I've spoken to WILD RABBIT. His denials of complicity in the bombing were not convincing. I warned him that church bombings were outside his operating parameters and that no such incidents should happen again. WILD RABBIT seemed cowed and did not protest the reprimand. It should be noted that his arms bore odd bruises and that in fact he seemed to have sustained a recent beating.
WILD RABBIT refused to comment on his bruises and overall beaten appearance. I queried him on the possible presence of his known Vietnam associate Charles Rogers per the time of the church incident, and WILD RABBIT became visibly upset. It should be noted: The dismembered bodies of Rogers' elderly parents were found in their Houston, Texas, home on 6/23, and Rogers (who cannot be located) is the leading suspect in this double homicide. I checked Vietnamese-U.S. passport records for the two weeks preceding the assumed date-of-death, learned that Rogers flew from Saigon to Houston on 6 / 15 and that the cargo on his ifight included bomb material. It is my belief that Rogers supplied the explosives for the bombing and that WILD RABBIT assisted him in this unsanctioned provocation.
It should also be noted that local agents spotted CRUSADER RABBIT at the Negro hospital shortly after the bombing. He was visibly distraught and of unkempt appearance. I checked regionwide ifight and car-rental records and learned that CRUSADER RABBIT flew from Las Vegas to New Orleans and drove to Bogalusa. I consider it likely that he met his client Caries Marcello in New Orleans and took advantage of its proximity to Bogalusa.
I view CRUSADER RABBIT's trip to Bogalusa as fully in character, and it does not surprise me that he wished to view the planned civil-rights agitation in person. Please respond per CRUSADER RABBIT.
Respectfully, BLUE RABBIT.
DOCUMENT INSERT: 7/6/65. Internal memorandum. To: BLUE RABBIT. From: Director. Topic: OPERATION BLACK RABBIT. Marked: "Stage-1 Covert" / "Eyes Only" / "Read and Burn."
BLUE RABBIT,.
Take all measures to see that the accidental explosion verdict is sustained in the Bogalusa case. Allow WILD RABBIT to claim credit for the "Bombing" and thus gain credibility for his new Klan unit. Continue to discourage WILD RABBIT from committing acts of violence outside his operating parameters.
I agree: CRUSADER RABBIT's presence in Bogalusa was entirely in character, albeit marginally disturbing. CRUSADER RABBIT is a close associate of Pete Bondurant, who is a close associate of Charles Rogers.
The confluence troubles me. Have Los Angeles and Nevadabased agents tail CRUSADER RABBIT at irregular intervals. Initiate trash and mail covers at his Los Angeles and Las Vegas residences.
DOCUMENT INSERT: 7/8/65. Internal memorandum. To: Director. From: BLUE RABBIT. Topic: OPERATION BLACK RABBIT. Marked: "Stage-1 Covert" / "Eyes Only" / "Read and Burn."
Sir, I've talked to WHITE RABBIT. He told me he'll be taking a Las Vegas vacation soon. Should I have him meet with CRUSADER RABBIT and judiciously assess his state of mind?
Respectfully, BLUE RABBIT.
DOCUMENT INSERT: 7/10/65. Internal memorandum. To: BLUE RABBIT. From: Director. Topic: OPERATION BLACK RABBIT. Marked: "Stage-1 Covert"/ "Eyes Only"/ "Read and Burn."
BLUE RABBIT,.
Yes. Have WHITE RABBIT contact CRUSADER RABBIT during his stay in Las Vegas.
76.
(Port Sulphur, 7/14/65)
Prospects: Gaspar Fuentes/Miguel Diaz Arredondo. Cubano/antiBeard/allegedly pro-Tigre.
Flash boated to Cuba. Flash found them. Flash boated them out. Flash praised their skills. Flash praised their pidgin English. Flash praised their balls.
The venue: a cinder-block shack/10-by-l0/a heat sponge. Two electric chairs--straps and hoods--bought from Angola Pen. A dynamo/two chair feeds/two polys.
Flash strapped Fuentes. Laurent G. strapped Arredondo. Wayne and Mesplede watched.
