The Invitation-kindle (22 page)

“All right, we’re just getting word that a news conference is scheduled to begin at FBI Headquarters here in Washington with Director Slaughter, CIA Director Stuart, and several Senators That’s scheduled for ten o’clock, about a half hour from now, so we will certainly go live with that news conference as soon as it begins.”

Staggering to her feet, Kathryn Myers turns the TV off, and with the personal weight of deep unbearable anguish walks to her bedroom and lays down sobbing, totally grief stricken. The normal life that she has lived to this point is now over, and will never return.

Meanwhile, outside of FBI headquarters two men sit in their car and carefully consider what they will be saying in this important press conference beginning shortly. CIA Director Paul Stuart and Senator Jack Fields have good reason to prepare themselves for this encounter with the media. For these two men who conspired to have the President murdered, it’s imperative that they control the direction and content of this news conference. As the two men sit, Senator Fields nervously checks his watch.

“How much time do we have?” the CIA director asks.

“Right now it’s 9:35.”

“Okay, so let’s go over this once more, just briefly. We need to stay ahead of this thing.”

“I wish we could let this thing just blow over, but we can’t.”

“It’s just a matter of time before Merrick, or somebody in the FBI, starts talking to the press about the secret file on Myers.”

“I don’t know about the FBI, but I guarantee Merrick will. I know Senator Merrick. He’ll spill his guts, and sooner rather than later,” says Senator Fields.

“That’s why we need to get ahead of it. Merrick is the key in all this. Now we can assume that the last thing the director of the FBI wants to do is inform the public that he’s been conducting a secret investigation of the President. To say that one day after he’s been assassinated would enrage too many people. He knows that.”

“He doesn’t have a choice.”

“That’s right. He doesn’t. He knows just like us that Merrick will eventually talk, so he needs to get out in front of this too,” the CIA director says.

“That means we need to tell the public everything, everything the FBI has on Myers, and remember the way he acted in Miami, like he knew beforehand about everything that happened. That helps us make our point. What are we going to say when they ask us about Kearns and his supposed new legs?” Senator Fields asks.

“That’s a problem. I don’t know, but it doesn’t change anything. What we saw in the FBI director’s office is undeniable.”

“That’s our trump card. We can clearly show that Myers was an agent for a foreign power, that he was a mole for the Chinese government.”

“That’s not so clear at all. We can’t make that assertion. We can only suggest it.”

“We better be careful explaining that. The country loves him, now more than ever.”

“You’re right, we can’t use inflammatory language. It’s likely to blow back on us.”

“It won’t. We’ll make sure of that. We need to be very respectful in what we say about our ‘dear’ President Myers.”

“There’s one more thing, Paul.”

“What’s that?”

“What do we say when they ask if there’s any connection between the FBI investigation of Myers, and his killing?”

“Just say, as far as we can tell, there is no connection. From what we know so far, Todd Keniston acted alone. He just got divorced from his wife. He, uh, may have had post-traumatic stress disorder. Anti-government literature was found at his residence. Remember, if anyone asks you about why he was killed, just say he resisted arrest. He didn’t give authorities any choice. He was an extremist. He wanted to go out in a blaze of glory. The investigation is still ongoing. This kind of thing.”

“I understand.”

“I’m telling you these things now, Senator Fields, because when this news conference begins we need to be in sync with each other. We’re going to get peppered with questions. We need to get it right the first time.”

“We will.”

“That means no inconsistencies in what we say. Remember, it’s not only what we say. It’s how we say it. We have to sound regretful and bereaved, just like the rest of the nation.”

“I understand.”

“Are we ready?”

“Yes.”

“If not, we can delay this news conference until we have it straight, so if you can think of any detail that we haven’t covered let’s talk about it now before we get in there.”

“I can’t think of anything. We’ll be fine, Paul.”

“Okay, then, are you ready?”

“Let’s do it.”

