CHAPTER 8
“Whatsoever is not done with that assurance of faith is neither well in itself, nor can it be acceptable to God. To impose such things, therefore, upon any people, contrary to their own judgment, is, in effect, to command them to offend God.” John Locke
When Rawlings and Sullivan arrived back at headquarters, they quickly said goodbye and headed their separate ways. Trey got into his electric car while Toby took the elevator upstairs to see Tad, whom he had phoned shortly after leaving the coffee shop. When he reached her office, he found her staring at a list of names on her LCD wall screen.
“Pardon my French,” said Tad, who actually spoke fairly fluent French, “but this sucks.”
“What does?” Toby asked, as he glanced at the list of names.
“I’ve spent most of my day generating lists of people with middle-eastern ancestry or middle-eastern names,” Tad said as she pulled up another list on the screen. “Hell, I don’t even know what I am looking for. There are thousands of people in our target area that have names that sound sinister to some people, such as Mohammed, Ishmael, al Libbi, Ahmed, and so forth. Trouble is, they could be names of NBA players just as easily as terrorists. I’m trying to cross-check them in our various terrorist databases, but it’s kind of like trying to identify a criminal in Alabama or Mississippi named Bubba Smith. I don’t know what Drake plans to do with these names.
“Tell you what,” Toby said as he gently massaged Tad’s shoulders. “I’ll take you to Old Ebbit’s Grill and you can vent all you want, and then I’ll bring you up to date on what Trey and I did today. You probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it any more than searching through these lists. Deal?”
Tad turned her chair so she could see Toby. “It’s a deal. Let me call my sister and let her know that I will be eating out. Will I be sleeping out, too?”
“Just as shy and subtle as ever, I see,” said Toby. “You are more than welcome to stay over. In fact, you can move in with me if you wish, although that may sound too much like a commitment.”
“It sure does,” Tad replied as she shut down her computer and began to straighten her desk, “but a lot less of a commitment than it seemed like five years ago. See how much progress you made over the last five years, and you didn’t have to do a damn thing except not get hooked up with someone else.”
“Lucky me,” Toby said as he took Tad by the hand and led her out of her office. “I always knew that doing nothing could sometimes be a good thing.”
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Old Ebbit’s Grill had always been one of Sullivan’s favorite Washington, D.C. restaurants. It wasn’t as sheik or sophisticated as some of the newer eateries, and the cuisine was rarely mentioned on the Gourmet Magazine web site, but to Toby, it just felt like a restaurant should feel in the nation’s capital city. The atmosphere was strictly “old Washington” with dark, rich paneling, soft textured fabrics and crab cakes that, in his estimation, were as good as you could find anywhere- even on the Chesapeake Bay- and it was located just two blocks from the White House and across the street from the Treasury Building in one of the city’s most historic areas.
“You still come here regularly?” Tad inquired as she and Toby entered the popular old eatery.
“Not as regularly as when you were here. I still like it, but it just isn’t the same as coming with you.”
“If you’re trying to flatter me, it’s working,” said Tad.
“Good, how about a glass of Chardonnay?” Toby asked as the hostess showed them to a booth near the center of the main dining room.”
“How about a glass of single-malt scotch and then a good bottle of Chardonnay,” suggested the attractive brunette whose large eyes twinkled like deep blue sapphires, especially when she smiled.
“Single malt it will be,” Toby responded as he looked around the restaurant. “This place is nearly empty. But it is a Monday night after a week of terrorist bombings. I guess I shouldn’t expect a big crowd.”
“No, I don’t think you should,” Tad agreed. “Fortunately, we don’t get attacked enough to get complacent and accustomed to it, so one would expect blasts like those last week to send people back into their shells, just like after 9/11/01 and after the train bombings a few years ago.”
“Which is yet another reason that we have to catch these people quickly, before our economy goes further into a tailspin like it did in 2001 and 2002,” Toby said after ordering two glasses of single malt scotch. “It’s a good thing that our unemployment rate is fairly low.”
“I am no economist and probably wouldn’t admit it even if I were,” said Tad, “but any bozo who can subtract two three-digit numbers without a calculator knows that the unemployment numbers are, in technical terms, crap. The main reason that the unemployment rate is so low is because nearly one-fifth of the labor force has disappeared. That’s because nearly half the women who were working decided to stay at home to educate the kiddies or just be a mom and loving wife. And a lot of other women who would like to work just quit looking, because more and more employers are sending out not-so-subtle vibes that they prefer to hire men. The more I talk about this, the madder I get and the more I need that drink.”
Fortunately, the waiter, a tall, slim 20-something young man with thick brown hair arrived quickly with their scotch. “And have you made your food selections, yet?” he asked.
Tad took a large sip of the single-malt and then said, “I’ll have the crab cakes, but with broccoli instead of potatoes, if that’s okay.”
“I’ll have the same,” Toby said, “and a bottle of the Loudon Vineyards chardonnay.” Then, after the waiter departed, he began sharing his thoughts about the economic situation.
“You’re right, and I’m afraid that the effects of this phenomenon go far beyond a drop in unemployment. Productivity is beginning to decline, and a lot of employers say that they are having a difficult time finding highly skilled and highly educated employees for sophisticated jobs. That has to have a negative effect on economic growth in the long term, and that could be critical, because the workforce is shrinking as the boomers continue to retire. Add all that together and it could mean disaster for Social Security, the new health care system, Medicare and other retirement programs. I don’t think the economy can stand another increase in payroll taxes and I don’t think our generation wants to wait until age 75 or 80 to retire.”
