he engaged in a hearty handshake with Albert.

“I’m well. It’s nice to see you, Mr. Speaker. What can I do for you?”

“I believe you know Senator Milton from New Jersey. The two of you met at the Conference on Intelligence and Homeland Protection in D.C.”

“Yes, Senator, I remember. How are you?”

“I’m doing fine. Listen, Sydney, I want to get right to the reason for this meeting. Congressman Perez and I have studied Peterson’s ascension to power and the U.S.’s ceding of power to him. We want to explore these recent developments with you. Mr. Warwick, you know of Peterson’s ascension better than anyone. I understand that you actually wrote a report calling for action to bring down Mr. Peterson.”

Senator Milton had not been as forthright as he had led Albert to believe he might be.

“Explore? In what way and for what reason?” Albert said, expressing outward reservation and a casual attitude to mask his inner delight and intense interest.

“We’re concerned,” Perez said. “We believe that the events of the past few years have not been in the best interest of the United States, and we’re concerned that the world has allowed itself to be fully controlled by one person.”

Just as Perez and Milton had risked a great deal to meet with Albert and Warwick to expose their concerns and prepare a plan of action, Albert and Warwick were at risk as well. They had an advantage that neither Perez nor Milton had. Albert ran the most powerful intelligence organization in the world, and Warwick was that organization’s most trusted agent. Within a few minutes of his agreement to meet, Albert knew more about the congressman and the senator than they knew about themselves. He found nothing, nothing at all — not even a hint — that they had any loyalty to Peterson.

While Albert was one of the most intelligent and powerful persons outside of Peterson’s inner circle, he was a man who paid close attention to his gut feelings. Albert’s gut told him to get on with it, to go with the Speaker and the senator.

March 2026. Peterson became less patient with each passing day. His once unquestioned rise to the pinnacle of absolute power was now under scrutiny, at least in his mind. Things seemed to be stalled. He could no longer manipulate, position, persuade or use any form of trickery to increase his power. It seemed that the world had handed over all it would cede to him. If Peterson wanted absolute power, and surely he did, he would have to take it. The time had come for him to make a final move. His disciples were in place, he controlled the world’s nuclear triggers, he could call out armies if needed—whatever it took. His master plan could wait no longer. He would move fast now.

Peterson had at first disallowed challenges to his power. Anyone, from anywhere in the world, who chose to criticize or even question him was to be considered an enemy of God. There were large numbers of critics now, though, so he could not expend the energy to stop all of them through arrests, harassment or censorship. He decided on a different approach. Critics would be allowed to shoot off their mouths. He could make his point more effectively by making it clear that he would take actions swiftly to destroy his real enemies, those who posed a real threat to his authority, while allowing less serious criticism of him or of the WWCA.

In other words, Peterson would tolerate his everyday critics. At least for awhile. Long enough to draw them out into the open so he could keep an eye on them. But eventually, in his own good time, Peterson would move with brute force against all of his critics. Whenever it was that he decided to move against them, he would move swiftly. Literally overnight he would gather up all his suspected enemies and send them off to take advantage of their new employment as scientific research assistants, counting grains of sand in the African desert.

The USFIA had to be brought under Peterson’s full control. Peterson knew of River’s work. He could tolerate it no longer. Peterson’s newly formed United Nations Officers Protection Force had been watching River and Eddy for quite some time. River was to be stopped, regardless of what it took. River knew too much, he was too smart, and his work and words had been highly challenging to Peterson. Peterson also had a score to settle with River and al Qatari for the fact that the U.S. government acted unilaterally to destroy the terrorists’ camp in Medina. Such independent military action was Peterson’s to take and his alone, he believed. River and al Qatari would pay the price for their heroics. Peterson alone was to be the world’s hero.

Peterson needed to call on an old friend to help him out again, someone who was loyal and who also had a reason to want River hurt badly, someone Peterson could use and then toss aside for awhile, until he needed him again. Peterson’s chief of staff, Dante Hall, contacted Frederic Hernandez and went to work on him once again. They met in Hall’s office.

“Fred, please come in. Sit down, sit down.” Hall said, inviting Hernandez into the chambers of his lush office.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Hall. What can I do for you,” a dutiful and grateful Hernandez replied.

“We’ve all been watching you and keeping track of your many accomplishments at the FBI, and, of course, what you have done for us. We are prepared to encourage you to advance up the ladder several rungs at once. Have you heard of the newly–formed United Nations Officer’s Protection Force?”