Page 156 of Enemy Within

Ilya grasped his shoulders, pulling back just enough to look Sergey in the eyes. “Mr. President, I am pleased to inform you that Moscow is once again yours.”

Anton and Aleksey cheered as Sergey shouted, wordless screams of relief and joy that burst from the center of his chest. He grabbed Ilya’s face and pressed their foreheads together, smiling at his friend. Beside him, Sasha tipped his head back and sighed up to the sky, his eyes closed. Sergey pulled him close, hugging him as tears pricked the backs of his eyelids.

Jack and Ethan joined them. Ilya saluted Jack, and Anton and Aleksey pumped his hand, smiling and congratulating him over and over. “Message from your embassy, Mr. President,” Ilya said, pulling out a folded piece of paper and handing it to Jack. “I was told to deliver this to you when I found you.”

Sergey read over Jack’s shoulder.

Traitor found. White House secure. Canada has taken out the trash. Come home, Phoenix. Signed, President Elizabeth Wall.

69

Russian-Occupied Kara Sea

ILYA ARRANGED AN IMMEDIATE transport for them off the ice and back to Moscow.

Anton and Aleksey staked flares in the ice, guiding heavy transports fitted with skis onto a spray-painted runway. In less than an hour, the ice pack looked like a metropolitan airport, albeit one encased in a winter wonderland.

Five body bags were loaded onto a cargo jet, only Munoz’s in a place of honor. Madigan, Cook, Kobayashi, and Wright’s were stored out of sight. Jack turned away, not watching as Madigan was carried on board. He stared over the gaping maw in the ice sheet where theVeduschiyhad sunk. There were more American ghosts beneath the ice. More heroes they had to recover.

Jack had Anderson and his crew evacuated to the embassy in Moscow on the first flight out. A security detail stayed behind, along with the engineering team, first shutting down the reactor and then blowing the command and control systems, strippingHonoluluof her technology.

Jack shook Anderson’s hand as he climbed up the cargo ramp. “You did it, Captain. You saved everyone.”

“They were your orders, Mr. President.” Anderson saluted sharply. “The whole plan was yours. And… what you went through….” Anderson squinted. His gaze flicked to Ethan, exhausted and leaning against Scott, still breathing shallowly, still blood-covered, and wrapped in Jack, Sasha, and Scott’s jackets. “Like you said: when was the last time a president truly sacrificed for America?”

He returned Anderson’s salute as his guts folded in on themselves. He’d hear Ethan’s screams and the sounds of his waterboarding in his nightmares for the rest of his life. “None of this should have happened. I was only doing what had to be done.”

“That’s what makes you a good man.” Anderson followed his men into the jet, the last one to board. The ramp rose, and then the plane started to taxi away and lift into the gray skies, disappearing into the leaden gloom.

They were next. A sleek transport waited for them, something that promised a fast flight back to Moscow.

Sergey, his bloodied arm in a sling, pulled Jack close before they boarded. “My people will take you straight to your embassy.”

“We’ll be headed stateside as soon as we get there. I’m sure the news has already broken. I need to get back to the US.” Jack smiled at his friend. “But we’ll be talking soon, I’m sure. Congratulations on getting your country back.”

Sergey let him go with a rueful grin. “I will miss you, Jack. Being with you every day… It was good.” He shrugged. “When it was not horrible.”

Jack laughed. “Take care of yourself. And good luck. I’m happy for you.”

He and Scott helped Ethan on board, each of them supporting a shoulder. Ethan was still too cold. Hypothermia threatened to pull his temperature even lower. His chest rattled with every breath, and dark bruises stretched over his abdomen, his ribs. Ethan’s neck was a raw, bloody mess. Bruises in the shape of chain links looked like stamps on his skin next to open wounds that still oozed. Jack helped him lie down and pillowed Ethan’s head in his lap. Scott laid a blanket over Ethan and sat at his feet, resting one arm over Ethan’s shins. Seconds later, Scott started to snore.

Faisal and Doc carried Coleman’s stretcher on board. A Russian flight medic took over, but Doc still buzzed around Coleman, checking everything the Russian medic did until the medic forced Doc into a jump seat and buckled him in. Doc tried to protest, but he dropped off, falling asleep as he reached for Coleman.

Faisal helped Adam on board next. They sat side by side, wrapped in a single blanket, their hands laced together. Adam rested his head on Faisal’s shoulder.

The ramp closed, and the engines rumbled as the plane’s propellers started to spin. Ice crunched beneath their skis. Pressure pushed them back in their seats, the plane accelerating down the slick runway, and then they were airborne, soaring into the skies. Jack peered out of the window, watching the ice cap fade away, the remains of their battle, their desperate last stand to save the world.

There was still so much to do. Environmental scientists would have to be flown in, an international team that could reverse the damage Madigan had wrought. Sergey promised an exclusion zone around the Kara Sea, and with no one to ignite the gases at their source, where the concentration was highest, the chain reaction that could burn through the planet wouldn’t occur.

He rested his head against the cool glass as wispy steel clouds surrounded the plane, enveloping them and carrying them away.

Back to reality.

His fingers slid through Ethan’s hair. His other hand rested on Ethan’s chest, holding his hand. What would happen now? What would the world’s reaction be? Could anyone ever understand what they had done? What they had experienced? The reasons behind the choices he had made?

What waited for them back home? Respect? Recrimination? Revulsion? If he had to put money on it, he’d bet on the worst.

Across from them, Adam cleared his throat. He caught Ethan’s gaze, and then Jack’s. “When we land in Moscow…” He licked his lips. Swallowed. “I’m not going to the US embassy.” He squeezed Faisal’s hand. “I’m going to the Saudi embassy with Faisal. I’m going home.”