I’ve got to talk to Osborne.
He dialed Osborne’s number on the burner phone he purchased in the train station while waiting to board.
“Osborne.”
“Osborne, it’s Flynn.”
Osborne’s voice turned to a whisper. “Are you OK, man? Where are you?”
“We’re heading back to D.C.,” Flynn said.
“We? Who’s with you?”
“Natalie. They took her hostage as leverage.”
“Natalie? The gal from the archives?”
“Yeah, that’s her.” Flynn looked at Natalie and smiled. She didn’t look at him, continuing to gaze out the window in a stupor.
“Are you guys dating?”
“Look, I don’t want to talk about that right now. We’ve got more important things to discuss.”
“You’re telling me. Barksdale listed you as the prime suspect before I proved that you were trying to stop the assassin. Of course I knew he would be with you, but I couldn’t risk some trigger-happy blockhead wanting to squeeze a round off into you because he wanted Seal Team Six fame.”
“Thanks. But the assassin is still on the loose. I left a mess for you to clean up at a warehouse a few miles from the U.N. building.”
“Who’s the assassin?”
“Ivan. This was a Kuklovod hit.”
“What else do you know?”
“I know they’re trying to start a war between us and Russia.”
“Tell me something I don’t already know. They don’t need to help that process.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, Gerald Sandford is now the acting President and he’s ready to fire the first shot, if my sources are right.”
Flynn then asked Osborne if he could help hide Natalie at a CIA safe house until this whole thing settled down. They set up a time to meet and go over any other information Flynn learned.
“There’s something else you need to know, Flynn.”
“What’s that?”
“I can’t talk about it now, but I need to know something.”
“Oh?”
“Are you still up for a mission?”
CHAPTER 37
Ivan seethed as he watched the news from his hotel room. Three Russian terrorists were found dead in a warehouse several miles from the U.N. According to the report, law enforcement officials hadn’t yet identified if they were involved in the assassination attempt on the President, but early indications showed this was likely the case.
He flipped through the television channels. He wanted a shred of good news, something that let him know his mission wasn’t a waste. Though he was in critical condition, the President was still alive. His men had let his hostages escape. And no news agency reported any sign of impending war. Maybe there was still hope that something would go right.
After thirty minutes of sitting and waiting, Ivan fumed even more. James Flynn was still out there, that rock in his shoe. More like a gash on his wrist. If this plan failed to incite a war, Ivan knew it would be because of Flynn’s meddling. With no other directive at the moment, he needed a diversion. Time to make Flynn pay. He picked up his phone and began dialing some numbers. Time to get serious.
CHAPTER 38
By the time Flynn met with Osborne on Saturday afternoon in Washington, the President’s death had been erroneously reported via Twitter by three different reporters. Every newsperson worth his weight in salt wanted to be credited as the journalist who broke the news first. This race to be first trumped the race to be right, leaving the general public weary of their ridiculous games. Flynn had fallen for news of Brad Pitt’s death, Jay Leno’s campaign donations to the Republican party, and Miley Cyrus’s decision to quit making music — the first sad, the second shocking, and the third wishful thinking. And all of it on Twitter, not a word of it true. Where’s my cynicism when I need it most?
With plenty of rumors swirling around the Beltway over who was really running the show at the White House and who was at whose throat, only one thing seemed clear: A leadership vacuum existed. Not that this came as any surprise to Flynn — or any other American. The country had been floundering in the eyes of the international community due to its constant meddling in foreign affairs and inability to stabilize the global financial sector. Now a new drummer was thrumming for a war.
“Thanks for coming down here,” Osborne said to Flynn as he shut the door to his office.
“Well, I’m curious as to what you might have in mind,” Flynn said.
“Without being overly dramatic, I need you. This country needs you. The world needs you.”
Flynn chuckled. “Do I look like Jesus Christ to you?”
“Save your sarcasm for later. I’m serious. There’s some big stuff about to go down — and I need you to do something about it.”
Flynn drummed his fingers on the desk before leaning forward to speak.
“What could I possibly do to stop this madness?”
“If you execute an off-the-books mission, the answer is everything.”
“And what if I happen to fail?”
Osborne let Flynn’s question hang in the air before answering. “I think you know.”
“Are you out of your mind?”
“No, but you’re the best option I’ve got.”
“You seriously don’t have any other operatives who can do this mission to save the world?” Flynn asked.
“Sure, I do. But none of them could pull it off. It’d be a death sentence. You on the other hand —”
“So, I’ve been gone from the agency for several years and you still think I’m your best option?”
“Yes.”
“Playing to my ego won’t work.”
“If only I was simply playing to your ego. But I’m being honest. I need you like never before.”
Flynn buried his head in his hands then tugged at fistfuls of his hair. He let out a low growl.
“If it works out, I know it’d make a heck of a book — though you wouldn’t be allowed to actually write it,” Osborne said.
Flynn looked up and glared at Osborne.
“OK, OK, I’m sorry — just a little humor. But I’m serious when I say I need you.”
“Suppose I say yes. What exactly is it you want me to do?”
“Go to Russia and disarm the missiles at the Kuklovod’s base camp. They are planning on launching the first salvo to incite a war — that is if Sandford doesn’t launch our missiles first.”
Flynn stared out the window and shook his head. He would’ve jumped at this chance when he was with the agency, but things felt different now. Everything about his life was different. This was what he left behind. Adrenaline. Fear. Danger. Heroism. Appearing on cable network news to discuss dark government secrets fascinated him far more than rushing into a situation that could have lethal repercussions for himself. He remained silent, lost in thought.
“If you can’t do it for your country, will you at least do it for the one person who always believed in you?”
Flynn jerked his gaze back toward Osborne.
“You want me to do this for my mother?” Flynn said as he leaked a wry smile.