Unintended Consequences

John Ross Unintended Consequences Accurate Press St. Louis, Missouri Copyright © 1996 John F. Ross St. Louis, Missouri All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission of the author. Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data Ross, John, 1957- Unintended Consequences / John Ross. p. cm. ISBN 1-888118-04-0 I. Title. PS3568.O84348U55 1995 813 ' .54--dc20 95-41174 CIP Fourth Printing 0987654 Printed in the United States of America Dedication This book is dedicated to the three women in my life: My mother, Lucianna Ross, who taught me by her example that you have to spend on your talent and do what you believe is right; My wife, Caroline Ross, who urged me to start this project and who believed this book needed to be written; and My daughter Lucy, who I hope will have more individual freedom when she becomes an adult than her parents did. Acknowledgments I am indebted to a number of people for the help they gave me with this book. Much more than anyone else, Tim Mullin was a constant source of inspiration, not only for his friendship, encouragement, and advice, but also his encyclopedic knowledge of political history. Dr. Martin Fackler, Greg Jeffery, Neal Knox, James Pate, Joe Tartaro, and Aaron Zelman were invaluable in helping me flesh out the details of several of the real-life events portrayed herein. If any technical errors have crept in, the fault is mine, not theirs. In alphabetical order, Joe Adams, Colonel Rex Applegate, Dale Blaylock, Dave Cumberland, Richard Davis, Art Freund, John Holmes, John Huffer (Chief AJ), Lee Jurras, Richard Kayser, Arnaldo LaScala, Bob Landies, Kent Lomont, Brace McArthur, Stokely Meier, Tim Mullin, David Scott-Donelan, Paul Reed, Britt Robinson, Dan Shea, Charlie Steen, Joe Tapscott, Piers Taylor, and Leroy Thompson all provided technical expertise in the areas of shooting competition, aerial shooting, small arms design, close quarter combat, accuracy gunsmithing, load development, body armor, explosives and demolition, investigative techniques, field interrogation, live pigeon competition, African hunting, and desktop publishing. Frank Y. Gladney at the University of Illinois, Urbana, was a great help with appropriate Slavic names. I would also like to thank the agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Secret Service who helped me with sensitive background material but who wish to remain anonymous. I am indebted to the Olin Corporation for the photos of Ad Topperwein and Herb Parsons on pages 18 and 120, to the American Rifleman for the photo of Ed McGivern on page 123, to Gilbert Early for the photograph of the cape buffalo shot with a 4-bore on page 392, and to Caroline VanStavern Ross for use of the lyrics to "Poopy Diaper Baby." Passages quoted from the Guinness Book of World Records and Gun Week are used with permission. Most writers have had a mentor at one time or another. In my case it is Robert Stone that I owe for giving me much-needed criticism when my writing skills were first developing, and Stuart Kaminsky for doing the same thing more recently. Albert Zuckerman at Writer's House, out of sheer kindness, also took time from his hectic schedule to counsel someone he barely knew on how to tackle this ambitious project. Last of all, I would like to thank my publisher, Greg Pugh at Accurate Press, for believing in this book and publishing it. This is a work of fiction with a story line based on political history and historic precedent. The real-life events that comprise much of the book have been re-created to the best of my ability using as many sources as I could locate. Court documents, news footage, recordings of phone conversations and police radio transmissions, medical records, coroner's reports, FBI reenactment tapes, and sworn testimony of impartial eyewitnesses were all used. In some real-life events described herein, there are conflicting accounts as to what actually happened. In these cases, I have chosen to describe the version that is consistent with the physical evidence and the various laws of nature. To help tell the story, I have at times invented specific thoughts and dialogue and ascribed them to real people. I did this where specific facts were nonexistent or unobtainable, as in the case of people now dead, or where the subjects were not available to be interviewed. The reader should remember that this is a work of fiction. Alex Neumann, who first appears as a minor figure in one real-life event, is a product of my imagination. So are all members of the Bowman, Mann, Collins, Bedderson, Caswell, and Johnson families, and virtually everyone in the 'Present Day' section of the book. Real-life figures in this story are used fictitiously. Finally, for those readers who have no experience with the shooting