Shots popped outside. Troopers hit targets. Tiger South--Kamp with a "K." Exiles in residence--sixty strong--kadre-adjunct/kadre-armed/ kadre-fed.
Flash rigged the needles. Laurent pumped the cuffs. Wayne watched. Wayne drifted off.
We're in Port Sulphur. Go north a bit--you'll hit Bogalusa.
Littell shoots Chuck. Littell's drunk. Littell vows sobriety. Pete consoles him: I'll dump Chuck and brace WILD RABBIT Wild Bob's Fed now. He's Wayne Senior's boy.
Flash ran the polys. Laurent ran the quiz: Do you drink water? Is your shirt blue? Do you hate Fidel Castro?
Needle dip--short--no lies.
Port Sulphur--stone's throw to Bogalusa.
They drove Chuck around. They found a swamp. They dumped Chuck in. Gators ate him. Wayne and Pete watched.
Wayne toured the hospital. Wayne saw the bomb damage. Wayne saw a boy minus toes.
Pictures. Add-on shots. Let's augment your Bongo pix. Let's augment Wendell D. Pictures: The icebox/Chuck's parents/those big gator teeth.
Flash ran the polys. Laurent ran the quiz: Are you a spy? Do you serve the Cuban militia?
Needle dip--short--no lies.
Wayne drifted. Wayne yawned. The stateside runs bored him. He missed Saigon. He missed the lab. He missed the war and the threat.
Are you anti-Communisto? Are you pro-Tigre? Will you serve El Gato supreme?
Needle dip--short--no lies.
Flash smiled. Laurent smiled. Mesplede up and cheered.
They unstrapped the prospects. They hugged them. Fuentes hugged Wayne. Fuentes oozed Brylcreem. Arredondo hugged Wayne. Arredondo oozed VO5.
Looks traveled. Hey--it's lunchtime--let's cook by electric chair.
They scrounged. They ad-libbed. Flash scrounged hot dogs. Laurent scrounged corned beef.
They packed them in. They stuffed the hoods. They pulled the switches. Sparks popped. The meat fried. The hoods dripped fat.
The meat cooked uneven. The concept rocked. The reality stunk.
Mesplede supplied mustard. Flash supplied buns.
77.
(Las Vegas, 7/16/65)
Candles--a full forty-five.
Pete blew them out. One puff did it. Barb cut the cake.
"Make a wish, and don't mention Cuba."
Pete laughed. "I already did."
"So tell."
"No. You jinx it that way."
Barb cranked the AC. Barb chilled down the suite.
"Did it involve Cuba?"
"I'm not saying."
"Vietnam?"
Pete licked icing. "Vietnam's no Cuba."
Barb scratched the cat. "Tell me why. It's your birthday, so I'll indulge you."
Pete sipped coffee. "It's too big, too fucked up, and too mechanized. You've got choppers with belly lights that can flash a one-mile-square patch of jungle. You've got carpet bombing and napalm. You've got gooks with no fucking charm and a bunch of shifty little cocksuckers in black pajamas who've lived guerrilla warfare for fifty fucking years."
Barb lit a cigarette. "Cuba's got more pizzazz. It fits your imperialist aesthetic."
Pete laughed. "You've been talking to Ward."
"You mean I stole his vocabulary."
Pete cracked his knuckles. The cat humped his knees.
"Flash smuggled two guys in. They were heisting casinos and killing croupiers. In Havana, that takes balls."
"Killing unarmed men?"
Pete laughed. "Militia guys work the casinos."
Barb laughed. "Distinction noted."
Pete kissed her. "Nobody disapproves like you. It's one of the ten thousand reasons why we work."
Barb pried the cat off. Barb squeezed his knees.
"Ward said you've let me grow up."
Pete smiled. "Ward gets to you. You think you know him, then he pulls out one more stop."
"For instance?"
"He cares about people who can't do him any good, but he's not a sucker about it."
"For example?"
"He got wind of some Klan shit. He pulled a stunt that nobody else would have pulled."
Barb smiled. "Including you?"