Authors: Murray McDonald
Sean caught a glimpse of Borodin’s hand slashing next to him as his bullet barreled towards Katherine. Her trigger finger hadn’t quite hit the required weight on the trigger as Sean’s bullet struck. Her gun took the full force of Sean’s bullet and exploded in her hand. The Governor would not be hearing anything from his right ear anytime soon, but at least he was alive.
Rick was next to join the fray and dived towards Borodin who, as Sean turned to deal with Katherine, had saved Sean and sent Alexey, the impostor President off to Nazi hell with his ceremonial sword. Borodin moved like a man half his size. He side stepped Rick and with a Zoroesque flick of the wrist, ensured that Rick the impostor would never be mistaken for the Governor. The deep curved slash across his cheek would scar him for life.
Yolana was caught like a rabbit in the headlights. Her sister screamed in agony to her right as her hand had taken the full brunt of the exploding pistol, while her one true love, Alexey, died at the end of Borodin’s sword, to her left.
The Governor staggered away from Katherine and slumped into a chair as he remained dazed from the explosion so close to his head.
“Nobody fucking move!” screamed Sean, as he swung the gun around the room. Nobody did.
Where is the real President?” Borodin asked Yolana, looking at the dead impostor at his feet.
A shake of her head was enough to confirm his fate. They had already killed him and removed any evidence of his existence. Borodin took all his strength and re-sheathed his sword. He didn’t trust himself not to kill the bitch there and then.
The Governor looked around the room and shook his head in disbelief. “Jesus! Nazis, really?!” he asked rubbing at his ear.
“Really!’ confirmed Sean.
“So what now?” asked Borodin. He had a dead Russian President to explain.
Sean looked at the Governor for guidance but he sat catatonically rubbing at his ear. He was still in shock and in no position to help.
Sean looked across at the dead impostor President. “You can’t prove he’s not your president. His DNA, fingerprints, they’re all identical. Trust me, I know only too well!” explained Sean.
“We have him to prove it,” Borodin pointed at the Governor’s twin.
“And tell the world they nearly succeeded?! Jesus it’ll cause havoc!”
Sean paused and thought for a moment. He had an idea but he really didn’t like it. He shared it with Borodin.
“Do you have anyone you can trust with this secret?” whispered Sean.
“Yes,” replied Borodin confidently. He had Vasiliy.
“Excellent, get Vasiliy here with a car or even better, a van. We need to get these three out of here and to Siberia or wherever you can ensure they remain out of sight and contact. You’ll need some footage of the grieving widow but just enough to prove she survived the attack.”
“You don’t really want to send us to Siberia,” said Yolana, giving Sean her best come to bed eyes.
“Shut up bitch, it’s taking all my will power not to shoot you, don’t make it any harder!”
Borodin entered with Vasiliy and without question, Vasiliy began to tie up the prisoners. Pillowcases became hoods for the three and before long, Vasiliy and three of Borodin’s most trusted men were transporting the three to, Sean imagined, a cold and desolate place.
“I am going to take the Governor and board our plane. If you could delay raising the alarm for a half hour that would be great!’ said Sean.
“Thank you,” Borodin said, shaking Sean’s hand.
“No, thank you and good luck!”
Sean took the Governor by the arm and helped him to his feet. His balance was still affected but they walked slowly from the building to their waiting car.
As the car pulled away, Sean was still struggling to come to terms with what had just happened and what so nearly could have been.
“Did that really just happen?” asked the Governor as he began to regain his composure and his mind began to work rationally again.
“I think so!” replied Sean bluntly.
“Nobody can ever know!” instructed the Governor, as the full ramifications of what could have been hit home.
“I wouldn’t worry, nobody would ever believe us anyway!” replied Sean.
***
For the duration of the flight back to the US, Sean and the Governor discussed what they would say about the evening’s events. In effect, it came down to zero. As far as they were concerned, the night never happened. As they landed in Washington at Andrews Air Force base, the press clamored for a statement. Not about the Governor’s announcement but the assassination of the Russian President in close proximity to himself. Sean listened as the press detailed the story he and Borodin had concocted. A Chechen rebel had fled after being disturbed in his assassination of the President. The President’s beautiful wife had been saved by the brave General. The assassin had fled but some CCTV images had been released. Fuck, thought Sean, he could have doctored them better than that. He knew how facial recognition scanners worked and Sean was going to trigger them with the photos Borodin had released. Sean’s travelling days were over. You’d never recognize him from the photo looking at it but the facial dimensions would identify Sean perfectly.
Sean bid the Governor farewell and walked onto the tarmac at Andrews. Before he reached the terminal building, the FBI arrested him.
Chapter 81
“Gentlemen,” began Vincent.
After his meeting with his boss, the Director of the CIA, another meeting had been called with the Heads of Homeland Security, the FBI and the US Marshalls.
“As we are all aware, we have a disconnect. Terrorist cells are slipping through our fingers. We know where they are, we know who they are, but it doesn’t necessarily mean we can do anything. Even when we do, our procedures and processes, never mind the law, can work in their favor.”
A number of vigorous nods agreed vehemently with everything Vincent had said.
“Let me tell you a story,” said Vincent and proceeded to tell the group about Sean’s encounter with Los Zetas.
A heated discussion ensued. They all knew who Sean was and knew the details Vincent had left out. Namely, how he had been responsible for hooking the Los Zetas up with the major drug dealers on the US East coast.
