The Chosen (23 page)

Kris had never even hinted to Julian that, thanks to Moshe, she already knew
that
Michael and Jeff were being held
in a maximum security prison in Baltimore
.
That was one reason why
she had been glad that Keith had chosen to buy the row house there. When the time came for her to meet them, she could be there in a matter of minutes.
  “Thank you
very much, Julian—for everything,” Kris
threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly
.  “You and your team were incredible.  We could n
ever
have done this without you.”

“Thank you, Kris,” Julian looked at her seriously—even more seriously than usual, which was difficult for such a sober man. “You and your family have been through hell, I know, but
if you had not been willing
to bring this suit
,
this case would never have been heard
,
and we would not have this ruling today. This ruling is a major victory for
F
reedom in the United States.”

Keith spoke for the first time, “Do you think it will stand?  After all, this Administration does whatever they want to? What’s to stop them from saying, ‘Forget you—we’re not letting anybody out of jail.’
”

“That won’t happen,” Julian shook his head confidently. “Remember what I told you in the beginning
?
‘The only thing necessary for evil to be destroyed is for good people to stand against it.’ The Administration is already on record that they support the Court’s authority to rule in this matter. This is the beginning of the end.”

Julian shook hands with them both before hurrying down the hall to go back to his D
.
C
.
office and file his motion.  Kris watched him go.

Michael and Jeff were coming home, at least for now.  They would need a lot of medical care—a lot of care in general. They would also need attorneys for their criminal trials. Julian had done everything he could
,
but he was a constitutional attorney. Maybe he could help them find a criminal attorney.
Kris would ask him for a recommendation—they would need someone who had experience in federal court. Kris needed to call Karyn—she would be able to come home with Faith and Seth—and Mitch.  For the first time in
more than a year
, Kris would
be able t
o see him, to hold him in her arms. 

There was so much still
to do
, so much ahead of them, so much to go through.  But they would be together, and they would go through it together. As all of these thoughts raced through
Kris’
mind, she caught sight of Keith. He was smiling that same slight smile he had always smiled when he was completely pleased. It was a smile that said, “We did it.”  And with that he made his way down the hall with Kris following. The smile was enough—there were simply no words to express what they both felt at that moment.

As Keith pushed open the doors leading from the hall to the steps outside the Capitol,
they both recognized the man who was waiting for them.  Kris ran towards him, leaving a puzzled Keith at the top of the stairs.  “The court just ruled in our favor. He’s being released. Everyone is.  We’ll still have another trial to go through, but he’s coming home.”

“I heard. I was in the courtroom when the verdict was read; you just didn’t see me. You did it, Kris.”

“God did it; I just stayed in the fight until it was over.”

Keith had continued down the stairs towards them.  He had spotted David in the courtroom and had wondered how he
had
managed to be everywhere that anything significant was happe
ning.
Now, however, Keith was thorough
ly confused. He had never introduced Kris to David—never even told her that he existed. How was it that she was talking to him
as if he were
an old friend? 

Seeing the confused look on his face,
Kris
reached out to her brother, “Keith, this is Michael’s brother, Moshe. He visited me in St. George and brought me Michael’s note
shortly
after he was arrested.”

“Of course he is
,” Keith’s lips were pursed in that familiar
slight smile, and then he turned to Moshe. “I knew
you reminded me of him. You could have just told me who you were.”

“If I had told you, I would have had to kill you,” Moshe responded without a trace of a smile, but his eyes danced. 

Now Kris was confused, “You two know each other?”

“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you all about it later,” Keith responded. “So
,
what now?”

“Now, I have a plane to catch, as soon as I confirm that my brother has been released. I just stopped by to say goodby
e
and to thank both of you.”

He
turned
and they watched him as he quickly made his way down the steps and onto the Capitol lawn, where he disappeared into the crowd.

When they could no longer see him, they turned and looked at each other.  “He’s good,” murmured Keith.

“Yes
,
he is.  Let’s go get something to eat while we wait for Julian to get back with us.”
Kris
took her brother’s arm, and they started down the steps together.

Kris felt the cold air
on her face
.  The slushy snow had stopped—the air was crisp and clear although the sky was still overcast.  Her heart was overflowing with joy—they were free. What had seemed impossible only the day before was now a reality. All of them were free.  She raised her eyes toward heaven and said softly, “Thank You, Jesus.  Thank You for saving us.”

