Parallelogram : Day Two : Chapter 23
Five Days, Seventeen Hours, Forty-Nine Minutes
AMIR: I have been awaiting your update.
Glancing down at the computer screen, Arthur Pendley smiled. He knew that, sooner or later, 'Amir' would contact him. While the White House was doing everything possible to contain the story of Trace Hightower's death – not that it was extraordinarily difficult at this hour – there were certain circles – intelligence circles like those regularly monitored by the Elders – that never slept. Riding comfortably in his limousine, he switched off the television set – CVN had only broken word that the President had been secreted away from the White House and placed in hiding – and turned his attention to his laptop.
PEND: You have my apology. The delay was regrettable but necessary.
AMIR: What has happened?
PEND: It is done.
AMIR: I have seen nothing on the international news.
PEND: You won't. Not for several hours.
AMIR: But you said it is done?
PEND: So far as I am concerned, it is done.
AMIR: What does that mean?
PEND: I have made modifications to the plan.
AMIR: What does that mean?
PEND: I have done what was appropriate.
AMIR: Your have assassinated your President?
PEND: No.
AMIR: That was our agreement.
PEND: As I have done in the past, I altered the agreement.
AMIR: You have been paid.
PEND: I will return your money when it is convenient.
AMIR: I do not want the money back.
PEND: Then I will thank you for your contribution to my continuing political legacy.
AMIR: Arthur, I want your President dead.
PEND: His death is unnecessary.
AMIR: That is not for you to decide. I want to send a message to your people. I have paid you to see that message delivered.
PEND: It is unnecessary.
AMIR: I demand an explanation.
PEND: I have done better than kill the President.
AMIR: What does that mean?
PEND: I have assassinated a member of the President's family.
There was a long pause before the typed response appeared on his screen. The bold white letters glared back at him from the dark background.
AMIR: That was not our agreement.
PEND: I have already said that I have altered the agreement.
AMIR: Why did you do this?
PEND: Campbell may be of use to us yet.
AMIR: I do not understand this.
PEND: It is a simple strategy. The wrong dead man has no value. The right dead man – Hightower – may change the tide of history for you, my friend, not just the tide of war.
AMIR: THIS WAS NOT OUR AGREEMENT.
PEND: I have already addressed that.
AMIR: The Elders will be disappointed.
PEND: I do not fear the Elders.
AMIR: You will.
Momentarily, the senator glanced out the car window at the passing night scene. Houses were black, the residents gone to bed, unaware of the turmoil their government was now facing. In the morning, in a matter of a few hours, they would wake up, and they would turn on the news, and they would find that the world they knew before slumbering into their own private little dreamlands existed no more. They would learn that anyone, anywhere, any time could fall victim to a terrorist attack, and, only then, would Pendley feel completely satisified with what he had done.
PEND: You are saying that because you fear them. The Elders have made you a puppet, Amir. I will not become one for them. I have every intention of building my own personal new world order. I would very much like you to be a part of it, but I am finished with the Elders. Their thinking is too small. It has been too small for many years, and I am through with it.
AMIR: You should fear the Elders.
PEND: You can fear them, Amir. I am too busy taking over the world.
AMIR: Who did you kill?
PEND: Trace Hightower.
AMIR: How did you do this?
PEND: That is classified information.
AMIR: Is the President aware?
PEND: He is.
AMIR: You delivered the message personally?
PEND: In a manner of speaking, yes.
AMIR: What is his response?
Dismissive, Pendley glanced at his watch. He had grown wearing of the exchange. All he wanted to do was return to the Heston, return to his subterranean hideaway, and sleep for a few hours before the next step – and he trusted there would be a next step – became necessary.
PEND: I gave the President a few hours to grieve and to formulate a response.
AMIR: The Elders will not be happy.
He pursed his lips tightly. He had heard enough of the Elders. The group had exhausted their usefulness years ago, so far as he were concerned, and he didn't understand Amir's undying loyalty to them.
PEND: You can tell the Elders that I have – in my possession – the addresses to members of their families as well.
AMIR: That is a threat?
PEND: I believe it is.
AMIR: They will respond in force.
PEND: Then their families will die.
AMIR: You cannot do this.
PEND: The game is already in motion.
AMIR: You cannot do this. It is a mistake.
PEND: I do not answer to you, Amir. I do not answer to the Elders. I am only concerned about the success of Project Kupher. That is all that matters.
AMIR: The Elders will find you, Arthur.
PEND: Let them try.
AMIR: They have eyes everywhere.
PEND: I do not doubt it.
AMIR: They will be very unhappy.
PEND: I leave that for you to handle.
AMIR: What shall I tell them?
He sighed heavily.
PEND: Tell them that you will contact me in six hours. I will have the President's answer by that time. You can assure them that all is well.
AMIR: This is a dangerous game you are playing, my friend.
PEND: It has only just begun.
