Chapter 4.
THE WORLD CONSULTATION BUILDING
The flight to New Orleans took just a little bit over one and a half hour, and once they had landed a car was waiting to take them into the city. During the trip there were not many words uttered between Matt and Helena. She was almost constantly talking in her mobile or tapping on her laptop. Every phone call she got involved her job as executive secretary to the chief of security. She was answering questions regarding safety parameters, checking the status of the department, and arranging meetings. She was obviously a very cunning woman, and Matt thought back to Bruce's words about never judging someone by their looks. As much as he tried not to, Matt still fell into that trap time after time.
The World Consultation building was in Seabrook by the lake Pontchartrain at the Stars and stripes boulevard with New Orleans Lakefront Airport and South shore harbour marina just at its side.
The building itself, an impressive structure with glass facades, stood halfway on land, and halfway out in the water on a man-made island thirty meters out in the river.
The car came to a halt in front of a garage door. Helena reached out of the window and held her ID-card to a scanner, moments later the garage door was automatically opened, and the car drove in. Leaving the car, she took Matt to the security desk in a spacious ultramodern lobby in polished gray concrete where she informed that she was escorting a visitor to see Hugh Heyman. The guard held up a rod which he proceeded to pass up and down Matt's front and back in search for weaponry. Once he was cleared to proceed, he was presented with a badge.
"Pretty heavy security." Matt noted, as Helena took him through another door that had to be unlocked with the ID-card.
"It's necessary." she explained. "In here works some of the most important men and women in the world. Should a terrorist be able to get inside, a large part of the world would likely go into chaos."
The interior of the World Consultation Building was just as impressive as it was from the outside. As they took the elevator, Matt found himself looking out at a large four-story high atrium yard with glass facades and a 20-meter-wide stair in the middle. That stair led from the entrance hall to an open assembly, surrounded by several activity premises and a restaurant.
Once up on the 19:th floor, they walked through a long corridor with glass windows, labyrinths of cubicles, and main offices along each wall. People with dossiers and printouts walked around and Federal Express Men was delivering mails and padded envelopes.
"What kind of work do you do here?" he asked.
"This department has primary responsibility for the maintaining international peace and security." Helena explained. "We strive to contribute to solve disputes between nations, and lessen tensions, prevent conflicts and stop quarrels. A representative of each of member nation must always be present at The World Unification Alliance Headquarters so the organization can function continuously. There are five constant member nations as well as ten member nations that are elected by the general assembly for a two-year period."
"Like in the United Nations?"
"Exactly. Since the World Unification Alliance is a subdivision to the United Nations, we try to follow the same organisation that they work with. Here we are."
They had now entered a more spacious office with a huge waiting room with a comfortable sofa as well as two armchairs on both sides of a coffee table of glass. Seated in the sofa, reading a magazine Matt to his huge surprise found Vanessa Warfield. She was almost unrecognizable with her long red hair tightly gathered into a French braid with the end tucked in at the neck and dressed in the attire of a First Lieutenant in the US Airforce.
She waved 'hi' with a casual gesture.
"Mr. Heyman is busy at the phone for the moment." Helena who had walked into the office to inform him that she was back with the visitor told. "Would you like a cup of coffee while you wait?"
Both Matt and Vanessa accepted the cups that she poured for them.
"I didn't know you were in the air force." Matt said to Vanessa.
"It was something I didn't feel necessary to give an account of." Vanessa told.
"Are you also here to see…?" He asked, very curious about what this meeting would be about.
"Nah. I just flew Colonel Wolf over here." She explained, going back to her magazine.
Matt wondered who Colonel Wolf was and how he was connected to this meeting, but he knew he would not get anything out from Vanessa. It wasn't just the fact that she was not much for socializing, but also the fact that there was some secrecy involved. She probably didn't know that much more than him if she was just flying an officer here.
But now he knew that she was also a pilot in the army - that would be something to bring back to Buddie. It would surprise him.
After a few minutes, Andy suddenly stepped into the office. He was dressed in a shirt with sleeves rolled up, obviously working in the same house. He had some papers tucked in under his arm and a cup of coffee in his hand.
"Hi there, little brother!" he greeted happily. "Good to see you!"
"You too, Andy." Matt said, getting up to his feet. "What have you done now?"
Andy looked at him in mocked surprise.
"Me? I haven't done anything. What gave you that idea?"
"Let me see," Matt begun to count on his fingers. "You are the current Chairman for Young Enterprises and the chief of security for the World Unification Alliance wants to see me, I have begun to fear that you had messed up bad."
"You assume too much, Matt." Andy laughed. "But it is actually because of me that you are here."
