THE GIFT

Chapter 11

The next day, Avery watched as Stephens picked up four men with the requisite black duffle bags at the Greyhound bus station. Driving his wife’s Toyota, and hanging back as far as could, he followed the sedan to the motel. An SUV that had not been there before was parked in front of Stephens’ room at the end of the motel.

He parked between a couple other cars sitting on the opposite side of the gravel lot, under a deeply shading, giant oak tree. Matt had given him a hand-held parabolic microphone dish. He had his own old school binoculars. He pointed both in the direction of this suspicious gathering.

“You have the coordinates, but just in case…it’s called Finally Found It Road. It’s a straight gravel road, which means it kicks up dust, so no cars on the road. Nothing else there but our target. Be careful. They got some local militia maggots playing soldier around the house. I’m sure they can hit a rabbit or the occasional coyote, but coyotes don’t shoot back. Take them out when you encounter them. No loose ends. Everyone is expendable. Got it?”

“How long did you say this driveway was?” one of the new guys asked.

“I didn’t, but it’s about a mile and a half. Stay on the grassy sides. Gravel crunches.” He replied. “Is there a problem?”

“A mile and a half is a long way to sneak.” The newbie responded.

“Am I going to have problems with you?” Stephens snarled. “You have no f*****g idea what is at stake here. This isn’t your ordinary run-ofthe-mill contract, asshole. You screw this up…I will shoot you.”

Somehow, he didn’t see the fear and intimidation he had hoped to see in the newbie’s eyes. f*****g mercenaries!

Local militia maggots, eh? Good…you keep thinking that. Avery had heard enough. He quietly pulled out of the motel parking lot and drove toward Curtis’ ranch. He dialed Curtis to tell him what he’d heard. Curtis then called Matt with the news. Matt promptly sent out an emergency recall to the group.

One of the group members was a very successful attorney who owned a private jet. Within an hour, it was landing at regional and private airstrips across Texas, gathering the “The Phantom Force”. That was a moniker that was only used to activate the group when things were going to get real…as in tracking, engaging and eliminating cartel smugglers, or some other threat to the safety and sovereignty of America. Their contacts were so deep that “enemy” casualties were reported as “accidental” or “exposure” deaths. No publicity. They were invisible to the media.

Hours later, members had been gathered from the only airstrip within driving distance of Panther Pass. The vehicles carrying the men spaced themselves out on the highway to avoid any convoy appearance that might draw local law enforcement’s attention. Not every cop in the area was privy to their secret. Not every cop would approve of what was about to go down.

Elsewhere, grim-faced Phantoms were speeding toward Panther Pass. Stephens had no idea of the maelstrom that was about to unload on him and his band of mercenaries. Though only a small group, their skills could be overwhelming.

Corporate mercenaries versus patriot volunteers…only in America.

For years, through extremely careful vetting, Curtis and a few trusted brothers in arms had worked to cobble together a tight network of avowed, constitutionally committed former special forces veterans, fixated on weeding out and destroying the domestic enemies they all had sworn to defend the People and the Constitution against.

None of them had ever sworn to defend an offending government or greed-soaked corporations.

And now it appeared that the domestic enemy had a name…Big Pharma. No surprise there. They had been focused on addicting America to medical fear and paranoia for decades.

Not this time. They could not be allowed to gain control of the formula. This wasn’t just about America. It was about the world…it was about humanity.

This miracle WILL change the world for the better. It WILL destroy the old money tree that provided the corporate revenue needed to keep the world afraid and medicated.

With this formula, any medical lab on earth could produce the serum. At first, there would be chaos, as fortunes are lost, corporate kingdoms are destroyed, and power is taken away.

People don’t need an excuse to riot, but when the crimes of Big Pharma are exposed……they will explode. Riots demanding accountability for the vermin who and manipulated them for so long. Riots demanding explanations…demanding blood.

It will take time to develop and distribute the vaccine, but most of the world is ignorant of that, so riots will demand immediate access…and for free. Profiteering will be a death sentence to those foolish enough to attempt it.

It is up to The Phantom Force to light the fuse. They had debated the best way to assimilate the miracle to the public. They had considered a slow feed to medical facilities and research labs but decided that route would produce an underground market for an entitled class of criminals.

It was ultimately decided that the only way to assure that the miracle was available to everyone, was to give it to everyone...all at once. No individual or corporation could claim it, copywrite or patent it.

For once, the people will hold the power. There will be no billionaires emerging from this discovery, unless it is the entrepreneur who develops the means to get it out to the masses quickly.

Governments will no longer have the pandemic card to play against their own people. Congress members will lose millions in contributions and personal profit from secret Big Pharma bribes. They will have to seek other blood money to finance their crimes and quell their greed.

The impact on medicine in general is an unknown. That had been the subject of many heady discussions between James and Dr. Ronald Clark, the creator of the formula. What would the medical world look like after it was released to the common man? What would hospitals become? What would medical colleges become? However, the big question was…could society survive the social changes that would surely follow? Would the disempowered governments and bankrupted corporations lash out to punish a rebellious humanity? Wars have been let loose upon the people for far less. In many respects…this will be the end of the world, as we know it.

Theoretically, the cure would only apply to whatever disease, injury or malady already exists. It doesn’t prevent anything. Medical research will still have to find out how a malady or disease starts.

Dr. Clark proved that a second dose would not be effective. It is a onetime only application. Anything after the vaccination is going to be as harmful as it would have been before. Nor will it change the DNA of the recipient. It just pushes a “reset button” for the entire body. Someone using it vainly to remove scars at age twenty-five will not be able to use it for cancer at age fifty.

When the transfusion from James to Irene had produced a wonderous, but limited result, Melanie had asked if this could repair brain damage. She had also wondered what effect it would have on congenital maladies or deformities. Until the formula was in full production and research…nobody knew.

It had fallen on the Phantoms to make sure that humanity had the chance to answer that, and many other related questions. From the initial release of the news of the cure, governments and corporations that had paid attention, were forewarned and were, therefore, potential threats. Fortunately, the CIA and other agencies were distracted by multiple scandals and accusations and failed to see the issue until just 69 recently. This is the righteous fight the Phantoms had trained for. It was time to act.