The 13: Fall (28 page)

All in all, the entire country was a mess. The market had plunged even farther. Over a million people had lost their jobs in the span of a week. Business owners were losing money daily. The price of gas had gone up so much that no one except the very well off could afford to drive. Complete civil unrest was at the doorstep of America. And right now, there was no light at the end of the tunnel.

And then there was Chin.

When she had begun this treacherous journey eight months ago, she couldn’t believe how easy it was. She remembered waking up every morning for a week after their initial meeting, thinking it wasn’t real. But it had been. And now here she was. On the doorstep of doing something that could never be undone. Forever, the world would be changed.

She heard the cars pull up outside. The doors opened and four men, all in finely tailored suits and carrying automatic weapons, entered the building. Chin followed behind.

“Mr. Chin,” she said, bowing at the waist. “Good to see you.”

“Likewise, Madam Director.”

“Please, take a seat.”

The two sat down at the makeshift table across from each other.

“I understand you wanted to discuss further needs,” she said.

“Yes,” Chin confirmed. “I spoke with your associate about this.”

“She did not give me details, other than something about the southern border.”

Chin leaned back in the chair and folded his arms across his lap. “Yes, that is correct.”

She had already earned a ridiculous amount of money from this venture. Asking for more might seem offensive to Chin, but if he wanted more, then so did she.

“I’ve already given you invisibility to bring your men into the northern states. I have successfully kept our eyes and ears off your venture. I know that you have your men in place on the Canadian side, ready to bring in your equipment. There won’t be a problem crossing the borders there.

“As far as Mexico is concerned, I have some relationships there. But none that would help you to the extent you need. If you want to move more equipment into that country, you’ll have to do business with their president, Mr. Ramirez. However, I’m sure with some renegotiation of our dealings, I can be extremely helpful to you in that area. Let’s say … we add another hundred mil to the hundred you already owe me.”

Mr. Chin looked at her with a condescending smile. “Ms. Levy, I came here more out of courtesy.”

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“Look around you, Ms. Levy. Your country is in a state of panic. Your own government is crumbling. This is no longer about you providing safe passage for our drilling equipment and turning over the property rights.

“When we first met, our deal was that you would provide entry into the country and the secluded protection for our oil workers to drill on your soil. But the reality is this: your country is so far indebted to mine that we own you financially. And the fact that your country is so unstable right now leaves my country only one choice.”

Immediately she felt her blood pressure rise. This was not what they had discussed. Chin was reworking the deal. She stood up and pointed at him.

“You listen here, Chin. I committed treason by falsifying those permits, documents, and removing any military or law enforcement from those areas. Do you understand what it takes to deem a section of this country hazardous, environmentally unsafe, and off-limits to the public? We’re talking about hundreds of square miles here!

“I have handpicked, fully armed, completely devoted civil military units—which you know I created specifically for this operation—on the borders of those protected areas. They are under the assumption that this is a top-secret, fully sanctioned by
my
government, endeavor with your country. And now you’re telling me that this isn’t good enough! You are out of line, sir.”

“Ms. Levy,” Chin continued calmly, “you don’t seem to understand. I’m sorry that you’ve been misled. But things have changed. We no longer intend on coming here and simply secretly drilling for your oil.”

Marianne sat back down, stunned. What was happening?

“Ms. Levy, as I said before. This is really a courtesy visit. My country has already moved our men into your southern neighbor’s land.”

“That’s impossible! I would have known about that.”

“Improbable, maybe. Impossible, no. I assure you, Ms. Levy. We are very good at staying under the radar. Even yours.

“As it stands right now, we are poised to move against your country very shortly. I came here today to do the honorable thing and inform you. So you could make plans to leave. We appreciate all that you’ve done for us. We’ve decided to allow you to keep the money. And we will honor the remaining one hundred million that we owe you. I’m sure you will be very happy. Somewhere. But I highly recommend that you seek residency elsewhere. And soon.”

As if he could read her thoughts, he continued.

“You don’t believe it is possible that my country would wage war on yours.”

She nodded, unable to speak.

“Ms. Levy, my country is one of the oldest empires in the world. We didn’t become that by haphazardly making war on other nations. We wait. And we plan. And we wait some more. And we lure our prey into a false sense of security. And then, when they believe that nothing could ever touch them, we pounce, just like the great tiger. Your nation, for more than fifty years now, has borrowed so much money from my nation that we own you already. You cannot operate financially independent of us. Who do you think is responsible for your stock market crashing this very moment? Who do you think is responsible for setting this nation on its current course? We, the Chinese empire. We have orchestrated all of this.

“Your military, what is left of it, is scattered across the four corners of the globe. Do you not understand? You have spent so much time defending other nations’ interests these last twenty years, you’ve left your borders and your people vulnerable.”

“But they will come back!” she said. “And when they do—”

“It will be too late, Ms. Levy. By then, our people will occupy your nation. And your country would never risk a ground war on your own soil. We have over three million soldiers. And we will deploy as many as it takes. Your people will bow to our flag. They will learn to coexist with our people. This is the way of our empire.”