"He recommended your name for the job we have in mind, Mr. Trakker." A new voice, belonging to Hugh Heyman broke in.
H.H, dressed in a black suit and red shirt stepped out from his office and shook Matt's hand. Matt was surprised by the looks of the Chief of Security. He had expected someone very stern and correct, while Hugh looked more like a friendly uncle.
"I trust that you are eager to learn why you are here?" "H.H asked. "Come with me into the conference room."
Vanessa threw an uninterested glance after them, still seated in the armchair. Whatever would be said in there, she wasn't involved.
"I didn't expect to see the Ice Queen here." Matt said in a low voice to Andy as they stepped inside of the meeting room.
"She's full of surprises." Andy agreed. "I couldn't believe my eyes when ol' Mayhem showed up and she was with him."
"Mayhem?"
"Colonel Lyman Wolf." Andy clarified. "Most people call him 'Mayhem' though, but not to his face. He has a certain reputation from active combat that has earned him that moniker."
Matt expected this 'Mayhem' to be present in the conference room, but the only one in the room except H.H and Helena was another woman, a few years older than Helena, dressed in a black leather jacket, grey turtleneck, and jeans. Her brown locks were brought back into a ponytail.
"This is Lisa Moore from the police department." H.H introduced. "She is my liaison with the police and has been working with me for a couple of weeks now."
They shook hands.
Matt and Andy took a seat at each side of the table, while H.H sat down at the end and Lisa took the chair next to Matt. Helena set up a laptop on the table and connected it to a projector mounted in the roof.
"Before you can be briefed, I need to ask you to sign this non-disclosure agreement." H.H said, as Helena handed him some papers. "You understand of course that everything you are going to be told is confidential information. One careless word can ruin several months of work."
Andrew Trakker Sr. had taught both his sons enough about business and law that Matt knew that he should never sign an agreement without reading it through first. He spent a minute and a half reading it thoroughly before finally signing it.
H.H. threw a quick glance on the signature as soon as Matt handed the papers back to him to see that they were signed properly. Then he began his briefing.
"In the last few months, America has been struck by several terrorist attacks. There have been several riots in Miami, Baltimore, San Antonio and a few more cities. The riots have caught most of the news coverage's, but there have also been various bomb threats against the subway in New York and Los Angeles, a gas attack against a theater in Pittsburgh and just a few days ago the FBI uncovered a plot to poison the water reservoir in Glastonbury. It appears to be unprovoked attacks, but there is more behind this that we simply have not released to the press. All these attacks are orchestrated by an organization who calls themselves The Syndicate, and these are the first steps in a master plan to acquire total domination of this nation."
While he had been speaking, images of every incident had been showed on the screen. Matt of course recognized the images from Miami since had been there while it happened, and he recalled that Rebecca had read about the riot in Baltimore just a few days later, commentating on the fact that two riots took place in two cities in such a small timeframe. She had raised the question if they could be connected. If what H.H. said was true, they actually were.
"We have learned that they have infiltrated our society and are working to make the public lose their trust in the symbols they have come to believe in. Either they are hoping for a new election and will direct someone connected with the Syndicate to the position of the new president, or they will provoke the public to open revolt. In either case they are working to cause chaos and destabilize the society for a takeover.
"My department has been investigating the Syndicate for several months now," Lisa took over. "We've done so in cooperation with both the FBI and CIA and have been looking for ties to world leaders, front companies, known terrorists etc., trying to assess their threat level. We have files on suspected members, and we may have a possible lead on the Syndicate's money trail. It is believed that The Syndicate begun as a legitimate although corrupted company, but they have rapidly progressed into a radical group with terrorist intent. Its members have infiltrated America's cities and towns, posing as average citizens in order to gain financial assets enough to fund their operations."
"Are they of American origin or have they come here from a foreign country?" Matt questioned.
"We believe that they are Americans." Lisa said. "Because they are often using racial prejudice like the slogan 'Making the term Made in America mean something again' in their messages. They are also concentrating much of their effort in areas with large numbers of unemployed youngsters. Those are easier to manipulate into believing that they are being held back purposely by the system. The Syndicate work through lies, saying that their intent is to rid the country of the discrepancy and argumentative that is brought by bureaucracy. They promise their followers that they will be able to benefit from the opportunities that will be brought by a society where investments really mean something else than having them stolen by the government."
"So they claim that the society is doing this on purpose?"
"It's hard to put up any good evidence against their arguments." H.H. told. "In the last few decades, this country has spent so much money and effort on waging its war against terror in the Middle East that the financial policy has faltered, thus opening the door for groups like the Syndicate, who calls for a change. They pay off, blackmail or threaten people to grow in power and influence."
