Acts of Sedition Read online

  “Trauma Team One, Code Hera. Repeat Code Hera.”

  If there had been minor injuries, the state car would have driven directly to the White House where the first family’s personal physician would have been waiting. With severe injuries, George Washington University Hospital was the first choice for medical treatment.

  “What do we have” asked Dr. Cohen to the head trauma nurse as he exited the elevator?

  “GSW to the chest of the first lady.”

  The ten member team arrived at the rear door of the ER just as the state car sped up to the automatic doors.

  Doors flew open, first the front with a secret service agent positioning himself with his gun drawn. It was likely that this was just an incident of one person with a gripe, but the Secret Service had to assume that this could have been part of a terrorist plot, a coup, or even the start of an attack on the US.

  The rear doors flew open next with agents jumping out both sides of the vehicle. Two, one still holding pressure on her wound, helped the first lady onto a gurney as the team surrounded her and started moving toward the ER. In fact, when the president got out of the back seat, the gurney was already gone.

  To an outsider, the scene at GW might have looked frantic and disorganized but to those working there, the movement of the team was one of exact precision with each person knowing exactly what to do, where to stand for optimum efficiency, and their role as part of the team at any given moment.

  The president rushed into the ER screaming “Where is my wife? Somebody tell me what’s happening. Where do things stand?” One of the nurses, cutting the first ladies gown, stepped to the side and rather forcefully pushed him toward the door. “I’m sorry Mr. President, but you can’t be in here right now. There isn’t a lot of room, and you’ll only be in the way.” The president was ushered into a private room with two of his agents.

  “Please wait here, Mr. President, and I’ll come to brief you as soon as we know more.”

  Two other agents were positioned outside the door to the ER and two outside the rear door of the hospital.

  Inside ER 1, the first lady was fighting for her life as she was having some trouble breathing. A mask was placed over her nose and mouth to provide oxygen.

  “I can’t feel a pulse,” said one of the trauma residents who had his fingers on the patient’s wrist.

  The head trauma nurse pushed him aside and with her fingers on the first lady’s neck, announced: “I’ve got a pulse, but it’s weak.”

  Two more units of blood were set up, and a Foley was put in by one of the nurses.

  “Vitals.”

  “BP 78/38, pulse 135, respiration 30.”

  “Let’s put in a chest tube.”

  Once inserted, the tube was able to suction a substantial amount of blood.

  In the ER, the first lady received 900, 1200, and then 1800 ccs of blood. The hole in her chest was slightly left of center, a very dangerous place for a bullet. Despite their best efforts, the trauma team was unable to stop the bleeding. They readied another unit of blood, the tenth.

  Dr. Lacey, the head of thoracic surgery, had already been called and was en route so Dr. Cohen had the first lady prepped for surgery.

  Inside the OR, the first lady remained critical; moving in and out of consciousness. She continued to struggle as her breathing became fast and irregular and she was losing a lot of blood. Another five units of blood were readied, and the surgeons feared that they would need it.

  Time was not on their side as the first lady’s breathing was labored and she appeared near death several times. They had to get into her chest, stop the bleeding, remove the bullet, and fix any damage to other organs.

  The anesthesiologist administered IV Propofol and a muscle relaxant before putting a breathing tube into the first lady’s trachea and connecting it to a mechanical respirator.

  Dr. Lacey burst into the OR as the team of two other surgeons, an anesthesiologist, and eight surgical nurses stood ready.

  “Scalpel.” He made a 6-inch incision in the left central portion of the first lady’s chest and used a retractor to spread the ribs.

  He pointed. “I can see a couple of blood clots right in this space, and we need to remove them.”

  “Suction.” He needed a better view. With the blood removed, he could see that fortunately the heart, great vessels, and esophagus appeared undamaged but her entire chest cavity was filling with blood.

  “I see the entrance wound in the lung, and that’s where most of the blood is coming from, but I’m not going to be able to get to it and save her if we can’t stop the bleeding.”

  They used everything at their disposal. Several hands with suction tubes were removing the blood as sponges were inserted to soak it up.

  It took about 40 minutes, but they were finally able to get a handle on the bleeding.

  “I can’t see the bullet from straight on,” He called for an X-Ray which showed the bullet angled in the upper part of the lung.

  “What do you guys think? Can we go straight in or should we try to get it from the rear? It’s lodged in the middle.”

  One of the doctors suggested not risking other problems with another incision as he believed that they could remove the bullet with minimal risk.

  Dr. Lacey concurred.

  As he proceeded to remove the bullet, the patient started to shake before stopping cold. The heart monitor sounded a solid beep indicating that there was no heartbeat.

  “Shit” was all he could manage to say.

  Chapter 4

  The president looked up from his chair to see a very somber and tired looking medic coming through the door.

