Fanis is in his flat in London
where he lives with his cousin and employer, Kera. Kera is an international Chinese artifact
dealer. She had just recently gone to
Macau to procure an item that she has
found a buyer for. Before alerting her
cousin and bodyguard, Fanis, however, she wants to tease him a bit. She calls out, “Hey Fanis, the inspector
general of the State Department Steve Linick has an urgent meeting. Your boy Trump may be in trouble”
“Haven’t you realized to wait 24
hours on these, ‘we got him now’ stories?’
It always blows up in your face.”
“I don’t know, he may get in
trouble for his foreign collusion into finding dirt on Biden”
“You have ties to the British
government. You know that it’s standard
procedure to ask foreign intelligence to aid in investigations. Sometimes, it’s even the law like the Woods
procedure, which actually requires you to send your information to four
countries to make sure it’s verified.”
“Well yea, but they’re
undermining the Mueller probe.”
“How? He didn’t investigate the origins of the
investigation?”
“Exactly, it limits it.”
“How do you limit a probe that’s
over?”
Kera contemplated this for a
second, “Well, I guess it doesn’t limit it but it does discredit it”
“So what? If someone submits a report and someone
investigates something else and it refutes the first point, that’s called good investigating. It’s not criminal, it’s the way our process
works and should work. Hell, science is
based solely on retesting other people’s findings. This isn’t even retesting, it’s just
investigation another aspect that someone didn’t look into. How is that wrong?”
“I don’t care”
“Of course you don’t because
you’re losing the argument. Even Mueller
would always answer ‘not in my purview’ when asked about the origins of the
2016 investigation. Furthermore, in
1996, Bill Clinton made a rule to talk to foreigners to aid in investigations
so that they’re not one-sided”
“It makes sense”
“Then why do you have a problem
with it or give the media any credibility for their fake outrage?”
“I don’t know, we’re going to
Bermuda. Pack your shit.”
On the plane, Fanis remarks,
“You know, Democrats want to impeach Trump for asking for foreign help to
investigate Biden but then they want everyone to forget that Hillary paid
foreigners to dig up dirt on Trump.”
“That’s a conspiracy”
“I thought you would say that;
so I actually printed out the articles.” Fanis pulls out papers from his
pocket. He holds up an article from
Politico entitled, ‘Ukrainian efforts to sabotage Trump backfires’ he asks, “Do
you consider ‘Politico’ part of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy?”
“No”
Fanis pulls out another paper,
this one from CNN. The headline reads,
‘British intelligence passed Trump Associates Communication with Russia on to
US Counterparts’ the date is the end of October 2016, right before the
election. Fanis inquires, “Looks like
the country we reside in isn’t so innocent according to CNN. Do you think CNN is part of the Right Wing
Conspiracy?”
“Nobody calls it the ‘Right Wing
Conspiracy’ anymore”
He flips to another piece of
paper, “He’s one from the Hill called ‘Australian Diplomat whose tip prompted
FBI’s Russian probe proves he has ties to Clintons.”
“That’s a very long headline and
The Hill is right leaning”
“Doesn’t change the fact that
it’s true”
“Well, the other ones were from
sources you deem, ‘fake news.’”
“Sometimes they didn’t get the
memo and print the truth by accident.”
“You made your point”
“No, I forgot the biggest one;
Russia. Here’s a Daily Caller piece
‘Steel identified Russian Dossier sources Notes Reveal”
“Again, I don’t trust
conservative media.”
“Do you accept when I say I
don’t believe anything Fake News says?”
“No, I don’t. That’s why I’m throwing
it back to you.”
“Ah well, just because you don’t
acknowledge these articles exist, doesn’t mean they don’t
They land in Bermuda and take a
cab to the hotel. The airport in Bermuda
is on the other side of the island from the more popular attractions. After they drop their stuff off, Kera and
Fanis walk to one of many pink sand beaches and go on a walk along the
water. After the long walk on the beach,
they go into a bar and relax. As they
look up, Fanis sees cricket on TV. Fanis
loves sports but cricket is not a sport he ever really understood nor had
explained to him. He starts talking to a
guy next to him and asks him to explain cricket. He merely responds, “Where you from?”
“America”
“Oh, that’s why you don’t know
cricket.”
He proceeds to explain the game
but in between, he asks questions. “What
brings you here?”
“Business”
“What type of business?”
“I’m a bodyguard”
“Ah, so I shouldn’t mess with
you.”
“You can mess with me, just not
with the person I protect”
“Quite right. Well, if you can get out, you should hit a
golf course.”
“I don’t play golf”
“Wrong island for that. The courses are beautiful here. That’s why most Americans come here. The beaches are nice but unlike many Caribbean
islands, it’s not very good for partying”
“I’m a little too old to party”
“Never too old my friend”
“I’m not sure if I believe you
as restaurants have all these quotes to drinking.”
