Chapter 06

Take it to the Limit

Three weeks after my meeting with Major Erwin I head to a secure office in Albuquerque to meet the senior officers from the US Marshals Office and the FBI with their analysts. They’ve all done their homework, but they let me know they still don’t know where I’m heading.

After being introduced to everyone I ask, “Have you worked out how they killed Johnson and Fellows yet?”

The FBI man frowns as he says, “The police were surprised when we came to stick our noses into the investigation. We justified it on the grounds they were federal employees. The police had them written off as accidents until our labs found some oddities. They’re now down as professional murders by persons unknown. The most likely suspect is you, but we know where you were when they were killed, and they would’ve been passed over except for your insistence it was murder. Now what’s this all about?”

I turn to the analysts and ask, “Got any world shattering news to give us from your studies?” Both shake their heads no. “OK, see if you can follow me, then let me know when the light shines for you, please!” They both nod yes.

I look at the two men I’ve got to convince to get my official security screen. “I’m a private citizen who hasn’t committed any crimes. When I started winning a lot at gambling government authorities got interested in me. I understand some concerns about money laundering and similar issues but there’s no way you can justify the DHS getting involved, yet they do. While I was in their not so tender care Johnson and Fellows talked to each other in the next room while not realising I’ve got very good hearing and I could hear them. The cause of interest in the file is garbage as they were after my gambling knowledge and skills for personal reasons for themselves and their friends. They were abusing their power and position in the DHS to run over me and my family to get what they wanted. So this is a serious act of abuse of authority and corruption, agreed?” They all nod areement. “What got them interested in me was my skill in gambling and winning so much. Anyone know what all gambling and gambling systems are based on?”

One analyst says, “Odds, the theory of probability. Gambling systems are an attempt to predict the result as a higher probability event.”

“Well done, what else revolves around probability theory?” I get blank stares. “Let me know when you work it out since it’s a variation of probability theory with a lot more variables added in. Anyway, all gambling systems say each bet has a particular probability of winning and you have to always bet on all of the criteria matches or the system doesn’t work because you’re adding more variables than it can handle.” All four listeners nod agreement. “What caught their eye was the fact I was winning over ninety percent of the time and they couldn’t see my criteria.” All four heads come up at this, and a hand goes up for me to stop while one checks a file. Finding the report he wants he marks it with a sticky label and he passes it around.

The Senior Deputy US Marshal says, “Yep, it’s here. I’ve read this file several times and that fact never stuck out in my mind. It’s in the first report from the initial FBI report. Damn, if you don’t bet all of the time or on all of the options, how can your system work?”

Before I can answer an analyst says, “Game theory. Probability is all about the odds when every variable is known or controlled. Game theory is much the same, but with a number of unknown variables. It’s the basis of tactics and strategy. Fuck, you’re spotting extra variables at the Craps table and bet when you work it out with all of the variables but you don’t bet when you can’t be sure of one. How good are you at strategy and tactics games?”

I smile, “You win the ice cream when we’re finished. My uncle is a colonel in a special forces unit and we often compete in an on-line tactics and strategy game. He has better resources, yet I keep kicking his butt for him. He recently said I’d have to be one of the top tactical and strategic planning geniuses alive today, and I’ve not yet done any serious military studies along those lines. I’ve done some general game theory and I’m making sound decisions off insufficient data by seeing the trends. That’s what they’re after, my way of thinking. Now, why and where do you think I’m going now?”

The analyst smiles, “The local DHS didn’t see anything because they didn’t get the FBI report until after they asked for it. Someone in DC saw it and the implications then they passed on orders for them to grab you. Shit, this is a large conspiracy involving senior people from multiple government agencies. Those two were executed to stop them talking. All those files you had us read, it was to look for trends with their contacts to work out where or who recruited them, wasn’t it? Damn, I didn’t see anything remotely like that, so that means twenty or thirty or more recruiters for them. This is getting bigger each time I look at it.” The two top dogs are now very, very unhappy.

