Vendetta Nation (Enigma Black Trilogy #2) (34 page)

“Why did you wait so long to do anything, then?” Ian demanded. He paced the room in a panic. “She’s been bleeding out for nearly two hours.”

Drew handed the paddles to Dr. Harris, who turned to address Kara. “While I’m working on her, gather together all of my surgical equipment. Get the IV and blood going too.”

“Yes, doctor.”

“Oh, and get him out of here,” he nodded at Ian. “He’s not going to be of any help to us in the state he’s in.”

“I’m not leaving her,” Ian demanded. “She’s my partner. She needs someone next to her. She…”

“Come on,” Kara grabbed Ian by the hand and attempted to pull him away from the table just as Dr. Harris charged the paddles and pressed them to Celaine’s chest. Ian ripped his hand away and charged back to her side, tears forming in his eyes.

“I can’t leave her, Kara.”

“And you can’t stay here, either. You’re distracting Dr. Harris and, frankly, there isn’t anything you can do for her right now. Wait in the viewing room, if you want. I don’t recommend it, personally, but it’s about as good as you’re going to get.” Kara grabbed his arm again, noticing that it had grown limp. “Ian.”

“What?”

“I care about her, too. Remember that. And if you honestly love her, you’ll let us do what we need to do and listen to what we tell you to do.”

He stood motionless, watching Dr. Harris touch the paddles to her chest again. “Bring her back to me, Kara.”

“I promise.”

He lingered for an instant longer before reluctantly turning around to enter the viewing room. If he couldn‘t be next to her, he at least wanted to be within viewing distance in the hope that she would be able to sense that she wasn’t alone. With a sigh, he rested his head on the window and prayed like he hadn’t done since his father was alive.

“Has the power been restored to the city?” Brooks asked without breaking his stride.

“Yes, sir,” one of his aides answered in his wake. The young man struggled to catch up with the President’s determined strides. “Our soldiers have restored power at the main substation, and remain on standby to shut it down again at a moment’s notice. We also have people positioned at grids and substations throughout the country, and they will remain there until further notice.”

“And what of the emergency broadcast?”

“Cameras are all set up in the Oval Office with a live feed, waiting for you to disrupt the regularly scheduled broadcasts.”

“Good. Has there been any word from the soldiers on the capture and detainment of the rebels?”

“A large majority of them have been captured, save for a couple of small groups still hiding within the city. Those who have been found have been taken into custody, but I’m afraid we’re beginning to run out of room.”

“Then shoot them.”

“But, sir…what of their trials…of making them an example? The people aren‘t going to respond to that well.”

“If they don’t know about it, they can’t respond. Besides, I have more than enough rebels to make examples of as it is. If there’s no room for them, then they are to be shot on sight. Plain and simple. The same goes for those soldiers who’ve defected. They are now traitors to their country, thus they are on the same level as the rebels, and no distinction should be made between them.”

“Yes, Mr. President. I’ll advise the commander to shoot them all on sight.”

“All except Marshall Leitner. I want to make sure an example is made of him upon his capture. He’s the glue holding the rebellion together. The rest of them will come apart at the seams if he were to fall.” President Brooks strode into the Oval Office, where a camera crew had positioned itself, ready for him. He sat down at his desk, his tie straightened by another aide, who set a glass of water down on the wooden finish just out of view of the camera. “Oh, and what of Mr. Leitner’s cabin?” he asked the aide before turning to the camera man.

“Destroyed. All killed in the process.”

“Marvelous. Was anything found?”

“Some equipment, computers and other communication devices that were taken into evidence.”

“Good. You’re dismissed now.”

“Thank you, sir.” The young man turned on his heels and promptly left the office.

“Let us know when you’re ready, Mr. President,” the camera operator spoke.

President Brooks took a sip of water, and remained seated in silence while he gathered his thoughts before giving his okay. “I’m ready. Let me know when we’re on air,” he said.

“We’ll be interrupting the live feed in ten…nine…eight…”

He cleared his throat, simultaneously thinking about the events that had transpired over the evening. In order to gain the support of the people, he was going to have to garner their sympathy for his staged assassination attempt. He’d have to make them believe the ends justified the means, that what he was proposing was the only way. Ten years ago, that concept had been easier to sell than it was now. Of course, he didn’t have quite the opposition ten years ago that he had now, either.

“Two…one…We’re live, Mr. President.”

President Brooks took a deep breath before looking directly into the camera and addressing his audience, imagining every television in every household, and every drop-down screen in each public venue, projecting his image to millions, which brought a smirk to his otherwise serious face. “This evening, our country bore witness to an unspeakable act of violence in which many innocent people lost their lives. I was almost one of those innocent people.” He paused to put emphasis on his last statement. “Thankfully, the assassin missed their mark; unfortunately, their misjudgment lead to the murder of one of our soldiers, who continuously put their lives on the line to uphold order in our country.”

“The rebels seek to destroy our country. Over the past several months, they’ve committed murder and arson; they’ve perpetrated riots across our country, jeopardizing the health and safety of us all. This evening, they also severely wounded one of our country’s own super humans as she was defending those innocent individuals who were caught in the crossfire of the madness perpetrated by the rebellion. This is not only a huge loss for us on a personal level, but also on a security level as well, for it opens us up to an attack by The Man in Black as well as by other copycat terrorists.”

