It was cold enough to see his breath but Yang had a hot drink and a warm coat, and he was quite happy sitting, just looking. Everything about Bray fitted neatly into Yang’s perception of what British life should be like: tranquillity, stability, and refined living. He even had a butler to complete the full package.
Yang felt wonderfully at peace, still amazed at how well the second phase had progressed, his confidence as to their future success growing with each day. The danger now was impatience, and it would be foolish to rush into the final phase without ensuring the same level of planning that had led to Bob Deangelo’s rise to power. And it had all been achieved at the first time of asking, Cavanagh instinctively reacting to external pressures and subtle steers by nominating Deangelo. Yang had fully expected it to take longer, with Deangelo the second or third choice to come before Congress, McDowell anticipating having to maintain the stranglehold on the Capitol Building for several days at least. With the loss of Terrill that could easily have proved impossible, there being a limit to how much Thorn and Henry could actually influence events.
The cabal’s sway over America’s new Vice-President was based purely on shared goals and was thus fairly tenuous, Deangelo and Thorn recruited – as with Golubeva – through a drawn-out process of conjecture and supposition, Yang and his four confederates the prime movers. As to which of Thorn or Deangelo would effectively sacrifice himself for the other had surprisingly never been in doubt, Thorn’s more blatant hawkish tendencies unlikely to win him Cavanagh’s support. Thorn also had far more authority and influence with members of Congress, able when necessary to beg a favour or persuade a waverer, helping ease Deangelo’s passage though the confirmation process. Thorn’s reward might not immediately be obvious, but the debt was not one Deangelo could ignore for long. If Congress needed another subtle shove in the right direction, then the cabal’s billions would once more be put to good use.
If Yang now had one major concern, it was still Golubeva. The cabal’s leverage over her was – as with Deangelo - more subtle than real, and with respect to Beijing, Russia’s President seemed keen to push through her own distinctive strategy. Within reason, such differences could be accommodated, but Yang was determined to press for a unified approach, fearing that piecemeal attacks would be ineffective. Beijing’s capture of three more of the Spratly Islands had always been a possible outcome, a temporary sacrifice that was a worthwhile price for Deangelo’s victory.
The accelerating crisis wouldn’t allow Deangelo the honeymoon period extended to Golubeva, but his route to power had been far easier than the insurrection that had touched many of Russia’s cities, and the U.S. military had been unaffected, its loyalty still to the President. Together, the U.S. and Russia had the military might to stand up to China. Beijing had already blackmailed the nations of the world once, refusing to have diplomatic relations with any country that formally recognised the Republic of China in Taiwan. Now there was now a clear opportunity – with undeniable justification – for the U.S. and Russia to force Beijing into abandoning its expansionist policies, ending once and for all its outrageous territorial claims.
Each of the five members of the cabal had their own unique reasons to want such an outcome. For Yang, it was complicated: his homeland of Taiwan had lived in fear of upsetting Beijing for some seventy years, many wanting true independence, others hoping for reunification. The majority preferred the status quo, unwilling to risk the unknowns involved in either of the other options. Beijing had even implied that a majority vote for independence would be grounds for a military attack.
Yang hoped one day to see his homeland become genuinely independent, accepted without reservation by the Chinese mainland as a sovereign nation. While fear of Beijing remained, there would never be a truly representative vote; if that subsequently brought about reunification, then so be it.
Yang didn’t hear the van pull up outside the house’s side door. Even if he had, he would have ignored it – whoever it was had already passed the front security gates and he would have assumed it was a delivery of some sort.
The new maid let the two gunmen in, the three of them maintaining the sham of an emergency repair, the water leak too persistent to ignore until the morning. It took two minutes to get Yang’s bodyguard into the kitchen, the first gunman’s silenced automatic living up to its name. The three other staff were dispatched without ceremony, the second gunman rewarding the maid as instructed with a bullet to the back of the head.
Yang heard none of this, still sitting on the balcony, enjoying a whisky while working out how much of a bonus McDowell deserved. He did react when the door onto the balcony slid open, expecting either his butler or bodyguard, momentarily surprised to see a man in a navy workman’s jacket and trousers.
Then he saw the gun. Yang’s eyes widened in shock, bewildered as to the why, a dozen names flickering through his mind as he struggled to work out exactly who. His last thoughts were a strange mix of despair and self-reproach, knowing that he had been nothing more than a fool, someone naïve enough to believe that with enough money you could try and rule the world.
