The Chancellor Organization is a world-wide secret 'information enterprise' owned by the reclusive multi-billionaire Duke Chancellor, whose colorful executive Joe Czarzhynensky orchestrates its influence to benefit or punish people where the law has proven inadequate. Denver psychologist Jake Lewis stops at Eddie's Place for entertainment and food after a day of counseling veterans at the Denver VA Hospital. There he falls hopelessly in love with Sasha, a gorgeous and uniquely talented vocalist, and only niece of Duke Chancellor. Jake and Sasha agree to meet again at Eddie's Place after she returns from her next performance in Fresno, but she never arrives because she is among the missing after Khalid Kayani executes the most devastating terrorist attack since 9/11. Jake is suspended in emotional limbo, unaware of her fate, fearing she stood him up, or is dead. After a professional conference at NYU, he joins friends at Club 46 in Manhattan, where he is shocked to hear her distinctive voice from the stage. However, when his friends try to reunite them after the show, Sasha does not recognize him because she suffers from amnesia. Join the rich and compelling suspense, running the entire gamut of human emotion, as The Chancellor Organization arranges creative psychotherapy for Sasha and then assists General Murray of the CIA in their search for Rasheed Shirani, the planner of the Fresno incident. Delight in their creative persuasion techniques, as Joe and General Murray manipulate influential people to capture Rasheed and bring him to justice in an unusual exercise of 'the law of the jungle' where the jury expresses the true conscience of the people. KIRKUS REVIEWS Rettew, Philip L. THE FRESNO INCIDENT pA terrorist attack shakes Fresno, and Jake Lewis is left to mourn the woman of his dreams - or is he? When Jake meets beautiful singer Sasha, his life changes irrevocably. But then the city of Fresno suffers a

The Fresno Incident

By Philip L. Rettew

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2012 Philip L. Rettew
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4670-7305-9

Chapter One

Monday, September 10, 2007 Fresno, California

It's five minutes before eight o'clock. I should have just enough time to shower, change my clothes and get ready ...

That's odd.... That police car has the flashers on and it's turning into the same street where I need to go ... I wonder why ... That big truck must be blocking the street ... Come on people! Let's get going here ... I don't have all day!

She was simply innocent. She was in danger.

"OH ... OH ... MY GOD! OH, NNNOOO! OH ... MY ... GOD ... NNNOOO! OH! OWWWWW! OUCH! OH MY GOD, NO ... NO ... NO ... OWWW! EEEEEEEAAAAGH!"

Jake? I ... love ... you ... Jake? Save ... me ... Uhhh ... Now ... I'm ... going ... to ... die ...

What ... is ... that ... white ... light?

The beautiful young woman lay still, hanging out of the overturned and severely damaged van as utter chaos continued around her.

Their selfish and misguided beliefs masqueraded as compelling truth. The world still did not understand, so they felt compelled to act. His plan was born almost five years ago in a simple small teahouse on the other side of the world. His self-righteous intelligence would eventually lead to this tragic and delicate balance between life and death.

Chapter Two

Saturday, November 2, 2002 Mingora, Pakistan

Within sight of some of the highest, most inspiring and majestic snow-capped mountains on earth in the distance, two men in their mid-twenties huddled at a small table in the rear of a small teahouse, away from all the other patrons. They conversed in hushed voices, looking casually over their shoulders from time to time to assure themselves that no one was paying any attention to them.

Then Rasheed fixed his penetrating stare on the younger man's eyes and said quietly, "Khalid, you must soon take a wife and prepare for your mission against Satan in the United States. I will need you for important work in a few years. You can sustain yourself with your shoe business there just as you have here, and when the time is right, I will call you. We must be patient. You will need a period of several years to become a part of the local community and blend in with a minimum of suspicion so you can ultimately achieve your proper purpose on this earth and serve Allah as effectively as possible. The struggle will be long and difficult, but eventually, the rest of the world will recognize that serving Allah is the only destiny of all mankind."

Rasheed Shirani was fully comfortable with himself, the truth as he knew it, and was planning to make a significant contribution to the future, as he believed it should be. Only thirteen months had passed since the September 11 attacks upon the World Trade Towers in New York City, the Pentagon and an unknown target, probably the nation's Capitol building. Since that time, authorities throughout the world discovered and defeated several terrorist threats, but several other attacks succeeded. Some of the incidents received greater than average attention in the media, and others did not. Life would continue that way for most of the next five years.

Eventually, Khalid Kayani and his wife Farah moved to San Diego in late 2003. He developed his reputation as a skilled artisan as word spread throughout most of the southwest about his fine custom-made boots and shoes. Farah was so excited about moving to the United Sates, that she could not see beyond her husband's words into his radical ideas. All she saw was an experienced artisan who could make anything out of leather to fit even the most unusual foot sizes and in any style that one could imagine or explain to him, even for children and people with foot deformities or other special requirements. She believed he was a good man and a hard worker. When he was not using his own ideas, he was working from rough drawings supplied by his customers, and sometimes from actual old or discarded shoes. Some of his customers' drawings were quite good, and others were relatively poor, requiring more of his artistic imagination to transform into the final product. If his customer did not like the finished footwear, Khalid would keep the returned shoes or boots in his shop, waiting for the unlikely coincidence of another buyer with the same size requirements and artistic taste. He could do this because he required a deposit of fifteen percent with each order. The customer would forfeit that deposit if he returned the product for any reason. Both men and women ordered shoes from him from as far away as Maine, Alaska, Mexico, Canada and Japan, and customer dissatisfaction was rather low. He did not advertise because it was not necessary. Word of mouth and internet traffic from satisfied customers spread sufficiently to maintain a steady flow of business and his acceptance in the local community, just as it had in Pakistan.

Farah cleaned three or sometimes four houses a week in the wealthier suburbs of San Diego. She earned $100 in cash per house. The rest of the time, she handled orders for footwear for her husband. She was happy and optimistic in her adopted country. They had money in the bank that she intended to use to buy their own house some day and live the American dream. She also looked forward to having a child or two through which she hoped to enrich their lives. Whenever she brought the subject up, Khalid always put her off.

He had other priorities that required dedicated work, patience and meticulous planning. Their marriage was proper and traditional, but devoid of the romantic passion in Farah's dreams. She had become accustomed to a life of only adequate happiness. That was her fate, given her limited upbringing and her current position in the most promising land of opportunity on earth. However, she carefully nurtured whatever opportunities for optimism she could find.

Almost four years later, his old friend Rasheed finally called to tell him it was time. They were ready to execute Rasheed's plan.

Chapter Three

Wednesday, September 13, 2006 Manhattan, New York

Eddie Barringer was in Manhattan at a restaurateur's convention for three days, trying to learn the latest ways to keep his mid-size Denver restaurant and bar competitive in the current tough and uncertain economic cycle. He was fortunate enough to keep his head chef, and he was smart enough to believe that people who liked his food probably would be willing to pay a little extra for good entertainment. For the last twenty-seven years, he had provided his patrons with a relatively inexpensive evening of delicious food that they did not have to prepare for themselves and usually good music at the same location without paying a small fortune.

He did not follow the entire schedule of events for the convention every day. He liked to walk around on his own and explore the entertainment districts in the late afternoon and evening for what he believed to be the additional benefit of exercise and the illusion of losing some of his `extra' weight someday. He visited various entertainment restaurants, lounges and bars where he believed he had a credible chance of finding good talent, but he always hoped for something extraordinary. As a rather rusty musician himself, he still knew good musical talent when he found it, and simply preferred to do his own...