On Your Darkest Day

Have you ever thought about what you would ever do if your back was to the wall?

Have you ever wondered if you could deal with adversity?

Have you ever thought about what pressure truly was?

Have you ever wondered if you would rise to the challenge?

Gideon Fontaine is not a man who worries about such things. Every day he is training. He is honing his razor sharp reflexes and speed. He has been training since age 6. Now that he has turned 35 he has had just shy of 30 years honing that speed and his reflexes. There comes a point where you reach the body's limit. You cannot improve upon your speed and agility indefinitely. There has to be a final point where you can go no farther. Some would say Gideon reached that point years ago. He maintains that limit. He is always striving to improve. They say that a martial artist can train to a point where his body just reacts. Reaction and action become as natural as breathing.

As dangerous as Gideon is physically he is even more dangerous mentally. Every move he does is calculated. He is constantly thinking. He is planning. By the time his body has reacted with a counter he is planning his reaction to your next move. As you can imagine this gives him a huge advantage. He can think about his next move and the move after that.

He is not a man that leaves things up to chance. He stacks every battle in his favor as much as possible. While you are thinking of your next move he is anticipating your reaction. He has thought through nearly every possible outcome in his head.

How do you beat a man that can react faster then you can move?

How do you beat a man that has you countered before you even finish moving?

Pray you never have to find out......

*****************************************************************

Day 1: The threat is made

*****************************************************************

##### ##### ##### ##### ##### #####

Whittaker Mansion, Los Angeles

Living Room, 1:15 PM

##### ##### ##### ##### ##### #####

It is a normal day. Bobby is sweeping the Living room floor and bitching to Tony about how it wasn't his turn to clean. The brothers are always bickering about something. It is quiet because Stephanie, Neil, and Ricky are in Mexico visiting Stephanie's grandmother. You hear the phone ring.

"Bobby!! Answer the phone!!"

You can tell from the look on Bobby's face he doesn't feel like running across the room. He goes over to the phone and says hello. The next words make his blood go ice cold......

"If you don't have 1 million dollars when I call back we will kidnap your son."

The line goes dead and Bobby's face goes white. Someone just threatened Ricky. He looks at the phone in horror and fear. He has known Ricky all his life. He was there when he was born and helped raise him like a little brother. Tony comes into the living room and sees the look on Bobby's face.

"What's wrong?"

You can see the concern on Tony's face as he thinks the worse.

"Someone called here threatening to kidnap Ricky......"

You can tell by the way that Bobby said it that he is scared. He doesn't know what to do. Tony grabs the phone and starts dialing a number. There is a person that will know what to do.

##### ##### ##### ##### ##### #####

Fontaine Mansion, Los Angeles

Gymnasium, 1:17 PM

##### ##### ##### ##### ##### #####

You can hear the sounds of wood shattering. There is the unmistakable sound of bone hitting leather. The sounds of violence echo in the dim light. The man in the middle of it all is relaxed. He is wearing a jet black Armani suit. A swipe of his hand shatters another board. It is amazing to watch the man in black go through the motions. His gaze unblinking as he takes in everything.

You can hear a ringing.

This stops the movement of the man in the suit. He reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a cell phone. This is about the time when all hell starts to break loose.

"Hello..."

As he says those words he hears the panicked voice of Tony. He is being told what happened. In less then 43 seconds of listening he says only the following words.

"I'll be there in 15 minutes."

The man in black is sprinting to the door of the gymnasium. It is a 25 minute drive to Neil's. That doesn't matter to this man. Ricky is his godson. Ricky is the son of his best friends Stephanie and Neil Whittaker. He was there when Ricky took his first breath on June 22, 2002 at 5:25 PM. The men that are responsible will pay. They have awoken a darkness they cannot even begin to fathom. They have done more then just angered the man known as the G-Man. They have unleashed the part of him that is known simply as the Osaka Assassin. They have provoked Gideon Fontaine in the most unforgivable way possible. They have gone after his family.

