A Necessary Kill (27 page)

I thought I could keep Tori away from all this. I guess I was kidding myself. But what Cunningham said did nothing except add more fuel to the fire. I just have to trust that I’ll stop Cunningham before he finds a way to use Tori against me.

I close my eyes. I allow myself three seconds for every negative and unhelpful emotion to swirl around inside my head, screaming and tearing away at me.

I take a deep breath… hold it… and breathe out slowly, expunging all those feelings. They’ve had their fun, now I’m done with them. All that’s left inside me now is determination and fury. My Inner Satan is watching me. Normally, I can feel him ready to fight against logic and break free. But not this time. This time, it’s different. There’s nothing holding him back anymore. He’s standing unrestrained, looking on with curiosity. I don’t need to lock him away behind a door anymore. He’s no longer the personification of unbridled primal rage. He’s a weapon. A tool I’ve finally mastered. I’m in complete control, and it feels both liberating and terrifying at the same time.

“Okay,” I say to everyone. “We ready?”

There’s a silent collective nod.

“Good.” I pick up the briefcase, which has been standing beside me, and hand it to Ruby. “Do whatever you gotta do to get
this
in front of Secretary Phillips.”

She takes it off me with a deep breath and nods again. “We’ve got this, Adrian. You focus on what you need to do, and we’ll see you in Washington in a few hours.”

I look at Ruby and Jonas in turn. “Good luck. Both of you.”

I walk over to the Mercedes and slide in behind the wheel. A moment later, Oscar gets in beside me. I watch in the rearview as Ruby and Jonas get into Veronica’s car and drive off.

“You sure you’re okay, Adrian?” he asks.

I rub my tired eyes. “Yeah, I’m fine. This is the home stretch. Just need to get it done.”

“I don’t mind driving…”

“Oscar, I’m fine. But thanks.”

I start the engine, ease away from the curb, and soon settle into an easy cruise, which should see us all the way to Annapolis.

16:39 EDT

We’ve taken 301, which runs across the state line and cuts through Maryland, crosses the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, and leads us into Annapolis. Ruby and Jonas will be on I-95 heading for Washington, DC, which is a slightly longer run. We’ll meet up to prepare our approach once Oscar and I have the van.

We’ve traveled mostly in silence, broken up by the low radio in the background. I can’t even begin to tell you what’s going through my head right now. Tori was meant to be safe. I’ve kept my distance purely for that reason. Maybe I’ve been kidding myself this whole time. Was she really
ever
going to be safe with me out here doing what I’m doing?

Oscar looks across at me. “You okay?”

I shrug. “I guess. You?”

“Man, I’m shitting bricks over here, I’ll be honest.” He laughs nervously. “But I’m good. Just glad I can help out.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry for dragging you into this. I know you didn’t even want to give me the weapons…”

“It’s fine. But seeing as you didn’t give me a choice about joining the good fight, you can be expecting an invoice for the guns!”

I glance at him and see him smiling. I relax a little. “Oscar, if I’m still around at the end of this, I’ll pay you double.”

“You will be. I can see it in your eyes.”

“Really?”

“Uh-huh. Same look I saw when I dropped you on that rooftop back in Pittsburgh a couple years back. It’s the kinda look that makes me grateful to God I’m not the one who’s pissed you off.”

I smile to myself. “I feel it, y’know? It’s pumping through my veins… that
urge
to walk in through the front door and shoot at anything that moves.”

“So, why don’t you? Even I know you hate all this bullshit planning and strategizing. Why not just do what you normally would? It always works out.”

“Because I’m smarter than I look. So people tell me, anyway. Not giving a fuck and going in guns blazing has worked before, yeah. Many times, in fact. But it wouldn’t work now. And I can’t afford to fail. Too much is riding on it. I don’t wanna sound like an overdramatic douche and say the fate of the world is hanging in the balance or something, but, y’know… it kinda is.”

He lets out a heavy sigh and glances out his window. We’re crossing the bridge, approaching the toll booth that lets us back onto the mainland.

