Chapter 27

Stan and Irene were still talking to one pair so we went in another room where the other two fake FBI men waited. I said, "Sit down." One sat down and the other came at me. I dropped him hard. I went to the other. "Pick him up and put him in a chair."

We had brought in two paper cups of water. I splashed both of them into the guy's face making him return to consciousness spluttering.

Lisa said, "Is there any more stupidity or have you gotten it out of your system?"

There was no answer. I went behind them and popped them both hard on the back of their heads. "When the lady asks you a question, failing to answer will be painful to you."

They both answered sullenly, "No, ma'am."

Lisa said, "Now, what are your real names?"

The one who sat down said, "I'm Matthew Arndt. I've never really been an FBI agent."

Lisa looked at the other. "I'm Todd Grant. You aren't police."

Lisa said, "That's true. We're the targets. I'm Lisa Chambers and he's my husband, Al.

"What exactly was your mission?"

Matthew said, "We were told to screw up the evidence, free the teams in jail, and complete the mission."

Lisa said, "What was the mission?"

"The original mission was to take Al Chambers into custody and deliver him to a questioning area. I don't know what they wanted to know or where the questioning area is located. My orders came by phone with my codename. That's all I know."

Lisa looked at the other one, Todd Grant. He said, "That's right. We weren't told that he was good at hand-to-hand. I bet you're both pretty able with a gun, too."

Lisa smiled grimly. "He's very good at both. I can shoot people pretty well, too. I think you each need to write a novel about your life. Your only hope to get out of this alive is to come completely clean and ask our judge and police for protection. Your superiors are killing each other and those of you they can find. If you don't want to help, we're going to dump you in D.C. at the Mall in just your boxers. Al doesn't think you'll live long enough to find clothes. We'll tell people publicly that you helped us and we released you from custody."

Both men found that idea uncomfortable and squirmed. Lisa said, "Would you like pads and pencils?" They both nodded. Lisa handed them out and they began to write. We left and found Irene and Stan standing outside smiling. Irene said, "We were listening. Throw them out at the Mall in their boxers? What's interesting is you say it in an utterly convincing voice."

Stan guided us over to a desk with some chairs. We sat down. Stan said, "The rot seems to go pretty high and someone doesn't want to be found out. I am comforted to find there are some honest people in the federal government. We just have to keep up the pressure and the rats will panic. Irene is giving another press conference this afternoon."

The announcement that there would be a press conference this afternoon set off some scurrying and, by the four o'clock starting time, all the broadcast and cable networks were there with crews. Irene started with a short statement. She said, "We have been given a lot of information from the five new people under indictment. This morning, we found that four of the FBI agents assigned to this case were bogus as was one Department of Justice lawyer. Once truly checked out, their bogus credentials were uncovered. All five have been writing their complete life stories. Our D.A. is talking with the judge about specially handling protection for them.

"One of the things that they confirmed is the intent to illegally abduct a citizen of this town and take that person to an unknown location. We have found sufficient connections to a missing person case of a few years ago to believe that the same group of people were involved. The woman missing hasn't been seen again and we fear that she was murdered based upon the violence from this event. There is no question that this is a conspiracy that reaches the upper levels of government. Our department calls upon all honest government employees, and there are many, to ferret this cancer from their ranks. That is the end of the statement. I will now take questions."

Fox news was quickest. "Missus Medlin, are you suggesting this is a government conspiracy?"

"If, by that you mean that the entire federal government is involved in these illegal activities, the answer is no. However, if you mean that certain persons or even agencies are involved in these illegal activities and the associated cover-up, the answer is yes. The evidence points in that direction without question. It will be up to those in positions of authority to stop these illegal activities and bring those responsible to justice."

MSNBC's representative said, "You used the term, 'illegal activities, ' repeatedly, what do you mean?"

"In this town, county, and state, abducting a private citizen without any warrant using false identification is illegal activity. What would you call it?"

MSNBC might edit that out but the others could scarcely hide their glee at the reporter's discomfort. There was no response.

CNN asked, "Miss Medlin, do you?"

Irene shouted, "Stop!" It became quiet. She said through clenched teeth, "I am married and addressed as Missus Medlin. Anyone addressing me otherwise is insinuating that my child is illegitimate and that I am not proud of my marital status and my husband. They also run the risk of a civil suit and being told to get out of here. Is there anyone here that doesn't understand?" She waited to see slow nods from the newer reporters including the CNN representative. "Now, would you like to rephrase your question?"