“I was told the initial report would have a very limited distribution in the very senior levels of the FBI in Washington, DC. It’s clear at least one person on the list is involved in the conspiracy. Also, they were in contact with someone who could send Johnson after me and assign him help in Arizona too. They also knew when the two were about to be taken to Washington to be questioned, so they had them killed.”

The other analyst chimes in, “The only reason they’d need a tactical genius is to stage a coup. If they don’t care about you knowing they’re kidnapping you they must have some sort of brainwashing system for you or another sure method of controlling you. Since they aren’t too concerned about you going to other authorities they must have senior people within all of the agencies to think they can limit the agency’s response. Hell, what a mess!”

“Welcome to my world, people. I know you four aren’t involved and I know your local people are clean. I’m fairly sure the local DHS is now almost clean, until new staff transfer in. If they had more they would’ve used them at Hoover Dam. The losses at Las Vegas must’ve hurt their enforcement arm hard as well. Now is the time to hit them, if we can. The heart of this conspiracy has to be in Washington so they can directly control things and to be ready to step in when they create the power vacuum they want. At the moment my main concern is there’ll soon be a joint congressional committee investigating the DHS and its actions. I can be sure they’ll have some people on it and I’ll get legally forced to attend. That’s where they intend to strike at me next. No, nothing has been announced, but it’s obvious from the media attention. I want to be assigned eighteen Deputy Marshals and twelve FBI agents from the current local staff as my personal protection on a full time twenty-four by seven days a week basis. Get the paperwork done now so this’ll be forgotten about by the enemy before they call me to Washington. I won’t need the people with me unless I leave the state of New Mexico, so they can continue to do other duties until needed. But they’ll need to be ready to go at the drop of a hat when I get called to Washington. That way I’ll have security on hand in Washington I know I can trust. Plus they’ll be ones who can tell the DHS to go away because I’ll be under federal protection as a witness in a major corruption case started by the investigation into Johnson and Fellows. My earlier statements about why they wanted me shows it goes deeper.” They all nod again, then we talk for another half hour. They’ll get it all done in the next week or so.

When I get home after the meeting I find Uncle Derfel there as he’s waiting to talk with me.

Spreading the Secret

I smile on seeing him with Major Erwin so I take them to the study to brief them on this afternoon’s meeting. After we discuss it a bit I say, “Major, I need to speak to my uncle in private. While we take a walk to talk please help me with a special task. Stay here to do what you wish, but please note the basics of what you’re doing every five minutes. My watch says five fifteen now.” He sets his watch as he nods his agreement. While we leave he gets out a sheet of paper and a pen. Uncle Derfel gives me an odd look.

I wait until we’re well down the back yard to turn on a radio I picked up and put its strap over my shoulder as the sound should interfere with any listening devices aimed our way. Noting the time I close my eyes, see what the major is doing, and write it in my pocket notebook. I’ll do that every five minutes until we return.

Facing Uncle Derfel I say, “Uncle, how useful would it be to be able to see what’s going on inside a building or vehicle you’re about to attack, and to hear what they have to say?”

He smiles, “It’d be very useful, it’s shame it won’t happen.”

I grin, “How do you feel about casinos and gambling?”

“Casinos are legalised theft. I don’t like organised gambling because they have unbalanced odds to rip people off. I’m very happy you seem to be able to rip them off.” His voice trails off toward the end, and I can see him thinking very hard. “You do rip them off, don’t you! You’ve found a way to cheat they can’t detect and you’re robbing them blind. You bloody little beauty! Keep it up. But why ... Oh, you’re in it for the long haul! By taking lots of frequent little bites you’ll get more than if you went for one big hit. How much have you hit them for so far? And how much do you intend to take them for, in the end?”

