Dolf Spitzer and his small team spent the better part of the day enduring the laborious process of passing through TST security checkpoints en route to the underground location where they would broadcast the interview with Justin Knight. The biggest sticking point in their negotiations came when the AU insisted on providing an Internet connection to send the TV signal, contrary to the express complaints of WNN technicians, who insisted that the quality of the signal would so badly degrade that it would ruin the TV picture. Spitzer, however, prevailed upon Peter Anderson, his producer, to go along with the AU's restrictions. He pointed out that showing a poor picture with heavy clipping would reinforce for viewers the underground nature of the place they visited, from which they planned to broadcast the program.

“Think of the film that came out of Iraq and Afghanistan the past few years, Peter. Most of it has been very poor quality, but that hasn't deterred viewers. To the contrary, it probably improved viewership numbers because it made the images look more authentic.”

In the end, Anderson relented and ordered the team to accept the AU's restrictions, over the clearly audible grumbling of the network's technicians.

Once inside, it didn't take long for them to set up. The AU provided a decent sound stage and lighting system with which to work–not perfect from a professional point-of-view, but it would do the job. Once they established Internet contact with their Dallas headquarters, Spitzer told his boss to go ahead with plans to link David Knight, Harry Peterson, and Barry Bradford via satellite from New York and Washington, D.C.

Meanwhile, outside the old Yankee Stadium, Donahue's crew (now led by Dawes) had plenty of entering vans to watch and observe, and slowly they managed to piece together how the AU managed to hide their various entrances to the trading floor. Painstakingly, they identified five separate locations, all ingeniously hidden.

The first one they spotted provided access via the loading dock, which turned into a false front. When called upon, it could swing open like a huge door and let a vehicle pass inside. A little while later, they found another entrance on 58^th Street, this time a piece of fake wall that slid open sideways to allow a vehicle to enter. Normally, with all the clever forms of camouflage used by the AU, it would have taken a long time to figure all this out, but the huge number of vehicles entering the area made it much easier than normal.

Dawes kept up the flow of information to a very excited Nevio Roone. Once he had five entrances lined up, he called the Oval Office and demanded the assistance that the President previously promised David Knight from the FBI and the local police. Slowly, cautiously, the FBI and the police began to move men in unmarked vehicles to strategic points near the stadium. They didn't want to spook the van drivers who ferried their patrons to the formerly hidden location. It began to dawn on all the law enforcement personnel involved that this stake-out would turn into a major bust before the end of the day, although none of them seemed to know exactly what charges they would bring against the suspects once they grabbed them. So they continued to take it all cautiously, one small step at a time.

One clear fact did emerge from their observations: the five hidden entrances created almost a perfect half circle around the old stadium. This caused quite a bit of talk and speculation between Roone and Dawes's team.

“Boss, all the hidden entrances suggest that, whatever this place is, it must be hidden inside the old Yankee Stadium,” Dawes pointed out.

“Impossible. How can you hide an operation this big at a public ballpark where thousands of fans gather on nearly a daily basis during the late spring, summer, and early fall months?”

“But there is no other possible explanation! All the evidence we have points to the stadium!”

Martinson figured it out. “Hey boss, didn't R&D say that Shorty descended 50-60 feet before they lost his signal?”

“What of it?”

“Well, Boss, what if they're not in Yankee Stadium after all? What if they're underneath it?”

“What?”

“Why not? That's what they used to do in Manhattan during Prohibition! Haven't you heard about all the secret underground rooms and passages they carved out under the streets of Manhattan? Even the Mayor had his own, special table at the most famous of the speakeasies, the 21 Club on West 52^nd Street. I remember hearing a story one time of how the feds raided the place while the Mayor was having a wet one. He got so mad that he called the local precinct and ordered all the federal agents' cars ticketed and towed for parking violations! Why couldn't the AU run the same kind of operation from under Yankee Stadium?”

Roone grunted but didn't say anything. Now it all made sense, although it awed Taylor that someone figured out a way to carve out a living, working space under his favorite sports venue of all time, with no one else the wiser!

Meanwhile, underground, the auditorium began filling as soon as they opened the doors. Justin looked out through a crack in the curtains. He saw uniformed ushers leading guests to their seats. The entire hall buzzed with excitement, a feeling of electricity permeating the air.

“Looks like we can expect a full house,” Paul said from behind him, startling him slightly.

“I hear they brought in some of our former customers. We should expect some challenging questions and comments tonight.”

“Well, no one ever promised to make living underground easy,” Paul teased.

“Great,” Justin replied with a wry smile, “that's just what I need: more drama in my life.”

A young woman with a Bluetooth device in her ear holding a PalmPilot approached the pair of them and said, “Gentlemen, they want you both in the dressing room.”

The audience filled the auditorium to capacity a short time later. Camera, light, and sound crews took their positions as Paul and Justin stood nervously aside waiting to make their entrances. Talking with their families helped a little bit, but not much. An aide checked their concealed microphones in their lapels for proper connections to the battery-driven transmitters in their jacket pockets.

“Sound check, please, gentlemen. You first, Mr. Regan.”

“What should I do?” asked Paul.

“Just say something so they can check the level of your microphone at the sound board.”

Paul made the usual checking noises until she held up her hand.

“Your turn now, Mr. Knight,” she said, and Justin did the same. She listened for a moment over her headset and told them, “OK, you're all set, you two.”

Now the nerves really set in.

“You'll be great, Dad,” Regan told her father as she hugged him.

“That's what I was going to say!” Michaela declared with a grin as she hugged her father. After she released him, she became more solemn and added, “I'm really proud of you, Dad.”

Justin blushed deeply. He couldn't think of anything to say, but fortunately for him his love and appreciation for his daughter spoke volumes in the way he squeezed her hands.

Lizzie just stood quietly with Justin, unable to mask her nervousness. They heard the director's voice issue from a small electronic speaker by the curtain door. “We're about ready to start in one minute, gentlemen. Mr. Spitzer will call you each on stage, separately, at the appropriate time.”

