His Daddy's Car

Both of the other men just laughed in response.

"So," he continued to address his prisoners, "Since you still have the ability to speak, I will assume you still have the ability to hear."

He bent, picked up the chainsaw and placed it onto the operating table. "The question of whether you want to live or die is not one either of you can answer. It has already been decided for you, as you were informed yesterday. What each of you can decide is whether you want your wives and children to experience what you watched your colleagues experience all evening."

Pictures were placed in front of each bound man and positioned so that they could not help but see what they portrayed.

"Your families are currently on another ship, very similar to this one. As you can see, they are sitting in a hold just like the one your colleagues are in on this ship. Now, I need a simple yes or no response from each of you to the following question; do you want your family members to be permanently blinded, tortured and disfigured?"

He approached Ginzburg first, "Well Comrade Ginzburg, what is your answer?"

"No," croaked Ginzburg's hoarse voice.

He stepped in front of Ivankov and asked the same question.

"No," was the repeated response from a voice no less shaky than Ginzburg's.

"Excellent," Acosta said from beneath his mask. "Now the next question is what price you would be willing to pay to prevent your families from experiencing the same fate as the men on this ship."

Remaining in front of Ivankov he said, "I need to be certain that you both understand your situation. While you will be delivered to the Attorney General's office in Los Angeles this morning, you are not under arrest. You will not face civil criminal charges, and you will not be afforded legal counsel. You have both been declared enemy combatants against the United States of America and are therefore not entitled to any Constitutional protections under civilian law. The Assistant Attorney General will detail the expectations for your cooperation, and you will continue to meet those expectations or your families will suffer the consequences. You should know that our objectives are the total elimination of any Russian mafia operations within the borders of the United States."

Making certain that Ivankov had eye contact with him, Acosta asked, "Do you understand what I have told you Comrade Ivankov?"

"Yes."

Moving back to Ginzburg, "Do you understand what I have told you Comrade Ginzburg?"

"Yes."

"Fine," said Acosta. "You will be transported via helicopter to the Federal Building within the hour. There, the expectations I mentioned will be explained to you. You will then be transported directly to the Guantanamo Naval Base prison, where you will remain until either a military tribunal is convened, or your usefulness to our objective has ceased. The longer you cooperate, the longer you will live. Your families will be deported to Russia, but they will all be implanted with tracking devices that will enable us to find them should your actions at any time in the future be viewed as a threat to the United States."

***

Patty was somewhat surprised when she told JR to take his backpack out to the car and he immediately ran and jumped into the backseat of Bobby's Corvair.

"Did you and your dad discuss your ride to school this morning," she asked as she climbed behind into the driver's seat.

"Maybe," JR replied with a giggle.

Patty adjusted the seat and mirrors, and then looked back at her son. "Thank you JR."

Patty drove down the street to the Reid's house and waited until she saw Gail Bennet and her husband signal her to proceed. Patty followed Gail and her husband down the street, with Francis and Joey in the car behind them. Francis was followed by another couple from Gail's team.

"Mom," JR said to get Patty's attention.

Looking at him in the rear view mirror she responded, "Yes JR?"

"Now that dad's back, are you guys going to have any more kids?"

Patty smiled and told him, "We're not doing anything to prevent it. Why, do you want a brother or sister?"

JR nodded and said, "I would prefer a sister I think."

"Why is that? You're always complaining about the girls at school," she said.

JR explained his thinking by saying, "Joey is almost the same as a brother, and I think that a big brother taking care of a little sister sounds kinda cool."

Patty beamed with her pride for her son, "We'll see what we can do JR."

The remaining trip to the boys' school was uneventful. Francis dropped Joey off at the curb and headed to work at the hospital followed by one of the couples while Patty parked and walked into the office with JR. Gail and her husband waited for her in the parking lot. Patty went to the counter and asked for a new signature card for JR's records. Bobby had always been listed as JR's father in the records, but his signature would need to be on file for comparison if he ever needed to sign him out or write him a note. JR mouthed the words, "Thank you" to his mom, and headed off to his class. After JR left, Patty asked to speak with someone who could provide details and requirements for home schooling.

