he Day The Oil Stopped Burning. Chapter 12: Turks and Cayucos Islands, Old Technology saves the World.

CHAPTER 12: Turks and Cayucos Islands, Old Technology saves the World.

 

 

At approximately zero six hundred hours the Nanny Lu rounded the northern point of Hawks Nest Bay, headed a half mile northwest, and dropped sails. She coasted to a mooring ball fifty yards off the one hundred year old lighthouse Chauncey called home. As Geno ran a bowline through the mooring and secured the Nanny Lu. Chauncey came cruising out in a twenty foot Boston Whaler. "What the hell boys, why didn't you call or something, tell me you were coming so I could have arranged a proper reception". "Radio silence buddy boy, I will tell you all about it over two dozen margaritas, but first we have to make some calls on your dime. Do you still have your HAM radio set up"? "Yea, jump in". Chauncey led Max, Dougy, Jack, and Geno through his house and into the light tower where his communications equipment was located right next to the original 1893 Fresnel lens. Chauncey had grown up in the mountains of Montana near the Canadian border. His father was a National Park Ranger at Glacier National Park and for nine months a year they lived in a lodge built in 1930, way above the tree-line at eleven thousand feet. "Granite Park Chalet" was a CCC (civilian conservation corp.) project during the Great Depression. It was a six hour back pack, or four hours on horseback with pack mule from road end to the lodge. In recent times quad runners and custom built ATVs for gear transport were used, but only in the winter before they shut down and only out of necessity. Short Wave Radio had once been the only form of communication at Granite Park, and Chauncey's Dad developed a pretty serious HAM radio hobby. Chauncey followed in his Dad's footsteps and would spend hours every night communicating with people from all over the world; broadcasting from high atop Granite Park Peak. 

 

Ever since the adoption of the Internet in the 1990's HAM radio enthusiasm had waned, however for some hard core enthusiasts the digital age only made things more interesting and opened up new modes of communication. Also, the digital age allowed for digitized information to be sent through the airwaves and presumably out into infinity. Long before earth was visited by the eggheads Chauncey and his father had dreamed of making "first contact".

 

Chauncey was now seventy six years old, retired, and pursuing his passions which were in no particular order: flying, sailing, scuba diving, cooking, astrophysics, interplanetary communications, drinking, and historic lighthouse restoration. Chauncey was a genius who, inspired by his dad's hobby had helped developed the original TCIP/IP Internet protocol and had continued to work with Vinton Cerf to develop advanced space communication technology including distance-tolerant networking (DTN). He had worked directly with NASA and Ball Aerospace to develop and test the DTN protocol with their Deep Impact Networking (DINET) experiment on board the Deep impact spacecraft in October, 2008. This research which was the first to send a spacecraft to impact with a comet and actually study its nucleus. This research eventually led to a reliable standard communication system to control most all unmanned spacecraft for the next several decades. Needless to say, having the various patens on some of this stuff yielded a hefty sum over time and Chauncey was now a billionaire essentially able to pursue whatever the heck he wanted. 

 

Chauncey had retired from so called professional life back in 2015, one year before the first egghead visit. He had a deep interest in old lighthouses. He thought of them as one of the first technologically advanced communications systems and he hated to see them disappear. To date, he had purchased and restored eighteen lighthouses all over the world. Interestingly enough, this also played into his passion for global (and interplanetary) communications since lighthouses by design happen to be in prefect locations for communications relay and network. Chauncey had taken full advantage of this "doubly bonus" as it were to fully implement what was quite possibly the world’s largest, most sophisticated private communications network.

 

As the five of them sat down in Chauncey's communication room, Jack explained what had been going on and the necessity of getting perhaps a thousand different messages to a thousand different people without any of them being intercepted. "That shouldn't be a problem" said Chauncey, confident in the fact that encoded data transmission was rather a specialty of his. "Yes but...." started Jack "this might be a bit tricky since this conspiracy we are dealing with goes all the way to the top and they have mega-resources.....I mean mega fucking resources. We have been tracked by spooks from Beaver Island to Anagoda. We sailed here with no electronics what so ever. Total silent running. That's why I didn't call you and tell you we were coming. Any technology that exists, they have it......and they are not shy about killing anybody who might rain on their proverbial paradise". "So what you are saying is that you are sitting in a room with quite possibly the most advanced privately owned communications equipment and network in the world and you can't use it"? "Exactly" replayed Jack. "But Max has an idea". "I'm all ears" said Chauncey. Max spoke up "I figure these guys are pretty sophisticated, so they just might overlook monitoring good old fashion short wave radio transmissions". "Probably correct in your assumption there Max, but one primary reason they would not bother is that the days of someone on the other end monitoring a certain radio frequency and waiting for a transmission are gone.....unless you happen to have made arrangements for a radio link up already". "No such luck" said Max, "however, we created a little trick at the secret service. The boys in the lab came up with a black box device that could digitize a voice signal sent via Short Wave or SSB and link up with a computer provided you had the requisite IP address and pass code connect info......which I happen to have for several dozen key personal. If we can get an unintercepted message to these key players than, my guess is that we can lock in on the NSA network and start transmitting the remaining thousand messages. The important thing is that all the information is distributed, and the resulting action taken, is done swiftly.....like within say...twelve hours. The other important thing is that none of it is intercepted. If it is....we are probably fucked". "We'll alrighty than" said Chauncey "where is the black box". "We'll, that's the thing...I don't have one on me". Chauncey's grin was diminishing rapidly "and I suppose you would like me to recreate the same trick that your Secret Service Lab boys came up with......right"? "That would be nice" was Max's response. "Good thing for you guys that I came up with that one decades ago.....remember....you are sitting with the dude who invented the fucking Internet". "Ah yes..Well pardon fucking me your highness, but if we don't get to sending out this stuff we are going to be dead burnt toast".

 

Chauncey and Max went to work sending digitized messages out on short wave radio waves, bouncing off the stratosphere and downloading into the Computers, pads and implanted devices of Ron Smith, Secretary Sivananthan, General A.J. Lukas, Pete Miller, Senator Derek Bailey, Ahbeene Farhteen, Laura, Dr. Watson, Jason Williams (head of MI6), We Chang Wong (China security) and a few dozen other senators, admirals, generals, cabinet secretaries and agents of various security organizations. These were all highly vetted, highly respected, highly trustworthy individuals that jack and Max felt could get things accomplished.......at least they hoped. Jack was feeding information to Max and Chauncey who were doing the transmitting. Even though English had been long since adopted as the universal language of the Internet, sending data on short wave radio frequency still required using Morse code. Chauncey commented that they probably didn't need to encode the messages because proficiently in Morse had been removed from the international communications commission (ICC) and the (FCC) test for a HAM license back in 2007 and nobody knew it anymore. "As Bart Mancuso said in Tom Clancy's book Hunt for Red October "hell, my Morse is so rusty I might be sending him the measurements of the Playmate of the Month".......I loved that movie...Sean Connery played Admiral Rameious" Chauncey said. "Yea, well I might be telling my friend at Chinese intelligence to go eat a goat head" Max replied. "Hey guys, not to add any pressure to you but...the future of the earth might just rest on your ability to remember Morse code. All I remember is SOS, dot dot dot, dash dash dash" Jack added. Chauncey noted that it was interesting that Samuel Morse used dots and dashes, just two symbols, to create a language and that when we learned to digitize information one hundred years later, we used the same formula with ones and twos or X'x and O's. "Seems like Sam was ahead of his time". " most innovators are.....just like you there buddy boy" Geno said. " And since you guys are going to be busy here for the next five hours, I think I will go make mad passionate love to your girlfriend.....ok with you Jacky boy"? "Sure, go for it" Jack responded without really hearing the comment.

 

Geno and Dougy left Jack, Max, and Chauncey in the comm room and headed down to join the others and have a cocktail. "Might as well let those three save the world, and go get drunk. I guess I trust them more than anybody else to save our asses.....right"? "Right.....I saw a blender when we went through the kitchen" Dougy answered. "Margaritas"? "Wow, you are a fucking mind reader..... Make mine a Grand Gold". Annie, Tom Rum, and Jimmy were sitting in the living room having already opened the bar. Actually, Tom and Jimmy were sleeping in a couple cozy big overstuffed chairs. Annie was reading a marine Bio. mag that was on the coffee table. "Hey Annie, wanna go have some wonderful, noncommittal sex"? Geno asked "show me the way big boy' she answered. As they headed toward the stairs Dougy said " great, leave me with these two worthless sleeping beauties....I thought we were going to drink copious amounts of tequila". "Yes, my friend, but I hadn't counted on a positive response from sweet dream boat Annie here, so how bout a rain check on those Grand Gold Margaritas" was Geno's response. Annie added "And if you want to keep jawing with the boys, I can probably find another willing victim". "No, need for that baby.....I'm on my way".

