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

clearly demonstrated, his disregard
for tradition lacked malice, and became only a matter of
his own self esteem.
It worked. While they had control of the arena,
he’d seized the moment. 397
The President accepted his hand and made the
introductions.
“Randall Benson, Michael - and this is the
Director of The Central Intelligence Agency, Scott
Orefice.”
Another greeting, this one without
communication.
Courtney turned and walked over to join Kay
on the love seat. Benson and Orefice sat. Eisenberg
returned to his chair.
To someone watching this event, it would have
looked like they’d just tossed a coin at the beginning of
a football game, and everyone was waiting for someone
to handle the kickoff.
That job was Wirtham’s. Without getting up,
he addressed his former student who was sitting close
enough to Kay to hear her breathing.
“Michael, you must be wondering why the
President and The CIA Director are with us today.”
It was a worthy statement, and intended to put
him on defense. But he’d been well taught by this man
and he looked at him as if the question would be selffulfilling.
Wirtham waited momentarily for a response -
none came.
The non-action hadn’t caused a shift.
Pushing himself off the couch, and moving to
the center of the room, the former University Professor
decided to make the case rather than spar with his
former student.
This was a wise decision, and totally
appropriate for the use of Law Five.
Courtney was back on defense.
Wirtham, once an alley, was now an adversary.
He had both the floor, and the offense.
398
“Yankee Echo was exactly what you always
thought it was, Michael. It was just larger than you
knew, and had a broader base than you’d been led to
believe. There was no point in telling you everything,
because to do your job, you only needed a certain
amount of information. We weren’t really trying to hide
anything. We were only interested in protecting the
organization, and for that matter, you.”
He gestured toward the President.
Mister Benson isn’t the only President who’s
used the power of the media through the organization
to help the American public understand complex issues.
The immediate past two presidents both received
generous support from Yankee Echo.”
He moved two steps toward his former student.
In a knee-jerk reaction, Courtney shifted himself on the
love seat. His professor didn’t lose sight of the fact.
“In closing out the breach, you and Andy have
done all of us a great favor, Michael. We owe you a debt
of gratitude, but we’ve come to understand that both of
you are no longer interested in employment with us.
I’m not sure I could change your minds, but I know
you’re aware this creates a situation on our part that
needs to be justified and resolved. If you are indeed
leaving, we need to close out a TOA XIA Master, and a
Director of Security, and find others. It won’t be easy
replacing either of you.”
Turning away, he continued.
“In addition to being a Presidential resource,
Michael, the organization has a responsibility to fifty
corporations, including, of course, McKenzie Industries.
These companies employ millions of people, and most
are publicly owned by millions more. Many of them are
tied to the nation’s defense industries, so we can’t let
the capabilities of these companies become
compromised.”
He gestured toward Orefice.
Courtney shifted again. It was noticed again.
399
“And then there’s the CIA. I don’t know how
much you know about that organization, and how it
gets funded, but I can tell you that every year it is
terribly under-funded by The Congress. The companies
in Yankee Echo make up that funding, and that enables
us and the CIA to be able to protect the interests of the
entire U.S. economy. Right now the Cuban initiative is
in the hands of our writers. The positive ‘write’ we
worked on will be in the Press next week. Soon,
McKenzie Industries, and dozens of other U.S.
businesses will be investing in the Western
Hemisphere’s newest democracy. We intend to have the
advantage economically into all of Latin America, and
finally South America. These things are planned,
Michael, because they’re too big and too important to
lose to other countries - and Yankee Echo is a very large
component of making all this happen. In modern times,
the tools of the past no longer allow us to keep pace
with a changing world. So we create and use new tools.
That’s all Yankee Echo is, Michael - it’s a tool - an
instrument we need to keep America safe and
prosperous. You were in agreement with all of this a
few weeks ago. You drew paychecks for ten years while
you were acknowledging what Yankee Echo was all
about. You know we need to use The Laws to control
many of the complex…”
She couldn’t believe it.
He was on his feet.
‘What the hell is Michael doing?’.
Courtney walked right past Wirtham and was
standing in front of the President.
“Tell me about George Tollman, Mister
President. Tell me why he was going to Tokyo as a
corpse. ”
He addressed the CIA Director.
“Tell me about Cuba, Mister Orefice. You must
have known where Pat was all along. Why didn’t you
send in your people to get him?”
400
He faced Eisenberg and pointed at Kay.
“Tell me why she was allowed to be put at risk
during a breach. I don’t get the logic of that, David.”
He didn’t get any answers - just a comment
from Wirtham.
“Michael -calm down…”
Courtney was moving around the room -
deliberately.
He picked up where Wirtham had left off.
“Calm down? OK, you brought up control - let’s
discuss it, Professor. You know that most of the general
public doesn’t understand the theory and logic behind
philosophical concepts, and their application to human
realities. Some people have read all the books, but they
still don’t have a clue how to apply it in everyday living.
