The Establishment Part 1 …A Secret Cabal

No conspiracy theorist was ever found dead of a suicide,
by shooting himself in the back of the head 3 times,
until after he tried to expose the illegal activities of the United States Government.
― Jason Kondrath

Charlotte Hogan

When your mentor is murdered it’s a terrible shock, but when he’s also the father of the woman you love, your entire world is turned upside down. I was still shaking as I jetted back to New York from Cairo. Charlotte was going to meet me at the airport and I’d have to find some way to put my feelings aside and be strong for her.

I just didn’t get it. Tobias Hogan was the victim of a targeted hit, but who the hell would assassinate a world-famous Egyptologist? It didn’t make any sense. I think the fact the murder seemed so mysterious added to my grief.

I was angry and frustrated and wanted to strike out at someone/ anyone, but the real truth was I felt so powerless I could scream.

The stewardess seemed to sense my mood and gave me a wide berth, but two hours after I woke from a restless sleep to find a blanket gently draped round me, I gave her a weak smile. When she came by later and gently patted my arm, I fought back tears the rest of the flight.

Charlotte was surprisingly composed when she met me at Arrivals. She hugged me and accompanied me out to the car, but when we got onto the freeway, she headed in the opposite direction.

“Hey, where are we going?”

“Don’t ask—just bear with me. I’ll explain everything when we get there.”

We ended up at her father’s ski lodge outside Ellicottville N.Y.

I made a fire while she put on the coffee. I threw a couple of seat cushions on the floor in front of the fireplace. When she came back in with two steaming mugs, I pulled her down on the cushions and held her for a long time.

Finally, she got up, shook out her hair and curled up in a corner of the couch facing me.

It all seemed so natural—Charlotte on the couch in her white cable knit sweater, and behind her the huge window filled with snow and the pine ridges we both loved.

“I’m sorry to drag you all the way up here without telling you, but I thought the car might be bugged.”

“Whaaat?” I must have looked as white as the drifts outside the window.

“The CIA were at our house within hours of Dad’s death—they ransacked his office and took everything—phones, files, hard drives—you name it. They had a warrant, so I couldn’t say anything.”

I stared at her trying to take it all in.

“I didn’t tell them what they were looking for was here.”

“Here?’ I said stupidly, “What the hell’s going on, Char? You’re dad’s an Egyptologist, not a bloody spy.”

“Wait till you see what he found. He told me, but it took me weeks to believe him. I wish I did sooner—I might have been able to protect him.”

I was reeling. Protect Owen—From what or whom? This was crazy.

“Are you up to this, or should we wait till after the funeral?”

“No, I’m good—show me what you’ve got.”

“Come into his office,” she said and took my hand. I pulled her to me, pushed back her dark tresses and kissed her hard on the lips. She smiled wanly and her eyes told me she had been through a lot already. I repressed a wave of anger —how anyone could hurt her or her father, was beyond me.

She turned on the computer, opened a file and then set my coffee mug beside the mouse pad. “I’m going to have a shower—you read. It’ll take you about an hour for you to get through this.”

I squeezed her hand, waited until she closed the door and then took a sip of coffee and began clicking through the file.

It didn’t take me long—only a few minutes to realize—that the contents of that file would turn the world upside down and change lives, not just for us but the rest of humanity

© 2018, John J Geddes. All rights reserved

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