##### ##### ##### ##### ##### #####

Whittaker Mansion, Los Angeles

Living Room, 1:36 PM

##### ##### ##### ##### ##### #####

There is a silence in the living room. Gideon made several calls in the time preceding this. He has started the hunt. He has already set things in motion. On the trip to the Whittaker mansion Gideon ran down a list of 74 things that had to be done. The waiting is always the toughest. The money Gideon is paying per minute is truly scary. He has nearly 5000 people working at this moment and they aren't cheap.

There is a ring.

Tony and Bobby look at Gideon who smiles. They have seen this smile. There is no mirth and no humor. It is the look of death. There will be men dying. There will be blood spilled for this outrage. With a casual movement of his arm Gideon reaches for the phone.

"Hello this is Gideon Fontaine..."

"What!?"

"I will try this again. Hello my name is Gideon Fontaine."

There are voices on the other end of the phone and you can hear them arguing. The smile on Gideon's face masks his rage. He waits patiently.

"What type of game are you pulling here?!"

"Are you the man that told Bobby that if he didn't have 1 million dollars you would kidnap Ricky?"

You can hear them arguing. One is worried about this. It isn't a surprise that Gideon is involved but it isn't something that a sane person would take lightly. After they argue another man takes the phone.

"Do you have our money?"

"Allow me to explain things here. I am assuming the person that called earlier is new to extorting people. I do not mind that he is inexperienced. I can only assume that he was supposed to tell Bobby not to call the police. Do not worry about the police getting involved. I do not want them involved in what I am going to consider a very personal matter. However I have to let you know a few things since you are new to this."

There is a silence on the line. There is a beep on Gideon's phone. He opens it and sees that the phone has been traced. Gideon has men approaching where they are. It is a false trail but there is no such thing as a false trail when you have the money and the technology to follow it. It will lead to someone.

"If you screw with us we will take it out on the kid."

The glint of anger in Gideon's eyes is impossible to mask. This man will die for threatening Ricky. You can't imagine all the ways Gideon has thought of dealing with this man. Some ways are subtle and would never even be discovered as a crime. Other ways are for more primal. A certain need to feel bones break beneath your hand. Gideon does not simply go for a bloody remorseless rage. There has to be a certain style to this to make sure this never ever happens again. After composing himself Gideon takes a deep breath and replies calmly.

"If I was to withdraw a million dollars from the bank the police would be involved. I would have to get it delivered and pick it up after banking hours. I don't know if you are aware of this but there are no reasonable reasons for 1 million dollars to be taken from a bank in a few hours time. They will notify the police and the police will be jumping on it. Am I correct that you do not want the police involved and that you want your money?"

"We will call back at midnight. Have the money ready and don't call the police."

As they hang up on Gideon he shakes his head. Gideon grabs his cell phone. He dials a number. There are a few short sentences describing what will be happening. She will be running point on this while Gideon gets some other work done.

"Amanda give me the details as soon as you get them."

Just as quickly Gideon dials another number. An audio file is sent to the office from the Whittaker phone. The wiretap worked perfectly. Bill Fields is the man that does Gideon's investigative work.

"Bill I want all of these men identified. Time is a factor. Use the new database and run all 3 voices."

Gideon stands up from the chair. He puts the cell phone away and you can see that he is angry. There is no poker face now. Bobby and Tony look scared. Bobby is the first to say anything.

"What are you going to do Gideon?"

This causes Gideon to smirk.

"I'm going to get their money of course. Since they do not want the police involved I shall be a bit......... creative. You know the old adage be careful what you ask for. They are about to learn what it truly means."

As he gets up from the chair he can be heard snickering. He starts walking towards the front door and cracking his knuckles. Tony looks at Bobby. Bobby looks at Gideon as he is walking away.

"Is Ricky going to be safe?"

Gideon stops at the door and turns.