With this, the two men get out of their car and begin walking the short distance to enter the FBI building. A swarm of reporters and media crews are outside preparing to cover the news conference, and start questioning the two men as they approach, but get no response as they make their way through the entrance. Paul Stuart and Jack Fields then pass through the clamoring murmur of news people preparing to cover the event, and suddenly realize the risk they are taking. Any misstep or inconsistency in their speech could potentially unravel their conspiracy. After entering the briefing room, they quickly move to their reserved seats beside the lectern. They are greeted by FBI Director Frank Slaughter who is standing beside an aide who will soon start the news conference. After the men greet, and shake hands, Director Slaughter signals his aide to begin.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, my name is Jim Thatcher. I want to welcome everyone to this news conference. We at the Federal Bureau of Investigation are shocked and deeply saddened by the events of last night. We extend our deepest condolences to the President’s grieving wife and mother, and we ask the American people to join us in remembering them in our prayers. We can assure the people of the United States that the FBI is presently bringing the full weight of its resources to the investigation of this national tragedy.

“Now a brief word on our format here today, I’m going to turn it over to Director Slaughter who has an opening statement, followed by Senator Fields, and CIA director Paul Stuart. After their opening remarks we’ll start taking questions. So please, ladies and gentlemen, no questions until after opening remarks. With that I’ll now turn it over to Director Slaughter.”

“Thank you, Jim. I want to thank all of you for coming this morning. First let me say that like all of you, I was horrified by what took place in Miami last night. The brutal and public manner in which this terrible event took place will leave a national scar that will take years to heal. I join with you in praying for the President’s family in what must be for them a deeply painful time.”

As the Director pauses his countenance changes, as if preparing to impart unwelcome news.

“Ladies and gentlemen, what I have to say now won’t be easy. I am well aware of the extraordinary political sensitivity of what I’m about to tell you. My motivation in this is, and has always been, what’s best for the country, and I’m confident in leaving that for others to judge.

“On May 9th of this year the FBI was contacted by a man named Phillip Garrett who claimed to have certain materials that pertain to President Myers when he was a college student. Phillip Garrett was a roommate of Ken Myers for about three months when they were college freshmen. Mr. Garrett said, and I quote, ‘began to notice certain abnormal behavior’ in Ken Myers. This behavior consisted of clairvoyant foreknowledge of future events and enhanced intellectual comprehension beyond the range of normal human limits. After reviewing the material provided to us which consisted of a two hour video recording of Ken Myers, we concluded that it was authentic. After careful examination of the evidence it was my decision, and my decision only, to conduct an informal investigation. On the basis of that inquiry, I obtained the medical records of President Myers, and discovered something very troubling. A detailed brain scan revealed the presence of what looks to be a microprocessor embedded deep in the brain of Ken Myers.”

Suddenly, everything stops, and all in the room are stunned. All eyes freeze on the FBI director.

“Could you please repeat that?” a reporter asks.

“Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that’s what I said. A microchip of some type was found in the brain of Ken Myers. The origination of this object is still unknown. Knowing how politically sensitive this would be, I asked that leaders of both parties come in and review the case. I felt then, and I still do, that I didn’t have the authority to go any further with it. I asked the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee Senator Merrick and ranking member Senator Fields to see the evidence we have, and they were both completely briefed on our investigation. I was not able to get in touch with Senator Merrick this morning, or else he would be here with us right now, but he can confirm the things I’m saying. I know you have a lot of questions, but if you’ll just let us complete our opening remarks we’ll get to them immediately. I would now ask Senator Fields to say a few words.”

As the director of the FBI relinquishes the podium, Senator Fields steps forward and begins his statement. His stiff, inelegant remarks are thankfully brief.

“Ladies and gentlemen, today is a sad day for America. I was personally shocked and horrified to see what happened last night, and I join millions of Americans who want to see this tragic chapter in our history come to a close. I join you in your prayers for national healing. I am also here today to corroborate everything Director Slaughter has said, and commend him for going public with this difficult information. It truly shows his allegiance is to the country, and no single leader, so Director Slaughter, thank you for doing this. In the interest of brevity, I now ask CIA Director Paul Stuart to speak.”