“Yea, and rum is big here. We like to drink but we’re not much of
clubbers”
“That works for me.”
“This bar has a motto; you
Swizzle in and Swaddle out”
“Alright, well let’s hope I
don’t do that.”
The night ends and Fanis and
Kera go back to the hotel to rest before going to the sale the next day.
While Kera was negotiating the
sale, Fanis was talking to the security.
The security guard identified himself as Murphy. Murphy poses, “What do you make of Biden’s
denial that Ukraine helped them dig up dirt on Trump?”
“That’s easily debunked. Alexandra Chalupa, who worked at the DNC,
went to the Ukrainian embassy and they linked him to President Porchenko of
Ukraine. Here’s an official statement
from the new president, “It was great that you were the first who told me that
she was a bad ambassador because I agree with you 100%. Her attitude towards me was far from the best
as she admired the previous president and she was on his side. She would not accept as a new president well
enough.”
“That quote isn’t too
damning. So, the old Ukrainian
ambassador hated Trump, doesn’t mean she helped find dirt on him.”
“The official documents from the
embassy say Chalupa requested for Porchenko to come to America and work with
Obama to find dirt on Trump. It’s been
confirmed by the Ukrainian embassy.
Chalupa was actively seeking Anti-Trump information using Ukrainian
sources.”
“Okay, that is damning evidence. The other one was pretty weak.
“At least something stuck with
you.”
Kera finished with her
negotiation and they leave the place.
They decide to go hiking on a trail that has views of the clean,
turquoise sea. As they are walking, they
realize that hiking isn’t something that people in Bermuda do very often as
they haven’t seen anyone on the trail.
It’s a simple trail so they talk and hang out. As they move in, they run into a man. Fanis nods his head and the guy doesn’t
return it. Fanis pays no attention and
walks past him. The man reaches out and
grabs Kera and holds a knife to her throat.
Fanis turns around and calmly declares, “What do you want?”
“We don’t like these shady
dealings being done in our country”
“Selling of Chinese antiques?”
“You know that’s a cover”
“For what?”
“Don’t play dumb with me; I know
why she’s here.”
“Me too, she made a sale now
we’re tourists since our business is over here.”
“Most tourists go to the rum
factory or watch a glass blowing show”
“Tourists can’t hike? What about the ones playing golf?”
“You American?”
“Yes”
“What’s with your president’s
conspiracy theory that the ICIG changed the form so the Whistleblower could
come forward?”
“Put the knife down and I’ll
tell you all about it.”
Surprisingly, the man did put
the knife down. Kera moves away and the
man glares at her, “I could put the knife back.
You stay here.”
Kera looks at Fanis but Fanis
doesn’t advance. Kera is too close to
the guy who still has the knife. Fanis
wants to distract him. “There’s no
conspiracy. Sometime after May 2018, the form was changed to include
second-hand information”
“So, it wasn’t so the
Whistleblower could come out for the call.
That happened in July 2019”
“They did it secretly. Why would you make a law secret if you
weren’t trying to set someone up?”
“Andy McCabe, he was a former
FBI director, celebrated the ICIG’s candor.”
“He would. Andy McCabe has been charged with lying under
oath. It’s laughable that you think McCabe
is credible. After the Whistleblower
came forward, they looked at the law. It
said it had to have firsthand knowledge.
They ICIG magically looks at the statute and reinterprets the language
and then forces a change to the form. If
that’s not blatant changing the rule for one guy, then I don’t what is.”
“Trump was pressuring Ukrainians
by threatening to withhold military aid and sending Giuliani”
“Yea, people have investigated
that and Ukraine didn’t even know we were giving them military aid. You can’t threaten to withhold something if
you don’t know we were thinking of giving it to you.”
“Yea, well he was sending Giuliani”
“Ukrainian president Zelensky
says he’s never met Giuliani”
“You don’t have to meet someone
to know who they are.”
“You do have to meet them if
he’s pressuring you into something.”
“Trump made it known that
Zelensky didn’t want to meet his muscle; Rudy Giuliani”
‘When did he say that?”
“it’s implied”
“Trump doesn’t really imply.
He’s normally pretty blunt”
As Fanis is focused on the
argument, he isn’t prepared for the right hook that connects with his
face. Fanis back up and the man punches
him with the left forcing Fanis to his knee.
The man grabs the back of Fanis’ head and slams it into his knee. Fanis falls back onto his back. The man declares, “I’m going to kick your
ass, then I’m going to rape your girl.”
