第40节

in the afternoon, two days after his talk with Fran,

the President-General walked from the Oval Office into an adjoining,

windowless conference room.

The nine Supreme Councillors who had answered his summons rose

respectfully as he entered and remained standing until he had taken his

seat at the head of the long table.

The P-G's pale grey eyes fixed upon each of the group in turn as he

greeted them with a practised smile and a nod of the head. He knew

them well, and they knew him. They were all members of the exclusive

First Family - the perpetual holders of power within the Federation.

Apart from their other Family duties, this particular group - Group

Nine - were responsible for planning the overall strategy of the secret

operation code-named OVERLORD - Amtrak's response to the threat

contained in the Talisman Prophecy. The purpose of the present meeting

was to take certain decisions concerning the 'neutralisation' of the

Plainfolk. The main item on the agenda was the clan M'CalI, Steve's

cooperative jailers.

'Have you all scanned the data on Brickman?"

They all nodded to show that they had.

The P-G looked at the print-out on the video set on the table in front

of him. The others in the group all had similar screens to look at.

'You have Ben's proposal in front of you. What is your verdict? Does

it compute?"

Ben - who was sitting on the President-General's right - was

Commander-General Karlstrom. His full name was Ben Karlstrom Jefferson

but, amongst the Family, the historic surname was not used except on

certain formal occasions. Karlstrom was the current head of AMEXICO

the AMtrak EXecutive Intelligence COmmando - a select, highly-trained

group working under the direct orders of the President-General. Not

only was it the most secret operational unit in the Federation, it was

also a secret within the First Family.

Less than a tenth of their number were aware of AMEXICO's existence and

even fewer knew the details of its past history or the full extent of

its present activities. Its operatives were, inevitably, referred to

as 'Mexicans'; the unit itself by the abbreviated initials 'MX'.

Abraham Lincoln, one of the President's first cousins and the director

of Group Nine replied with an affirmative nod. 'The boy has all the

necessary qualifications. His survival as a captive of the Mutes and

his escape flight shows he has the necessary courage and

resourcefulness. The big question is - given his background - can we

trust him?"

The President-General smiled benignly. 'Abe - the reason why the First

Family is still in control of the Federation is because we never ever

put ourselves in the position of having to trust anybody. Of course we

can't trust Brickman. Nevertheless he has all the qualities we

need."

He let his gaze rove round the table. 'Behind that honest face lies a

devious, calculating mind and a burning ambition to succeed ' 'The

result of years of careful programming,' said Quincy Adams. As

Director of the Life Institute, he was anxious that his department's

contribution should not be overlooked.

'Quite so, Quincy,' said Jefferson the 31st, hiding his displeasure at

being interrupted. 'He will jump at the opportunity to return to his

new-found friends but he will balk at what we are asking him to do.

However, he will accept the assignment because, with his Tracker

upbringing, it is his solemn duty to do so - and also because we intend

to make him an offer he can't refuse.

And he will do his utmost to come back with the goods because the

Federation is the only place where young Mister Brickman's lust for

power can be satisfied."

Warren Harding, one of the P-G's younger brothers, looked across the

table at Commander-General Ben Karlstrom. 'When do you plan to

initiate SQUARE-DANCE?"