On Thanksgiving, Dulles returned to the Auto Shop. "Good morning, gentlemen. How's our limousine project coming along?"

"All done," said Bernie. They walked over to the midnight blue Lincoln Continental. The brothers quickly removed the bubble top. Bernie set a piece of plywood cut in the shape of a human torso in the right rear seat.

Billy picked up the radio-transmitter. "Stand back now," he warned. They moved clear of the limousine. Billy pushed a button on the transmitter.

BANG! A puff of smoke and flash of light appeared for an instant along the top edge of the right rear seat. The plywood man suddenly had a hole in the right shoulder. Billy turned a knob on the radio and pushed another button. BANGBANG!! Two weapons operating on the same frequency fired simultaneously. A puff of smoke and flash of light appeared along the edge of the rear deck directly behind the plywood man¾ smoke and light also appeared near the back side of the middle seat directly in front of the silhouette.

There were two more holes in the plywood man; one in the center of the face¾ the other in the back of the head.

Billy beamed with pride. "Is that slick, or what?"

"That's one kick-ass killin' machine," said Bernie.

"Do you have a bolt cutter?" asked Dulles.

Billy walked to the workbench and returned with a cutter. "Is this okay?"

"That's perfect," said Dulles. "Get me three of the full metal jacketed cartridges?"

Billy produced the bullets. "What are you gonna do?"

Dulles placed the projectile portion of a cartridge into the jaws of the bolt cutter. He gently and firmly brought the jaws together¾ creased the projectile but didn't cut completely through it¾ created an annular notch.

"What's that for?" asked Bernie.

"Makes it fragment on impact," said Dulles. He notched the other two projectiles. "Use these to reload the weapons. Put the bubble top back on, and that'll do it. I'll take the limo off your hands and be on my way." The brothers did as they were told. Billy put the Mannlicher-Carcano rifle and transmitter in the trunk.

Dulles thanked the brothers, paused, pulled a pistol from his pocket, and gunned them down. He retrieved the cash-filled envelopes, and fed the German Shepherds as he cut the chain lock on the gate. He drove the limo straight to his home in DC and parked it in his garage. "To hell with the mobsters," he grumbled. "If they're too damn stupid to whack Castro, I'll do it myself."

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Dulles broke the long silence. "Follow me gentlemen." They moved to the garage. Dulles unlocked the limousine and had Helms sit in the right rear seat. "Whadaya think?"

"Whadaya mean?" asked Helms.

BANG, BANGBANG, you're dead."

"What're you talkin' about?" wondered Helms.

Dulles explained. "Right now there are three, loaded, 6.5 mm weapons aimed at you from point-blank range." Helms still didn't get it. Dulles pointed to a spot on the back of the right middle seat. "Put your finger here. What do you feel?"

"A little hole," said Helms.

"That little hole is the barrel tip of a gun," said Dulles. "There are two more behind you, aimed at your back and head. The bubble top's removable. All three weapons are fired by radio control."

Helms climbed out nervously. "Quite a limousine you got here¾ skullduggery masterpiece." He understood what Dulles was thinking¾ the idea intrigued him, but it also frightened him.

Hunt forced the issue. "We need Kennedy sittin' in that seat when the weapons go off." He started to laugh but it hurt.

"It's the perfect crime," said Dulles. "It's like a magic trick. We produce the illusion of the President getting shot while riding in his limousine. People see what they expect to see. We plant a stooge and a murder weapon somewhere close to where these go off. People will think the stooge fired the shots. The scenario makes sense to 'em and it completes the illusion. The idea that the real murder weapons could be rolling away from the crime scene while hauling the murder victim is incomprehensible. The reality is totally different from what they expect to see¾ it won't compute in their minds. People accept the illusion, because it makes sense to 'em."

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In his basement workshop, Dulles put the finishing touches on the murderous magic trick. He invented a way to connect the Mauser rifle and the radio transmitter. He mounted a small button switch between the trigger guard and the trigger itself; squeezing the trigger now activated the switch. Next, he ran wires from the switch to the radio. Squeezing the trigger now activated the transmitter.

He broke the Mauser down and stored it in the carrying case. Next, he filled his bathtub and fired ten shots from the Mannlicher-Carcano into the water¾ he retrieved the intact projectiles which were covered with barrel markings linking them to the frame-up rifle, and saved the empty shell casings for future use. He took a break and made a pot of coffee. He craved a drink but resisted the temptation.

