Political Intrigue

By Tony Rossi

Political intrigue is an exciting new novel, it is a definite must have book.

The story begins in the White House. A prominent political dissident from China informs the U.S President that while he was being detained as a political prisoner, the Chinese authorities had brutally tortured him. The American President immediately realizes that if the world was told about this horrible torture that had taken place that the good relations between the democratic world and Communist China would be ruined. While all of this is happening, the international community is suddenly thrown in to a state of mass confusion when radical terrorists threaten to use weapons of mass destruction upon the nation of Israel. These dangerous terrorists successfully manage to kidnap an important nuclear scientist and they force him to build military weapons for them. There is great action and excitement on every page.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Apr 5, 2005
• ISBN: 9781463476168

Book preview

© 2005 Tony Rossi. All Rights Reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 03/10/05

ISBN: 1-4208-2429-5 (sc)

ISBN: 9781463476168 (ebk)

Printed in the United States of America

Bloomington, Indiana

CONTENTS

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter One

With his keen and observant eyes, Peter Wong carefully began to examine the room that he now found himself sitting in. With a considerable amount of interest, he noticed that he was surrounded by what appeared to be rather expensive looking furniture. The floor of the room was covered with thick luxurious carpeting and upon the walls hung a variety of beautiful paintings and picture frames. He suddenly felt a gentle breeze begin to caress the back of his neck. Wong turned around in his chair and noticed that the fresh air was entering the room through a nearby opened window. For just a moment, he thought about getting up and walking over to the opened window so that he could close it shut. However he decided not to do that, for the fresh air actually felt wonderful against his fatigued and aching body. He casually maneuvered himself in to a far more comfortable position upon his chair and then he slowly closed his eyes. A sensation of absolute tranquility was now completely overtaking his entire being. Wong was beginning to feel very serene and calm for their were no distractions or disturbing sounds of any kind with in the room. For the first time in a long time, he was feeling truly relaxed and was very much at peace with the world that surrounded him.

Then all of a sudden it happened, just as the appearance of lightning or the sound of unexpected thunder suddenly happens. With out any warning, a feeling of paralyzing terror completely seized control of both Peter Wong's body and mind. With a tremendous amount of determination and tenacity, he began to fight hard against this ominous force of pure evil that was now attacking him. From somewhere down deep inside himself, Peter Wong realized that what he was experiencing were what medical officials often referred to as being flashbacks. Horrifying memories of his just completed six year stay in a remote Chinese prison were now flooding his mind. Wong squeezed his eye lids shut, wanting very much to maintain the tiny fraction of rationality that he still possessed. Wong was aware of the fact that if he were not successful in defeating the panic attack that he was now enduring, his mental stability and very sanity would be in great jeopardy of being totally destroyed.

On numerous occasions during his unjust and illegal imprisonment, Peter Wong had been forced to watch as his many friends and political associates were brutally abused or tortured right in front of his very own eyes. In his confused and fragile state of mind, Wong mistakenly believed that he was actually able to see all of them quite clearly now. It seemed to him as if all of those friends and political allies of his were now in the very same room with him. He began to remind himself over and over again that he was far away from that horrible place that he had been forced to call his home for all of those terrible years. He began to tell himself that he was now safe and that he was no longer being detained as a political prisoner in that offal environment. Wong's struggle against his panic attack was so great, that he failed to immediately recognize the fact that he was no longer alone in the room.

A young attractive woman was now standing directly in front of Wong and she was looking at him with tremendous amount of concern in her eyes. The stranger, who Jessica Ambers was looking at, appeared to be in a complete daze or crises of some sort she thought. Jessica cautiously took a step in Wongs' direction and then she placed a comforting and loving hand upon his shoulder. The slender shoulder that was now beneath her fingers felt very fragile, almost breakable she thought. She was feeling so much concern for this stranger who was obviously suffering from some type of great torment that she seriously thought about immediately informing medical officials about him. The man seemed to be in terrible condition and something had to be done about the difficult situation that he was in. Just as she was about to go ask for some much needed assistance, Jessica noticed that the stranger was beginning to come around. For the first time since she had entered the room, the troubled young man was now attempting to establish eye contact with her. A feeling of genuine relief swept over Jessica when she realized that the stranger was gradually regaining his composure.