sports: All of the shooting feats described in this novel are achievable. The more difficult would require roughly the same amount of talent as you would expect of a ten-year-old who was serious about mastering a musical instrument and who had been playing for two or three years. The most difficult accomplishments, in this author's opinion, are some of those achieved by the late Ed McGivern. Anyone interested in accurate speed shooting would do well to read his book Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting, which is once again in print. Author's Note—A Warning and Disclaimer A friend in law enforcement told me that because of this book's content, I should not let it be published under my own name. Violent events happen in this story, and our country's current situation is such that these events could indeed come to pass. My friend's fear was that this book might precipitate such violence. He told me to expect to have drugs planted in my car during routine traffic stops, or have other similar miseries befall me and my family. He advised that if I did have this work published, I should use a pseudonym, employ an intermediary for all publisher contact, and in general prevent myself from being linked to the finished work, to avoid reprisals. I didn't do that, not only because of free speech considerations, but because I disagree with my friend's hypothesis. I believe that if the instigators glimpse what may lie ahead, they will alter their behavior before wholesale violence becomes unavoidable. It is my hope that this book will reduce the likelihood of armed conflict in this country. History has shown us that government leaders often ignore the fundamental fact that people demand both dignity and freedom. Because of this disregard, these decision-makers then initiate acts that are ultimately self-destructive. To illustrate this point I will remind the reader of the origin of two of modern history's most destructive events, and of all the warning flags that were frantically waving while the instigators rushed headlong towards the abyss. In the late 19th and very early 20th centuries, European leaders formed two major alliances. Germany, Austria, and Italy comprised one coalition, and Britain, France, and Russia the other. Belgium remained neutral per an 1839 treaty signed by all of these nations except Italy. The smaller European countries became indirectly involved in the two aforementioned alliances. One such example was Serbia, a country Russia had pledged to aid in the event of war between Serbia and Austria. Despite Russia's presence, Austria annexed a large part of Serbia, a province called Bosnia, in 1908. Few people remain emotionally indifferent when their culture and country are taken over by an aggressor, and the Bosnian Serbs were no exception. Many Bosnians despised the government that had chilled their independence. In spite of this obvious fact, the Austrian leaders sent an archduke to the capital of Bosnia to survey the people Austria now ruled. This archduke was resplendent in full military ceremonial dress, festooned with medals and other military decorations, and accompanied by his elegantly-dressed wife. An objective observer might at this point have said, "Stripping motivated people of their dignity and rubbing their noses in it is a very bad idea." Archduke Ferdinand and his wife arrived in Sarajevo in an open vehicle, and the only protection either of them had was their chauffeur. This man was expected to drive the car and at the same time protect the Archduke and his wife with only a six-shot revolver he carried in an enclosed holster, and no spare ammunition. Our theoretical observer might here have said, "This is a recipe for disaster." Almost as soon as the Archduke and his wife arrived in Sarajevo, a Serbian National tossed a bomb under their car. Its fuse was defective and the bomb did not explode. Here, our observer might have advised, "A miracle happened. Go home. Now. Immediately." Despite this obvious wake-up call, the Royal Couple shrugged off the assassination attempt and continued their tour of the Bosnian capital. Later that same day, a second Serbian National shot them with his .32, killing them both. The Austrian leaders blamed the Serbian government for the assassination and demanded a virtual protectorate over Serbia, issuing Serbia a list of demands. Serbia acceded to all but one of Austria's stipulations. Here, our observer might have said to Austria's leaders, "Russia has pledged to aid Serbia in any war with you, and Russia has both powerful allies and powerful adversaries. Serbia has agreed to almost everything you demanded. Settle, and avoid a world war." Instead, Austria shelled Serbia's capital with artillery fire.

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