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Helms and Hunt joined Dulles in his workshop to fine tune the logistics for their pending phantasm. Dulles displayed the Mauser rifle. "I put this little treat together." He pointed to the button switch. "Squeezing the trigger activates the transmitter¾ allows us to fire the rifle and activate a weapon in the limousine simultaneously!"

"Why even bother with a shot from outside the limo?" wondered Hunt.

Dulles said, "Enhances the illusion. The outside shot makes trajectory reversal of the point-blank shots seem more plausible. Draws attention towards the sniper's nest. The simultaneous sounds will confuse the eyewitnesses."

Hunt liked the concept. "Sound perception will vary from place to place and from person to person."

Dulles elaborated, "It's like a magician drawing attention to his left hand, while doing something tricky with his right."

"What about the other people in the limo?" asked Helms. "The point-blank shots are gonna sound mighty loud to 'em."

"Remember, the limo's gonna be moving and the bubble top will be off," said Dulles. "The wind rushing by their ears will attenuate their hearing. The weapons are encased in metal¾ the sounds will be muffled. The passengers will also hear the outside rifle. Surprise plus confusion¾ they won't know what hit 'em."

Helms continued to doubt the plan. "We've gotta have a perfect ballistics match. The FBI's gonna look at ballistics through a microscope; literally."

Dulles pulled out the pristine projectiles. "I fired these from the frame-up Mannlicher-Carcano. The markings link 'em to our stooge. We can fire one from the Mauser rifle into the limo and plant one somewhere if we need to. We gotta be flexible and prepared for all contingencies."

"How are we gonna fire a 6.5 mm. projectile down a 7 mm. barrel?" asked Hunt.

"We'll use a sabot," said Helms.

Hunt didn't quite get it. "What's a sabot?"

Helms explained. "A plastic collar that fits around a projectile¾ increases the diameter. We can expand a 6.5 mm. projectile into a 7. The sabot falls off as the bullet flies. We fire from a Mauser rifle and get a slug with Mannlicher-Carcano markings."

"Dulles handed five of the slugs to Helms. "Fit these with sabots and reload 'em onto Mauser casings. Use a high velocity charge."

Hunt saw hurdles around every corner. "How are we gonna get the limo into the White House fleet?"

"I'll handle that one," said Dulles.

"Who's the stooge?" asked Hunt

"No reason for you to know. We'll keep his identity compartmentalized for now."

Helms and Hunt nodded their concurrence.

Dulles said, "Finding a suitable location isn’t gonna be easy. Hunt, that's your job."

Hunt nodded. "What exactly are we lookin' for?"

"The frame-up location’s gotta be perfect. We need a place where our stooge fits in. He can live there or he can work there. Remember, he's an unskilled laborer."

Hunt made a note.

"Number two," said Dulles, "the phony snipers nest hasta be high up. Anything from five to ten stories tall is workable. We need a corner location. Turning slows the limousine and gives lots of possible trajectory angles."

Helms started to believe. "Helps confuse the issue¾ gives the FBI a multitude of trajectory, sequence, and timing possibilities. They can shape the facts to fit a solution."

Dulles continued. "We need a location between the airport and a good presidential destination. We'll manipulate the motorcade so it passes by the sniper's nest. If things go well, the President won't make it back to the airport alive. We need to control the time of the event."

"We need a spot close to the phony sniper's nest for the sabot-shooter," said Dulles. "He needs one clear shot. A rooftop will work¾ office space or an apartment would be perfect. If you find something suitable, rent it."

"Who's gonna be the sabot-shooter?" asked Helms. He was afraid of getting stuck with the job. Hunt wasn’t about to volunteer.

"We'll cross that bridge, when we come to it," said Dulles He knew he'd get the job by default.

"The limo will be in motion. Slow traffic flow is critical," reasoned Hunt. I'll look for a place where the speed limit's low."

Dulles concluded the meeting, "Gentlemen, we've got lots of work to do. Helms is gonna get the sabots ready. Hunt's gonna work on site selection. I'm gonna work on planting the limo and I'll provide our stooge with some guidance. The operation's shapin' up quite nicely. Let's get together in thirty days for fine tuning."