“I love you,” Lizzie whispered to Justin. She kissed him quickly while Lenore Regan did the same thing to her husband. Then the four women made their way to the floor of the auditorium for the seats that awaited them in the front row.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” an announcer intoned over the auditorium's speakers. “Welcome to this historic event. We wish to remind you that we will be broadcasting this program live worldwide on WNN, so please don't use any flash photography and turn off electronic devices like cell phones or pagers which might interrupt the program. If for any reason you choose to leave the auditorium during the program, our personnel won't permit you to re-enter the auditorium for the remainder of the broadcast.”

He paused another moment as the audience became quiet.

The director's voice off-stage said, “Lights. Cue cameras.”

The lights came up. Dolf Spitzer sat in the middle of the set. He looked into the camera and began talking as soon as he received the expected hand signal.

“Good evening. Tonight, we have a very special and unusual report for you. We are broadcasting in front of a live audience from a secret underground location maintained by the Agorist Underground, an alliance of average, every day people from every walk of life who decided this country needs to make significant changes in our financial and monetary systems. We hope this broadcast will help you decide whether they're right about that.

“At the conclusion of last night's newscast, we promised to show you a video which came into our possession. We will play that video for you in a moment, but first let me provide a little background regarding what you are about to see.

“The financial crisis that currently grips our country came as a surprise to most of us. As recently as three months ago, our national leaders, both political and financial, assured us that the problems faced by the financial industry due to recent troubles in the real estate and mortgage markets were temporary and manageable. They assured us that we need not worry about them. So in mid-September when some of the largest banks in the country suddenly faced bankruptcy and collapse, the events took most of us by surprise.

“Today, the uncertainties faced by this country continue to confuse and perplex people. How did we end up in this predicament? How could things have gotten so bad, so quickly? After all, America has long enjoyed our role as the preeminent financial power on Earth. The mere suggestion that there could be gaping holes in that power, holes which apparently threaten the stability of our entire economic system, still seems incomprehensible to many people.

“As political and financial leaders spoke out, voicing their determination to see America through this dark hour, an assumption swept through all of us that while the crisis we now face caught everyone by surprise, our leaders prepared well to handle the crisis and guide our ship through the storm to a safe port.

“Up until tonight, that's what we all believed. The video you will see shortly raises questions and doubts about these assumptions. It raises the possibility that our highest financial and political leaders actually knew about this crisis long before it happened, and that in fact they planned to profit from it years ago. You will see three persons in this video. They are: Federal Reserve Chairman Barry Bradford; U.S. Treasury Secretary Harry Peterson; and the Chief Executive Officer of Hanover-Rush Bank, Mr. David Knight. As most of you probably know, Hanover-Rush is the largest bank in the country and one of the largest banks in the world.”

Ratings reports the next day would show that 50 million people watched the broadcast–not bad for a news program that normally drew just under one million each night. The viewers included the President and his Chief of Staff.

“So have we confirmed that old Yankee Stadium is where they're broadcasting from?” the President asked as he leaned back in his chair.

His Chief of Staff shook his head no.

“At this point, it's just Roone's speculation.”

“Well, find out, fast!” the President admonished him. “We’ve got to find out where it's coming from and stop it!”

The Chief of Staff called the FBI Director on speaker phone and said, “Fred, what's going on? Do you have them or not?”

The Director answered carefully, “It seems likely that they're broadcasting from beneath the stadium, but we can't be sure.”

“Then get a Patriot Act warrant and raid the place! We don't need probable cause anymore, so stop pussyfooting around!” the Chief of Staff chided him.

“No!” the Director replied. “We have no real evidence.”

“Fred, raid the damn place!” the President demanded.

“Mr. President, we have no clear jurisdiction to do so!”

“I don't give a damn! I'm giving you a direct order, and I expect you to carry it out! If you can't do the job, resign now and I'll find your deputy and promote him, and he'll do it!”

“Mr. President! You know you can't do that.”

“Oh, I can't?” the President said in a malevolent voice, “and why not?”

“Because if you do, sir, I'll hold a press conference and tell the world how you instructed me to ignore the location of known kidnappers in favor of recovering a video for a bank that didn't even own that video in the first place!” the Director replied in as level a voice as he could muster.

“Traitor! How dare you disobey a direct order!” the President yelled at him.

“No, sir, I'm not the traitor here. I hope it won't become necessary for me to denounce you as a traitor, sir, particularly with the national election less than a week away and your party already running behind in the polls,” the Director reminded him.

“I'll have your head!”

“And the people will have yours, Mr. President. How will you explain the mess that will result to your party leaders?”

The President's Chief of Staff quickly disconnected the call, pointing out, “He's got us by the short ones, sir. We have to be careful!”

“Dammit!” the President yelled as he slammed his hand on the side of his chair.

After Spitzer completed his introduction, they played the video to America for the first time. When it finished, the camera came back to Spitzer who introduced live images of David Knight, Harry Peterson, and Barry Bradford inset into the TV picture via satellite.

“Thank you all for joining us this evening,” Spitzer said. “Mr. Bradford, let's begin with you. We all just heard a recording of you expressing your reservations about the bailout plan that Congress recently passed into law. As you know, many people watching this video for the first time suspect that your conversation implied a long-term plan to defraud the taxpayers and the American people. Do you agree?”

Bradford replied with his familiar, soft-voiced phrasing. “Well, first of all, thank you for inviting me here tonight, Dolf. My first reaction is to say that the interpretation you gave is not correct. There is not and never has been any conspiracy to defraud the American people. Even more importantly, this incident demonstrates clearly why the Federal Reserve opposes any suggestions that Congress and the public might engage in second-guessing day-to-day Fed policy. Congress created the Federal Reserve in 1913 with the intention of preventing exactly this kind of interference. I don't regret anything we've done. If the Fed and the Treasury hadn't acted quickly and boldly with great determination and foresight, then the global economic environment would have been much, much worse than it is today. There would have been some risk of a 1930s-style Great Depression; we all want to avoid that.”

All right, then let's turn next to you, Mr. Knight. On the video we heard you suggest that the current financial situation had been anticipated for a long time.”

“Well, first Dolf, I must point out that the video your network showed tonight was shot at a private meeting. It was taken without the knowledge or permission of myself or of any of the other participants in the meeting. It should never have been shown on national...”

“So, you would deny the American people the right to know about any back room dealing going on where their pocketbooks and the entire economy are concerned?”

“I disagree with your interpretation,” David interjected. “High-level meetings take place regularly that should not ever be publicly viewed because of the highly sensitive nature of those meetings.”

