There were four areas of attack, a common model among countries, which include Diplomacy, Intelligence, Military, and Economics. He was responsible for the Intelligence and Military areas while others had responsibility for the Diplomacy and Economics.
Zedong was aware that while he was powerful enough, he was also pretty damned expendable. This operation was going to be a pass-fail test for movement up the power ladder. Zedong knew enough to make sure his exit strategy was in place. He would use the new authority granted him to both implement his plan, and engage in a significant amount of relationship building and solidifying.
One way or another, Sun Zedong would be coming out of this effort a more powerful man.
Hospet, Karnataka – India
Nikhil Patel stood to the side, watching as the paramedics took the body of one of his researchers out on a stretcher, a white cloth draped over her body.
In shock he saw her beautiful but dead eyes staring out on the floor of her lab early this morning. Rushing out to the offices when he got word that the alarms had been tripped, he was struck dumb with horror and grief.
The alarm had been tripped internally, by Anjali herself, apparently.
Nikhil tried to hold back tears. she was the devoted wife of his close friend. Nikhil had been amazed his friend Talan had been able to keep the interest of a woman with her intellect and beauty. Nikhil had asked her about Talan one time when the three of them were out for drinks. She told him that he could make her laugh no matter how bad her day had been.
Now, Nikhil doubted he would be able to stop Talan’s tears.
Ever.
The police were inside the building, and Nikhil was outside trying to understand the purpose of this attack when he noticed someone pointing up into the sky.
He turned to look up, shading his eyes from the morning sun, when he saw small black dots surrounded by blue coming down towards them. In a few seconds, he could tell that they were slowing down.
And still aiming right at them.
A few people standing in the parking lot started moving quickly towards the building as the objects paused their descent about a hundred feet up momentarily and then began to descend again, but slower this time. The mysterious shapes moved carefully onto the parking lot where those people had been standing just moments before.
Nikhil's eyes opened wider when he finally recognized the shapes. These were the famous Pods, the gravitic transportation of Bethany Anne, the CEO of his company's parent company.
The top boss had arrived.
Nikhil unconsciously straightened his jacket as he walked towards the Pods. The first door opened, and a raven-haired beauty and a large white dog got out. She was dressed in black leathers with a jacket that barely concealed her pistols.
The woman stepped away from the Pod and looked around, as all but one of the Pods opened. Nikhil watched as many men and another woman stepped out.
Finally, the last Pod opened, and Nikhil gawked at the biggest man he had ever been near stood up. He was dressed all in black and many weapons were strapped on his body.
None of them concealed. That man looked around before turning and offering a hand to the woman still inside. She pulled on his arm to step out and straightened up.
Nikhil swallowed. Here was the ultimate owner.
He noticed that her people spread out looking for threats when he found himself inside a circle that included him and his CEO, who was walking straight towards him.
She was wearing a modified suit. The pants were leather, her top some type of black spandex and Patel noticed she was wearing pistols as well. Covering it up was a nicely tailored dark red jacket.
She held her hand out to him, “Mr. Patel, I’m Bethany Anne.” Nikhil shook her hand, and she turned towards the ambulance, “Is Ms. Anjali inside the buildling or in the ambulance?”
“The ambulance, but I’m afraid she was killed,” he told her.
“I know, I’m going to pay my respects,” she replied. He walked with her as she moved determinedly towards the ambulance.
One of the paramedics was about to close the door when he noticed the group of people coming right at him. He looked around to see if they were walking to another destination but realized that the ambulance was their goal when a big black man separated himself and approached quickly. Since the group seemed focused on the ambulance contents, he stepped back. After all, there was no living patient to protect in that quiet enclosure.
The big black guard opened the door for Bethany Anne to step into the ambulance. Nikhil was allowed to step inside with her before her guards blocked anyone else from getting closer.
He watched as she reached down to hold the corpse’s hand through the sheet and pulled the top of the sheet down just enough to see Anjali’s face. A lone tear tricked its way down her face.
Not thinking, Nikhil quietly said, “She was pregnant, going to tell her husband Talan the good news tomorrow when both their parents arrived.” He sniffed once and wiped a tear from his eye, “She loved to read the old stories from other countries, from centuries in our past. If the baby was a boy, she wanted to name him Alexander.” Bethany Anne turned to face him as he finished, “If it were a girl, she would name her Alexandra.”
