Special Talents (38 page)

It was just over a week before Christmas and Jeremy was at Susan and Bobby's house. Bobby's treatments were going very well and the doctors had a very good prognosis for his continued improvement. Bobby had become something of a mascot for the team. He was a reminder to them all of just how important their work was.

Jeremy sat in a chair going over the speech Moser had sent to the State Department. He had read it over dozens of times but was still unable to garner any more information from it. He commented several times that there was something he was missing but he couldn't quit put his finger on it.

"So what is it that has you stumped?" Janet asked as Bobby, Simon, Kamalene, and Wil decorated the tree. Mariah was in the kitchen with Susan preparing some snacks for their guests.

"It just seems odd he would use so many Christian references when he's supposed to be so devoutly Muslim," said Jeremy. "I know he was raised Catholic, but he apparently has forsaken all of his religious upbringing for his adopted faith."

"Maybe he's just using the references because people are more familiar with them," said Janet. "I have to admit I don't know nearly as much about the Muslim faith as maybe I should. If he had used Muslim references maybe it wouldn't have made the same impact."

"Maybe," said Jeremy. "But another thing is this reference to Julius Caesar. That's not a religious reference. It's a political one. Why use so many religious references and then use a political reference there? There are a number of Christian references he could have used that would have worked just as well. Why make a political reference instead of a religious one? And why Julius Caesar and not some other political figure from history that was assassinated?"

"What was that about Julius Caesar?" asked Susan as she and Mariah brought the trays of snacks into the living room.

"Oh, food, good," said Simon. "Great. I'm starved."

"You're always starved," said Kamalene. "Honestly, I don't see how you can eat so much and not weight 300 pounds."

"Good genes," jokes Simon, heading for the food tray.

"What were you saying about Julius Caesar?" Susan asked again.

"Oh, just something I'm working on," said Jeremy. "A speech of sorts. The speaker makes a number of religious references and then suddenly changes to a political one. I was just wondering why they would do that when there are several religious ones that would have worked just as well. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, it's just that Bobby and I are studying the Roman Empire," said Susan. "In fact, a couple of weeks ago we were actually studying Julius Caesar."

"It must be real rewarding to be able to teach him yourself," said Jeremy.

"Well, at least I know what he's learning. I might not get that if he had to go to a school. Still, sometimes I wish he had some children his own age around to play with. Even with you guys stopping by all the time, he can get pretty lonely."

"I suppose that's certainly true," said Jeremy. "Maybe we can see about taking him to visit some other children. Maybe some children in the hospital or something. That might help him and some other kids at the same time."

"I think he would love it," said Susan. "And I'm sure it would do a world of good to some child stuck in a hospital."

"I'll talk to some people," said Jeremy. "I do have a little influence in the medical community."

"I would appreciate it," said Susan. "In the mean time, if you need any help with Julius Caesar, just ask. I became something of an expert so I could teach Bobby. In fact, one of the things Bobby and I discussed was what Caesar would have said if he had been able to give his speech when he was assassinated. Bobby had some pretty good insight into that, I think."

"What did you say?" said Jeremy, suddenly becoming very serious.

"Bobby had some pretty good insight."

"No. Before that. About the speech Julius Caesar was going to give."

"I said we discussed what he might have said if he had been able to give his speech. But he was assassinated on his way to give the speech and never got the chance."

"Of course," said Jeremy. "Caesar was on his way to address a session of the Senate when he was assassinated. That was, I believe, the 15th of March, or the Ides of March, according to the Roman calendar. I'd forgotten that. It's been so long since I studied Roman history in college."

"Yes," said Susan. "In fact, that's where the phrase 'beware the Ides of March' comes from. Caesar was dictator of Rome and was murdered by a group of Senators, including Brutus, one of his best friends. They had hoped to restore the old constitutional government of the Republic. Instead it led to a series of civil wars that ultimately created the Roman Empire."

"I remember now. Rome was thrown into chaos and when it was over Caesar's adopted son, Octavius was in power. He took the name Augustus Caesar and was the undisputed dictator of Rome and the Roman Empire."

Jeremy thought for a moment.

"Rome was thrown into chaos," he repeated thoughtfully. "The entire infrastructure of the government crumbled. Anarchy was rampid. And Pandemonium reigned. When it was over, Octavius was hailed at the true ruler of Rome."

"Oh, that's very good," said Susan. "Mind if I steal that? I think Bobby would love it."

"Huh?" said Jeremy, barely hearing what she said. "Oh, no, go ahead. It's how one of my professors used to describe the Roman revolt. He also used to say something else. Excuse me, Susan. I need to make a phone call."

"Sure," said Susan, turning back to the food tray to make sure everyone had enough to eat.

"What are you thinking?" Janet asked as Jeremy pulled out his cell phone.

"I'm thinking we may not have been completely correct about Moser's plans," said Jeremy. "Or his target."

Jeremy dialed Scarborough's number hastily.

"Richard, this is Jeremy. Richard I need to see Secretary Napolitano immediately."

"Jeremy, it's nearly 9:00 at night. I can't just call up the Secretary and tell her we need to speak to her. Can't this wait until the morning?"

"No, Richard, it can't. It's about Moser's plan. I think we were wrong about it. I think I know what he's planning and I think I know when. She said if I came up with anything to let her know immediately. I know it's late but this is important. You have no idea how important. I need you to set up a meeting as soon as possible; tonight if possible."

"Okay, but I hope you know what you're doing. She's not going to be happy being disturbed this time of night."

