International Conspiracy

By Charles Roebuck

In Key West, Florida, paradise isnt what it seems as bartender Jake Jones is thrown into a game of cat and mouse after receiving a mysterious package that makes him a hunted man by government assassins. While protecting his girlfriend, Lisa, he struggles to stay alive, and with help from an unexpected group of people, he realizes that what hes holding is really worth life and death and could be the end for civilized people and many nations if whats in the package is exposed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Oct 18, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524645069

Charles Roebuck

Charles is originally from Youngstown, Ohio, but later moved to Cleveland in the mid 90s and became a bartender. By 1999, he was sick of winters and intrigued by Tom Cruise in the movie Cocktailand Leonardo DiCaprio in The Beach. He didn’t want to move to New York or Thailand, so he settled for the sandy beaches of Key West, where he bartended for many years. In 2008, he decided to return to Ohio and met his fiancée, Agnieszka, in 2009, and together, they have a beautiful boy who will be six next year. Besides mixing drinks, Charles has a passion for cooking and strives to teach his son everything he has learned such as to not be selfish and to be nice to everyone, no matter who they are.

Book preview

Germany

August 29, 1939

Hitler smashed the coal of his cigar into his gloved left hand as he stood on the steps of The Berghof. In disdain he watched as the silver and black limo, accompanied by four armed men on motorcycles pulled up and stopped in front of him. The young guard opened the rear door and four men exited the vehicle, then saluted their Furher and walked up the steps to the main entrance. They hung their coats in the foyer, then proceeded through the villas main room then out on the viranda where the servants had made preparations for lunch. His guests included Reinhard Heydrich, Chief of security for the S.S, Heinrich Himmler, head of the Propaganda Ministry, Adolph Eichmann, head of Jewish Affairs and finally Heinrich Muller, Chief of Riech Security.

Have some drinks the Furher said as he entered the viranda and instructed his men to be seated.

They gathered their cocktails and took their seats at the long rectangular table which was oiled high with luncheon meats, breads, salads and desserts. They dressed their sandwiches and piled their plates with food, ate and did not engage in conversation until Hitler was finished with his lunch. He believed in silence. When it came to eating and was known to beat those who did not adhere to his rule with a switch.

We have a delimma gentleman Hitler said as he pushed his plate to the side.

Our provocation of Poland had failed, my Furher Himmler said with his head low.

And our friend in Russia, Stalin, is getting eager each day Heydrich said.

In the past several months German soldiers dressed as Polish army staged attacks on or around the border making it look as if Poland wanted war with Germany. It wasw an effort to legitimise a right for retaliation, but Poland denied that they were involved and insisted that they had no intentions of going to war.

It was not what the German people wanted but Hitler and his friend Stalin knew that conquering Europe meant that some countries had to be sacrificed and the only way to get to Paris was to overthrow Poland.

Muller placed a map of Poland on the table and spread it out. He reminded Hitler as he pointed at Warsaw, that his ultimate plan, the Final Solution could not be carried out without the capture of that city and the elimination of all Jews in Europe would not be possible.

My Furher, we must have this region Muller said.

WE will then eliminate the Jew Hitler said as he walked over and looked out at the mountainside.

It is a must that we have the Polish research facility at Poznan University Himmler said.

Muller added for the Final Solution to work they would need the area to house the Jewish population. Train them in by the thousands and house them in different parts of Poland. Auschwitz, Treblinka, Belzec and Sobibor were towns that were ideal for experimenting on the Jewish population. He informed the Fuhrer that in order to keep a true Arian bloodline they need to look to the future and create chemical and biological weapons that would be used on other races as well.

We are going to call them Concentration Camps Himmler said as he swallowed the last of his drink.

And they will be staffed with doctors that can use the Jews to their discretion and document their findings from the camps Hedrich said.

Heinrich Eichman, who hadn’t said much, stood up and explained to Hitler that the research facility at Poznan University was capable of making biological weapons and it would be in the Reich’s best interest to strike first and take the facility before Stalin gets it before them.

How quickly can we move in Hitler asked.

Two days, by the First of September Himmler responded.

Hitler looked at the mountainside with his hand on his chin and quietly instructed them to get their troops ready and to make it quick. He had hoped there would be no problems from Stalin when he informs him that Warsaw will be under German control.

If he resists, Germany will have no choice but to attack Russia Hitler said as he smashed his hand on the table.

His men stood up a saluted their Furher and told him that they had estimated Poland would be under their control by no later than November. The plan for the Final Solution would be ready to move forward and then the rest of Europe would have little resistance to the German war machine.

The men stayed up till the early morning hours with some of the local woman. They drank and sang songs dedicated to the Third Reich, to the pure people of their country and to the future.

The next day after breakfast Hitler and his men were extremely pleased as they laughed and joked on the way to their limo. Der Furher was excited as well, almost giddy at the fact that his plan was finally coming together. He embraced his men and patted them on the back as they each climbed into the vehicle.

It was a new day for Germany. He and its people would have their wish to have a Jew free world and create a legacy that would go on for many, many generations.

And so it begins.

8:00AM

Present Day

The November morning was brisk he thought as he got dressed and headed to the coffee shop on Duval Street for some caffeine and the morning paper. The Southern Most city’s main drag in Old Town boasted fourteen blocks of Spanish style buildings and was the center of attraction for this historic town. Full of pastel colored shops, quaint eateries, and a large amount of bars, Key West offered a magical lure for people all over the world. It was paradise for the thousands who embraced the beauty of the ocean and watched in awe as the sun set, then reveled in debauchery to an endless amount of night time activities.

