THE KILLING COLLECTIVE

“I’ll tell you everything you want to know, Agent. Now kindly put down the iron maiden.”

Jill limped back into the kitchen to put the frying pan back on the stove. Turning back to face Montgomery, she folded her arms to let him know that he was still on thin ice. “Tell me…how exactly does a man of science die, come back to life, find himself a job as a museum curator and end up involved in a murder fest?”

“Um, well, you see…” Montgomery’s eyes darted in all directions as if he were hoping to find an answer floating around in the air.

He smiled, then, revealing laugh lines around his eyes and a dimple on his left cheek. “It’s a long story. May I please sit down?”

“Agent Seacrest,” he began, “You don’t have the time to hear it. Once they find out your husband failed the test, you’ll both be back on the hit list. We have to get out of here as soon as you can get your husband up and ready.”

He exhaled audibly and looked at his watch. “You’re going to make me tell you the whole story right now, aren’t you?”

“All right, if it’ll light a fire under you both. Just let me get through it quickly, and don’t interrupt me. We don’t have much time. First off, my real name is Montgomery, not Moreland. Most people call me Monty.

“I’ve known who they are for years now – as an entity, I mean – because I worked with them at Meese. They began as a top-secret think tank created through a joint effort of the highest military, intelligence, and private sectors of the country, to review and approve or deny funding – unlimited funding – of the most promising scientific research meant to push the entire world forward. This group was so secret and had such tremendous freedom of money and power that their existence and individual identities were virtually unknown.

“For purposes of plausible deniability and because the presidency is a short-term position, even the White House was never told about it. Their decisions were absolute and irrevocable. They had to be, because we needed a group like theirs to quietly push civilization ahead without any constraints. They operated outside the law and outside of the democratic process. Without them, we could never have entered the space or information ages in the short time it’s taken us to get there. Every significant discovery in science, medicine, technology, aerospace, agriculture, and energy, among many others over the past sixty-odd years was possible only because they chose the projects that got the green light.

“As time went on, the group members changed here and there, but their mission and resources never did. Without oversight, they discovered they had the power of God. They could shape the future any way they wanted without any responsibility to anyone or anything. Gradually their mission changed from helping the world to controlling it. The story is an old one.

“There was one government organization that had staying power, and it was the one that originally developed this think tank. They were the only ones who could arrange for the group’s future funding and protection. Only the very highest officials knew about them, and they didn’t put up much of a fight when the group threatened them with exposure. That knowledge would have rocked the country right off its foundation. Instead, they became the group’s new support system and protector. As part of the deal, all records of the original group’s name and each member’s identity was destroyed.”

Carter chimed in. “Is it Meese you’re talking about? And how do you know all this?”

“No. The group was planted there over time and assumed a new name and mission as a cover for their real activities. Essentially, they decided to hide in plain sight, and it worked like a charm. Meese has no idea it’s a front for them. All they know is that this project review board has always been there.

“I found out who their protector was much later on. My protégé was developing a drug that could revolutionize the art of war. When the project was turned down, I began to smell a rat, but I never told her that. I guess I should have. Later, she killed herself. That was no secret at Meese. After that we began to butt heads. I invented nutty ideas that could never work in a million years and asked my scientists to present them for me.” Monty stopped here, smiling with the memory.

He cleared his throat and continued. “Up until the day my wife was murdered, a few years ago, I had absolutely no idea that they were anything other than what they seemed to be. After my wife’s death, though, I received an anonymous letter telling me it was done as a warning to me and strongly suggested I drop out of sight. Permanently.

“I had no idea what I had done or to whom I did it, but I ran away, sent Meese a letter of resignation and then faked my own death. I’ve been running and hiding ever since.”

Monty sighed and went on. “For years I tried to figure out what caused this shit storm. After Arleen passed away, I heard, through one or two trusted sources, that the drug had disappeared from the Meese lab, but I was the only one who remembered what that drug could do. No one in upper management seemed to care that the only sample left was missing.”

Carter wanted a clear statement from Monty. “Are you convinced this secret think tank was responsible for the theft of the drug?”

“Yes. By coincidence, soon after the drug went missing, the group was disbanded so Meese could team up directly with the military to redefine their agreements and partnerships.

“When the old museum curator was murdered, I was offered his position, but I was afraid to accept anything other than a temporary assignment. You and Agent Deeprose were the local F.B.I. investigators on the scene, and that was how I heard about the Collective, as you call them, and about the murders being committed by their members. I still keep my ear to the ground. But when the video of one of their meetings went viral, I recognized Senator Pressman’s face.”

