The Krakow Klub (37 page)

“Message received loud and clear. Over and
out!” Mister T was beginning to enjoy his new duties. He had been
learning American military history. He particularly liked George
Washington and Stonewall Jackson. He also admired George
Patton
but felt that much of Patton’s military
tactics had
been learned
from Stonewall
Jackson’s remarkable campaign in the Shenandoah Valley.

Julia and Sylvia insisted on checking out the
jets sitting peacefully on the golf course.

As they neared the third fairway, Mister T
used his internal computer program to initiate Maxxine’s orders.
Within seconds, the two planes
were being
lifted
from the ground. They rose rapidly straight up until
the naked eye could hardly see them
. The
F-16 jets
were motionless and silent in the
air until Mister T’s final command to send the subliminal messages
and to wake the pilots. After a few
seconds,
the F-16’s engines roared to
life,
and the
planes suddenly began to move rapidly in the direction of Key
West.

Inside the planes, the two pilots suddenly
realized that they were far away from the island and the cloud
bank. Neither could remember anything that had happened but both
had a very strong feeling that they were very, very lucky to be
headed home in one piece.

****

Back at the space station, John and Jim had
spent the previous evening discussing the events in Washington, DC,
and tossing
around
ideas about how to deal
with Stoellar and the Krakow Klub.

Jim Slater wanted to take the entire
organization into custody and put an end to the rebellion.

John, usually the emotional one, calmly
explained that they needed to move deliberately and secure the
military first. He urged caution and careful planning to eliminate
this most dangerous of enemies. He explained his position by
saying, “We must find a way to cut off the head of the snake. Open
warfare with the military could result in an enormous loss of
life.”

The following morning, John found out about
the military attack on Scott Key. Mister T had handled it very
well,
and he congratulated him on a job well
done.

Jim had been alarmed, and John had to assure
him that no harm had
been done
to the island
or anyone on it.

Even while assuring Jim that all was well,
John was becoming worried. The Krakow Klub knew where they were and
would surely come
at
them again.

****

John and Jim went back to the control room at
8:00 AM. They continued to search for an answer that would allow
them to save the government with a minimum loss of human lives.
There seemed to be no good answer. Every scenario had its set of
risks.

John remained calm throughout, saying,
“Remember how Maxxine saved President Wilkinson from certain death?
We still have
him,
and he is still the lawful
president of the United States. He is not a candidate for the Mensa
society, nor is he the most honest person in the world, but, I
think that we can use him. He now owes us his life, and it’s time
to pay up. As the lawful commander-in-chief of the
military,
he can order it to stand down from attacking
us. But, we have to get him back into the White House
before
that can happen.”

Jim wasn’t at all comfortable with having
Wilkinson back in the White House. He argued, “The man
was a poor choice
for the job, and he certainly
is obligated to
the Krakow Klub.”

John’s answer was, “What do we have to lose
at this stage of the game? If we can get him to c
ooperate
with
us,
he could be a real
asset. And remember, the Krakow Klub tried to assassinate
him,
and I can conclusively prove that to
him.”

John smiled slyly, “You’re correct in your
assessment of President Wilkinson, but I think that I can arrange
to change the situation. I’ve got more than one trick up my
sleeve.”

He continued, “As matters stand right now,
the government is already under the control of the Krakow Klub. We
have the resources to take them
down,
but we
must do so carefully. Our actions could bring on a major
revolution. We can’t just have Wilkinson walk into the White House
and announce that he’s back from the dead. It probably wouldn’t be
true for very long. They would not hesitate to kill him for sure
this time.

“Any overt action on our part could end in
disaster. With Montrose in charge and the military at her command,
we’ll be forced to use our wits to get Wilkinson back into the
White House safely. We’ll have to catch them off guard; otherwise,
there could be a great deal of
blood spilled
,
and you know how I feel about that.”

He pounded his fist on the control room desk.
“I do not intend to cause the wholesale deaths of innocent American
soldiers. Not even for a just cause!

“Those barbarians wouldn’t hesitate to gun
down their troops if they suspected we were aware of their plot. I
just need a little more time to work things out.”

He continued, “Another adage, my friend,
‘Haste makes waste.’”

****

After their morning conference with Maxxine,
the two men took a lunch break. John was preoccupied and lost in
thought for the entire time. Jim was wise enough not to disturb
him.

Suddenly, his face
brightened,
and he smiled at Jim. Then, he outlined the
plan that he had just devised. As he finished, Jim sat in stunned
silence for a few seconds.

“You expect me to run the show? That’s
insane. I don’t have the background or experience. Besides, almost
everyone in Washington, DC, is a lawyer, which I certainly am
not!”

John soothed, “Jim, that’s why you are
qualified! We don’t need any more lawyers in government! You have
the three most important attributes of a great leader. You are
honest. You are intelligent enough to know that you don’t know
everything. Your loyalty to your country is without question.

“It’s been a long time since we had anyone in
the White House who possessed those three traits. You are the right
man, at the right time, and at the right place. Trust me.

“You also have one something that no one else
in the world has. You are the only person that I will entrust with
my powers and the authorization to use them.

“There you have it, my friend. There is no
option for defeating the Krakow Klub except through our direct
intervention. And you have to take the lead when we take the
government back.”

Rising, John, said, “So the first thing that
we do is talk with President Wilkinson. Maxxine says that he
has healed sufficiently
from his minor
burns.”

Jim said, in a startled voice, “He’s
here?”