“Are you claiming some kind of exemption for national security reasons or something like that?” Spitzer asked.

“Well, no, but...”

“As you know, federal law protects the filming of meetings among public figures. Do you deny that you and your associates are public figures?”

A pained look came over David Knight's face.

“No, of course we do not deny such a thing. However, that really is not the point. If the details of such meetings regularly became available to the public, the repercussions on Wall Street could be catastrophic. It would be impossible to plan monetary policy the way it needs to be planned in such an environment.”

“But Mr. Knight, you are not a member of the Federal Open Market Committee. You have no official position in terms of monetary policy like these other two gentlemen have. Why should you be privy to such details, to such meetings, if, as you say, the rest of the country shouldn't know about them?”

“I head the largest bank in the country. Surely you do not think the largest bank in the country should be left out of such discussions?”

“But if the idea is to keep monetary policy free of undesirable private influences, then what you're arguing is that the biggest banks in America should be exempted from this rule in order to play a central role in running the economy from which they profit directly. How many other banks would you exempt as well?”

“Now see here!” David began to say, but Spitzer pressed on.

“Secretary Peterson, let's bring you into the discussion now. Do you agree with Mr. Knight that the largest banks in the country should be involved in day-to-day monetary policy planning for the country?”

“I think you have a hold of the wrong end of the stick here, Dolf,” Peterson replied. “Mr. Knight does not participate in monetary policymaking. However, surely it is appropriate, given the size and scope of Mr. Knight's bank, for Barry and myself to consult with him from time to time about the state of the industry, particularly given the serious nature of the current crisis. Don't you agree?”

“So you're claiming that the meeting whose excerpt we saw here wasn't about monetary policymaking but rather was merely a consultation with an industry leader?”

“That is correct.”

“So then tell us, Mr. Secretary, why Mr. Knight was heard in that video discussing an apparently long-term policy plan which, according to his own words, seems to date back to the time of Mr. Bradford's predecessor, and perhaps further back than that? If David Knight is not privy to policymaking, how could he possibly know about any long-standing plan, and what are the details of the specific plan to which he referred?”

Peterson shook his head. “There is no long-standing plan. You're taking Mr. Knight's words out of context. He was only speaking generally, in a metaphorical way.”

“Well, it didn't sound that way to me, and I doubt that it sounded that way to most Americans watching this program tonight. This seems like a good time to bring out our fourth guest. Justin Knight is David Knight's nephew. Until recently, he was also Vice-President in charge of Operations at Hanover-Rush Bank, and he brings a distinctly different perspective to our topic tonight. Please welcome Justin Knight.”

The stage manager held the curtain open so Justin could walk on stage to audience applause, where the two men shook hands and sat.

The applause subsided as Spitzer said, “Thank you for joining us tonight, Mr. Knight.”

“My pleasure.”

“Let's see, perhaps I should refer to you and your uncle by your first names, so we can keep everyone straight here.”

Justin nodded with a smile but added nothing. David looked on from his remote location with a dour face, still inset in the TV picture.

“Justin, you heard what these gentlemen have said. Do you agree with them?”

“I do not, Dolf. You see, I have known my uncle all of my life. I know him as well as anyone knows their own family members. I know my uncle well enough to be certain that he was not speaking metaphorically or generally. When he used the words, 'it's time to close the deal,'

“I knew for certain that he spoke about an actual deal, not just a general policy, and certainly not merely a vague generalization. My uncle would never use a throwaway phrase like that. In my experience, he always uses great precision in his choice of words. If he meant a generalization, he would have used much less specific phrasing. My uncle is like most top men in our business; when we talk about a deal, we mean a specific deal. We do not mean a generalization.”

Spitzer nodded. “Now, we saw this video tonight because of you, isn't that right? Tell us how that video came into your possession.”

Without hesitation, Justin told the story of how Lizzie brought him the video and played it for him. He recalled his own shock at what he heard, as well as his initial resistance in accepting the information at face value.

“Why was that?”

Justin shrugged. “Because until recently I played a major role in that industry. I detested the realization that my work helped a secret conspiracy to achieve their nebulous aims at the expense of everyone else. Yet the video strongly suggested that is exactly what happened. It made me ill to think about it.”

Spitzer also asked him about the Hollywood producer's statement about Justin's cousin, Rocky, and his role with the CIC. Justin then told the story of Amanda's death and of how he recently learned that it had been murder, not just a horrible accident.

At this point, David Knight interjected, “Mr. Spitzer, my nephew has no business appearing on this program. I am sad to say he is mentally ill, and his illness cost him his position with my firm. His wild, fantastic notions about some kind of government conspiracy regarding the death of his lovely wife so many years ago show conclusively how far over the edge he has gone.”

“So you deny that your bank played any role in sending money overseas to finance Al-Qaeda or otherwise undermining the security of this nation?”

“We never played any such role officially, although certain people made me aware that my nephew might have engaged in such activity while he worked here,” David responded. “But as for the idea that our bank officially sanctioned such activity, the notion offends me. I am surprised that a respected network like WNN would engage in such a fantastic speculation as my nephew has presented here this evening without even a hint of corroboration, particularly in light of the fact that the FBI are investigating my nephew as a possible terrorist threat.”

“It's interesting that you make that point about corroboration, David. It's time to bring out our fifth guest this evening. This man apparently disappeared from the face of the earth a few months back before authorities declared him missing at sea and presumed dead. He was the CEO of Western American Bank until the regulators closed down his bank last summer.”

“WHAT!?” David cried, expressing his shock, but Spitzer ignored him.

“He also went into hiding with the Agorist Underground, and he comes here tonight to tell us his story. Please welcome Mr. Paul Regan.”

Once again the audience applauded while the remote images of David Knight, Barry Bradford, and Harry Peterson gaped, horror-stricken, on screen. Paul walked out on stage and took a seat next to Justin.

Once the applause subsided, Spitzer said, “So tell us what happened, Mr. Regan. Why did you go into hiding?”

Paul smiled. “As you said, I was reported missing at sea and presumed dead while federal regulators seized my bank. Today, I want to tell you that, with the assistance of the Agorist Underground, I faked my death to deflect the attention of sinister forces that threatened my life and the lives of my family. I believe these same forces threaten our nation.”