  Dr. Lacey was exhausted after almost six hours of surgery. Emergency surgery was a different animal from one that was planned. Sure surgeons held life and death in the balance every time they operated. But the unknowns involved, coupled with the tense nature of emergency surgery, made every hour seem like four.

  The president stood to face the doctor.

  “Mr. President, your wife is doing as well as can be expected but we have some bad news. We were able to remove the bullet, but the first lady suffered a stroke during the operation. I’m afraid that she’s paralyzed on her left side. She’s not out of the woods and the next 24 hours will be critical, but I believe that she’ll live.”

  Tears welled up in the president’s eyes. Presidents aren’t supposed to cry so he fought hard to keep his emotions in check.

  “Will she ever be normal again?”

  “I’m afraid not, at least not in the sense that you’re thinking. I know this is hard to accept, Mr. President, but she’s a very tough lady. I think she’ll be cognitively ok and with extensive therapy, she may eventually be able to walk with a cane and have some use of her left arm. But I’m afraid that she’ll never be as she was. We aren’t sure what caused the stroke, but it was most likely the result of a blood clot”.

  “When can I see her?”

  “She’s in recovery right now but will be transferred to the ICU within the hour. I’m sure that you have some important things to take care of in the meantime. I’ll leave instructions for a nurse to escort you upstairs once she’s settled.”

  As the doctor left, Abbas, still in shock, stood motionless. Then he cried.

  Chapter 5

  The arraignment of Carol Carson took all of 10 minutes as the prosecutor read the ten charges against her, the most serious being acts of sedition including conspiracy and the attempted assassination of the President of the United States.

  The big surprise came when Carol, notifying the judge of her intention to defend herself, entered a not guilty plea.

  The actual trial did not take anywhere near the five days that it was expected to take. After hearing the charges read again, Carol Carson again pled not guilty to all counts. The prosecutor in the case, Mr. Jason Pettibone, was one of the best that the city of DC had to offer. His participation was more for show to help his career, as most agreed that a first-year law stu
dent could have tried this case.

  The jury was made up of 8 men and four women, 2 of whom were from the Middle East; hardly a jury of her peers thought Carol. She was new to this and didn’t know the proper use of peremptory challenges, but it didn’t matter.

  In his opening remarks, Mr. Pettibone told the jury that the prosecution would show beyond reasonable doubt that Carol Carson did knowingly and willfully commit the crimes for which she was charged. He stipulated that, while over 30 witnesses could be called, for the sake of brevity he would be presenting just 3. Also, he would enter into record two pieces of evidence, the security camera footage showing the defendant firing the weapon that wounded the first lady, and the actual revolver that bore the defendant’s fingerprints.

  In her opening remarks, Carol Carson merely stated that she had lots of respect for the first lady and that she did not assault her with intent or malice. She could have said more but decided to hold her remarks for her closing argument.

  Exhibit A, the security camera footage clearly showed Carol Carson aiming a pink Glock 32, marked Exhibit B, in the direction of the president and first lady and while being apprehended, firing the shot that struck the first lady. The three witnesses included the Secret Service agent who engaged the perpetrator, a US Senator, and a Baptist Minister. All corroborated what had been seen on film. The prosecution rested.

  Carol, wearing her defense attorney hat, had only two questions for each witness. “Do you believe that the defendant was attempting to overthrow the government?” All three answered that they could not be sure of the defendant’s intentions. Then, “Is it your belief that the accused aimed the weapon directly at the first lady and fired it with malice and with the expressed intention of killing her?” All three answered “no.” She had no further questions and called no witnesses. The defense rested.

  In his closing remarks, Mr. Pettibone merely restated his case as he had presented and proven it. Then going for the jugular, he made certain to point out that a person could be guilty of acts of sedition, even if the intent was not the immediate overthrow of the government. He ended by stating the obvious. “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I believe that the prosecution has proven its case beyond all doubt, and I ask that you return with a guilty verdict.”

  Carol stood before the court and walked toward the jury box.

  “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, while in college, I was a very involved student. I was a leader in my sorority, Student Class President, Head of The Political Science Club, and Head of The Women Studies Club. I was also a National Honor Society member, and a student member of the ‘National Organization for Women’ and ‘Power of Women’. Since those days, 20 some years ago, I have been actively involved in several organizations that fight for human rights, the most recognizable being POW, where I’ve served as president for the past five years. I’ve been an involved citizen because I loved my country and hated what I’d seen happening over the last 30 years. I’ve born witness to the slow erosion of civil rights. Yes, I was a witness to this, and I stood idle. Like all of you, I allowed it to happen. Over the past two plus years, this administration has used the fast track process against the very people who ended filibustering in the Senate and championed streamlining law making to push through their agendas. So, in record time, the president had managed to push through all of his appointees while passing or reversing no less than five laws that spoke directly to the civil rights of women and gays in our country.”

