Chronic in America

By Larry W. Newell

Brandon Cole, a confident, young, and handsome Black man, full of street smarts and social savvy, lands a pivotal leadership position as a secret ops recruit for the CIA. Although he is aware of the invisible yet pervasive structure of Americas Military Industrial Complex, he is totally unprepared for the racist undertones and bigotry that he now faces in the CIA. Initially driven by idyllic images and ideas about the CIA, Brandon quickly realizes his life is in jeopardy because of his unorthodox belief in Black theology. Once these beliefs are revealed during a psycho-emotional exercise, Duke, the Controller, a professed Aryan bigot, is compelled to limit Brandons ascension to power among the recruits.
However, unbeknownst to Brandon and Duke, a hidden revenge scheme is underway to destroy them both. As racial tension and conflict mount, Brandon and Duke suddenly find themselves doing whatever it takes to clear their own names due to a rigged training exercise which results in negligent homicide. The danger intensifies as time is running out. Whos plotting to destroy Dukes career and end Brandons life in the process? Whos behind the rigged training exercise? Can Brandon afford to trust anyone?
As the tension rises, the twists come fast and furious, keeping the reader guessing and gasping until the explosive climax. This full-throttle action thriller with unrestrained emotion and relentless suspense entangles Brandon and other characters in an extended web of deceit that is, Chronic In America.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jul 24, 2015
• ISBN: 9781496952356

Larry W. Newell

Larry W. Newell is a practicing attorney and former senior manager in the civil rights arena within the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. He is the father of two adult sons and two adult daughters, living in Upper Marlboro, MD with his loving wife Serita. Having worked 30 years in the Federal sector, his cumulative experiences as a civil rights practitioner and manager in America’s Federal bureaucracy have made him acutely aware of the discriminatory and racist underpinnings of that structure. Larry uses his natural penchant for detecting and uncovering overt and covert discriminatory practices latent in his chosen field to create the fictional backdrop and characters in his suspenseful and gripping new novel, “Chronic in America.” Larry is a community activist who has worked with community action groups such as the United Planning Organization (mentoring inner city at-risk youth), the Urban League, and the National Association of Black Veterans (civilian member). He is a member of the State Bar of Maryland, 1978, and of the District of Columbia Bar, 1990. He is a director and former treasurer of Groove Phi Groove Social Fellowship, Inc., District of Columbia Graduate Chapter (1988 - present) and is co-founder and president of Youth Enterprise Program (1995 - present). Larry was born in North Carolina and raised in Baltimore City. Larry gets his best inspiration for writing reflective thoughts about life and love by spending time talking one on one with family and friends, especially his 95 year old wise father-in-law, Henry L. Green. He loves to barbeque, travel, swim and play chess with his family and friends. Larry is an avid reader of books on the paranormal, science fiction and how these phenomena intersect with metaphysics, espionage and psychic warfare.

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© 2015 Larry W. Newell. All rights reserved.

Cover Concept by:Serita Newell

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.

Published by AuthorHouse 07/21/2015

ISBN: 978-1-4969-5234-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-5235-6 (e)

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CONTENTS

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER 1     Denial

CHAPTER 2     The Induction

CHAPTER 3     Intimacy

CHAPTER 4     The Controller

CHAPTER 5     Consciousness

CHAPTER 6     Strivings

CHAPTER 7     Imagination

CHAPTER 8     Convention

CHAPTER 9     Sequencing

CHAPTER 10   Manipulation

CHAPTER 11   Perceptions

CHAPTER 12   Projections

CHAPTER 13   Sabotage

CHAPTER 14   Wash

EPILOGUE

PROLOGUE

Since the Cold War and before, Americans have lived in a Military Industrial Complex (MIC). President Dwight Eisenhower warned us about the MIC in his 1961 farewell address when he said: In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. Fast forward fifty years to 2011, the MIC is even more powerful and the masses of people have been neglected. Most of us live private, simple lives of misery and despair. We live lives of quiet desperation, which has lead to a lingering chronic condition!

Chronic, the state of lasting, recurring events, said of a disease or habitual ailment. In America, children are born in the chronic conditions which engulf their towns and cities. They are born in innocence, not knowing the error of their families’ negative habits and ways. They seek knowledge in a dismal world of danger and despair created by the MIC. Proud mothers have babies because that’s what is expected of them; but derelict fathers are noticeably absent. They are not really there to help raise the babies. Oh yes, droves of traditional thinking parents seem to thrive in the system because they are not victims, so they think. The stench of despair and smell of death do not cross their nostrils. They are the true bloods, wavers of the red, white and blue. Most of them are professionals, symbols of authority in their fields. They are real Americans. The Military Industrial Complex is the origin of their being.