Since the shopping she wanted to do involved stores at the mall that wouldn't open until 10 a.m., Patty decided to head back home to brief her parents on the pending meeting with the lawyers that afternoon. She spent almost an hour explaining what Bobby had told her about the threats against them being eliminated and what this could mean to their future residence. She also made sure they understood that her and Bobby's financial situation provided them almost unlimited options on where they could live. She wanted them to have a few hours to digest things and prepare questions while the lawyers were there, and they seemed to appreciate that consideration.

At 9:30 a.m., she got back into the Corvair, picked up her escort at the Reid's house, and drove straight to Northstar mall. That was the location of the closest Victoria's Secret store she could find.

***

Bobby watched on the television as the Attorney General of the United States approached the podium in the White House Press Room.

As the reporters quieted, the AG began his prepared statement, "I have a brief statement and then I will take your questions. Under current US law, domestic terrorism is defined as acts that are dangerous to human life and which are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State; appear to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States. As of this morning, there is a Presidential Finding which states that organized crime activity conducted by foreign nationals either within the borders of the United States or targeting our citizens meets the definition of domestic terrorism..."

Bobby didn't need to hear the rest of the prepared statement, but he was interested in the questions that the reporters would ask afterwards. These were what he knew he would need to be prepared to address on his call at the top of the hour.

***

Patty's cell phone rang as she was returning to her car at the mall. The number didn't have a caller ID associated with it, but she recognized it because Bobby had asked her not to enter his name in her directory.

"Hi! I love hearing from you during the day," she said as she answered.

"Right back at you PattyKat. I have the appointment for you with the lawyers confirmed for this afternoon at 3 p.m. Is that still good for you?"

Patty looked at her watch. It wasn't even noon yet. "Sure, I only have a couple of more stops to make and then I'll be home. What would you like for dinner?"

"You probably won't believe this," Bobby said, "but I've been craving your tuna casserole for more than 10 years. Do you still know how to make that?"

"Excellent choice," she said. "JR has been asking for that lately too. Consider it done."

"By the way," she continued, "JR has placed his request for us to provide him with a baby sister. Do your super powers include selective gender determination of your offspring?"

Bobby laughed, "Sorry, but I flunked sex chromosome manipulation in super power school."

"Bobby, you never failed at a thing in your life, so I have complete confidence that you will give both me and your son the girl that we want," she chided.

"I'll give it my best," he promised. "I need to get on a conference call so that I can get out of here and by the rental house to pick up some things. I'll try to be home before the lawyers leave. I love you PattyKat."

"You just made my day," she said.

"How did I do that," he asked.

"First by telling me you love me, and secondly by calling it 'home'. Not my house, or my parent's house, but 'home'. I love you Bobby. See you when you get home. Bye."

***

"So messengers have been delivered or are in route to Miami, Atlanta, Detroit, Houston, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Seattle, as well as the Russian Embassy in DC?" Bobby asked.

Acosta reviewed the list Bobby had provided and said, "Affirmative. We identified locales frequented or owned by Bratva members. The messengers should not be in place too long at any location before they are discovered."

"What did you think of the press conference," Bobby asked.

Acosta chuckled, "It's about time is all I can say."

***

"Ding, ding, ding, ding."

Bobby heard the four participants of his conference call being connected. "Good day everyone. I would like to start with a quick roll call if you don't mind."

Reviewing his notes, Bobby read off the names, "Jackson Powers, U.S. Attorney in New York."

"Good afternoon," was the response.

Bobby continued, "Steve Parker, U.S. Attorney in Chicago."

"Here," Parker said.

"Jessica Rogers, U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles," Bobby added.

"Hello," replied a voice that fore told dissention.

