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Noa fights to stay awake.
Safe. But for how long?
CHAPTER 101
PRESIDENT KEEGAN BARRETT is enjoying the stunned expression on the Chinese intelligence officer’s face after he shrugs and says, “So what?”
It seems like nearly a minute passes before Dejiang regains his composure. His otherwise quite good English stammers some as he speaks.
“But—again—sir. We have your son. Your only child—Benjamin Lucas—in our custody. In South Africa.”
Barrett shrugs. “Keep him.”
It grows increasingly silent and uncomfortable in his upstairs office, and Barrett is enjoying every second, seeing this opponent before him squirm. How could this poor man know what he’s up against? Not only a president, but a president who’s about to fulfill his lifelong fate. What man or nation could defeat that?
“But … sir, this is highly irregular.”
“Certainly is,” Barrett says.
Dejiang says, “I am forced to tell you something, Mr. President, that circumstances have led us to this position.”
He pauses, swallows. “If you do not cease your operations against the People’s Republic of China and agree to a summit to reachan understanding of our respective areas of concern, especially concerning cyberattacks and cybersecurity, it will not end well for your son.”
Barrett just stares at the man. “You’ve already threatened him with execution, What, you’re going to kill him twice?”
Dejiang says, “However you phrase it, the choice of whether he lives or dies remains with you.”
Barrett keeps his stare on the man, the same stare he’s used on fellow politicians when he was back in Congress, at recalcitrant generals and admirals when he was secretary of defense, and at bureaucrats deep in the bowels of the CIA’s swamp.
He bursts out in laughter.
“Go ahead,” he says. “You think that will do anything to sway me? The death of my son, dying in the line of duty?”
Dejiang looks on, still stunned. “Sir …”
“You ever hear of John Marshal?”
The intelligence officer stammers for a moment. “One of your early American jurists, correct?”
“No,” Barrett says, suddenly impatient. He has a long day still ahead of him and he wants this man out of his office.
Barrett says, “You folks always whine about outside forces and tyranny of history. Well, get ready for a history lesson you won’t ever forget.”
CHAPTER 102
CIA DIRECTOR HANNAH Abrams hangs up one of her secure phones, looks again with dismay at the foldout bed taking up a good chunk of her office. How long will that damn thing remain here? How soon before she can have it hauled out when circumstances get back to normal?
And what the hell is normal anyway?
A knock on her door and Jean Swantish steps in from her office, her face concerned.
“Madam Director, I—”
“Just a moment,” she says. “I just got off the phone with one of my new security officers at my house. Noa Himel is there, injured.”
Jean slowly sits down.
“What happened?”