Seacrest wore a sour face as if she wasn’t a hundred percent convinced, yet. “Then why didn’t you say anything about it to Carter when you had the chance?”

“He would have thought I was the killer, and I still had no way to prove I wasn’t. I had knowledge, motive, and opportunity. Open and shut case. You have to understand, Agent, that all I had were some pieces of a puzzle that didn’t fit together.

“I racked my brains trying to remember anything I could about the group and the drug. All I knew was that they turned down Kate’s project, I pissed them off mightily after her death, and the drug disappeared at the same time they did. When the drug resurfaced, I had no idea whether or not they were the ones who did it. And how was I going to prove it? Who’d believe a crazy story like that?”

Seacrest tapped her foot. “Why are you convinced they’re the ones who stole it?”

“They turned down that project for bullshit reasons, so there must have been another very good reason behind their decision, after all. Slowly, the pieces came together. They must have thought I knew of their plan to steal it and use it for another purpose. Or maybe I just had the misfortune of knowing the drug ever existed. Wrong job, wrong place, wrong time kind of thing, you know?”

Jill paced around the bedroom and then came to a short stop. “Wait a minute. Why weren’t you eliminated at the time, then, instead of merely threatened, and why haven’t they ever been able to find you?”

“They targeted my wife, first, as a warning to me, and probably planned on getting me later on when things cooled down a bit. In fact, sometimes I wonder if Katherine really committed suicide. We were all liabilities. The reason they haven’t caught me yet is because I’m smarter than they are - always one step ahead.”

Carter put all the big questions to Monty now, no longer holding back. “What was the original name of this secret group who calls themselves the Collective? Do you know who’s protecting and helping them? Would you remember their faces if you saw them again, I mean, besides Senator Pressman? And how is he tied to them?”

“When I recognized Pressman’s face, I realized he must have dropped out of sight and changed his name and career as well. Neither of us were supposed to live to be able to identify the rest. I never knew their real names, but he did, because he’d been one of them. The thing is, he was the genuine article. Pressman had no idea what their real agenda was. He wanted to approve funding for Dr. Blake’s research because he’d been a P.O.W. in Vietnam. He saw first-hand how a drug like that might have brought things to a quicker, more decisive end and prevent a ton of suicides, afterward.

“I’m pretty sure Pressman had no idea why the others wanted the project squashed, but as it turned out, he had a price. They offered him a career as a senator in his home state if he agreed to be the lone dissenter on Kate’s project. The only reason the leader of the Collective appeared on a movie screen was to use Pressman’s likeness and voice to set him up. The poor bastard almost had a heart attack when I walked into his office. He thought I was dead. We talked for a long time that day. He told me just about everything he knows. He owes his career to them, and he wants to live to enjoy it. Pressman will never roll. That’s definite. If he spills what he knows, he’s a dead man.”

Seacrest asked the question on both her and Carter’s mind. “Monty, who are they? What’s the real name of the think tank?”

“There have been rumors, for well over sixty years, of the existence of a group of all-powerful men who worked behind the scenes shaping the future of the modern world. I always thought that was just a conspiracy theory. Now I believe they’ve always been here, right under our nose. The men we’re after are referred to as the JASONS.”

Seacrest threw her gaze over to Carter. He was falling back to sleep, so she lowered her voice. “You still haven’t told us who’s protecting them, Monty. Tell me everything you can about why the JASONS are using the drug on their members and what exactly this drug is. I also want to know why attendees are being programmed to kill. What’s their real agenda, Monty, and who the hell is Galatea?”

“Agent Seacrest, I think I’ve told you enough to impress upon you the fact that we have to get the hell out of here. Can we finish this later?”

“Mr. Montgomery, the more I hear, the crazier the story sounds. We’re not going anywhere until I know the rest of it. When you said Carter failed the test last night, what exactly did you mean?”

Montgomery closed his eyes and held up his hands in surrender. “All right. All right. I’ll tell you the rest of it. Just promise me you’ll get him dressed and ready to go as soon as I’m done talking. And if you don’t want us all killed, for God’s sake, take out your gun, and keep it aimed at the door.”

When Seacrest returned with her gun, he continued. “Step one. The test began by forcing the drug on him. The rest of the test subjects were lured to those meetings and dosed without their knowledge. I suspect this Silver Man couldn’t resist telling Carter their plan. They wouldn’t care if he knows now anyway, because he won’t remember a word of it, later. No one would believe him even if he did. And he’ll have to be put down, anyway, as well as you and myself.

