In spy novels, you can never trust the bad guys

I have an idea for a spy novel. It goes something like this:

A foreign government – say, for example, the former Soviet Union – sets out to infiltrate its number one rival on the planet, a country like maybe the United States. The foreign government sends hundreds of well-trained agents (spies) into the United States to establish themselves as every day American citizens.

They get jobs, get married, have children who go to school, join the PTA and the Kiwanis Club and blend very quietly into the fabric of society, just waiting for a call from the Motherland to move aggressively against their hosts. They are not to be trusted. Their intentions are not good.

It’s a long game stretched out over decades. Some of these spies may live their entire lives as Americans and are never called upon to do anything. They get old, move to retirement homes or die and are eventually replaced by a new crop of agents.

The ultimate goal of this mission is to gain access to power in the host country and maneuver into positions where they can influence the decisions of that country’s government. Some of those decisions include dropping out of the United Nations and NATO, two entities that traditionally have reined in the aggressive motives of the Motherland.   

If successful, this effort will weaken the host country significantly, making it a relative puppet to the iron hand of the Motherland, which in turn will re-emerge as the global power it once was by recapturing lost territory without interference and regaining prestige on the world stage.

Some of these agents are more successful than others. Some get themselves elected into state government positions and some even make it into Congress. One becomes CEO of the world’s largest oil company with friends in the mother country and several others are involved with business loans and real estate deals all financed by the Motherland.

And then one day it happens.

After decades of playing the waiting game, these spies are watching as America finally devolves into an angry, divided country split apart by racism after electing its first black president and obstructionism led by a splinter group of politicians who hate government and want to bring it down.

Dissatisfaction is so widespread that roughly half of all Americans have grown to hate their government and want to see it replaced. Congress hits an all-time low approval rating and the middle class of Americans is feeling left out of their own country. And what do you know? Up steps a billionaire businessman and the aforementioned real estate tycoon who announces he is running for president of the United States on an anti-immigration, anti-minority, anti-trade and pro-jobs platform that appeals to the lowest common denominator of voters.

This “America-first” candidate is a soft target for the strongman leader of the Motherland. He’s already in debt to that country for millions and he is easily intimidated by men of power. In addition, he’s a world-class narcissist who spends hours staring at his own image on television. So the strongman lets the world know he thinks this guy is “brilliant” and just like that the puppet strings have been attached.

Fast-forward a few months and this candidate is remarkably elected president, in no small part because the Russians – I mean the Motherland – hacked in to his opponent’s computers and released information that damaged her campaign. Now that he’s on the verge of power, he starts selecting a cabinet and staff, some members of which have additional ties to the Motherland.

When the American intelligence community launches an investigation into the computer hacking, the president-elect downplays it, discredits the intelligence community and suggests the hacker was a 400-pound man sitting on a bed. When a senior intelligence official called his position “disturbing” and “adversarial,” the PEOTUS announces he is going to “restructure” the intelligence community.

Meanwhile, a Republican congressman reveals plans to lead a congressional delegation to the Motherland aimed at collaborating with lawmakers there. The delegation will look at certain goals it can establish in line with the government of the Motherland. This may not end well for the good guys.

While all of this is going on, a handful of elected representatives and a band of loyal, patriotic citizens are coming together to stop these agents and their subordinates from engineering a peaceful overthrow of the American way of life.

It’s an epic battle between good and evil for the heart and soul of America. A real page-turner you won't be able to put down. Look for it soon in your favorite bookstore…or just stay tuned to a television screen near you.