“Can you be more specific?”

“I can. A few years before federal regulators seized Western American Bank, a man from the government who called himself 'Protector' approached me privately. I never knew his real name. His ID said he came from the NSA, but it had no identifying numbers or clues of any kind. At first, I thought of him as some kind of crank, a nut case masquerading as a government agent.”

“And was he?”

Paul shook his head. “Unfortunately, no. Protector came to me the first time, he said, because he needed my bank to do something for the government. He needed us to transmit funds from the accounts of a few of our biggest customers to banks in the Middle East and Asia.”

“Which customers?”

“I won't name the customers Protector sent to us, because I believe he and his cronies pressured them just as he pressured me. Instead, let me describe to you how their operation worked, so you can decide for yourself his motivations.

“Customer A would come to me and instruct me to transfer, say, $10 million or some other large sum from their account to an account of a company I never heard of in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, China or some other far off place. If I questioned the money's destination, they referred me to Protector and said nothing else.

“This happened over and over again with a number of my biggest customers. I'm a patriotic American, and I got very suspicious about the foreign companies and banks receiving the money. So I reported my suspicions to the FBI. In return for my patriotic act, Protector showed up once again and threatened that if I didn't shut up, toe the line, and keep making those transfers, he would shut down my bank and ruin me.”

“He actually threatened you, then?” Spitzer added.

“Oh yes! Let me tell you frankly: his threat frightened me. I consulted our attorneys about it, but they couldn't give me any clear advice. How do you handle a government that deals secretly through a man who supplies only a code name and whose every order you must follow, or else?”

“I'm sure we can all see your dilemma.”

Paul nodded. “In return for my 'cooperation,' my bank began to get lots of new business. All banks sold loads of mortgages during this time, but we discovered a much larger share of mortgages came our way than the other banks received. Over the course of five years, we grew from a small regional bank into one of the largest banks in the country. On those rare occasions when Protector showed up at my office, he often bragged how he made sure my bank got lots of new business, my reward for 'playing ball'.”

“And meanwhile, you kept making secret transfers on behalf of this Protector and the government?”

“I did. My fear grew over time, but so did my wealth. I began to see details emerging which gave me a hint regarding the hidden purpose behind these secret governmental money transfers. I discovered that the royal family in Saudi Arabia received a large share of the money. The Saudi royal family is huge and has thousands of people in it. A possible connection to the hijackers of 9/11 occurred to me.”

“And were you able to verify such a connection?” Spitzer asked eagerly.

“I was not. However, beyond the Saudis, I saw funds going to the Israelis, the Palestinians, the Pakistanis, the Afghans, the Chinese, the Indians, the North and South Koreans, the Iranians, the Iraqis... a seemingly endless list. If I tried to research the company names of the recipients, I could never discover anything about them. Their respective governments gave me no useful information about any of them.”

“And how long did all this go on?”

“As I said, this all happened over a five year period from 2003 to this year. Then came the current financial crisis and the ensuing mess that ended up affecting all of us. Three months ago, Federal regulators lowered my bank's CAMELS rating from 1 to 2.”

“Now, what is CAMELS?”

“It's an acronym for Capital adequacy, Asset quality, Management, Earnings, Liquidity and Sensitivity to market risk,” Paul explained.

“It's a government program?”

“Not exactly. It is a secret government rating system that regulators use to give a score to each of the banks in the country on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the highest and soundest score, and 5 being the weakest and most risky. All the banks received similarly lower CAMELS scores during that time, and like the other banks, Federal regulators told my bank to raise more capital and do other things if we wanted to stay in business. Our new, still relatively high CAMELS score of 2 didn't worry me much, so we took some minimal steps to meet Federal requirements and dropped the matter.”

“But it didn't stop there, did it?” Spitzer asked.

“No. Even worse, the volume of the money going secretly to those Middle Eastern and Asian countries increased, and it continued to worry me greatly. So I attempted to crack down on it. I told customers who wanted us to transfer money for them that they had to provide details about the foreign companies they sent money to.”

“What happened then?”

“When I refused to authorize certain transfers, I soon received another visit from Protector. He threatened me that if I didn't start toeing the line again, he'd have my bank shut down. I got a little backbone and told him I refused to authorize transfers for customers unless I knew they didn't go to finance terrorism or some other form of international villainy. He insisted that I must authorize the transfers no matter what!”

“Within days of that meeting, federal regulators sent me a cease-and-desist order regarding our banking practices. They also told me they lowered our CAMELS rating from 2 to 5, the lowest rating possible. In truth, our balance sheet didn't change much during this time, and our practices hadn't changed at all. I knew beyond doubt the real reason for our CAMELS rating change: Protector's influence. I protested the new rating to the regulators. They refused to change our rating or even to review the change. They claimed we must make drastic changes in our business practices or risk shutdown. They didn't say it outright, but they meant I should continue to secretly transfer funds to those countries I mentioned earlier.

“Then, something really unusual happened. Normally, when government regulators take over a bank, they don't tell the bank's officers exactly when they plan to do it. They give lots of advance notice that you need to change your business practices, but they never identify the exact day your doors will close. They also never tell you in advance what bank will get your remaining assets after the takeover. Normally, a bank in default gets auctioned off in a secret meeting among other interested banks after the regulators take over. The ultimate buyer remains unknown before they take over.

“They handled my case differently. I received another visit from Protector one Thursday in July 2008, just before I chose to disappear. You can imagine my surprise when he told me that regulators planned to close my bank the following Monday as punishment for failing to do as he told me to do. He said that Hanover-Rush would buy the bank's remaining assets at a small fraction of their true value. He also told me that if I tried to do anything to stop him, my own life and the lives of my wife and daughter hung in the balance, making this the only time he ever threatened me personally.

“As you might expect, his visit terrified me. I flew to New York to meet with Justin Knight. I wanted to find out if Hanover-Rush knew anything about what would shortly happen. After just five minutes with Justin, I realized the truth. No one ever told him in advance about his bank's imminent asset windfall. So only Hanover-Rush CEO David Knight and Hanover-Rush's Board of Directors knew about it, if anyone did. Mr. David Knight refused an interview with me that day, which reinforced my suspicions.”

Spitzer interrupted, “So you're saying that David Knight played a role in your bank's demise?”

