2 A Month of Mondays (10 page)

Only Skin Deep

Clarence was not fond of heights. His ears popped in the
elevator. This made him sweat just a bit. He did not like to sweat, either.

He arrived on the sixty-fifth floor uncomfortable and
irritable. He was here to cement their largest partnership to date, to bring
together men who shared an uneasy alliance already. Some of the nervous energy
was exacerbating his peeves. He pulled at the sleeves of his shirt and adjusted
the suit jacket across his back.

He took a deep breath and walked briskly down a narrow hall
toward a door made of dark oak. A black sign with white stenciled lettering
claimed that this room was the “LAB C.” He entered without knocking.

The first room was completely white and mercifully devoid of
windows. The bright lights from the compact florescent T5 halide lamps shone on
the white surface of the lab tables and the white plastic, metal-framed seating.
The effect was almost blinding, but the benefit for proper rendition of colors
was spectacular. Samples of blood in a centrifuge along the far wall were a
remarkable dark red. A bulletin on the door to the next room was a bright pink.
Clarence blinked repeatedly and sighed. The only real benefit to labs was that
for the most part, they were clean. Clarence liked clean.

Clarence put his finger on the security panel and allowed it
to be scanned. He peeked into the room beyond and Dr. Chan Ma waved mirthlessly
to him, his face set grimly over a report. The door opened with a mechanical
whoosh.

“Dr. Ma, good to see you,” Clarence offered.

Dr. Ma nodded and went back to his report. Clarence
continued to the next room. Dr. Ma was an emerging energy engineer—a genius,
really. Originally, he was a petroleum engineer who had foreseen the decline in
fossil fuels as reliable energy source going forward. His specialty was fuels
that could be engineered in the lab in infinite quantities and delivered from
secure facilities. His research and his safety were a security concern for
Sinegem.

Between Dr. Ma’s breakthroughs, the general dissatisfaction
with world governments, the rise of global poverty, and the scarceness of
existing fuel reserves, clean water, and food sources, the Global Coalition of
Governments was poised to reap the benefits of their years of planning and
their exorbitant spending. The governments of the world were not prepared for
the storm that was going to hit the globe in less than six months. The crop for
global anarchy was ripe. He and his compatriots were prepared to pick the fruit
of the chaos that would ensue.

Clarence did not believe in utopian societies or
world-ending dystopian futures. He did not believe in God. He believed in
power, pure and simple.

He glanced to his left as he walked down the narrow,
window-lined hallway. Several engineers and scientists worked over petri dishes
and studied computer readouts. This was Sinegem’s virus engineering department,
or as the sign above the four-inch thick plexiglass security door designated
it:  Environmental Lab C. No caution signs were necessary. Everyone here understood
the risks involved when entering. Clarence smiled at a young female lab worker
who followed his travels down the tunnel of death. She looked nervous. Or
unhappy. Not unexpected. She had likely been pulled from an internship at a
Tokyo university, given a fellowship, and a large stipend, and shipped off to
New York to work and live within Galbraith Tower for one year.

Clarence knew that the uneasy marriage between Galbraith and
Sinegem was unraveling. That was why he was here and why he was sweating. He
set his mouth in grim determination, sighed through his nose and entered the
final room of the wing.

His first sensation upon opening the solid metal door was
vertigo. He felt as though he had just stepped out onto the wing of jet plane
in flight. The buildings of Manhattan and Brooklyn soared to the north and east.
The floor-to-ceiling bank of windows formed an invisible “L” to his left. He
stepped to his right and swallowed, his eyes scanning the long table set before
him. Three people sat across from him.

Zeke Galbraith sat at the head of the table. It was his. The
view was his and he owned it, or most of it. He was eighty, but appeared much
younger. He could pass for Scott Glenn. His hair was white and cut simply; his
black on black suit was a style suitable to much younger men. His eyes were
bright and his hands formed a tent over his chest.

“Welcome, Clarence. We are excited to get this meeting
started. We only have one other arrival from our psy-ops department.”