"And finally, Kirby Wallace, Deputy U.S. Marshall," finished Bobby.

"At your service," said Kirby.

Bobby got right to business, "Great. You were all asked to join this call to review the information provided in the Attorney General's press conference and to discuss how this affects your current and future roles in combating organized crime in the United States."

"Can I ask a question before we begin," interrupted Jessica Rogers. Bobby had been expecting this.

"Of course," he replied.

"Why are we having this discussion with you instead of with the Deputy Attorney General or the Associate Attorney General?" Rogers asked.

"There may be several factors involved in that decision," said Bobby, "but the only one that concerns me, and should be the only one that concerns you, is that the President said so. As we dive deeper into the scope of the Presidential Finding, his reasoning may become clearer. Can I go on?"

Silence.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'," said Bobby. "Now at it essence, the Presidential Finding states that organized criminal activity conducted on American soil or against American citizens by foreign nationals is no longer considered a law enforcement issue, but a national security issue."

"That can't be constitutional," interrupted Rogers again.

"Ms. Rogers," replied Bobby, "Let me present you with a couple of scenarios for your constitutional review. In the first instance, you witness a ship entering Los Angeles harbor loaded with dozens of armed men. The ship is flying the American flag and you identify most of the men as being members of local street gangs. Would you consider that a law enforcement or national security issue?"

"Law enforcement, of course," she replied.

"Okay," Bobby continued, "Now in the second instance, you witness a ship entering Los Angeles harbor loaded with dozens of armed men, only this time the ship is flying the flag of North Korea. Would you consider that a law enforcement or national security issue?"

"National security," she agreed.

"So the only difference in the two scenarios is what?" asked Bobby.

Jessica Rogers didn't hesitate, "In the first scenario we were dealing with American citizens and in the second scenario we were dealing with foreign nationals."

"Exactly," said Bobby, "and that's precisely what the Presidential finding addresses. If Vladimir Stalin, or Sergy Poshokov want to obtain their U.S. citizenship and then commit crimes in this country, you and your fellow U.S. Attorneys will be expected to prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law while protecting their constitutional rights in the process. If they commit the same crimes as citizens of another country, then they will be treated as enemy combatants under the Patriot Act."

"That still provides them with protections under the Hague and Geneva Conventions doesn't it?" asked Parker in Chicago.

"Not necessarily," said Bobby. "The UN and World Court haven't made a definitive ruling on whether the protections you mentioned apply to individuals or organizations that are not acting on behalf of a sovereign country who is a participant in the Conventions. Just as Al Qaeda was ruled to be a terrorist organization not affiliated with any country, even though its members all hold citizenship in one country or another, the expectation is that unless Russia or some other country wants to claim that these criminals are acting on behalf of their countries, then they fall into the same category as Al Qaeda."

Parker spoke again, "So explain what your understanding is of how the U.S. Attorneys fit into the plans under this Presidential Finding."

"Your primary responsibility, along with the FBI will be the initial investigation of alleged criminal activities. If these investigations determine that the suspects are foreign nationals, then you will inform your liaison with the Department of Homeland Security and your involvement will typically cease at that time. Depending upon the suspects involved and the nature of their activities, there are multiple options available to deal with them, such as deportation or imprisonment in a detention center administered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The ICE Detention and Removal Operations Program already has protocols and facilities in place to address this requirement. If further investigations determine that the crimes warrant more severe punishment, a military tribunal will be convened and your preliminary investigation would likely play a role in those proceedings."

"Has a liaison been assigned yet by the Department of Homeland Security?" asked Jackson Powers.

Bobby responded, "My company has been awarded the contract to act in that regard. For the time being, Kirby Wallace will be the direct contact for each of your offices, but if the case volume gets too heavy, we may assign each of you your own single point of contact. Kirby will be in touch with each of you later today to exchange contact information and schedule more in-depth discussion with you on existing investigations that may fall within the framework of the Presidential Finding. I encourage each of you to spend some time this afternoon reviewing all relevant sections of the Patriot Act, with particular emphasis on Title One, Title Four, and Title Eight. Kirby is there anything that you want to add?"