Paul shook his head. “No, I'm saying he must have known about the pending asset sale and about the regulators' plans to shut down my bank in advance. Otherwise, Protector couldn't have known for certain that Hanover-Rush would accept the rest of my bank's assets. Hanover-Rush must already have agreed to a purchase price for those assets.”

Spitzer turned to his monitor showing David Knight and said, “David, is Mr. Regan's story true?”

“Of course not, Dolf,” David replied in a calm, smooth voice. “You are forgetting that Mr. Regan drove his own bank into the ground. I believe he is also a wanted man. He would say anything to deflect attention from his own crimes. I think it is disgraceful that you allow this man to use your network to spread unfounded lies about others. In fact, I will ask my attorneys to consider bringing charges against this network for the defamation to my character you forced me to experience here today.”

“So you deny that your bank assumed control of the assets from the Western American Bank takeover?”

“You mean the Western American Bank failure? Yes, we acquired those assets after the bank failed.”

“And when did Hanover-Rush bid on those assets? What was the date?”

“I do not recall the exact date,” David replied casually. “I have better things to do with my time than memorize the date of every meeting I attend, as I'm sure you realize.”

“But surely, this wasn't just any meeting. This was a meeting that brought over 60 billion dollars in assets to your bank at a cost of less than ten cents on the dollar, if memory serves.”

“I think you overvalue those assets, sir. Many of those loans were performing poorly when we took them over.”

“Except of course that the FDIC routinely accepts responsibility for liquidating weak assets before such a transfer takes place, do they not? And now? How are the remaining loans performing now?”

“We had to write some of them off, but we successfully rehabilitated many of them.”

“So what percentage of those assets are currently performing assets for the bank?”

“Oh, I could not say off-hand,” David demurred.

“Well, give us your best guess, then,” Spitzer challenged him.

“Oh, maybe 85-95% of them.”

“So as I said, you got a huge bargain on an enormously large pile of assets which cost your bank next to nothing,” Spitzer concluded. “Yet you claim not to remember the meeting where you acquired those assets? Forgive me, David, but I'm sure my viewers find that very hard to believe. I know for certain that I have trouble believing it!”

David shrugged and replied with a smile, “Believe what you will. The point is that Paul Regan has publicly defamed me on this program, yet you appear unwilling to do anything about it.”

Spitzer ignored him and turned to Harry Peterson instead.

“Secretary Peterson, you heard what Paul Regan said. You also heard David Knight acknowledge that his bank acquired the remaining assets from Mr. Regan's bank at bargain basement prices, while claiming that he can't even remember the meeting where he acquired them. The Treasury Department played a key role in the transfer of those assets. Can you tell us how Hanover-Rush was selected as the buyer? What other banks were involved in the bidding?”

“You are mistaken, sir,” Peterson replied. “FDIC's regulators handled the shutdown of the Western American Bank, not the U.S. Treasury.”

“Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the U.S. Treasury guarantee part of those assets that Hanover-Rush took over?” Spitzer persisted.

“Yes, but we only provided that guarantee because we hoped those loans would become good, performing loans again, which they eventually did.”

“So, in fact, the Treasury Department did play a role in the transfer of assets prior to regulators taking over the bank.”

“Only to the extent of guaranteeing certain assets,” Peterson replied defensively.

“So you knew about the takeover before it happened. Will you confirm that Hanover-Rush knew about the takeover before it took place?”

Peterson explained, “You must understand that the Western American Bank failure was the largest failure, up until that time, in U.S. history. If the assets you referred to had been written off, it would have cost the FDIC more money than they actually had on hand to cover depositor claims. In truth, those assets never really were in trouble, but to remain true to established audit and bookkeeping practices, the FDIC had to treat them as if they were at risk. The U.S. Treasury incurred very low risk with those assets.”

“But that doesn't answer my question!” Spitzer protested. “Did Hanover-Rush know about the takeover in advance?”

“Yes, of course, but I think you can see why we swore them to secrecy, then told them what we planned to do. It was a special case that called for special handling,” Peterson pointed out.

“So what can you tell us about the rest of Mr. Regan's story, about this Protector who secretly ordered him to funnel millions of dollars to mysterious and dubious foreign companies he had never heard of before?” Spitzer asked Peterson.

“As far as I can tell, that part of Mr. Regan's story is a fantasy.”

Paul spoke up at this point.

“On the contrary, it's as real as the conspiracy which took over my bank. It's also as real as the practices which every registered bank in America engages in. I'm referring to legalized fraud.”

Spitzer whipped around to stare at Paul. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, it's nothing new,” Paul explained. “Banks have engaged in legalized fraud for centuries. Everyone knows about it, but no one ever protests or does anything about it. The courts have long defended the practices, which have gained a measure of propriety and respectability under the law.”

“Can you be more specific? Are you saying that banks commit fraud on a regular basis?” Spitzer asked, intrigued.

“Oh, yes, and everyone in the industry knows it. In fact, most customers know about it, too.”

“What exactly are you talking about?”

“Well, first, there is the practice of banks lending out money that does not belong to them.”

“Sorry?”

“Bank deposits. Checking and savings accounts. CDs. Money markets. These are all money that the bank does not own. Yet that's where the money comes from that banks loan out in the form of mortgages, car loans, business loans, home equity loans, etc.”

“And you're saying this is fraudulent behavior?” Spitzer asked.

“Of course, it is. We all know it is fraudulent, but it also happens to be legal...for bankers. If the average man in the street tried to engage in that behavior, he'd be arrested, but we bankers get rewarded for it.”

Justin spoke up, “Paul's right. More than that, banks lend out money long-term using short-term money. Checking and savings accounts, money markets, CDs...these are all short-term money, because the depositors have a right to claim them either on demand or after very short periods of time. Mortgages and car loans, however, are long-term loans. If you think about it, that's a formula for disaster.”

Paul added, “Yes exactly, making this a second form of legalized fraud that banks engage in, directly related to the first form I just mentioned.”

Barry Bradford jumped in, saying, “But that's why the Federal Reserve System was created in the first place. I disagree with your description of these activities as fraudulent, but I agree they can get a bank in trouble. The Federal Reserve System was created as a buffer, a way to provide monetary liquidity when banks run short of cash. We also provide a regulating influence to keep the money supply under control, to keep inflation down, and to keep employment high.”

