34 / Another Meeting

Nehemiah invited Ginny, Saundra, and Michael to his house so

they could regroup and catch up on what they had learned over the
past few days. They were surprised when Nehemiah told them about
Ronald Templeton being his fathers lawyer and what had transpired
after the funeral.
ell, that ma!es things easier," said Saundra who was seated
beside her mother on the couch in the living room.
#t also means you had me wasting my time sitting in a hot car
trying to hac! into the schools e$mail system for hours," Michael
grumbled as he dragged a stool in from the !itchen. %e sat on it and
folded his arms across his chest. %e was now sporting a moustache.
&ou offered to do it," Nehemiah reminded him.
Ne't time, #m going to e'haust other options before volunteering
to help you," he said (o!ingly. )ell, whats ne't* Saundra, did you
get into any trouble over+our little basement e'cursion."
The police came by the office to ,uestion me twice," Saundra
said.
-h*" said Michael leaning forward on the stool. )hat did you
tell them about me*"
# tried not to say anything about you," Saundra said tuc!ing
loose strands of her auburn hair behind her ear. ).ut # couldnt get
around e'plaining how # !new where %enrys body was or the fact
that # had actually been there+right ne't to it. # mean, my fingerprints
were all over that place than!s to you."
Nehemiah noticed Saundra shudder as she remembered what
must have been a frightening ordeal.
hat did you tell them about me*" Michael said, his voice ta!ing
on a dar!er tone.
Saundra shrugged. )# told them what you loo!ed li!e, pretty much.
# didnt mention your name or anything else+ e dont really !now
that much about you, Michael. /oes anybody else see a problem with
that*" She loo!ed from her mother, Ginny, to Nehemiah.
&eah," said Nehemiah loo!ing at Michael. )e dont even !now
your last name, or where you live, or even why youre helping us."
&ouve trusted me so far," said Michael shifting uncomfortably on
the stool. )0nd # havent let you down. # havent given you a reason
not to trust me."
# guess that doesnt count the time you tried to !noc! me off the
top of a lighthouse," Nehemiah said.
Michael turned pale.
Saundra gasped. Ginny wrung her hands.
N$no," Michael said. )There was+a bit of a misunderstanding
there."
ho were those guys who came to help you*" Nehemiah said.
hen Michael didnt answer, he went on. )#f you tell us the truth, we
can still wor! together, even if you are a mole. .ut we need to !now. #
need to !now. #ve got two !ids depending on me to be there for
them, and # cant be thin!ing of you as a liability." %e motioned toward
Ginny and Saundra. )These ladies shouldnt be put at ris! by or for
someone they barely !now."
1or the first time since they had met, Nehemiah thought Michael
loo!ed scared. %e had seen that same loo! at times on gang
members faces in the interrogation room. 1ear 2 not fear of the law,
but fear about what would happen to them if and when word of their
failure got bac! to their crime )boss" in the streets.
#ll tell you the truth," Michael said, his voice ,uivering. )-n a
need$to$!now basis."
0 need$to$!now basis isnt good enough anymore," Nehemiah
said.
Michael chuc!led uneasily. )hat are you going to do* Torture
me*"
Nehemiah (ust loo!ed at him coolly. )#f youre not going to tell us,
then # have to as! you to leave now and never contact any of us
again."
Michael thought for a moment and then got off the stool and
wal!ed to the door. %e turned bac! to the trio that sat watching him.
Ginny was pensive, her lips tight. )Not even if your lives are in
danger*" Michael said.
No, not even then," said Nehemiah.
Michael shrugged. )&oull regret that when the blood runs." Then
he opened the door and wal!ed out.
Nehemiah, Saundra, and Ginny sat in silence until Saundra said,
)ell, # guess thats for the better."
Nehemiah shrugged. )Maybe," he said.
Maybe not," said Ginny. )&ou !now what they say about !eeping
your enemies close."

35 / The Martial Question
Melanie /unn stopped by Sbarro in the 3entagons food court
and ordered a plate of tortellini and a few slices of pi44a. 0fter as!ing
for it to be delivered because she couldnt wait for it to be fi'ed, she
hurried to her office. %er assistant, Travis, (umped up from his des!
when she entered.
#ve been trying to get in touch with you for the past half hour,"
he said.
Melanie pulled her phone out of her poc!et and loo!ed at it.
)/ead battery," she said. )# told you # had a private engagement this
morning. hat seems to be the problem*"
-nly that you received a confidential letter. 0nd the president
(ust called for a video conference with the 5oint 6hiefs," Travis said
matter$of$factly.
Those are supposed to be scheduled ahead of time," Melanie
said.
0pparently, its some !ind of emergency. # thin! you should get
going," Travis said.
1ine. Give me the briefing."
There was no briefing," said Travis. )5ust this memo." %e held up
a fa'ed sheet of paper with the hite %ouses logo and the
3residents seal. Melanie read the time for the video conference.
Melanie bac!ed out of the office. )# have some food coming up
from Sbarro," she said. )Should be here any minute."
Great," said Travis. )# was (ust getting ready to go get myself
some lunch. Than!s for loo!ing out for me."
Melanie scowled at him.