END of Chapter 23
Five Days, Seventeen Hours, Forty-Nine Minutes
AMIR: I have been awaiting your update.
Glancing down at the computer screen, Arthur Pendley smiled. He knew that, sooner or later, 'Amir' would contact him. While the White House was doing everything possible to contain the story of Trace Hightower's death – not that it was extraordinarily difficult at this hour – there were certain circles – intelligence circles like those regularly monitored by the Elders – that never slept. Riding comfortably in his limousine, he switched off the television set – CVN had only broken word that the President had been secreted away from the White House and placed in hiding – and turned his attention to his laptop.
PEND: You have my apology. The delay was regrettable but necessary.
AMIR: What has happened?
PEND: It is done.
AMIR: I have seen nothing on the international news.
PEND: You won't. Not for several hours.
AMIR: But you said it is done?
PEND: So far as I am concerned, it is done.
AMIR: What does that mean?
PEND: I have made modifications to the plan.
AMIR: What does that mean?
PEND: I have done what was appropriate.
AMIR: Your have assassinated your President?
PEND: No.
AMIR: That was our agreement.
PEND: As I have done in the past, I altered the agreement.
AMIR: You have been paid.
PEND: I will return your money when it is convenient.
AMIR: I do not want the money back.
PEND: Then I will thank you for your contribution to my continuing political legacy.
AMIR: Arthur, I want your President dead.
PEND: His death is unnecessary.
AMIR: That is not for you to decide. I want to send a message to your people. I have paid you to see that message delivered.
PEND: It is unnecessary.
AMIR: I demand an explanation.
PEND: I have done better than kill the President.
AMIR: What does that mean?
PEND: I have assassinated a member of the President's family.
There was a long pause before the typed response appeared on his screen. The bold white letters glared back at him from the dark background.
AMIR: That was not our agreement.
PEND: I have already said that I have altered the agreement.
AMIR: Why did you do this?
PEND: Campbell may be of use to us yet.
AMIR: I do not understand this.
PEND: It is a simple strategy. The wrong dead man has no value. The right dead man – Hightower – may change the tide of history for you, my friend, not just the tide of war.
AMIR: THIS WAS NOT OUR AGREEMENT.
PEND: I have already addressed that.
AMIR: The Elders will be disappointed.
PEND: I do not fear the Elders.
AMIR: You will.
Momentarily, the senator glanced out the car window at the passing night scene. Houses were black, the residents gone to bed, unaware of the turmoil their government was now facing. In the morning, in a matter of a few hours, they would wake up, and they would turn on the news, and they would find that the world they knew before slumbering into their own private little dreamlands existed no more. They would learn that anyone, anywhere, any time could fall victim to a terrorist attack, and, only then, would Pendley feel completely satisified with what he had done.
PEND: You are saying that because you fear them. The Elders have made you a puppet, Amir. I will not become one for them. I have every intention of building my own personal new world order. I would very much like you to be a part of it, but I am finished with the Elders. Their thinking is too small. It has been too small for many years, and I am through with it.
AMIR: You should fear the Elders.
PEND: You can fear them, Amir. I am too busy taking over the world.
AMIR: Who did you kill?
PEND: Trace Hightower.
AMIR: How did you do this?
PEND: That is classified information.
AMIR: Is the President aware?
PEND: He is.
AMIR: You delivered the message personally?
PEND: In a manner of speaking, yes.
AMIR: What is his response?
Dismissive, Pendley glanced at his watch. He had grown wearing of the exchange. All he wanted to do was return to the Heston, return to his subterranean hideaway, and sleep for a few hours before the next step – and he trusted there would be a next step – became necessary.
PEND: I gave the President a few hours to grieve and to formulate a response.
AMIR: The Elders will not be happy.
He pursed his lips tightly. He had heard enough of the Elders. The group had exhausted their usefulness years ago, so far as he were concerned, and he didn't understand Amir's undying loyalty to them.
PEND: You can tell the Elders that I have – in my possession – the addresses to members of their families as well.
AMIR: That is a threat?
PEND: I believe it is.
AMIR: They will respond in force.
PEND: Then their families will die.
AMIR: You cannot do this.
PEND: The game is already in motion.
AMIR: You cannot do this. It is a mistake.
PEND: I do not answer to you, Amir. I do not answer to the Elders. I am only concerned about the success of Project Kupher. That is all that matters.
AMIR: The Elders will find you, Arthur.
PEND: Let them try.
AMIR: They have eyes everywhere.
PEND: I do not doubt it.
AMIR: They will be very unhappy.
PEND: I leave that for you to handle.
AMIR: What shall I tell them?
He sighed heavily.
PEND: Tell them that you will contact me in six hours. I will have the President's answer by that time. You can assure them that all is well.
AMIR: This is a dangerous game you are playing, my friend.
PEND: It has only just begun.
END of Chapter 23