“Yeah, this is a doozy, I’ll give you that,” he says. “You ever thought about what happens if we actually pull this off?”

I frown. “How do you mean?”

“Well, let’s say you kill the president and North Korea gets its ass kicked. What then? Knowing what I know, I can’t say I like Cunningham, or what he’s doing, but even you must be able to acknowledge the positive things he’s accomplished for this country. There’s very little crime, there’s hardly anybody homeless or unemployed anymore. Everyone’s living the American dream. And what he did for us was starting to rub off on other countries, wasn’t it?”

I nod. “I agree these are prosperous times. Or, at least, they were. Seems to have all gone to shit now, doesn’t it? Makes you wonder… why do it? What could he possibly achieve that he couldn’t have achieved carrying on as he had been?”

Oscar shrugs. “That’s easy. He’s a lunatic who wants to rule the world. He’s like a goddamn cartoon villain, Adrian. I’m not saying he doesn’t want what’s best for everyone, because I think on some level he does. I’m saying his vision of how to get there differs drastically from that of any normal person.”

I agree with what Oscar’s saying, and he makes a valid point. What
will
happen if we succeed? Half the government is involved, and if the whole conspiracy is made public, it will crush not just this country, but the entire world, setting us all back decades. There will be no faith in the White House, the stock markets will crash, the world will hate us forever… and we’ll end up being no better off than anyone else, we just won’t have the residual radiation poisoning.

That said, it’s no excuse to let him get away with it. The way I see it, everything’s going to shit no matter what happens next, so I might as well do the thing that feels right.

We pass through the booth and take the first exit off the bridge.

Shit!

I slam the brakes on as a car appears from nowhere and jumps in front of me. I sound the horn and bang my palm against the wheel.

“Asshole!”

I look ahead of us. We’ve just joined the end of a very long queue of traffic.

I sigh. “Great…”

I hope things go smoothly for the others.

17:31 EDT

Ruby insisted on driving, which left Jonas in the passenger seat feeling tired and frustrated. They coasted along I-95 for just under two hours, maintaining an anonymous speed and hitting minimal delays. That eventually became I-495, which in turn led them onto New Hampshire Avenue. From there, it had been a straight run into the capital, and they were closing in on their destination.

The State Department stood just a few blocks west of the White House. As they navigated the crowded streets alongside George Washington University, the gravity of the situation they now faced finally hit home. Traffic was close to a standstill. Sidewalks were crammed with people moving with a courteous urgency in every direction. Soldiers in full fatigues and armed with rifles lined the curbs. They were spread strategically thin, but still provided an effective barrier between pedestrians and the street.

“Jesus…” muttered Jonas as he gazed out at the military presence. “Shit just got serious, huh?”

Ruby slowed to a stop at a red light. “I think shit’s been serious for a while—this is just the first time we’ve seen it up close.”

She got the green and set off, guiding the borrowed vehicle onto 23rd Street NW. After a few hundred yards, she pulled up opposite the main entrance to the building. It was a large block structure with beige brick and stern angles. The main doors were glass, and they could see the security checkpoints within.

Jonas glanced over his shoulder at the briefcase resting on the back seat. “Have you any idea how we’re going to get inside there?”

Ruby was silent for a few moments, distracted by her own thoughts on the task ahead of them. She found herself wondering what Adrian would do in this situation. She smiled when she realized even
he
wouldn’t have a clue. He wasn’t one for talking, and she knew that quick thinking and finesse would be required for this to work.

“It’s going to be like playing a part,” she replied, finally. “We just need to get into character. Let me do the talking. You carry the briefcase.”

“So you actually
do
have a plan?”

She shrugged. “Working on it. Come on.”

Jonas rolled his eyes. “You’ve spent far too long with
him
…”

They climbed out of the car in sync, and Jonas leaned back inside to retrieve the case. They waited for a gap in the traffic and crossed the street, walked across the short plaza, and pushed their way through the glass doors into the building’s lobby.

