Legacy (43 page)

“Thanks, baldy, I needed to hear it from your mouth. I’ve already instructed the FBI to take him in. Now go relax and see if we can get some people back to the Moon.”

Niles found that all he could do was nod his head. The picture on the screen went back to blue as he removed his glasses. He reached back and retrieved his chair. He sat down hard and placed his hands over his eyes. He sat up and took a deep breath, then made a decision. He would take the president’s advice for once. He stood and walked from the office. His mood had shifted dramatically in the past minute as he strode to the elevator. He called out to his four assistants.

“I’ll be in Las Vegas. I’m going to watch the space launches with Dr. Pollock. I won’t be back tonight. Patch all calls concerning the launch and Colonel Collins through to my cell phone.”

The assistants watched their director leave the office and were glad to see the fire back in his eyes and the confidence back in his gait.

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER, WASHINGTON, D.C.

The phone was brought in while the president was being poked and prodded by three different physicians. Two of them he was sure were not even out of medical school yet. He had already made an appearance at the window, closely hemmed in by no fewer than six Secret Service agents, and then had made a sorrowful call to the families of the agents who had lost their lives in the attack, and to the widow of his national security advisor. Now he was about to do something he never thought he would do—make a plea for sanity to the chairman of the People’s Republic of China.

“Mr. Chairman,” the president said once the connection had been made. He looked over at the secretary of state, who was listening in with the official interpreter. The secretary waited for the chairman to speak to verify it was truly he on the phone.

The conversation started out in Chinese and then the interpreter translated. The secretary of state nodded his head—it was indeed the seventy-nine-year-old chairman on the other end.

“Mr. President, it is so very good to hear your voice, and to learn that you are safe. You have the wishes of good health from myself and the people of my nation.”

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is very kind of you to say and to accept my call at this very late hour.”

“Not at all, I was awakened for the spectacular double launch your nation has planned. You can call it a natural curiosity on my part to see if the same evil befalls an American attempt as it has so many others in the past few days.”

The president caught the innuendo, one that in political speak fell just short of an accusation. He chose to move forward instead of arguing with the old chairman.

“Mr. Chairman, I have called to express my sincere desire for a more cooperative approach to what has happened on the surface of the Moon. As you have seen, the attacks on all nations attempting this endeavor have met with a force of unknown assailants that will stop at nothing to see that we all fail.”

The American interpreter voiced the president’s words and then there was a long silence on the other end of the line.

“Mr. President, I see no reason for my nation to be bullied by the West. I am afraid those days are long past. We do not frighten as easily as you may think. Our spacecraft, the
Magnificent Dragon,
is well on its way. Once the landing has been accomplished, I see no reason why we cannot be cooperative in the findings of the mission. However, I must insist that our mission to the lunar surface not be interfered with by any nation, just as your monopoly of space was ignored by my own for so many years.”

“Speaking man-to-man, Mr. Chairman, I find the situation had started out wrong. I truly wish for—”

The interpreter looked embarrassed as the leader of the People’s Republic cut the president short.

“We have come into intelligence that the West has known about this for quite some time, and throughout the years has refused to share this information and technology with the People’s Republic as well as many other nations. The monopoly of this find in Ecuador has been a well-kept secret for far too long, and now you suggest cooperation between us and your allies? Perhaps if you had come to my predecessors many years ago this situation could have been avoided.”

“I assure you, the find was kept secret by the Nazi regime, and only recently have the facts come to light. The United States and her allies have nothing but respect for—”

Again, the president was cut off.

“Mr. President, I must reiterate how pleased I am that you are safe after your ordeal of this day. I am sure once the scales have been balanced by the heroic astronauts aboard the
Magnificent Dragon
, we can come to terms with our past on a more equal basis and work for a better future in regard to Case Blue, if that threat is really viable as you claim. Good evening, and may you have very good luck on your launches tonight.”

The secretary of state listened and then looked at the president and shook his head.

“The chairman has hung up, sir.”

“Goddamn it!” The president slammed the phone down and reached for a glass of water, chasing the three doctors away with a warning look. “Get me Johnson Space Center. Conference it with Kennedy, Vandenberg, and the Cape. We go.”

The room was silent as the president swallowed some pain medication. He looked up at the ceiling and came to a decision.

“Get me my pants and jacket. I’m getting out of here.”

“Where to?” the secretary of state asked.

“Home. I want to see my wife and kids.”

HARTSFIELD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, ATLANTA, GEORGIA

James McCabe was waiting outside in the limousine for Laurel Rawlins. Even though the luxury car had windows you couldn’t see through, he felt like every set of eyes that passed the waiting vehicle were peering in at him. The mistake of allowing Jack Collins to live was a haunting reminder that you could not play by any set of rules when doing what he was attempting to do. Now he had been linked to the attacks. After tonight, it was time to disappear. In order to accomplish that he would need the good Reverend’s daughter to assure his financial payoff for a job he deemed completed. Then, after this evening’s festivities, he would make sure Laurel and the Mechanic understood that no one double-crosses James McCabe.

The door finally opened, and even though McCabe knew it to be Laurel, he found it difficult not to react apprehensively because of his new status as the most wanted man alive—even more wanted than Jack Collins. He found it ironic that the plan he had set in motion with Jack had come full circle to bite him in his hindquarters and now they were both on top of the list as far as desperation went.

Laurel slid into the backseat of the large black Lincoln and the driver sped away. She leaned in to kiss McCabe on the cheek and was surprised when he held his hand in the air, blocking the attempt.