This time of the day, the street was fairly deserted and the wind was unusually strong as he walked the four blocks to the coffee shop. Island living was modest and the people you see got to know your daily habits and as he walked into the coffee shop his order was ready before he approched the counter. He gave the girl a five, grabbed a paper and told the girl to keep the change. She smiled, maybe even blushed, thanked him and said she would come down to his bar for a cocktail. Jake told her he looked forward to it and offered to get her first round, walked out the door and headed back to his house. It wasn’t that the girl was cute or even attractive but it was the fact that he always insisted on treating people the way that they wanted to be treated.

Always a stand-up guy, Jake Jones was born in Carbondale, Illinois to the son of a Baptist minister. He left for Key West in 1995, never looked back and never missed snow. His folks visited often and admired the fact that he’d found paradise. They knew it was his chance to live his dream of fishing and diving and when they come to visit he’d treat them to the same experiences that he had. All the Jones’ wanted for their son was to be happy and if fishing, bartending and boozing was what made him happy, then so were they.

Over the years Jake had reinvented himself into a locals favorite, and after having many meaningless jobs on the Island, working at the Tiki bar made him a hit not only with the locals, the tourists were infatuated with him as well. The girls threw themselves at him, but at the end of the day he was devoted to Lisa, his girl of five years. She was his everything and couldn’t picture a day in paradise without her.

His love of five years was back sleeping at the house and wouldn’t be awake until mid morning so he decided to take a walk down to the Schooner Wharf Bar on Lazy Way about two blocks away. The locals called it the breakfast club and the place appealed to all kinds of people, drunks, cabbies, hotel staff and vacationers pulling an all night bender. If you could stand the roaches, the rats and the stench of the place, Schooner was a fun hangout. It brought out old Key West and the way the Island used to be, when it was a seaman’s paradise.

He walked toward the bar and weaved through a half dozen drunken people swaying to a Jimmy Buffet cover tune, and sat down on a stool facing the water. The bartender put a Bloody Mary down on the bar, wished him a good morning and went back to working his crowd. He swiveled the bar stool around towards the water. The view was captivating even though the water was choppy from the wind but looked like a good day for sailing, he thought.

His phone in his front pocket was ringing. He took it out and looked at it. It was his friend, Jonathan, a cab driver at night and suspected hacker by day. It was odd Jake thought he would call this early in the morning. The man got done with his shift at 6am and was usually in bed by now. What the hell, he might be in jail he thought, so he answered it.

What’s up man, you in jail Jake asked laughing?

I got to meet with you now, I got something for you. Where you at? Jonathan asked.

I’m at Schooner for a quick drink, Lisa won’t be up for a while. I got a few minutes to kill" Jake said as he sensed a little disparity in his voice.

Alright man, I need you to hold something for me, Ok he said.

I’ll be here for another twenty minutes Jake said.

Be there in fifteen Jonathan replied.

Jake sat there looking at the catamarans. He and Jonathan had been friends for many years an trusted the guy more than he trusted any of his relatives and if the man wanted him to hold something, he’d be there for him and it was nt unusual for someone to be in a little trouble in the Key’s

The tall ships were getting ready for their daily tours and snorkel trips when a young girl sporting a T shirt that said I heart Key West walked up to the bar. He looked over at the girl who couldn’t have been more than fourteen. She was holding a small envelope in both of her hands. The bartender said a few words to her and pointed in Jakes direction and she walked over to him.

Is your name Jake, because this guy came up to me in this T-shirt shop down the street and gave me twenty dollars to give this too you She said as she chewed a mouthful of gum.

What man? He asked.

"Don’t know. He had long greasy hair and he seemed like he was in a hurry. I usually wouldn’t do this kinda stuff but I can buy a few more T-shirts for my friends back home. There’s nothing bad in there is there mister? She said.

He thanked her as he took the envelope from her and reassured her that everything was fine and wished her a good vacation as she went down the water walk. Looking in the envelope, there was a flash-drive in it. He scanned the bar to see if anything was unusual or anyone was watching, but didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.

Jonathan was always enigmatic but this was a little more than usual. Once in a while he would come to his bar and hand him some disks with pirated movies but he was always discreet about handing them to him in private. He understood the penalty for ripping movies off the internet, especially when they hadn’t even been released to the general public, but sending a total stranger to give him a flash drive, that was too cloak and dagger. What was more strange, was what he heard after he speed dialed Jonathans phone, a recording that said the number he had reached was no longer in service.

He felt that there was something wrong.

8:45AM

He tried several other numbers. Either everyone was sleeping or to hung over to answer the phone. He decided to call the cab company and find out what was going on. Maybe they would be able to get in touch with him since he did computer work on the side for the company. The girl picked up the phone and told him that they hadn’t seen or heard from him in three days and if he’d ever hear from Jonathan again, to tell him he was fired.

Jake took the last sip of the Bloody Mary and looked around at the ten customers sitting at the bar to see if he recognized anyone. There was a guy who had an argument with his girl at his bar the previous night, but didn’t recognise anybody else. He got up and headed for the exit when a man with bloodshot eyes leaned over to say something to him but fell off the stool, face first into the sand. He’d seen enough of the Schooner Bar and the best thing to do was not talk to anyone and get