Going Nuclear. Stephen Hart

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СКАЧАТЬ the white bigots lurking around every corner.”

      “Yeah . . . Why do you think there is so much white racism?

      “Because many whites believe deeply that they are superior, and even a suggestion that they may not be drives them crazy. I think it’s encoded in their brains, part of some survival instinct. Their brains tell them that they must pass on their superior genes, pure white genes, to the next generation, and anything that might interfere with that passage must be crushed. So yeah, I think the roots of white racism run deep.”

      “But not all whites are racist.”

      “More than you think. Do you want to know how I can tell if a white person is racist? And this includes many so-called white liberals.”

      “How?”

      “I walk down the street with a white girl on my arm. It drives them crazy. I know. I’ve done it.”

      “How did you know you were getting to them?”

      “The looks I got. They wanted to kill me. Not that long ago they would have killed me, would have lynched me.”

      “So you have a white girlfriend?”

      “Not exactly. I had a thing going with a white chick for a while, but then my regular girlfriend found out, and I had to cool it. I still see the white girl quite a bit, but it has more to do with trying to stop the war than anything else.”

      “So she’s an activist, too?”

      “Yeah.”

      “Does the idea that you’re not supposed to be with a white girl make it more of a turn-on for you?”

      “Sometimes. That and her tight little white ass.” Joshua laughed.

      “So this girl works on demonstrations with you?”

      “Yeah, some. But I’m kind of losing my interest in demonstrations.”

      “Why?” Arthur looked at Joshua closely.

      “I don’t think demonstrations accomplish that much. They’re an opportunity to stir things up a little, maybe vent a little, but that’s about all you can say. I mean, take that demonstration today. You don’t think anything will come out of that, do you? I mean, the war isn’t going to end or anything.”

      “Probably not.”

      After a pause, Joshua stood up, opened the office door, and carefully looked down the hall both ways. “I think we can go now,” he said.

      As they opened the front door of the building, Joshua and Arthur looked to both sides, but the policeman was nowhere in sight. Feeling fairly stoned, Arthur flashed the peace sign at Joshua, who only shrugged.

      The two young men then went their separate ways.

      Chapter Three

      The following week, at the Federal Building in Chicago, Vic Torkis, a balding FBI agent, scooted his chair back and got up from his desk. The time had come to meet with his new supervisor, Frank Bono. Another day, another test, he thought as he walked by his desk and glanced at his mug, still half-filled with the coffee that he had not had time to finish. Fifty years old and still being jerked around by some clown in the corner office. He paused momentarily and closed his eyes. My cases start really coming together, and someone new has to step in and fix the situation. Jesus. The door to Bono’s office was open, but Vic knocked before entering.

      “Is it nine o’clock already?” Bono asked, looking up from his desk. His voice was irritatingly low and resonant. “Come in. Come in. Have a seat.” He stood and extended his hand. “Sorry we haven’t met before this, but I’m still learning the lay of the land.”

      Vic nodded and walked in, noticing with a slight sense of exasperation that Bono appeared to be younger and much thinner than he was. “I guess things are a little different here than in Washington,” Vic said as they shook hands.

      “Oh, yeah, yeah. Have a seat. So, what do you think about the big change? Covert operations, quite a move. I think you saw the memo yesterday. I know Jim talked to you about it last month, before I got here and everything. So what do you think?” Bono folded his hands on the desk and waited for a response.

       “I don’t know yet,” Vic answered with a frown, his eyes squinting, his brow wrinkled. “But I’m ready to do whatever the Bureau needs.”

      “Yes, fine, well, I’m sure you are.” Bono opened the file that sat on his desk but only glanced at it, apparently already familiar with its contents. He looked back at Vic. “I think you’re going to find covert operations a little different from what you have been doing up to now. I hope you’re ready for it. From what I’ve read here, you’ve spent the last ten years or so working on white-collar crimes—embezzlement, things like that.”

      “That’s right.”

      “Well, that’s going to seem pretty tame compared to what you’re getting into now.”

      “How’s that?” Vic asked, feeling annoyed by Bono’s dismissive attitude toward the work he had been doing.

      “Let me start by saying, you are now joining a highly sensitive program, a very secret program, intended, among other things, to negate, if not eliminate, the Black Panther Party.”

      “Really? I didn’t know that covert operations was that focused. I mean, going after the Black Panthers specifically.” Vic felt even more put off by the direction the conversation was taking.

      “We are. I don’t know if you’re aware of it or not, but J. Edgar Hoover has identified the Black Panthers as the greatest internal threat to this country. The greatest internal threat. And these days, with all the chaos and revolutionary ideas floating around, that’s saying one hell of a lot. In the past year, a group of us have met with Mr. Hoover personally about this several times, several times, and there’s no doubt about how he sees this thing. None.”

      “But do the Panthers really pose that much of a threat, I mean to the government and everything?” Or, Vic thought, is this just an opportunity for J. Edgar to rack up some easy political points? Knock down a straw man while white-collar crimes continue to flourish.

      “Absolutely” Bono answered. “The Panthers don’t believe in our institutions or way of life or anything else. They’re deeply committed to the overthrow of this government.”

      “But what can they do?”

      “They can stir up blacks all across this country, especially the poor blacks in ghettos, and start an armed revolution leading to a real split in the government, with them in charge of the black faction, of course. That’s why they have to be stopped now before they get started, before they get a chance to do any significant damage, and before they get a chance to join forces with these campus radicals that are becoming more and more prevalent.”

      “How do we do that?” Vic asked, feeling the essence of his career slipping away.

      “Well, your role in all this will include keeping a close eye on any potential interaction between the Panthers and local campus radicals. Regular reports on both СКАЧАТЬ