A Year to Forget (The Accidental Time Travellers Book 2) (30 page)

The man sitting at the desk turned to face them.

“Thank you Raul, that will be all.”  The Cuban man turned on his heels and left the three men in privacy.

“Nice to see you Donald.”  The man that spoke had slicked back black hair and the beginnings of a beard, but what stood out most was his cold dead eyes.

“And you Jacob.”

Will stared at Jacob, he felt like he could beat him in a fight.  Will was at least seven inches taller and was much broader.

“Who is this?”  Jacob asked, pointing at Will.

“Sidney suggested I bring his friend, he’s a bodyguard.”

“You have a name?”  Jacob asked.

“Bill Buchanan.”  Will replied calmly.

“Was that Will Buchanan?”  Jacob asked, as though on the verge of laughter.

Will’s heart rate increased.  “No it’s Bill.”

“Okay Bill.  Donald you are only to hypnotise one of the guests.  Bill perhaps you should wait in the other room whilst we discuss this.”

Chapter 73

David walked into the Oval Office before stopping dead in his tracks.  Bobby Kennedy looked up at him in surprise.  The man in the other seat turned to face David, he was dressed in a charcoal suit, a white shirt and a red tie.  The man was Martin Luther King.

“I’m so sorry, I’m early for the meeting.”

Bobby Kennedy looked down at his watch.  “Only a little, don’t worry about it.  David Lewis meet Martin Luther King.  King rose from his chair and shook David’s hand.

“It’s lovely to finally meet you David, I’ve heard a lot about you.”  King said.

“You have?”  David asked in surprise.

“Well the President has told me how important you were, after the tragedy in Dallas.”

“Oh well likewise, you’re an inspirational man.”

“That’s very kind of you to say David, but it is the message that is important.”

“Take a seat David.”  Kennedy offered.

“Are you sure?” 

“Yes, of course.”

Both Martin Luther King and David took their seats.  David had never felt more uncomfortable in his entire life.  The thought of killing a man like Martin Luther King was awful enough, but now he had met him it would be even worse.

“So where were we?”  Kennedy asked.

“Well Mr President, as I was saying people are beginning to lose faith in peaceful protests.  I am doing all I can but since the Civil Rights Bill it’s no longer about ending segregation, but achieving equality.  The black people are desperate Mr President, we need to end inequality in housing.”

“You know I want nothing more than to do that, but getting the law through Congress is difficult, not everyone is as forward thinking as we are.”

“We cannot stop until equality has been achieved.  Nothing in life should be determined by the colour of a person’s skin, the only factor that should be considered is a person’s character.”

“I couldn’t agree more, you know that.”

“Yes I do, but actions are what count, not words.  Your family has been a breath of fresh air here in Washington, and I don’t doubt for a minute that if Richard Nixon had got into the White House he would not be anywhere near as forward thinking as you or your brother.  But since the Civil Rights Bill we have not progressed.”

“I’m doing all I can.” 

“I am just warning you that my influence has been waning in recent years.  More and more people are reverting to other Civil Rights leaders, that do not believe in peaceful protest.  The rise of the Black Panthers and Black Power groups has come about as a consequence of this inequality.  Black people and White people are clashing in the street on a daily basis, and things are getting worse with each passing day Mr President.”

David had remained silent throughout this exchange, he felt so uncomfortable sitting next to the man he was going to kill.

“You know you have my support and that will not stop.  I will make the Housing Bill my top priority.”

“I appreciate that Mr President and I do believe that you are a man of your word.  You have demonstrated time and again that that is the case.  But for many people the time for talking about the Dream is over, they want to be in the Promised Land, and I’m afraid many of them don’t believe that can be achieved by nonviolent methods.  If we can make progress peacefully, then we can win the people back around.”

Kennedy smiled.  “We will make progress.  I will be in touch.”

Martin Luther King rose from his seat and shook hands with the President and then David, he was then led out of the room by the President.

Once he had left, Kennedy turned his attention to David.

“How are you doing David?”

“I’m okay sir.”

“Are you ready for this?”

“Yes.”  David replied, a little confused by the question.

Kennedy sighed.  “You need to be on your game David.  I know that you are disappointed about the closure of the department, but you need to know that I trust you.  You are my eyes and ears throughout this process.”

David’s guilt had now returned.  “I will do whatever I can.”

“Good.  The meeting today is in the Fish Room.  In attendance will be Abaddon, Howard, Wernher, Marty and Clint.”

“Clint will be in the meetings?”  David asked in surprise.

“I told you David, I need people that I can trust.  I won’t be able to attend every meeting, the others have their own agendas.  You and Clint are looking after my interests.”

“What about Abaddon?”  David asked, a little taken aback.