Inside was teeming with activity and security was everywhere. Their shoes clicked and clacked on the polished gray tiling that covered the floor as they approached the first of two visible security checkpoints. It was a semicircular desk with two men behind it wearing matching uniforms. One was sitting down, just about visible over the counter. He was concentrating on something—his unwavering gaze was focused in front of him. Ruby figured he was scanning the security feeds. The other was standing tall, professionally eyeballing everyone who moved.

Ruby nodded a terse greeting to him as she neared the desk. “Good evening. I’m here to meet with Secretary Phillips.”

The guard raised a curious eyebrow, and the mere mention of the name seemed to pique the interest of everyone within earshot.

“Name?” he asked.

“Ruby Andrews.” She gestured at Jonas, who was standing a couple of steps behind her. “This is my colleague, Jonas Dyke. We’re CIA intelligence officers from Langley. We’ve been sent to brief the secretary on the latest reports following North Korea’s attacks.”

The guard studied them for a moment with a firm, emotionless gaze, and then looked down at his system. Ruby assumed he was checking a visitor’s schedule or something.

“You’re not on the list,” he said after a few moments. “I’ll need you to wait while we obtain the correct clearance from your super—”

Ruby held up her hand impatiently. “General Matthews himself sent us to brief Secretary Phillips. He told us he would arrange for the necessary clearance in advance so we wouldn’t have to wait.”

“There’s no record of your clearance, and until we have it I can’t sign you through. Now if you’ll just wait—”

“What’s your name?” she asked, cutting him off a second time.

He frowned. “Young.”

“Okay, Mr. Young… Have you seen a television in the last twelve hours or so?”

He didn’t respond or react, he just stared at her, growing more uncomfortable with each second that passed.

“I’m assuming you have,” she continued. “The director of the CIA sent us here to brief the secretary of state on the current situation with North Korea. This is of the highest importance, not to mention a matter of national security. I don’t have time to wait around while you take your thumb out of your ass long enough to do your job. If you want to check with Langley, be my guest, but can you please do it after you’ve allowed me to do
my
job and brief
your
boss. She’s waiting for this intel, and time isn’t something anyone has much of right now. So, Mr. Young, do you want to be the one who pisses off the CIA and the White House on a day like today?”

He shifted uncomfortably, exchanging sideways glances with his nearby colleagues. They try to remain neutral, almost disowning him now they believe he’s in trouble, like they don’t want to be blamed as well.

After a few tense, silent moments, he reached down and picked up two temporary security passes attached to lanyards, which he handed to Ruby and Jonas.

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” he said. “I’m just following procedure.”

Ruby took the pass and placed it over her head. “I understand, and I’m sorry for snapping. It’s just days like today don’t happen all that often, and when they do, things tend to become a little more urgent, y’know?”

He nodded his agreement and gestured them past the desk to the security scanner, which was manned by three of his colleagues.

Ruby strode confidently ahead with Jonas following, clutching the briefcase. Neither of them had any items on their person, and the case itself simply showed the papers contained within when it was x-rayed.

Beyond them was a wide corridor that led to an elevator lobby with more corridors branching off to either side.

After both passed unhindered through the metal detector, they walked unprompted toward the nearest bank of elevators and stepped inside the first one that dinged open. Ruby pressed the button for the top floor, assuming that’s where the important people would be.

The doors slid shut and they began their ascent.

Jonas breathed a heavy sigh of relief. “Jesus Christ, that was intense.”

Ruby took some deep breaths, silently proud of herself for pulling it off. “At least it worked. Now we just have to find this Elaine Phillips woman before they decide to follow up on our authorization and discover we don’t have any.”

“Yeah… So what happens if they do that before we get out of here?”

She shrugged. “Then we probably won’t get out of here. But if we can get that case to Phillips, at least Adrian will stand a chance, having the secretary of state on his side.”

Jonas rubbed a sweaty palm over his head, forcing himself to calm his nerves. “Oh boy…”

17:43 EDT

The doors opened on the top floor revealing another small lobby with corridors stretching off to the sides and directly in front of them. The floor was covered with a worn pale-red carpet, and the walls and ceiling were painted the same generic off-white.

“Which way?” asked Ruby.

Jonas shrugged. “Beats me. Straight on?”