Nikhil noticed something he would swear was true for the rest of his life.
His boss’s eyes turned red.
She turned back towards Anjali’s body and put her left hand on her forehead, her voice dark and deadly. “I swear to you, the sea will run red before I fail to avenge you and your unborn child's death. You have the Queen Bitch’s promise.”
After a few moments, when she looked at Nikhil again, her eyes were normal in appearance. “Whatever Anjali’s salary was, Mr. Patel, triple it and create a fund to help children learn to read the classics or whatever they want. Name it the Princess Alexandra fund in her unborn daughter’s honor. Then, create another fund and make it ten times her salary and provide monthly payments to her husband.”
She stood up, and Nikhil asked, “Excuse me, but from where do you want me to pull the funds to make this happen?”
She turned towards him, vengeance clear in her eyes, “For now, from this company. But I will reimburse it from the accounts of those who stole her life. One way or another. They will pay it all.” With that, she turned away and stepped back out of the ambulance.
—
“She was pregnant, John.” Bethany Anne spoke into the silence inside the Pod. “They fucking killed an unborn child.”
Inside with John, where no one in the world could see her unmasked, he popped the locks on his harness and turned to open his arms as Bethany Anne laid her head against his chest, “A child, John. She never got to tell her husband. For what?”
He felt her shoulders shake as she cried in muted silence, the two of them flying towards destiny.
—
Ten minutes later, the team was gone. It wasn’t until after they left that Nikhil wondered how his boss was so sure it was a daughter. Two weeks later, he was comforting Talan when his friend happened to mention the autopsy report said his wife had been carrying a little girl.
Nikhil felt cold chills run through his body.
CHAPTER TWO
7 - Days Earlier - Washington, D.C. - USA
It was half an hour past midnight when the President and two of his secret service members walked the distance from the residential wing to the Deep Underground Command Center (DUCC) located adjacent to the West Wing. As they arrived next to a meeting room, two members of his security staff stepped out.
“David, is the other side secured?” the President asked the ranking Secret Service agent who had just come through the door.
“Yes, I’ve locked the door from the inside and confirmed that both security members on the other door are there for the next six hours. There is no personnel authorized to come down from the other entrance,” he confirmed.
“I only need an hour, probably less,” the President told him.
Davi
d smiled, “Sir, I doubt you will need more than fifteen minutes. There isn’t anyone who is going to make it through the other doorway, and between Rod and myself here, we swept everything from the other side to this door for everything, organic or electronic. There is no way, no how anyone is going to meet you in there.”
The President pursed his lips, then smiled. “I’ll tell you what, I’ll bet you a dinner I’ll have a meeting.”
David regarded the President for a moment. “Ok, but I want the nicest, best-aged filet mignon and a baked potato soaked in butter.” David looked around to make sure the three other Secret Service Agents were listening.
“Agreed,” the President said as he stepped to the door and turned before closing it to look at his men. “Remember, no one enters this door, either, gentleman.” With that, the President closed the door. Three seconds later, the door opened, and a hand stuck out. Secret Service Agent Mark Tims smiled and put the most recent sports section from the newspaper into the waiting hand. Both the hand and the sports section disappeared and the door shut with a click.
David looked over to Mark, “I give him ten minutes, fifteen on the outside before he admits I’m right.”
Mark looked back momentarily before turning to face towards the rest of the room and got into position, “Do you have any idea who he expects to meet?”
“Nope,” David admitted, “Not that it matters. There isn’t any way that someone is going to turn invisible, sneak through the entrance on the other side without our temperature and movement detectors alerting us, and bust the lock to get inside that meeting room. Hell will freeze over, first.”
Mark shrugged, “You are probably right. Unless he was meeting the CEO of TQB Enterprises. They probably have some scary techno-shit.”
David snorted, “Like she would want to show up here in the States.”
—
The President sat down in the same chair he had the last time he met this person. That time, like this evening, was off the books, off the record and frankly would never be admitted to at all.
