The polite man was sitting in an abandoned Applebee’s in Matthews, North Carolina. Much of the town had been burned to the ground and deserted for months. The polite man had three of his men keeping watch over the dilapidated building and could hear their status checks in his earpiece. His employer was running late, as usual. He knew his place; his employer didn’t need to remind him with such a petty power play. The polite man had the patience of Job and could sit in the restaurant for hours if necessary.
“Sir, a vehicle is approaching.”
“Thank you, I see it. No action required. Please monitor the perimeter and maintain radio silence unless a threat to security exists.”
“10-4.”
The polite man stood, smoothed out his suit coat and straightened his tie. He watched as two armed men entered the restaurant, their rifles pointed at him. The polite man, familiar with the routine, slowly raised both hands as one of the men approached. “Put your hands on your head and turn around. Any sudden moves outta you and you’ll regret it.”
“My good man, I assure you you’ll get nothing but cooperation from me.” The armed man quickly patted him down as the other thug did a full security sweep of the restaurant. “We’re clear.”
“Sir, may I please take my hands from my head and sit down?”
The armed man tensed, sensitive to the defiantly mocking undertone of the question. “I don’t give a fuck, man. Do what you want.”
The polite man smiled. “No need for profanity, sir. I’ll take my seat, thank you.”
The armed man’s rage seeped from every pore. “Are you fucking with me?”
“No, sir, not at all. I am not a fan of profanity and prefer more… civilized conversation.”
“Whatever, asshole.”
“Now, now, sir. I’ve been nothing but polite and respectful to you. I’m afraid I’m going to have to insist that you apologize for your behavior or things will become… unpleasant for you.”
“Say what, asshole? You better watch who the fuck you’re talking…”
The polite man quickly extended his arm, his rigid fingertips sinking into the warm hollow at the base of the thug’s throat. With his free hand, the polite man grabbed the rifle and rammed the stock into the man’s chin, causing him to bite off the tip of his tongue. The thug, along with his foul mouth, fell to the floor, spitting blood.
“STOP!”
The startling bellow jerked the backup’s attention to the doorway where his boss stood, his pistol drawn and aimed directly at his head. “Boss! He just…”
“I don’t care what your foolish partner did, although I have no doubt his ignorant mouth put him on the floor. Lower your weapon! NOW!”
Before the perplexed thug could lower his MP5, he was shot dead; the armed cohort he’d attempted to cover served as easy target practice as well. “Come now, Charles. Still easily offended by colorful words?”
“I abhor such language; it’s disgusting.”
“You really are something, my friend. You put Bond villains to shame, yet you can’t handle cursing?”
“I’m sorry. I did warn him.”
“I’m sure you did.”
“And now I have to drive myself out of here. You know how much I hate to drive.”
“Please, let’s sit down. We have a lot to talk about.”
Charles had already taken the liberty of cleaning the table and chairs prior to his employer’s arrival. “Sir, can I assume you saw the reports on Fort McClellan?”
“I did.”
“And?”
“It was perfect. The investigation was recently completed, and all the evidence points to The Silent Warriors. Witnesses even reported that the assailant was Middle Eastern.”
“Racism. He was Indian. I selected him for that very reason.”
“It worked perfectly. What about the family and your crew?”
“Disposed of.”
“Excellent.”
“Thank you, sir. I’m glad you’re pleased with my work.”
“I never doubted you, Charles.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“How’s the next mission coming along?”
“Ahead of schedule. Mr. Everton had a change of heart much sooner than I expected. He’s ready to cooperate. His military service will work to our advantage. He should have no problem infiltrating the target and planting the device.”
“You have forty-eight hours. Will that be sufficient?”
“Ample time, sir.”
“Outstanding. Since you’re in the final stages of your current mission, it’s time to start preparing for the next one. You’ll be happy to know your payment will be double.”
“Sir, double the pay usually means double the challenge.”
“That’s putting it lightly, Charles. I would say the job is nearly impossible. It’s not really about the money though, is it? It’s putting that brilliant mind of yours through the ringer that pleases you.”
“You know me well, sir.”
“Go ahead and take a look. Take your time.”
Charles picked up the folder and began to read. He skimmed through it quickly then started over, memorizing every delicious detail. Once he was finished, he placed the packet back on the table and smiled.
“Well?”
“Sir, this job will not be too difficult for me to accomplish.”
“Really Charles? Why is that?”
“I already have a spy inside Beck Castle.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Deep within the bowels of Beck Castle, General Richard Dupree was snatched from slumber by another horrible nightmare. His battle with PTSD was often a losing one, barely allowing him two hours of sleep at a stretch. It certainly wasn’t the recipe for a steady hand or a clear head, but Richard had grown accustomed to the routine.
Richard shuffled down the hall and looked in on his son, relieved to find him fast asleep. In desperate need of coffee, he made an entire pot and sat down to the tedious chore of reviewing status reports and emails from his twelve generals. An email from Max detailing Howard’s success in securing his third cruise ship, the Freedom of the Seas, made Richard smile. Good for you, Howard. Didn’t know you had it in you. Richard spent the next thirty minutes sending encrypted messages to his officers in preparation for the invasion of California. Just as he was about to log off, a new email popped up. It caught his eye because, although Richard received hundreds of messages a day from people all over the PSA, none of them came directly to his computer. Instead, the messages were intercepted and screened by Hal before being delivered to his inbox. The subject line of this one read Urgent! You Must Read This ASAP!!! Richard couldn’t resist the opening click.
General Dupree, I can’t tell you my name, but I have information that is of vital importance. I have been in contact with a fellow patriot in Florida, a man by the name of Benjamin Black. Ben recently liberated a group of slaves, one of whom was your daughter. He is certain of this fact because a UAE colonel brought a large force to his front gate and kidnapped her. The colonel is using your daughter as leverage against you. Ben said the colonel mentioned your name in reference to the child. He said the convoy headed north before his scouts abandoned the chase for safety reasons. Ben also wanted me to tell you that President Sterling and his regional governors will be in Miami for a funeral the day after tomorrow. We hope the PSA will use this information and strike a serious blow. God bless you. I hope you get your daughter back.
“I thought you might find that message interesting, sir.”
“Hal, I don’t know what to make of this.”
“If you don’t mind me saying, sir, I think this is good news.”