COVERT WRITERS TAKEDOWN by Joe Bergeron (best beach reads txt) 📕

Kay.
Think about the incidence of drug abuse in kids in this
country. It’s decreased by fifteen percent with our help.
Yankee Echo helped instigate the first Earth Day. The
twenty-sixth Amendment got House approval by a four
hundred to nineteen vote because of the organization.
Don’t forget Watergate, and the White House Plumbers
- we helped keep that alive.”
Turning to sit straight to the bar, he folded his
hands on its oak surface and declined an offer from the
bartender for a beverage.
….. “It’s still manipulation, Michael. People
should be able to decide for themselves what they want
and don’t want.”
She wanted to tell him all the things he didn’t
know about the organization, but couldn’t. Not now.
Maybe not ever.
His head bowed slightly.
“They do. All we do is give the public more
information - and more accurate information than they
get from some of the brain-dead desk jockeys that sit in
the editorial offices of this country’s newspapers. Our
people don’t write material to meet deadlines.
14
They have enough time t write the truth -
without a stopwatch in their faces. You know yourself -
they’re all hand picked - they’ve been through Laws
classes - they’re honest, and their protecting the best
interest of everyone.”
Her eyes fixed on his.
“There’s a lot of good people in the newspaper
industry besides ours.”
“That’s true, but there’s still too many screwups
with too much power. Maybe there’s no malicious
intent on the part of an Editor, or a staff writer, but
because they have to get a story out, a lot of times they
skew the truth. Besides, as a group, they’re not
organized like us. Even when they want to do some
good, they can’t act simultaneously across the country.
They don’t have a network - we do.”
She knew it was a moot point - until he was
told the whole truth.
“What else did Robert say?”
He hesitated for a moment, sometimes
forgetting it was her father who ran this operation, and
thinking she probably knew more about it than he did…
he was right.
“The people who did this tonight want to use
the network to dismantle President Benson’s proposed
trade program with Cuba.”
Her thoughts jumped back on the crusade.
“What’s the the Tenth Law, Michael?”
“You know what it is.”
“I want you to say it.”
He felt more like the student.
“The use of force enhances power only to the
extent that it is regrettable.”
The argument was going to continue - briefly.
“Don’t you think that Yankee Echo is a force - a
powerful force?”
“Yes - but you know there’s no subsequent
enhancement of power.” 15
We don’t write to gain - we write to reveal truth
- and to implement the development of greater
initiatives.”
“Then explain to me why my clothes are in your
car and we’re leaving for Washington. The Laws work,
and you believe they help us translate and understand
a complex world, but sometimes they can work against
us. You put yourself at risk by continually using the
Laws in Yankee Echo to develop your greater
initiatives. The odds say you’re going to lose
sometimes. There’s bad people out there who know how
to use the Laws too.”
“That’s right, but without risk, without ever
trying, without applying the Laws, there would never
be any necessary gains. We might never beat the bad
guys, Kay. Think about it. The media isn’t full of
inductive thinkers. It’s Yankee Echo creating the first
moves, or beginnings, or newness, or whatever you
want to call it. And to do that, we need to think and act
past challenges. You can’t succeed if you don’t take
risks - you know that. Right now we have a bad apple
in the system. We’re going to fix the problem. You
know there’s contingency plans.”
“You also have a worm, someone who’s letting
power become their goal, and who’s sold us out because
greed or ego became their truth.”
“It happens in every organization, at every
level.”
“Yankee Echo’s my fathers vendetta - for what
the newspapers did to his father, and for the lousy deal
my brother John got after he died in Vietnam. Don’t
you understand that?”
“You’re right, and I do understand, and out of
the ashes of his despair came some good.”
Drawing a deep breath, she finished her drink. Placing
one hand on his shoulder, she moved her other to his
face. She was so close to telling him. Maybe Robert
would.
16
“You’re a good philosopher, and you’re a damn
loyal one.”
“We have to leave, Kay. I need to pick up some
clothes. Do me a favor while I bring the car up front?
Pick up a copy of the WALL STREET JOURNAL in the
gift shop.”
“Are you going to read and drive at the same
time?”
He chuckled. “Of course not, I’m going to read
while you drive.”
He kissed the backs of her hands.
There were two copies of the WALL STREET
JOURNAL left. Taking one, she paid with a five dollar
bill, putting the change in her purse. Walking toward
the lobby, she caught sight of his Jeep through the glass
facade. He was in the passenger’s seat. Looking at
him, she thought -‘You’ve got some real surprises
coming Michael Courtney. I hope you and everyone else
is ready when you discover them.’
Opening the driver’s door, she handed him the
paper while somewhat nervously asking, “do you think
anyone will be following us?” Outside the shelter of the
hotel, it was a logical question.
“No - they got out attention tonight, and now
they have us moving. They’ll contact us again.”
She turned to look at him while pulling the
shifting lever to the drive position, her foot still on the
brake.
“Do you think Robert will get to talk to Dad?”
“I’m sure he will, Kay. We can also try to reach
him from my place. Where’s he staying?”
“Same place he always stays - The Grand
Bahamian Hotel.”
Unfolding the paper, he turned on the reading
lamp and glanced at her. She felt his question before he
could ask.
“The light won’t bother me…you can read.”
