Core Beliefs - Chapter 65 - Summoning in the New Year

Core Beliefs – Chapter 65 - Summoning in the New Year

New Year’s Eve was going to be quiet for Matt and Ling. They planned to spend the day at home with Timmy.

At about three in the afternoon, a courier arrived with a registered letter for Matt. It was from the United States Congress. Matt thought it was from Saulman Coldwell. After signing for it, he opened the envelope as he walked back to the family room.

Matt stopped and read the message twice before reaching the family room and sitting next to Ling. He handed it to her.

“What do you think?” she asked after reading.

“It’s a subpoena to appear before the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs,” Matt smiled, “so my bet is it’s about Africa. I’ll call Saulman tomorrow and see what he knows.”

After talking with Saulman, Matt called a Council of Dlrow Wen for Saturday, January fifth. He briefed the group on all aspects of Dlrow Wen’s activities and handed everyone a copy of the subpoena.

Saulman advised that the chairperson of that congressional committee was known to have connections with the Imperial General of the African country where ‘Well of Hope’ was located. Saulman believed the congressman intended to make trouble for Matt.

Matt asked for ideas, and it wasn’t long before options were being placed on the table. By the end of the meeting, he had offers of help that made him smile.

“Mathew, I’m going to call our friend in Africa,” Saulman said.

“Do you think he can help?” Matt asked.

“There is bad blood between their countries. Making inquiries could be chalked up to congressional research,” Saulman added.

“Do it. Let me know how I can support you,” Matt said.

***

The Congressional hearing was scheduled for January fifteenth in Washington, D.C. and was closed-door. Even Senator Coldwell found that strange.

Coldwell wasn’t on this committee and had no justification to attend beyond being an observer, but he had two friends on the committee.

“Matt, it seems the ranking Congressman from Carolina, Arthur Stebbins, has a burr under his skin and is looking for blood,” Saulman said. “Our friend, Amandi, said he will have a full dossier for us by next week. He seemed more than happy to help.”

***

The promises of assistance made to Matt at the council meeting were starting to fall into place. Joe would serve as Matt’s attorney for the hearing and coordinate their response.

“Since no information is being provided regarding the subject of the subpoena, you can assume this is an ambush. Those behind the hearing are obviously looking for something in particular,” Saulman said. “I think you’ll find plenty of ammo in what Sulliman Amandi has sent to me. I didn’t know he was a major player in the intelligence services of his country,” Saulman chuckled.

“So, what does Congressman Stebbins hope to gain?” Matt asked.

“The technology,” Joe said, “they’ll try to force you to turn it over.” He laughed loudly, “The funny part is they don’t have a clue what they are asking for.”

Senator Coldwell perused the list of senators and representatives and agreed.

“Matt,” Saulman said, “half these guys are also on committees for armed forces and intelligence. Several are power-hungry and borderline egomaniacs.”

Matt took the list and asked Joe to expand the research to include the ones Saulman pointed out. They had six days to pull it together.

Long days and late nights ensued. On the evening of the fourteenth, Matt and Joe boarded a plane to Washington, DC. Two days earlier, Chris and Suchet had set out for the capital.

The meeting was scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m. Saulman warned Matt that it appeared they would try to pin him in a hole with no way to prepare a response.

***

Matt and Joe were escorted into the hearing room by Capitol police, where they were sworn in and took their seats.

The representative from Carolina opened the proceedings and read a prepared statement.

“We are investigating Matthew Lehman for violations of laws regarding the interference with the affairs of a recognized and sovereign state and undermining the stability of a sensitive region. Further, he is charged with the insertion of weapons into a refugee camp, which were used to destroy the men and equipment of a United States ally!

The congressman glared at Matt, “How do you respond to these allegations?”

Matt and Joe conferred for a second, and Matt said, “I don’t.”

“So, you are taking the Fifth Amendment?” The congressman demanded.

“Is this a hearing or a trial?” Matt asked.

“This is a duly called hearing, and within the laws of the United States of America, we can ask you anything we want!” the congressman’s voice raised noticeably.

Matt and Joe conferred. “No, you can’t,” Matt stated.

“What do you mean I can’t!” the congressman fired back.

“The laws you have referred to only allow you to question concerning those things that directly fall within the jurisdiction of your committee,” Joe said.

The congressman stood, banging his gavel on the desk and shouting, “I am a United States congressman, and you will treat me with respect.”

“I am a citizen of the United States and am protected by the laws of our country,” Matt calmly replied. “That includes presumed innocents and the right to face my accusers. I suggest that if you have evidence to support these allegations, you present it.”