“With that said, we will stand tall in our resolve to restore order to chaos. As I speak to you, our men and women are on the streets, apprehending those responsible for the bloodshed this evening, and I’m happy to report that several rebels have already been taken into custody. But there are many more to go, including the face of the rebellion—their leader—Marshall Leitner. Over the past few years, Mr. Leitner has amassed a following of misguided individuals from across the country; people he’s used to further his own agenda. Headquartered in Maryland, Mr. Leitner has been operating out of a secluded cabin in the woods. Just moments ago, my men located that cabin, apprehended those inside and burned it to the ground. Within the confines of the cabin was a mass of electronic equipment that they used to communicate with other rebellion groups across the country. This equipment was confiscated, and its data will be analyzed to see what secrets and further plans of attack it may hold.”

He picked up the glass of water and took another sip of it, setting it back down in front of him, momentarily focusing on the blinking green light on the video camera. “The bottom line is that these rebels must be stopped before further damage is done to our country. That’s why I’m imploring you to turn in anyone who you deem suspicious. Anyone who disappears for a night or two a week without any explanation; anyone who makes disparaging or threatening remarks against me or our country as a whole. Only together can we counteract this threat; only together can we restore order and bring our country back from the brink of collapse. We will rise again. We will be great again.”

“However, greatness is not obtained without sacrifice. In order to help cripple the rebels’ efforts, we must take away their means of communicating among one another. Right now, power distribution substations and cell phone towers across the country are being manned by armed soldiers with orders in hand to disrupt signals and cut power where rebellion activity is confirmed. Phone calls of suspected rebellion members will be monitored, homes will be searched. Anyone believed to be part of the rebellion will be apprehended, tried, and if found guilty, they will be imprisoned or executed, depending upon the charges brought against them. We will use any means necessary to counteract these criminals. They will be exterminated. Again, this is for the good of our country, and because I care about the safety and security of you and your children.”

He grew silent, looking directly into the camera, a stern look on his face like a father who’d just caught his child in an act of defiance. “Rest assured, these acts will not be tolerated. Those responsible will all be captured, and we will once again resume our daily lives in the normalcy we’ve grown accustomed to during my presidency. But until then, stay safe.” He gave the camera man a slight nod, barely noticeable to anyone who wasn’t looking for it.

“And you’re sure about this?” The bespectacled Hope Memorial Hospital board member shuffled papers around in his file as the other board members looked on, concern overcoming them.

“I’m positive,” George Stevens answered definitively, his eyes following the various scratches and blemishes in the mahogany conference room table. Distraction. He used it as a calming mechanism whenever anxiety grabbed hold of him. Today was one of those days. “As much as I didn’t want to believe it myself, I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Dr. Black…he’s my colleague…my friend. He’s brilliant, innovative, and at one point in time I swore he was going to do something big…something that would change the world. The last thing I want is to see him lose everything he’s worked for. But I can’t…” he closed his eyes, leaning back in his chair. “I can’t just sit back with the knowledge of his activities…of…of his experiments, and do nothing about it.”

The head of the board removed his glasses, setting them down on the table before his head fell into the palm of his hands. “Christ, this is all our hospital needs. If word gets out about this, we’re going to be flooded with lawsuits. We’d be ruined. Dr. Stevens, you know we’re going to have to investigate this thoroughly. What you’re accusing Dr. Black of…theft, human experimentation, medical malpractice, moral corruption, any one of those alone could cost him his license. He’d be banned from ever practicing medicine again. You understand that, right?”

“Yes, sir. But if he’s going to abuse the power he’s been given, then as far as I’m concerned, he didn’t deserve it in the first place. I have a duty to our patients, to my own morals to uphold here, and I can’t allow what he’s doing to continue. His home experiments, using our hospital‘s name and resources to practice his own brand of medicine, he honestly believes he can build a super human race. That he can manipulate a person’s body in such a way that they can run faster and jump higher. The whole idea is preposterous. He’s gone off the deep end and needs to be stopped.”

“Thank you, Dr. Stevens,” the head of the board said after a brief pause. “If your accusations are substantiated, then you’ll have earned yourself the opportunity for quick advancement at this hospital, not to mention the respect and admiration of everyone here in this room.” The rest of the board members nodded collectively. “But for now, I ask that you keep this under your hat while our investigation is pending.”

“Yes, Doctor.” Dr. Stevens stood up from his chair and left the conference room.

“Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.” The man pounded the table furiously, rattling the windows and causing ripples to form in the water pitcher on the table. He reached over and pressed the intercom button on the phone situated in the middle of the table.

“Yes, Dr. Hanson?”

“Greta, page Victor Black immediately.”

*****

The elevator door opened. Exhausted, George Stevens stepped out of it into the parking ramp. Save for the poor lighting the fluorescent lights offered, the parking structure was relatively dark, and at this time of night it was barren, aside from roughly a handful of other Hope Memorial employees whose shifts had just ended. He listened to the sound of his shoes scuffing across the pavement in the still night, the hairs on the back of his neck beginning to rise. Although he’d walked the various floors of the parking ramp at night numerous times, there was something a little off about this night.

He stopped in the middle of the ramp to listen. Listen for what, he didn’t know. Something, anything that would tell him why this night was different than the others. A validation of the paranoia consuming him. However, instead of answering him, the parking ramp stayed silent, its secrets safe for now. Picking up his pace, Dr. Stevens finished his walk to his car, reaching in his pocket for his keys. As he inserted the key to unlock the car door, a reflection in its driver’s side window caught his eye. Behind him, a figure loomed, staring at him.

“How are you this fine night, my friend? Or should I say this morning?” Although the inquiry was stated as a pleasantry, the tone of the man’s voice was menacing.