“My good man, are you saying you saved my life?”
“Absolutely.”
“How kind of you.”
“Yes, I knew what was going to happen, but I had no idea Roberto’s nurse was in your employ. I was under the false assumption that your operative would give me some sort of signal.”
“Sir, I had to minimize the chance that someone else would be tipped off by suspicious behavior. You knew when the president took the podium…”
“Not that it’s any of your concern, but I had good reason for sparing the president.”
“Sir, do you want me to guess, or are you going to tell me?”
“My plan was to be the hero who saved the president’s life. I was then going to dispose of him and claim that in his dying words he pleaded with me to take the mantle and run the UAE. No one would doubt the intentions of the new national hero.”
“Brilliant plan, sir. I’m impressed. When do you expect the Chinese ambassador?
“Ambassador Zhang is going to wait a few weeks till the West Coast is secure before meeting me in Denver.”
“What do you want me to do about Sterling?”
“Nothing! I will deal with Sterling, not you. Are we clear?”
“Sir, I understand your reasoning. I was simply asking if you want me to locate him. I have doubts that he’ll return to the mansion in Denver, given the security threat.”
“I apologize, Charles. If you can find him that will certainly help moves things along. We do have to know his whereabouts before Ambassador Zhang arrives.”
“Sir, with all due respect, may I ask a candid question?”
“The Chinese?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’ve been in top-secret negotiations with the Chinese for six months. Simon Sterling will never be able to get this country strong enough to defend itself against Iran. They’re coming, and there’s nothing we can do to stop them. Our navy will hold them off for a while. We could wage nuclear war, but both sides could wipe out mankind with the weaponry they have stockpiled, so neither will go that route. But… they’re still coming. Rebuilding The Pulse Zone will take decades; the entire Eastern Seaboard is becoming a third world wasteland. I’ve brokered a deal with the Chinese. They’re eager to expand their borders into ours and utilize our resources in exchange for protection from Iran. We will maintain our own laws and freedoms.”
“Sir, how can you be so sure they’ll honor their end of the bargain?”
“They’re keeping me in charge of our military; more importantly, I will retain control of our nuclear arsenal. It will keep us both honest.”
“And you think the American people will just go along with this? What about the West Coast and the Rockies? They’re living somewhat normal lives there.”
“They’re not going to have a choice. The Chinese aren’t coming to conquer and imprison us; they’re coming as allies.”
“Sir, again, with respect, I don’t think the Chinese will see it that way. They own the bulk of our former nation’s debt. I think they’re coming to call in their markers.”
“Charles, I have no doubt that you’re wrong; however, if the alternative is The Great Empire of Iran, I think the American people will choose the Chinese any day of the week. They have the military might to defend our borders and keep us safe.”
“How the mighty have fallen.”
“Indeed. But weak as we might be, I’ll still have my finger on the button to level Beijing if things don’t go our way, and our Chinese friends know it.”
“A wise precaution.”
“Who attacked me? Start talking now or you die!” President Simon Sterling’s left arm was bleeding profusely, thanks to a poorly aimed shot from his chief advisor, Stacy Reid. “I know you were involved in the attack on the church, so start talking! And how convenient that you’d left the church right before the blast.”
Stacy was bound to a chair in the armory, nursing a black eye and a broken hand. Having never fired a gun in her life, she’d botched the attempt to assassinate the president of the Unified American Empire. She’d been so startled by the first shot that she’d closed her eyes and pulled the trigger blindly until all she heard was click..click..click. Hitting Sterling in the arm, hell, hitting him at all before the security officer kicked the weapon from her hand had been pure luck. The blow, breaking three of her fingers, was quickly followed by a punch to the face that dropped Stacy to the ground. “I don’t know who attacked you at the church. You sent me to the car; leaving the church was not my idea, it was yours!”
“You’re lying! You’re a part of this, and if I have to cut off all your fingers and have you tortured to death to find out what you know, I’ll do it! Who are you working for? Howard Beck? Did he put you up to this? Admit it!”
“I’m not working for Howard Beck! I did this on my own!”
“You’re lying!”
Stacy sniffled, blinking back the flood of hot tears. “I was acting alone! I saw a chance to finally kill you, and I took it! You’re a madman, a crazy dictator who’s responsible for the deaths of millions! You murdered Malcolm Powers, you sick bastard!”
Simon was stunned. “So that’s what this is all about? You have some crazy notion that I actually assassinated a sitting president of the United States, and you want petty revenge? Are you serious? Malcolm was a role model to me, and I loved him dearly. I was so looking forward to having a relationship with him in his twilight years, and the Iranians robbed me of that! How dare you!”
“You can feign sentimentality all you want, but we both know what you did. You wanted him out of the way. It was rather convenient that The Pulse covered your tracks so completely that no one will ever know the truth. You can deny it all you want, but you know you assassinated a man… a man whose shoes you’ll never be able to fill. You’ll never be even half the man Malcolm was.”
The taunting worked like a charm. “Malcolm Powers was a fool! He saw the nation crumbling around him, and he did nothing to stop it! How many people died in Florida - your own family included-because he wanted to save the world from Iran? So yes, my dear, I murdered him. I vaporized every ounce of his body with a missile so no grave could ever hold him; not even ashes would remain to fill an urn. I have no regrets. None!”
“And what have you done to make things right? You closed our borders and refused help from anyone. Your mighty isolationism is turning this country into a wasteland!”
“Bitch, I’m done arguing with you. I can’t believe I actually trusted you. I’m not an idiot; I know you’re spying for Howard Beck. I know with every fiber of my being that you’re going to tell me everything, every little detail. You will experience pain like you never thought possible. Only when I’m certain you’ve told me everything in that deluded, conceited mind of yours will I grant you the gift of death.”
“Please, I did this on my own. I don’t know who bombed the church, I swear. I saw my chance to kill you and I took it. No one told me to do it. Please, you have to believe me, Simon.”
Sterling turned to the security officer. “Get the doctor.”
Stacy breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Simon.”
Maniacal laughter filled the room. “Oh no! The doctor isn’t coming to clean you up, dear. I need him to keep you alive for the duration. Wouldn’t want you to bleed out on us.”
Stacy was shaking as she begged through her tears, “Please! Please! I swear I did this on my own.”
“Before the doctor gets here, let me make one thing clear. You can keep all ten of your fingers if you pay the price.”
“W-w-what?”