“Gentlemen!” shouted the CIA Director. We’re not here to debate the innocence or guilt of Sean Fox. We’re here to work out how best to protect this country!”
“Putting Sean Fox in prison, is a bloody good start!” offered the FBI Director.
“And we would be putting one of the US government's most talented operatives out of commission!” offered Vincent.
“He tells everyone who’ll listen that he’s retired!” retorted the Head of Homeland Security.
“Look Vincent, we all know you’re close to Sean but seriously, he’s going down and there’s nothing you can do about it!” The director of the FBI stood up. He didn’t have time for this.
“Sit down Bob, we’ve spoken with the President!” said the director of the CIA. “Sean is going to spend the rest of his life paying for what he did but on our terms and for the good of the country!”
“He’s coming back to the CIA?” asked the Homeland boss.
“Not a chance,” replied Vincent. “He would never trust us again after the debacle two years ago.”
“He’s not working for me!” confirmed the FBI Director adamantly.
“Jesus, there’s not a chance in hell he’d work for anyone in this room and I include myself in that,” said Vincent sincerely.
“So, if he’s not working for you and he won’t work for us, exactly how is he going to spend the rest of his life working for the good of the country?” asked the Homeland boss.
“What if we had an operative planted so deep he didn’t even know it himself?” asked Vincent cryptically.
“Sorry?!” replied the FBI Director.
“If he didn’t know it himself, he’d have no laws or procedures to follow, no one to report back to. No one to answer to. He’d just do the right thing!”
Vincent had worded his point carefully, picking up on a number of failings of recent operations that had caused significant discomfort among the attendees.
“We’re listening,” said the Homeland boss.
Vincent spent the next twenty minutes detailing the benefits of how Sean could have resolved a number of previous operations and, as he was no longer a sworn member of law enforcement, would have avoided the constraints that had caused previous failures.
“And the President has agreed this?” asked the FBI Director warming to the idea.
“Yes,” replied the CIA Director. “And he is smoothing it over with the Attorney General as we speak.”
“So when does he start?” asked the CIA Director, turning to Vincent.
“That’s a little trickier. Obviously, Sean can never know what we’re doing, he’d never agree to it,” offered Vincent awkwardly. “As I said, he’d have to be so deep he didn’t know it himself.”
“But how will he know what the mission is?”
“We just put him where the trouble is. He seeks out trouble like flies seek shit and once he finds it, he won’t stop 'til he fixes it!”
“Sorry, you really have lost me now. If he doesn’t know he’s working for us, how do we get him to where we need him?” asked the FBI Director.
“That’s where Andy comes in.” Vincent turned to the Head of the US Marshalls. “The Witness Protection Program.”
“I suppose we can justify it. He does have a thirty million dollar bounty on his head,” shrugged Andy.
“He’ll never agree to go in it,” said Vincent.
“But you just said that’s how we control him,” said the FBI Director, perplexed.
“Yes but not directly,” replied Vincent.
“Jesus Vincent, will you just tell us what the fuck you’re planning?” asked the Homeland boss.
“We need Sean in Maine, right?”
FBI and Homeland nodded, that was the information that they had received. A cell had set up in Maine and was planning an attack on a nuclear reactor.
“Andy, get ready to transport Katie and James Fox to Maine from their current location.”
“Bob,” Vincent turned to the FBI Director. “Call your men and tell them that Sean is free to leave. Tell them to tell Sean that his case has collapsed that he’s a free man. And then get them to pass the phone to him. I need to speak to him.”
Bob did as instructed and handed the phone to Vincent.
“Vincent?” asked Sean.
“Sean,” said Vincent in a panicked voice. “I’ve just heard the cartel has Katie’s address in Florida, St Petersburg, 1220 Northshore Drive NE, Apartment 372…Sean? Hello? Sean?”
Vincent ended the call. Sean had already gone. A number of confused faces looked at him in the room.
“It’ll take him how long to get to Florida from Washington?”
“Three, four hours by plane,” replied Andy, the Head of the US Marshalls.
“OK, in five hours, get your team in place to move the Foxes to Maine and in three hours, I’ll notify the cartel of their location in Florida.”
“You’re actually going to tell the cartel?”
“I have to, otherwise Sean would never believe it was real.”
“We’ll send a few agents dressed like Los Zetas to do a drive by, he’ll never know the difference,” offered the Homeland boss.
“Not a good idea,” suggested Vincent, laughing. “You wouldn’t want anyone in the shoes of the cartel, trust me!”
***
Sean raced back across the tarmac to the Governor’s plane. He just made it before the door closed. He had to get to Florida and kill whoever the motherfuckers were that would try to kill his family.
He smiled at the thought of seeing his nephew, James, again. The thought of seeing Katie also stirred some very pleasant thoughts, perhaps inappropriately, considering she was married to his brother. Or at least had been. A brother he never knew he had or had ever met. Perhaps they weren’t that inappropriate after all.
First things first though, he had some scumbags to deal with. And then perhaps they could all go to the beach together.
The End
Other Books by
Murray McDonald
Critical Error
Scion
Young Adult - The Empire Series
Kidnap
Assassin
Buy these books or find out more at Murray McDonald’s author page on Amazon:
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Divide & Conquer
Chapters
8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14
15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21
22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28