One pops up on my right and returns fire, but I don’t even flinch. His aim is terrible, and he’s emptied almost his entire mag into the ground five feet away to my right.
I snap to him and fire once — the burst of bullets running up and hitting him in the chest, throat, and face milliseconds apart. He flails backward out of sight. I aim for the passenger of the right pickup and give him two bursts. The windshield shatters and he’s pushed back in his seat from the impact in his chest. I can see the blood staining the seats from here.
The man in the back of the other pickup truck jumps down to the street. I have no idea why… Now he’s easier to hit! What a prick! He’s aiming his TEC-9 at me, holding it sideways like he’s in Boyz N The Hood or something. I look him in the eye as I press the trigger — one, two, three bursts. His torso is destroyed by the impact, and he falls to the ground, twitching as the last breath leaves him.
I stare at his body for a moment, embracing the controlled anger that’s pulsing through me. In the past, when my Inner Satan took over, it was almost like I went to sleep while it happened. But now I’m standing beside him, watching him at work, telling him where to shoot, what to do. It’s an amazing feeling!
I drop the AX-19 where I stand and draw the Beretta, pacing hurriedly around the hood of the truck. I yank the passenger door open. The remaining asshole is cowering in his seat.
I lean in and grab him by the collar of his shirt, hauling him out and pushing him against the side of the vehicle.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I ask.
His eyes are wide, filled with fear. “Th-this is our t-town! It’s our j-job to protect it! W-we need to—”
I stop him talking by forcing the barrel of the Beretta into his mouth. I stand up straight, using my gun to keep him in place.
“You know what? I don’t care.”
I pull the trigger once, and his head disappears in a thick cloud of crimson steam. The window behind him shatters, painting the remaining shards with blood. I take my gun out of what’s left of his mouth and he slumps to the ground. His eyes are wide and lifeless, his jaw locked open in an expression of eternal surprise.
I take a quick look around, but Julie’s assessment was spot-on — there’s no one else here.
“Come on out, Oscar,” I shout as I put the gun away. “We’re good here.”
I see him appear over where I had come from. Holding the bag, he makes his way through the maze of abandoned vehicles and rejoins me.
He looks around in horrified amazement. “Holy shit… this as a goddamn massacre.”
“Yeah… Fuck ’em. Let’s go.”
We walk briskly down the street and go left. The security firm’s building is the first one we see, and the van, as promised, is parked just inside its lot. It’s dark gray with the company’s logo emblazoned across the side. I open the rear doors. The dispersal unit, uniforms, security badges — everything is there as ordered.
“Your boy came through,” says Oscar.
I nod. “Never any doubt. Now let’s go — time’s a-wasting.”
Oscar puts the bag in the back and slams the doors shut. As promised, he slides in behind the wheel. We reverse out of the lot and drive away from the carnage I just caused.
Next stop… Washington, DC.
28
Ruby did a good job of explaining everything to Secretary Phillips and was surprised at how open-minded she was throughout. She flicked through the plethora of evidence in Matthews’ case while listening intently, asking questions as they came to mind.
“So, what do you think?” Ruby asked finally.
Phillips sat in silent thought for a few moments before answering. “I think you’re crazy. But…”
Ruby’s eyes lit up with hope. “But…?”
“But… I have to say I’ve had my doubts about President Cunningham at times. I could never quite put my finger on it, and for the most part he made the same decisions I believe any other president, or I, would’ve made. But these last six months…”
She sighed, running her hand through her hair and falling silent once more.
“Madam… whatever — Elaine, look… this sucks and it’s hard to believe, but we’re kinda on the clock here. Can you help us stop this?”
“I… I’m not sure. I mean, what can I really do?”
Jonas, who had been standing quietly by the door, stepped forward and spoke for the first time since Ruby began her story. “First thing you need to do is keep this quiet. From what I could tell when I looked at that stuff, you’re pretty much on your own… Elaine. Everyone else is on Cunningham’s payroll, which means we have very few friends right now.”
“You have very few friends… I have plenty.”
“What are you thinking?” asked Ruby.
“I’m not sure yet. I’ll need time. What’s your friend doing? Where is he?”
“Adrian? Erm… I’m not sure you really want to know what he’s doing…”
Phillips slammed her palm on the surface of her desk then pointed her finger at Ruby. “Hey, full disclosure, lady! You came to me, remember? You should be very grateful I even agreed to hear you out, let alone believe you! And I’m still not sure I do, fully. Or maybe I just don’t want to… This is an incredible situation, like nothing else in history. So if I’m going to help, I need to know everything. By all accounts, Adrian… Hell is a very hard man to support.”
“We’re managing,” shrugged Jonas.
“Yes, but you probably don’t care that much about the twenty-plus NSA agents and the fifteen or so CIA agents he killed. If what you say is true, he might not be the terrorist we’ve been told he is, and he may well be trying to do the right thing, but that will count for nothing if he’s apprehended because he’s still a mass murderer, regardless of his intentions.”
Jonas glared at Ruby, who simply smiled apologetically as she realized Adrian clearly hadn’t mentioned any of that to him when he first brought Jonas on board.
She thought for a moment. She wanted to help Adrian, not make matters worse for him. She knew she had to choose her words carefully. “You make a fair point, I admit, but those people he killed, they were sent to silence him, not bring him in for questioning or to arrest him… but to kill him. It was him or them, and they were blindly following the orders of a twisted despot who—”
“I think you should stop yourself right there. I don’t care what his reasoning was, and regardless of everything that’s happening, I’m still a patriot, so I advise you to watch how you address the office of the US president, even if you have issues with the man inside it. Am I clear?”
Ruby sighed, growing impatient. “Yeah…”
“Now, the issue with your friend notwithstanding, I’m on your side. I suspect I am the only friend you have right now, and you have to trust me. I don’t know your story — either of you — but my advice to you both is this: leave. Get as far away from Washington, and Adrian, as you can, and let me handle this from here. The world is at war, and you need to keep safe.”
Ruby sat on the edge of the desk, crossed her ankles and clasped her hands on her lap as she leaned in close. “Thank you, Elaine, for your advice. And I’ve read that file. I do trust you. I know you’re going to leave this room and do everything you can to help stop President Cunningham and stop this war with North Korea from escalating any further. But… there is no way I’m leaving Adrian to fend for himself. He’s planning to kill Cunningham. And let me tell you, he’s the best damn assassin I’ve ever seen.” She glanced at the clock on the wall by the door. “I reckon you’ve got about three hours to do something monumental, otherwise this information is going to end up on every news channel in the world, right after the report detailing how the president has been found dead. You want to stop him? Fine. But at least wait until you’ve fixed the bigger, more pressing issue of World War III, okay?”