The congressman was about to fire back when a senator to his right whispered something to him. He calmed down and sat down.

“Mr. Lehman,” he said, “tell us your occupation and business.”

Matt spent 20 minutes describing the five companies and their respective products. He then added the farm and the M&E enterprises as an independent research company. Matt’s response seemed to disappoint the congressman.

He moved on to Matt’s involvement with the camp in Africa, asking why he had inserted himself into the camp’s activities.

“Mr. Lehman, how many times have you been to this refugee camp?” the congressman started pressing his point.

“Two,” Matt replied.

“What did you provide on your first trip?”

Matt looked at Joe, who produced a manifest of everything they had brought to the camp. It listed all the drugs and equipment, including a solar power supply and a converter.

They gave the list to the Sergeant at Arms, who handed it to the congressman.

“Don’t the other distinguished gentlemen get to see the list?” Matt asked.

The congressman, red-faced, handed it back to the Sergeant at Arms and brusquely told him to get copies made. It took minutes for the copies to be distributed.

A senator seated next to the congressman asked, “Are there any items missing from this list?”

Matt looked it over. “Yes, I see an omission.”

“What would that be?” the senator smiled.

“We brought an old refrigerator, but they couldn’t use it because they didn’t have enough power.”

The senator whispered something back to the representative.

The banter between the representative and Matt went back and forth for another hour, and it was obvious that it was not going anywhere.

“What right do you have to interfere in the policies of a recognized government?” the congressman asked.

“What policy?” Matt asked.

“It doesn’t make any difference what the policy is. If it comes from the government, then it should not be interfered with!”

“What policy did we interfere with?” Matt asked.

The congressman was furious. He couldn’t say the policy was to drive these people into the desert and kill them, and he couldn’t say it was relocation. He was caught and needed time to regroup.

He glanced up and down the dais. “Gentlemen, I see the time is getting late. I suggest we reconvene tomorrow morning to continue this hearing.”

They adjourned. Matt and Joe headed for their hotel, where Suchet and Chris met them. The four men ordered dinner in Matt’s room, and Joe reviewed the proceedings, making notes of probable paths the congressman could take the next day.

They agreed to avoid any personal contact with Saulman during this time, so Matt received the senator’s complete evaluation of the proceedings by email.

The information did not surprise Matt, and he responded, “Our plan is still to drop the load and reverse focus.”

“Are you going to expose it all?” Saulman asked.

“No, just selected materials,” Matt typed.

“I have a fellow Senator on the inside whom I trust. He has promised to try to keep things under control.”

Matt thanked Saulman for his help and signed off.

The next morning, Matt and Joe entered the hearing room, greeted by the stern faces of representatives and senators, who reminded them they were still under oath as they were seated.

The congressman started quickly, “Mr. Lehman, on your second trip to the camp, how do you explain the disarming of over two hundred army troops?”

Joe cautioned Matt before he responded. “Sir, there were no guns or munitions of any type in the camp, and even the few spears the refugees had were old. So, how could we disarm a force of two hundred soldiers?”

“I asked you the question. Now, you are under oath, so answer!”

Matt and Joe exchanged a glance.

Matt stood, “Well, first we hit them with an invisible magic beam that paralyzed them and then disintegrated their tanks and trucks with another mysterious ray and finally imprisoned them in an invisible cage.”

Some on the dais started laughing; Stebbins had gone scarlet.

“We told them they had three choices,” Matt continued. “One was to stay in the army, two was to go home to their families and not hurt anyone ever again, and three was to help build the city, ‘Well of Hope.’”

Matt sat down. The entire dais laughed and openly smirked.

The Stebbins banged his gavel, calling for order.

“You are mocking this hearing, and I shall have you held in contempt!”

“Contempt for telling the truth?” Matt’s stare more than equaled the congressman’s.

“That bunch of poppycock is no truer than changing lead to gold,” Stebbins blurted.

Matt stood, walked about 10 feet from Joe, and faced him. Joe took a baseball from his briefcase and threw it at Matt. All went silent when the ball stopped in midair about four feet from Matt. It remained there, hanging motionless until it elevated and started to move back towards Joe before suddenly dropping into Joe’s waiting hands.

The silence in the room was absolute.

“Gentlemen,” Matt said. “This is one of the technologies that we have chosen to use at Well of Hope. The people who inhabit that refugee camp have chosen that name for their city. This technology provides a protective shield for the inhabitants. It allows them to live free of fear of the government that drove them there with the full intent to slaughter every man, woman, and child.