We should be teaching these principles to kids at all
grade levels in every school in this country. Kids -
people, need heroes like Socrates, Plato, and Einstein.
All three of them were teachers. They gave their
knowledge away freely. But we don’t do this. We keep
it to ourselves to control, to translate complex events for
people so they can think like we do. Sure we make
things happen, but they might have happened that way
anyway. And so what if they don’t? How long do we
keep up? How much longer before Yankee Echo
becomes a cesspool? Metaphysics is as dangerous as it
is wonderful. You’re the one who told me Adolph Hitler
was a Master Metaphysician. He didn’t need any
plaque on the wall to tell himself that. And there’s a
few dozen million people missing who became testimony
to that fact.
Courtney looked at Benson.
“I’m sure you remember Senator Joe McCarthy,
Mister President. He did a bang up job all by himself
with the use of the media. It was like a Piranha feeding
frenzy if I remember my history right. Edward R.
Murrow finally got the message and took him down.
401
McCarthy died at forty-eight because he rotted from the
inside out. You’re going to see the same thing
happen to this organization if it isn’t shut down.”
Returning to be beside Kay, he sat on the edge
of the love seat, and reached backward for her hand.
His voice was calm.
“Law Eleven, Professor - good to evil.”
Wirtham had retreated, and was sitting beside
Pat McKenzie. The agenda for this meeting was out of
control. That worked in Courtney’s favor. The power in
the meeting, however, was still unbalanced - and they
had it.
The President stood - this caught everyone’s
undivided attentio
Randall Benson hadn’t gotten to be where he
was by being unaware of how to be in control.
He’d seen situations like this develop hundreds
of times in back rooms, at political meetings, and in
conventions. He knew by weight of authority he could
gain control at any moment.
He felt a kinship with Courtney. This man had
guts and principles.
In his own disregard for protocol, rather than
have someone else answer Courtney’s questions,
thereby distancing himself from responsibility, he gave
the man what he thought he was due. His motive was
self-serving. He wanted this man and his partner
working for him.
Approaching Michael and Kay on the love seat,
he moved slowly back and forth in front of them.
“You have questions you need answered,
Michael. I don’t blame you for asking them. You feel
like you’ve been lied to and cheated, and in some
respects you have been. I want you to listen to me
carefully. You’re going to get some answers, but they
won’t be complete, and for now you’re going to have to
be satisfied with that. You’re also going to be given an
opportunity - and I hope you take advantage of it.”
402
A sweep of Benson’s arm was meant to indicate
everyone in the room.
“We all have jobs and responsibilities, and
there’s plenty of times when all of us don’t like what we
have to do. I understand your feelings about Yankee
Echo, and as far as I’m concerned, you can leave the
organization as long as you have no intention of doing it
any harm. If you really feel like it’s going to selfdestruct,
as you’ve indicated, then you won’t have to do
anything anyway. But over the last ten years, you’ve
evidenced by your job performance, that you enjoy
working in these types of arenas. I’m going to play a
hunch and say that’s true, and I’m going to go even
further and offer both you and Mister St. Croix an
opportunity to work for me in the White House…I’ll get
back to that in just a minute.
Courtney looked at Kay - there was some
evidence of acceptance in his eyes.
Benson continued.
“You want to know what George Tollman was
doing going to Tokyo in his condition. He was part of a
Presidential Directive carried out by the CIA that
involved U.S. economic security…and also something
that occurred during World War II - which has now
been taken care of…and that’s as much as you’re going
to get on that subject. With what I just gave you, I’m
sure if you did enough research, you’d come up with the
answer. What good it would do you, I don’t know.”
The President’s voice raised slightly.
“Why didn’t the CIA go into Cuba and get
Mister McKenzie? If you and Mister St. Croix had
failed, they would have gone in for him, and also the
two of you. It wasn’t just about a rescue operation,
don’t forget. There was a breach to close, and you had
more answers to that than anyone. You solved a lot of
mysteries over the last few days - you should be very
proud of yourself.”
403
Indicating Kay, he resumed his set of answers.
“Why was Kathleen McKenzie put at risk
during the breach? It was because she knew everything
about the organization. That was a decision made by
her father, and accepted by her. I don’t have any other
answers to that question other than you’ll probably
come to understand it better when, and it, you have
children of your own..…stand up, Michael.
It was an order.
Courtney immediately complied.
They stood face to face.
“I want you to come to work for me. Forget
about Yankee Echo. There’s nothing you can do about
it. In the White House, you and Andy St. Croix would
be working as Special Advisors to the President, and be
reporting directly to me. You’ll have clearance with
every arm of the Government to do your jobs.
Specifically, you’ll be adopting the Laws you know so
well to all kinds of interests - military