They are traditional thinking people who do not know they too are victims. They succeed within the system, and so should their offspring. After all, it’s in their genes. Victims - all of them. They are cast adrift on a sea of technical know-how. Rebels with reason, they love freedom. Their brand of freedom breeds chronic behavior.

The children born in this world of freedom do not know that they too will become victims. All they do is strive and thrive for the freedom their mothers show them. Grasping, crawling, moving around, and reaching for higher heights. All of them are victims, every one of them.

The year is 1978. The mothers cry out in travail, as they give birth to beautiful babies - ten in all. Two are White, three are Latino, four are Black, and one is Asian. Not all of them are born with their parents knowing the taste of America’s brand of freedom. The two Whites are known as Raymond and Bo. (For real, his mother just named him Bo.) They are born first. Raymond (his friends called him Ray) is the cream of the crop, with blue eyes and auburn hair. His daddy sure is proud. The no good, rich bastard! And his mother, well, she feels as though she has just had God’s gift to the world. And boy, will they pamper him. Bo, on the other hand, is a White boy born on the wrong side of the tracks. Can you imagine that? A poor White boy named Bo, born on the Black side of the tracks. Bo never knows his father. And his mother, she just doesn’t know what to do with him.

The four Black babies, known as Brandon Cole, TJ (Tyrone Johnson), Chris, and Jamal, are next to be born. Boy, could they cry. Loud! Brandon is simply adorable. And his daddy, well, running late as usual. His mother, Helen, gives birth to him like a champ; she also bears him in silence. TJ is a fine young baby, light brown and brawny. Both his parents are there for him. Then there is Chris. What can I say about Chris? If there ever was a heaven, if there ever was an angel, well, she is it. No baby girl could ever be more beautiful, charming, or witty. Her parents, the victims of premature deaths, left everything they had to her. She is raised by her grandma, Jean.

And there’s Jamal, oh the mighty Jamal. He is perfectly formed, weighing nine pounds six ounces at birth. His parents are proud followers of the Honorable Elijah Mohammed and will do virtually anything for their son. The three Latinos, Jose, Jamie and Felix, are all sons of proud but poor Hispanic immigrants. Lynn Lu is of East Asian descent; she rounds out the births that warm summer day in 1978.

All of these children are born in America during a time of real prosperity. In 1978 many Americans are working. Jobs are plentiful and more people of all races and colors are receiving degrees and certifications in a number of expert fields. Also, from all appearances, integration is now a major part of the fabric of American culture.

Unfortunately, these children are born victims. They are victims of a dreaded disease, known in America to breed greed, lust, jealousy and deceit. The ailment is chronic; it replicates itself again and again in all nationalities and in all races. As these innocent children grow older, the symptoms of their sickness become more subtle; yet, their condition is evident to those who really want to see it. Their natural desire to explore and reach for the stars is soon tainted with the poisonous venom of success. It is a kind of success known only in America, and each of them will bear the mark of that success.

This story is all about chronic negative behavior. It is about the success brought on by that behavior and young folk growing up to become demons because of it. Every one of them is poisoned by their own personal successes. Although they are from various cities with different backgrounds, they are brought together under the same roof of the CIA and share the same sickness. Let’s start with Ray. Biologically, he is a true specimen of White Aryanism. His parents, both of whom have direct ties to their European relatives, believe whole heartedly in the natural supremacy of White Christian values. As Ray grows older, he too naturally adopts that view of the world. After all, he is at the center of these values, a living example, so he is told by all who know and adore him.

At three years old, Ray can remember what is said and done to him. He begins to process the information he receives from these experiences, and before he is five, his photographic memory convinces him of his divinity. He is told of the physical and mental superiority of the White race with all its bio-genetic gradations from the Hindus on up. Because of his fair appearance, Ray is always considered the first among equals, even by his White male peers. No one can out do or out think him at anything. If he fails at something it is considered to be practice or a mere variation of his real talent so he always gets another chance, or as many chances he needs to succeed at what he is doing. No one ever frowns, criticizes or gets upset with him outwardly. If anyone does, they do so at their own peril, especially if his dad finds out about it. This man, with all the outward appearances of a distinguished gentleman, is actually a ravenous beast inside who stops at nothing to have his way or get revenge on those who do anything contrary to his desire. He is proud of his royal Anglo heritage and has no feelings of remorse for what happens to anyone who does not respect his wishes.

A natural born killer, Ray’s father fights his way into the hierarchy of one of the most notorious crime syndicates of all times in Chicago. Although he does not become one of the top bosses, his murderous ways, his CPA and masters degree in business brings him substantial success, wealth and prestige as a money launderer for the mob. Just after Ray is born, his dad arranges to go straight and becomes the President of one of Chicago’s most prestigious banks. In this position, he is able to make sure Ray has access to every comfort and convenience as he grows up in suburbia just inside the northwest city limits of Chicago.

