Monday was not a good day for agent Rob Knowlton. No Monday was good. Today in addition to having a hangover from too much football over the weekend, his guts were swirling with acid from last night’s pizza. His main problem this Monday morning was dealing with a case file which had been forwarded to him under the Director’s signature with the cryptic note saying “be discreet” - whatever the hell that meant. He’d made a few inquiries about the group that was at the heart of the file – The Magnolia Society, but he had not really got to work on it. But because of the Director’s signature, Rob knew he needed to get some action soon.
The file warranted a 7 man task force. As it was there was only him. He knew the reasons for the lack of manpower. Anything domestic was given the lowest priority in the FBI’s new level of priorities. The truck wrecks in Atlanta because of allegations linking them to Middle Eastern influence had been cloaked in secrecy and shifted to a different detail. Rob did not have the clearances to look at the files.
As usual the “sky is falling” press corps got it all wrong. They were looking in Beirut and Baghdad. Neither they nor Rob knew the problem was much closer home. Unfortunately, the FBI, despite its protests to the contrary, paid attention to the press. So far, the press hadn’t paid much attention to Knowlton’s investigation. That was a break at least. Only Rob didn’t have any idea how a truck wreck in Atlanta was related to the file he had in front of him. From Knowlton’s research, he knew there were hundreds of groups around the United States who did not have the nation’s best interests at heart. The shadowy Magnolia Society was just another on the list as far as Knowlton was concerned. If they were up to no good, the FBI would nail them. Knowlton knew that in his heart.
Lacking resources, Knowlton knew that he would need cooperation from local law enforcement agencies if he were to make headway in the case… He knew that there would be many hours on the phone and on his computer. Just the thought wore him out. His first task was to prove a conspiracy existed. He knew that there was a major difference between opinion and conspiracy, especially a conspiracy whose aim was to bring down the United States. From a preliminary investigation Knowlton knew he was not dealing with neo-Nazis or skinheads.
The leadership of the Magnolia Society was in a word, “cerebral”. On the surface, at least, they were careful to cross the line where opinion became action. Even though they got a bad rap from the Southern Poverty Law Center, there were enough blacks in the organization to defuse any racist motives.Which brought Knowlton to his second challenge: How were they organized? He needed someone who could infiltrate the organization. He knew who he would call first…
Joyce Kendall was Rob Knowlton’s college girlfriend.They had parted company when Joyce began her pursuit of a law degree. Her approach to the law was different than his. Her defense of the underdog and advocacy of social justice ran counter to Rob’s law and order view of the world. They remained friends, even after Joyce became a fellow at the Brogdon Institute – a liberal think tank based in Atlanta. Rob knew that Joyce was flexible enough in her thinking that she could easily worm her way into the Magnolia Society. Now to convince her it was the right thing to do. This would require a flight to Atlanta. He called his secretary to make the arrangements.
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