 

The next twelve hours were intense. Messages were successfully sent to several thousand key individuals at the top (or near it) of dozens of the most powerful agencies and governments throughout the world. These messages contained a complete and comprehensive report on all the illegal activities and goals of the world wide conspiracy and unequivocal proof of all the wrong doing. All the information that Bob had reviled  to Jack, all the evidence, all the crimes, were currently being send around the globe and the shit was defiantly hitting the fan. "I'm guessing that within the next ten hours or so, enough bad guys will be rounded up so as to break down their network. If we don't get killed in the next ten hours, we are probably home free". Max was saying as a coded message came from Ron. "Good job boys, shit is flying" was all it said, and Jack knew that in "Ron-Speak" that was as positive as it gets. "Now we wait for the floor crumbs to get swept up and start broadcasting our data and evidence to the rest of the global government community and hope that good judgment and justice prevails". "What are the odds" Chauncey asked. "I give it fifty fifty" Max answered "Jack, what do you think"? "I'll tell you what, if it was up to us, humanity that is, I would only give us about a one percent chance. My personal faith in humanity seems to have declined somewhat in the past few weeks. But, you know, its not just up to us, you see, it seems we have a guardian angel or two watching over us and that probably gives us a far better chance. So maybe Max is about right, fifty fifty could be about where we stand, but I believe the human race has stood at that fifty fifty spot before.....lots of times.....I mean, look at the years of the Cold War, look at World War Two, look at all the natural disasters that could have taken out the human race, or at least most of it, and every time we seem to still come out the other side. Is that due to our cleverness, our good judgement, our forward, logical, pragmatic thinking? I think not. I think it is because we have had a higher power looking over us all along, and while I don't know just how many of these guardian angles there are out there, I do know that I met one and if we....humanity that is....can actually stop this selfish, stupid, greedy conspiracy to reconstitute fossil fuels and gain power and wealth at the expense of others and our very existence, that we owe it to them and not ourselves. You know, I never though much for religion, and I still think the idea that "my god is better than your god" that lots of religions have is totally bogus, but I have to admit, after meeting with Bob and just feeling his wisdom and his love.....well it kind of blew me away, and it left me feeling a sense of serenity and comfort I never had. I guess what Im trying to say is that it feels like all of the world religions were all correct in one sense or another in that there is a power greater than us that created us and loves us and is a force of good and really wants us to be happy, joyous and free, but really wants us to find it for ourselves. It's just that we are a bunch of spoiled brat kids and keep fucking things up, so they keep sending us an angle or two to give us a push in the right direction. So, I guess that's the long way for me to say, I think things are going to be alright, but it's definitely not because of us". "Well said my friend...well said" Chauncey said as he finally lifted his hands from the controls and lit a fine Cuban cigar. 

 

After several hours another message came in from Ron. "Our secure line is safe...make contact ASAP". "Ok them, let's talk to the boss". Jack said as Max entered the proper protocol. "Hey Ron" Jack yelled "how do you like us so far". "Holy shit boys, we have not seen a shit storm like this in D.C. since Nixon" Ron said with just a bit more animation in his voice that usual. "What da ya mean Ron. Some bad guys getting rounded up and marched off to the big house" Jack countered. "Yea, I guess you could say that. It's a fucking white collar prison overload day. They even busted Vice President Stanley.....well actually I guess he was actually president for two and a half days. The evidence you sent connected him to Senator Amash and all his lackeys. Speaker of the House Rep. Derek Bailey has been sworn in as President, and the TRADS are dropping like flies. The meat wagon has been runnin all day haulin in asshole politicians......  It's fucking great"!!! "Well Ron, Glad we could make you happy". Jack said. “Make me happy, MAKE ME HAPPY, you have just made the event of my whole, fucking, long assed LIFE! How the hell did you get that Intelligence? It was unbelievable. We are rounding up bad guys all over the globe. I have been in nonstop communications with officials from fucking everywhere. There must be at least six thousand arrests so far and not one is in question. Also we have discovered at least sixty five depositories of machinery and weapons and a couple hundred fuel storage facilities. This thing is just massive. How the hell did you do it Jacky boy"? Jack paused for a moment, thinking of how to respond and finally said "Ron...would you believe a guy named Bob, sitting on the beach in Anagoda told me"? "Yea sure, you can tell me all about it when you get back here which is about six hours from now. I just sent a jet down to McCarthy Air Field to get you guys". "Hey Ron, if it’s all the same to you, I would just as soon hang here for a few more days, do a little decompression if you catch my drift". "That's fine with me Jacky boy, but the boys from CIA, NSA, and the Joint Chiefs all want to debrief you, not to mention every other security agency in the world, not to mention the congressional ethics and defense committees..... Plus I would not mind picking your brain just a bit myself. Anyway, nobody knows it yet, but you are a national fucking hero Jacky boy. I'll just tell all the authorities here that you are still laying low for oblivious security reasons and send the jet down for you when you are ready". "Sounds good Ron thanks".

 

An hour later Jack found himself and Chauncey sitting on his patio in a couple deck chairs with a bottle of Patron and a lime, smoking Cuban cigars leaning back with their feet up on the seawall just a few feet from the water of Hawks Nest Bay listening to the small waves lapping against the seawall. as they looked out at the Nanny Lu at the mooring and the few lights at the other side of the bay, Jack was reflecting on the last few weeks and what had occurred. He happened to cast a look up at the stars which were bright with a new moon and no ambient light from the house or surrounding area. Chauncey noticed him starring at the starlit sky and said “you know Jack, I have dreamed about making contact with an alien life form since I was a boy of seven. Broadcasting all over the world and talking to people from such exotic places like Mongolia or Antarctica or Siberia was so cool but then the earth got so small and I dreamed of some intelligent life form returning the signal I have been sending out into space for fifty years, but alas, no return signal. Then the eggheads make an appearance, which of course makes me happy because I knew that they-or at least something like them-had always existed. But even though I'm happy, I am kind of bummed because I was always hoping to make contact myself. So now, you tell me you actually got to sit and talk with one for like three hours.....Wow.....what was it like.....I mean what did you ask him....what did he tell you....what the fuck man...tell me everything"! "Chauncey man, I think I am really just plain too tired to tell you all about it. I did ask some stuff and I have to tell you it was pretty interesting, and I really felt like I just had unequivocal love and confidence and comfort. I don't know it's really strange and I can't really explain it, but suffice to say, my life will never be the same". "Ok, I'll let you off the hook for now" Chauncey said "but I just have one question". "Yea, what's that" Jack answered. Chauncey took a breath like he was pondering exactly what he was going to say and finally said "So, what happens after we die". "Sorry Chauncey old buddy" Jack said reluctantly "I had to promise I wouldn't tell anybody". "Oh, you are such a dick head". Right then the rest of the gang all came out onto the patio and sat along the seawall with their feet up. "So, what has everyone been up to while we were saving the world" Jack asked. Geno spoke up first. "Well, I was making mad passionate love to your girlfriend. Can I keep her or do you want her back". "I'll just keep both of you. I am way too much woman for ether one of you alone" Annie chined in. "Gotta admit, she has a point there" Jack said " you know guys, we did good and it looks like most of the bad guys are going to jail and the GECA will pass and all will be right with the world". "Well aren't you Mary fucking Poppins" said Dougy “What are we going to do now. I hate to admit it, but I'm starting to get kind of fond of you dip sticks". "Another adventure perhaps" said Annie G. "We do have a big, fast sailboat at our disposal, sitting about fifty feet away" said Jimmy. "Where do we want to go" asked Tom Rum. Jack, Geno and Annie G all smiled and all spoke in unison "where ever the wind takes us". 

 

The Day The Oil Stopped Burning. Chapter 11: Trellis Bay, A Fortunate Detour.

Chapter 11: Trellis Bay, A Fortunate Detour. 

 

 

"Jack, I just talked to Ron" Dougy said as he came onto the back deck and caught the bow line of the tender "got some serious bad news man". "What is it now" Jack said as he started handing Dougy diving tanks, BCs and weapons. "Sam Markey is dead man". "No.....no....oh fuck no....why...how, he wasn't involved in this stuff. He was just a kid. Jesus I can't believe it ". Jack was visibly upset. He and Sam had become close since Sam had started as an interim less than a year before. Jack was hitting his fist against the fiberglass, alternately swearing and crying. "Jesus I just can't believe it". "He was with Art Dutton, did you know him" Dougy asked. "Yes, of course I know who he is. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Secretary Sivananthan". "They were just leaving our offices after a meeting, heading to General A.J. Lukas's office. Looks like someone got to Art's driver and security detail. Ron thinks they hailed them with gas as soon as they got in the car, and then injected them with Risen". "Oh man, I just can't believe it.....fuck.... I just can't believe it. Sam was such a good guy. I mean we have been on the run for a week and twice had attempts on our lives but it all seems sort of surreal. I just recognize that it was way more then somebody after us. This sounds bad but it almost seemed like a game. Obviously a serious fucking game but still a game. Quite frankly when I split D.C. I figured I might be in danger but it also was a good excuse to take some time back home and catch up on fishing, sleeping, drinking and as it turned out some sex. Even when Shirley told us somebody might be following us, it really didn't sink in as deadly. We got a bunch of guns from Shirley and with Geno I felt pretty safe. Then you guys show up and I feel really safe then the shit really hits the fan but with you, Max and Tom, I'm like ....bring it on mother fucker....I just didn't really grasp that others were in eminent danger. I'm feeling kind of guilty here Dougy. Even after meeting Bob the egghead and learning how far reaching this stuff is, it really didn't sink in. I must be some selfish son of a bitch...... Fuck man, I got a rush when Tom took that chopper out of the sky and now Sam's dead. Let’s face it, I know what I'm in for, you, and Max know what you’re in for, shit even Geno and Jimmy are realistic bad asses and they know the score, but Sam....man, Sam was just a smart, cool good natured kid. He didn't deserve to be a victim in this whole god dam conspiracy. I'm going to stop these assholes man. What's Ron want us to do"? 