Chapter
3
0

T
he crowd of professional men and women, journalists, doctors and community leaders stuffed their hands deep into the pockets of their coats and huddled together in the area immediately in front of the main building of the enormous new medical complex that was being dedicated that day. It was bitterly cold—even for late December. During the night the temperature had dropped to minus three degrees, and now, even though it was
almost
noon, the thermometer had risen only five degrees.
At 9:00 A.M. a local meteorologist had announced that the wind factor made it “feel like minus fifteen.” A thin
,
blonde
,
middle-aged radiologist dressed in a knee-length skirt and pumps pulled her coat collar up, and shut her eyes to block out the icy gale
that whipped her bare legs and played havoc with her perfectly co
i
ffe
d
hair.

As the radiologist tried to formulate a plan to leave the ceremony without attracting too much attention, a short, stout man in a gray wool coat and a red stocking cap and scarf walked to the podium.
It was apparent that even in the
se
severe weather conditions
M
ayor Hamilton Brady
was pleased to have an audience, and the radiologist knew that
t
he
mayor
w
ould do nothing to cut the ceremony short and allow
the hundred or so people gathered there to escape into the warm
th of the reception area
.

“Welcome friends and special guests,” the
mayor
began.
“
Thank you for braving the cold to help us celebrate the opening of this historical medical center. As you know, today’s event has been made possible through many years of hard work, fundraising and planning.
Today i
t is my pleasure to introduce
the man whose vision served as the inspiration for this facility
,
Senator Seth
Conners
, son of the late Congressman Jeffrey
Conners
. However, in keeping with the Senator’s commitment to always act in the best interests of the American people, he has asked me to move the dedication inside where it’s warm.”

As
t
he
mayor
spoke that last word, the crowd cheered wildly
and moved as one toward the door
.
When they were inside,
Mayor Brady took full advantage of the situation and droned on for ten minutes before
relinquishing
the microphone to Seth
Conners
.

At fifty-five the senator still had a little-boy quality that caused his blue eyes to sparkle and made it almost impossible for him to stand still for long.
Conners
hopped up on the staircase so that he was standing on the third step from the bottom.
A broad smile spread across his face as he addressed the crowd, “I want to thank all of you for being here today, and I want to thank each of you for the part you have played in making this occasion possible. I am so happy to have my wife Tiffany and our two daughters Karyn and Kristen
with me. M
y sister Faith
,
her husband Robert
,
and
t
he
i
r son Keith
are also here
.
We
are gat
h
ered
here today to dedicate th
e Michael Linton
Memorial Medical Center, but we have also come to commemorate the lives of the men and women who made it possible.

“
My father Jeffrey Conner
s
was a hardworking, honest man who loved God, loved his family, and loved his country. After he was
released from prison
,
my father knew that he needed to use the rest of his life to stand for freedom. He ran for Congress to restore the
C
onstitution and the principle of government for the people, by the people,
and
of the people.
Congressman Jeff Conner
s
sponsored, co-sponsored or authored more than two hundred bills to restore liberty and put the government back into the hands of the citizens. As part of his Restore Americ
a Initiative, he sponsored the i
nternet and Communications Freedom Act which prohibits the federal government from restricting interne
t
content or access, the Restore the Constitution Act, and the Read the Bill Act, which requires that the final version of all bills must be posted on Congressional websites and that copies must be distributed to all media outlets thirty days before any vote on those bills can take place....” The crowd applauded, and Seth paused until their applause subsided. “Any additional changes or edits require that the bills mus
t undergo an additional thirty-d
ay waiting period, and, thanks to my father, your Congressional and Senatorial representatives are LEGALLY required to read every word of each bill they pass on the floor of the House or Senate….”
This brought further applause. Seth held up his hand to silence the crowd, and his eyes sparkled and his smile grew broader as he continued, “There is a very good reason why every person in the United States can read every bill that is being considered. J
eff Conners
passed legislation requiring that no bill may exceed twenty pages written in eight point type or larger. In addition, no riders may be attached to any bill. If it’s going to become law, it has to stand alone and be passed solely on its own merits. No more hiding one piece of legislation inside a massive bill that no one has read, and no one would understand if they did.

“Jeff Conner
s
believed that the American people are smart enough to make decisions about their own lives and to weigh in on the laws that are passed, so he made sure that we will never again have legislation rammed down our throats by out-of-control
legislators who tell us that we have to pass a law before we can know what’s in it. My father believed that big government was the problem—not the solution. He sponsored and co-authored the Judicial Impartiality Act which holds judges responsible for
enforcing the existing laws
—not legislating from the bench. Federal judges are now subject to a review panel, and judges who are found guilty of imposing their own ideologies to reverse elections or to legislate from the bench are subject to immediate removal and loss of their pensions.” The crow
d
again erupted into applause.

