Page 79 of Enemy Within

“Jack, Jack, Jack…” He hadn’t thought Jack had it in him. The senator from Texas was all smiles and blond hair, a pretty-boy politician who talked a big game but liked to settle for negotiated agreements and bilateral partnerships. He’d made his name in negotiation, in making everything a win-win for all sides. He didn’t know how to play in the big leagues, and that had been Madigan’s golden ticket.

Jack, he’d thought, would be the easy target. Fifteen years of planning. Fifteen years of painstakingly setting up his people and waiting for the right moment. And then America had elected a blond floozy, a feel-good candidate after successive years of bad politics.

Jack was supposed to beeasyto eliminate. The world should already be his, united under his rock-solid grip on global security amid a planet recovering from the ashes of a nuclear holocaust.

He’d underestimated Jack. Or, at least, had underestimated the people around Jack. Ethan Reichenbach, his surprise lover, who had come back from the dead for him.

Madigan remembered Reichenbach well. A serious man. A boring man. He’d been too uptight for Madigan’s tastes, and he’d decided not to approach and recruit him, not when Reichenbach was in the Special Forces, or later when he rose through the ranks at the Secret Service. Maybe he’d made a mistake in that. Maybe he should have worked harder to turn Reichenbach to his side.

No matter. Eliminating a target was just as good as turning them, in this case. Jack was already supposed to be dead, and Ethan out of commission somewhere, mourning his everlasting love. Instead, they were heading for him, together again.

Two birds with one stone.

“Let them come,” he said, smiling back at Cook. Cook’s glower, if possible, grew worse, his cheeks darkening to an almost dangerous maroon, his eyes sharp as knives. It was men like Cook, Madigan thought, who birthed the legends of werewolves. Men with fearsome beasts caged inside them, ready to rip another man apart in a bloodthirsty rage. “Read it again, Captain. Our man is right there with them. Retask him. Have him keep his cover going. Keep him in for the long haul. No matter where they go, or how far they get, keep him right there. Right next to their jugular. This mission of Jack’s does nothing to hurt us. Instead, they’ll be coming right here, and we can take our time eliminating them once they’ve arrived.” He grinned. “Wouldn’t you like that? Wouldn’t you like to take your time? Make it hurt?”

Finally, Cook’s scowl softened, turning almost interested, like a mollified animal. A shark that had been promised a meal.

“Where are we on raising K-27?”

Cook straightened and visibly switched tracks within his mind. “The divers report that the hull is intact and the keel is undamaged. They can raise the sub as one piece and bring her up to the ice.”

“Excellent. Have them begin immediately.”

“Already done. She’ll be off the ocean floor in four hours. Rising steadily after that, until she’s through the ice.”

Madigan nodded. “Which means we need our nuke tech here, asap.” He slid the tablet back to Cook. “Work it out. Make it happen.”

“Yes, General.”

“And we need to prep our people around the world. The time is near. How are we doing with our transmission?”

“The satellite transmitter is online. We’re bouncing the signal through three hundred proxies before broadcast. Even if someone’s looking to trace it, it will just look like a streaming signal bouncing from one of three hundred different locations.”

“Good. Begin the broadcast. I want everyone ready. When we light this up, I want our people to be the first ones out on top of the rubble.”

Finally, Cook smiled, an almost feral, wild thing. He nodded, but said nothing, and slipped back into the shadows of the destroyer.

White House Scrambles to Avoid War on Multiple Fronts

The White House is scrambling to contain two explosive situations rapidly coming to a head. Russian forces have not retreated from their positions in occupied Canada, and while hostilities have ceased for the time being, sources within the intelligence community report that Canada has cut off communications with the United States. The White House has been frantic to reestablish communication with Ottawa. One West Wing source says, “…[this could be] the end of American hegemony in North America. If Canada turns to the Russians instead of the US, [the US] will find herself very, very alone in the world.”

News of the Chinese sending a fleet of warships toward the Pacific coast of the United States has further strained the already beleaguered White House.

Additionally, scattered reports suggest the White House is also attempting a high-level military operation, possibly in the Arctic. When questioned, multiple senior advisors insisted they had no knowledge of any activities taking place in the Arctic. However, several officials did say that President Wall has been unusually circumspect, even keeping information from her National Security Staff, and preferring to meet exclusively with one or two “trusted advisors” only.

33

Washington DC

AT FOUR FORTY-NINE in the morning, Elizabeth heard a bump outside the Queen’s Bedroom door in the White House Residence.

She crawled out of bed, moving slowly to the doorway. She wore one of Ethan’s large undershirts, borrowed courtesy of Levi’s pilfering in Jack and Ethan’s bedroom, over her underwear. They were not the clothes in which to fight off an invasion.

Taking a breath, she leaned against the doorway, listening through the wood.

Levi’s voice, cursing softly under his breath, hit her ears. She opened the door.

Levi huddled on the couch in his boxers, rubbing at his shin. He had his weapon in one hand. The coffee table was on its side, three feet away.