 

"Well" Dougy started "right now the priority is to get a smoking gun in the hands of Senators Bate, Amash, and half a dozen others in the Senate and House. Maybe a dozen in military and administration. If we get even some dirt and can arrest a few of them....hopefully gets a house of cards effect going. We simultaneously neutralize as many of the hired guns.....well not we....we don't do the offensive action thing, we just provide protection for the good guys, but AJ, SOD  Sivananthan, Pete Miller, and CIA they have plenty of assassins. Anyway if we can take down enough of both, then we maybe remove whatever it is they have on the Members that's keeping them from supporting the GECA....right? So this by no means puts the kibosh on this whole world wide conspiracy, but it would sure put a cramp on their style if we can expose some of them here in the U.S. and get the GECA to the United Nations. We should head back to D.C. And collect more data.....which is what we do ......and what AJ wants us to do. Or we go to Turkmenistan and shoot at twenty year old idiots with AK 47s.  Should I ask the group for a vote"? "Ok Dougy you're right, let’s head back to Trellis Bay, jump on the plane and fly back to D.C." "Well alrighty then, no need to take a poll. I'll tell Ron that we are coming back". 

 

"Hey Jimmy" Jack yelled "can we head back to Trellis Bay? We have to go back to D.C." Yea man, no problemo amigo. Tom!! Can you take the helm? Geno, let’s go weigh the anchor. Dougy, can you and Annie get the main up....we'll be back on Beef Island in a few hours". 

 

After an hour Max received a top level secure communication from EAG headquarters. It was now 24:00 hours, 23:00 EDT and Jack, Dougy, and Tom all wondered what the hell a communication with the highest level of security from headquarters as all about. Particularly when Ron and Dougy had communicated just hours before. "Max Cunningham 0425153"? "Yes 49654dx". "Max, Charley Watson here. President Kelly has been assassinated. Happened at 20:26.45 in the White House. Fast acting poison, we don't know the exact compound yet but completely lethal in one hundred and sixty seconds also complete water solubility within seconds. It was in her water pitcher for a JCS meeting. Word is not going the public till 6:00 tomorrow as per Secret Service SOP protocol. V.P. Jim Stanley will be sworn in by noon 12:00 tomorrow. Entire White House Staff is under suspicion. Situation very unstable. Headquarters is secure. In house security and six Special Forces unit Pentagon detail via JCS General A.J. Lukas. Proceed home with caution. Will have team pick up at hanger six alpha Andrews A.F.B. sorry to be the one to report this to you...stay safe Max". "Roger that Dr Watson. We are one hour thirsty five minutes ÊTR to our aircraft. 01:35 ETA to take off. 06:45 ETA to Andrews". "Ok Max, see you here". 

 

"What's up" Geno asked as he came in. "President Kelly is Dead man". Max said. "We are going to head back to D.C. You and Annie G. should come; Jimmy too, might be safest". "I'm not so convinced buddy, if the Pres is dead and that lame brain Stanley is going to be calling the shots, D.C. Is going to be a venerable three foot diameter hornets nest that just dropped into a ten foot high pile of pig poop. I might rather not be anywhere around there during any of that. I might rather just be out on the water". "I gotta agree with Geno" Jimmy said. "You boys head on to D.C. Ron is going to need you. We will stay on the boat. Leave me the sidewinder if you please". 

 

An hour and a half later they were back at the dock in Trellis Bay. "I'll go check out the plane and call in our flight plan. You guys handle the gear and we'll be wheels up in twenty" Max said. As the others packed personal gear and hardware, jimmy ran to get one of his vans. By the time he returned Max was back at the boat. "What's going on" Jimmy asked. "The plane is wired to blow". "Oh, you have got to be shitting me" Dougy replayed. "What did they use"? I'm not sure, sophisticated stuff, probably an altitude detonator with some sort of plastic. Some C4 hybrid in numerous locations. I could disarm it...maybe...I don't know, my explosives training was a long time ago. Tom, you're a bit more up to date with the explosives program, you want to take a look"? "Yea, let’s go, the rest of you stay put and keep an eye out, Dougy why don't you grab a friend and keep us covered in case the guys who planted this surprise for us are not the same guys we shot down earlier". "Yup, got ya covered”. They jogged the quarter mile or so to the hanger. "How did you know she was hot" Tom asked. "I could just tell something was different so I snooped around and found a charge under the port engine compartment. Like I said plastic of some kind well hidden, only about the size of an egg. I assume they have a lot of them hidden all over this thing". Tom surveyed the charge and found another on the starboard side in the same location. "Man, I wish we had a dog right now. Without a dog or an infrared detector, we can't be sure we can find all the charges. We can't fly man. Not without a bomb squad and I don't think we have one of those right around the corner. I doubt that those guys in the chopper planted these charges. I also have a distinct feeling that we should get the fuck out of here". "Agreed. Let's go now". "Dougy change in plans, we are out of here". "Roger that" Dougy answered " I am in a good covering position so you two head back to the Boat and cover the surrounding area with a couple night scopes. Let me know when you think it's good and I'll follow". "Got it man". "Jack its Max; we are coming back to the boat. Change in the game plan. Grab a sniper rifle and keep a cover on the area....but try not to shoot us. We'll be there in five. Ask Jimmy if we can extend our stay". "Ok Max, see you in five". "Hey Jimmy, mind if we hang around for a while longer"? "Mi casa es tu casa. Actually make that mi barco es un barco". Was Jimmy's reply. "Muy bueno, now grab a sniper rifle and cover Max and Tom. Geno and I will get all the gear back onboard. Anything we need for an extended cruse"? "Nope, all provisioned and ready to rock". "Ok let's roll".

 

"We are just off the north end of Great Camano guys" Jimmy started "heading NNW340 degrees. We can drop off to 315 and be in Turks and Cacaos in 356 nautical miles; just less than twenty four hours sailing time. Wind and current will be constant. The trades low east to west at ten to twenty. We can set the code zero spinnakers and fly. On the other hand we can head due north and not hit land for twenty three hundred nautical miles when we hit Halifax Nova Scotia which would put us there in seven days. Sooo....what’ll it be". Dougy was the first to chin in "I vote Turks and Cacaos"......"what" he added as everyone looked at him. "Ok Jimmy set your course for 315 WNW, and let’s have a meeting in the salon. 

 

"Ok guys, here is the bottom line. In my talk with God, or Bob or whatever you want to call him, he basically said that we, meaning humanity, were most likely done for when they showed us how to survive and save our atmosphere. They were taking odds that we would not make it. The odds were pretty well stacked against us.....still are. Obviously they have the technology and ability to tell when our atmosphere hit the tipping point. So, he told me that even though they figured we would parish, they really hoped we didn't because they actually cared for us. I guess you could say they love us; just what you would expect from God...right? Anyway the other thing we had going for us was that we had figured out how to digitize information which is the major tipping point of any civilization. You see, it's only a matter of time now before we start to digitize our own minds, and as he told me, it will take a lot less time than we might think. We were already close to reverse engineering the human brain and downloading most of the data into chips. Now we enhance most kids at birth, with nano chips of additional information and calculation capacity. The main reason that they decided to help us out was because only one out of around a hundred of the life forms they have created over the last six hundred million years make it to this stage and apparently we got there quicker than any other species. We, that is homo sapiens originated in Africa, where we reached anatomical modernity about 200,000 years ago which is when our biological evolution mostly stopped and began to exhibit full behavioral modernity around 50,000 years ago which is when our technological evolution really took off. So this kind of rapid evolution just didn't happen every day and our creators kind of took a special interest in us. Problem with us though is that this rapid evolution in technology and increasing mastery over our environment has generally tended to give us a bit of hubris. In other words, we can be selfish jerks, and that's why the odds are against us. They love us and really do think of us as their favorite children, but you know we are kind of like the kid that grew up to fast or maybe more like the spoiled kid. We got the toys but most of us don't tend to be satisfied with what we have. Anyway, enough with the analogies, we had a fighting chance since they gave us all the technology we needed and rendered all our fossil fuels noncombustible, but as is incredibly crystal clear at the moment we are still uniquely able to trash ourselves none the less. So, as I said, they didn't give us very good odds even sixteen years ago when they visited and their prime directive from then on was complete hands off". "But dude, hands off wouldn't seem to include sending Bob here to fill you in on things" interrupted Geno. "Correct you are my intellectual friend. You see, Bob was out on a bit of a winger. In fact he flat out told me we were probably toasted. He did however give me the exact locations of every secret storage location, every clandestine distal action facility, every piece of machinery and military equipment, every personal training and staging area, and the big Lebowski .......every single person involved. Ok, not actually every person, but at least the four thousand five hundred and thirty five high level bastards that are in control of this totally out of control, fucked up conspiracy. Bob was not supposed to visit me, nor was he supposed to give me enough information to stop these fuck heads before they fulfill their mission and gain power, wealth, and control at the cost of millions of lives in the short run and our entire atmosphere in the long run. Seems like such an irony to me that someone would doom our planet for the purpose of controlling it while it slowly suffocates and dies. Pretty fucking stupid if you ask me. Now they have killed our President.....clearly the best one we have had in a hundred years. And we have a Meat head to succeed her who is bound to take us down a road of disaster. So, Max, Dougy, what should we do? Actually, Annie G, I really need to hear what you are thinking. What should we do now"? "Sweetheart, whatever you think is ok with me, it's all been a pretty surreal deal and I have spent my life trying to study and save creatures that live under the ocean. I know as well as anybody what greenhouse effect can do to the ecosystem. I really think we should do whatever we can to stop these fucksticks.....even if it means we don't make it. I really love you Jack, I love all you guys, and I think at this point we are all in this together. I mean if the GECA doesn't pass, and these guys actually get gas burning and the world goes down that road, than life as we know it is fucked anyway....right"?