"Can't be helped," said Jeremy. "Call me back when you've made the arrangements."

He hung up the phone.

"Boy, you got more balls than I do," said Simon. "Calling the Secretary of Homeland Security and telling her you need to see her at 9:00 at night? Talk about a professional powder keg."

"I think she'll understand and I think she'll probably agree I did the right thing," said Jeremy. "I'm sorry, Susan, but I may have to leave soon. There's some very important business I need to take care of."

"Oh, you don't need to explain," said Susan. "Bobby's in bed right now so it's not like you're running out on him or anything. Besides, I don't know exactly what you guys are doing but I do understand that it's very important. You just do whatever you have to do. I'll understand."

"That's very gracious of you," said Jeremy. "I wouldn't do it if it wasn't so important. I'll make it up to you and Bobby. I'll get him a very special gift for Christmas. By the way, do you plan to let him stay up late Christmas Eve? It is a special day."

"Yes. He gets to stay up until 10:00 on Christmas Eve. We have a tradition in our family. Everyone gets to open one present on Christmas Eve. I think it kind of takes the edge off for him not having to wait until Christmas morning to get any of his presents."

"Oh great," said Simon. "Now he's got to decide whose present he'll open first."

"Well," said Mariah, "we also have another tradition. All of our presents have the name of the person they're for on them. But they'll all from 'Santa'. That way no one knows for sure who gave what presents. When we were kids some of the family members could afford more expensive presents than others. This way no one has to be embarrassed if they gift wasn't as expensive or as nice as someone else's. They were all pretty much equal."

"Well, they say it's the thought that counts, not the cost of the present," said Conrad.

"That's true," said Jeremy. "But I think it's a great tradition. In fact, I think we should all do that this year. All presents will be from Santa no matter who they are for."

"I can go along with that," said Kamalene.

"Sounds good to me," said Wil. "I still haven't wrapped my anyway. So it should be easy."

"Wrapped?" questioned Frank. "I still have to get mine. Every year it's the same thing. I plan to get a head start on my Christmas shopping and every year I wait until the last minute. Jeremy, you're a psychiatrist. What does that say about me?"

"That you're a procrastinator," said Jeremy, smiling at Frank. "Just like millions of other people around the country. So don't feel bad. You're not alone."

Just then Jeremy's phone rang.

"Richard? Were you able to set up the meeting?"

"Secretary Napolitano said she'd be in her office in an hour," said Scarborough. "I hope you know what you're doing, Jeremy. She didn't seem very happy being disturbed this late at night."

"I think she'll understand. I'll meet you there. And Richard? Thanks."

"Just doing my job. And hoping I still have one in the morning."

Jeremy hung up his phone and got his coat. What he had discovered was very important. And he knew there was no time to waste. He headed out to his car to meet with Napolitano.

"Dr. Sloan, I hope this is as important as you've let on," said Napolitano when they were in here office. "I was enjoying a nice quiet evening with my family for a change."

Jeremy and Scarborough sat in front of Napolitano's desk. As usual, General Porter was sitting in his chair next to the desk. But this time Porter wasn't dressed in his military uniform as he usually was. He was dressed casually wearing a pair of slacks and a sports shirt with no tie.

"I was enjoying some rare moments with my grandkids," said Porter. "They're visiting for the holidays and it's the first time in 3 years that I've seen them. I didn't appreciate having to tell them I had to go in and work at 10:00 o'clock at night."

"I do apologize for the lateness of the hours," said Jeremy. "But I can assure you it is very important. Madam Secretary, you said you wanted to know immediately if I discovered anything about Moser's message that he had delivered to the State Department."

"I assumed it would be at a more appropriate hour," said Napolitano.

"Yes," said Jeremy. "Well, I have discovered something. And I think you'll agree it is quite urgent."

"Very well. Let's hear what you've learned."

"As you may remember, I found it odd that Moser would use so many religious references and then suddenly change to a political one."

"The one about Julius Caesar," said Porter. "I remember."

"Yes. He also made reference to his attack," he picked up his transcript of the speech and read from it, "that 'America will be thrown into chaos. Your infrastructure will crumble. Your people will be thrown into anarchy. Pandemonium will reign'."

"I recall," said Napolitano.

"Well, just before that he said, 'Like the first born of Egypt the plague of death will descend upon the seat of power of the American people.' Naturally we took it to mean the President. And the reference to Julius Caesar was also meant to mean the President. So we believed his target was the President."

"We all ready know all this," said Napolitano. "You said you had discovered something new."

"Yes, Madam Secretary. I think Moser's target is the President. But I don't think it's his only target. I think he has something else in mind. And I think his target is bigger than we originally thought."

"Bigger than the President?" questioned Napolitano. "There is no target bigger than the President. He's the American leader. You can't get any higher than that."

"I understand that. And Moser said we killed their leader so he's going to kill ours. Osama bin Laden was the leader of Al-Qaeda so we assumed Moser meant that since we had killed him, he was going to kill the President. But he also says, 'The power of the American government will be ground into the dust of the earth. They will die the slow agonizing death of the heretics that they are.' He uses the word 'they', not him.

"He also said, 'your government will fall as surely as the walls fell around the city of Jericho'. With all due respect, assassinating the President wouldn't cause the government to fall. There have been assassinations of Presidents before and the government, more or less, continued as it always had. Even when a President is incapacitated, such as with the attempt on President Reagan's life in 1981, the government didn't fall apart."