Four Days In February

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Charles Adams accompanied Bull through the White House to the Oval Office. Aides greeted the President as he passed by their offices.

  Pinchon asked, "What is this information you have, that will knock Ishnik out of this mess?"

  "The FBI has found the shooters of President Carr! They got an anonymous tip that they followed up on, and tracked the shooting team to their 'safe house,' twenty miles outside Baltimore, down near the Chesapeake Bay." There was a gun fight, one FBI agent was wounded in the arm, and one of the shooters were killed, but two others were captured."

  "What nationality were they?"

  "Oh, they were American, all right."

  "How had they gotten away so cleanly, and left no trace."

  "They were pros. Former snipers, and at least one of them used to work for the CIA. He had been thrown out of the agency for insubordination. I don't know more about the others.

  "The payoff was evidently a million dollars each, hand deposited by someone, in cash, to off shore accounts. That way there would be no electronic records."

  Bull said, "Millions in cash wouldn't tip a foreign bank ...that this money was illegal?"

  "Yah, that banker is in trouble too."

  "So," Pinchon asked, "Do we know who hired them to murder President Carr?"

  "The FBI has identified and caught the 'bag man,' and followed the money trail backwards. It was withdrawn out of a "Swiss account." The Swiss are being very helpful!"

  "...And"

  "And the Swiss account was owned by a middle eastern company, which in turn was a subsidiary of a holding company whose headquarters is a house in the Cayman Islands. This Cayman holding company was controlled by an organization called the 'Patriot Council.' The three million dollars was evidently flown on a private jet to the Caribbean, and records show it being paid to the assassins accounts."

  "How does that get Ishnik involved in this? Bull asked."

  "It seems that some Pentagon staff, after today's events, got enough motivation to report to their superiors that they had observed some unusual 'meetings,' at odd hours, to which only select people were allowed. The doors of those meetings were always guarded. So the guards were investigated, and gave up those who came to the meetings. Besides some senior and mid-level Pentagon staff, they identified as Patriot Council attendees: Army Secretary Strate, Senators Olds and France, and General Yates. Oh yes, and Supreme Court Chief Justice, Harold Grantham. Some of those who attended the 'Council,' identified Ishnik, as its 'Leader!"

  "The Attorney General has the information, and as we speak, is ordering the U.S. attorney to set up grand juries to look into indictments against this cabal. The FBI, U.S. Marshalls, and the Secret Service are all investigating leads. ...And the CIA has been asked if there is any intelligence about this group being associated with any foreign organizations."

  "Justice Grantham, and the two Senators are involved in this too," Bull said incredulously.

  "Evidently. At the moment we don't know where it stops."

  "How do you arrest two Senators, and a sitting Supreme Court Justice? Don't they have some kind of immunity?"

  "Not for high crimes and misdemeanors. They are being arrested on charges of treason, murder, conspiracy to commit murder, money laundering; ...and after its thought about a while ...probably a good bit more.

  "The point is," Adams continued, "the Congress is going to be scandalized by Olds and France, and the Supreme Court is going to be as well, because of Grantham. All their credibility, their legitimacy in trying to remove you ...is going to be gone when this breaks later today! I mean there are going to be some 'perp' walks, to end all perp walks!"

  "That hardly gives me any joy. It is terrible. Why did they do it?" Bull said.

  "They hated President Carr, they thought she was weak, and would ruin America. They could not bear her election. They thought if they killed her that Woods was weak, and they could push him around. But then he got sick, and Ishnik went for the prize of the presidency. He saw an opportunity, and thought he could pull it off. After all, he had already murdered one President, and thought he could get away with seizing the oval office. Grantham, the senators, and Strate all agreed to help him."

  "One thing though, do they know who the anonymous tipster was who told them about the shooters?"

  "That came in this morning. Using phone records, they backtracked it to a throw away phone bought with the credit card of 'William Yates.'"

  "Ohhh Willy! You didn't know who killed Carr, but somehow you figured it out, and knew you had been duped. You turned the shooters in, and then in your self-anger, shot yourself. Ohhh Willy!"

  "People disappoint, Mr. President. But at least today you will be seen by everybody as the one and only President. You are legitimate!"

  "But the nation has paid a high price, and I have lost a friend," Pinchon said. "Give me a few moments, I want to sit quietly for a time."

  "Certainly Mr. President, I will be in my office, if you need me."

  "Tell Mrs. Roland to hold my calls, and put off any visitors, until I notify her."

  With that, Adams left the Oval Office, and Bull sat down in his chair, and looked at the picture of Ulysses S. Grant, hanging on the wall near him. He thought to himself, Grant was an honest President, but he was disappointed by some of those he had trusted. Bull leaned back in the chair, and thought back to the time when he and Will Yates, fought together for their nation. The memories were still fresh in his mind, and he still loved 'Willy.'