"Not at this time," said Kirby.

"Anyone else have anything before we end this call?" Bobby asked.

"I have a question," said Jessica Rogers. "What happened to the two men who were delivered to my office this morning?"

"Did you meet them?" asked Bobby.

"No, I was in other meetings and didn't know they had been delivered until after they had already been taken away again," Jessica said.

"Sorry you didn't have more time to spend with them, but the exercise was more symbolic than of any real practical use at this time," said Bobby. "As you know, these men are part of existing cases that your office has been working for more than ten years, and they are directly responsible for the torture and death of U.S. Attorney Alexander last week. It has already been identified that they are foreign nationals and further determined that their activities warrant harsh confinement and possible punishment once they have provided us with as much intelligence as we can extract from them. Your office's involvement will be to take the intelligence gathered from these men and use it to effectively shut down the remaining pieces of their organization. Some of this may result in new cases that your team will be responsible for prosecuting, but it is more likely that you and Mr. Wallace will be speaking quite frequently over the next several weeks. Mr. Jackson and Mr. Parker, counterparts to the gentlemen Ms. Rogers mentioned from your Districts are also being detained, and similar intelligence will be forthcoming from them that will impact your current and future caseloads as well. Anything else?"

Silence again.

"Fine," Bobby said. "I want to thank everyone for their time. Good day."

Bobby disconnected the call, turned off his computer, and left his office. He was at his rental house within twenty minutes. He packed a duffel bag with almost all of his clothes, and then packed the rest of his toiletries. He looked through unpacked boxes to see if there might be anything he would need before he returned to move the rest of his things next weekend, and then stopped to consider that plan. There was a lot of uncertainty surrounding where Patty and her parents would want to live after today and it didn't make much sense to move a bunch of his stuff until some things were decided. He'd worry about the clothes and toiletries for now, and maybe by this weekend, their future would be clearer.

As Bobby was loading the duffel bag into his truck, his cell phone rang. He didn't recognize the caller.

"Hello," he answered.

"Bobby?" asked the female voice, but without waiting for a response added, "This is Kelly from Kubes Jewelers. I wanted to let you know that the courier arrived with your diamonds a few minutes ago. I think I found the perfect one among the stones sent for review, so with your permission, I can go ahead and have it set by tomorrow morning for you."

"That was quick," said Bobby.

"Our request for the stones was processed on Sunday and a courier took the first flight out of New York this morning," Kelly informed him.

"That's great Kelly. Patty and I trust your judgment on the stone, so go ahead with getting it set. We would probably like to pick everything up on Wednesday afternoon if that is convenient for you."

"That would be perfect," she said. "I'll confirm with you tomorrow when everything is all done. Bye."

"Bye," Bobby said into a disconnected call.

On his way to the freeway, Bobby spotted a 'Half-Price Book Store' and decided to stop. He found the book he was looking for and bought two copies. Once on the road again, he placed a call to Kirby.

"I hope I didn't blindside you too much today," Bobby said once Kirby had answered.

Laughing, Kirby said, "I'm getting used to it. You haven't steered me wrong yet, so that makes the surprises much easier to take. So what's new?"

Laughing as well, Bobby said, "A couple of things. First, I'd like you to review the latest intelligence that the FBI has on the Brotherhood of the Circle and let me know if you agree with their assessment that the threats against the Harpers have been completely eliminated. Next, I'd like you to join me at Lackland tomorrow morning to get your access permission setup. I think you'll be able to make use of office space and resources there shortly, at least until you decide where else you might want to live. You're not tied to San Antonio anymore. We also need to discuss what your other requirements might be relative to transportation, housing, etc. once you join my company full-time and leave the Marshal Service."