THE 13: STAND BOOK TWO (37 page)

“Hey,” Keene said. “Is he okay?”

“He’s stable, but we need to get him to the hospital.”

“Where are you taking him?”

“Bethesda.”

Keene stepped out of the way as the EMTs rolled Jennings toward him. As they passed, Jennings reached out and grabbed Keene’s arm. The EMTs stopped as Jennings pulled the breathing mask off his face.

He looked up at Keene. “Ramirez saved my life. Don’t blame this on him. She was already here.”

One of the EMTs reached for Jennings’s mask and put it back on. “We have to go.” They wheeled him out and into the ambulance.

Keene followed them outside and watched as they loaded Jennings into the back of the emergency van and took off. He felt his blood boil as he heard Jennings’s words in his head again.

“She was already here.”

He had sensed something wrong when they first arrived here a few hours ago. He knew he should’ve checked it out further. But Jennings was yelling at him to come inside. And he didn’t know if he could trust his gut, after being gone so long. He would never make that mistake again. He promised himself right then and there. He turned to Ramirez.

“What happened?”

“She must’ve already been here, man. I got here like fifteen minutes after Jennings called.”

“What happened!” Keene said again.

“When I pulled up, I thought I saw someone sitting in a car down there.” He pointed. “So I drove up that way. I went slow and looked inside every car I passed. But I didn’t see anything. I turned around to come back. But it still didn’t feel right. I went past the house and parked down the street—so I wouldn’t make any noise coming in. When I got out of the car…man, I just knew. I pulled my weapon and approached the house. I decided to check the perimeter. And that’s when I saw the back door open. I stepped up next to the doorway. Sokolov was standing there in the kitchen. She had a knife to SECNAV’s throat. Jennings was in the hall, coming back into the kitchen. He had a gun pointed at her. And she was turned, using Sykes as a shield. I didn’t have a clean shot. Neither did Jennings. She didn’t know I was there, but Jennings saw me. As soon as she saw Jennings look in my direction, she slashed SECNAV’s throat, pulled up a gun, and started firing. Jennings started firing back, but she hit Jennings and dropped him. I came through the door and started firing. She turned, shot out the window in the living room, and jumped out. I ran to check on Jennings. SECNAV was already gone. Jennings yelled at me to go after her. I left him and followed her out the window and chased after her. I got about a half a block when a silver car came out of nowhere and began firing at me. I dove for cover. By the time I looked up, Sokolov had jumped in the passenger side. They were gone.”

“Did you hit her?” Keene asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t think so.”

Keene sat down on the steps to the front patio. He pressed his palms into the sides of his forehead. Why had he not checked it out earlier? He knew. He knew!

“The DoD is sending a coroner to collect Sykes’s body,” Ramirez said.

“This is my fault, Tony. I knew something wasn’t right earlier when we got here. I should’ve checked it out. But I listened to Jennings. I didn’t trust my gut. It’s my fault.”

“Man, this ain’t nobody’s fault but Sokolov’s. Just shut up with that mess. You know how this works, Keene. We act on what we see. Not what we think. The only reason I’m still standing here without a bullet hole in me is because I saw someone in a car up the street. Otherwise, I probably would’ve marched right up into that house and got my head blown off the second I stepped in that door. How could you have known?”

But he did know. And right now Sykes was dead, and Jennings and Megan and Eli were in the hospital, all because he hadn’t trusted his gut.

He stood up. “This is going to end. Right now. I want Sokolov. Dead or alive.”

All five of them nodded. “Roger that.”

G
avin Pemberton was about to lose his mind. He had been trying to get ahold of Alex Smith for three hours now. Had she not seen the interviews Walker had done on Fox and CNN? Did she not know that the whole plan he had been working toward was falling apart before his very eyes? He was so mad he could feel a vein in his neck pulsating.