Ray is the finest of young men, according to the European standards of male beauty. At ten years old, Ray is mentally advanced well beyond his years. He knows all the secrets of the American money temple. Yet money does not really faze him as he never has to want for anything. Instead, he concerns himself with things such as the physical and metaphysical principles of how the Christ had walked on water. At twenty, standing six-foot one-inch, weighing some 190 1bs, he graduates with full military honors from West Point, and is immediately recruited into the CIA. It is in CIA training school that Ray meets and befriends Bo. Ray, while not a natural born killer, is attracted to Bo precisely because of this trait. Bo, the po boy from Baton Rouge, is just like Ray’s father in temperament. He also holds the supremacy views of Ray and his father, and holds Ray in high esteem because of them. Bo is a sharp shooter and ballistics technician, and would kill any living creature, other than another Aryan, for any reason without remorse.

Bo is smart, but because of his lowly upbringing, he sticks to basics. As a child, he is often left alone by his mother. It puzzles him that she often puts him to bed and without warning the front door slams and Bo is left in the tiny little apartment all by himself. Not knowing until later that she is a local hooker, her sensual ways toward him and other men always leaves him perplexed.

Bo discovers his mother is a whore when he is seventeen years old. One evening, before returning home from a high school basket ball game, Bo has just taken one of the young girls home who admired him for his awkward but accurate three-pointer jump shot. He is walking swiftly toward the apartment complex he lives in, when suddenly, in one of the alleys he hears a loud grunting noise coming from behind a trash bend. He hears the hollow voice of a White female, moaning just below the level of a scream. Thinking an assault is taking place, he rushes to the aid of the woman only to find that it is his mother, turning a trick with some local Black guy who frequents the local pub.

Bo is already a supremacist, as he has heard and believes these things not only from his mother, but also from all of her red neck brothers and uncles, who incidentally contributed to her loose ways. When Bo stumbles upon his mother in the alley that night, all the rage and hatred that has built up in him about Blacks and other minorities come gushing out. After overcoming the shock of it being his mother, who she is with, and what she is doing, Bo feels a painful throbbing in his head. The sudden burst of adrenalin and the rushing of hot blood in his veins give him the strength and desire to bludgeon the Black man mercilessly with a two by four found lying in the rubble around the trash bend. As if carrying out some wild fantasy of furor, Bo does not stop beating the man until, his mother’s howling screams and pulling brings him back to reality. Stunned by his own action of rage, Bo watches with glazed eyes as the brother hauls tail down the alley once Ray stops swinging the stick. Bo looks at his mother, as though he has just lost his best friend, or has caught his own lover in such betrayal. Sickened by her actions, he literally throws up. Afterwards, he wipes his face and hands, straightens himself up like any southern gentleman would, blows his nose and simply walks away, never to see his mother again.

Bo goes to stay with his uncles until he gets word of his scholarship to attend Bowden Technical School, a local college in Alabama. Bo is number one in his class at Bowden, and, as a result, is recruited directly by the CIA because of his exceptional skills with abstract relations and projectiles. Bo is awesome with a high powered rifle. Using a scope, he is able to hit a five inch mark some 500 yards away with 99% accuracy. Although Bo has no connections with the feds as does Ray, his accuracy and natural affinity to ballistics, all but guarantees him a secure managerial position with the Agency. Working just below Ray in Foreign Warfare Affairs (FWA), Bo develops a profound sense of love and loyalty for Ray. He tells Ray his inner most secrets and feelings. Ray in turn confides in him and, of course, gives him free reign over the Ballistics Logistics Office within the FWA.

Brandon and the other Black recruits do not find themselves so lucky. At the age of five, Brandon attempts his first sex act. He and one of the little girls in his hood pretend to get it on playing Postman in the basement of the high rise he lived in. At age seven, Brandon is a master con artist, and being cute, has his pick of the little girls who fight each other furiously to have a turn at Brandon delivering their mail. Living in the projects isn’t easy for him, because he is considered to be a pretty boy, who looks like Michael Jackson. If the girls aren’t pulling at him, trying to get him to do the nasty with them, his peers and the older guys are teasing him about how pretty he is. When Brandon turns twelve, a few of the guys try to gang up on him to force him to give up some booty. Of course Brandon doesn’t go for it. And, if it’s not a lot of them, he stands his ground and fights. However, when it’s too many of them, he hauls ass back to his complex. Brandon is fast as lightning, so none of them can ever catch him.