"Are they connected to the Tea Party movement?"
"We did actually consider this", H.H. confirmed. "Their goal seems to be similar in many ways: they are favoring lower taxes, wants less involvement from the government, less governmental spending and are opposed to universal benefits. The major difference is where the Tea Party movement are conservative to their belief, the Syndicate stands more for libertarianism, with a desire for privatization, free-trades, and deregulation. The prejudice that has been shown appear to be a facade to provoke and manipulate the masses."
"To get them to riot and force the government into counteraction, restricting their liberties and cause even more anger and resentment?" Matt guessed.
"Exactly. I'm glad that you are paying attention."
"How did you learn about the Syndicate?"
"We learned about them several months ago actually." H.H. revealed. "We went through all the known facts and some important questions. We all know that such a widespread organization would require a lot of money. Where do the money come from? People with money are only willing to invest once they know that there will be a big profit. Who would be profiting by financing a large terror organization? For starters we begun to search in the fluctuating rate on the exchange market. From there we checked the international share market. Some transactions indicated that someone knew what was coming even before it happened. It was clear that someone – and it could only be a high financier – made big profits by stirring up hostilities across the world."
"And what do you intend to do about it?" Matt asked. He still wondered why he was here. He recalled that H.H. had said something about Andy recommending him for a job, but he could not figure out what that would be. If there was something regarding the financial market surely Andy knew more than he did.
"We want to put a stop to the panic and terror." H.H explained. "For that purpose, we have been working on developing an advanced anti-terror task force that will fight the agents of The Syndicate, and we want you as their leader!"
Matt's jaw dropped in surprise.
"Me? Why do you believe that I would be a fitting candidate for a leader?"
"Because you happened to show some excellent leadership qualities during the riot in Miami a few days ago." Andy laughed.
"I tried to help." Matt reminded. "But that hardly qualifies me as a leader for an anti-terror task force. Shouldn't that be a job for someone in the army?"
"We don't want a typical military leader," H.H said. "We want someone who can think outside of the box and who also has a good knowledge about modern society and the business world. Your brother has been one of our most important engineers in this project. He alone thought up the concept and the weapons we will be using in the force."
Andy used his smartphone to connect to the projector and a sequence of 3D-images of several vehicles was shown on the screen. There were mostly sportscars, a jeep, a van, and a few trucks.
"My idea is to utilize stealth as the main weapon." Andy told. He had now switched to what Chloe used to describe as his lecturing voice which he always used whenever he wanted to explain something he worked on. "This will enable the members of the Special Missions Force to get in close to a troubled area without being noticed by their opposition. It will also diminish the risk of panic to the public. The sight of heavily armed vehicles tends to have a certain panicking effect on people."
The sequence was halted and instead one vehicle was selected. The image zoomed in on it and rotated it around so the viewer could see it from every angle.
"When the time to strike comes, the vehicles will undergo a modular transformation; sections of the chassis will relocate and form protective armor for the operator and release hidden weapon systems."
The animation displayed in full detail exactly how the metamorphosis would work.
Step by step the car went through its modular transformation on the screen until it resembled a tank more than a car.
"This is one of the heavy assault vehicles." Andy explained. "The squadron will also be fitted with fast scout vehicles as well as sea- and aircraft. However, every vehicle will have enforced chassis and an advanced weapon system."
"And this actually works in real life?" Matt wondered.
"We have conducted several tests to see if it possible to make them functional and the transformation process works perfectly. So do their alternate, or defensive, forms."
H.H. turned to Matt.
"If you choose to take part of this, it will be your job to form a fighting force who will be operating those vehicles."
Matt took a moment to think it over.
"While I am tempted, I need to know precisely what is it that this unit will be doing." He confessed. "I'm not really crazy about starting a war in populated areas. As you know, our father didn't believe in weaponry, he wanted to make the world better through other methods"
"Of course not." H.H agreed. "And that's not the purpose of the Special Missions Force either. Your primary task will be to seek out the bases of the terrorists, penetrate their defenses and strike at the very heart of their organization. That also means that you will have to do a lot of intelligence research, reconnaissance and set up a network of contacts. Lisa will be helping you with this"
"Will we be part of the military?"
"No, you will be more or less an independent organization, working directly under the World Unification Alliance, which could also mean that you could be sent out anywhere into the world should the situation call for it.
With that being said, you will still be under the supervision of the army because we can't have an armed force running around freely in the country. It is still the state that has the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force."
