Medical clinic CEO Edmund Summerfield was once held in high regard throughout his wealthy community. Unfortunately, his ranking has recently fallen due to the difference in political views between Edmund and the group of ultra-conservative group of men who belong to the same country club. Despite the seemingly insurmountable challenges that loom in the near future, the Summerfield family is not about to give up their dedication to maintaining freedom and democracy in the face of the increasingly alarming positions of the far right. But little do they know just how difficult their fight will be. Concerned about the undeniable signs of authoritarianism and the ongoing assault upon democratic principles, Edmund and his two children, Nancy and Lionel, band together with like-minded friends and begin their commitment to work against political extremism. With no time to lose and the country on the brink of economic calamity, the Summerfields immerse themselves in meetings with other compassionate intellectuals concerned with the future of their country. Unfortunately, their well-intended journey has now led them into the midst of an adversarial relationship with elitist conservatives who seek limitless wealth and political power. In this dramatic tale, a political saga slowly unfolds as the Summerfields act on their unselfish intentions to serve the common good, never giving up hope that their beloved nation will, as always, rise up to meet its challenges and threats.

The Inner Circle

Volume 2: The SummerfieldsBy Edwin G. Rice

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2012 Edwin G. Rice
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4697-9393-1

Chapter One

"Fascism!"

The ominous word had been murmured by a young man alone, reading. Night had come; the only other sound was that of a late-fall storm, mounting in its fury as it moved across the city.

After marking a page in the book, he drew his heavy woolen cardigan sweater about him, rose from his chair and placed the book on a small table standing before the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that filled the room's east wall. From there he stepped to the window where he drew back the drapery and for a moment peered into the night at the swirls of snow faintly visible in the dim light from the street. "Thankfully Sally will stay with her mother tonight. It's not safe to travel now," he thought.

Lionel Summerfield then turned his troubled but handsome face and intelligent eyes to the fireplace where he added another length of oak, ignoring, as he stood in silence, the roar of the wind and mix of rain and snow lashing against the windows. There for a moment he let the hypnotic effect of the flaming logs still his turbulent thoughts.

Silent minutes had passed when he again turned and fixed his eyes upon the sinister form of the Swastika centered on the book's cover. It was a book that had been written decades before, had immediately gained well deserved recognition; and then with the passage of time and the years of the Cold War it had passed into history where, despite the dire warnings it contained, it had rested ignored or forgotten by much of the world.

His thoughts began again: "The `Nazi Manifesto,' I felt compelled to read it again.—Over the time since the end of the Second World War and the fall of the Third Reich we have learned much more about their detailed, comprehensive and long-term plans for infiltration into other countries and into their governments. Without question these plans were to continue even if the war were lost. It is imperative that we never forget that. There were high-placed people in Britain and here in the United States who were sympathetic to the Nazi ideology. Few of them still live; but their descendants and disciples are here.—Can we doubt that all these many years later there are such men among us today? The shadowy figures who possess great wealth and finance `The Right' and its assault upon our democratic institutions; do their actions not reveal their true purpose?

"How can one possibly deny the close and near controlling-link between powerful corporations with inestimable wealth and the government? Hyper-nationalism, militarism and authoritarian control of all people and intolerance of all dissent were the cardinal tenets of the Third Reich and provide the very definition of fascism. Perhaps it is less evident, but I fear much of that is here today in their dialog; it is the `manifesto' of the contemporary `Right.'—A ruling oligarchy, Christian Religion for all, minorities targeted for discrimination, control of the courts and communications and a committed mass of the disaffected and angry who would serve them. Within in that mass there is ignorance, hatred, racism and a capacity for violence. Our nation, our democracy's greatest defense against their insidious advance is an educated and informed population. This 'The Right' knows and has begun their assault upon public education and upon the dissemination of accurate information. Misinformation and lies are commonplace on the once honorable mainstream communications media of radio and television. Sociopathic shills scream their invectives and hate in favor of the autocratic oligarchs. They would control the internet if they could;—will they ultimately?

"Also within the movement there are those who exhibit religious fervor.—But, is it religion; or is it no more than a faade obscuring its intended-role in the establishment of totalitarianism, and a ruling totalitarian regime? In our time it is still difficult to doubt, to question or to criticize the one who speaks with a religious tongue. For the demagogue it serves as his shield against question, challenge or reproach.

"Strangely diverse persons such as Sinclair Lewis and Huey Long years ago spoke warnings of fascism coming to America.— The writings of a few brilliant authors, English and American, have quietly again and again warned us for sixty years.—As long as I can remember, my father has recalled the ominous message presented in a play that had been written by a German seventy years ago. Portrayed in the play was the ominous and striking parallel in the methods used in the rise of a despotic Nazi dictator in Germany and in the rise to power of a Chicago gangster.

Turning away he again walked to the window where he stared unseeing into the darkness of the night and the storm.—There Lionel Summerfield voiced the dark thoughts that he knew, in the time to come, would be ever-present at the forefront of his consciousness:

"The threat is there; it is real.—The time is now;—or as my friend and brilliant reporter Dennis Johnson said when he spoke to me last spring after the debate with `The Right,'—"It may be too late?"

Chapter Two

Morning had come; the work week had begun again.

"Mal-practice?" Lionel Summerfield said as he glanced down at the office memorandum that he had found waiting for him on his desk- top.— "In our firm, only Mr. Stanley and Mr. Abramson have handled cases of medical malpractice as far as I know. What can you tell me about this case Angela?"

"Happy Monday morning Mr. Summerfield; and first of all there is a message here for you from your father who wants to meet with you at lunch time tomorrow; that is if you are able. His message was on my voice-mail when I came this morning. Evidently he had called just before I came in. If I may say so, the tone of his voice,—well—it seemed to be unusually determined.—For once you had nothing scheduled at noon so I called back and confirmed that you would be there. We can reschedule it if there is something on your agenda of which I'm unaware."

"Thank you Angela, that's perfect. I was going to call him and, for that matter I was going to call my sister too; I want to meet with them."—For an instant he looked away and added, "We have much to talk about. I'm assuming it will be at Panera, our usual place."

"Yes, Mr. Summerfield."

Sensing preoccupation if not tension in Lionel's tone, Mrs. Stevens momentarily paused and studied his face before she began again.

"With respect to this case, it's a young woman, Mr. Summerfield. She was clearly nervous; she apologized for taking my time, then immediately came to the point of why she had come to your office and asked for an appointment. She had been to a Cosmetic Surgeon; she also referred to him as a Cosmetic Dermatologist. As very shortly you will read, she had a peeling procedure, developed a complicating infection and tried to obtain appropriate care for the complication. The physician never responded to her calls. She ended up in the hospital where she received intravenous antibiotic therapy which was followed by a course of oral antibiotics. Again as you read, it cost her wages and one of her jobs."

"Did she say how she happened to seek me as her attorney, or was she referred?"

"She said that she has met you; I asked her how. She is one of the servers at the café where you occasionally meet with a couple doctor-friends. Evidently you and the other men have visited with her...