As Peter Wong closely observed the woman who stood before him, he could not help but notice the fact that she was extremely beautiful. The woman had attractive looking shoulder length hair and brown eyes that were very captivating. With some regret, e also realized that she had a very troubled expression that was now plainly visible upon her face. The woman was obviously feeling quite worried or concerned about something. More than likely Wong quietly told himself, he was the reason for her feelings of great anxiety and tension. He was no doubt the object of her concern. After analyzing the situation, Wong concluded that the young woman had been alarmed and terrified by finding him in that horrible state of confusion that he was experiencing. She had definitely been frightened by the tortured mental and physical condition that he was now enduring. Wanting very much to reassure her, Peter Wong decided that he would try to make her feel comfortable in the situation that she now faced. He carefully pushed back the chair that he was sitting on and then he steadily got to his feet. Wong gently reached out and took the young woman’s' hand in his and then he spoke to her in a very soothing and confident sounding voice.

Please forgive me if I frightened or startled you in any way Miss, Wong said with a pleasant smile. I was so preoccupied with my private thoughts that I did not realize the fact that you had entered the room. Wong studied the woman very carefully for her reaction and was extremely pleased to discover that she seemed to have been comforted and reassured by his words. The explanation that he had just given for the appalling condition that he had been in definitely was convincing and acceptable to the woman.

My name is Jessica Ambers, the woman said with a friendly smile upon her lips. We have been expecting you Mr. Wong, we are very pleased that you have finally arrived. Oh by the way there is no reason for you to feel apologetic for your conduct or your physical condition. I completely understand the reason why I found you in that horrible state of mental confusion. In fact, Jessica was very much under the impression that she really did understand the reason for this mans rather strange behavior. She honestly believed that she completely understood the dilemma that this stranger was now enduring. For most people, meeting the President of the United States for the first time, was quite the overwhelming experience. It was quite likely that this young man who stood before her now, was simply suffering from a case of being very nervous. Jessica surmised that this stranger was just feeling anxious or tense about his scheduled meeting with the American President. Jessica thought that the reason why she had found him in that terrible state of mental disorientation, was because he had been much occupied with preparing himself for his important meeting. The reason why Wong did not immediately detect her presence in the room must have been because of the fact that he had been to caught up in his private thoughts and concerns to have noticed her, Jessica quietly told herself.

Please follow me sir, I will bring you to where you now have to go, Jessica said politely. With out saying another word, she turned around and quickly began to walk out of the room. Wong obediently did as he was told and he followed Jessica out of the room and down a lengthy carpeted hallway. She led him directly towards where a group of approximately half a dozen men were standing. By their physical appearance and demeanor, Wong immediately concluded that these men were important members of the Presidential security team.

Peter Wong was told to walk through a metal detector, he did so with absolutely no objection or resistance of any kind. After all he quietly told himself, these men were just trying to do their jobs. By having him go through a metal detector, they were making absolutely sure that he was not carrying upon his person a dangerous weapon that could be used to threaten or harm the most powerful and influential political leader with in the free world. After passing through the detector with out encountering any type of difficulty, a tall well built man who was obviously armed came walking briskly towards where Wong was standing. With out uttering a single word, the man began to conduct a very meticulous and thorough body search of Peter Wong. After successfully completing this task, the agent turned to face the remaining members of the Presidential security team who were standing near by. He then began speaking to them in a very authoritative and commanding sounding voice.

Gentlemen this man is clean, he now has clearance to go in and meet with the President, the agent said very decisively. Brian Joe, please immediately escort Mr. Wong in to the Presidential office. Two heavily armed men quickly walked towards Peter Wong and then they competently and efficiently assumed their respective positions. The two agents stood on each side of Wong and waited patiently for further instructions to be given.

U.S. President Frank Wilderson leaned back in his chair and then he nervously glanced at his office door which was now firmly shut. He then rather casually looked down at his wrist watch and noticed that it was now exactly six minutes after two. Unfortunately he thought to himself, this meant that every one was running behind schedule today. His extremely important afternoon appointment with Peter Wong, the political dissident from China was supposed to have begun at precisely two o'clock.