 

"As my friend Geno likes to say Absofuckingloutly! Everybody in"? "All in Jack, what's the next move". "Ok I'm the only person alive who knows EVERYTHING and people are trying hard to kill me. Is there any way we can download all this info in my head"? "No Jack, I mean if you had ever had enhancement procedures we could pull a chip, or if we had a lad with sensors, not here though". "Ok, we do it the old fashion way, I feed it all into our computers, and we hope we don't get blown out of the water before we can transmit the data to the Calvary". "How long do you need"? Jimmy asked. "It's a lot of info. I figure 24 to 30 hours, and we can't send any signal from here. Not even the secure frequency Max has to Ron.....nothing. We can't take any chance" Jack answered. ""Everything is off, implanted devices, cell devices, GPS, radar, old fashion radio, everything..... Fucking lights...everything. We are total silent running baby….total old school, just a sixty two foot catamaran, Mylar hi-tech fabric sails, a twenty five knot trade wind from the east, and we skate along on a broad reach at fourteen knots with three hundred miles of open water in front of us”. Jimmy said as he headed to the helm station. Unlike Geno, Jimmy had installed and auto helm years ago. It was something he needed in the charter business, but like Geno, he did prefer to handle the helm of his vessel in a good blow. This was just such a night with a new moon, clear skies, and fantastic stars.

 

“I’ll start downloading all the information. Jimmy can you ask Max to come back down’? “Sure man, see ya in six hours”.

Max came down to the salon. “What do you have in mind Jack”? Jack spoke as he typed information into his computer. “We are traveling silent, no problem with navigation, we are totally cool with dead reckoning and we can always grab a sight with the sexton if needed but I think we should keep on a heading for Turks and Cayucos. He will be there in 30 hours at this speed. I am going to get all this data down so it can be transmitted as needed. There are thousands of different locations, but I have all the coordinates, logistics, topography, geography, and security memorized…..oh and all the people involved. So when I get this all logged in the computers and backed up, how do we want to play it? We will only have a short period of time before we get tracked, located and attacked by some douche bags again. We probably want to have a good plan to make the most of what we got”. “Well Jacky boy, if you just happen to know anyone in the Bahamas that has a good old fashion short wave HAMM radio, then I think I have a pretty good plan”. “Hey Geno, Jimmy” Jack yelled as he continued to type at his keyboard “is Chauncey still have his place on the west side Grand Turk in Hawks Nest Bay”. Yea answered Jimmy “Last I heard, I haven’t been there for a few years”. “Did he still have his gig at the JAGS McCarthy Air Field”? “Last time I talked to him he did. I don’t think he would ever leave besides he owns most of that field”. “Cool” said Jack “Chauncey has every piece of radio equipment ever built, and he happens to live in a prefect anchorage that just happens to be right on our present heading, and he just happens to still owe me twenty bucks”. “Ok then” said Max “I will spend the next ten hours putting together a hit list of top priority agents, agencies’, assets, and private contractors we can count on. Now as you identify places and all the associated data, I can match them up with whatever asset we can call on in the same proximity. If we can get enough of the fucking traitors in our own government arrested at the same time, and hit enough of the installations at once…..we might….might just have a chance to save the fucking world”…..” well” replied Jack “It would be pretty cool if we could just pull it off”. “And it would just totally suck if we don’t” Annie G. added as she headed below to go to sleep     

 

I believe if your friend has the short wave HAM radio set up you think he does then I can use a little trick we used in the service. We learned how to find the right frequency with the right set up and hook our processors and hard drives up to the radio and actually shoot bits of data out on the airwaves. This is somewhat like broadband or wi-fi, but using short waves bounced off the stratosphere So we could send um anywhere, and probably not be detected because shortwave and single side band radio communications are so antiquated as an intelligence gathering medium, that nobody bothers to monitor them anymore. We got a couple messages through to HQ that went undetected that saved our asses. Just maybe we can get one through that will not only save our asses but the rest of the god damn world too".

 

"So" Jack replied to Max's idea "it sounds as if the key will be in who we tell"..... "Right? I mean we need to get all this information into the correct hands. If we land on somebody who is in on this then we are dead. If we land on somebody who's not in on it but doesn't have the clout and horsepower to do squat about it then we are still dead. Does Ron alone have the JU- JU to pull off thwarting this big and deep a plot"? "No...Probably not" answered Max. "Ron would sure try, and he has connections, and he's not afraid of anything or anybody, but we really need somebody at the top .......the very top. President Kelly would have been top of the list but she's dead and I don't trust that dickwad Stanley". "Ok then Max, along with agents, we need heads of state, past heads of state, top senate and house guys, top military guys, and all of them have to be trustworthy because if we send all this evidence to just one dickhead that's involved, then forget it, we are all toast and the earth is fucked".

 

As they sailed along at an average speed of fourteen knots, on a broad reach, in a twenty knot trade wind blowing from ninety degrees, due east, a trail of glowing phospheresance was left in their wake. Jimmy was steering by compass and stars with a clear view of the Corona Borealis ahead and slightly north. The moon was half full; enough to light up the waves, but not to much to drown out the stars. Jimmy was smiling ear to ear since this was the absolute prefect condition for the Nanny Lou and he just loved sailing his vessel at night under prefect conditions. With their heading of three hundred and fifteen degrees and a due east wind, she had a true wind angle of one hundred and thirty five degrees. At a speed of fourteen to sixteen knots, the apparent wind angle would be pushed forward to about one fifteen to one twenty, which was the fastest point of sail for a long cat, and the most comfortable. Jimmy had made this particular passage many times before in his life, and though he had logged millions of hours at the helm of a sail boat he was still just like a kid on Christmas when the conditions were good and he got to sail his boat at high speed in the open water. A school of porpoises decided to have some fun in their bow wake, which was rather common in these waters, and swam along side of them jumping, and playing tag with the bows of both sponsons. Two of them would cris-cross, one over one under, between sponsons and jump inside to out over the bows, and land in the water outside the hulls just as the next two would start the same routine. This went on for hours in various forms, porpoises like to play and they really like to show off to humans. Jimmy swore that once when they were playing, that one porpoise would watch him from a foot or so under the water and not do a trick or jump unless Jimmy was looking right at him. Once the porpoise was sure Jimmy was watching he would launch out of the water, over the bow, land between the hulls, dive under the next hull only to breach the surface again with a backwards arc that reached an apex of at least  twelve feet. Jimmy said that during the whole arc, the porpoise was looking right at him making sure that his acrobatics were being watched and appreciated. "Just a bunch of playful, good natured show offs" Jimmy use to say and he claimed it was always good luck when they came around to play and show off.

 

Annie G. came on deck and climbed up into the helm station after getting a few hours shut eye. "Hi ya honey" she said to Jimmy in her usual sweet and somewhat maternal sounding voice. "How are you feeling"? "Well, I got a tell ya, dream boat, it doesn't get any better" Jimmy answered as a puff brought the Nanny Lou's speed to over sixteen knots. "Wow, she is really humming along nicely isn't she"? Annie asked. "Yep, this is her favorite point of sail, that's for sure, and we couldn't ask for better wind". "I'm going to get something to drink, you want anything"? "You going to brew some coffee"? "Yes, but then I was going to make Spanish"... "Hummm, count me in, but don't let me drink more than two or I'll be baked". Annie disappeared below and returned twenty minutes later with two Spanish coffees complete with sugar melted to the rim of the glass by flaming 151 proof Rum. Spanish coffees where regarded by everyone aboard as one of the best tasting,  fastest acting, dangerous, alcoholic beverages ever concocted. "Ok, now I'm in heaven" Jimmy said. "You know, that's one thing I've been wondering about since jack talked with our alien higher power friend Bob". "What's that" Annie G asked. "If there is a heaven......or at least what happens when we die..... I mean that would have been my first question if I got a one on one conversation with the big guy". "Did Jack mention anything to you about it"? "No, I guess he didn't" Annie said. "Well, it is kind of like the biggest mystery of mankind you know. I think the major purpose of every religion is to assure us that things will be cool when we die". "But Jimmy, aren't you the one with the total live in the moment philosophy" Annie asked. "Why yes I am, but it would be less disconcerting to rest assured that one’s post death experience will be pleasant and rewarding". Jimmy said but them added. "Then again, post death could involve having your body sent to a morgue where the mortician happens to be a gay necrofeleack". "Nice thought Jimmy..... Only a mind as sick as yours........." 

 

"When we going to be in Hawks Nest Bay" Annie asked Jimmy. "At this rate we should be there in about twenty two hours. That is if the wind stays with us. It should but will probably lighten up some during the daylight when things heat up. If the trades stay over twelve knots, which they should, we will be all set and in by just after midnight tomorrow". Jimmy's prediction proved true and the Nanny Lu got a visual on the tower lights at McCarthy Air Field in Hawks Nest Bay on the south east corner of Grand Turk Island. 