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you, Missus Medlin. Do you think that others may be headed this way to further the illegal activities or the cover-up?"

"Based upon the fear of those we have in custody, I would say yes. We have offered a few the opportunity to leave with no charges. We have been turned down. My husband says that upper level crooks have no honor and these people seem to understand that their chances outside our jail are not promising."

NBC's representative said, "Missus Medlin, do you believe that will happen?"

"It's not what I believe but what these men that we have in custody believe. As police officers, we have a duty to safeguard even criminals and our chief has said that we will carry out that duty faithfully. The prisoners we have here have requested that we not allow them to be handed into federal custody. After finding that two of the three agencies helping investigate the crimes have been penetrated, I would have to admit that I don't blame them.

"I will say again. We are a small town police force. We call upon those with greater resources including the news media in Washington to investigate honestly and thoroughly to find out who is behind these illegal activities.

"Personally, I want to know who can be trusted as an everyday citizen. Leaders who don't investigate honestly and openly will not receive my trust or my vote."

There were no further questions. Irene came back into headquarters. Stan grinned. "I don't think you pulled any punches. We'll see what kinds of smoke rises from that fire."

We checked on our writers and had five very full pads with lots of specific details. The "DOJ man" had even annotated his with notes as fact and supposition. All of them named names, places, and times along with the assigned mission information. It turned out that one of the men was part of the crew that grabbed Janine Walker and James Battle. His notes named a senior person in the Department of Defense who had given the order. That person was still alive and working for the Department. Tomorrow, we would announce his involvement in her abduction and disappearance as well as in the attempt on me.

School was out and we went there to pick up children. Pam and Frank were taking Laura and Frankie home. Irene and Stan were picking up Hannah and Bert. We gave ours a hug and left for our home.

We unkeyed the alarm systems and went inside. I immediately reset all the outside systems and lights. We lay back in the living room holding each other close. It had been a tiring day. After a while we went into the kitchen and made a chef's salad together for supper. We had a little white wine with it. While we were preparing and eating our simple meal, we fondled each other often.

Suddenly, a soft vibration could be felt. I reached into my pocket and pulled the alarm sensor out to see that it appeared we had company in our front yard. I said, "Stay down! Call Pam and tell her that Laura and the rest must stay there. We're busy. When you get off, warn Irene and Stan. After that call 9-1-1 and tell them we have intruders in our front yard."

As she was doing all that, I retrieved a Glock and began to sneak to a window. I saw our motion sensor lights come on. It was curious that no one was trying to get around back. Then my curiosity went away when a side yard light went on. Lisa was calling 9-1-1. I went back into our room and grabbed her pistol and two extra clips. I came to her as she got off the phone. I whispered, "Some are coming around back. Get over there and watch the front. I'm going to stop us from being surrounded." She looked concerned but nodded tightly. She was out of sight of any window and had a clear bead on the doors. I snuck out the back after deactivating the alarm for that door only. I set the alarms for sirens if a door or window were breached.

I was outside and watching for a person or persons to make an appearance. The front door alarm went off. That moved the guys in back to charge. There were three and I shot each one before moving back inside to Lisa. "Three are down in back."

Then the siren went silent on time out. A voice at the door said, "Mister Chambers, we just want to talk."

I shouted back. "Bull! The men you sent around back were carrying arms and are now dead. The police are on their way. If you try to leave, you will be shot. If you try to get inside, you will be shot. You may be shot anyway because I'm tired of this crap. Drop your guns and put your hands on top of your heads." In the distance, I could hear the sirens. I flipped the switches to light up the place as bright as day. I had also grabbed a rifle but had no good shot to the front without exposing my body to being shot. I thought some more and went to the front door and unlocked it. From the bottom, I pulled at it to open it. I was ready to shoot in a prone position. I saw a man ten feet away holding a shotgun. I shot him dead. I looked for the next and saw another with a pistol and shot him. The rest began to drop their weapons and raise their hands. The police came up with lights and sirens blaring. As they got out of their cars, I saw them stay behind the doors. I shouted, "I'm Al Chambers. Be careful. They are armed and very dangerous. I've had to shoot five already." There were three standing that I could see. One of those two turned in a threatening posture and then there were two.