“Step two. When the drug kicks in, he begins to hallucinate and becomes aggressive and paranoid. That’s when they program his mind to kill. They repeat this mantra over and over again until he knows it by heart and believes every last word they shove down his throat. He’s given a name, address and a detailed plan to commit a murder so they can see how the drug works on him.”

“They study them to see who will follow the orders, who will resist them, and who will go rogue and kill someone of their own choosing while they’re hallucinating. In your husband’s case, they decided to use him as a test subject and get rid of him at the same time. They overdosed him and sent him here to kill you, if you didn’t kill him first in self-defense. If he succeeded, he’d either kill himself when he found out what he’d done or be sentenced to life in a federal prison, if not executed, for murdering an F.B.I. agent who also happened to be his wife. In the event he failed to kill either you or himself, well, you’re just two more loose ends to get rid of. No big deal.”

Seacrest was reaching the end of her rope, her face was turning red. “Why would they try to kill us when Carter won’t remember anything from last night and if we have no way of finding out who they are and who’s protecting them?”

“Because Carter has the Burn List, which leads straight back to David Florio’s murder, Meese’s computers, the development of the drug we named Hyzopran, and the JASONS’ theft of it. Dalton Wells’ name must also be on that list. The Burn List can put them in jail for a thousand years apiece and permanently screw up their plan to become richer than God and twice as powerful.”

Seacrest kicked a table leg to punctuate her frustration. “Carter has a…a what? A Burn List? Why was Florio killed for having it? Why is Wells’ name on the list, and what other names are on it?”

“Agent Carter found the Burn List on David Florio’s hard drive, and I’m assuming Wells’ name is there. Wells’ killer was in possession of the drug when he was arrested, and your tests showed that he must have ingested it no longer than 48 hours prior to the murder and his arrest. He’d been at a meeting of the Collective during that time, Agent Seacrest, which you may or may not already know. Agent Carter knows everything now, I’m sure of it – all except for who’s protecting them. That forced their hand, Jill. They have to eliminate you both and Agent Deeprose, too.”

“Do you know if there’s a step three, Monty? I mean, why risk testing an unknown hallucinogen on an unsuspecting public to assassinate a list of people unless there was a larger purpose? Couldn’t they just arrange for professional hits? Who’s protecting them? Who’s Galatea?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know. That would have made everything so much easier, wouldn’t it?”

“No. I’ve never seen it. Pressman knows, though, and now your husband does. He’s got it hidden away somewhere. If we could get our hands on a copy, it might tell us a lot more about why those particular names are on it.”

Seacrest woke Carter to ask him if he remembered discovering something called a Burn List, where it might be, and whose names were on it. He told her there was a copy in the computer desk drawer but no longer remembered why those names were there. She rummaged through it until she found the list and then handed it to Monty.

He read the list slowly. Seacrest and Carter anxiously watched him puzzle it out. Those not already assassinated were now being protected, but there would be no end to this if they couldn’t see the whole picture. All it would take is a new list that would achieve the same goal. Both agents were afraid to compromise the operation by sharing information with anyone at the Bureau, including Fischetti.

It only took him five minutes to figure it out. Monty’s head flew up; he looked like he’d seen a ghost. “I know what this is! It’s a list of people in key positions of economics, government, industry, technology, the arts, natural resources and on and on. They’re all long-termers too - people who have a real impact in all those areas of work. Some seem trivial and low-level, but according to this list, they’re all tied to an event, entity, or someone incredibly influential. They’ve got to be assets the Silver Man wants taken out after he’s done with them. Knowledge is power. From the looks of some of these other names it seems there are those presenting viewpoints and laws and regulations that are in his way. My theory, right or wrong, is once they’re gone, he’ll make sure that every last replacement is one of his own people and that there’ll be list after list after list of assassinations and replacements until they have control of everything, everywhere. But I’m with you; why used drugged amateurs to do it if it’s a long-term plan?

“The people on this list are from all over the world, but the majority are from here. There’s a Supreme Court justice, a civil service employee, titans of industry, a protest singer, philosopher, ballet dancer of all things, a scientist at area 51, etc., and one museum curator in charge of priceless European art, Agents.”

Seacrest believed him now; there was no way not to. “So where do we go from here, Monty? Do you have a plan?”

“The plan right now is to get out of here! Every minute we waste is another nail in my coffin and yours.”