.een waiting on you," said the chairman when Melanie arrived

in the conference room. The vice$chairman, and the military service
chiefs from the 0rmy, 0ir 1orce, Marine 6orps, and National Guard
were already seated. Melanie pulled out her seat between the 0rmy
and 0ir 1orce chiefs.
7'cuse my tardiness, sir," Melanie said to the chairman. )My
phone went dead and # didnt get the memo until a minute ago."
The chairman nodded. )8ery well. e dont want to !eep the
president waiting."
The 5oint 6hiefs turned their attention to a large 97/ panel that
too! up the entirety of the bac! wall of the room. The 3residents Seal
swiped ,uic!ly on and off the screen over a blue bac!ground. The
image was replaced by the live stream from the hite %ouse.
Melanie thought 3resident 1ederson loo!ed unusually grave. #n his
fifties, he was a slightly rotund man with a full head of blac! hair that
Melanie suspected was only !ept that way because he dyed it. %is
arched, bushy eyebrows were gray and seemed grayer since they
had last seen him.
# want to than! you for being here on such short notice," the
3resident said, his tone thic! and gravelly. )1irst, # want you to watch
this video which some of you may have seen already from the rioting
in 6alifornia." 0n aide pressed a button on a remote control and the
screen filled with footage of a crowd gathered on what loo!ed li!e a
highway. #n the distance behind them, flames rose nearly fifteen feet
into the s!y. #t was difficult to tell how many people were in the crowd,
but they were yelling and chanting. There had to be hundreds of
them, but the ha4e from the smo!e 2 or was it tear gas* 2 made it
hard to tell.
The crowd suddenly surged revealing a line of policemen
standing on the fringes of the crowd trying to contain the protest 2 if
it could even be called that anymore. Sirens screamed as a fire truc!
tried to get to the location of the fire, but the crowd massed in the
street refused to bac! down.
They chanted, )9et it burn: 9et it burn:"
The scene loo!ed li!e a war 4one. Those on the outside of the
protest clashed with police officers who arrested demonstrators
indiscriminately. 0pparently, the police vans were already full so they
(ust sat the protesters on the ground and stood watch. 7ven those
handcuffed on the ground !ept up a raucous chant, )1ed$er$son, your
term is done: 1ed$er$son, your term is done:"
The screen flic!ered off, and 3resident 1ederson reappeared.
)That (ust happened a few hours ago," he said. )These protesters+
criminals+set an oil refinery on fire and the word is that si' wor!ers
were !illed before they could get out. # have authori4ed the National
Guard to step in to ,uell this disorder. 0nd # want to inform you that,
after consultations with several state governors, # am strongly
considering declaring martial law not only in the region, but also in
other areas of the country where similar caliber protests are brewing.
#n such a case, military installations under your command which are
near the flash points will need to provide staging areas and personnel
in order to preserve and in some cases restore the peace."
The 0rmy chief cleared his throat. )e are prepared to do as you
as!, but # must raise concerns over whether or not such action will
only intensify matters." The other chiefs nodded their heads in
agreement. )There may be a political solution."
#m afraid there is no political solution to this !ind of anarchy,"
said the president.
9isten to what theyre angry about, sir," Melanie said. )&ou
pushed for new ta'es on 0mericas oil infrastructure, and the
companies are passing down the e'tra cost to the people. #f you
rescind the new ta'es now, you will have a chance to restore calm in
the coming days."
No," 1ederson said. )The law is the law. # will not turn bac! from
moving 0merica toward an energy independent and environmentally
conscious future. The benefits for our children far outweigh the
costs."
Then this 2 ," Melanie said motioning toward the screen in front
of her which still displayed the scene of the riots, " 2 is a cost #
assume you are willing to pay."