He couldn’t believe what he’d just witnessed during that interview. He’d kick the TV and break it, if he hadn’t shot it with a twelve-gauge twenty minutes ago. Everything Joe had accomplished over the last two days…the support of the people, Congress calling for Walker to bring Joe in, the news media calling for Walker’s head on a platter…it was all going so perfectly. And then those idiots at Fox and CNN decided to give Walker airtime. He had
personally
spoken with both CEOs of those networks. They had assured him they wanted Walker out, too. That they weren’t planning on doing anything but trashing Walker and making Joe the hero.

That gave him a thought. He reached for the phone again and grabbed his little address book. He thumbed through the pages until he found the number he wanted and dialed. Jonas Shillings was about to get an earful.

“Hello?”

“Shillings, what are you people doing up there? I ask you to do one simple thing and you give me this?”

“Now, hold on a minute, Gavin. I haven’t done anything. How dare you call me at home and disturb my family like this?”

“How dare I? How
dare I?
Shillings, have you forgotten about the pictures that I have in my possession? Have you forgotten about the taped phone conversations I have with you and a certain underage young lady? I bet your boy Larson would love to get ahold of those. Maybe he could find someone other than the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES TO INTERVIEW!”

“Gavin, you need to calm down. Right now. You need to understand that when the president of the United States calls you personally and says he’s coming to your network to do an interview—not asks, tells you he’s coming—there’s not much you can do about it. Larson is the toughest, most indignant, disrespectful journalist on the planet. I would think that you would be thanking me for not letting someone like Janice Winters do the interview.”

Shillings had a point there. Winters was the complete and total opposite of Larson. She would have probably tried to help Walker make his case.

“I can’t help it,” Shillings continued, “if this man who calls himself the Prophet decided to call in and turn everything upside down.”

“Maybe he wouldn’t have felt the need to call in if your man had better sense than to demand that Walker present him to the American people.”

Shillings was quiet after that.

“Tell you what, Jonas, I’m going to do you a favor.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m going to give you the opportunity to have Joe on tomorrow to start bad-mouthing this Prophet. And you better make him look good.”

Shillings clicked his tongue. “I’ve already spoken with him. He’ll be here tomorrow at five o’clock.”

Pemberton hung up the phone. He was still furious. And why hadn’t Smith called him back? This was ridiculous! He decided to go pack a bag. He was going to Washington.

He was in the bedroom when the phone rang. He hurried back out into the living room and snatched up the receiver. “This is Pemberton.”

“It’s Alex Smith.”

He had to control himself. He wanted to scream into the phone like he had with Shillings. But Alex Smith was not someone he figured he needed to make angry. “Yes, Ms. Smith. I’ve been trying to reach you all day. Is everything all right?”

“Everything is fine. I was actually calling to tell you some good news.”

He could use some right about now. “Really? What’s that?”

“Your order came in today. And actually, I was able to get you a buy-one-get-one-free promotion.”

His order? Buy one, get one free? What the heck was she talking about? Then it clicked. She was talking in code. And that meant that Sykes was dead. And so was someone else. But who? Not Walker. He knew that. “Can you elaborate?”

“On the free item, you mean?”

“Yes.”

“Sure. It’s a
company
promotion.”

Company?
He thought for a minute. Suddenly, he knew. Jennings! “Really? A
Company
promotion, huh?”

“Yes, sir.”

Pemberton was so excited, he almost forgot about Walker and this whole business with the Prophet. But then it came back to him. And now he had another idea. “Listen, Ms. Smith, I’m going to be traveling to where you are located. I’ll be arriving tomorrow morning. I’d actually like to sit down and place another order with you. Can we meet?”

“Let me know when you get into town. I’m sure we can arrange something.”

“Good. Then I’ll look forward to seeing you tomorrow.”

The line went dead.

Sykes was dead. And so was Jennings. He didn’t know whether to laugh for his good fortune or cry because of Shillings’s stupidity. It didn’t matter. Either way, he needed a drink.