“Of course he’s here. Where else could
Maxxine safely stash a dead president until it was time for his
resurrection?
But,
of course, he has no idea
of where ‘here’ is. He thinks that he is in a hospital somewhere,
probably Bethesda. He has
been heavily sedated
and has been recovering from both the inferno of that ambulance
crash and the overt attempt to kill him by Dr. Newton.

“So let me do most of the talking until I can
bring him up to
speed
on what has happened and
where he is at the moment.”

Even though it was a relatively short
distance to the president’s room, they took one of the little
shuttles
.

The president’s quarters had been outfitted
to resemble a VIP suite at Bethesda. Wilkinson appeared to be
sleeping peacefully. He had been kept in a twilight state with
intravenous sedatives until today.

John and Jim pulled two chairs to the bedside
and sat down. Almost immediately, a small robot entered the room
with a syringe in its hand. The robot cleaned the IV injection port
with an alcohol swab and then injected the contents of the syringe
into the port.

Next, the little robot stopped at the side of
the bed, took the bed
control,
and depressed a
button that caused the bed to elevate the president to an almost
sitting position. He then silently left the room and pulled the
door shut behind him.

John, speaking to Jim said, “The president
has been kept under mild sedation since his arrival, primarily to
avoid his becoming aware of where he was and who was caring for
him. Maxxine thought that robots might freak him out. And, of
course, I agreed.”

About that time, Henry Wilkinson began to
move his hands and make a few small unintelligible sounds.

John rose from his seat and approached the
bed. He took the president’s right hand into his own and gently
shook it, saying, “Good morning, Mr. President. My name is John
Scott,
and my associate over there is Dr.
James Slater. It has been our privilege to be your host for the
past few hours.”

The president opened his eyes, blinked a few
times, and finally managed to keep them open. He looked around the
room, first at John then at Jim, and spoke in a very weak and shaky
voice. “Where am I?”

“That is a hard question to answer without a
long explanation. Let’s just say that you are in a safe place and
among friends. All your medical needs have been
addressed,
and you’re going to be just fine.

“Do you think that you’re ready for a cup of
coffee and maybe a little orange juice? You haven’t had anything by
mouth since you’ve been with us, so let’s start out slowly.”

The president nodded.

Almost immediately, a robot entered the room
with a tray containing an insulated flask of hot coffee and a
decanter of orange juice. The robot placed the tray on the table
beside the bed and poured a glass of orange juice, handing it to
the president.

The president took the juice, but his face
showed surprise. The robot
turned
and
silently
left the room.

The president, his voice still shaky and
weak, asked, “What the hell was that thing?” Then, after a pause,
in a voice that was much stronger, he demanded to know, “Where am
I?”

John rose and walked over to the table,
saying, “We’ll get to that soon. How do you take your coffee?”

“Black,” the president snapped. Obviously, he
was beginning to regain his strength a little bit.

John poured three cups of coffee and handed
one to the president and another to Jim. Before returning
to his seat,
he added cream and sugar to his
cup.

“
Okay, Mr. President, I think
that you are sufficiently awake to understand, so I will tell you
where you are. Then we will discuss why you are here. Finally, we
will get to what we must do to get you back to where you would like
to be.”

The president took a sip of his coffee,
looked first at John and then at Jim, and said, “By all means,
please continue.”

John did a commendable job of presenting an
abbreviated version of
events,
but it still
took almost thirty minutes. He was interrupted several times by the
president asking questions. Some questions he answered, but some he
just indicated that the issue would
have to wait
until
later.

Finally, John said, “That, Mr. President,
brings us to what we must do to get you back into the White House.
There will be a price for my assistance, but don’t worry, it will
be quite reasonable in the overall scheme of things. Do you have
any questions before we proceed?”

The president thought for
several moments, and then said in a voice that obviously was meant
to sound as authoritative as possible, “I cannot believe that the
military of the United States of America would not support me once
I return to the White House.
I appreciate whatever you’ve
done, but if you will kindly just let me return to the White House,
I‘m sure that I can get all this mess cleared up quickly.”

Jim Slater was the first to answer, “Mr.
President, with all due respect, I don’t think that you have
grasped the complete seriousness of the situation. The military,
even as we speak, is being taken over by rogue officers whose
allegiance is to the Krakow Klub, and they think you are dead. If
you should simply show up at the White House, they would very
quickly make sure that you were indeed dead. Right now, your only
hope is John Scott.
Indeed,
America’s only
hop
e is John Scott.”

“
Dr. Slater, I may be an old
fool, but I am not an idiot.
True, I was in the Situation
Room,
and I saw that alien space ship. But it
left; NASA confirmed it left. Now, I am not going to fall for some
cock and bull story, no matter how cleverly you have arranged
things.”

In an increasingly strong
voice, the president said, “So, if you gentlemen would be so kind
as to return my clothes and personal belongings, I have an alert
device that will bring the Secret Service down on this place in
large numbers.
If you wish to avoid some very severe
consequences,
you will release me
immediately.”

Jim Slater started to object, but John waved
him to be quiet,
sa
ying, “Very well, Mr.
President, you are free to go. Your clothes, such as they are, and
other possessions will be returned to you immediately. Should you
change your mind, just let me know.”

Taking Jim Slater’s
arm,
he led him from the room, even as Jim was protesting, “John, you
can’t mean that. You are sending him to his death.”

John did not reply until they were out the
door and speeding away in the little transporter.