“And yet, look at all the thousands of banks that have failed over the years since the Fed's creation,” Justin countered, “banks which the Fed did not manage to keep 'liquid,' as you say. Look at all the times that inflation ran rampant. Look at all the recessions and depressions, which the Fed played a significant role in causing in every single case. Look at all the times we have experienced high unemployment, undeterred by the Fed's regulatory influence. People cannot shelter themselves from the negative effects, either. After all, if they want to have a checking account, a savings account, or a CD, they cannot prevent the banks from using their money in irresponsible ways. Despite all the promises, the Federal Reserve System has failed over and over and over again throughout the years regarding its primary reasons for its existence. Meanwhile, the government continues to turn a blind eye to legalized fraud.”

Paul jumped in again, “Which means that these legalized frauds continue to create major problems, even today. Without them, the current mortgage crisis could not have happened.”

“Now hold on a minute!” David Knight countered. “You cannot hold the Federal Reserve responsible for all those problems. Lots of factors contributed to those situations, including some very unsavory and irresponsible lending practices by certain banks.”

“Including Hanover-Rush, Uncle David, and I don't just hold the Federal Reserve responsible. I hold all banks that engaged in legalized fraud and the government responsible,” Justin interjected.

David glared at Justin but otherwise ignored his comment and said instead, “My point is that, if not for the Fed, the United States would not have the most powerful and most productive economy in the world. Think of all the prosperity this country has created over the past 100 years! None of it would have been possible without the Fed's stewardship of the money supply and the banking system!”

“But most of that so-called prosperity was not real!” Justin raised his voice as he pointedly objected. “Each time that our country seemed to enter a period of prosperity, it soon fell into a recession or a depression. Each time that people thought we entered a new era of prosperity, they found their hopes dashed a few years later. We experienced no lasting prosperity. The Federal Reserve System was promised to us as a solution to the so-called 'business cycle', the pattern of periodic booms and busts which have ravaged our country virtually since its founding. Yet how has the Fed worked out? Look at the record!”

He ticked off examples on his fingers and said, “Since 1913 when the Fed was founded, we have experienced an endless series of booms and busts, with recessions and depressions in 1913 to '14, 1918 to '19, 1921, '23 to '24, '26 to '27, the Great Depression of 1929 to 1933 and its follow-up in '37 and '38, 1945, 1953, '60 to '61, '69 to '70, the oil crisis of 1973, the stock market crash and recession of '73 to '74, '80 to '82, the stock market crash of 1987, '90 to '91, the stock market crash and recession of 2000 to 2001, and now 2007 to the present. Good Lord! We have had almost as many crashes, recessions, and depression years as we have...”

Harry Peterson interrupted him, “But you're overlooking the very prosperous years we had, including most of the 1990s.”

Paul retorted quickly, “Which occurred primary because Aaron Blackbridge, Barry's predecessor kept interest rates ridiculously low as part of a massive economic stimulus which ultimately came back to bite the economy in the butt with the crash of 2000 and the 2001 recession...”

Bradford jumped in and said, “No, I strongly disagree. We didn't set interest rates abnormally low. Market conditions required the rates to be where they were in order to counter the recession you mentioned in 2001...”

“...which illustrates a third form of fraud, this time engaged in by the central bank with the cooperation and support of the U.S. government,” Paul interrupted.

Spitzer found the conversation slipping out of his control, and he said, “Gentlemen, please! One at a time.” He turned to ask, “Paul, what fraud are you referring to this time?”

“The fraud of issuing money that is backed by no valuable commodity,” Paul said.

“But that's not true!” Bradford interrupted. “Every dollar we issue is backed by financial paper of various kinds.”

“Exactly!” Justin agreed. “Our entire money supply is debt-based, not based on a commodity with inherent value. Debt-based money enables the Fed to engage in all sorts of unsavory methods to artificially stimulate the economy, methods which, in the long run, always lead to recession.”

Spitzer stopped Justin this time, “What exactly do you mean when you say our money is debt-based?”

Justin replied, “I mean just that. Every dollar created by the Federal Reserve is based on the issuance of some debt, usually by the federal government. All dollars today are debt-based.”

Bradford protested, “I strongly disagree with your claim that money that is not backed by gold or silver is fraudulent. The U.S. government voluntarily left the gold standard many years ago.”

“Yes,” Paul agreed, “and look at how much value the dollar has lost over that time period as a result of the trend away from using precious metals as money! Since the Federal Reserve's creation, the dollar has lost over 95% of its value! Any prosperous economy depends upon a unit of currency that retains its value over time. Our dollar today is worth less than a 1913 nickel!”

Bradford countered, “A gold standard cannot work. That's why we left it behind. It's a relic of a time that no longer applies to modern finance.”

“No,” Justin disagreed, “the reason we left the gold standard is that the Fed conspired with their allies in the government to greatly inflate the dollar to pay for World War I and to make the bankers richer during war and during the 1920s, thus making paper money worth less than the gold it was theoretically pegged to. Gresham's Law drove gold out of circulation in favor of paper, because people will always prefer to hold money that is more valuable and spend money that is less valuable.”

“Exactly!” Bradford cried triumphantly. “The gold standard proved that it cannot be a viable form of currency, because the rich will horde it, thus reducing the money supply and sending the country into recession. That's what made the Great Depression so bad!”

Paul countered, “Only because federal law forced gold to exchange at roughly $20 an ounce at a time when your predecessors in the Fed dramatically expanded the paper money supply, which drove the value of the paper money down compared to the value of the gold!”

“No,” Peterson disagreed. “The supply of paper currency changed hardly at all during the 1920s and 1930s.”

“Oh, come off it, Harry,” Justin said. “You know as well as we do that bank deposits also count as currency, and that is where the money supply increased explosively because of Fed manipulations. That is how the Fed intentionally undermined the gold standard!”

“There you go again, nephew, acting as if there is some great conspiracy afoot!” David argued. “There is no conspiracy now, and there was no conspiracy then. Each step of the way, the Fed took the steps needed to deal with prevailing economic conditions to insure low interest rates and high employment.”

“So you told me all my life, Uncle David, and sadly I believed you. We all know differently now!” Justin argued back.