“You’re wrong! They
will
fight you! And you will see how strong and great this country is.”

In that moment, she realized how wrong she had been. She didn’t hate her country. She hated the people running the country. But none of that mattered now.

Now, she needed to run. Chin was right. There was no way to defend against a direct attack from China. And what was she supposed to do? Warn them? And how would that play out? With her head on a stick. That’s how. And if anyone ever found out that she had had any dealings with them previously, the result would be the same, if not worse. This had all gone so very wrong. She needed to leave.

She stood and smoothed the wrinkles from her skirt. She set her jaw and tried to look firmly into Chin’s face.

“I believe we’re done here.”

   CHAPTER 47   

K
eene stood by the bedside of President Grant at Bethesda Naval Hospital. He watched as the man’s chest rose and fell in rhythm with the sound of the machine helping him breathe. The gunshot, while not fatal, had caused serious damage. President Grant’s brain, they said, had begun to swell almost immediately. And had he not gotten to the facility when he had, he would surely be dead. The extent of the damage was unclear. Also unclear was whether or not he would ever come out of the coma at all. And if he did, the doctors were unsure as to how well he would recover, if ever.

At the time of the shooting, Keene thought his collarbone had been shattered. He had barely even been able to raise his arm over his waist. But after being checked out by the same medical staff, there at Bethesda, he was relieved to find out that the bullet was a through and through shot, just above the bone. Two inches to his left and he might be lying here next to President Grant. Or worse.

He was sore, for sure, but the fact that he kept himself in such great physical shape had already begun paying dividends. Only four days later and he was able to have almost full range of motion in the shoulder. It still hurt like crazy, but he was functional. The doctors said that he should try to take it easy for a couple weeks, but he knew that wasn’t an option. He was waiting for a phone call. And depending on what the content of that call revealed, he planned on being back on the streets by this afternoon. He had a killer to find. He quietly returned to the small conference room where Taylor and Boz waited. He pulled up one of the worn fake-leather chairs and sat down. His mind raced with what should be their next move.

“Jon, you all right?” It was Taylor, jarring him back from his thoughts.

“Yeah,” he said. “Just thinking.”

“About what?” Boz asked.

“I just don’t get it. You know? I mean, we finally get a lead on this guy. We know who he is, where he’s from. Got his picture and everything. And then, this woman shows up.”

“Maybe she’s working for him,” Taylor said.

“I don’t know,” he said, unsure. “It just doesn’t feel right.”

He quickly noted Boz’s sideways grin.

“Don’t you start,” Keene said. “I don’t know how she plays into this, but—”

“But you don’t believe for one second that she has anything to do with this guy, the Prophet,” Boz interrupted him.

Boz was right. He knew it. He didn’t know how or why, but he knew it. This Prophet, while he might not be the one orchestrating what was happening—which was still to be determined—was still involved somehow. Keene was sure. But he was having a hard time connecting the Prophet to anything that had happened at the Capitol. The only thing that could possibly tie him to it was the bombings of the warehouse and the art gallery. But bomb makers are extremely finicky. They don’t change up their designs, and these two were as different as night and day. One explosion was meant to destroy a building and not intentionally harm anyone. The other was a diversion, set to do maximum damage, regardless of who was in its path.

“Listen, Boz. I don’t know what I think right now. My shoulder hurts like crazy, President Grant is lying here fighting for his life. Our entire country is on the brink of collapsing. And we don’t have an answer for any of it.”

Boz shifted in his seat again. “Hmph.”

Keene was exhausted, and he didn’t want to argue. But Boz just wouldn’t let it go.

“Okay,” Keene said. “Let’s just for one minute pretend that you’re right. That this Prophet is a messenger. The bomb at the Capitol doesn’t fit the fourteen-day timeline. And if that’s not what this guy was talking about, then what? Are we still to expect that something is going to happen sometime between now and the next few days? And if that’s the case, then who is this woman? Where’d she come from? And why did she take a shot at the president? And how does that fit into all of this?”

Boz seemed to think about it for a second and then said, “I don’t know who the woman is. She is obviously a trained assassin. I don’t know why she would try to kill Calvin. And I have no idea why the three of us have been brought together. But I do know this: God works in ways that we cannot understand. Calvin’s inability to run the country right now may be the very thing needed for God to be able to do what He wants to do here. Do I believe that all hope is lost? No. Do I believe that we can stop whatever it is that’s happening? No.”

“So what, then? Are we supposed to just sit back and let it all happen?”

“No,” Boz said, “we are not. Just because God has set all of this in motion, we do not know, nor can we presume to know, what the end result will be. We are called to seek Him. To follow as He leads.”

“So God helps those who help themselves,” Keene smarted.

“Funny,” Boz chuckled, “you know that that idiom is not found anywhere in the Bible? Actually, it goes against everything the Bible teaches us. In the book of Jeremiah, God says, ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord.’”

“So,” Keene said, “according to God, we’re screwed. Which brings me back to where we were.”