He walked to the bar against the wall and poured three fingers of twenty-year-old scotch. He sat back down in his chair and looked at the shot-out TV. He laughed out loud. His third wife had bought that TV. He hated it then. It was too big. Seventy-inch plasma screen…bah! Who needed something that big?

For a second he was frustrated that he was going to have to go buy a new one. Joe was going to be on CNN tomorrow. But then he remembered. He had just decided to go to Washington. He didn’t need a new TV. He was going to be there in person. And he was going to be there when the Prophet gave his little speech, too. He wanted to make sure he had a front-row seat when Alex Smith put a bullet in the Prophet’s head.

B
oz came as soon as he heard about Jennings and Sykes. He and President Walker had just returned from the news station to the White House when Chief of Staff Hardy met them at the entrance to the West Wing. He told them about Sykes, and that Jennings had been taken to Bethesda. Walker had insisted that he go to the hospital with Boz, but Boz wouldn’t listen.

“Mr. President, the woman is one of the most highly trained assassins the CIA has ever seen. She’s already caused a lot of damage tonight. Please…the safest place for you to be is here in the White House.”

Walker finally agreed to stay behind. But only if Boz promised to call him with an update the moment he had any information. Boz had given his word.

When he got to the hospital, the entire place was on lockdown. He was glad to see that. He spoke with the marine at the guard station that had been set up at the front entrance and told him who he was. The guard called it in on the radio. The radio crackled back, announcing that Boz was clear to enter. Keene met him halfway down the hall.

“I guess you’ve heard.”

Boz nodded. “Hardy told us when we got back to the residence. How is he?”

“He’s going to be fine. He took one in the upper chest, just above his collarbone. It was through and through. The bullet missed everything. But one inch in any other direction…”

“That’s good to hear. Where is he?”

“They just brought him to a room. They want to keep him overnight just to make sure nothing else is wrong. But they said he could leave tomorrow if everything checks out.”

“And Sykes is dead?”

“He was dead when he hit the floor. She cut his throat.”

“What happened, Jon?”

Boz spent the next ten minutes listening to Keene catch him up to speed. When Keene finished, Boz asked him what the plan was.

“I don’t have a plan, Boz. Every time we’ve tried to get out in front of her, she’s already one step ahead. I mean, we knew she was here in Washington. And we were betting she’d come after Sykes.”

“And you were right about that. She did.”

Keene shook his head. “Yeah, but we were wrong about where. I mean, how did she even know that Sykes was staying at Jennings’s?”

“I don’t know. But this isn’t your fault.”

“That’s what everyone keeps saying.”

Boz knew Keene was beating himself up over it. But if they were going to get through this, Keene needed to be on top of his game. Not doubting himself. “I’m only going to say this once. So pay attention.”

Keene just looked at him.

“Jon, you’re the best operative I’ve ever seen. I mean it. I’ve never met anyone with your level of skill. I’ve never met anyone with your intuition. Your instincts are impeccable. I’d be scared to death to ever get into an actual fistfight with you, for fear you’d literally rip my head off. You’re quite possibly the best soldier the US military has ever seen. You’re definitely the best CIA agent who’s ever lived.”

“So?” Keene rolled his eyes.

“So get your head out of your rear end and start acting like it. You know as well as anyone that you can’t control everything. You just have to roll with it. And trust that God’s plan is being worked out.”

Keene looked at him and started laughing.

“What?” Boz said.

Keene shook his head. “That’s about the worst motivational speech I’ve ever heard.”

“Yeah, well…”

Keene turned and started walking down the hall. “Let’s go, Tony Robbins.”

Boz hurried to catch up. “Where are we going?”

Keene put his arm around him. “I forgot to tell you. There is
some
good news tonight. Your boy Eli woke up a little while ago. They just told me on the way out here to meet you.”

Boz felt a huge sense of joy and gratitude well up inside him. “Thank You, Lord. Thank you.” He pulled out his sat-phone to call the president, as he’d promised.