by Wilson Harp
“You’re meeting him out in the open?” Causer asked.
“That’s right,” said Kyle. “There is where I am going to buy lunch.” Kyle pointed to the hotdog cart. “Want one?”
Causer shook his head. “No thanks, I had a protein shake right before my shift and my stomach is doing flips right now, anyway.”
“Nervous?”
“Yeah, I guess so. I mean, here I am talking with one of the most famous people in the world, who is about to meet the Chancellor of Earth. And I’m worried the bad news from this morning might continue. Right in front of me.”
“I don’t think it will come to that, Stephen.”
The two men walked over to the hotdog vendor and Kyle ordered a hotdog with mustard and onions.
“If my daughter saw me eating this, I might really be in danger,” Kyle said as he ate.
“Might want to worry about her later,” Causer said. “Your meeting’s about to start.”
Causer nodded at three men walking directly toward them. Chancellor Wu looked small compared to the two men who flanked him. They were some of his personal security, but Ocampo wasn’t with him. Kyle furrowed his brows as he considered what that meant.
“Ambassador Martin,” Wu said as he drew near. The Chancellor of Earth did not smile at Kyle, or even extend his hand.
“Hello, Chancellor Wu. I understand you wanted to speak with me.”
“Yes, in my office. I was hoping this meeting would not cause complications. I was hoping you would have told me when you would be in New York.
Kyle smiled and looked pointedly at both of the men with Wu.
“I take it Ocampo has the day off,” Kyle said. “I hope he enjoys Virginia.”
“You are so clever, Ambassador Martin. But not as much as you may think. You see, I know more of the details about the mission Warlord Jii has convinced you to launch. And I know it will fail. In fact, I have assured it. Mosar will destroy Jii and the ship.”
Kyle felt the blood drain from his face.
“What have you done, Wu?”
“I have spoken with an Otina King named Heban. He has revealed to me the nature of mosar and the secrets behind Jii and your friend A’nacal. He has shown me how you, General Kitch, and former Chancellor Thomas have essentially declared war against the most powerful force in the galaxy. How A’nacal has kept the rest of the galaxy from knowing the truth of the situation.”
“If you know all of that, Wu, then you know why we had to do it. What it involves.”
“No! No, Ambassador! You acted when you should have thought. Your first impulse is to go for a gun when you should have seen what bargain could be made.”
“Bargain? There is no bargaining with mosar, Wu.”
“You stubborn man. There is always a bargain to be struck. Heban explained how mosar would reveal the secrets of great technology to us. How mosar would make us powerful and wealthy. But you never bothered to seek a peaceful way. You sought only to dominate and destroy.”
“Wu, you’re insane. Mosar seeks to dominate the galaxy, it will destroy us all!”
Wu laughed. “In ten thousand years, Ambassador. Thousands of mighty empires will rise and fall during that time. We will make sure Earth becomes and remains one of the great powers for millennia. You would have us destroyed without ever having tasted glory.”
“What did you tell Heban?”
“I told him what you have done. The ship built in secret. The crew trained beyond the eyes of any responsible party. The fact you let a war criminal not only go free, but you are assisting him in a mission of sabotage against an alien race which has caused us no harm.”
“Wu, you may have killed some of the bravest and capable men on Earth.”
“No, Ambassador. You killed them by sending them on a suicide mission without thought. You killed them by trusting the wrong side. And I am going to clean up this mess.”
“How? By killing us.”
“Yes, Ambassador Martin. It will be a short, shocking time for the world, but then they will hear how you betrayed them and how I rescued Earth.”
“Do you think the world will just quietly accept it?”
“The media tells the people what I want them to say. Your death will be reported the way I want it reported.”
Wu twisted his finger in the air and his bodyguards reached into their jackets. Kyle desperately wished he had a weapon. Or Causer had seen the signal in time. Or he was close enough to Wu to grab him and hold him as a shield. But there was no time. His only hope was a guardian angel.
A jet of hot liquid splattered against his robe and he heard the cracking of bone. The sound was followed by the recognition that one of Wu’s men’s chest had exploded outward. Before Kyle could blink, the second bodyguard’s chest expelled its blood in a thick spray on the ground beside Kyle.
The combat veteran instincts in Kyle took over, and he threw himself to the ground. The distinct sound of three gunshots, rapid as if from an automatic weapon, echoed through the park.
But Kyle knew the sound. It was not an automatic weapon. It was not the sharp crack of bullets breaking the speed of sound. It was the dull thud of a sniper rifle. One capable of taking a head clean off a target. He looked at Wu’s body. The head was nowhere to be seen. The shooter was very, very good.
“Ambassador!” Causer said.
Kyle rolled over and looked at the patrolman. He was on one knee with his weapon drawn. He was scanning the far side of the lake.
“I’m okay,” Kyle said. He pulled himself to his feet and looked around. People were staring from a nearby area. Several joggers were still running along the trails; their music had drowned out the sound of the shots.
“Call in backup, Stephen. We don’t have to worry about any more tragic events today. This was the last one.”