“I’ve won about eight million so far, gross. Of the gross revenue I lose about twenty percent to taxes and I give twenty percent to Mum, Dad, and the girls as a tax break. Those are rough figures because the annual operating costs vary a lot. I intend to keep on skimming the casinos for as long as I can. Why should I fight hard for money when I can get it easy. Then I can do what I want for an actual living. Yes, I’m cheating to win, but I don’t see it as theft for the same reasons you don’t. Mum was angry about me gambling until I convinced her I had a sure fire way to win as she feels much the same way as we do.”

When I stop speaking he turns to me, “I see we’ve another witch in the family. So many of our ancestors were denounced and killed as witches and warlocks for doing unaccountable things. That trait’s come out in you, hasn’t it?”

I nod acknowledgement, “Telekinesis, but only a small amount, and nearby. I’m also now able to see and hear something up to about three hundred and twenty metres away. When I first discovered the ability, a few years back, I was limited to about two hundred and fifty metres. I can bug rooms you can’t get into, I can also follow people where you can’t go, and they can’t detect me or stop me. Add in I really am a genius as well as a very good tactician and strategist, and you can see why I’m very scared they’ll brainwash me if they grab me.”

He nods, “OK, we need to really cover you in Washington, but also use you to track them. We know some of them but they keep shaking our tails for important meetings. You could be the difference. We must do it without giving anything away or telling anyone. Thank you for letting me know. This thing with Erwin is to prove it to me.”

While nodding I smile, “Now there are two who know so the secret is compromised, but only slightly.” He smiles while we head back. He checks my notes against Erwin’s notes, and he smiles at them being the same list of activities on both sheets.

Committee Carnage

Things go on as expected for some months. We study and do exams. I bet and win. We have our birthdays, and the Winter Break is fun. I get the summons to appear in Washington in February.

We decide to work a shuffle on the enemy since I’m sure they have me under surveillance again. The coach load of federal officers will meet me at the Albuquerque Headquarters of the State Police. I drive to the airport in my armoured car, Mark departs with the car while Bob and I get ready to take a private jet out of town. I board while the ground crew are still loading things, but I sneak off while dressed as a ground crew member. When they finish loading Bob boards and the jet takes off. The watcher calls in the departure. I leave on the floor of an FBI agent’s car. In the State Police Headquarters car park I get out of the car to get on the bus full of agents. An hour later, along the road north, I transfer to my car with two FBI agents and three Deputy US Marshals.

The private jet takes Bob to Miami to visit friends before going to New York then Washington, DC. The trip to Washington, DC, is without any incidents for all concerned. Both groups arrive safely and on time.

We stay at a small lower class hotel to improve the security by being able to book out the whole hotel so strangers will be a bit obvious. We book it out for two days before my scheduled appearance and for ten days afterwards, in case they take a lot of time with me. We all settle in well and we wait for the appointed day and time.

The Committee

We use my armoured car for transport. The FBI are surprised at how well it handles, despite the heavy armour. It takes about an hour to get from the hotel to where they’re running the interviews before a huge bank of media cameras. When we enter the building we’ve our first little battle. The security people are wanting to remove all of our weapons and to run us through metal detectors. I flatly refuse to allow any sort of search. They’re about to get stuffy when the Deputy US Marshals and FBI agents with me tell them to take a hike. They tell me to walk through, and I set off all of the alarms. We keep right on walking.

Their head of security catches up with us down the hall and he wants to argue. I end it all with a simple statement, “I’ve survived a number of attempts to kidnap me and kill me. I’m armed and protected, I won’t go anywhere without the guards and guns. You let me attend as I am or they can organise to call me and do it over the phone if you won’t let me in. By being here in this building I’ve met my legal obligation to make myself available to the committee. If you or they aren’t happy with my security arrangements and won’t let me in that’s just too bad!”

After some minutes and a few phone calls I’m taken into the room and seated at a table facing a dozen politicians from both houses and parties. Two are on the list of The Group members. One, Senator Alice Quinn, is watching me with an odd intensity. I figure she’s the one to really watch and be careful of today.