  An hour later he buzzed Mrs. Roland. "I am done with self-pity. Tell Mr. Adams and anyone else that needs me, that I am open for business."

  Fifteen minutes later Charles came into the Oval Office and said, "Mr. President, let me put the TV on."

  There on the TV, was the scene of Mitch Ishnik being arrested by the FBI, as he tried to leave through the Dirksen Senate Office building. He had been trying to go see Justice Grantham over at the Supreme Court.

  "Turn it off, I don't want to see anymore. Justice will run its course, I have confidence in the American judicial system. Let's get on with governing this nation.

  "Let's see if we can cool off an upcoming dangerous situation, and hope that others will respond likewise."

  "What do you want to do?"

  "Order the Monroe carrier battle group to divert course, and head back towards Guam."

  "Do you not think that we should show the North Koreans that we are not afraid of them?"

  "I am not afraid of the North Koreans, but I still don't want those nuts to do something even more stupid that I have to respond to."

  "What about the South Korean mine sweeper that they sunk?"

  "Putting a carrier battle group off the Korean peninsula isn't going to un-sink that ship. It will just raise the tension. If we aren't actually planning to attack the North Koreans the carrier is not of much use there. All it will do is agitate the Chinese. I know Teddy Roosevelt said 'speak softly, and carry a big stick.' We have a big stick, and everyone knows we do, but we don't have to wave it at everybody, while we are trying to reason with them.

  "...And why were those mine sweepers so near North Korean waters? Does bullying bullies do a lot of good? It seems to me that is just going to make more trouble. That situation can be sorted out later.

  "Turn the carrier around!"

  "Yes Sir," Adams said, as he hurried off.

  At 7:00 p.m. the President was eating his dinner. Adams came into the dining room and said, "Mr. President, the Chinese President is on the phone."

  Bull walked over to a nearby side table, and picked up a phone. "Hello, Mr. President, this is President Pinchon.

  "Thank you, Mr. President, I am not glad for the circumstances that have led to my presidency, but I am glad the confusion over it has been ended.

  "Yes, I have ordered the James Monroe to return to Guam. We have the right to sail through the South China Sea, but we don't have to do it right no
w. We noted you thought it could help the situation if the carrier did not approach Korea. We wanted to help you to influence the North Koreans, to defuse the situation.

  "You have spoken with the North Korean 'supreme leader.' They have assured you they will not continue the provocations."

  "That is a beginning Mr. President. But there needs to be a lasting solution to the Korean War. A peace treaty needs to be signed, and both Koreas need to be able to peacefully develop their economies, and reduce their armaments. Particularly they do not need to make or have nuclear weapons. That would be good for both Koreas, for the United States too, and I believe it would be good for China.

  "Yes, Mr. President, why don't we build on this beginning, and see if together we cannot help fix something that has been broken for a long time.

  "Yes, perhaps we can meet together. Your Foreign Minister and our Secretary of State can discuss it when they are both at the Conference of Pacific Rim Nations in Singapore, in two weeks.

  "Thank you, yes it is evening here. I guess with the time zone difference I should say 'have a good day,' to you.

  "Good bye."

  "That seemed to go better," said Adams.

  "Much better! ...He doesn't have to wonder who is the real President, and he thanked me for cooling the situation off, by moving the carrier away. He says he wants to work with me to help North and South Korea come to a settlement."

  "This has been a good day!" Adams said. "Tonight you can get a good sleep. You haven't been in bed in a couple days."

  "You do the same, I have over three years to go, and I would like to have you advising me."

  A week later, Bull had the Secret Service drive him out of the White House, unknown to anyone else. He was wearing a black overcoat and a black fedora hat. They drove to a quiet country place near Fredericksburg, Virginia, and pulled into a small cemetery just as a hearse and procession of three cars arrived in front of them. It was cold, but there was no wind, and at least it was sunny.

  Bull waited until the flagged draped casket had been carried to the open grave by the pall bearers. The wife, and the two adult children and their families sat on some chairs arranged in front of the casket, and a minister stood to speak. Bull quietly walked and stood near the foot of the flag draped casket, removing his hat. At the appropriate time, a military honor guard, removed the flag from the coffin, folded it ,and handed it to a four starred Army General. The General then turned, knelt down on one knee, and presented the flag to the widow, thanking her for her husband's service. A distance away, three soldiers fired their guns in unison, three times into the air. Taps was played by a bugler.

  After the service, Bull went and gave a soft hug to the widow, and shook each of the children and grand-children's hands.

  "Thank you, Mr. President. I was told I couldn't get an honor guard or anything, and I certainly didn't think that you would come."

  "All I did was make a phone call to some 'friends.' These men all served with your husband. I had to come too. I loved Willy."

  "And he always loved you, Mr. President."

  ...And Bull said, "I know he always loved you and your family, Mrs. Yates. I also know that he always loved the Army; and the United States of America."

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