Road Kill Part 32

This story will definitely become a book once it’s complete. I’m just not sure if it will stay in this first person narrative, or if I will rework it to be a 2nd novel in the Brad Rafferty series (the first being Blood Orange). If you have thoughts on this, please let me know.

In the meantime, here is the conclusion of this story, I hope you’ve enjoyed it. There will be another one coming that I have been cooking up for a while. It will be a totally different kind of story, but I think my blog is a good place to test out different types of writing.

Please enjoy this last installment of Road Kill. If you want to catch up on previous parts of the story, there are links at the end of this post.

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Road Kill Part 32 – The Big Match

We now knew that the attack was going to involve explosives. We also suspected some type of radiation or radioactive material based on the profiles of the prisoners selected from GTMO.

Now, the day of the soccer match between the United States and Israel had arrived. The preliminary matches had gone without incident. In fact, Jones and I enjoyed watching the match between Saudi Arabia and Israel. If only governments could be run by athletes instead of politicians, there might be more cooperation. There was nothing but respect between the two teams and they actually exchanged gifts before the match.

It was now an hour before the match between the United States and Israel. This match was seen as the crowning achievement of the event and was meant to solidify the bond between these long-time allies.

“We have the secretary in visual range,” Bailey said as the time before the match dwindled down to 15 minutes.

Secretary Martin made her way to the executive box at the center of the field. Her top aides and, surprisingly, Donovan, were by her side. There was a bank of microphones there and she prepared to make a speech.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the Secretary of State of the United States of America”, came the announcement over the public address system.

The crowd that had been so enthusiastic leading up to the match was somewhat lukewarm in their response to the introduction.

“Thank you,” she began. “I’m honored to be here on this historic day. A day that marks what can be achieved when nations put aside their conflicting ideologies and differences and compete with a spirit of sportsmanship and fellowship.”

Again, there was a modicum of applause at her words.

“I hope this is a beginning of what we can achieve when we work together and seek to highlight our similarities and minimize our differences. We can then move forward with global peace, understanding and respect. Now, let us go forth and enjoy this final match between the great nations of Israel and the United States.”

Again, there was polite applause.

The announcer then asked everyone to stand for the Israeli national anthem and, when it was complete, asked the crowd to remain standing for the Star Spangled Banner.

The crowd cheered loudly when the anthems were complete and the teams took the field for the match. The teams were evenly matched and both would be hoping to qualify for the more advanced rounds of the next World Cup.

As the first period neared its end, the score was tied at one apiece. From the video, I could see the Secretary preparing to leave her box and, presumably, the stadium so that her plan could progress. The stadium was filled to capacity and, based on the amount of explosive power that was estimated to be present, there would be massive casualties.

With the Secretary on the move, Rafferty and his team were notified that it was time to make their move. He had dispersed the team in the crowd as well as throughout the stadium. They were arranged so that they could get to the secretary before she had a chance to leave the stadium.

As she made her way through the stadium corridors toward the exit near which her motorcade was parked, we could see Rafferty’s team slowly encircling her entourage.

When they were almost to the stadium exit, six of Rafferty’s team member stood in front of the Secretary’s group blocking the way. This caused her detail, including Donovan, to reflexively surround her and prepare to draw their weapons.

Just as this happened, I nodded to Jones, who flipped a switch on the audio/video console.

“What is going on? Who are you people and why are you blocking the way?” the Secretary asked.

Just then, Brad Rafferty stepped in front of his team.

“Leaving so soon, Madam Secretary? Don’t you want to see how this ‘historic’ match ends?” Rafferty asked.

The Secretary turned to Donovan.

“Who is this man? Is this the threat you were talking about?”

Donovan glanced at Rafferty and then at the camera that he knew was picking up the entire event.

“He is Commander Brad Rafferty. He is with the U.S. Navy. And, yes, he is part of the threat I told you about.”

Donovan paused for dramatic effect.

“And, Madam Secretary, so am I.”

Donovan moved away from the Secretary and joined Rafferty.

“What is this all about?” the Secretary asked, trying to retain her composure.

“It’s about Project OSCAR,” Rafferty answered.