The Committee Chairperson says, “Mister Evans, I think we all know you’ve had some less than satisfactory dealings with the staff of the Department of Homeland Security in the last couple of years. Care to talk about your interactions with them?”

I look up and smile, “Congressman Baker, I bet no one ever accuses you of exaggeration. Unsatisfactory dealings is an understatement for their attempts to kidnap and torture me to get confidential commercial knowledge from me. I’m prepared to tell anyone the information they wanted for the suitable remuneration of ten billion dollars.” This gets a few gasps from all quarters. “It wouldn’t be far wrong to say a state of war exists between me and the DHS and the people who ordered them to kidnap me.”

“People who ordered them to kidnap you? Do you see a conspiracy against you by the government?”

“No, not by the government, but by some powerful people within the governmental structure. Mister Johnson of the DHS had me grabbed and interviewed about things contained in a highly classified FBI report he didn’t get access to until days after he was forced to release me. Someone else told him what to seek answers for. Someone able to get hold of and read top level restricted access FBI reports.”

I sip some water from a bottle I brought with me while the press gallery do some whispering. “However, the main topic today is the way the DHS operates. The legislation they work under gives them way too much power to act like a modern Gestapo. In fact, the DHS have more power than the Nazi Gestapo did. The DHS needs to be controlled and made accountable. Some simple changes to the legislation will fix the majority of the abuses. The main issues are they arrest people on a whim, refuse to acknowledge they have them, and mistreat them while they have them.” I look across their faces. “Require them to seek an arrest warrant from a Federal judge beforehand, every couple of days they need to justify to the judge they need to keep them in custody, and have Deputy US Marshals check the cells and procedures when they have a prisoner. That should resolve almost all of that.”

Senator Harris asks, “Why the concern about the cells?”

“I was held in a cell that looks OK until you use it. The toilet is in the corner with no privacy. They’ve cameras in the walls to watch you all of the time. The lights are bright and are never dimmed or turned off, so you can’t sleep. The interview schedule is long and they only allow you a few hours between interviews which are longer than the breaks. The food they give is only one sandwich per mealtime with water. Make changes to have someone outside the DHS authorise arrests and check their operations then the majority of the abuses can’t occur. That’ll fix up the DHS operations. But you’ll still need to clean out the traitors within the DHS and other agencies that wish to take over the country. That’s a much harder issue.”

Harris asks, “Why do you keep coming back to this conspiracy?”

“Senator, nothing I’ve done is a crime or threat to this government or the country. Yet people with power in this government are trying to kidnap me and they’ve gone to great lengths in trying to do so. Four attempts, three of them became major media events, also the deaths of nearly two hundred people. Including one hundred and twenty heavily armed mercenaries killed in Las Vegas when they tried to kidnap me and were killed in a shoot-out with a large force of federal agents.”

Harris blinks, “What? That’s not in the briefing notes.”

“No, it’s not. Nor is the fact I’m a genius with an IQ of 203, nor is there a note of some people speaking of me as being the top strategic and tactical genius alive. Want to play war games Colonel Harris, I’ll beat you. In fact, I’ve already beaten you on-line, Desert Dan.”

Harris looks up, “What, no one’s beaten me on-line except the Welsh Rabbit and The Diamond.”

“Welsh Rabbit is my uncle, I think you know him as Colonel Derfel Evans, and I’m The Diamond. I’m giving notice, those after me are about to learn I’m a Rough Diamond, a very rough one.” The last is said while looking directly at Senator Quinn, she gulps when she realises I’m targeting her with my eyes. “You think I’m tough to fight now, Colonel? Wait until I’ve done some real studying of history and attended a good military training academy. The people who want me are known as The Group and they want me because they worked out, via the FBI report, I’ve a new approach to game theory, so I’m a strategic and tactical genius. They want me to help them take control of this country, but I won’t help them because I’ll kill them all first.”

