Kimball disagreed. “No way. Venezuela’s way too anti-American to consider an accord with the United States.”
“Their president is anti-American, Kimball. Not the people. And by forced changes, I mean a sudden removal of the incumbent who is replaced by someone who is pro-American.”
“You’re thinking assassination?”
“I’m thinking the purpose of the Force Elite — and this is according to you — is to go into foreign nations and manipulate world leaders to be more conducive to American interests? So yes, I‘m thinking assassination is probably somewhere down the road in order to make this work. Geopolitical landscapes are changed by the act of war.”
Kimball knew that she was right. Ever since the Force Elite was reinvented after President Ford disallowed the CIA to commit assassinations abroad, subsequent presidents saw differently. In fact, they saw a crucial need for the Force Elite in order to maintain an edge over leading powers. Assassinating a political hostile was exactly why the Force Elite was reestablished. This was their game.
“Alternative fuels,” she continued, “at best, maybe twenty, thirty years away. But in the meantime, the Middle East maintains an exclusive franchise now that China and India have a need for their resources, as well. Therefore, the principals are growing concerned and believe it’s time for a new order to be created, since co-dependency on Arab nations with ties to the west appears to be growing more tenuous every day, whereas their ties with China and India become stronger. And with demand between those two countries about six times greater than that of the United States, this country may be finding itself going silently to the back of the bus when the need for oil here is still great.
“So the principals decided upon a final agenda,” she added. “The Soldiers of Islam weren’t soldiers at all, but patsies. And our government used them to point the accusing finger at so the world community would clearly make a rush to judgment as to who committed one of the most grievous acts of terrorism without question, which it did. And what better way to do this by attacking the international psyche by using the most recognizable religious figure as a tool of war. Our governments, Kimball, were using the pope to create new boundaries by trying to muster global support through propaganda for something horrible that’s about to happen. And that’s to start an illegal war against Arab nations in retaliation for kidnapping the pope. But then you’d have to ask yourself this: Who would benefit most from such a war?”
Kimball remained silent, letting her roll.
“If Israel takes over the Palestinian territories, they would do so with little condemnation from world leaders, stating it’s their right to secure boundaries and protect themselves from a common enemy, when in fact they’d be tapping into the oil tracts and filling their coffer with unimaginable wealth to rival the Saudi’s. The United States would benefit if the geo-political landscape in Venezuela changes, which would fall into the CIA‘s hands with a pro-American leader sitting at the political forefront who is more trade friendly, and a country that‘s swimming in oil. Everyone benefits because the need for oil is not going away anytime soon. And with a need such as this country has, along with China and India, the theory is that economies that have separated from the co-dependency of Arab nations would grow exponentially if they can secure accords with nations promising competition with OPEC in order to keep prices stable. And who now has the oil to compete? Russia, Venezuela, and now Israel. Everything’s about money, Kimball. Everything. But religion is a potent weapon that can generate hatred so personal and deep that there can be no forgiveness, no matter what.
“Think about it. Israel and the United States would like nothing better than to break ties with nations who are steadily growing hostile against them. And Russia and Venezuela would like nothing more than to corner a market with China and India vying for cheaper costs to offset OPEC’s sliding scale.”
“And if there’s war…” His words trailed.
“Then millions would die, which I assume the principals would look at as collateral damage if the means are achieved. But what’s truly ironic about this whole thing is that we’re the ones who initiated this holy war, not them. We’re the ones using the fear of terrorism as the weapon against our own masses to trick the world in believing that the terrorists initiated this whole thing, because that’s what’s expected. And what’s even scarier is wars like these usually give rise to ethnic cleansing. I just wonder if the leaders involved had the foresight to see that the Final Agenda held some of the same principles as the Final Solution.”
“I would like to think that we’ve gone beyond that.”
“If there’s one thing mankind has yet to learn, Kimball, is that past history bears little lessons if the powers that be are unwilling to learn from them.”
Kimball sighed. “Touché.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
As Shari was prepping to leave the JEH building, her cell phone rang. “Ms. Cohen.”
Shari could immediately tell by the deep resonance that it was Punch Murdock. “Yes, Special Agent Murdock. What can I do for you?”
“Actually, it’s what I can do for you,” he returned. “I’m at the Governor’s mansion and I think I may have found something that could prove vital to your investigation.”
“And what’s that?”
“A snow globe,” he said simply.
Quizzically: “A snow globe?”
“I’m in the governor’s bedroom. And on the dresser is this snow globe of New York with the World Trade Center as its scenery. I can tell that the shell has been dusted for prints, but it’s what’s underneath the base that’s quite interesting.”
“And what would that be?”
“Arabic script,” he said. “Of course at the time of the initial investigation we didn’t know that an Arabic faction was involved with the case, which is why it was never a consideration. But now that we know that an Arabic faction is involved, and there’s script scrawled on the base of a snow globe of New York City — the World Trade Center in particular — may give us an indication as to where the pope is.”
Shari could literally feel her pulse pounding as she slowly got to her feet, her eyes staring at nothing in particular as her mind searched for the proper wordage, only to find no word play at all. The Arabs only play was to become patsies. Did she miss something?
“Are you there, Ms. Cohen?”
“Do you read Arabic, Mr. Murdock?”
“Call me Punch, and the answer is ‘no,’ which is why I called you. If it’s vital to the investigation, then it’s vital to maintain the integrity of the evidence by maintaining a proper chain of command. Now it might not be anything at all, mind you. But on the other hand, why would there be Arabic script on the bottom of the snow globe?”
As a red herring, she considered.
She answered his question with another question. “You said the snow globe was dusted?”
“Yeah. It still has residue all over it, but no discernible prints, as if it was wiped clean.”
“But you’re sure it’s Arabic script?”
“Looks like it, although I could be wrong. Just a few words, though — enough to fit on the base.”
“Have you found anything else?”
“No. I’m thinking this could some kind of message, that perhaps Pius is somewhere in New York.” When he said this it sounded more like a question than a deductive statement.