Wisdom Spring (31 page)

“Anything good?” I asked quietly.

“Reception—if you want to call it that—wasn’t very good, but I sensed the message was important. It had something to do with ‘replacement’ or ‘replacing’ or ‘exchanging.’ Sorry, that’s the best I could do.”

“Okay,” I said. “So we keep aware of that.” I gave Joe a glance.

“Hey, don’t look at me,” he said. “I don’t understand it, but I’m starting to respect it.” He added, “Hillstrom worked for Exchange Systems. Something to do with that?”

“Maybe,” answered Jess. “But we already knew that, so maybe this is something else.”

“Well then, let’s each grab a box and get started,” I said.

We began the project with hope and enthusiasm, despite the daunting nature of what lay before us. For Jess and me in particular, if this didn’t provide the answers—and even more importantly, the proof—to clear her name and expose Hillstrom, we had no idea what we’d do. During some quiet moments we had touched on the subject and found the alternatives grim. We would probably have to buy a remote piece of land in Alaska and live the rest of our days in hiding. Some people would give their right arm for an opportunity like that. For us, we’d do it if we had to, and we’d be happy being with each other, but it wasn’t how either of us envisioned our ideal future.

Along with one of the boxes bursting with files, we each also grabbed a handful of the folders from the box of thin ones. Those were the ones we were going through first.

“So why did they—for lack of a better term—dispose of all those children?” asked Jess. “And why were some of them killed and others sent away?”

“I may have come upon the answer to the second part of that,” said Scott. “I’ve been making a separate pile for each, deceased and sent away. The ones they gave back to an orphanage all appeared to be under the age of six. Anybody older than that it seemed they killed.”

Immediately we all made piles like Scott’s.

“You’re right,” I said. “I wonder why?”

“I can take a guess,” answered Jess. “Whether it was a financial decision or a moral one—I seriously doubt the latter—they probably felt that anyone under six could go back where they came from and probably soon forget all about the town. In other words, they didn’t worry about them becoming a risk to their operation. By the age of six or seven the kids were probably too old and would be more likely to describe life in the town. They’d be a security risk.”

“Makes sense to me,” said Joe. “And I’m guessing that they went through so many kids because they were looking for a specific type. They had to match certain criteria.”

“Such as?” I asked.

“Don’t know. If we use Ben Fremont as an example of a success story, then they were trying to find people with certain sociopathic tendencies, people they could mold into whatever they needed. What we’re looking at here is an good old-fashioned ‘Charm School’.”

“You mean like the old book by Nelson DeMille?” I asked. “I’ve read articles over the years that suggested these training schools really do exist.”

“They do,” said Joe flatly.

I looked at him with a “how do you know that” expression.

“Joe used to be CIA,” answered Scott in response to my look.

“Training facilities like this exist all over the world in varying forms, rarely this coordinated though,” said Joe. “Spies have had to infiltrate other countries ever since the advent of … well, spies. It would be to differing degrees, depending on the purpose. Sometimes they are already adults and just need to learn the ways of a country before they can take their place in society, and sometimes a bit more intense. If this is really what Wisdom Spring was, then it would be the most extreme example I’ve ever heard of.”

“Wait a minute,” I said, barely listening to what he had just said. “You were CIA?”

He nodded.

“And all this time you couldn’t have been in touch with one of your contacts there to let them know what was going on? After all, you were one of them. Wouldn’t they believe you?”

“No,” said Joe, who seemed uncomfortable talking about it. “For two reasons. First, it was over twenty years ago. Most, if not all, of my coworkers have long since retired. Second, I was kind of asked to leave, so I’m not sure how good my contacts would be even if I had them.”

He looked down at one of the files.

“You going to leave us hanging?” I asked.

“There was a killing that I was involved in. The death of a woman in North Korea. It wasn’t exactly sanctioned. Seemed like the right thing to do at the time. Seemed like the only thing to do at the time, so we … I … did it. They didn’t see it that way and to avoid embarrassment, they cut ties with me.”