“That sounds like a declaration of war, why here?”

“It is a declaration of war. I’m saying it here because two of my main enemies are sitting at the table in front of me. Yes, two of your fellow committee members are part of The Group. The fact I’ve been able to work that out from the little data available to me is going to make them and their fellow conspirators very unhappy. They’ve stayed hidden for many years and now I’m shining a big searchlight on them. Also, I can identify them when they think they’re safe from identification. Correct, Congressman Miller? You needn’t bother to deny it because the FBI investigation I got started will soon have you in court on charges of fraud and corruption, they even have the names of your other bank accounts in Georgia. See what happens when you piss off a military and analytical genius.”

Miller stands when I name him. He’s about to interrupt to deny it all. When I add about the FBI and Georgia he goes as white as a sheet. Before anyone can move he pulls out a pistol, sticks it in his mouth, and pulls the trigger.

One down and one to go. I turn to give Senator Quinn a most evil smile, and she goes white.

Miller’s suicide has the whole room in an uproar. The media are in a feeding frenzy on the conspiracy and corruption while the politicians are upset they’ve lost control of the interview. The chairperson acts fast to close the session and everyone leaves, very fast. My security team folds around me to hustle me out by the most direct route.

When I leave a group of men in dark suits head toward me, only to be intercepted by the FBI. An exchange of IDs, and the DHS people are sent packing while I get into my car.

The Game’s Afoot

I sit back and relax while I close my eyes to send my sight back to the committee room. Quinn isn’t there so I scan the hallway behind the room and move along it while I check the side rooms. A moment later I find her near the far end of the building moving fast toward an exit. I say, “Go north, Mark.”

I stay with Quinn when she walks to another building. In one room she’s quick to change while a women puts on her clothes. The woman who now looks like Quinn leaves and heads to the next building in the group while Quinn, in make-up and looking nothing like herself, heads west. I say, “West, Mark.” The Deputy US Marshals and FBI agents have no idea what’s up, but they stay with me as per their assignment to keep me safe. I smile, “Relax, everyone, you’d need a major artillery piece to penetrate the armour of this beast.” They smile and relax a bit.

Picking up the microphone for the encrypted radio Erwin installed I say, “Rabbit, Diamond, decoy on ground for Grouse One. Flushing west at the moment. Will advise.” I get no acknowledgement, and I don’t expect one.

For the next twenty minutes I direct Mark in driving the car to stay as close to Senator Quinn as I dare while I track her across Washington. Eventually she ends up in a high security meeting room in a private building. The room is in the middle of the building and it’s surrounded with several layers of mesh to prevent outgoing radio signals. I radio the address with the code word to indicate a major location, then I direct Mark to park while asking my federal babysitters to either leave the car or get into the front seat because I need some privacy for a while. Two get in the front and Mark closes the screen while the rest exit the car to set up at a drink and food stall a few metres away. I pull out a digital recorder and I set it to record.

I sit there sipping water from a bottle through a straw, when I can, while I talk to the recorder. I describe the room, the others when they arrive, and what they say. When each arrives they set up a notebook computer so I watch them enter the user IDs and passwords they use to get in. They aren’t the regular IDs shown on boot up. The people I know from files I name while I report what they say and do, I also issue nicknames to the others. When people are identified during the meeting I add the information and reference their nickname.

They discuss the committee meeting and my behaviour. They’re real good as by the end of the talk they work out what happened. I had some information from the Dragons’ intelligence people and lied about it being an FBI investigation, then I used what I had to panic Miller. The only surprise being his suicide. It’s no loss from our view point, but it’s a big one for them because he was their key to certain support services they now have to rebuild. The reason they know about the status of the FBI is because one of their members is the number three person at the FBI who keeps an eye out for investigations involving their people. They also talk about materials and equipment stored in many warehouses around town, mostly military arms for when they need them. They’re just doing a status check of them. The CIA Deputy Director of Finances has a nice list of them with a current status report on his laptop, so I read it off while he reports from it on their preparations in case they need to act in a hurry in response to my revelations today. They go on to talk about many of the military preparations and equipment in the area.