Seth continued, “But Jeffrey Conner
s
never wanted to wake up one day and find that he was guilty of having become part of the problem—he wanted to make sure that he was always part of the solution. So after a decade of public service, he retired after gaining passage of what he considered his most important piece of legislation—the Term Limits Act of 2030. Thanks to Jeff Conner
s
and others like him, we can never again have professional career politicians sitting in the House and Senate for decades conspiring to take away our freedoms.

“Jeff Conner
s
knew th
a
t his work was not finished when he left public service. He devoted the remaining years of his life to making cert
ain that freedom was protected.
After he left Congress, he worked with my uncle Keith Mitchell
and Keith’s second
wife Cheryl
to help citizens
better
understand government and interact more effectively with their elected officials.
Together, they
launched Read
T
he
B
ill.com which posts the full text of al
l bills that are being debated.
Read
T
he
B
ill.com allows citizens to read and comment on each bill prior to any vote taking place and then transmits those
comments directly to the committees that are drafting the bills as well as to the representatives of those commenting. Under the Citizen Involvement in Government Act, the committee members and your representatives must legally respond to your comments. That means that if you, the citizens, hate a particular law,
and
we in the Senate
decide to pass it anyway, we will know in advance that we are probably going to be sent home when the next election rolls around.
” This brought thunderous applause.

“As founders of WatchDog Government Jeff
,
Keith
, and Cheryl
, along with my mother Kary
n, my aunt Kris, and my uncle Michael worked to make sure that ordinary citizens understood what was happening behind the scenes of government and that the
y
understood what role they could play in shaping the country. Today the organization they founded has hundreds of thousands of members, and it is growing. When my father passed away seven years ago at the age of seventy-eight, he died knowing th
a
t he had made a lasting impact on his family and his country. My mother continued his work until her death early this year.

“
I am proud to have followed in my father’s footsteps. I am now serving my second and final term as your Senator, but my commitment to uphold freedom will not end when I leave the Senate next year. As the incoming director of WatchDog Government I will continue the work that my father and my uncle
began
.

“
My father, my mother, and
my uncle Keith w
e
re ordinary citizens—my dad owned a construction company
;
my mother was a housewife
;
my uncle was a journalist. But they were inspired to do extraordinary things. The man who helped inspire their vision is honored here today as we dedicate the Michael Linton Memorial Medical Center
. To complete the
dedication ceremony it is my honor to introduce
my cousin and
Michael Linton’s son, Dr. Aaron Mitchell Linton.”

A tall, well-built man of fifty stepped up and took the microphone. His thick dark hair was streaked with silver and his gray-blue eyes were accentuated by thick dark lashes. To his left stood a petite blonde woman of about his age and two sons in their twenties.

The two men embraced, and Mitch turned to face the crowd. “My father Michael Linton believed so strongly in the
sanctity of life that he gave up a career he loved rather than violate his conscience by participating in the murder of unborn children. When I was growing up, he often told me that before the Affordable Care Act was implemented he had been one of the youngest and most successful cardiac
surgeons
in the United States
. Soon after the Act became law, however, the government required that all surgeons, regardless of their areas of specialty, be on call to assist with surgical abortions. My father then gave up his license to perform surgery and returned to school to
specialize
in
g
eriatric care.

“My father always stood for freedom and the sanctity of human life. Eventually, he and my uncle Jeff, along with thousands of others, were charged as domesti
c terrorists and imprisoned for defending liberty
.
Three days after
the Supreme Court ruled that the indefinite detention provisions of
the
NDAA were unconstitutional,
he
and my Uncle Jeff
were released and no charges were filed
against them
.
In fact, out of the more than
108,000
American citizens being detained at that time, charges were brought against only fifty-six individuals, and of that fifty-six o
nly
twenty-three were convicted of
crime
s
.

“
After his release m
y father
returned to practicing medicine. He and my mother Kristina set up the Choose Life
Foundation that became the basis for the creation of this medical facility. In addition to their work with WatchDog, they also worked to promote a culture of life in the medical community that values
all
li
fe
, from the
lives of the
unborn to the
lives of the
most elderly.

“Today we dedicate the Michael Linton Memorial Medical Center to honor the memory of all those who fought for life when
victory
seemed hopeless. The mission of this hospital is to protect and preserve life. No abortion will ever take place within these walls; no senior citizen will ever be euthanized here. All who
pass through these doors
will be respected as individuals created in the image and likeness of a God who values them and has a purpose for their lives.