As if on cue, Colonel Lyman Wolf stepped into the room. He moved with a sense of purpose and confidence. He was in his sixties, hardened, close-cropped graying hair. The medals on his left breast warned any who might be so foolish that he was a man of action, of combat. The nameplate and insignia on his jacket identified him as a member of an elite commando unit in the US army with the rank of Colonel.
His expression was that of extreme loath as he studied Matt, and he didn't extend his hand.
"I would have preferred someone with a military background taking command." He grunted. "Still, I guess I should welcome you aboard, Mr. Trakker."
H.H. fitted Matt with an identification card, and then proceeded to personally take him on a tour through the complex. Matt was fascinated to see how much work that was done in the building. He had believed that it was only the working place for ordinary businessmen as well as ambassadors and a few meeting rooms, but the lower sections of the building consisted more of laboratories and workshops. It was in one of those floors that Andy and his engineer staff had their base of operations.
The engineering section was a hive of activity where every tech, scientist, and specialist available was working twelve-, eighteen-, sometimes twenty-hour days. The construction floor was a miracle of planning and design. It was divided into sections, for different laboratory functions. There was also an extensive computer section, a bank of processors, and a communications section. Scrap iron and steel lied everywhere. The sparks of an acetylene torch flew as workmen made modifications on several vehicles. The hood of a Landcruiser was up and its engine had been pulled out; a new, smaller engine was being lowered in its place. To one side stood a semi-trailer, it had huge sections removed from it, and it missed almost the entire aft section.
"You mentioned that it would be my job to form a fighting force," Matt pointed out to H.H as they were returning up to his office. "Have you recruited any people yet or do you want me to select the personnel?"
"I think it would be best that you were responsible for selecting the force yourself, Matt." H.H said. "To make this the best team possible, it is important that you have absolute control of the people you're going to work with, you must know them almost as well as they know themselves."
Helena showed him to an empty office.
"This will be your office." She told. "You will get access to our entire library of acts on every enlisted soldier serving in the country. Once you have selected, we will call for those people to run them through intensive tests, to see if they are up to the job. Don't expect to have the perfect team at once, it will take a lot of selections, testing, new selections and more testing before you have your team prepared."
"Also," H.H. added. "Don't stare yourself blind on enlisted soldiers. The most important thing is that we can recruit people who is exceptional. People who are willing to do that little extra, who has just the right knowledge. A soldier is good at many things, but we need people who don't settle their disputes with a gun."
Standing in the hallway behind H.H. Matt noticed the look on the face of the man that his brother referred to as 'Mayhem'. He looked utterly disgusted. He waited until H.H., Helena and Lisa had disappeared before he walked up to Matt.
"Did you want to speak to me, Colonel?" Matt asked.
"I just want you to know, that I don't agree with placing you in charge of this team." 'Mayhem' told. "I don't you are qualified to make the right decisions."
"Mr. Heyman doesn't seem to agree with you." Matt challenged.
"Pah!" 'Mayhem' laughed bitterly. "He's just as spineless as you are. I can just imagine how you would handle a hostage situation. You would go in there and try to reach such a peaceful solution as you possible could."
"That's precisely what I would do, Colonel."
"That is nothing to boast with, Trakker. The proper way would be to hit the place hard, with maximum force and neutralise the terrorists before they could cause any bigger threat!"
"Yes. And some poor innocent people would get hurt in the process." Matt replied sharply.
"I've got news for you, Trakker." 'Mayhem' said. "This country has a rule of never negotiating with terrorists, so one day you're going to discover that to maintain security, you will have to sacrifice a few lives to save millions! There are no room for spineless weaklings when it comes to dealing with the problems that this country is facing!"
"I don't believe in that, Colonel. There's always a better way to handle things, but people like you prefer to live in the past, in the cold war, because you are afraid of the changes and that you will lose the little control you still have. Nothing that you do is ever about saving lives, it's all about power and control."
"And where do you think your freedom comes from, boy? Of course, it is about power! About having so much power that no other country on God's green Earth would even dream of opposing you!"
"The world is evolving, Colonel, even though you obviously have not." Matt snapped. "Heaven help us if someone with your ideals is ever put in the white house!"
"And why's that?" 'Mayhem' asked. "The office needs someone able to deal with the filth that is overwhelming the nation. The junkies, the cheats, the shiftless incompetents that are sucking us dry. I would welcome someone who had the balls for the job."
Matt watched Wolf leave, and while a big part of him was pleased at not having to take any more of the colonel's lectures, his speech still left a nagging feeling bristling in the back of his neck. What kind of a person was he, and how much freedom of movement would he be giving the team?