The Invitation-kindle (16 page)

“You mean the President.”

“Yes, he seemed to know what was about to happen. He wasn’t surprised at all.”

“Meaning?” the FBI director asks.

“Meaning it was planned out in advance. All you have to do is connect the dots. That means that Myers knew this was going to happen. Here’s my point. Now, for argument’s sake, let’s say for a moment that it really was a visit from some kind of extraterrestrial creature. If that’s true, then how could Ken Myers have known about it beforehand?  Which he clearly did.”

“I can’t answer that, but that still doesn’t explain how a man grows a new arm and new legs in a matter of seconds. We all saw that.”

“Did we?”

“What do you mean?”

“That’s what it appeared to be. Maybe it was, and maybe it wasn’t”

“Explain.”

“By the way, where is the Congressman? I haven’t seen him since he allegedly got his new legs. Why isn’t he being seen? I’m sure the media’s been asking for him. I wonder what a complete physical examination would show.”

“What are you getting at?” Director Slaughter asks.

“Watch closely when they show it again on TV. The Congressman is rolled into some kind of tank with water, or some other liquid bubbling inside it. When he comes out he appears to have new limbs. Maybe they were prosthetic limbs made to look like they were real.”

“But we saw them regenerate.”

“How do you know that? Maybe that was a projected image just like the one in the sky. A simple examination of the Congressman would settle the question, but for some reason he’s being kept out of sight. Remember that Ken Myers wanted, for some reason, everyone to see what to all appeared to be a miracle. In other words, it didn’t happen spontaneously. It was set up. It was premeditated.”

“Why would he want to do that?”

“Well, we don’t know, do we? Not yet that is. But this thing is not over. There’s another shoe to drop in this story.”

“What about this aircraft that hovered and landed, and is still there?”

“I’m glad you called it an aircraft instead of a spacecraft. The truth is we have aircraft that can hover and land remotely. That’s not remarkable, and again let’s wait until that machine is examined. We don’t know what it is until we look at it.”

“So you’re suggesting that this is all some kind of elaborate subterfuge,” Director Slaughter says.

“That’s right,” CIA Director Paul Stuart says.

“And you think the President is somehow involved.”

“I think that’s obvious. Don’t you?”

The Director of the FBI is reluctant to respond, and Senator Fields asks him, “Are you aware, Director, that the President of the United States gave a direct order to the Secretary of the Air Force, that all base commanders were to stand down right before this thing penetrated our air space?”

“No, I wasn’t,” Mr. Slaughter says.

“Let me get to the point. I think this man, Ken Myers, whoever he is, should be put under surveillance immediately. Will you support us on this? That’s what we want to know.”

Hearing no response, the CIA chief continues, “Let me ask you, Mr. Director, which of the two scenarios is more likely: the one I’ve described, or one about an alien, in a spaceship from another world, who comes down to Earth to pay us a visit? Come on.”

“Well, if your scenario is true, then the President of the United States is involved in espionage of some type.”

“That’s exactly right. He is,” the CIA director says.

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

“I don’t think you understand how serious this is, Director Slaughter. If anyone attacked us now, we’d be defenseless.”

“Why do you say that?” the FBI director asks.

“Why? Because to respond we would need the nuclear codes that are in his possession. A foreign power could blackmail us, or even worse. We’d have no choice but to surrender.”

“No one has declared war on the United States.”

“That’s right. They wouldn’t have to, would they? All they’d have to do is threaten us.”

“Look, Senator Merrick is coming in this afternoon. Let’s see if we can reach some kind of consensus on this, and we’ll decide what we have to do.”

“Why do we have to wait for Senator Merrick? We oughta decide this now.”

“Because we need bipartisan consensus on this.”

“Are you serious?” Senator Fields asks.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I just told you this country is now defenseless, and all you can say is you want to schedule another meeting? What’s that gunna do?”

“It’ll give legitimacy to any future action we may take. That’s what.”

