Chapter 28

Chapter 28—Meeting with Reginald
8:30 a.m., Wednesday, December 21

As always, James called Allison to give her a heads up ten minutes before he arrived. He was a little surprised that she had him pick her up before he gathered up Reginald. But he knew better than to question her about it.
James drove up at exactly 8:30 a.m., just as Allison was walking out the door. Allison thanked the doorman graciously for opening the car door for her, and handed him the customary tip.
“It’s a ten minute drive this morning to pick up Reg, do you want to go someplace first?”
“No, he’s always early. He’ll be waiting.”
Neither of them said a word as James sped through New York traffic. Finally James asked, “Where do you want to go? … After we pick up Reg?”
“Oh, I think we should just drive around. Reg is a man of few words. He’s either in or out. If he’s out, that could be a problem.” She paused for a moment, and then continued. “You seemed pretty confident he’ll be with us, right?”
“Right.”
James did not want to discuss anything of substance until he had again swept the car. So he just sat there silently the rest of the way, as did Allison.
The drive to pick up Reginald took a little over ten minutes, but they still arrived before the designated pickup time. And, just as Allison predicted, Reginald was waiting for them. He spotted them coming, and bolted out of the coffee shop. He tossed his newspaper and half-empty cup in a trashcan, as James slid his SUV to the curb.
“Morning Al, James.”
“Good morning,” Allison answered. “Say nothing for now.”
Reginald immediately realized that this was going to be another private meeting, requiring the now all too familiar wanding. He then proceeded to remove the battery from his cell, as did Allison. James had already popped his battery out right after he had called to let Allison know he would be by her apartment soon.
James and Reginald were both keenly aware that the very existence of this meeting ran counter to Allison’s rule against having meetings apart from the whole group, but both knew better than to question Allison about it.
“I know the regimen,” she said as she removed the wand. She wanded James, then herself. Afterward, she turned and wanded Reginald, who was sitting in the back seat. Once finished with Reginald, she then returned the wand to its case.
After just a few contemplative moments, Allison turned around to face Reginald. “Okay, Reg. This is why we are meeting this morning. Our next meeting of the whole group is going to be a very significant one. And I’ll tell you why. Just as Jerry and James suggested, there seems to be only one way to deal with this problem. I’m going to just lay it out for you. The three of us are convinced that the President must be eliminated. What do you say to that?”
Immediately Reginald’s countenance changed. It was as though he had just been informed by his doctor that he had pancreatic cancer—stage four. All the blood drained from his face. He looked ten years older. Reginald stared into Allison’s steel-cold eyes. Still, neither of them said a word after Allison had asked her question.
Reginald knew that his whole life was about to be changed—irreversibly. Were he to say the wrong thing, or even assume an unacceptable posture, he knew he would not be allowed to get out of James’ car alive. He knew after the previous meeting of the whole that it was coming to this, sooner or later. He also knew that Allison did not mess around. He had no doubt that he was either in all the way, or he, and perhaps his family, would suffer dramatically.
“I knew that this was coming,” he finally answered. “We all knew yesterday. Except maybe Steve. No one knows what he’s thinking half the time. But I knew.”
“Well, are you in?” Allison repeated.
Reginald again hesitated, as he gathered his thoughts. This was not a good time to say the wrong thing.
“Yes, I’m in. But this has to be done the right way. If this gets messed up, you not only can forget about your legacy—we’ll all be dead. … It must be executed perfectly.”
“Hell, if we continue in the direction we’re going, I’ll have no legacy anyway.”
 “That’s exactly why the three of us are meeting right now, Reg.” James said. He wanted Reginald to know that he was totally behind the plan. And just as James had intended, those words seemed to relieve Reginald a bit.
“And what do you mean by execute perfectly?” Allison asked.
“I will admit that I spent half the night thinking about this. Actually, I don’t think I slept more than an hour, if that. When you called last night I knew exactly where this was going. I can’t say that I was prepared for your bluntness, but I knew what to expect just the same.
“This is what I came up with as a preliminary workable plan. The only way to do this is soon. You have no idea just how much angst is out there, particularly in the other camp. And with the new radical right, anything could happen, and more sooner than later. If we are going to manage this thing for the greatest advantage, it all has to be on our terms, which means it must take place in our time frame. We cannot be caught playing catch-up.”
“What are you suggesting as far as timing?” Allison asked.
“Weeks not months.”
“Is that possible?”
“I’ve done projects in less. Certainly none this significant. But the magnitude of the job isn’t really that different. Even a small job done wrong ruins lives. Look at Liddy and Watergate.”
“You think a few weeks is enough?” James asked.
“Has to be. We really do not have any luxury here—it gets done soon, very soon, or it doesn’t get done.”
“Okay, Reg. I’m going to tell you something. Take it seriously. Not that I don’t think that you will. But know I could not be more serious. Once we get out of this car today, we will have taken a decision to assassinate the President of the United States. Are you up to that? Are you really up to it? You had better think about that before you say a word. Once you answer me, there can be no turning back.”
Reginald knew that this bridge had already been crossed, and blown up behind him. He was well aware that Allison probably had a .38 pointed through the seat, at his gut, as they spoke.
“We all agreed, didn’t we, that the alternative was just unacceptable? Is that not right? So, as far as I am concerned now, the outcome is inevitable, and in my eyes, this decision has already been taken. … This has become just another job to me. I am prepared to do what needs to be done.”
“How about you, James?”
“You can count me in, … for the same reason.”
That morning both men verbalized their commitment to this most dreadful of plots. And even though they both had been warned by Allison that once they agreed to participate, they would not be able to turn back later. Both James and Reginald were nervous about the plot, but they both knew they already had too much information.
Allison trusted the resolve of her two friends, so she never revisited this issue with them. As far as she was concerned, they were committed. Glancing back at Reginald, she asked, “You said that you had worked up a tentative plan. Is that right? If so, we would like to hear about it.”