Washington, D.C. – 18:20 Local Time; 23:20 UTC
Anderson stood on the south edge of the Mall and watched the hard-core of demonstrators gathered south of the White House. Their numbers had continued to decrease throughout the day, the Vice-President’s promise and Thorn’s apparent endorsement considered a victory of sorts. The list of casualties from the previous day continued to mount and in total nine had died, including two FBI agents. Anderson himself was looking a little battered, face and stomach bruised, knuckles badly scraped; he even had several deep scratches on his arms and legs with no idea as to when or how they had happened.
The initial shooting incident was still the subject of argument and online debate; the FBI’s own internal investigation had found that the agent blamed for the shooting had no gunshot residue on his skin. The only residue on his clothes was on the back of his right arm and shoulder, suggesting a gun had been fired from close behind him. Such evidence was not yet in the public domain, but it seemed doubtful whether it would be accepted as genuine, recent events ensuring everyone was a cynic.
As far as Anderson could judge, McDowell was home free, a suitable reward doubtless already in his offshore account. There’d be no point in him hanging around and his associates presently in custody seemed confident that all charges would eventually be dropped, either through lack of evidence or by orders from on high. According to Flores, the base at Terrill had proved unhelpful, the crimes committed by most of those arrested there unclear, with hacking into government networks likely to be about it. Two of the men and one woman were also being linked to the secret recordings of the former Vice-President but that was also likely to be swept under the carpet, someone high-up wanting to save Irwin from further embarrassment. The prime suspects for the various murders had certainly escaped, leaving the FBI with some fairly circumstantial evidence against just Carter – not that he was saying much just yet, only recently released from intensive care.
The American media were split as to Deangelo’s confirmation: most were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but there was significant concern as to his public display with Thorn, it provoking a range of adverse comments from members of Congress, even those who had voted for him.
Cavanagh was obviously a lame duck President, rumours circulating that he would officially resign before the end of the day. Bets were even being made as to whom Deangelo would nominate as Vice-President, with Dick Thorn evens favourite. Neither Anderson nor Flores were quite so sure, both in agreement that Thorn’s confirmation by Congress would be significantly more difficult than the previous day’s rushed affair; if Deangelo wanted a quick resolution, then he would have to pick someone far less divisive than Thorn.
Deangelo’s greatest concern had to be China: the tone of Russian threats to retaliate for Khabarovsk was becoming more assertive, and both the Philippines and Vietnam were being urged b
y a vociferous mix of public demonstrations and media propaganda to actively enforce their exclusion zone.
It had only been ten days since Anderson had arrived in the U.S., his status changing almost daily: from tourist, to kidnap victim, to fugitive, and finally to FBI special agent. It was a confusing turnaround, Anderson hoping that he’d be allowed to keep FBI cap and jacket as a memento. His FBI role seemed to be at an end, the task of finding McDowell now likely to be passed on to someone more senior than Flores; unless it was abandoned altogether.
Anderson would give it another day, and then it would be back to Marshwick and Charlotte. He was looking forward to it, but was already working out how best to break the news that the Philippines and Vietnam were next on his itinerary, an interview with Louisa Marcelo an intriguing possibility.
He sensed someone beside him and glanced around to see Flores, the agent looking even more serious than usual.
“Bad news?” asked Anderson, eyes narrowing.
“I guess so. CNN is reporting that thousands of Russian troops are massing near the border with China, north of Vladivostok.” He turned to stare across the Mall at the White House. “Give it a month and Deangelo will have the marines landing in Hong Kong.”
The Rule of the People
The story concludes in the final part of the Conspiracy Trilogy, The Rule of the People, available on Kindle early 2016.
Acronyms
BKA – Federal Criminal Police Office, Germany
CIA – Central Intelligence Agency, United States
CJCS – Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, United States
FBI – Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States
FSB – Internal Security & Counter-Intelligence Agency, Russia
GRU – Military Intelligence, Russia
MI5 – Internal Security Service, United Kingdom
MI6 – Foreign Intelligence Service, United Kingdom
MVD – Ministry of Internal Affairs, Russia
ONI – Office of Naval Intelligence, United States
RHIB – Rigid-hulled inflatable boat
ROV – Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle
SO15 – Counter Terrorism Command, United Kingdom
SVR – Foreign Intelligence Service, Russia
UTC – Coordinated Universal Time
The Trust Of The People (Conspiracy Trilogy Book 2) Page 34