“I trust him, don’t get me wrong but I have noticed recently that we do not see eye to eye on some key issues.”

Kennedy glanced at his watch.  “We better get along there.”

Kennedy led the way, with David hot on his heels, when they reached the Fish Room the others were already in their seats.  Kennedy took his seat at the top of the table, Clint was on his left hand side, beside Abaddon.  On the other side of the table were Howard, Wernher and then Marty.  David took the seat beside Abaddon.

“Sorry we are a little late, I was in another meeting.  So as you are all aware the key issue today is the Space Race.”  Kennedy began.  “I have been informed that the Russian defector has told us, that we are far behind the Soviet’s in terms of preparations for landing on the Moon.  Wernher would you like to explain the situation?”

Wernher looked quite uncomfortable with the task, David wondered if he too was in Abaddon’s pocket.  “Mr President we are in no position to land on the Moon this year.  I am aware that our target had been to land a man on the Moon by the end of this year, but it is simply unfeasible.  The disasters on Apollo 1 and more recently Apollo 8 have certainly damaged the program.  If the Soviet’s are ready land a man on the Moon, then we are in no position to rival that effort.”

Kennedy shook his head in disappointment.  “I don’t understand, what is it that they are doing that we are not?”  

The question was met with nothing but silence.

“They have had accidents as well, why hasn’t it held them up?”  Kennedy asked.

Again no one dared to respond.

“So that’s it, no one has any answers?”  Kennedy asked, clearly becoming irritated.

“Sir I believe that the US Air force can sufficiently solve this problem.”  Marty interjected.

Kennedy looked a little confused.  “Okay General, please enlighten us.”

“If we can’t land on the Moon, then why let the Soviets do it?”

“How do you intend to stop them?”  Kennedy asked.

“We take the Moon out of the equation.”  Marty replied.

“How do we do that?”

“We nuke the Moon.”  Marty announced, obviously pleased with himself.

The room was silent, every jaw had dropped.

“Are you out of your mind?”  Wernher eventually said.

“Excuse me?”  Marty asked aggressively.

“We cannot blow up the Moon.  Do you have any idea what would happen if we did that?”

“Well the Soviets sure as shit couldn’t land on it.”

“Pieces of the Moon would enter the Earth’s atmosphere, wiping cities and countries off the map.  The asteroids that the Moon protects us from would hit us.  There would be no life left in the oceans.  We would spin off course and the seasons would go into turmoil.  We would essentially be wiser nuking ourselves!”  Wernher yelled.

David could not believe that he had just witnessed the head of the military suggesting such a ludicrous solution.  He could not help but shake his head, he almost wanted to laugh.

“I must say General that idea is absolute insanity.”  Kennedy stated, obviously shocked.

“I believe the solution that I proposed previously will bring us the best hope of success.”  Howard interjected.

“Having given it some thought, it does seem to be a good possibility.  Would you like to explain the idea to the room?”

“Well I have extensive knowledge in the field of filmmaking, I am also a good friend of Stanley Kubrick, who directed 2001: A Space Odyssey.  I believe that we would be able to produce film footage of a fake Moon landing.  We have Apollo 11 launching in July, which gives us around four months to arrange the set, find astronauts that are suitable for the role, and eventually shoot the film.  I suggest that we launch Apollo 11 as planned, and once we have released the footage it will come back to Earth.”

“I do not believe that is a wise move.”  Wernher disagreed. 

“Why?”  Kennedy asked.

“If we proceed with this idea then it will damage the progress that we are making at NASA.  How many people will be involved?  Are we planning to lie to NASA employees?”

Howard nodded.  “It is the only way, we cannot tell everyone at NASA or this will get out.  I would suggest that only Wernher and perhaps Sergei are involved.”

“Not Sergei, I don’t trust a Soviet defector to keep quiet.  It will get back to the Russians.”  Kennedy stated.

“So it will be myself, Abaddon, Stanley and Wernher.”  Hughes said with a smile.

“David and Clint will also be involved every step of the way.”  Kennedy advised.

“Why?  What do they bring to the table?”  Marty interjected.

“They will represent me and they will report back on all developments.  I do not want anyone else involved, or even to be made aware of the plan, it is of paramount importance that this does not get out.”  Kennedy replied.

“So is that it decided?”  Abaddon asked.

“Yes that is my decision.”  Kennedy declared.

Chapter 74

Clyde Tolson took his seat in Bobby’s office with a grimace.  It was evident that he did not care for his new boss.  Bobby was furious with the way the FBI was being run, and he knew that he needed to make his mark on the Bureau.  He took a pull on his cigarette and fiddled with the tip of his cane.