36 / Michaels Truth
Michael drove around Trenton, New 5ersey, for hours. %e !new
what to do, but he didnt !now what to do. ;ncertainty gnawed at his
gut li!e a horrible stomach ache. %e had really made a mess of
things.
Twice, he drove past Nehemiahs house, par!ed his forest green
Range Rover at the curb, and considered getting out, going bac!
inside, and telling them everything. .ut, he (ust couldnt do it< that
would put him in more danger. So, he (ust drove around some more.
%e stopped at a Mc/onalds and ordered two cheeseburgers, a
large carton of fries, and soda. %e ate and thought and ate and
thought.
0fter he balled up his trash and threw it away, he chec!ed his
watch. 6:43 pm. %e figured Ginny and Saundra had left Nehemiahs
house by then. Maybe he could go bac! now and tal! to Nehemiah
alone 2 man$to$man. .ut, no. %e didnt want to put him in a position
where he was !eeping secrets from the two women.
Michael sighed angrily as he sat at the intersection outside of
Mc/onalds and waited for the light to change. %e had really messed
things up, and put himself, his family, and a bunch of other people in
danger. %e punched the steering wheel and was rewarded with a
loud hon! and a suspicious glance from the lady in the red
convertible to his right. Michael loo!ed over and smiled apologetically.
9eaning over, he opened the glove compartment and pulled out a
wallet. #t was filled with =>,??? cash and a one$way tic!et bac! to
Moscow. %e too! the cash out and counted it. %e could (ust bail now
2 go bac! to Russia, move his family to a new city, and act as if the
past couple of years had (ust been a dream. #t was an attractive way
out. ith a murder investigation underway in .oston, it wouldnt be
long before ;.S. law enforcement would start loo!ing for him. Good
thing he was in the ;.S. under a false name and a forged visa. Good
thing also that he didnt have a credit card trail. .ut his cash was
running low. %ed have to choose sides..and soon.
The light changed, and he headed for the highway bac! to New
&or! still wondering what to do.
%e could (ust go bac! to -!lahoma, return to the Serpentine
6olumn, and try to act as if nothing had changed.
That thought made him shudder. Too dangerous. %e was
convinced the 6aliph was cra4y, but 3yotr 3or4e4ins!i had said he
could be trusted. .esides, what was it the 6aliph had said to him
before he left -!lahoma to pose as a doctor in New %ampshire those
many months ago* )Im always watching you.
Michael felt uneasy remembering those words now. %e loo!ed
around the vehicle which had been given to him to ma!e the cross$
country (ourney. %e peered at the dashboard, and e'amined the
ceiling above his head, fully e'pecting to see some tiny, blin!ing
diode indicating that he was being monitored remotely. %e had
removed the trac!ing device from the bottom of the vehicle and
turned off the G3S monitoring on his cell phone wee!s ago. So, even
if they could see him, he was certain they couldnt !now e'actly
where he was.
%e had stayed in communication with the 6aliphs people in
-!lahoma on a wee!ly basis, and they had never mentioned or
hinted that they were unable to monitor his whereabouts. Nor had
they challenged the veracity of the information he was giving them 2
which hadnt always been completely truthful especially after he had
found out who Nehemiahs father really was and why The
Correction mattered so much to the few who !new about it.
aves of tiredness seemed to wash over him. %e really had no
idea what to do. 7ach of the paths before him seemed e,ually fraught
with danger. %e decided to get bac! to his hotel in New &or! 6ity,
pac! all of his things and hopefully have a firm decision in the
morning.
-n impulse, he sent a te't message to Nehemiah. Can I call you
in the morning?
%e shut off his phone, not wanting to !now what Nehemiah would
say, either yes or no, until later.
No sooner had he set his phone down on the passenger seat
than the Range Rovers radio began to crac!le. Michaels forehead
scrunched in confusion as he turned the volume !nob bac! and forth
trying to shut off the noise. The sound began low and static!y and
slowly grew. 0 voice seemed to be caught in the noise, li!e a radio
caught between two stations.
Michael was about to give up trying to turn it off when the static
cleared and a voice spo!e.
Michael, it has been a long time."
The blood drained from Michaels face, and a shiver ran down his
spine. %e !new that voice. #t was the 6aliph, his voice both nasally
and direct. )&ou appear to be wavering in your commitment to the
cause. &ou have the choice to come home immediately and of your
own will in order to re$establish my trust in you. #f you choose rightly,
pull over to the shoulder at the ne't e'it. Two of your comrades will
be waiting to bring you bac!. 0nd if not+"
Michael loo!ed up the road and put his blin!ers on. %e slowed as
he caught sight of the blac! 1ord 7'pedition par!ed (ust past the ne't
e'it. %e drove up slowly alongside the S;8, s,uinting to see into the
heavily tinted windows. Someone hon!ed their car angrily from
behind and then whipped around him and sped off. Michael was fairly
sure the men in the S;8 were mas!ed. They loc!ed eyes with him
and nodded as he slipped past.
(ust !now you will never escape me."
Michael slammed his foot on the gas pedal and too! off down the
highway heading north.
%e didnt have to loo! behind him to !now he was being followed.