“Hold it! Hold it!” Spitzer said, trying to regain control of his program. “Gentlemen, I implore you. Let's try to keep this discussion civil, shall we?”

While they argued, Haven Donahue found the back door to the auditorium locked, as he expected, but a quiet turn of his key admitted him quickly enough. He saw the young stage manager at the top of the steps to the stage peering in through the curtains. Fortunately for him, she didn't hear his entrance. After pulling the door closed as silently as possible, he moved stealthily down the hall to seek another entrance to the stage. The dimly lit passage illuminated more of his black-garbed figure than he might normally desire, so he breathed a sigh of relief when he found a second set of four steps unattended at the other end of the stage. He climbed the steps, peeked through a crack in the curtain, and listened to the program for a moment.

Spitzer was still talking, “I want to go back to what you said earlier, Justin, about our money being debt-based. Many of our viewers may not fully understand what you mean by that. Could you describe how this debt-based money gets created in the first place?”

“Certainly, Dolf,” Justin agreed, “although I'm sure Barry could describe it even better, since he and his fellow Fed governors engage in it every day. Simply put, whenever the Fed wants to create some new money, they decide upon the amount and then create money out of thin air with a stroke of a pen or the click of a computer key, money which most often does not even get printed as paper dollars but merely sits in a bookkeeping entry before it gets issued as a loan. Most commonly, these loans go to the United States government as the #1 source of revenue the government uses. We call these loans Treasury Bills, Treasury Bonds, and Treasury Notes.”

Spitzer interrupted him, “Is this what financial people mean when they use the phrase, 'monetizing the debt'?”

Justin nodded. “Yes, exactly. Further, as the government spends this borrowed money, the money gets deposited into the bank accounts of those companies and individuals who receive it as payment for their goods and services. The banks then magically turn these liabilities into assets to be loaned out again.”

“What?” Spitzer asked, confused. “How do they do that?”

Justin smiled. “Banks do it by treating deposits as if they were owned by the bank. This is what Paul meant earlier when he said that banks engage in legalized fraud, loaning out money that doesn't belong to them.”

“So the money gets loaned out twice?”

Paul explained this time, “Actually, it gets loaned out many times, over and over again. The limit is set by the reserve requirements established by the Federal Reserve, currently about 10% of overall deposits. It limits the amount of newly lendable money to roughly 10 times the original amount created by funding the federal government's debt using money created out of thin air.”

“So you're saying that banks create money too?”

“Yes, of course,” Paul answered him. “It's another example of issuing money backed by nothing but more debt.”

“Oh, my God!” Spitzer said, expressing his own shock as well as the shock of millions of his viewers.

Bunch of rubbish! Donahue scanned the audience to find his fellow operatives. He checked his watch. Six minutes to go. He ruminated for a minute about the fact that he had decided on a timed operation as their best option under the circumstances, and what he saw before him now confirmed his earlier judgment. What amateurs these Agorists were! An event this big should have large amounts of visible security around it, but it turned out his team members only needed to get past two guards at the main entrance to the auditorium. Well, they would pay for their sloppiness!

He glanced again at his watch. Five minutes to go. It had taken awhile to find a likely location and a victim, but the team finally did the deed. The TST guard they managed to lure into a side corridor lost consciousness soon after Donahue's brass-knuckled haymaker had landed out of nowhere to the side of the guard's head. The guy might have been seriously injured, but even if he wasn't, he would have one hell of a headache when he finally woke up.

Spitzer spoke next, “So you're saying that debt-based money caused the current crisis.”

Paul nodded. “Yes, along with the other forms of legalized fraud Justin and I mentioned earlier, and although the government plans to bail out the banks and then later other major industrial companies, none of that will prevent the next major crisis from coming in three years.”

Spitzer gaped at him, “You mean, this is going to happen all over again in three more years?”

Paul pointed to the monitor. “Yes, and all of these three gentlemen joining us here today via satellite know about it, but none of them want to tell you about it. Right now the predominant problem is the sub-prime loans. By the year 2011, the big problem will be the Alt-A's and the Option ARMs.”

Justin added, “And that's not the worst of it.”

Spitzer's shock was complete now. “You mean it gets even worse???”

Justin replied, “Oh, yes! You see, all this debt that keeps building up eventually gets to the point where we cannot handle it anymore. We rapidly approach the day when the nation's credit card will get maxed out. Already, as of a couple years ago about 20-25% of the revenue collected from income taxes went to pay the annual interest on the national debt. With the new bailout, debt monetization, and other plans government leaders say they plan to implement, I would expect that percentage to increase. What do you think, Paul, perhaps 40-50% of all income tax revenue?”

“Sounds about right to me,” Paul agreed.

“Further, because the Fed and the government do not dare to pay down any of that debt, they will keep raising it higher and higher,” Justin explained. “Right now, interest rates remain at an all-time low, due to irresponsible Fed behavior...”

“On the contrary,” Bradford interrupted to say, “Keeping rates low right now is the only responsible thing to do!”

Justin ignored the outburst and said, “But eventually Chairman Bradford will have to raise those rates to fight the inflationary tendencies he creates right now. That will increase the annual interest bill owed by the government even more. Eventually, the government will not be able to meet its obligations, at which point the only options will be to dramatically increase taxes or to loan the government the money needed to pay the interest. When that happens, watch out! We will either see much higher taxation or inflation like this country has never seen before...possibly both at the same time!”

“Yes,” Paul agreed, “the country will eventually reach the point of no return.”

“How bad could things get?” Spitzer asked the pair.

“Put it this way,” Justin replied. “It will make the current crisis look like wildly optimistic prosperity by comparison.”

“We would likely see the complete collapse of the U.S. and world economies,” Paul added.

The audience gasped. Spitzer stared aghast at the two men sitting next to him on the stage.

Two-and-a-half minutes to go. Since his team only managed to acquire one firearm, Donahue decided that the other three should space themselves out around the auditorium. At the predetermined moment, all four could charge the stage. He gave Masters the guard's Glock 22, since he could out shoot even Donahue in target practice. Their targets tonight, Justin and Paul, should prove easy to eliminate. Donahue chose to watch from the stage, so he could view the entire hit, just in case he needed to improvise something at the last moment. Still, he couldn't see how they could possibly fail.