“Tell me Clyde. how is the investigation into Hoover going?”

Clyde was visibly pained by the name.  “Well we are not any further forward.  We have interviewed neighbours and we have found prints.  It seems that whoever it was hid in the cupboard in the spare bedroom, he could well have been there whilst you were.”

“What about an ID on the prints?”

“There are no matches, no signs of a forced entry or exit.”

“How are things with Sarah Salmond?”

Clyde sighed.  “She is being looked after as you requested.”

“That’s good.  What is COINTELPRO?”

Clyde seemed surprised.  “I don’t know what you mean?”

“Yes you do Clyde.  Those filing cabinets behind you, and those boxes on the floor, are filled with COINTELPRO files.  What is the point of COINTELPRO?”

“It is not my department.”  Clyde stated.

“Well who’s department is it?”

“William Sullivan’s.”

“Is he in this office?”

“Yes.”  Clyde admitted begrudgingly.

“Get him in here and leave us.”

Clyde just stared at Bobby.

“Now Clyde!”

The old man got out of his chair and left the room.

Bobby took a deep pull on his cigarette.  After a few minutes a man he assumed to be William Sullivan entered the room.  He was well dressed in a black suit, white shirt and navy tie.  He was in his late fifties and had brown hair.

“Take a seat Agent Sullivan.”  Bobby said politely.

Sullivan did as he was told and sat across from Bobby.

“Well firstly as you may be aware, I am the new Director of the FBI.  My name is Bobby Stinson.”

“It is a pleasure to finally meet you Mr Stinson.”  William said with a smile.

“Likewise William.  Now I have been looking through the files we have in this office and I am curious as to what COINTELPRO is, Clyde told me that you are in charge of that?”

“Yes sir, I am head of intelligence operations.”

“Tell me about COINTELPRO, what is it?”

“Well it stands for counter intelligence program.  Essentially it is a program used for surveillance and disruption purposes.”

“I see, how do you decide who you are focussing your attention on?”

“We only monitor those people or groups that could be threats.”

“Why did you monitor my previous department?”

William seemed a little shocked.  “How did you know that?”

“I have all of the files William.  Hoover is dead, it is a new era, so just tell me what you know.”

“Yes sir.  Well it was Hoover that wanted us to monitor you.  We started watching you in the fifties, over the years we began to watch your friends and colleagues.”

“Why me?”

“You had ties to the mob.”

“Okay, but why did you monitor us after Dallas?”

“Under Hoover’s orders, he didn’t trust you.”

Bobby shook his head, Hoover hadn’t changed a bit.  “So you have bugs in my home?”

“Not any more sir.”

“When did it end?”

“Towards the end of last year.  The Vice President was threatening us, so we took the bugs from the Kennedy’s, from your department and from the Vice President’s homes and offices.”

“But you continued with other targets?”

“Yes, we only took them out of locations where the Vice President may discover them.”

“So who are you monitoring just now?”

William almost laughed.  “A lot of people.”

“Which groups?”

“Communists, Black Panthers, Nation of Islam.  The list goes on and on really sir.  It is just any organisation that we believe could be a threat.”

“So why are you monitoring Martin Luther King?  He is nonviolent and seeks equality.”

“He is a communist sir, he is a threat to the American way of life.”

“I want the bugs in his premises removed.”

William looked stunned.  “Yes sir.”

“Now with regards to the Black Panthers, I understand that they may be threatening.”

“They are most certainly threatening.  In Oakland last year they deliberately set about provoking the police into a shootout.  One Black Panther named Bobby Hutton was killed as a result, and they used it to incite other members to rally around the cause.”

“So who is the main cause for concern?”

“They are all a cause for concern.  We have agents that have infiltrated the party, but they are beginning to get suspicious about us monitoring them.  They had a purge of members earlier this year to get rid of any informers, but we still have a few in there.  There was a shootout in Los Angeles in January.  We have people monitoring Fred Hampton, he is the head of the party in Illinois and he is Deputy Chairman of the National Black Panther Party.”

“What’s so bad about him?”

“Last year he tried to merge the party with a street gang with thousands of members.  He is a serious threat.  We have a man undercover in Chicago, William O’Neill.  He has told us that Fred Hampton has a huge stockpile of weapons.  We need to take him out.”

“Take him out?”  Bobby asked stunned.  “We are law enforcement, we do not take people out.”

“These niggers cannot be allowed to preach their racist teachings sir.”

“Let’s get one thing straight, we do not say that word!”  Bobby yelled.

William looked baffled.  “What word?”

“How can you call them racist, when you use words like that?”

“That’s what they’re called.” 

“No from now on you call them black people.”

William looked to be on the verge of laughter.

“I’m not joking.”

