Terminal Compromise - Winn Schwartau (fiction book recommendations TXT) 📗

will deliver our messages in writing to those who need

additional proof of our sincerity. They know nothing other than

they get paid, very well, to make sure that the addressees are in

receipt of their packages.

VERY GOOD. AND THEY TOO ARE RESPONSIBLE?

Yes. Elimination is a strong motivation. Besides, they know

nothing.

WHAT IF THEY READ THE CONTENTS?

That can only help. They do not know where the money comes from.

Most need the money more than their lives. My contacts make my

choices ideal. Death is . . .so permanent.

I AGREE. IT MAKES MEN HONORABLE, DOES IT NOT?

Most of the time, yes. There are always exceptions, and we are

prepared for that, too.

THE SEKIGUN-HA ARE AT YOUR DISPOSAL.

Thank you. The Ground Hogs, the first are in place.

HOW MANY AND WHERE.

Over 50 so far. I will keep recruiting. We have 11 in the long

distance phone companies and at AT&T, 3 at IBM, 14 in government

positions, 12 in major banks, a couple of insurance companies, 3

Hospitals are compromised . . .and a list of others. We will

keep the channels full, I promise.

HOW WILL THEY FUNCTION?

They will gain access to the information we need, and when we

call, they will perform. I will add more as we proceed. It

amazes me, these Americans. Anything for a buck.

DO NOT DISAPPOINT ME.

I will not. That is my promise. When will the information be

ready?

SOON. TOMORROW THE FIRST READER INFORMATION WILL BE SENT TO YOU.

CALLS MAY BEGIN IN DAYS. YOU ORGANIZE IT. THE GROUND HOGS ARE

NOT TO BE ACTIVATED FOR SEVERAL WEEKS. THEY ARE TO PERFORM THEIR

JOBS AS IF NOTHING IS WRONG. DO THEY UNDERSTAND?

Ground Hogs receive 2 paychecks. They understand their obliga-

tions. We pay 10 times their salary for their allegiance. The

Operators and Mail Men will start soon.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS ALLEGIANCE. DON’T YOU KNOW THAT YET?

Americans pay homage to the almighty dollar, and nothing else.

They will be loyal.

AS YOU ARE MOTIVATED MY FRIEND, I DO NOT FORGET THAT. BUT OTHERS

CAN OFFER MORE DOLLARS AND WE CAN BE FOUND. I CANNOT RISK THAT,

UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE RISK?

Completely. I am responsible for my people.

AND THEY ARE PREPARED FOR THEIR JOBS?

Yes. That is my responsibility, to insure the security of our

task. No one must know. I know my job.

DO IT WELL. I WILL LEAVE YOU.

<<<<< CONNECTION TERMINATED>>>>>> Chapter 5 Monday, September 14 New York City

Doug! Doug!” Scott hollered across the city room. As in most

newspaper offices, the constant scurry of people bumping into

each other while reading and walking gave the impression of more

activity than there really was. Desks were not in any particular

pattern, but it wasn’t totally chaotic either. Every desk had at

least one computer on it. Some two or three. Scott pushed back

into place those that he dislodged while running to McGuire’s

desk.

Doug McGuire noticed the early hour, 8:39 A.M. on the one wall

clock that gave Daylight Savings Time for the East Coast. The

other dozen or so clocks spanned the time zones of the globe. It

wasn’t like Scott to be his energetic youthful self before noon.

“Doug, I need you.” Scott shouted from 3 desks away. “It’ll just

take a minute.”

Scott nearly dragged the balding, overweight, sometimes harsh 60

year old Doug McGuire across the newsroom. They abruptly halted

in front of Scott’s desk. Boxes full of files everywhere; on the

floor, piled 3 or 4 high, on his desk. “Will you look at this.

Just look at this!” He stuck a single sheet of paper too close

into Doug’s face. Doug pushed it away to read it out loud.

McGuire read from the page. “A Message from a Fan. Thanks.” Doug

looked perplexed. He motioned at the paper hurricane on Scott’s

desk. “So, what is this mess? Where did it come from?”

