Chapter 10

WEDNESDAY 11:00 A. M. CST Same Rabbit Hole, Different Room

The Chairman sat with the two most powerful Prime Ministers in his cabinet. Different topics were touched on including the current mission that their hunting dog was engaged in.

The Russian entity asked, "What is to be done if our bush beater stirs something up?"

"We have no secure resources in that region, so that means we would have to resort to long range tactics," responded the chairman, "you know what that means."

"Yes, but are the vehicles reliable?" asked the other PM.

"I believe so, but if needed we could always fall back on the ones disguised as weather satellites, stated the chairman.

"That will undoubtedly open a massive can of worms," said the Russian PM, "not even our tame puppets can get something like that buried."

"What is of concern to me is the retaliation potential of the US even after a successful first strike," the other PM added, "their arsenal is still massive even after several reductions by treaty."

"Then we will have to make certain that the membership is in the secure location before initiation, won't we?" replied the chairman.

"Yes, of course," responded the PM, "I still have concerns though."

"Enough," the chairman stated, "if Silas comes up with even a whiff of evidence we will eradicate Chicago and it's environs. This affront can not go unanswered. The American Three would demand as much and never forget; we touch others, they don't touch us ... ever."

"Agreed, we will send out the call to assemble at once at secure location Alpha," responded the PM.

WEDNESDAY 11:30 A. M. CST Lake's Edge Hold

As Elnore and Kimiroto sat together, Elnore felt the need to probe for the real reason behind this entity's visit.

"Honored Guest, would you mind my enquiry into the reason for your visit to our lands?"

"Not at all, My Lord," replied Kimiroto, "my homeland was becoming a bit of a bore and my skills were stagnating badly. My last attempt at a prank was extremely pathetic. Then the Great Wave passed over and I knew it led to adventure and possibly a third tail. Among my kind, the tails tell the tale. No pun intended, My Lord."

"Ah," breathed Elnore as understanding swept over him, "so mischief is your stock in trade then. I believe we might be able to help there. We need to summon some of clan Faery for a bull session."

"Bull session, My Lord?"

"Oh yes, it's just more of the endless creativity of humans. It describes in two words the coming together of many minds to solve a single problem. Or on the other hand, to throw out many ideas and see which the group settles on as the most practical. I just revel in the creativity of men at times."

"Oh, my," seeped from Kimiroto's mouth as his eyes lit up like bright stars on a cloudless night.

"Oh yes," agreed Elnore seeing that his guest had grasped the point. "I believe we just might even be able to talk our Master Mage into attending. If there is a walking talking prank on the loose, it's name is Michael Kilian."

Glee was the only thing being radiated back at Elnore now as Kimiroto perused the endless possibilities, 'Oh my, oh my, ' kept running through his mind.

WEDNESDAY 12:20 P. M. CST Safe House

Mark could no longer put off briefing The President. With a sigh he lifted a prayer to the heavens that his boss would see past the political gain and do what was right for the nation.

He hit speed dial 1 and three rings later the familiar voice answered with, "Yes?"

"Mr. President, everything went smoothly in Chicago and we now have the hard evidence trail on The Three. Sir, there is enough here to crucify anyone that even squeaks about what happened."

"Excellent, forward it to my office, marked Eyes Only."

"Sir, the data trail led outside the country and the evidence is pretty damning. Is there any chance of using official channels to pursue this?"

With a sigh The President said, "No, not really. It would take ages to get anything moving and even then we would be at the mercy of every bureaucratic moron in several nations. I just don't see that as an effective course of action. They could literally stall us for decades before anything happens. What about the Chicago group? Is this within their capabilities?"

"Yes Sir, I believe it is and I also believe that they are already moving toward initiating this event. On my last contact, their spokesperson asked for clarification on a few of my conjectures. This leads me to believe that they are beginning their own trace and plot for the implementation of a ground zero event."

"My God that's fast."

"Yes Sir, for anyone else it would be, but for this group it is a slow sure step by step moving toward resolution. If they wanted to, they could take out this group of animals tonight. What they are doing instead is methodically analyzing every scrap of data and then scanning every individual involved. That takes time, Sir. Even with the resources at their call, it's still not instantaneous."

"I am still having trouble trying to wrap my mind around anyone having these capabilities."

"I do understand, Sir. The events this group has triggered and abilities they've demonstrated are nothing less than magic."

A chuckle came over the line followed by, "You know, that would be funny if what we're discussing weren't so deadly serious."

"Yes Sir, I suppose it would. I'll go ahead and contact Chicago and update your briefing if needed."

"Alright, I suppose that's the best we can do right now. Keep me informed and good day."

"Yes Sir, and thank you, Mr. President."

WEDNESDAY 12:40 P. M. CST Safe House

Knowing that he now had a Green Light for the operation and that The President would stay out of the political playpen, Mark contacted Mike, 'Hey Mike. Got some good news bud.'

WEDNESDAY 1:50 P. M. CST North Sonora Desert, Mexico

Hernando Rivera stood by his transport waiting for the rest of his passengers to arrive. As they checked in, he greeted each and every one. He had been running this same route into the US for seven years now and business was good. Being a coyote didn't make one rich by any means, but it did pay the bills.

The difference between Hernando and other coyotes was that he had a modicum of ethics. His Grandfather had taught him that you gave value for money and word of mouth would take care of the advertising. So far, Grand Dad had been right. His name was well known among the émigrés and he was sought out for the trip Norte.