Carter and Seacrest had been in tough spots before and weren’t going to be rushed out the door without a little more information. Carter, as usual, boiled it all down to one simple question, and he wanted an answer before trusting Monty completely. “You could have told us all this without putting yourself or us in any danger, Monty. Why are you really here?”

“You know those kids aren’t the real culprits, but you’re being pressured to get their convictions without too much nosing around. Even I could see that much from what I read online and saw on T.V. Don’t you see? You’re being stonewalled. Sabotaged. The people responsible for that must be the ones protecting the JASONS. Now, you’ve got them after you, too. That’s the reason I’m here. You need me because none of them would recognize me now. I can pick up where you left off.”

Seacrest leaned forward, every nerve alive and humming. “Who do you think the protectors are, Monty?”

“I’ve been wondering about that for two weeks now. After hearing what happened last night to you both, and now after seeing this list, I have a pretty good idea who it is. As I said, there was only one group of people who knew they ever existed, and they couldn’t afford to be blackmailed and exposed. That’s why the F.B.I. made a deal with them. You’re fighting your own organization.”

Carter saw Seacrest’s face change color, again. Knowing what was coming, he waited for her to blow. When she did, it was worse than Vesuvius.

Seacrest leaped off her chair, regardless of the pain it caused her, and slammed a fist on a table. She was no longer red. She was purple. “F.B.I.? The F.B.I.?! Are you telling me that every high official in the Goddamn F.B.I. knows about this and has always known about it? You think that the D.O.D. was ordered by our own office to confiscate the chemical evidence? I’m supposed to believe that we’ve been lied to and sabotaged right from Jump Street by our own people?!”

“Those fuckers! Those slimy, sneaking, black-suited, sunglass-wearing traitors! This is so subversive that I’m not sure we should expose it to the public. It may not be able to be stopped if it’s been going on since the Roswell crash. This could trigger riots, maybe even a civil war!

“There’s just got to be international collusion. The F.B.I. and the JASONS have contacts all over the world! Jesus! If you’re right, then everything that’s been happening over the last year is an attempt to destabilize the country and the world – defying the constitution, encouraging hate groups like the Collective to bring their activities right out onto main street, the illegal detention and deportation of Muslims and Mexicans, arresting reporters, tampering with the presidential election, denying climate change, intolerance and outright bigotry, misogyny, and racism. It’s all been part of a larger agenda! And you think the president doesn’t know anything about it?

“I admit the man has the intelligence and temper of a two-year old, but how could he not know? These were all his ideas!”

Carter had a thought on that point. “Yes, but that’s what makes him the perfect patsy, Jill. All he knows is that he’s been helped into the White House by countries that hate us, but the reason is pretty clear to me now; they went so far over the line to get him elected because his agenda happened to fit the Silver Man’s to a “T”. The timing, his love of attention from rich, fawning internationals, and his admiration of tyrants like Putin combined with his utter stupidity was just the combination they’d been waiting for all these years. The entire cabinet is gobbling up all the candy in the store, but what they don’t know is that the candy is poisoned.”

Seacrest dropped down onto the bed beside Carter, exhausted. “Fischetti had to have known that all along! I always wondered why he was so set on hiring us -a couple of nobodies from Boston. We were perfect for the job because we were above suspicion and beyond reproach. It was well known that Carter had taken down dirty cops in his own office. That made it impossible for him to stay there, but perfect as a pawn who’d be relieved to come here. We were given big promotions, training, carte blanche in the lab and a more than generous budget. We even made the Goddamn papers! We were so busy trying to make good that we were easily led down the garden path.

“We weren’t from inside the organization, so there was no way to know about the JASONS or make the connection between them and our cases. We were used just as much as the president, Carter, and I’ll be good and Goddamned if I go out without getting every one of them first.”

Monty looked more scared of her than the JASONS. Carter said benignly, “It’s not that bad, Jill.” He smiled, rested his head on the pillows propping him up and watched her fume. This was the way he and Jill worked together.

Seacrest began rubbing her palms on her pants, ready for round two. “Fischetti could manipulate us without breaking a sweat! And Deeprose! Ha! A rookie on her first case thrown into an investigation of national importance, and we never thought twice about it! Carter! We walked right into the middle of the biggest, dirtiest double-dealing conspiracy in U.S. history with our eyes closed. We started asking questions, got too curious, had a few lucky breaks and broke some rules. That’s why we have to be killed in the line of duty.”

She stopped short and blinked a few times. “You’re right, Monty, we’ve got to get the hell out of here.”