17
Thomas Griffin, staff writer for THE WALL
STREET JOURNAL was a one-year member of the
clandestine organization known as Yankee Echo. A cum
lade economics major, with a Laws minor out of
Georgetown University, he’d accepted a position with
the prestigious business publication immediately
following graduation, and was subsequently assigned to
its Economics Desk.
As such, he had daily access to over two million
subscribers. With pass-along readership, his total
possible daily audience was in excess of three million.
Griffin was an eager, energetic young man.
Responsible and serious, he had accepted the invitation
of Robert Wirtham to join Yankee Echo after a series of
meetings with the former Laws Professor, and was
considered one of its brightest young writers.
His interview, although documenting the
Cabinet-level Executive’s attitude on the President’s
proposed trade program with Cuba, also demonstrated
an attitude that neither Courtney nor Wirtham wanted
publicized.
The sudden death of Fidel Castro had left the
door open for democracy in the Latin American nation.
While democratic elections had taken place, the Cuban
economy was still in shambles.
Juan Ramos Santiago, the island nation’s
newly-elected President, had asked U.S. President
Randall Benson for help in rebuilding his country’s
economic system. Benson agreed to assist providing the
U.S. was given authority to help keep Cuba democratic.
He was given his assurance by Santiago, a proven
democratic idealist.
Patrick McKenzie III, Chairman of McKenzie
Industries, one of the world’s largest manufacturers,
and privately held, had, at the President’s request
pledged his support for the Cuban reform plan.
18
Both Benson, and his Director of The Central
Intelligence Agency were well aware of the support
McKenzie could bring to the program through the use of
the clandestine organization the man had founded.
Instructions had been delivered in February to
McKenzie’s Yankee Echo network to prepare for possible
positive press initiatives on the Cuban economic reform
plan, but because public support was already in
Benson’s favor, only a stand by alert had been issued.
Tom Griffin had personally interviewed
Commerce Secretary George Tollman. With regard the
Cuban situation, he’d come away from the interview
expressing the Secretary’s mixed feelings
The story mentioned such companies as
Caterpillar in Peoria, Dana in Toledo, Cummins in
Columbus, Indiana, and Borg-Warner in Chicago.
In each case, the Secretary had relayed to
Griffin that the development of Cuban assets by these
companies could be counter productive to United States
interests.
“Shouldn’t we employ our own people to
manufacture products for foreign markets before we
employ an unskilled foreign work force in Cuba with
American Assets,” the Secretary had been quoted.
In addition, Tollman believed that past Russian
interests in Cuba could remain a hidden priority, and, if
the new democracy failed, the seizure of American
assets as some point in the future was a distinct
possibility.
Courtney had noted the young writer closed his article
with an open-ended statement.
“It may, or may not be in the best interest of
American industry to support the restructuring of
Cuba’s economy. The Secretary of Commerce will have
his work cut out for him over the next few months as it
appears he is the authority to decide the scope of U.S.
business involvement in our for-now democratic
neighbor ninety miles off our Southern coast.”
19
“This guy’s amazing.” He was folding the
newspaper as she was turning off the Mass. Pike
heading south on Waverly toward his apartment.
“Who?’
“Guy who wrote an article on Cuban economic
reform.”
“Why’s he so amazing?”
“He got himself an exclusive interview with the
United States Secretary of Commerce.”
“What’s so amazing about that?”
“He’s a staff writer. An interview at that level
is usually handled by a Managing Editor. He’s also one
of our writers.”
“Maybe he’s very aggressive.”
“Maybe he’s got some friends.”
They’d arrived at his apartment complex.
He had two locks on his door - a dead bolt and a
keyed door handle. There appeared to no evidence of
tampering with either.
The apartment itself had the same cluttered
appearance it always had. Books were everywhere in
what seemed to be a haphazard, but was actually a
highly-structured disarray. Shirts and sweaters were
draped over a couch and two chairs. The front hall
closet was open revealing a winter jacket on the floor.
“Michael, you’d never be able to tell if someone
broke in - your apartment is always a mess.
“I don’t think anyone’s been in here, it doesn’t
look like anything’s been touched.”
“How can you tell?”
The question drifted away.
“Kay - do you want to try your father while I
pack?”
The switchboard operator at the Grand
Bahamian allowed the four telephones in its Caribbean
Presidential Suite to ring ten times before returning to
her caller.
20
“I’m sorry ma’am, but it appears that mister
McKenzie is not in his suite at this time.”
Kay looked at her watch, it was ten past
midnight. Releasing a sigh, she bought some time -
thinking.
“Operator, please leave a message for him? Tell
him Kathleen called, and that she, Michael and young
Edward are fine, and we’ll see him soon.”
“Certainly, I’ll leave it in his mail box.”
Replacing the receiver, she noticed he’d entered
the room with his suitcases, slightly smiling.
“Young Edward?”
“Yeah, it’s a little thing he and I worked out.”
She studied the intensity in his eyes.
“Do you think he’s alright?”
He gave her a questioning look.
“Of course he is - let’s get to the Capitol.”
She was asleep before they passed the last
Rhode Island exit heading South on I-95.
Since the day Robert Wirtham had asked him
to come to work for the organization, he’d always been
aware this day would come; when Yankee Echo