Barry Bradford spoke up, “These two gentlemen insist on seeing the worst possible scenario. Actually, the Federal Reserve will never let things get anywhere near that bad.”

“How will you prevent it?” Justin asked him.

“First of all, most of the liquidity we recently injected into the economy, while it is certainly substantial, can and will be withdrawn in time to prevent an inflationary period,” Bradford informed him.

“How will you do it? By raising interest rates? By increasing reserve requirements?” Justin challenged him.

“We will utilize a combination of factors and methods,” Bradford began, before Justin interrupted him.

“So, like I said, you plan to increase interest rates or reserve requirements in some combination. Yet, historically, whenever the Fed previously used such methods, the net result was recession or worse. We are already in a recession. Are you stating that you are willing to generate greater recession in order stem the tide of inflation?”

“I disagree with your interpretation of the facts,” Bradford said. “My sources see a much healthier economic picture as the economy turns around.”

“So how do you reduce the money supply you inflated without leading to recession?” Justin challenged him.

“Changes can be made gradually over time, to prevent undue negative consequences to the economy.”

“And what happens to unemployment rates during that period? We already anticipate dramatic unemployment in the 10% range next year. How will you prevent unemployment from skyrocketing even further when you start withdrawing currency from the system?”

Bradford shook his head. “I don't think unemployment will get that high. Again, this is why I oppose attempts to question or discuss current financial policy, either by Congress or by other influential persons. The Fed must maintain its independence, because we certainly don't want politicians dictating monetary policy. If that happens, the inflation you fear will certainly wreak havoc on the economy.”

“In other words,” Paul put in, “Mr. Bradford, as usual, refuses to engage the issue head on in a public discussion, preferring instead to do his dirty work behind closed doors. This kind of policy is exactly how we got into this mess in the first place, a pattern played out repeatedly over the past 95 years since the Fed's creation.”

One minute left! From Donahue's point-of-view, that last minute couldn't finish fast enough. Listening to these canaries chirp away would soon put him to sleep.

He eyed his watch's second hand. Three...two...one...now! He saw his three teammates get up from their seats and begin to move quickly toward the stage. Masters took up position in the center aisle up front, about 10 feet from the stage. He raised the gun and pointed it straight at Justin's head.

Suddenly, a great commotion filled the hall as about three dozen uniformed representatives of TST stepped out from behind curtains, doors, and hidden recesses in the hall. The loud, chattering sound of three dozen automatic weapons and handguns cocking at the same time echoed alarmingly around the hall as the guards moved out into full view and began to swarm toward the three advancing assassins.

Almost immediately, what seemed like half the audience reached into purses, jackets, and other assorted hidden places and pulled out all kinds of weapons. The sound of cocking guns redoubled itself as echoes filled the room, and the three found themselves at the wrong end of about 200 barrels.

A few of the guards approached Masters quickly from stage right pointing guns of their own and shouted, “Put the gun down! Now! Do it! Put it down now!”

Masters blinked. He didn't dare fire with all those guns pointing at him. It might be his last living act. His adversaries quickly encircled him, screaming at him to put the Glock on the ground. He slowly put his hands up and carefully laid the automatic down as hands grabbed and restrained him a split second afterward.

The other two, knives in plain view, dropped their blades to the floor the instant the hundreds of guns appeared out of nowhere. Shit! Porter dropped his own weapon. I can't believe we brought knives to a gunfight!

Donahue saw his teammates stop in mid-flight as the loud voices ordered them to freeze and all the weapons emerged from the audience. No! We must complete our mission! He immediately jumped through the curtain and ran headlong toward the two men sitting in the middle of the stage opposite Dolf Spitzer, his knife inverted into stabbing position, ready to strike.

Justin barely realized something was happening, but Michaela screamed in the front row when she saw Donahue running across the stage at her father with his knife raised.

Suddenly, another figure appeared out of nowhere from a back curtain on stage and ran to intercept Donahue's path. A flying tackle knocked Donahue to the floor. He rolled with the fall, his knife still in hand. When he came to a stop, he found yet another uniformed figure in front of him holding a shotgun aimed at his crotch.

“DROP YOUR KNIFE, DONAHUE, OR I'LL BLOW YOUR FAMILY JEWELS TO KINGDOM COME!” the large woman holding the shotgun screamed in a gravely female voice. Donahue instantly complied, his eyes wide as more TST guards appeared on stage to take him into custody.

Justin's jaw threatened to drop off his face as he turned and stared in disbelief at the scene beside and in front of him.

Finally, he exclaimed his shock to the shotgun-toting woman, “Mrs. Pomfrey???”

Now Paul took his own opportunity to express shock as he turned quickly to Justin and asked, “You know this woman?”

Justin managed to splutter to Paul, “I should! She's been my family's cook for the past six years!”

“Your what?” Paul repeated incredulously.

“Don't let this one worry you, sir,” Mrs. Pomfrey assured Justin as she continued to point the shotgun at Donahue while two TST guards tied his hands behind him with a plastic handcuff. “We watched him and his team since they entered the trading floor yesterday. We only let them get this far because we wanted to verify that we successfully identified all of them before taking them into custody. Kinda wish we'd stopped them sooner. We just found Parker in a locked closet with a bad concussion. That's where they got the gun. We'll bring charges on his behalf against these guys, once he identifies them as his attackers. Sorry if it gave you a scare,” she said.

Justin still sat there in shock but rallied to reply, “Mrs. Pomfrey, what in the world are you doing here?”

“Oh, yes, I suppose I should explain,” Mrs. Pomfrey replied as she lowered her gun while the guards took Donahue away. “The AU placed me in your home to provide extra security right after your wife died. I'm sorry, sir, that I couldn't tell you sooner, but I had my orders.”

His continuing, wide-eyed, open-mouthed shock left Justin speechless.

Back at floor level, Catherine Regan, her own weapon drawn (which TST returned to her immediately after she officially joined their organization) directed her new team as they took the prisoners into custody.

Paul shouted to get her attention and asked his daughter, “Catherine! Where did all these people in the audience get these guns? I thought TST was supposed to be providing security here!”

“We have, Dad,” Catherine answered her father. “Those were TST members in the audience. Just because we disarm our clients doesn't mean we disarm our own people too, you know!”

Then she smiled and winked at him.

Make a donation