“That probably would’ve been the wise thing to do the first time I said it.”

“Oh my God! Agent Deeprose is a sitting duck in the hospital. We have to get her out of there. Carter, did you get all that?”

Seacrest directed her comment to the ceiling. “There’s got to be someone who’ll believe this story and help us blow the lid off this cover-up. Fischetti knows the identities of the JASONS, Carter. He’s got to. And he knows every person in the F.B.I. who’s in on this.”

“Who in the world is going to help us, Jill, without proof of any kind? How do you tell a wild story like that without sounding like a lunatic, which is just what you thought of Monty a few minutes ago? All we have is the Burn List. And that means nothing without proof of who made it, proof of the experiments done on the test subjects from the Collective meetings, and proof of what the JASONS planned to do with the list after the experiments were done. Going after the F.B.I. is sheer suicide without hard evidence. We’ll have to think of another way out of this. Monty, does the Burn List give us any leverage at all?”

Monty looked crestfallen. “It’s our only bargaining chip. To use it as supporting evidence we’d have to get a full confession out of the JASONS, get them to implicate your office. Otherwise it’s all circumstantial, and we don’t stand a chance. Even if we did have hard evidence, who’d stick his neck out for us when it’s a losing battle? No one can fight the F.B.I. and win.”

Carter’s brain was finally starting to percolate. “There’s one thing I still don’t understand; you think the assassinations have to continue until the Silver Man controls all those positions, but if he’d succeeded this time, wouldn’t it become obvious that important people all over the world were being exterminated? Why would they make such a stupid plan?”

“Because they can. And because no one will ever suspect the F.B.I. is shielding a mythological group of mad scientists. After the experiments were concluded and the people on the Burn List were successfully taken out and replaced, who knows? I think there’s another step in the plan, but for the life of me, I can’t figure out what it is.”

Carter had been told what it was the night before, but he had no recollection of it.

Seacrest started making plans of their own. “I know we have to leave, but it’s going to take some time to get Carter up and into clothes. We’re going to need your help, Monty. We haven’t eaten since yesterday morning, either, and I’m starving.”

She limped into the kitchen, opened the fridge and made them all sandwiches. Monty helped Carter into a kitchen chair as she handed them ice cold beer in frosty glasses that she kept in the freezer for just such a moment.

Monty looked down at his sandwich but didn’t move. Seacrest saw tears come to his eyes. “Thank you. This is very kind of you. You don’t know how much I’ve missed the little things…how much I miss my wife every moment of every day.”

This is no crazy man sitting at my kitchen table eating a sandwich. He knew we stumbled into a trap and really wants to help us.

Seacrest sat opposite Montgomery in the kitchen, but addressed herself to both men. “Monty, Carter might recognize a face or two if he could arrange another meeting, but you might recognize them all.”

She looked at Carter and decided to say what they were both thinking. “Fischetti would have to be brain dead not to know what’s going on around him, but we have to trust someone, Carter. We need someone on the inside working with us. He might not be guilty, honey. His hands might be tied. We could talk to him – give him a chance to cooperate.”

“I thought of that too, Jill, but even assuming he’s innocent, the heat is turned up so high that if he doesn’t play along, he can kiss his own ass good-bye. He’s obviously been told to make Mr. Montgomery the fall guy. We can’t go to him. It would put him in an impossible situation.”

Monty realized neither of them fully comprehended the significance of the old curator’s name on the list. “Not necessarily! Agents, allow me to shed a little light on Dalton Wells’ assassination. The old curator was executed for helping to arrange the return of a portion of the museum’s priceless medieval art to its rightful owners – the European countries from which they came. The return of that art meant an economic loss beyond reckoning. He was involved in extremely high-level negotiations between the president and several ambassadors just before he died. The point is, his name is on the Burn List. Even circumstantially, it’s pretty strong evidence – enough to capture the president’s attention and launch a deeper investigation. He’s the last man on earth who’d let the JASONS have what he wants for himself, but his position is precarious and might not last beyond next year. The evidence has to reach him before he’s kicked out of office or the JASONS will just go back into hibernation until another stooge comes along.”

Monty finished his sandwich and took one last swig of his beer. “Gee, that was good. I feel like I haven’t eaten in a year.”

Carter leaned over his plate and grunted in pain. “Monty, there is a way you can help us, but it’s dangerous, maybe more than dangerous.”

“They might implicate themselves if you’re willing to be the bait. I can’t do it officially without a warrant, but you can.”