There was a slight tremor that crossed the Secretary’s face.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. What is Project OSCAR?”

“I think you do know what it’s about and I also think we’re going to stay here until you acknowledge it, or would you rather be part of it?”

Secretary Martin’s demeanor changed as realization crept across her face. The explosion that would cause the stadium to be severely damaged injuring scores of fans was about to occur in about 10 minutes. She had hoped to be far away from the site by then.

“I think you need to halt the operation unless you want to be at the bottom of the pile of rubble,” Donovan added. Then to Rafferty, “There are explosives placed at strategic structural junctions throughout the stadium. Once they go off, the place will collapse as if it has been demolished. The explosion will also unleash radioactive contamination which will make those not killed by the devastation, become fatally ill later on.”

“Donovan, how could you?” Secretary Martin screeched realizing that she had just been betrayed.

“Madam Secretary, you need to call this off now,” Rafferty began again. “If not, we will all die here and you won’t be able to reap the benefits of your plot.”

The Secretary’s entourage began to divide into groups that knew of her plot, and those that didn’t. Finally, a smug look reemerged on her face.

“Fine, I can call it off, but you will never be able to prove that I was behind any of this. The American public will never believe that someone in their own government would be behind this. You’ll be laughed at as conspiracy nuts and it will be my word against yours.”

“Maybe not,” Rafferty said as he glanced at the camera above.

“Fine, I’m on surveillance. I will have all of the recordings confiscated and there will be no record of this. You’re finished Rafferty and so are you Donovan. I’ll see to it.”

“Madam Secretary, you can destroy the local recordings, but we did a little bit of modification on the surveillance system. At this moment, this whole event is being broadcast as a live stream on the Internet. It’s on every social media outlet and will probably be viral within the hour. You just damned yourself,” Rafferty said.

What he said was true. Jones had set up a live stream and had linked it to several media outlets. News outlets were picking it up as well and millions around the world had viewed it either live, or immediately afterward. There would be no recovery for Secretary Martin from this occurrence.

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Two Months Later

For the first time in history, a high-ranking U.S. official was being tried for treason. Secretary Martin, and some of her close advisers that had been involved in Project OSCAR were made to testify in front of Congress and the entire world on live television. The evidence against her, courtesy of my team, was staggering. We were able to supply a solid trail of correspondence, funds transfers, video and audio that gave the government an iron-clad case against her.

While Rafferty and his team were confronting the Secretary, secondary members of the team were rounding up the GTMO prisoners and other rogue operatives that were helping her. We had been able to identify most of them from stadium surveillance footage via facial recognition software. The attack was neutralized before it could proceed. Even if she hadn’t given the order to suspend the attack, it would not have taken place because of the precision opeation that Rafferty’s team carried out.

As for the team, from Admiral Baker, down to the low-level technicians, we were all secretly congratulated. It was decided that public recognition would not be appropriate as we essentially broke several laws on our way to trapping the Secretary.

The President, however, met with the team and congratulated us unofficially. He also made a private plea to Cliff Jones asking him to come and work for the government. He refused saying something about not being able to afford the pay cut and not wanting to conform to the dress code.

The Secretary, Ben Simpson and all of those that were in on her plot would likely disappear in federal prison for quite some time. They would be used as an example to future ambitious government officials. The fallout from this case would fuel conspiracy nuts for decades to come.

As for me, well, I wouldn’t have been involved in any of this if I hadn’t sat in the wrong seat all those months earlier. I was an accidental hero which, in hindsight, was much better than being a dead coward who sat in the right seat.

I was completely happy to go back and work for Donovan. My faith in him and in his mission in The Mother Ship was completely restored. When I did return for work, I was happy to find out that I was moved into my own office and given a promotion. The promotion would allow me to discontinue traveling. This was a relief to me.

Reporting for work after a generous vacation, I walked to my new office against the north wall of the complex and was proud to see my nameplate next to the door that read Alexander Baldwin, Senior Analyst.

The End

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Read the earlier parts and get caught up:

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23, Part 24, Part 25, Part 26, Part 27,  Part 28, Part 29,Part 30, Part 31