 

 

The Day The Oil Stopped Burning. Chapter 10: Middle East, The Turkey's cooked

Chapter 10: Middle East: The Turkey’s cooked

 

 

 

Art Dutton's official title was Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs, which in the official hierarchical structure put him at about number twelve on the totem pole. In reality he was the right hand man of Secretary of Defense Sivalingam Sivananthan. Sri Lanka–born, Sivalingam Sivananthan was a physicist and entrepreneur. He had been director of the microphysics laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He was the founder of Sivananthan Laboratories Inc. in Bolingbrook, Illinois, and created advanced military infrared night vision technology, a platform for next-generation solar cells. He also helped found the nonprofit Institute for Solar Photovoltaic Innovation, Research, and Edu-training, or INSPIRE, to prepare the Illinois workforce and interested students to build a renewable energy and solar ecosystem for the state. He had been taped for increasingly sensitive military innovations and was instrumental in several post fossil fuel military break- troughs. He had always had an admiration for Ron Smith and the EAG and since he had a combined expertise in advanced military innovation and technology and alternative energy and environmental preservation, he was popular with conservatives, liberals, hawks, doves, tree huggers, land raiders, Greenpeace and the joint chiefs. When Dr Sarah Jane Kelly had chosen him for Secretary of Defense, he acquiesced only if allowed to bring in most of his staff and Art Dutton who was a genius and whose uncanny ability to organize the best talent, harvesting the best results had made him and Sivalingam billionaires. 

 

Of course Ron's ability to spot huge potential talent especially talent that shared his ideology had caused him to notice and follow Sivalingam and Art years ago. They had long since become friends and had worked together to achieve many positive results for many years. Right now Ron was in touch with the SOD office and was starting to freak out about his friend Art and his assistant Sam. They had now been missing for 32 hours. Ron and company had been the last group to see them at the meeting at EAG headquarters early the previous day. "I don't give a shit if he is at the bottom of the fucking Atlantic......connect me to his com frequency right fucking now or I will climb through this fibro-optic cable and strangle your fucking ass" Ron was yelling to some poor assistant who's only violation was to suggest that Secretary Sivananthan was busy. "I will get him right away for you sir" was the reply. "Ron what's up, where the hell is Art". "Don't know buddy, last we saw him, he and Sammy were heading to A.J.s office to ask for some help on this thing we are uncovering. They left the office and never showed at A.J.s. I had Laura send you everything in the level six code. I'm guessing there's a security breach in your detail. Your driver, secret service security guy the D.C. Cops or all three were probably on the take and I suspect they gassed Art and Sam the second they got in the car. Now....Sam is a newbie and they could have pulled anything on him, but Art knows his shit and they would have had a hard time getting the drop on him. This is why I suspect they used gas. They are probably dead by now, but you guys should put some energy on it. NSA and CIA already have....thus my pessimistic outlook, but you and Art were close so you should handle an investigation yourself and even if they're dead you might want to go the extra yard and find out who pulled the plug and exercise some Sivananthan justice if you catch my drift". "Yea I do Ron, thanks. I reviewed your stuff....wow pretty wild accusations. I am totally on this with you and I believe your boy Jack's story, but you know we need a hell of a lot more provable evidence to do anything". "Of course you do buddy boy, so find it. You don't have to deal with shit like warrants or probable cause; you have spooks....so fucking use them"! "Ok, ok I'll find them, don't worry. Is this everything you have". "Yep, that's it so far, but I'll let you know ASAP when we turn up anything. I'm also going to follow up face to face with A.J. If you think that's a good idea". "I don't see why not. He is about as straight as they come". "That's what I think too. Thanks Sivalingam, talk to you soon".

 

Truth was that the SOD office really didn't have mush "police power" as it were. In the years following 9/11 and even with Barack Obama following George W. Bush the true power to intimidate and actually spy on American citizens lay in the NSA. Several different events and unconnected policies had played a serendipitous roll in letting the National Security Administration amass tremendous power to spy and intimidate within the U.S. The former "BIG BULLY" in America had been the IRS. Everybody was scared of the IRS and certain administrations in history had used them as their personal pit bull. In 2013 a huge IRS scandal had disrupted the IRS. IRS agents had targeted conservative political groups which created conservative/ republican outrage. Then it was discovered that the IRS offices were wasting large sums of money making mock videos and having extravagant parities. It eventually resulted in a total melt down of the IRS, a sweeping investigation that actually uncovered a mass conservative conspiracy led by Senator Lindsey Graham who had originally bribed IRS officials to target conservative groups only to try and expose it and get the Obama Administration into deep shit. The plan ultimately back fired on them and they were the ones who ended in a shit faced condition. The positive result being the complete dismantle of the IRS and a long awaited, much needed complete re-do of the Federal Tax Code. From six thousand four hundred and twenty pages to one hundred and twenty five. A flat tax of fifteen percent was enacted and an extra five percent for couples making over five hundred thousand. Corporate tax was also fifteen percent. No tax on capital gain. No tax on dividends. No personal deductions except for charitable contributions.

 

Now that the IRS had been dismantled, and reassembled in a toothless, nurtured form, the already robust, and eager to abuse NSA was chomping at the bit to jump in and provide the malicious tool of corruption that every political organization drools over. The NSA had already used (and abused) PRYSEM as a way to subvert laws and excised data-mining and spying so it was only a natural evolution to grow into a political tool that if wanted, could be used for an administrations personal objectives. Ron, who had studied man's evolution of technology, had a theory about the evolution of organizations. Especially bureaucracies which he often said had a life and growth of their own. 

 

Since the administration of President Kelly and the appointment of Pete Miller to head up the NSA, the abuse of power and use of intimidation had been mostly mitigated. Pete was thought of by Ron as a man of integrity and not one likely to use the data within the NSA for inappropriate measures. The one thing for sure; nothing could compare with the abuse of power and corruption under Chief Arie Fletcher during the Santorum administration.  

 

"Pete can you find out what happened to Sam and Art......strike that, I know what happened to them......can you find out who killed them and kill them back"? "Ron, I'm not sure we can work it exactly like that but I will find out who is behind this. We have been looking into the intel you passed to us this morning from your boy Jack. Pretty hard to move on this without substantiation". Yea, I just heard that same thing" Ron replied. "What's your plan Pete". "I have a few ideas and different plans of action; I can come over and fill in you Laura and Charlie if you want". "That would be great. Thanks Pete". "Jane....can you get me Fin Hameratt"?. "Yes boss. She's on...ouopps never mind, I got her message system....hum that's funny". "What...what the hell are you talking about". Ron yelled. Jane was still wondering what was going on. "I would normally get a digital location signal and an auto patch through with her level four security communication frequency, but it's not happening. It's like she is.......not.....around.....Orr....".. "Jane, what the fuck are you mumbling about"? "I think something's wrong boss". 

 

"Get me Ahbeene Farhteen, he's Turkish NIO" Ron replied immediately to Jane's concerns. The National Intelligence Organization of Turkey was an organization which commanded global respect. They were extremely capable, well run and as transparent as one can be considering their duties and directive. Since the replacement of Former Prime Minister Recep Tiyyan Erdogan in 2013 and the implantation of democratic and sectarian reforms the NIO and most other Central Government organizations were largely supported by the citizens of Turkey.

 

Prime Minister Erdogan saw the end of his political career in June of 2013 when protests against the perceived authoritarianism of Erdogan and his policies, starting from a small sit-in in Istanbul in defense of a city park. After the police's intense reaction with tear gas, the protests grew each day for the next seven days. Faced by the largest mass protest in a decade, Erdogan made this controversial remark in a televised speech: "The police were there yesterday, they are there today, and they will be there tomorrow. Taksim Square cannot be allowed to be a place where marginal groups can freely roam". Shortly after the growing protests, he left the country for a visit to Morocco, but he received a cold welcome and did not meet Mohammed VI of Morocco.^[81] Erdoğan claimed: "social media is the worst menace to society". As it turns out, his remarks and general attitude toward a "big brother society" proved to be a big mistake.

 

 Ahbeene Farhteen was the DIRECTORATE OF ELECTRONIC AND TECHNICAL INTELLIGENCE for the NIO. The main duties of this directorate were ELINT (Electronic intelligence) and SIGINT (signal intelligence). Ahbeene's primary mission was counteracting all electronic and technical attacks against Turkey and its allies and his division was the best there was. He and Dr. Hammeratt had worked together on many issues and Ron had come to respect Ahbeene's abilities and integrity. 