“Everyone says it.”

“Well they shouldn’t, you can tell the other agents that if I hear that word, I will see it as a valid reason to fire them.”

“What?”

“You heard, I will not run a racist organisation.”

William was scarlet.  “Sorry sir.  But as I said we must take out Fred Hampton.”

“We do not take people out.”

“Sir it is in the people’s best interest, just like Malcolm X.”

“The FBI killed Malcolm X?”  Bobby asked stunned.

“Yes sir.”

“Well no more.  We do not kill people unless we absolutely have to.”

“We have to kill Fred Hampton.”

“No, when I said have to, I meant in self defence.”

William didn’t respond.

“Keep me updated on Hampton.”  Bobby instructed.

William rose from his chair and walked out of the office, his irritation was perfectly obvious.

Bobby lit another cigarette and took a long deep pull.  He hated this place, these men are supposed to be the best of the best.  The whole organisation is corrupt.  He lifted the receiver of the telephone and called Meyer Lansky.

“Meyer, it’s Bobby Stinson.”

“To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Have you found out anymore about Jacob?”

“As a matter of fact I have.  It seems one of your agents has joined him.”

“David?”  Bobby asked horrified.

“Will Carter.”

“Will has joined him?”

“So I am informed, he flew to Havana last night.”

“Do you know anything about Faraday or Chase?”

“Why?  Don’t you?”

“They haven’t checked in once.”

“Well that certainly is not a good sign.  Jacob Cohen is a tough son of a bitch.”

“Do you have anyone in Havana?”  Bobby asked in desperation.

“I have a few friends.”

“Would they help me?”

Meyer chuckled.  “Bobby you are the director of the FBI, my friends hate Castro, but they don’t like the FBI either.”

“I don’t like the FBI, I’m worried about my friends Meyer.”

“I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do.”

Bobby slammed down the receiver.

Chapter 75

Will had been standing in the larger room for what felt like hours.  In the time that he had been there the hoards of Cuban’s had left the building, they said they had to go and spread the message, whatever that meant.  Jacob had been speaking with the doctor for the majority of that time, Will had managed to overhear snippets of conversation, and he was sure he had heard Chase speaking at one point.

He was startled when the door opened suddenly and Jacob Cohen walked into the room.  He had changed his clothes and he was not dressed all in white.  He chuckled as he closed the door behind him.  He seemed surprised that Will was alone in the room.

“Where is everyone Will?”  Jacob asked with a smirk.

“It’s Bill.”  Will replied, he was not as scared as he had been earlier.  One on one he knew he could take Jacob.

Jacob laughed.  “Oh that’s right, Bill Buchanan.”

“Yes.”

“Why are you here Bill?”

“I’m here to help.”  Will replied, not once breaking eye contact with Jacob.  His dead eyes gave the impression that he had no feelings, no warmth or compassion.  He had seen eyes like those in Auschwitz.

“I don’t trust you Bill.” 

“Why is that?”

“Because you are lying to me.  Your name is Will Carter, you work for Bobby Stinson.”

Will couldn’t stop his hand from shaking slightly.  “You are mistaken.”

Jacob suddenly looked furious.  “I have files on all of you!  It was you that arrested Mengele.  Did you really think I wouldn’t know who you are?”

Will didn’t know what to say.

“But I’m a little curious, why would you come here?”

“I want to help you.”

“Why would that be?”  Jacob asked.

“Bobby Stinson fired me.  I have no loyalty to him.”

“I thought you might say that.  I heard you murdered Mengele.”

“Who told you that?”

“I have friends Will.  But you don’t, the only friends you ever had all despise you.”  Jacob laughed again.

Will knew that he was right, he had no one now.  “I don’t need friends.”

“Oh no?”

“No, I can look after myself.”  He stepped towards Jacob, not breaking eye contact for a minute.

“Is that so?”  Jacob asked.

“Yes.”

Jacob stepped towards Will now, their faces only inches apart.  “Am I supposed to be worried?”

“I’ve offered you my help, if you don’t want it then that’s fine.  If you think you can hurt me, then you are wrong.”

Jacob burst into a fit of laughter.  Will didn’t know what to do, before he could react Jacob grabbed Will’s left wrist and twisted his arm behind his back, forcing Will to the floor.  He was sure his arm was about to be broken, he let out a whale of pain.  He tried to move but if he did the arm would snap for sure.

“Why are you here!”  Jacob yelled.

Will could only moan in pain, as Jacob twisted his arm further.

“Why are you here!”  He repeated.

“To help you!”  Will shouted through the pain.

Jacob laughed and let go of the arm, Will almost fell on to his front but managed to stay on his hands and knees, before receiving a hard kick to his face.