  “The battle for women’s rights started in 1848, so it is approaching its bicentennial. The last three years have shown that the fight for equality is never ending. Sitting idly by, at this point in history, would have been a disservice to brave women like Susan B Anthony, Elizabeth Caty Stanton, Margaret Sanger, and Betty Friedan, who championed the cause of women and fought so hard for what we have in America. I tried to engage in a dialog with the president, but he would not hear of it. I guess it was beneath him. As the leader of a 2 million member organization that has fought hard for women’s rights, I was left with no other choice.”

  “Had it not involved his wife I believe that the president, in his callous manner, would have called the shooting of the first lady collateral damage. I am not so unfeeling that I do not recognize the anguish that I’ve caused. I am truly sorry for the physical and emotional pain that I’ve caused the first lady. That was not my intention, and I beg for her forgiveness.”

  “My intention was to put a stop to this madman and his henchmen who have no compassion for people and were uncompromising in their total dismantling of the civil rights laws of this country. I am using this forum to shout out to women and fair-minded people across this land. Make my actions, and any subsequent consequences, a wake-up call to all. Don’t let my fate stop you from achieving greatness. It is your turn to be heard. Rise and act. Take back your country. Your time is now.”

  Carol stopped and, looking around the courtroom, realized that what she had said was sufficient. An attorney would have told her that she said more than enough and would have stopped her after the first sentence. But Carol cared little for trial strategy. This moment in the spotlight was the reason she had chosen to defend herself.

  The jury deliberated for 2 hours, after which the foreman read the verdict, “guilty on all counts.”

  The judge asked the defendant to stand. “Is there any reason a sentence should not be imposed at this time?”

  “No, your honor,” she said.

  He then asked the defendant if she had anything further to say before sentencing. Carol felt that she had said it all in her closing remarks so she only shook her head with a softly spoken “no.”

  As was customary in cases of treason, he pronounced her sentence immediately.

  “Carol Carson, having been found guilty on all counts, it is my duty to impose the mandatory sentence of death upon you. You will be housed at the Federal Correctional Institute for Political Prisoners in Leavenworth, for one month at which time this sentence will be carried out. By federal law, you will be given the opportunity to select the manner of your execution.

  Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, thank you for your service. This court is adjourned.”

  Thus began the ticking time bomb that, barring some miracle, would result in the execution of Carol Carson and move the country from crisis to calamity.

  Chapter 6

  Angela, feeling guilty about what had happened to her friend, flew to Kansas to visit Carol. She wasn’t sure why she felt the way she did. Carol had not confided in her about any plan to kill the president. She guessed that just knowing that her friend had been sentenced to death was enough to bring out the Italian Catholic guilt in her.

  She had never been to a prison before except to visit Alcatraz on a guided tour when she was in San Francisco. That was back in the day when, as an executive, she would travel to her company’s west coast offices.

  Leavenworth, she thought, didn’t look that much different except that there were no nice boat rides, tour guides, gift shops, audio tours, or walking tours. So in reality, Leavenworth was nothing like Alcatraz.

  Angela signed in at the front office where a female guard patted her down, and her purse was dumped out for inspection. She was then immediately escorted to a heavily guarded visitor’s room. She was a little disappointed as she half expected to see Carol on the other side of a glass partition where she would have to speak to her by phone. Must have watched too many old movies, she thought.

  Guards brought a shackled Carol into the room. She looked dreadfully ordinary, as a drab and shabby orange jumpsuit replaced her stylish Ralph Lauren business attire.

  When Angela reached out to give her friend a hug, a guard immediately stepped up and said “no touching.”

  Wow get a grip, she thought.

  “Thanks for coming,” said Carol.

  “No problem. How’re they treating you?”

  “Like someone who tried to kill the president.” They both laughed. “But the other inmates
love me. I’m like a hero to them. They give me some of their desserts when they don’t want it. Sort of like a thank you for trying something they all wished they could do.”

  “You’re going to make me cry.”

  “Ah, it’s nothing. Being here is better than being outside and putting up with that dirtbag president and all the shit that’s going down with him. Here it doesn’t matter anymore to me. If the news mentions something that could happen in a few months, I know that I won’t be around for it.”

  She paused.

  “So how are you and what’s going on?”

  “Well I was called in for questioning right after your arrest, but they let me go. I told them that I didn’t know anything. Did you plan that or was it just something you felt at the last minute?”

  “I had it planned. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to get into trouble. In fact, I suggested that you stay home, but you seemed excited to come. I had originally planned to shoot him after dinner but then at the last minute, I thought that he might leave early, and I wouldn’t get my shot. So I took it when I could.”