Causer radioed for any nearby units to assist. He called for EMTs, but Kyle knew the three men were beyond saving. He looked at their bodies and tried to figure out the shooter’s position. He quickly determined it was probably between a 25 and 30 degree angle. A helicopter would have been too high, the trees on the far side of the lake would have been too low. The only thing which would have made sense were the buildings on the west side of the park. Buildings that were 400 meters away.
“What happened sir? Who shot the Chancellor?” Causer asked as he came over to Kyle.
Kyle pulled his eyes away from the building he thought was most likely to have a shooter packing up and leaving.
“My guardian angel,” Kyle said.
Chapter 13
“Will you be okay, Dad?”
Kyle smiled at his daughter. “Yeah, sweetie. I’ll be fine. You go and have a nice evening.”
“Okay, we’ll be back by 11. I have my phone on.”
“Good, baby. I’ll be okay here. I have some company.”
Kyle motioned to the four men in his kitchen devouring a couple of pizzas. Three other men were on the roof and two others were in the neighborhood. A twelve man security detail in all. Kyle didn’t know how safe he really felt, though.
“How’s Geoff?” he asked Sara.
“He’s okay. A little freaked out still, I think.”
Kyle stood and hugged his daughter. “I’m so sorry, baby. I didn’t want you or Geoff to have to go through this.”
“I know, Dad. He was really flipping when I dragged him out of work. He didn’t believe it was really serious until General Davies locked us in his safe room with Betty. And then he really freaked when she pulled out her gun and checked for an extra magazine in her purse.”
“What does a fashionable General’s wife carry nowadays?”
“She’s old school. She has a really nice 1911.”
Kyle was impressed. “Colt?” he asked.
“Absolutely.”
“Series 80?”
“Series 70. It was her father’s.”
Kyle was even more impressed. “What did Geoff think?”
“He… well, he was uncomfortable.”<
br />
“I guess he isn’t really into guns.”
“No, I’m not into guns, Mister Martin,” Geoff said as he came up the stairs from the basement. “I’m not going to say they scare me, but Betty kept showing off.”
Sara laughed. “She was stripping it, Dad. She even stripped it and reassembled it blindfolded.”
Kyle smiled. “That wasn’t very nice, Sara. I’m sure Geoff was stressed out enough by the situation.”
“I was,” Geoff said. “And my condolences, Mister Martin. Sara told me about your friend.”
Kyle sighed. He got confirmation on the trip back from New York. Chancellor Wu had managed to get to Jim Thomas. Thomas had not stood a chance. A single bodyguard in a hotel room when he was hit. The former Chancellor was in his robe, just about to take a shower.
“Thanks, Geoff. I guess you understand why Admiral Salazar wants you to stay here.”
“Yes, and I appreciate it. My parents are worried. And I’m worried about them. But you have people keeping an eye out for them, right?”
“My people and local law enforcement. I don’t think they are in any danger, though.”
“That’s good to know. Are you sure it’s safe for you to go back to New York?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. They want me at the U.N. tomorrow night and then I have a funeral to go to.”
“We have to go if we’re going to make the reservations, Geoff,” Sara said. “Don’t wait up, Dad.”
“Oh, I’ll wait up and make sure you send Geoff straight to the guest room, missy.”
Sara rolled her eyes at Kyle as she took Geoff’s arm and left the house.
Kyle sighed as he watched their car pull away. A few seconds later, the dark sedan which would keep an eye on the young couple pulled out from the driveway across the street.
Kyle picked up his phone from the coffee table and dialed Kitch’s hospital room.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Bill. I need to speak to the general if she is up to it,” Kyle said.
“Of course, Ambassador Martin. Let me make sure.”
Kyle sat on the couch and leaned back as he waited.
“Ambassador, thank you for calling so late.”
“Sorry, Diane. I had to see the kids off.”
“Geoff hasn’t been scared off?”
“Not yet. I think he really likes her.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear someone has a normal life.”
“How are you doing?”
“Since you saw me this morning? I’m doing good. As well as I can expect, anyway. Only had to hit the morphine line once since we last talked. Have you heard about Mueller? I just caught whispers about it.”
“Chris voluntarily took home detention. Salazar says he’s been completely cooperative. I think after Wu’s death, he realized what he’d been a part of. I think he’s in a state of shock.”
“I think we all are. I lost a lot of people, Kyle.”
“I know. You don’t expect something like that to happen. Not at home. Not in your own family.”
“I think the entire international community is in shock. The speculation that Wu set up the deaths of Valaskov, Hutchins, Thomas, you and me is just too unfathomable for people to grasp. And yet there it is. It’s on all of the 24 hour news channels, nonstop. I don’t think there was ever a plan this audacious,” Kitch said.
“It’s been a long while, but there was.”
“When?”
“April 14th, 1865,” said Kyle.
“The assassination of Lincoln?”
“It was more than that. Booth had set a plan in motion to kill Lincoln, Vice President Johnson, Secretary of State Seward, and General Grant. Booth was the mastermind and was able to kill the President. The others failed.”
“I never knew,” Kitch said. “I always assumed Booth had acted alone.”
“Conspiracies are rare, but they do happen. That’s why I am cautious about laying all the blame on Wu. I don’t know if others were involved, and if they were, was Wu the one making the calls?”