“What I said earlier was the truth. In fact, the only lies here today are from Representative Stebbins.”

“Arrest this man!” The outrage from Stebbins and several of his cronies was almost comical. Matt let them rant. A senator sitting two places to the congressman’s right finally stood and shouted for order. It took almost a minute for the chatter and noise to subside.

The senator stared at Matt, “You have implied a very serious charge against a member of Congress. Do you have any proof?”

Joe reached into his briefcase, pulled out a bound document about one inch thick, and handed it to Matt.

“Senator, I have here a list of events going back seven years where the Congressman has taken kickbacks and bribes in exchange for political favors.”

“Liar!” Stebbins screamed. “Seize that man.”

It was clear that no one would obey his command. Joe stood and spent five minutes reciting dates and times, events and dollars, and the various bank accounts the funds ended up in.

He came to the most recent occurrence. “Gentleman, this transaction starts with a phone call on November twenty-ninth from his Imperial General to Representative Stebbins. The transcript reads that the General wanted the congressman to exact revenge for people meddling in his country and prevent him from eliminating this refugee camp, which he deemed an abomination.” Joe flipped a page. “The congressman replied that he was sympathetic but couldn’t see how it benefited him to get involved. His Imperial General reminded the congressman of previous gifts and generous compensation he had received for similar actions and inactions. They negotiated, a number was reached, and the funds were deposited in a Swiss account.”

“I’ll have your head for this,” Stebbins screamed. “Just wait, you’ll never see daylight!”

Matt sat while others shouted Stebbins down, finally silencing him.

A Senator asked, “You are sure about these documents and the validity of the contents?”

“Every fact has been cross-checked and verified,” Matt said. “I also want to add that complete copies have been delivered to each of your offices, the Attorney General, and the news media.”

There was subdued, anxious mumbling across the dais.

“Gentlemen,” Matt stood, “you are charged with the responsibility to uphold the Constitution, and you, above all people, should obey the laws of the land. Yours is not a position of privilege but one of service. The fact is, you summoned me here today to exact revenge against a US citizen on behalf of a dictator halfway around the world, and he used one of your own as his pawn.”

“When an elected representative of the people of the United States sells his vote,” he spoke sternly, “his integrity and his soul, for profit at the expense of the weak and innocent, it is a crime against not only those he abused but more so against the very integrity of this country.”

Matt sat. Clapping started at one end of the dais and spread until more than half were standing and applauding.

The senator sitting two places to Stebbins’ right finally quieted the group. “Gentlemen, we have some very serious business to deal with. I do not believe it involves Mr. Lehman or his counsel.”

“How did you get this information? It had to be illegal!” Stebbins shouted.

“Shut the hell up, Aurthur,” another congressman rose and glared at Stebbins. “You have been on the verge of being sanctioned for years! This time you have gone too far!” Looking at Matt and Joe, he said more calmly, “Gentlemen, thank you for your presence, but you are now excused.”

“Thank you,” Matt said. He and Joe started gathering their papers.

One of the senators literally ran from the dais and confronted Matt, “This technology, how did you develop it, and when are you going to give it to the government?”

Matt peered into his eyes and sensed his greed and lust.

“This technology is developed only to be used when and where I say and will never be given to those who would use it to acquire power or to bring harm to any living soul. It is not for sale!” Matt snarled.

They left, took a cab to meet Chris and Suchet at the hotel, and then quickly headed for the airport. Chris and Suchet packed the personal shield away and began their trip back by car.

“Shut down operations at the silo!” Matt said. “Clean the place out and seal it tight!”

The phrasing was disconcerting to the scientist, but Matt shared. “In that room, I read the thoughts of men whose hearts are filled with lust for power, and they do not care about laws or rights. They will try to possess what we have.”

The flight back was uneventful, but Joe noticed a black SUV following them almost all the way to Matt’s house.

“Well, Matthew,” Joe said, “it didn’t take them long to attach a tail.”

“This could get very interesting,” Matt said.

Ten days after the hearing, in the middle of the night, someone used sophisticated explosives to blast the entry door to the silo and ransacked the old control room, stealing computers and the old neuroimager. They did not discover the door to the newer underground facility. Chris notified Matt via encrypted email. No phone calls were to be used until they could make them secure.

Matt was pissed and advised the team that all research would take place on the island. Sending a message to Dr. Mandaville, he advised him not to transmit any correspondence, encrypted or otherwise. He should assume that they were all under surveillance.