Scott spoke excitedly. “I got another delivery, about an hour

ago. I think it’s from the same guy who sent the McMillan

stuff.” He perused the boxes.

“Why do you say that?” Doug asked curiously.

“Because of what’s in here. I haven’t been able to go through

much of it, obviously, but I scanned through a few of the boxes.

There’s dirt on almost every company in the Fortune 1000. Copies

of memoranda, false figures, confidential position statements,

the truth behind a lot of PR scandals, it goes on and on.

There’s even a copy of some of the shredded Ollie North papers.

Or so they say they are. Who knows. But, God! There are notes

about behind the scene plays on mergers, who’s screwing who to

get deals done . . .it’s all here. A hundred years of stories

right here . . .”.

“Let’s see what we’ve got here.” Doug was immediately hooked by

the treasure trove of potential in from of them coupled with

Scott’s enthusiasm. The best stories come from the least likely

places. No reporter ever forgets the 3rd rate burglary at the

Watergate that brought down a President.

By late afternoon, Scott and several of the paper’s researchers

had set up a preliminary filing system. They categorized the

hundred of files and documents and computer printouts by company,

alphabetically. The contents were amazing. Over 150 of the top

American corporations were represented directly, and thousands of

other by reference. In every case, there was a revelation of one

or more particularly embarrassing or illegal activities. Some

were documented accounts and histories of past events and others

that were in progress. Many of the papers were prognostications

of future events of questionable ethics or legality. It reminded

Scott of Jeanne Dixon style predictions.

From Wall Street’s ivory tower deals where payoffs are called

consulting fees, and in banking circles where delaying transfers

of funds can yield millions of dollars in interest daily, from

industrial secrets stolen or purchased from such and such a

source, the laundry list was long. Plans to effect such a busi-

ness plan and how to disguise its true purposes from the ITC and

SEC. Internal, very upper level policies which never reach the

company’s Employee Handbook; policies of discrimination, atti-

tude, and protective corporate culture which not only transcend

the law but in many cases, morality. The false books, the jim-

mied numbers . . .they were in the boxes too, but that was almost

accepted accounting practice as long as you didn’t get caught.

But the depth of some of the figures was amazing. Like how one

computer company brought in Toshiba parts and sold them to the

government despite the ban on Toshiba components because of their

sale of precision lathes to the Soviets.

“Jesus,” said Scott after a lengthy silence of intent reading.

“This nails everyone, even the Government.”

There were well documented dossiers on how the EPA made unique

exclusions hundred of times over based upon the financial lobby-

ing clout of the particular offender. Or how certain elected

officials in Washington had pocketed funds from their PAC monies

or how defense contractors were advised in advance of the con-

tents of an upcoming billion dollar RFP.

The cartons of files were absolute political dynamite. And, if

released, could have massive repercussions in the world financial

community.

There was a fundamental problem, though. Scott Mason was in

possession of unsupported, but not unreasonable accusations, they

were certainly believable. All he really had was leads, a thou-

sand leads in ten thousand different directions, with no apparent

coherency or theme, received from an anonymous and dubious donor.

And there was no way of immediately gauging the veracity of their

contents. He clearly remembered what is was like to be lawyered.

That held no appeal at the moment.

The next obvious question was, who would have the ability to

gather this amount of information, most of which was obviously

meant to be kept very, very private. Papers meant not for anyone

but only for a select group of insiders.

Lastly, and just as important to the reporter; why? What would

someone gain from telling all the nasty goings on inside of

Corporate America. There have been so many stories over the

years about this company or that screwing over the little guy.

How the IRS and the government operated substantially outside of

legal channels. The kinds of things that the Secretary of the

Treasury would prefer were kept under wraps. Sometimes stories

of this type made the news, maybe a trial or two, but not exactly

noteworthy in the big picture. White collar crime wasn’t as good

as the Simpsons or Roseanne, so it went largely ignored.

Scott Mason needed to figure out what to do with his powder keg.

So, as any good investigative reporter would do, he decided to

pick a few key pieces and see if the old axiom was true. Where

there’s smoke, there’s fire.

Fire. That’s exactly what Franklin Dobbs didn’t want that Monday