“I’ll see if we can get someone in the U.S. government to pull any surveillance we have on Wu,” Kitch said. “I know they will deny they would ever do such a thing, but I’ll lean on them anyway.”
“Good. I’m catching the 6am flight back to New York. I’ll get over to see you after the vote tomorrow if I can.”
“Sounds good. Bring pizza.”
Kyle laughed. “I’ll try.”
“Have you heard who’s going to be put forward?”
“Yes, and I think we’ll see a rarity in the chamber. I predict a unanimous vote.”
“Really? Who?”
“Salazar.”
“Ramon? Are you serious? The Russians are going along?”
“Yeah, I found out Valaskov had been angling to run in the next election and he had consolidated support from back home. With his death, no one else has enough support to seriously contend. The Russians decided to act as the champions for Salazar. The Europeans like him because he is one of them and, more importantly, not from a permanent member of the Security Council. China’s feeling lost after Wu’s behavior.”
“Makes sense I guess, but going from Wu’s anti-military stance to replacing him with a career military commander? That should shift the mood in the General Assembly.”
“The fickle winds of politics, Kitch.”
“Who is going to be Commander of Earth Forces, then?”
“I talked to Salazar about that. Seems since he only held the job for three days, and his predecessor held it for less than 48 hours, there’s a former Commander who might easily fit back into the seat.”
Silence met Kyle.
“Did you hear me, Diane?”
“I heard you.”
“Are you okay?”
“I don’t know, Kyle. I… I just thought maybe that portion of my life was over. I don’t know.”
“Do you want the job?”
“Yes. More than anything. But, I don’t know if I can handle it again. I mean… I don’t know what I mean. Please don’t tell Ramon.”
“Sleep on it. It’s not a decision you have to make right now.”
“I will. Have you heard from Kiskaliski?”
“No.”
“He wasn’t at my office when the attack took place, but I’m sure he was in the city.”
“How do you know?”
“Salazar said he talked to him later that day. Kiskaliski said he was heading out of town until things settled down.”
“He’s probably off fishing somewhere.”
“Maybe, but I hope he reports in to someone.”
“I know I would feel better if he was watching out for you.”
“I would, too.”
“He’ll show up eventually. Probably once he knows who the new Commander will be.”
“Any news about Ocampo?” Kitch asked.
Kyle looked around his living room. His jaw clenched at the thought of the assassin. He had been in Kyle’s house on the morning of the attack. In fact, he had missed Kyle by less than an hour.
“No one has seen or heard from him since he boarded the plane to Brazil,” Kyle said.
“And he just disappeared?”
“From what Interpol said. They boarded the plane before anyone disembarked and he was not to be found.”
There was a knock at the front door. Two fast, two slow. The signal of one of the security team. The men in the dining room pulled their weapons and moved to the living room.
“Hey Diane, hold on a second,” Kyle said.
One of the men stood between Kyle and the door as another agent opened it.
“Shift change,” Agent Bryant said as he came in.
Kyle looked at the time.
“Everything okay, Kyle?”
“Yes. They’re just changing shifts. It’s made me realize we’ve been talking long beyond what I intended.”
“It’s okay.”
“Yeah, I bet Bill is chewing nails wanting you to
get rest.”
Kitch laughed. “A little. He keeps pointing at his watch.”
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow, General. I’ll let you go now.”
“Okay, Ambassador. Be safe on your trip back to New York.”
Kyle hung up the phone and went into the kitchen. A couple of pieces of pepperoni were left on the table. He decided it was worth getting in trouble over if Sara found out.
“Mister Ambassador,” one of the agents said. “We have a car pulling up out front.”
“Who is it?” Kyle asked.
“Uh, it only pulls up ‘Franklin Smith’. Doesn’t seem to have any other records connected.”
“It’s okay, gentlemen. He’s a guest.”
The agents nodded. The word guest implied an alien who had been vetted by Earth Force to have direct contact with high ranking Earth officials.
“Please, escort him in,” Kyle said.
Kyle took a few more bites of the pizza and then poured a glass of water. He had just sat down on the couch when the door opened and Franklin Smith was led in.
“Mister Smith,” Kyle said. “Welcome to my house again.”
“Thank you, Ambassador Martin. I see you have increased security. That is good, but unnecessary.”
“Why is it unnecessary?”
“Because the man you seek has been captured.”
“Luaro Ocampo?”
“Yes. That is the alias he has been going by for four years now. He is a Pelod, and a serious criminal. He was apprehended by our security team in Brazil yesterday. He was boarding an ore ship headed for Mars.”
Kyle shook his head. “No wonder Wu was obsessed with setting up the satellite surveillance to scan the planet for hidden aliens. He knew how easily they could hide among humans if they wanted to.”
Smith nodded. “It is true the Pelod have done so for decades, but we signed a treaty which would reveal the identity of all Pelods while they were on the planet. We intend to abide by the treaty, and we expect Earth to do likewise.”
“That’s the beauty of it,” Kyle said. “With Ocampo not being identified, Wu could have claimed you had violated the treaty and would have withdrawn Earth from it legally. That’s why he drafted those resolutions.”
