strangely ineffective in the States. For us, outsourcing has become an accepted status quo, no matter how damaging. But for India it would mean a great deal of political capital to be able to say that even the most American of processes has been handed over to them. It’s like having the biggest and best reference or portfolio item in history; huge political capital asset for them.”
“OK, adding it,” Alex said, then added ‘India politics’ to the list. “Sam, you’re more experienced in things like this; what’s your theory?”
“I have a theory, and it’s not fully fleshed out, but it has to do with terrorism. When I see a heart attack here, a car crash there, arranging a black market heart transplant in the middle of the modern US medical system, that spells power and money to me. Huge power, lots and lots of money. That’s why I’m thinking a terrorist organization, not sure who, but an organization nevertheless, that wants to take the election hostage somehow, maybe in the biggest blackmail in the history of our country. Maybe the biggest concentrated terror attack in history. Something like that,” Sam said.
Alex looked at him, puzzled, a frown developing on her forehead.
“Can you please give us more details?” Tom asked.
“If the UNSUB organization gains access to the single nationwide event that puts the majority of all adults in a certain place within a certain time frame I’d say that’s a power play of immense magnitude and potential. By ‘gaining access’ I mean a lot of things could happen. They could threaten: detonate a few warning charges here and there, make public threats, and cause terror to prevent Americans from voting. They could ask for billions of dollars to allow the voting process happen peacefully. They could defraud the voting process; although it’s hard to say why they’d care, unless there’s some American political connection involved somehow. Has some politician outsourced the committing of electoral fraud? That’d be something, wouldn’t it?”
They were all staring at Sam in disbelief. Alex felt a wave of anger rising up in her throat, chocking her. Motherfuckers! She made an effort to regain her calm, analytical demeanor.
“We should have started with you,” Alex said. “Wow . . . that’s a lot to think about. Why do you say organization? Can’t a single individual hold the power and the money necessary to make this happen?”
“Not really. From what I am seeing,” Sam replied thoughtfully, “this plan is not only large and complex but also elegant. It plays like a symphony, not like a single instrument tune.”
“How do you mean?” Alex asked.
“A single individual wouldn’t have had the capacity, mentally and operationally, to lead and execute such a complex plan. A single individual could have created the plan, that’s true, but he’d need an organization to execute this plan. The facts we know don’t seem to be that many, but the precision of execution leads me to believe there are many people behind this plan, deploying and executing surveillance on multiple targets, drawing conclusions, making things happen. That’s why I said symphony.” Sam rubbed the back of his neck, thinking hard. “Here’s another thought for you. We don’t know anything about the money. How the money flows, where it comes from and how. Getting a black market heart transplant arranged, that’s north of a million dollars, considering it was done in a legitimate clinic, not someone’s back room.”
“Yep, we don’t know much about the money, that’s true,” Alex said and wrote ‘Money trail’ under ‘Unknown.’ “Any other thoughts, ideas, scenarios?”
No one offered; they were tapped out.
“I think we’re out of any new ideas, especially after Sam’s input,” Steve said. “The one thing circling in my mind now is that we might have underestimated the complexity of this case, and by complexity, I also mean danger. If we’re about to uncover a conspiracy of this magnitude we are facing extreme danger and we should proceed, if we still want to, with extreme caution.”
“Oh, we’re still proceeding, if you’d like my opinion,” Alex said. “Let’s figure out how. I’ll finish the timeline and the categorization this afternoon and see if any new ideas pop up.” She took a couple of gulps from her coffee mug. The coffee had turned cold. She went towards the coffeemaker and programmed it to brew a new serving on top of the cold coffee leftovers.
Sam popped a cold Coke from the mini fridge, drinking it with large gulps.
“What are you planning to do?” Tom asked. He