She looked over at Monty, so ready to be a hero. He really had no idea what he was getting into, so she spelled it out. “If you want justice, Monty, this is the only way to get it. I won’t lie to you; they’ll beat you, probably drug you and most likely kill you in the end. You don’t have to do this. You can walk away now knowing why Arleen and Katherine died, even if we can’t do anything about it. But Monty, if you could get footage and their voices recorded before you….well, we could carry on the fight. What do you want to do?”

“What Arleen would want, Agent. She’d want me to cut off their balls with a dull knife. Pardon the vernacular.”

Carter rarely laughed, but he couldn’t help himself. It came out as a wheeze followed by a wince.

Seacrest stole a quick look at her watch and drew in a sharp breath between clenched teeth. “Can you help Carter get cleaned up and dressed while I get some supplies together?”

Fifteen minutes later, all three met back in the kitchen. Monty wanted them to know he tried to help them once before. “I tried to point Agent Deeprose in the right direction by leaving a painting from my own collection at the Cloisters that clearly did not belong in their collection. It was a Degas of ballerinas at their rehearsal, his specialty. By then, I’d met with Senator Pressman. He was worried about one name on the list that he felt was critically important to world relations - worried enough to tell me her name, her occupation and where she rehearsed. Her name was Clara, and she’d just been named the new prima ballerina with an internationally renowned company that travelled all over the world. She’d been asked by the United Nations to play a sort of Ambassador for us in the Communist and Third World countries to smooth their feathers a little.”

Carter and Seacrest exchanged a significant glance. She answered for the both of them. “They’ll be happy to know they can replace her right now, Monty. She found out who her killer was going to be and got to her first. She’s in custody.”

“Poor girl.” He got up to get his coat. “So how do we make this meeting happen, Agent Carter?”

“Not so fast, Monty. If you can’t get all the evidence we need in one shot, Meese will gladly throw you under the bus to save their own hide. Everything we have still leads straight back to you. The list we have was found on their own computers, but you were the project manager who dealt with the JASONS. You knew all about Kate’s research on Hyzopran and blamed them for deep sixing her project and her death. Arleen was murdered, but you can’t prove who was behind it. You could have written the anonymous letter of warning you received, yourself. You assumed it was from the JASONS who, by the way, we still can’t prove are the men you worked with or even ever existed except in a legend. Senator Pressman could blow the whistle, but he’s already told you he won’t. You also assumed you were being threatened because you knew about Hyzopran.

“To a jury, Monty, you sound like a paranoid schizophrenic with delusions of grandeur. It wouldn’t take a jury very long to find you guilty of stealing the drug and trying to frame Meese for everything that’s happened since.”

Monty looked ashen. He closed his eyes, said a prayer, and then said what he had to say. “I need to know exactly how we’re going to get this information and exactly what I need to worm out of them for video and wire.”

Seacrest rose and taking out her laptop, she quickly typed up a list of her own. “Read this and memorize it. The only other things you need to know is how to get them to say what we have to hear and figure out a way to get the voice recording and video out of the meeting place and into the U.S. mail before they can kill you. We have to have a fool-proof plan before you go in.”

The JASONS must do ALL of the following:

• Admit they’re the original JASONS. Names are preferable, because we have to assume their faces have been changed through surgery and by age and that their prints have been burned off.

• Say why they were originally created and by whom - and I mean ALL the people involved. That’s the only way we can protect ourselves from the F.B.I. for the rest of our lives.

• Say where their current funding and sanctioning comes from, how much they receive and the extent of their power and authority.

• Say why and when their mission changed, what they’re planning as their new mission, what they hope to gain by it, how they plan to carry it out and what exactly they did carry out so far.

• Admit they were placed at Meese without Meese’s knowledge.

• Admit to torture, brainwashing, and murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, and ordering the assassinations.

• Explain that they used Meese, Senator Pressman and the members of the Collective as test subjects, smoke screens and fall guys without their knowledge and against their will.

• Admit the Burn List found on Meese computers was written by them with the intent to assassinate everyone named there. They have to say at least some of the names on the list to corroborate our own list. They need to explain why they were selected and that they planned to replace them with people willing to look after their interests.

• Tell you what the next phase of their plan is, how it will happen and what their motive is.

• Admit to stealing the drug from Meese before they were disbanded.

• Admit to ordering the murder of your wife as a warning to you, of murdering your colleague and of drugging and brainwashing Carter into trying to kill me and himself.