Clarence took a seat. He poured himself a glass of water
from a canter at the center of the table. He smiled at Lin-Xia Chen, the CEO of
Sinegem. Clarence wondered at the choice of this meeting room, accessed only
through the tunnel of death behind him. Did Zeke mean to intimidate or was
there another design here?

Lin-Xia nodded back in deference. Clarence had grown
accustomed to the position he had attained through his allegiance with his
mysterious boss. Ironically, his former employer, Eilif, sat directly across
from him. Clarence had detected no resentment. Jealousy and envy were below men
such as Eilif and his power comrades.

The door behind him opened with an audible click. Clarence
did not turn. He knew who the final member of the meeting would be.

He sat next to Clarence without preamble. Clarence could
feel his nervousness. He could sympathize. Three of the most powerful men in
the world sat at the table. Clarence was the least intimidating person here and
he represented the one who held these three in the palm of his hand.

Mr. Galbraith cleared his throat and cocked his head to the
side, taking in everyone at the table.

“Now that we are all here, I propose we get started. Clarence,
would you be kind enough to distribute the information?”

Clarence extracted his smart phone from the breast pocket of
his white blazer. He navigated to a menu and clicked a button. The glass table
lit up and an image of the globe appeared in stunning color. Amid the
continents, yellow and blue lights blinked and on the oceans red beacons
pulsed.

“The yellow lights represent the positions of armies, the
blue lights are military air fields and missile installations,” Clarence
explained.

“And the red lights are naval positions?” Xia-Lin asked.

“Exactly so.” Clarence allowed them to take in the
information for a few seconds. He watched their eyes darting from country to
country.

“What is the total strength?” Eilif asked.

“That is the wrong question, I am afraid,” Zeke corrected. Eilif
glanced his way, but did not seem perturbed.

“The better question would be: what is our market share of
the total global military strength?” Clarence offered.

The table was silent. He watched as they continued to stare
at the blinking lights.

“With the assurances of our friends in Russia, Mexico, and
the Middle East, our market share is sixty percent,” he finished. Zeke
Galbraith raised his eyebrows.

“Show us the pharmaceutical and medical numbers, please,” he
said, licking his lips.

Clarence clicked another button and a flow chart and pie
graph glowed on the table top.

“As you can see, our consortium owns or manages the
distribution of ninety percent of the world’s medicines and medical devices,”
Clarence said. Everyone at the table nodded, knowing now where this was all
going.

“And the corruption penetration at the CDC, the WHO, and Red
Cross will cripple the response to any global emergencies,” Lin-Xia
interjected.

“How about emerging and existing energy?” Eilif asked.

Clarence clicked another button.

“As many of you already know, the members of the newly
formed Global Coalition of Governments controls eighty percent of the existing
fossil fuel supplies world-wide. We hold the key to every producer of nuclear
energy, wind energy, natural gas, and chemically engineered fuels. Our R&D
departments for emerging energy sources remain at the forefront of some of the
most exciting discoveries in over twenty years. We only lack access to solar
energy, but we control the manufacture of its components and its distribution
channels. We own the grid across the globe, gentlemen.”

Clarence could feel Gary shift uncomfortably beside him.

“And our access to weapons and ordinance?” Zeke asked. Clarence
knew that Mr. Galbraith was well versed on the coalition’s holdings. This was a
well-scripted show of force. It was necessary to force an uneasy alliance.

“With our newest commitment from Granville Arms,” Clarence
began, displaying a new graph upon the table, “we have solidified an unlimited
supply of small arms as well as a new weapon designed to be used in the third
stage of our plan.”

He glanced at Lin-Xia, expecting an outburst. He was not
disappointed.

“Granville Arms?  They are not capable of producing anything
but the most rudimentary hunting rifles,” Lin-Xia complained.

“We offered the same contract to Chen-Ru arms and Ruger. We
were rebuffed by FN, and several other European companies. Granville is capable
and are a member organization of the coalition.”

Lin-Xia shook his head, but did not comment further. Clarence
watched him closely. He understood all too well that this was the only real
sticking point in the negotiations.