He opened the sports to the second page to see the latest scores. He made it to page three when he sensed, rather than heard, someone in the large meeting room with him. He looked up to see her eyeing him, a small smile on her face. She was wearing a pair of dark jeans, a red camisole and a black jacket over it. She didn’t have on any jewelry, but then, she didn’t need any.
The president smiled, “Well, looks like I won the bet.”
“Oh? What bet would that be,” she asked him as she walked over and pulled out the chair on his left to sit facing him.
“Whether I would have a meeting in here or not.” He told her, “Although I’m going to have to play like I lost the bet. At some point, I should throw a fit over how you keep standing me up.” He grinned, “But since these meetings aren’t on the record, how would that work?” The President closed the sports section before asking, “Just curious, how did you get in here?”
Bethany Anne raised an eyebrow, “While it isn’t at the level of a national secret, I do have a few important ones.” She grinned and continued, “Maybe someday I’ll take you on a walk that will change your life.”
The president laughed and shook his head, “I’m not sure my wife would like me to take any walk that could change my life. She has told me at least three times every week since I gained office if I decide to run again, she will castrate me, or I’ll be sleeping on the couch for the duration of my time in office.” He sobered, “But if there is a way to get into this area that others can use, I’d be incredibly appreciative if you explained it.”
Bethany Anne shook her head, “There is no way for another living person to enter here using the means I have. Should that change, I will provide you a warning device of some sort to help.”
He shrugged, “Best I’m going to get?” She nodded her answer. “Ok. How about the next item on the agenda. What is this about a real Illuminati?”
Bethany Anne leaned a little forward, “There is an offshoot of the original Illuminati group, a splinter if you will, which was responsible for the attack on our facilities in Colorado and the backpack nuke. They are responsible for many different efforts against our group, trying both legal and illegal means to acquire our technology.”
“You know that’s true for damn near any major company in the world and most of the countries, right?” he asked her, wondering how she would answer.
“I’m entirely aware of the desires, Mr. President.” Bethany Anne considered how much to share before continuing, “I’m mindful of most attacks and plans, most secondary plans and their follow ups. I’m not trying to upset the world. That is the reason for not using our technology to disrupt the world’s economies in the first place. However, I’ll not simply stand by and allow attacks to happen. That is not in my nature.”
“A lot of think-tank scientists are trying to figure out what is your nature, exactly.”
“In what way?” she asked.
He paused a moment, “Well, are you human?”
Bethany Anne started chuckling, “I was born on this planet with two human parents. If that doesn’t make me human, I’m not sure what would clarify it further.”
“Well, parental names?” he pressed.
She put up a finger, “Mr. President, I do this as a favor, not as an opportunity to play twenty questions.”
He shrugged, “You can forgive me for trying? I do have the responsibility for four hundred million people to look after.”
Bethany Anne’s face sobered, “Mr. President, I’m concerned with the seven and a half billion we have on earth, and those coming after us. My parents’ names aren’t going to accomplish much except provide some annoying researcher further useless information to try and analyze me. If you want my thoughts on something, you can ask.” She pulled a USB flash drive out of her jacket. The President didn’t fail to notice the small pistol and holster she was wearing.
He wasn’t accustomed to having anyone but Secret Service agents around him with weapons. If any of the guys on the other side of the door knew he was talking with an armed woman just a few feet away, they would be trying to bust down the door to protect him. He smiled.
“This is ...” she started before her eyes drew together in confusion, “why are you smiling?”
“I’m just thinking how my protective detail,” he jerked a thumb over his shoulder, “would react if they knew I had an armed person sitting in here with me. It humored me to imagine them trying to bust down the door in frustration.” He smiled at her and chuckled, “Sometimes, it is the little things I think about that bring a smile to my face.” He pointed to his hair on the side of his head, “I take my enjoyment where I can get it, I wasn’t expecting to go gray quite so fast.”
Bethany Anne put the USB flash drive on the table, “Talk to me when you get out of office if I’m still around, and I’ll help you with that.” She slid the USB over to him, “On here are the names of the members in the United States and all of your territories. There are thousands in total, although there are probably no more than a hundred and twenty-five that I would rate as the highest priority to review. Those are tagged.”
>>A hundred and twenty-seven.>>
I know that, ADAM. What have we talked about when being exact with humans?
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