“Well, it’s only going to get much worse, because a lot of young women are stopping their education after high school,” Tad responded. “After all, how much education does it take to download babies and teach elementary home school? But the guys in power now are never going to talk about those statistics, Toby. You and I both know that. They are going to talk about the fact that most men who want a job are able to get one and that home life has returned to like it was in the good old days - whenever that was.”
“I agree with you, but unfortunately, I don’t see things changing very quickly,” Sullivan said after a sip of scotch. “The politicians and religious leaders think that things are going in the right direction and so do a lot of the American people. The only question seems to be how much further we are going in merging government and religion.”
“How much further could we go?” Tad asked. “For Christ sake, Sullivan, it’s like we talked about yesterday- the government is well on its way to incorporating Christian values into almost everything it does.”
“That’s the point, Davenport. Most Americans think that is a fine idea. Who can argue against a country adhering to Christian values? Are you against any of the 10 commandments or the teachings of Christ? Are you in favor of pornography or child molestation? Do you think it is better that a child has two parents rather than just one? Do you think it is better that parents spend more time with their children? Are you in favor of someone aborting the next Einstein or Beethoven?”
Toby took time to take a sip of his scotch. “Face it, Tad, it’s not easy taking sides against these people, and I’m afraid that if the Congress approves the amendment to make this the Christian Republic of the United States of America, it will be ratified by 3/4 of the states and then it will be too late to do anything about it.”
“But realistically, what more could they do even if the amendment is ratified?” asked Tad.
“How about passing a law that makes it mandatory to attend church? How about a law that makes sex outside of marriage a serious crime, as well as a sin? How about a law that forces homosexuals to undergo psychiatric treatment? Or a law that makes the man the legal head of the household? Or the worst possible law of all- making it illegal to play golf on Sundays? Want more suggestions?”
“No, but I either need another scotch or you need to get that bottle of chardonnay over here pretty fast.”
Toby got the waiter’s attention and held up his scotch glass and two fingers.
“More scotch on its way,” he said to Tad. “And to answer your question seriously, the backers of the Christian Republic amendment hope that its passage will be an insurance policy to prevent future generations from taking the country back to secularism. But if it makes you feel any better, I really don’t think the amendment will pass. Like I said before, it’s several votes short in the Senate.”
“How many exactly?” Tad asked.
“I think three or four at last count,” Toby responded.
“That isn’t many,” Tad replied. “I hope all of the opposition senators are healthy.”
“I think they are, at least all except the one from Arizona who is nearly 100 years old,” said Sullivan, who seemed to have a sudden revelation. “Wait a minute,” he said. “This discussion about the Christian Republic makes me wonder if the terrorists have decided to strike at this particular time, because they fear what might happen if the United States, which is still the world’s major superpower, does become more religiously motivated.”
“What do you mean?” Tad asked as she took a sip from the fresh glass of scotch that the waiter had just put on the table.
Toby took a sip of his drink before answering. “Well, suffice it to say that our relations with The Islamic Republic of Iran, Syria and several other Islamic countries are not the best in the world. And it is no secret that most of the terrorist training and financing takes place in those countries. Don’t you think that they might fear what could happen if our country becomes a Christian Republic, particularly if they think that we will become as hostile to non-Christians as their societies are to non-Muslims?”
“So you think that the timing of these attacks is not just coincidental?” Tad asked. “You think that they are trying to weaken the current CDR government so that the country will stay at least partially secular?”
“Maybe,” said Toby. “I just can’t think of another reason why, after several years without any serious attacks in the U.S., we suddenly have this wave of bombings. And remember what Drake said after the church bombing – that maybe they were targeting Senator Stevens, just like they targeted the other two senators, because he is on the Intelligence Committee and is such a strong supporter of the country’s antiterrorism efforts.”
“That would at least give us a possible motive for the attacks,” Tad agreed, “but I am not sure the motive is all that important, because we still don’t understand the mental processes of Islamic extremists. How can we in this country understand the mindset of people who stone a rape victim to death because, according to their distorted beliefs, she has dishonored her family? In our way of thinking, that’s lunacy.”
“So you’re saying that motive, per se, may not matter,” Toby said just as the waiter brought their wine and entrees. “I think I agree with you in the sense that their motives for doing what they do will never make logical sense to us, but knowing the motives might at least give us some kind of clues as to the individuals responsible and where they come from.”
“That makes sense,” Tad said. “If we are pretty certain that the terrorists belong to al-Qaeda and have roots in Pakistan, Iran or Syria, for example, it may be easier to track them. That is clearly what Drake thinks, and if so, I would like to think that the CIA is already tracking them from their country or countries of origin. I’ll check in with my contacts tomorrow to see what they know. In the meantime, I’m tired of thinking about all of this. I want to enjoy the crab cakes, the chardonnay and the rest of the evening. I still can’t believe I’m back home. It’s nice to be here and even nicer being with you, Toby Sullivan. I missed you.”
“It couldn’t be as much as I missed you,” Toby said as he and Tad touched their wine glasses together. “I’ll catch you up later about how Trey and I spent our day. You won’t believe it.”