“I think we’re well beyond that,” he said, turning to face the side window.

“I know you didn’t approve of the assassination, but—”

McCabe looked back and simply nodded toward the small television embedded in the front seat of the limousine. There the president of the United States was waving to a crowd of reporters from inside of his hospital room. The tape was now four hours old.

“That’s impossible. We had him—”

“Impossible, but nonetheless there he is. And now I have an arrest warrant out for me and your father will be on the run very soon.”

Laurel watched the taped segment of the president and she read the caption that he had already returned to the White House to be with his family. She lowered her head and turned away from the television.

“You will remain with me throughout the evening,” McCabe said. “After my contract is complete, you will accompany me to Ecuador to consummate my ending to this fiasco. Your father will attempt to meet us there.”

“You have to get the remaining technology out of that mine or you can forget about the riches you think you’ve earned.” Laurel reached for her cell phone and opened it.

McCabe took hold of Laurel’s wrist. He twisted it until the phone fell free.

“So you recruited my man to assist you in your stupidity.” McCabe smiled, then grabbed Laurel’s chin and roughly turned her to face him. “Now, my dear, do you know why your assassination attempt failed so miserably?”

Laurel didn’t fight the roughness of McCabe’s touch. She just allowed her eyes to seek out his and remain fixed as the sickening feeling started in the pit of her stomach.

“Your shooters turned on their seeker heads far too early. They could have launched the Stingers and then brought the software online. When the target became illuminated the Air Force would not have been able to react so swiftly.”

“You told them to light up the target, you said—”

“Indeed I did. Do you think killing the president would have had any bearing whatsoever on the plan? It would not. It would have only infuriated the people of this country, which you’ve managed to do anyway. After I’ve covered my tracks in Ecuador, I am finished. With money in hand I will depart forever. I suspect I can take care of all my business down south, tie up loose ends, and be on my way. You, my dear, can go for the technology in the second gallery if you wish. Personally I believe it’s going to be a little hot there in a few hours.” He smiled as he released Laurel’s chin and slapped her across the face. Then he slammed a fist into her cheek and pulled her onto the seat. He held her there, staring at her with hate-filled eyes. “And you and your father are two of those loose ends. I think you can make that call now, only we’ll change the wording somewhat.”

QUITO, ECUADOR

It had only taken Sebastian Krell two hours to return with three of his men to inform Jack that Everett was being held inside a fortress that was covered by an army of police. Collins took the news like a blow to the solar plexus. He sat in the large aircraft and turned away from the German commando and his gathered men. Charles Hindershot Ellenshaw III reached out and patted Jack on the back.

Pete Golding saw for the first time the closeness of Colonel Collins and his second in command, Carl Everett, and felt he had to do something.

“Major Krell, would it be possible to get me video of the building the captain is being held in?” Pete asked.

The German tuned to Pete and shook his head. “Anything is possible, Professor, but what practical good would a video of the police headquarters be?”

Pete stood from his chair and paced the aisle. He placed his hand to his chin. That was when Charlie Ellenshaw saw that Pete was formulating a plan. He had seen it before when Golding worked with him on a few projects with help from Europa, his baby. When Pete went into planning mode, he was a dynamo.

“To start, I need every exit the building has. I also need to know approximately where Captain Everett is located.”

“I can tell you that,” Sebastian said, wondering what the tall and very thin Golding was getting at. “He’s being held in the detention area in the basement. The security for a country like Ecuador is far beyond what it was a few years ago. There’s no rushing the building to break the captain out.”

Pete stopped pacing and looked up at the German. “Rush the building? I’m afraid what I’m thinking is far more ambitious than that.”

“Okay, Pete, what gives?” Jack asked, as he regained a margin of hope.

“If I can do what I think I can with the help of Europa, I can maybe give the captain a window of about five minutes.”

“A five-minute window to do what?” Sebastian asked and looked from Golding to his men. There was a smirk on the commando’s face.

“Why, to allow Mr. Everett the time he needs to walk out of that building.”

Jack smiled and looked back at Sebastian. He returned his gaze to Pete. “Of course. What were we thinking?”

FAITH MINISTRIES, INC., LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

The ten-man team of FBI agents from the Los Angeles field office had waited for twenty minutes. The second team had just raided the palatial residence of the Reverend Samuel Rawlins. The Reverend was not at home, meaning the odds placed him at his office. They had to act before anyone informed the evangelist that the FBI had a warrant for his arrest.

The agent in charge of the team nodded his head and the ten men ran to the glassed-in offices of Faith Ministries with guns drawn, identifying themselves as federal agents. The staff of forty office workers stood as one. Some of the women screamed and others panicked at the abruptness of the raid.

“Everyone down, down, get down!” the lead agent called as he ran the forty paces to the large double doors with gold lettering across them. He placed his shoulder on the polished wood as he hit it on the run. He was covered by three other men as he aimed inside the office. He saw immediately that there was no one there. He cursed and stood, holstering his weapon.

“Check the employees,” he said to the men who had followed him into the office. “Find out where the Reverend has gone.” He stepped around the large ornate desk and saw that the computer was still on. He adjusted the monitor with his wrist, not wanting to place his fingerprints on anything in the office. On the large screen monitor was a live shot of the Vandenberg launch facilities. “Inform Washington that Reverend Rawlins is not here.”

The field agent knew that in one hour all air traffic over Los Angeles and the far west side of California was due to be shut down for security reasons for the double-double launches of the shuttles and the Ares platforms, but to his way of thinking that was far too much time.