Fanis turns around and makes his
way back to his knees. Kera is watching
knowing she should be running but the man is keeping an eye on her so she is
scared still. She needs Fanis to
distract him so she can run. The man
grabs Fanis by the back of the neck and grabs his shirt. He takes some quick steps and tosses Fanis
who lands face down near a cliff. The
man turns to Kera and informs her, “I know why you’re here. Bermuda doesn’t welcome your kind here.”
Fanis gets to his feet and yells
out, “Is that all you got?”
The man smiles at Kera and
charges at Fanis. Fanis bends down and
as the guy approaches, straightens himself up while wrapping his arms around
the man’s legs loosely. The man’s own
momentum carries him into the air as Fanis directed his charge that way. The man flips onto his back but instead of
landing on his back, he’s catapulted over the cliff and his back crashes in the
water below. Fanis’ nose is broken and
there is a cut on his face but he walks toward Kera, “Come on let’s go”
“Are you okay?”
“Yea, I’m fine”
“I mean, what was all that martial
arts training for if you’re going to get your ass kicked like that?”
Fanis smiled and shook his
head. They finish the hike and then go
back to the hotel. Kera offers, “Do you
really have no qualms about Trump moving his conversations onto a secret
server? I mean, it’s like he’s hiding
something”
“No, I don’t. The secret system was made to stop
leaks. Look at 2016, it was constantly
one leak after another. Government being
as slow as it is, they didn’t make the secret system till 2018.”
“Yea, I do remember that. I just don’t think they have the full
transcript”
“Why do you say that?”
“I saw a Senator Angus saying
that his staff read the transcript out loud in 10 minutes and 40 seconds but
the call was 30 minutes. What’s the
other 20 minutes?”
“I saw the same interview. Angus admits that it’s possible that there
was a translator but dismisses it since President Zelensky speaks English.”
“Yea, but when you’re dealing
with foreign leaders, it is paramount that there’s no misunderstanding so they
still need to be told in their first language.
It shouldn’t be hard to see if there was a translator.”
“it’s not and there was.”
“So that explains it”
“Yea, Angus contradicted
himself. Or at least discredited his
argument.”
“I don’t know. It’s just getting ridiculous. Even Bill Mahar is turning against liberals”
“Well, they’re destroying comedy
but yea the backlash for the Whistleblower impeachment talk is palpable. People are pissed”
“You mean the fact Trump rose 11
points in the polls?”
“No, fuck the polls. People are opening their wallets. In the last
three months, $125 Million have been raised.
The Trump campaign now has $156 Million cash on hand and $308 Million
year to day. This is twice as much as
Obama had.”
“Liberals are just as
pissed. Ellen WInetrap of the FEC is so
pissed she’s trying to change the rules to make receiving information from
Ukrainians a foreign campaign contribution.”
“That’s unconstitutional. That means any time someone insults the
person you’re running against, it’s a campaign contribution. If you can be prosecuted for spreading gossip
and giving your opinion on someone, then that is definitely against the first
amendment.”
“Well, they just need to word it
right.”
“No, they need to scrap it. Let’s say if they pass it, then all the
Democrats would be guilty too.”
“I guess it is hard to
enforce. Maybe just if you work for a
campaign”
“Then you can’t insult your
opponent when you’re knocking on doors and talking to people?”
“Alright fine, I don’t know”
They went to sleep and crossed
the island to go to the airport the next day.
When they got to their gate, a native asked, “How did you like Bermuda?”
Fanis responds,
“Interesting. Beautiful country. A lot of good things but not everything went
perfectly”
“Life very rarely does. I love Bermuda because we have very low
taxes. The motto here is that they won’t
steal your money but if shit happens, don’t come to us.”
“You saying taxes in America are
too high?”
“Without a doubt. The average American spends more in taxes
than they do on clothing, health care and food combined.”
“I didn’t know that”
“it’s just shielded from you
since it’s withheld from your paychecks”
“Yea, I guess if we actually had
to write checks, we would realize this more.”
“So, the average American spends
$18,617.93 in taxes a year but $14,758.11 on basic necessities like food,
clothing and healthcare. That’s a
difference of over $ 3,800,00”
“That is definitely problematic.
That’s why I’m a conservative. We like
limited government.”
“Let me ask you, what did you
get for that money?”
“The strongest military in the
world. We also got roads, but even those
have a lot of potholes. I guess just the
military”
“You could easily have that for
less than 18K a year.”
“I agree but I don’t make the
rules”
Fanis and he talk about
economics and then Fanis boards the plane.
Fanis dozes off relatively quickly in his seat as does Kera. When they land in London, they go back to
their flat and recuperate from the long flight.
Fanis was enjoying travelling the world but lately, people have been
attacking Kera more and more. He wonders
why. Maybe Kera is moving up. Maybe they’re challenging him. Maybe Fanis is just overreacting. He decides it doesn’t matter. His job is to protect Kera and he will for as
long as it takes.
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