 

"Nasıl arkadaşım yapıyoruz hey ron". Spoke Ahbeene as their communication line was secured". Greetings to you too my old friend" Ron returned the greeting. "What can I do for you old friend"? "I have a feeling that Fin Hammertt has been murdered or kidnapped. Can you look into things for me"? "I got agents on the way to her office as we speak. What the heck is happening? We have been gathering a large quantity of data regarding some crazy shit. Major oil and nat. gas reserves that were supposed to be disposed of being stockpiled, and a hell of a lot of military hardware. We also see a lot of nasty, unfriendly people moving into places they really have no business being. Does any of this sound familiar? Does any of this have anything to do with Fin missing". "Bingo on both accounts" said Ron. "I am transmitting you everything we have. We suspect Senator Justin Amash is at the top or close to it. You are going to have to deduce who's involved over in your neighborhood. I would guess some top dogs are part of this thing. In fact I'm sure of it, no international conspiracy bent on reconstituting petroleum distillates as an energy source, selling it, selling the machinery and weaponry that uses it, and starting a few wars to gain power in the African Continent could possibly succeed without some assets within the Turkish/Pakistani/ Israeli Government cooperative". "Ok, I'm feeding your stuff into our computers now. I will run some programs and figure out exactly who's involved. Now that I know the broad strokes, I can bore down to the details no problem. While we've been talking I've put seven people and six thousand terabytes to work on it. We've already run half a dozen different algorithms and I have sixteen suspects. Give me another half hour to get some human intel and....... Oh shit!!!!!" "What is it Ahbeene"? Ron asked. "Sorry my friend, Fin is dead. My men just reported, she was in her office poisoned". "God dammit, those fucking shit heads are going to pay.....Fuck....fuck...” Ron was just melting down. This was the third friend of Ron's to fall victim to this clandestine operation and he was getting very very angry. "Ahbeene, can you please find whoever did this and kill them". "Consider it done Ron. What else do you have as far as operations in Istanbul"? "As you know, Fin had her own office, but we maintain a research facility over on the north side of the Bosporus. Pretty light on security so if you could check it out....I'll copy you the coordinates, and Ahbeene"..."Yea Ron"....."Remember to kill those fuckers". "Yea Ron, I'll get back to you soon". "Laura, did you plug in everything from Max"? "Yea boss, pretty interesting shit. There are probably twenty big wigs within the federal government involved not including military or private sector so far. This thing is going to be big". "Ok, keep working on the federal government level for now, especially the legislative branch. Our first objective is to expose whoever we can before they have a chance to kill the GECA legislation". "I am going to try and get Dougy, Max, and Tom back because if we can find out for sure the top six and

NSA, CIA or FBI can't get them; I am prepared to let Max take them out". "Ok boss, I agree with you, if we don't it’s going to be dooms day". "These dick heads are really pissing me off". "Jane, get me Grace Meng at the White House". "She's ready boss". "Grace, did you have your people analyze all the stuff I sent? Did you look into Amash"? "I have Pete miller's crew on it". "Good, I just talked to him a minute ago". "CIA is on it too....and I peeled off two of my best Secret Service guys to do some undercover". "Who". "Joe Boswell and Bruce Lockwood". "Can we just go arrest Amash". "Not yet Ron, but we're working on it". "Can I just go kill him". "Not yet Ron but I'll let you know". "Anything on Art Dutton and Sam Markey yet". "Officially missing persons, no leads as to whereabouts, but we got a full court press going". "Thanks Grace". Ron concluded. "Get me A.J. will ya". "Got him Boss.....your welcome". Jane knew that courtesy and good manners would always remain foreign concepts to Ron. "A.J. We've got a serious situation here". "I can see that Ron, can you come over here and bring me up to speed". "Yea, I'll be right there. See you in a few". "Laura, Charlie, we're going to the Pentagon. Be ready in five minutes, General A.J. Lukas is expecting us". Within twenty minutes they were all sitting in the Generals office. "We are pretty sure it goes as far as the Senate". Ron was beginning. General Lukas cut him off. "Oh, fuck that, I know at least two of the joint chiefs and the Chair of the armed forces committee.....maybe a few in President Kelly's staff...... Maybe her"! "You gotta be kidding me"? "No, I have been following this shit for a month now, ever since the GECA got close to passing. Everything you guys have gathered is spot on. Even the stuff your boy Jack says he got from an egghead visit makes perfect sense. All the shit going down in Turkey and West Africa. All the sudden disappearances of various GECA proponents.......everything is making sense in the context of what you are telling me. Now we have to devise a game plan of how to deal with it......and that's not going to be easy.....not easy at all". "Any ideas off the top of your head A.J." asked Ron "After all you are the five star General". "Nope...... How about you guys"? Was the reply. "Yes Rachel" the General said in response to a call from his assistant. "Oh shit no...When....where? Ok...ok...I'll let him know". "What's happening" Ron asked. "I'm afraid to tell you that they found Art and Sam's bodies. Sorry Ron, I know you liked that kid and we both thought the most of Art. You were right gas then poison injected between the toes". "Any sign of the driver and security detail"? Asked Ron. "Yes the body of Art's regular driver and secret service agent along with an additional SS guy all killed the same way." "What about the D.C. Cops". Ron asked. "Must have been phonies, no sign of them". "So ether somebody killed the driver and SS guys first and had doubles in the car......or, they were on the take, and got killed along with Art and Sam". "Or the bad guys had something on the driver and SS guys but didn't want any loose ends". "We're already following up with any family, friends that sort of thing". "So you know Ron, DCPD is going to lead the investigation, but we can pull rank with Sivalingam, and he is pretty bummed. You know how tight he and Art were. He can say we suspect an international terror organization, which is actually just what we do suspect so NSA and CIA can step in". I can throw a couple of my best guys in with them if you want". "That would make me feel a bit better" said Ron. "Done" said A.J. "Man, I bet Siva is just pissed". "Yea, he and Art went back a long way. Art was one smart capable fucking dude. I kind of figured that Art would get the nod for Secretary of Defense and Siva would get the V.P. spot". " I hear you Ron....loud and clear. Siva sure would have made a better V.P. than that douch bag Jim Stanley". "Well A.J. That's politics for ya. I know the game is played with a different set of rules in the military but it's a similar game of thrones". "Right you are son.....right you are". 

 

Even though there had been a plethora of extremely competent running mates in the 2028 elections including Sivalingam who like Dr. Sarah Jane Kelly had a science background. Unfortunately for her the political climate at the time required her to select a running mate from somewhere to the right of her. The previous eight years had been under a New Democratic Republican Party (DRP) administration and the populous had gotten use to centrist positions. While Dr. Sarah Jane Kelly was mostly a centrist and was certainly pragmatic, she was a member of the New Democratic Socialist Party (DSP) which was considered kind of left by the general electorate. In order to seal the deal they needed a right leaning DRP that could muster support from the middle of the road conservatives. Several smart capable choices were vetted, but everyone seemed to Dr. Kelly to harbor a pre conceived agenda or an element of swagger or sometimes both and neither of which she liked. After too long she had told her champagne managers to: "get me somebody who doesn't ware his balls on his chest and have his head in his ass...... Every guy you bring me has an ego problem, wants to alter my agenda and is a chauvinist asshole and I'm tired of it. Ether get me a smart DRP who will play ball or get me a brain dead fucker, who will do what we tell him and shut the fuck up. As things worked out, it was the latter. Jim Stanley was the moderate two- term Governor of Arkansas. As her campaign manager described "he is as plain Vanilla as they come". As it turned out, he was prefect in that respect in that he really did not seem to possess his own opinion and was quite amenable to simply defer to the judgment of his superiors. He also was the Governor of Arkansas which was regarded as a Podunk, hick state but none the less produced Bill and Hillary Clinton and Mike Huckabee. He could bring the right leaning middle and do it without saying a thing which was exactly what they wanted. There was no need for him to inspire anyone, it was sufficient simply not piss anyone off or stir up any shit. The only real problem as they all saw it was that he really was not so smart and it would really suck if something happened to Dr Kelly and Jim Stanley actually has to serve as president. "We will cross that bridge if we get to it" .......let's just NOT get to it...and if we do.....we jump" was what Keith Jones, Dr. Kelly's favorite political advisor said. 

 

"Still, I just can't handle that idiot Stanley. I mean its not as if he a bad guy, it's just that he's........he's......such a stupid fuck". Don't worry A.J. He at least knows enough to know what side his bread is buttered on and he will go along with whatever President Kelly says". 

