Modern Day Judas

On the afternoon the summons from the president arrived, he was on the fifth beer of the day, and in his backyard shooting cans off his neighbor’s fence with one of his many rifles. A black sedan rolled across the gravel of his driveway and disgorged two black-clad secret service agents.

Soon, he was on his way to Washington D.C. His two chaperones were tight lipped about why the president wanted to see him, he couldn’t even find out their names. Soon he was usher into the oval office, where he sat and waited, staring up at the presidential seal and American flag. He squirmed in the seat for half an hour before the president entered. He stood and gave his commander-in-chief a smart salute.

“As you were. “ he said with an impatient wave of his hand. He returned to his seat, but the president remained standing, his hands clasped behind his back and staring out of the window at Capital Hill.

“I assume you are curious about why I have brought you here. Tell me, how much do you love your country?”

“With all my heart, sir.” He said with conviction.

“ Good, because if you agree, we will both need to make the ultimate sacrifice for our country from a terrible threat from within. There are dark forces at work, powerful people in the shadows who are conspiring to destroy everything our flag stands for. They have been working against me, blocking me at every turn, and are preparing to move against me even as we speak They have the wealth and the resources to turn this office into that of a puppet dictator. When I am killed, they will make it seem like a suicide, but I have chosen the time and place of my death, and with your help, my death will smoke them out into the open.. You are an expert marksman, are you not?”

“Yes, sir, but…”

The president interrupted him. “ You will return home, there will be an envelope waiting for you, containing plane tickets and instructions on how you will assassinate me. Do you understand?”

He nodded in reply, feeling numb with shock.

“You must tell no-one about this arrangement. You will be blamed for my death, you will be hated and vilified, but if you breath a word of this, ever, all of this will be for nothing. Do I have your silence?”

He nodded again, and then John F. Kennedy rose and shook his hand. “Your country thanks you, Mister Oswald, it has been an honor meeting you.”