Office of Strategic Initiatives
Washington D.C.
June
Wednesday morning, Devlin Hegarty sat in John Harford’s office, discussing the latest turn of events and the final plans for the Saturday events in San Antonio and Kansas City.
“Who could have envisioned that Homeland Security would lose their secretary so quickly? General Austin was one of the staunchest opponents of Domestic Tranquility, or so my inside sources tell me. We’re well-rid of the bastard,” Harford said.
Hegarty wondered silently whether Harford had other teams working on such events, or if it was truly a coincidence and Al Qaida was behind the attack.
“One more thing, Devlin. It’s come to my attention that Senator McKenzie of Kansas will be at the Marriott on Saturday morning, giving an address to the city managers who are holding a convention. That’s actually a stroke of luck.”
“Do you want the explosion timed to her address?” Hegarty asked.
“Absolutely not. That’s what I’m saying. She’ll speak at 11:00 AM, giving the keynote. I want the explosion no earlier than 2:00 PM. She sits on Culpepper’s intelligence committee and I think she can be swayed in favor of Domestic Tranquility. A close brush with death will help convince her. I need her vote.”
“They reconvene at 1:30 after lunch, so 2:00 PM it will be,” Hegarty replied. “The Overland Park mall will be hit earlier in the morning, followed by the Marriott. San Antonio will take place about 4:00 PM. Texas is in the same time zone, so about two hours after the Marriott explosion. Saturday will be a busy day for Fox News and CNN, not to mention emergency services.”
“Yes, well, if this doesn’t wake up America, I don’t know what will. Are you sure the San Antonio SI security team is prepared to intervene successfully?”
“Absolutely. The team leader of the SI defense squad is ready. I’ve worked with him before. Sean Kilpatrick. A good man. His great-grandfather trained my father in Belfast in the old days.”
Harford gave a quick chuckle. “No matter the cause, there always seems to be work for enterprising young men, eh? How are things in Ireland these days?”
“Too peaceful,” Hegarty replied.
“Well, we can thank our lucky stars for Al Qaida then, right? Catholic or Protestant, Muslim or Christian. Some religious group always wants to kill another religious group. It’s a good thing we have all these men of faith, or there might not be any wars to prosecute.”
Hegarty nodded assent. “And some financial wolf is always ready to help them through the process with no religious compunctions.”
“I’m sure you’ve noticed that your Swiss account has increased substantially. Be certain you share some of those proceeds with your key players. I don’t want any disgruntled employees complaining and drawing attention because they weren’t paid.”
“Not to worry. Everyone is taken care of. Everyone who will live to spend it, that is,” Hegarty replied.