"I suppose you right Ron, but you go try and hold a joint chiefs of staff meeting with the Commander in Chief and give an intelligence report on Somalia with that dildo sitting in and you know that he does not even know what anybody is talking about and he is making suggestions that are ludicrous and.........Jesus .....drives me nuts. If I had to report to him I'd shoot myself". "Christ A.J. Calm down. What do you want me to do now about the GECA and this entire shit storm? Should I go bust heads"? "No, just keep gathering data, you are not in the head busting business, but I am. I got an army remember, and I do have at least a hundred really good men I know I can trust. But you, my friend, are way better at gathering data. We have way too many levels of BS to filter through. By the time I learn something from my guys it's already been on CNN, NBC, CBS, in the Washington Post, the New York Times, the National inquiries, and been commented on by that Hungarian bitch Arianna Huffington. What I would really like is some hard evidence on Amash, Bates, Franks, and all those dickless TRADs. I bet that Hockey Bitch Palin is in on this shit too. Jesus, talk about wasted years, it's been sixteen fucking years since oil could burn and she is still trying to get drilling in the ANNWR. I can understand how the Alaskan public screwed up and elected her Governor. Nobody knew her, but to turn around and elect het Senator eight years later after she had been McCain's running mate and people actually herd her speak......My god...those people must be as stupid as she is. So Ron I know you are more of a statistics kind of organization and I really don't want to ask you to get your hands dirty". "Don't insult me AJ, I came to you, and I lost two people and have a three more being shot at. Besides this is an environmental issue and that's what I do. If I wanted to keep my hands clean, it's just way too late for that". "Right, ok Ron get me some fucking dirt on all those guys. I can take them down but they won't stay down with some really hard evidence connecting them to this conspiracy thing". Keep your boys safe and out of harm’s way and get me the data"!! Siva, has equal resources and we are connecting with some key folks we think we can trust all over the world. Who do you trust in Turkey"? "Ahbeene Farhteen, he's the head geek in NIO". Ron Answered. "Yep, I know him, good man. Ok I'm going to roll. Where are you going? You need a security detail"? "Laura and I are heading back to EAG headquarters and keep working". Laura had let Ron and AJ chat while she ran through all the relive not data AJ had granted her access to. She agreed that EAG was better at data mining but the Military didn't have to be as good because they had billions of dollars and had been at it for hundreds of years. "Quantity beats Quality sometimes" Laura said to AJ when he insinuated that their intel sucked. Besides no one in her position would ever pass up the opportunity have unfettered access to computer data at the Pentagon. She told Ron "the problem is they have so much data that they can't see anything. They need analysis to analyze the analysis". "Well download as much of that stuff as you can and work your magic when we get back to the office". "I really want to sit down at my deck and think with a double Stoli in my hand". "Ron, I'm going to give you six of my guys. They are top notch; I trust them with my life, so should you. I want you to take them back to your offices, and whoever needs to be covered coming or going just let Ned here know and he'll take care of it". "Thanks AJ that's great. We will get as much stuff as quick as we can. Do I funnel everything through you"? "Yes, I was going to say Siva and Pete Miller but I guess we should assume that everything could be infiltrated. Even thought they are both trustworthy they might handoff something to the wrong person. Of course I might do that too so what the fuck. Before you go I want to say something, where's Laura"? "Right here General" Laura said as she came in. " Ron, we go way back and you know we are on the same side on this one even though that may not always have been the case. Now, I'm an army guy, but we have the ear of national law enforcement, U.S. intelligence and at least some international intelligence. Now Ron, I know you have spent your life saving the world but as a General you learn to win a war one battle at a time. Do you get what I'm saying"? "Yea AJ I believe I do". "So" AJ continued "this battle is to stop whoever is illegally bribing, blackmailing, coercing, threatening, or whatever they are doing to block the GECA. If we can get it passed, that will be a successfully battle". "I couldn't agree more AJ. See ya soon". 

 

Back at EAG headquarters Rob poured a stiff one, Laura went to work, and Dr Charles Watson came in and said  "Jesus Ron, I heard about Art Dutton and Sam. What a tragedy. Who did it happen". "Someone got to their driver and maybe their security. They gassed them when they got in the car. Probably took all of twenty seconds. Then they injected Rican between their toes. Total professional job, they never woke up, they also killed the driver and two security guys".

"This thing is getting big, isn't it". "Yea Charlie…. that it is. Have you detected any emissions...anywhere"? "The usual hotspots, why"? "Maybe someone just wants everyone to think its usual". "What do you mean"? "Well, if I had a formula to change petroleum back to a combustible substance, I would want to text it, and make sure it works, maybe even tweak it and make it better. As we know, it's pretty easy to detect if someone is burning fossil fuel in any quantity. So, I you wanted no one to know I would test it in a usual hotspot where there is natural Co2 emission so no one would notice. Are you with me Chuck". "Sure am, you want to know if there is a way to determine if the usual hotspot is acting unusual.. Right"? ""Bingo" said Ron. "Well boss I don't think it's been done, but I imagine I can figure it out".

"So what are you doing still here". "I am joining you with one of those Stolis, you Bogart. Then I am going to do the impossible just like I always do".

The Day The Oil Stopped Burning. Chapter 9: Anegada, Smoking some Cubans

Chapter 9: Anegada:  Smoking some Cubans.

 

 

It was well after midnight when Jack returned to the boat and he had been gone for over six hours. While Dougy and Geno were confident that he was alright, Annie G was starting to get a bit antsy. “I’m glad you’re back Baby” she said as he climbed aboard “I was starting to get worried”. Everyone was back in the cockpit, having eaten dinner and having a few cocktails…except of course for Max who never drank. He had however taken off his tie, jacket, and leather dress shoes which Jack noticed immediately, and then commented. “Ok guys I know that we have had a rather surreal week and that nothing should surprise me at this point, but I have just witnessed the two most incredible things ever. First: I have actually seen Max Cunningham without a tie and sport coat, wearing flip flops no less. Second: I just had a five and a half hour conversation with the creator of our universe”. “No fucking way’!!!! Was the response in unison from five guys and one girl? “Yes way” said Jack. ” I am not kidding you, if was fucking incredible. Unfuckingbeleaveable, I can’t even begin to describe how ultimately awesome it was”. Jack proceeded to spend the next eight hours straight explaining every minute detail of his conversation with Bob while his friends sat in total amazement. He shared every question he had asked and every answer Bob had given. He shared the incredible feeling of peace and serenity that had come over him. He shared the incredible bond that made materialized between them. He shared all the secrets that had been reveled….except one, and that had been the one answer that Bob had not actually spoken, but Jack had felt it, and Bob had let him feel it, and had confirmed that his feeling was correct. Jack knew that he had the answer to the very question which all mankind desperately yearned to know, and he had promised not to reveal the answer to anyone. “I can live with that” he thought to himself. He shared to his friends that he had never in his life felt the feeling of raw, unmitigated, unequivocal love as he had just felt during his five and a half hour meeting with this strange being from somewhere he could never comprehend. They had all asked a million questions, and listened as they never had before. The sun had risen and it was now Zero eight thirty hours and no one was even tired. In fact they all seemed to be on adrenalin high, just completely amazed at what had happened and what Jack was sharing with them. Finally someone suggested that they all get some shut eye of they would all be wasted by evening. Max volunteered to stand watch while everyone else tried to get a few hours sleep. Jack had also explained at least some of the details surrounding the current situation and what he had committed to do about it. He was very clear that this was his commitment and that he was not expecting the others to automatically follow him in his plan of action, but everyone including him knew that was just bullshit and that there was no way in hell that any of them was not in this thing one hundred percent. Max set up his laptop and customized M4 assault weapon in the helm station. He checked his Glock 9mm and half dozen loaded quick change back up clips and he started to develop an action plan. Everyone else except Geno who was too wound up to sleep had crashed. Geno took the forward watch and settled into his routine of scanning the horizon for any and all approaching vessels. Geno had always had extremely accurate vision and his Celestron Marine 16 x 60 binoculars allowed him to identify a vessel at over five nautical miles. Of course the Nanny Lu had great radar, but it took a trained eye to sniff out a suspicious vessel and Geno was gifted with that uncanny ability. “Let me know if anything looks goofy to you. I’m going to start running some hypothetical scenarios and see if we can actually pull off this save the world thing”. “You got it Max, I got the eye out and you will be the first to know if I don’t like what I see. By the way, if anybody can effect a plan from God to save the world…..it’s you brother”. Max’s usually expressionless face actually reveled what might have actually passed as a smile…just for a millisecond…then he went to work.

 

Bob had let Jack know that there was simply no way he was going to be able to bring down the entire conspiracy and that it would be fallacy to even try. The objective was to get the GECA legislation through the U.S. Congress and on to the White House and United Nations. Bob had also let Jack in on the fact that he was kind of going out on a limb because there had not been a decision among the powers-at-be regarding any kind of intervention. Bob has been assigned the task of looking after earth in a manner of speaking and was acting on mankind’s behalf on his own. Therefore he was not going to be able to enact a grand gesture as had been done sixteen years ago when they let their presents be known and passed on tons of information and change the composition of oil. That was pretty overt stuff and there was to be none of that this time around. The odds seemed pretty lopsided to Max being the pragmatic warrior that he was. What the hell were the chances of six men and one woman going to have against a highly financed international ring of highly sophisticated crime with leaders at the height of power in every country including the United States Senate and House and Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines and who knows where else. “This is freaking impossible, not to mention suicidal” he had said earlier. But then “I always preferred to be the underdog” he had added later. He was assessing their assets and liabilities as he had always done and had suddenly realized that this was going to have to be done on faith. This was a foreigner concept to Max. He had taken on long odds without hesitation before, but he always knew and accepted exactly what the odds were and what was required of him to beat those odds. This was a new game; one in which the rules he had relied on for so long no longer applied. He basically had to bet his life, the lives of his friends and the success of an entire mission to save the world on intelligence against all odds because it came from a supreme being. This was just something that he was going to have difficulty getting his head around.

 

Max had established a secure communication channel with Ron and had already apprised him of the situation. He was actually concerned about a security breach within the EAG. The thought of any corruption within his own organization made his shudder, but he had totally failed to recognize the size, scope and utter unscrupulous nature of the forces he was up against. Ron had assured him that they had uncovered some of the very same evidence, and were rapidly coming to similar conclusions however his reaction led Max to believe that they had not really grasped the size and scope of what was happening ether. His commentary was filled with expletives like, “you have got to be shitting me” and “holy shit” and “no fucking way”. Ron usually spoke in such expletives, but the tone of his voice betrayed his usual confidence and Max got the distinct feeling that Ron was actually blown away by what he was hearing. Ron had immediately scheduled a meeting with everyone who was in attendance at the previous day’s conference. He was a bit surprised when he was unable to raise Sam, and also that Art Dutton had been unavailable, but had dismissed it at the time. Now he was freaking out. “Jane, I want somebody to contact Sam Markey now. I can’t get him and I have a direct communication frequency. Something screwing is going on. Also, I need you to get a hold of Art Dutton’s office. He and Sam had an appointment with General A.J. Lukas. I want you to find out what in the fuck is going on”. “On it chief” Jane had replied.