 “Anyway,” he said, anxious to move on. “I think Wisdom Spring was a training ground. If so, they had a long-range vision because at that age it would take fifteen years or more to graduate the finished product.”

It was late and we decided to call it quits for the night. Jess and I were asleep in minutes.

We were all back at it early the next morning. Scott had gotten up before any of us and had gone out for coffee and bagels.

We were each now going through the longer files. Every once in a while someone would make an exclamation as they came across a familiar name.

“Well, I found the second mole in Mill’s office,” said Joe at one point. He was holding one of the thin folders. “I remember meeting her not too long ago. Some sort of researcher or gofer. I only remember her because she was cute.”

“And I think we can confirm Exchange Systems as a front,” said Scott with a mouthful of bagel. “I’ve found two in a row who worked there.”

I was listening, but I was also busy reading Ben Fremont’s file and had to keep my mouth from hanging open. “Something mind-boggling here in Hillstrom’s folder, labeled Ben Fremont. A lot of it is stuff we already figured out, but there’s some new stuff, as well as something that will knock your socks off.”

“Which you’re going to save for last,” stated Scott.

“Just like you did with Wolf Run,” I retaliated.

“Oh, no, I approve. I was just checking to see if you had picked up the Harper family trait.”

“Their focus for him at Wisdom Spring was politics and business,” I said, “and it sounds like they had some good instructors there. When he became Hillstrom the politician, that thing I told you about him,” I said, looking at Jess, “about him starting as a Democrat, becoming a Republican, then running as an Independent, developing fierce loyalties from each side? That was planned from the beginning. All of those traits I liked about him when I voted in all those elections were all learned at Wisdom Spring. Not one bit of it was genuine. Not one bit of HIM was genuine.”

I continued. “His boss at Exchange, who also seems to be his contact with this organization—I haven’t found what it’s called yet—is someone by the name of Corbin Mays. He’s the CEO of Exchange.”

“I’ve got him in my box,” said Jess. “I’ll look at him next.”

“And now for the big piece of information. Jess, your father was right on with what he was trying to tell you with the ‘replacing’ or ‘exchanging’.”

“Oh,” exclaimed Jess. “So it is more than just the company name?”

“Yes, this whole operation with Hillstrom is called ‘Operation Exchange’. And I think I know why. Once Hillstrom is elected they are going to make an exchange. Sometime next year, Gary Hillstrom is slated to be assassinated.”

Chapter 38

They all looked at me in stunned silence.

“Does it actually say that?” asked Joe.

“In so many words. It refers to him taking office in January, and that his mission will ‘reach its conclusion,’” I made quotation signs with my fingers, “by the middle part of next year. Does anyone have a folder for Paul Gilmore?”

“He’s on the ticket with Hillstrom, right?” asked Scott.

“Yeah. We have to assume he’s involved in all this, but to what extent?”

“Found it,” said Jess, pulling it from the box. She handed it to me. “You do the honors.”

I read out the top matter to the others, which was almost a carbon copy of Ben’s:

Paul Gilmore

Entered Wisdom Spring 10-4-76, age 7

Obtained from Nevada Camp for Boys

Original name: Robert Smith, changed 5-10-77

Graduated 3-31-90

“Other than the fact that he’s younger than Hillstrom, it was the same procedure. They even came from the same place. They obviously had a deal with this Nevada Camp for Boys, just as they did with the orphanage in the Ukraine. I’m sure there were others.”

Jess had gotten up and was tapping on the computer.

“The Nevada Camp for Boys had a major fire in 1988 and went out of business” she said. “Most of the buildings were destroyed, including, I’m sure, the one that housed the records.”

“They are good at covering their tracks,” I said, looking back at the folder. “Gilmore graduated from Wisdom Spring in 1990. Didn’t the 1990 census put Wisdom Spring’s population at around twelve? Could it be that Gilmore was their final graduate?”

I studied the material further. The others went back to their boxes in the meantime.

“He knows,” I finally said. They all looked up. “He knows he’s going to take over as president. It says it right here that his mission includes taking over the presidency from Hillstrom in his first year in office.”