Nimble, and evasive, Paul Stuart has a very clear idea of what he wants to achieve in this news conference. He must gently but persuasively suggest a connection between Ken Myers and espionage, and he must also sew sufficient doubt in people’s minds to make enough of them at least wonder whether or not the incredible events of the last several days were actually real. Second to none in the smooth duplicity of verbal deception, the CIA director is wily and intelligent. He knows he will not convince many. He also knows he doesn’t have to. With rumors of every type in circulation, adding more confusion to the mix can only work to his advantage. Paul Stuart knows he’ll be sharply criticized for what he’s about to say, but if the intended effect is achieved it will be more than worth it. He moves confidently to the lectern.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Let me say at the outset that I share the sorrow that our nation is now experiencing in the wake of last night’s tragedy, and I too pray for the President’s family. As Director Slaughter said, I was asked to review the evidence of the FBI’s investigation of Ken Myers. When I did, I completely agreed with his decision to initiate that investigation, and let me say this: it takes a lot of courage for the Director of the FBI to say these things here today. I know this is a highly charged issue, politically and emotionally, but I believe that at this critical hour, our country needs clarity and straight talk from government officials, and that’s why we’re here today. So let’s start with what we know. Last night, tragically, our President was murdered by what appears to be a lone assailant, a man named Todd Keniston who regretfully was shot and killed resisting arrest. As we know, that’s not all that’s been happening in our world the past few days. Are they related? We don’t know, but what I’m about to suggest is as rational an explanation as any, in my opinion. When FBI Director Slaughter briefed us on his investigation we were shown the brain scan of Ken Myers and saw something disturbing. The scan showed that some type of microprocessor had been inserted into his brain, and high magnification revealed it was actually connected to nerve endings. That’s a remarkable piece of microsurgery, and yet there is no record in any hospital of such an important operation. We know of every hospital visit that Ken Myers had in his life, except one.

“When Ken Myers was Governor of Florida six years ago, he went on a trade mission to China, and spent nearly twenty hours unaccompanied in a hospital outside of Beijing. He basically told his aide to take the day off, and then went alone to some sort of medical facility for nearly an entire day. This visit was not on anyone’s itinerary. It was completely unscheduled, and strangely, he never spoke about it afterwards. Now, you can come to your own conclusions. I’m simply telling you the facts that we were able to verify.

“I want to make just one more point before we open it up for questions. Do you remember the unusual behavior of President Myers in Miami when all these bizarre things were going on around him? He wasn’t surprised by any of it. As a matter of fact he hardly raised an eyebrow. It seemed almost as if he was part of it. Ladies and gentlemen, I believe that logic forces us to consider the possibility, that what we saw in Amelia Earhart Park in Miami may have been an elaborate hoax. Now please bear with me here. What exactly did we see these past few nights? Well, to begin with, what we saw so dramatically in the sky wasn’t actually real. It was a projected image. What else did we see? We saw some type of craft land in Miami. What exactly it was, we don’t know. We have aircraft that can hover and pull away, not like what we saw last night, but who knows what breakthrough technologies might’ve been achieved in other parts of the world? What else did we see? We saw what appeared to be an alien creature, but how do we know if that wasn’t just a projected image as well? The truth is we don’t. We don’t know what secret programs that foreign governments could have developed. We know this: something this sophisticated would require billions of dollars of research, and levels of expertise that only a rich and powerful nation could provide. Let me be clear. I can’t prove that what we saw the past two nights in Miami was a hoax, but I can confidently say that nobody can prove it wasn’t. I want to be completely frank with everyone here. It’s the unexplained hospital stay in Beijing that troubles me the most. A hospital stay that Ken Myers never spoke about afterwards. It just doesn’t add up. I think what we saw in Miami the last few nights, and that hospital visit are in some way related. I can’t prove it. It’s just my gut feeling, and that’s basically all I have to say, so I guess it’s time for questions now.”