 

By fourteen hundred hours Jack had woken up and met Tom and Jimmy in the galley. “Wow that felt good to catch a few zees. I was mentally exhausted” said Jack. “Is Max still of watch”. Yea” Jimmy answered “and Geno is on visual as well. I was just going up to relieve them after getting some grub going”. “So, what’s our agenda today”? Jack allowed as how he really was not sure. “I guess we should all have a confab and see what Max has learned from the boys in D.C. I really hate to leave here…..I mean I really, really hate to leave here, but I suspect that we probably will have to head back to D.C. and throw ourselves into the lion’s den. Fuckin-A do I hate the thought of that”. “Especially since I heard on the radio from Earl that he caught a dozen nice Tuna and two really nice Mahi- Mahi in the passage just four nautical miles from right here, and I know it’s been six years since you have tasted Jimmy’s famous Tuna sushi rolls” Jimmy added just to twist the knife. “This crowd never gets any easer does it” Jack asked to no one in particular.

 

Suddenly, Geno was yelling up a storm and Max was running into the cabin heading for the firepower stash. “What the fuck is going on” Jimmy shouted. “Geno spotted a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk coming in hot from the east”. “Fuck” yelled Tom as he followed Max. “Doug, get your ass up, there’s a party brewing up here and you don’t want to miss it”. Geno had a SAW set up already on the forward tramp and Max and Tom emerged with an assortment of rifles, RPG launchers and the Shoulder launched laser guided sidewinder that had already proven its effectiveness on Beaver Island. Tom had stabilized himself at the edge of the aft cockpit and had braced the sidewinder missile launcher against the cockpit cover. He already had a clean sight on the approaching chopper and was ready to blow it out of the sky on Max’s order. “Max, I got Missile lock any time you give the nod”. “Roger that” Max replied. “Geno, you ready with the SAW”? “Ready” Geno replied. “Dougy where are you” Max yelled. “If I were up your ass you’d know where I was” Doug yelled as he came flying out of the amidships hatch in his boxers and his favorite .308 auto in his hand. “I was just about to seal the deal with Angelia Jolie in my dream and you fuck sticks show your ugly………I’m going to blow your ass out of the sky you dick wad”. “Wake up grumpy did we” Geno said as he held his sights on the approaching chopper. “Geno, you sure that’s a Black Hawk”? Max yelled. “Absofuckinglutely” was his reply. “Max, do we blow um away or wait to see if he fires on us”? Tom yelled from his ready position. “Because if he lets one of those 2.75 inch M4 rockets go or opens up on us with that 30 MM cannon it might just be too fucking late”.  “Radar says he’s four point six miles and closing fast at one ten” Jimmy yelled. “Jack better make sure

Annie G is under some cover, we might take a hit”. Suddenly before he heard a thing, Tom saw the mussel flash on the forward mounted 30 MM cannon and squeezed off the trigger on his missile launcher. Within one point three seconds a small explosion stopped the approaching chopper in its tracks. As the forward momentum stopped, and the rotor slowed the chopper started a rapid descent as fire ravaged the cockpit. In the time it took Dougy to say “Asta la Vista motherfucker” the chopper was in the water and sinking fast. “What’s the depth over there” Max asked Jimmy. “Around one twenty. Easy dive if that’s what you want to know” “Yep, let’s head over there and see what we got”. “Who wants to go diving” Dougy yelled “Now that I’m up, I guess I might as well…or I can pound a few beers if any of you guys want to go…I hate to hog all the fun you know”. “Yea, a real fun hog, that’s you all the way Dougy” Jack said. “Actually, you stay and pound those beers; I want to take a look at who these buttholes are”. “Done deal Jackie boy, Annie said she wants a little time with me when you’re not around anyway”. “Dream on liver lips” Annie G said as she came up from below. “You boys sure do know how to keep a girl entertained…what’s for lunch”? Jack said "I can take the spear gun and see if I can spear us a nice grouper for lunch....or, you can fry up some spam". "Yummy, you know I just love spam and eggs. Maybe I'll just make up some conk salad in case you miss". "That's what I love about you baby, such confidence". Max and Tom had loaded all the diving gear into the tender, Jack hopped in and they sped off to the site where the chopper had plunged into the sea. "We had better see if we can ID these guys" Max said. "I suspect they won't exactly be carrying driver’s licenses". "Who do you think they are Max" asked Jack. "Mercenaries, hired guns, probably from Cuba, maybe Columbia. Let's take a look see". They geared up and hit the water. Things were still pretty cloudy considering that a burning helicopter had just fallen out of the sky and sank leaking hydrogen battery fluid, synthetic lubricant, hydraulic fluid, and quite possibly a large quantity of blood. "Just before getting in the water Tom had turned to Max to say "you don't think that there is blood in the water do you".”Why... You getting squeamish on me now". "No, I just hate sharks, they are mean motherfuckers". "Jesus Tom just get in the God Dam water, you are such a pussy sometimes". 

 

The sharks had indeed been lured in by the irresistible draw of blood in the water. At least a dozen good sized tiger's were visible through the still cloudy water. The chopper had fallen just south of a significant drop off that rose from well over four hundred feet to about fifty. It was about two miles off shore and the depth gently tapered all the way to the beach with mostly sand bottom and occasional coral head. A coral reef protruded off a point several miles to the east blocking the prevailing east winds and providing one of Jimmy's favorite anchorages. Even during "the season" Jimmy's bay was usually empty. This time of year it was guaranteed to be deserted. Considering that the entire population of the island was less than a hundred and no one lived west of the main harbor, Jimmy's bay was as isolated as it gets. 

 

They descended to one hundred and twenty feet when they came to the chopper hung up on a small ledge in the drop off. There were two bodies which had obviously died upon impact. "Teach you to mess with guys who pack a sidewinder" was the thought going through Tom Rum's head. Tom had a tendency to take it personally when people tried to kill him, unlike Max who always kept emotion completely out of the situation. Max had always thought that was why Tom preferred to carry and operate the superior weaponry; and the miniaturized, guided, shoulder launched sidewinder with the plethora of different available warheads for all different situations was far and away his favorite. Max realized that Tom was usually able to use his skills and advanced weaponry to defuse a deadly situation before it became deadly for them, and he took it as a personal insult that anyone would try to do his friends or associates harm. He also got visible satisfaction out of doing away with such threats which all in all made him an amusing companion and incredibly effective bodyguard. He used to kid Max about his secret service days saying "you should have gotten the Sarah Palin detail back in '07-08 mate. I would have been giving her the high hard one. She was hot"! "You are so fucking juvenile you.” was always Max's standard response. "Come on Max; don't tell me you would not have tapped that action. I would have been hailing her from behind while she's looking over at Russia..... Out her back window". 

 

"They searched the bodies and as suspected no ID was not forth coming. The chopper was devoid of any form of identification, no serial numbers were left and it was clear that the chopper was black market. It was heavily armed and under normal conditions and against any foe other than Jack and friends would have been deadly. In this particular situation, deadly only to them. Two 30 MM cannons and two .50 Caliber forward mounted Gatling guns along with four wing mounted 2.75 inch missiles. Max disassembled some of the machinery and weaponry to take back to the boat and attempt to determine some place of origin. He also removed some of the personal gear. He knew that there would be no evidence- because he knew these guys were professional- and like him would not have made any mistake that would reveal their identity. In the world of spooks not revealing ones identity was the most important thing. As Tom Rum and Max completely surveyed the chopper recharge, jack had followed a couple twenty pound grouper up a canyon and was moving in for the kill. He was clearly torn between his desire for more information about those who were trying to kill him and his desire for the ultimate lunch of fresh fried grouper and conk salad. He was swimming ten feet above and twenty feet behind the fat and delicious looking grouper when a six foot tiger shark came around the bend in the canyon fifty feet ahead and was swimming fast right toward them. The grouper did an abrupt about face and started swimming right toward Jack. Within a second he had let two spears go nailing both grouper and shooting a healthy dose of highly potent shark repellent dead ahead. In another second he had collected the grouper, turned, and joined Max and Tom as they finished up at the wreckage. Max gave the signal to ascend and they headed back toward the surface. After a short decompression stop they were back in the tender heading back to the Nanny Lu. "Who were they" Jack asked as they sped toward the Cat. "Cuban mercenaries, defiantly Cuban. Real badass fuckers". Max answered. "Yea well they don't look so badass as cooked, soggy, dead motherfucking corpuses now do they" Tom added. "Any clues who they work for" asked Jack. "They will work for anybody; equal opportunity killers I guess. Undoubtedly your buddies in the wacko conspiracy world. Those crazy Cuban mercs don't give two shits who is writing the paycheck as long as it cashes and you really don't want to be on the other end if it doesn't. Fuck um, they're dead now and I doubt this stuff is going to tell us anymore. Let’s get back to the boat, eat those grouper, call Ron, and develop our next step". "And have a couple big ass Rum drinks" added Tom.