The Third Trial

Albert Rosso wants to shock the US government into allowing a constitutional convention; in effect a second American Revolution. Over two years he plans a drone attack on the White House using his genius level computer engineering skills and funds hacked from corporate America. He recruits three US ex-military officers and a DC insider as his closest lieutenants. One of the ex-officers is Mitchell Kronaur who was an Army lieutenant in the 2nd Division and lost an arm during a IED explosion in Fallujah, Iraq. Kronaur is drawn into Albert’s plan as the leader of the mission’s security team after he meets Albert while in rehabilitation. William (Willy) C. Baird is the Speaker of the House who is thrust into the Presidency after the President and Vice President are killed in the drone attack which occurs in October, 2006.
Before Kronaur is deployed to Iraq in 2004, he and his wife Jen visit Bali, Indonesia during his pre-deployment leave. While in Ubud, Kronaur has a vision featuring the great Hindu warrior Arjuna about a bodhisattva he will meet. Arjuna promises his personal protection during the last of three trials. Kronaur knows nothing about Hinduism, or the Bali hybrid Hindu Dharma, and doesn’t know what to make of the vision, so he keeps it to himself. Little does he know at the time how the trial, predicted by Arjuna, will change his life.
Baird initially struggles to identify the terrorist Rosso because the drone attack was accompanied by lock-outs of television satellite transmissions, cell phone communication, and the civilian/military internet, interfering with the FBI assassination investigation. The convention starts a week after the attacks, and goes on for four days before Rosso is finally identified as the author of both the attack and the convention. After Baird discovers the direction of the convention, he decides to protect it from the NSA’s plan to destroy it by using massive force because he wants to use it to make his own progressive changes to the constitution.
Along the way the lives of these three men are examined and their inner selves are revealed. Their relationships, motivations, and frustrations shape the direction of the stories main action. Terrorism, war, natural disaster, and deadly illness intertwine with the desires of individuals trying to create change for the better. Ultimately the resilience of the human spirit conquers the worst of human failings.