Those who thought that they knew him well, had always believed that Frank Wilderson was a very patient and understanding man. However, this assessment or analysis of Wildersons' character was in fact quite incorrect. If the truth were to be told, every one would know that Wilderson often became easily annoyed with individuals who were not punctual and with those people who simply canceled their scheduled appointments for no valid reason. He expected and wanted people to be punctual and right on time for things. Today however, the U.S. President was feeling quite charitable and he decided that he would give his guest the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps their was a good reason or explanation for Wongs' late arrival, he decided that he would definitely try to cut the young man some slack.

The U.S. President had first come across the name of Peter Wong a number of months ago. He had received a multitude of reports indicating that there were numerous demonstrations occurring with in a handful of important Chinese cities. The reliable information that was given to the U.S. President had been put together for him by some very well informed officials who worked with in the diplomatic community. With in the last year or so, political support for Peter Wong and his democratic movement had been steadily on the increase all through out the country of China. Large crowds had demonstrated against the fact that Peter Wong and other members with in his movement had been illegally jailed for their political beliefs.

At first, the Chinese administration had treated the demonstrators with a certain degree of indifference. Many of the protesters were treated with kid gloves and were quickly released after receiving a severe reprimand. Essentially the Governments' policy was to tolerate and some what ignore the protests that were taking place. Their hope was that the people would eventually grow tired and fatigued by their on going struggle with the political authorities. The governing authorities in China believed that the demonstrators would one day just give up and simply disappear from sight. They thought that if hey gave it enough time, the problem would just go away on its own. Of course, this did not happen. The Chinese Government had made the mistake of drastically under estimating the level of support that Wong and his movement possessed with in the population. The amount of people that were participating in these demonstrations continued to grow in number and the political authorities in China decided that something had to be done about it.

Finally the day came when the Government decided that they had had enough of these public protests that seemed to be occurring on a daily basis. A decision to forcibly put an end to these demonstrations was soon made. Police and army units were ordered to prevent and completely eliminate any type of political protest with in China.

However this extremely heavy handed approach used by the Government to stop the demonstrators proved to be very unsuccessful. The strong arm tactics used by the authorities managed to only make things worse. For the protesters actually became angrier and more confrontational in their opposition to the harsh treatment that was being given to them. The situation in a number of Chinese cities had become quite dangerous and rather unpredictable. Occasionally, the demonstrators were actually proving to be quite unruly and uncontrollable. The Government eventually realized that the use of force against the protesters, was no longer a viable option.

It had become quite clear to every one, that the unjust jailing of Peter Wong was a political embarrassment for the Chinese authorities. Therefore, a decision that brought about Wongs' release from his illegal imprisonment was quickly made. However before being released, Wong had been forced to sign a document stating that he was no longer permitted to participate in any type of political activity. He had signed the document thinking that it was just a mere formality that all political prisoners had to do when wanting their freedom and independence. Realizing that signing the document would be the only way for him to regain his freedom, Wong went ahead and did so despite having a number of misgivings. At the time, all he wanted was to be released from his captivity, nothing else mattered. If signing a few papers guaranteed his liberty, then so be it. While he was being detained in his cell, Wong had made the difficult decision to sign just about anything that the authorities put in front of him.

U.S. President Frank Wilderson casually reached out with his hands and then began to playfully drum upon the wooden surface of his office desk with his fingertips. The sharp sound of his intercom speaker suddenly filled the room and for a second or two the U.S. President was some what startled by the unexpected noise. He quickly regained his composure, came out from behind his desk and then quickly walked over to where his intercom system was located upon the wall. In a clear and very decisive sounding voice, he spoke directly in to the intercoms' microphone.

Go ahead, I am listening to you, he said authoritatively. The gentle and familiar voice of his secretary Jessica Ambers responded immediately.

Your expected guest Peter Wong has arrived, she said. Shall I send him in sir?

Yes of course, U.S. President Wilderson responded some what impatiently. Have him brought in here immediately. A minute or two later, there was a polite but persistent knocking upon his office door.

Come on in, Wilderson called out in a voice that sounded cheerful and