"I can guarantee that these men will never harm Ricky. It is a toss up which I will have first the information on these men or the money they want. I have had a task on my to do list a long time and getting this money will set in motion several deaths. The less you both know the better."

He walks out the door. Tony and Bobby go to the liquor cabinet. They are worried but they know Gideon is working on it. What Gideon has planned they can't even fathom. How he is going to get their names and information that fast? Why is getting the money going to be bad for them?

##### ##### ##### ##### ##### #####

Meanwhile in over 100 different government buildings and 50,000 computers.

##### ##### ##### ##### ##### #####

It only took one day to change our lives, as we know it. It was a day that is known the world over. It was the day that the world realized that we were vulnerable. It was the day that every leader in every country got a cold hard slap in the face. "This could happen to you." was the message on that day. That day was September 11, 2001.

It is no secret that the United States prides itself on being able to resist attacks of foreign countries. It is part of the very foundations of the country. When the British thought they could come in and dictate terms they were answered with a resounding NO. They would not bow down and they would not surrender. They would fight any oppressors and not give up the freedom they so cherished. Things have not changed over the years.

The day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor it was the first time in the modern era that the United States had been tested as a country as people. It was also a time that the United States put the world on notice. Anger and necessity will drive a man to new heights as a person. Unfortunately that anger and necessity will unlock a ruthlessness that will make you think in ways that others could term evil. August 6, 1945, the nuclear weapon Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima by the crew of the American B-29 bomber Enola Gay, directly killing an estimated 80,000 people. By the end of the year, injury and radiation brought total casualties to 90,000-140,000. "Never again" was the message sent that day and it took years before someone would test the United States in such a way.

On the days of September 11, 2001 the United States had to deal with a new evil. It was within itself like a cancer. This wasn't a foreign country they could defend against. This cancer is their own people. Cancer is not something you can keep out. It grows inside you and eats away at your very life until it is either removed or killed. The problem is the freedoms and liberties that every American will defend to their dying breath allowed the cancer to move undetected. How do you fight something your very way of life protects?

Since that dark day people have been working to make sure this never happens again. There are people throwing blame like saying that the government knew that September 11 was going to happen and did nothing to stop it. There is some validity to those rumors as is shown by various conspiracy sites. When your enemy is now your neighbors what do you do? You know there is evil among you now. You know that there are men and women that hate you and the life you live. There are men that recognize this cancer and will look for a way to detect and remove this cancer. Then there are men that will use this as an opportunity to pursue their personal agenda.

Gideon Fontaine is a man that prides himself on being prepared.

Tell me if any of this sounds familiar. "Hello Mr. Smith. I am calling you on behalf of Capital One to offer you our new low interest credit card." How about this one. "Mrs. Merriworth I would like to offer you an opportunity to get a better mortgage rate." Some people talk to these people on the phone. Some people curse them out and hang up. Did anyone pay attention to these words...... "This call may be monitored to assure quality service". Have you ever wondered how these companies even get your number?

Fontaine Enterprises has capitalized on this resource. There are governmental agencies that operate outside the rules. They are chipping away at your privacy. In order to protect the country they can't allow this cancer to remain hidden. They have opened phone databases to these companies. The government can't act directly. They instead let others do their dirty work. If the people were aware of what is going on they would be outraged. Luckily there is no one that will tell them. In this particular case Fontaine Enterprises has a contract to archive all the recordings made by the telemarketing companies. If that doesn't send a chill down your spine imagine what they want this information for.

Since that day in September the government has monitored calls and e-mails. This is to make sure this never happens again. Let us imagine that during someone threatens to blow up a building. The person will get the voice sample identified. After getting a case number that voice is run through over 50,000 computers in over 100 different government buildings using voice identification technology. They use these telemarketing recordings to identify the voice. That voice is confirmed through other voice samples. Now they have the name. They have this person identified. In less then 15 minutes every single scrap of information is given to local authorities. What the authorities do with this information no one knows.