“Who exactly is he?” asked Scott. “Until this vice presidency thing, I’d never heard of him.”

“He’s a Congressman from Arizona. He’s served two terms. He doesn’t have anywhere near the charisma that Hillstrom has, but he seems to be a lot smarter. He was heavily promoted by Arizona senator Stephen Brice and former Arizona governor Alfred Barlick. I remember all that from the days when I actually cared about politics.”

“I have both Brice and Barlick in my box,” said Scott. “I already looked at them. I think their only connection with these people is money. Looks like they’ve been paid off pretty well. It also listed a few of the bills that they’ve voted on. On another note, I’ve also found one of the current senators from Alaska in here, and one from California. The Alaskan one went to Wisdom Spring. The other is connected by money.”

“I’ve found a few too,” said Joe. “Most seem to be connected by money, but a couple of the younger ones went there.”

“And I saw the name of one of the Supreme Court justices.” I offered. “There was a ledger full of numbers in his folder. I assume they were bank transactions of some kind.”

“The ones I saw who were connected by money had those ledgers too. I’d say you’re right.”

“Oh … My … God!!!” I suddenly exclaimed. “‘Operation Exchange’ isn’t just about replacing the president. Don’t you see what’s happening here? Slowly, over the years, they’ve been replacing members of Congress with their own people! They start by paying off some of the older sleazier ones, then when the time is right, they have them support a Wisdom Spring graduate. Their goal all along has been to take over the U.S. government!”

Dead silence. Then Jess covered her ears and said, “I’ve got a marching band in my head. The impression I get is that my father is very happy. Hard to explain, but it seems like he’s actually celebrating. I think you’ve nailed it.”

“But they can’t replace everyone,” she said, dropping her hands. “I can’t believe, first of all, that they had that many people graduate—especially ones who could become politicians—and second of all, that they could bribe that many members of Congress. After all, they’re not ALL crooks.”

“Yeah, they are,” mumbled Scott.

“They don’t need everybody,” I said, ignoring Scott. “They just need a few people in key positions. I bet if we found all of the people connected to this in Congress, we’d have most of the important committees covered. And besides, look at how many fellow politicians Hillstrom won over. It doesn’t take very many to control Congress.”

“Okay then, something else I don’t understand,” said Jess. “If Hillstrom is so popular, he could help bring people together to further their cause. Why kill him?”

“Here’s my theory,” I said. “You worked for him. Would you say he was overly intelligent?”

“Intelligent? I never really noticed one way or the other. He was very charming.”

“Right. And that’s what got him to where he is. Hell, I voted for him a few times and I couldn’t really tell you if he was intelligent. Popularity eventually wears off. At some point the presidency gets real and people are going to want answers. I don’t think he’s capable of providing those answers. Gilmore, on the other hand,
is
intelligent. So what better way to solidify their mission than to kill off Hillstrom and make him a martyr. Best of both worlds. You still have Hillstrom’s popularity working for you, this time from beyond the grave, with the intelligence of Paul Gilmore.”

“So who profits?” asked Scott. We looked at him with funny expressions. “Hey, I don’t have three heads. It’s a legitimate question. It’s one thing to have control of Congress, but it won’t be forever. So there has to be a plan behind it. Someone has to profit. You know that, down the line, it’s going to be all about money. Someone started this. Someone or some group is funding it. They have to get something really good out of this to justify the time and money spent. Who are they and what are they gaining?”

Silence once again.

“And another question.” Scott was on a roll. “Okay, so this ‘school’ at Wisdom Spring began in the late ‘60s. Are you telling me that forty some-odd years ago they came up with the idea to replace the president with one of their own? How much sense does that make? First of all, the people who came up with the idea are probably dead by now. They sure made out in this deal. They decided that they could grow a president? ‘Hey, if we start now, then in forty years or so he’ll be ready.’ I’m sorry, but that makes no sense at all.”

“No, it doesn’t,” I responded. “But the fact is, there was a school there and one of its graduates is now running for president. I’m sure there’s more to this story. There’s gotta be. I don’t have the answer to it, but I think we’re getting closer.”