“Mr. Director, you brought us in on this, and now you seem to be getting cold feet,” the CIA director says.

“No, I asked Senator Fields and Senator Merrick to come in. It was Senator Fields who insisted that you be here.”

“Maybe because he doesn’t want to see his country sold out.”

“Look, let’s come back this afternoon. I’d feel better if Senator Merrick was part of this discussion.”

“Yeah, sure, we’ll all come back and talk some more later. Maybe you’ll feel better.”’

“Your transparent sarcasm doesn’t help, Director Stuart. You want to arrest the President of the United States, and you want me to sign off on it.”

“On the basis of all the evidence we have, that’s right. Immediately.”

“We would need Congressional authority for that. Let’s think this thing through. That’s all I’m saying.”

“Okay, let’s do that. Let’s see what Senator Merrick has to say, and we’ll, uh, come to a decision,” says Senator Fields unexpectedly.

“I think that’s the best way forward,” Director Slaughter says.

“Well, Mr. Director, we don’t want to take up any more of your time.”

“Senator Merrick is coming in at three,” the FBI director says.

“Good, we’ll hash it out then.”

Quickly rising, the two men abruptly leave. Watching them go, Mr. Slaughter is puzzled with their quick, awkward departure, and is not entirely sure they’ll return.

Walking silently to their car, Senator Fields, and CIA director Paul Stuart hold their thoughts, until they are in private. Moments later, seated in the CIA director’s car, Senator Fields vents his frustration.

“How’s that for a profile in courage? His own country’s being sold out, and all he can do is schedule a meeting. That’s pathetic.”

“Pretty disgusting,” Stuart says.

“He wants to call in Merrick. What’s that going to do? He’ll just piss his pants and go home. This country’s in grave danger.  Myers was so smooth. He was too perfect. He knew all along what he was doing. This thing has been planned for years.”

“That’s right, probably even before he visited that Chinese hospital.”

“He’s a plant for the Chinese communist government. That thing in his brain proves it. This country owes you some gratitude, Paul. You figured it out. The way you explained it up there. You figured it all out.”

“Eventually someone else would have.”

“Yeah, but maybe too late. It’s treason Paul. Black, secret treason. It’s like seeing a murderer before he commits the crime, and we’re the only ones who know.”

“We’re not going to get anywhere with Slaughter. The man’s not worth his own shit,” the CIA director says.

“It’s up to us, Paul. For the sake of the nation we have to put an end to this.”

“We only have one option. If we make an attempt to arrest him, he’ll know that we figured him out. Besides, that place in Miami is by now surrounded with law enforcement. Just getting in and getting Myers out might be impossible. It leaves only one option.”

“I know… assassination,” says Senator Fields.

“I wouldn’t call it that. That’s not what it is. He’s not legitimately the President.”

“You’re right. He isn’t.”

“There are only two possible outcomes to this: either we’ll make the biggest mistake of our lives, which I think is unlikely, or we’ll protect our country from being subverted by a foreign government, and God knows what else.”

“My family goes back seven generations in this country. I have ancestors that fought on both sides of the Civil War. I love this country, Paul.”

“I know you do. So do I.”

“We don’t have any choice. If we don’t act, and something happens, I couldn’t live with myself.”

“Neither could I.”

“When people know what we know, when they see what we saw in Slaughter’s office, they’ll understand. But how do you do something like that? I mean, you need to find someone who has enough nerve to pull the trigger.”

“That’s not a problem. I know a man who can do the job.”

“But you said that place in Miami is swarming with security people.”

“Even better, he’ll fit right in. I’ll brief him in person.”

“Tell him everything Paul, everything we know.”

“I will.”

“And you’re confident this guy has enough guts to pull the trigger.”

“Oh, he’ll pull the trigger. He’s done it many times. He used to be a sniper in the Marines.”

“How are you gunna get him in close enough?” Senator Fields asks.

“Oh I'll get em in close. He’ll have a security clearance. I'll get him in and everthing he's gunna need. We’ll make sure of that.”