“Can we agree that with the assistance of well over half of
the heavy defense suppliers, we now will control not only the commands of sixty
percent of the world’s military force, but their supplies, new technologies,
and ordinance?”  He saw nothing but nods as they soaked up the information.

“Then that leaves only one more item, then?” Eilif asked. Again,
this was carefully orchestrated because this was Eilif’s brain child and the
core of their success. Without removing the underpinnings of the world’s
governments quickly, their plans would be much more difficult to implement and
more grave and substantial measures need be employed.

“Yes. The removal of the existing commands by agents who can
be traced back to the existing government hierarchies, thereby signifying deep
corruption and dissention, is paramount to our plan to implement the ascension
of the Global Coalition of Governments,” Clarence explained.

“You mean to say that we will eliminate the current world
leaders using agents who are loyal to the existing governments in order to
create controversy?” Galbraith asked.

“Yes. Just.”

“Being an expert on the matter, I would say that this would
be an impossible task. Surely, we have a backup plan?”

“As you are aware, I have asked a member of your technical
and psychological research team to join us today at great security risk.”

He noted their agreement.

“I introduce to you, then, Dr. Gary Forsythe of the
Galbraith Alliance. Or, more accurately, I must say, of Sinegem,” Clarence
said, beaming a false smile.

“Thank you, Mr., uh. Doctor…uh”

Clarence smiled again, smugly.

“Just Clarence will do, Dr. Forsythe.”

“Oh, yes. Thank you.”  Gary appeared to want to stand, or to
pace. He did not seem to know what to do.

“Proceed.”

“Yes. Well, as our data will show, we only need seventy
hand-picked operators to achieve mass penetration and cause global
pandemonium.”

“We have seen the studies. I developed them myself,” Zeke
said impatiently.

“Yes. My studies have been in the area of psychological manipulation,”
Gary continued. His voice cracked.

“Mind control?  Hogwash,” Lin-Xia interjected.

Clarence glanced at Eilif across the table. He was grinning,
his hand discreetly covering his mirth.

“Continue, Dr. Forsythe. What have your studies produced?”
Clarence encouraged.

Gary licked his lips and nervously glanced around the room.

“They show that with the right subjects, we can wipe
memories, write new low-level instructions to the consciousness, and increase
the mental acuity in terms of combat, strategy, and information processing. Simply
put, with the proper raw materials paired with psychological and pharmaceutical
influences, we can create the perfect assassin,” Gary explained.

“And how many subjects have you personally managed in this
experiment, Dr. Forsythe?” Zeke asked.

“Three.”

“Only three?  How do we know this will work on a large
scale, then?  What proof do we have?”

Gary looked at Clarence for permission. He nodded and closed
his eyes, knowing that Eilif was enjoying this show.

Gary turned back to his audience and for the first time
since he had entered the room, seemed confident.

“We initially trained two subjects to indoctrinate one other.
Through a series of codes, implants, drugs, and—for lack of a better
term—brainwashing, we were able to duplicate our efforts by training assassins
who could in turn recruit, indoctrinate, and then manipulate others.”  Clarence
could tell that Gary could barely contain a self-congratulating grin.

Zeke shook his head.

“This cannot be possible. You can actually replicate this, a
sort of self-perpetuating recruitment and indoctrination?”

“Yes. To three levels down,” Gary confirmed. Now the smile
did come out.

“May I ask where you performed this test?” Eilif prompted,
already knowing the answer.

“Yes you may,” Gary answered. He turned to face Zeke
Galbraith. “The agents we initially recruited were Deputy Director Smith and
Director Lars Anasenko. They, in turn, recruited two others each with varying
results. And, then four more were recruited from that line.”

“Right under my nose you did this?” Mr. Galbraith asked. He
was remarkably calm.

“Yes sir.”

To the amazement of the rest, Lin-Xia spoke up.

“I understand that this program is not entirely a success. There
is one element of this grand experiment that has gone rogue. Our plan may now
be exposed.”