In the evening some of the culprits would wonder back to the complex by themselves, having forgotten their attempts at such a dastardly humiliating act. Brandon would merciless take revenge out on each one of them. With premeditation and malice aforethought, Brandon would single handedly ambush his victims, grabbing them from behind and cutting their throat, whacking them in the head with metal pipes, or shooting them in vital spots with a handmade zip gun. Of the twelve punks who try to force Brandon to submit to sodomy, three are hospitalized for fractured bones from blows from an unknown assailant that knocked them unconscious. Several are badly disfigured when without warning their boom boxes or other electronic devices explode in their faces. Finally, one is killed mysteriously by some foreign object authorities identify as a zip gun projectile. After this episode, the remaining members of the gang never again approach Brandon for anything, not even for a cigarette or a light. If they see Brandon coming they go the other way. If he shows up at a party, they quietly ease on out of the place so as not to be seen or heard by him.

Under normal circumstances Brandon would be considered a nice guy, however, when provoked he has a real mean streak, just like Ray’s father and Bo. Whenever he is angered by someone, the painful throbbing comes on him, and the blood boils in his veins. Although he does not show it, a beast rises up in him and causes him to do anything to avenge his wounded feelings. By the age of nineteen, nobody tangles with Brandon one-on-one. In fact no one messes with him period. They know that if they anger him, they may have to pay for it with their life. Brandon is well built, standing at six foot two inches, weighing 245 1bs, and he fights like a professional boxer. He is quick with his hands, which are very large. His shoulders are broad and muscular. Furthermore, nobody has forgotten the mysterious zip gun killing. The only person in the neighborhood who has such a gun is Brandon’s older brother, Stink. But Stink is in jail doing fifteen years when the incident occurs. Brandon’s main squeeze at the time, Carla, gives an alibi for him, so he is ruled out as a suspect. The authorities never nail down a formal suspect, and no weapon is ever found. But nobody ever forgets that killing, or the other mysterious maladies that afflicted those boys, especially not Carla. By age twenty, Big Daddy Brandon, as he is known on the streets, moves out of Chicago to South Jersey. There he and several girlfriends, including his main squeeze Carla, run a three million dollar drug and fencing operation for the mob. The CIA deliberately recruits Brandon to join its Foreign Services-Stealth Operation. They are impressed by his agility and adeptness at the street life and his propensity for payback.

TJ, also known as Tyrone Johnson, is also a fine young man growing up. His honey colored skin with light brown eyes and brown curly hair, make him irresistible to the opposite sex of all races. At age five, he is well into computers systems and electronics. His parents recognize his gifts early, so they arrange for a private tutor to teach him all about modern mathematics, or New Math as it is known in teaching circles of the time. TJ absorbs it like a sponge. At the age of 16, he graduates with honors having received a 3.7 grade point average in the Advanced College Preparatory Course of his high school in the South Side of Chicago. He is offered full scholarships by several highly recognized universities around the country, but settles on attending Howard University because of its reputation as the Capstone of higher education for Blacks. After two years of social matriculation at Howard and hanging out with the locals, TJ decides he can best use his mathematical talents in other more lucrative ways. He drops out of Howard and using his good looks, charm and wit, starts his own escort service. At first he is small time, catering only to the needs of female professors and administrators of higher learning around town. Then he begins to accommodate the needs of younger, more expansive clientele consisting of professionals and executives living along the Gold Coast of upper 16th Street, NW in Washington, D.C. Before long, TJ is servicing major clientele in Montgomery County and Northern Virginia. His net worth as a social panderer has climbed to well over two million dollars when the CIA decides to recruit him into its Foreign Services Stealth Operation.

Chris is the Black female of the group. Her hazel eyes and olive skin tone are throw backs to her Cherokee ancestry. Her mother, Anna, is the offspring of a Cherokee-Black American mix, while her father is a light skinned Black man of the Black-White mixed American vintage found along the South East coast of the United States. Chris is too young to remember her parents, who die in a fatal car accident while traveling to visit close relative and friends in North Carolina. Both parents were tenured college professors with PhDs working in Washington, D.C. at the time of their deaths. They both have one million dollar insurance policies on which Chris is named the sole beneficiary, and according to their joint will, her Grandma Jean is named the primary trustee of their joint trust estate. The trust incorporates the proceeds of their insurance policies and other proprietary assets which upon liquidation totals more than 3.5 million dollars. The trust corpus is held in trust for Chris’ care, maintenance and education until she reaches the age of 35, after which time the trust terminates and all assets accumulated to that point will be placed in her exclusive possession and control. Grandma Jean, her father’s mother, proudly steps up and raises Chris in old town Alexandria, just outside of Washington. Chris is as smart as she is beautiful. While growing up, her grandmother instills solid Christian values in her. By no means is Chris a product of the streets like the other Black recruits. Nevertheless, she knows