Do you think Gideon would not use this information to his own ends?

Do you think Gideon would not use this information to identify men threatening his family?

Do you think there is anything that Gideon will not do to protect his family and loved ones?

The procedure is truly ingenious. Technically the government doesn't have the databases of call center recordings. They do not need to have these archives of voice samples of millions of people nation wide. What they do have is access to those voice samples anytime they want them. It takes one call and any governmental agency can have a voice identified. Since Gideon helped the government create this database he left himself personal access to use it himself. Gideon had the voices of the men that threatened Ricky identified. No one knew who wanted the information. No one knew who got this information.

In hindsight the government should have taken precautions. The people in the charge wanted this procedure and didn't think about the potential dangers. Truthfully if they knew that Gideon wanted access to this information they wouldn't have prevented it. The service provided was worth the cost of one man getting access to this power. Without the help of Fontaine Enterprises they never would have had access to a database powerful enough to identify threats to national security in under an hour. The government and Gideon both know a simple fact of life.

There are times when your morality and honor are luxuries you can not afford.

There are times when fighting the good fight isn't enough.

There are times that you have to fight evil with evil on an even footing.

There are times when everything you hold dear forces you to make difficult decisions.

There are times where you have to make a deal with the devil.

These are the hard decisions made by people every day. The term good and evil has not got the same meaning it did in days past. Sometimes to do good you have to do things that are evil. Sometimes the difference between good and evil is simply the motivation you have for committing whatever atrocity is needed.

There are 3 men that will be destroyed on this day. It can be considered evil because what will happen to these men will be Machiavellian in nature. The families of these men will be altered for something they had no responsibility for. He is also aware that other men will die. Gideon knows what he is doing is wrong. That does not matter to him when his family is threatened. He has long since accepted that on his final day there will not be fluffy clouds and angels singing. On that day there will be fire and a man with horns and a pitchfork waiting to greet him. Of course it will not be all bad. The devil is a fan of Gideon's work and looking forward to meeting him.

##### ##### ##### ##### ##### #####

Business District, Los Angeles

An Internet cafe 5:25 PM

##### ##### ##### ##### ##### #####

This is a quiet place with maybe a half dozen people. There are gamers. There are people in online chat rooms talking to women while pretending to be a man with chiseled good looks and a bodybuilder physique. This might seem wrong because they aren't being honest and are lying to the person they are talking to. Try not to feel too bad for this person. "Sexxxy Suzy 81" is likely a 52 year old dock worker with more body hair then Ron Jeremy. With a smile Gideon walks over to the young woman at the counter.

"Good day Miss. I need some files printed off. Time is important and I need it done right now.

Her eyes go wide as she sees the man in the Armani suit. She recognizes Gideon instantly and is shocked. She is amazed that Gideon is here in her store asking her to do something for him.

"OH MY GOD!!"

With a snicker Gideon smiles.

"I hear that a lot but I'm afraid the last young lady that said that wasn't wearing very much at the time."

You can see her face turn red. He has a memory card. He passes it to the young lady and she takes it to the computer. The files are loaded and being printed off. Gideon is looking at the files as they are being printed off. The young lady can't help but notice the pages with criminal records being printed. She looks a tad worried. Gideon notices this and smiles.

"I'm sure you are wondering about some of these people."

"This guy was arrested for assaulting a stripper."

Gideon can't help but smile. It is kind of funny to him.

"Sadly miss this isn't too unusual. Being a pro wrestler this guy is a tad better behaved then some of my coworkers over the years. Though he does not have anywhere near the drug possessions, drunk and disorderliness, and miscellaneous felonies to truly stand out."

She looks at him a tad shocked. Gideon is browsing the files and his mind is soaking in every detail like a sponge. He is memorizing every detail. No matter if they decide to wear masks he will be able to pick them out of a line up easily. He has their most personal details and that is a tad frightening. All this information was gathered in about 4 hours.