“It’s for the good of the country, Paul.”

The two men continue talking as they pull away into the streets of Washington.

Later today, at his home in North Carolina, Todd Keniston will get a phone call recruiting him for the most important assignment of his life.

The scene at Olympic Stadium in Miami this morning is very different from what it was last night. The Olympic Games that by now should be fully underway, like most other general human activity, have been unexpectedly postponed, as the ongoing drama that has completely upstaged everything else plays itself out. For those who directly watched what happened last night, the aftermath of those remarkable events is decidedly anticlimactic. The early morning light has a sobering effect on all, as the intense excitement of the night before has given way to subdued anticipation of what is to come next. A pending sense that what happens tonight will be every bit as dramatic as last night is widespread. Everyone seems to be waiting for the night sky. Many who were present last night having left, and thinking to return in the morning, find they are prohibited from doing so. Though television cameras have been allowed to stay, the area around the spacecraft has been cordoned off to the general public.

Worldwide attention remains focused on the strange craft that millions saw descending from the sky so dramatically the night before. Considering its functional capabilities, it seems smaller than it should be. Measuring no more that eighty feet wide, it has a perfectly circular shape, with its tallest point around twenty feet high. The lines, and contour of its silhouette are soft and rounded. No part of the craft is touching the Earth. Looking under it, a full foot of space separates it from the ground. It’s completely silent. No seams or edges in its surface can be seen that might indicate an entrance point. Its ability to change its own shape, color, and form is uncanny. As incredible as seeing this object is, the question foremost in everyone’s mind is the still unexplained presence of the President of the United States, who remains seated near the strange craft.

People have noticed a peculiar change in the physical demeanor of President Myers. Besides his steadfast refusal to leave, he’s been strangely reticent to talk to anyone but his wife Carol, who is now soundly sleeping in the comfortably furnished tent courteously provided by the U.S. Army, and his new found sitting companion Allen Forbes, the lead Secret Service agent who refused to leave the President’s side.

Adamant in his determination to stay, the President has made clear that his intention to remain is unshakable, and so the general situation remains something of a stalemate between security personnel who want to remove the President from any possible danger, and the President himself who will not allow that to happen, and who apparently has the power to enforce his will. All are consigned to wait for the next act to begin in this strange ongoing drama. Whatever happens, Allen Forbes, the lead Secret Service agent who sat all night with the President, will remember that experience for the rest of his life. When he mentioned in passing that he majored in nineteenth century American history when he was in college, and was an avid amateur historian, a conversation of considerable depth began. Starting with a masterful elucidation of pre-Civil War history, followed by a highly detailed chronology of the conflict, the President’s intimately detailed knowledge was comprehensive. When Allen quizzed him repeatedly about various events that occurred during the war, he quickly discovered that although his own mastery of the subject was considerable, he had encountered a mind whose detailed knowledge of the topic was voluminous. Listening to the description of Lincoln’s first inaugural address, and the subsequent time line of the war’s history was a personally compelling intellectual experience. The detailed accuracy of every battle, and its effect on the course of the war, had both the authenticity of a first person account, and the scholarly erudition of professional academic objectivity. When the first rays of the morning sun began streaking over the horizon, the conversation was still continuing. Acknowledging what for him has been a potent tutorial, Allen asks the President, “Sir, how do know these things?

“By having a curious mind, like you Allen, History is very important. It provides a background, and context for everything that’s happening around us.”

“Is your knowledge of twentieth century history as extensive?”

“Yes”

“That’s incredible. You have tremendous intellectual depth, Mr. 

President.”

“Knowledge and morality, the two greatest forces that drive mankind onward. As Immanuel Kant said, ‘The starry vault above, and the moral law within.’”

“Sir, I know you intend to stay here today, but I wish you’d reconsider.”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible, Allen.”

“Why are you doing this, Sir?”

“I have to. It’s for a greater good. What time is it?”

“It’s 7:35, Sir.”