The shocker is despite my proving a big danger to them they still want to kidnap me to brainwash me to work for them. In fact, they now see it as a higher priority. The CIA member switches to a list of people he can call on to help with that while I’m in town, and they discuss who to have do the job. Because this is important information I also turn on a second recorder so I can have this bit on hand when I meet my uncle a little later. I read out the people and contact details while the CIA man goes through them.

When the meeting finishes some stop for drinks and a chat so they won’t all be seen leaving at once. Senator Quinn has to hurry back to brief the Senate people she controls on how to react to Miller’s death. When she leaves I track her while using the radio to direct some of the Dragons to set up an intercept a couple of buildings away from the meeting site. The whole area is now well saturated with our people. They make a clean grab of Quinn and they hustle her away in a van before she realises what’s happening to her.

Major Erwin decides to grab two others he’s worried may cut and run. He sets up the CIA man involved to have a fatal car accident on his way back to Langley and his notebook will be stolen in the crash.

There’s one weedy fellow I’ve a special interest in but no one else is concerned about him, yet. When he starts to leave I track him to work out which exit he’ll use, then I get out of the car while telling Mark where to go when I do. Outside the car I’ve my security detail form around me while we walk down a few lanes. About a block away we intercept the man and I’ve the FBI agents arrest him for conspiracy to kidnapping, murder, and fraud of government funds. We don’t have long to wait after they handcuff him before Mark arrives with the car and we pile in.

Turning on the digital recorder again I say, “Jonas, now tell me all about the various bank accounts you manage for The Group.”

He looks at me and gulps while he wonders how I know about him. It’s clear he recognises me from the photo he’s seen in my file. I watch while several emotions flash across his face, finally he sighs and says, “The accounts break up into three types for each source. There are two offshore accounts in two different countries and a local or New York one for each revenue source. There are monies from fraud of government operations, fraud of non-government operations, payments for work done, donations from people and lobby groups, and income from crimes.” The federal officers are all shocked by this.

His eyes bulge when he watches me open his notebook with the special ID and password. When I open the bank accounts he gives me the passwords to access them and he tells me which category they are. I go into the accounts to change all of the passwords and reset all of the other access modes so people can continue to put money in but can’t take any out. I also use the opportunity to transfer the bulk of the funds for the work done and donations to recently opened accounts of my own in off-shore and New York banks. I figure that’ll be my compensation and the government can have the fraud and criminal money.

Several blocks away I stop to hand the digital recordings to Uncle Derfel while I tell him about the specialist contractors’ details on one. I leave him to deal with them while we go to the FBI headquarters.

Rebel Revelations

At the FBI Headquarters we take our prisoner in with his head covered. We place him in an interview room in the interrogation area in the room beside the one with Senator Quinn and I call up to the big boss. After I give him a short summary he calls on his number three to have her join him for a very important person to be interviewed for corruption - she brings her notebook with her. “To take notes in,” she says. I think none of the conspirators let their notebooks out of their sight for security reasons.

When she’s shown in the room she’s shocked to see Jonas, and more so when she sees me. Before she can react I grab her notebook while two of the Deputy US Marshals grab her arms. Opening the notebook I log in with the special ID and password to open the directory she keeps The Group’s meeting minutes in. I turn the notebook around and point to an open file while saying, “Director, this file should be enough to ensure a conviction. By the time your experts finish a close examination of all that’s on this notebook you’ll have a lot of information about their crimes.” She’s stunned to see the notebook open where it is. I open Jonas’ notebook to the special area and I show it to the director as well. I tell him what the bank accounts are plus their revenue sources while I write down the new passwords for him.