by JT Brannan
Stop At Nothing
By
J T Brannan
Copyright © 2012 J T Brannan
Contents
Copyright
PART ONE
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
PART TWO
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
PART THREE
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Chapter 94
Chapter 95
Chapter 96
Chapter 97
Chapter 98
Chapter 99
Chapter 100
PART FOUR
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
PART FIVE
About the Author
PART ONE
24 December 2018
Stockholm, Sweden
1
When the first hazy rays of sunlight broke through the clouds shortly before noon on that fateful Christmas Eve, Stockholm was bathed in an otherworldly glow. The shafts of light, beaming down like the outstretched fingers of a supernatural being, highlighted the light snow that continued to fall gently across the myriad islands of the famed Swedish capital.
Whilst most of the city’s inhabitants were involving themselves in the traditional seasonal celebrations, at home with their families and loved ones, one of the islands was experiencing rather more than its usual public gathering. For Helgeands-Holmen, situated between the medieval district of Gamla stan and t
he mainland of the city, is the home of the Riksdagshuset, the seat of the Swedish government. And on this particular Christmas Eve, the imposing Parliament House, and the area immediately surrounding it, was a hive of bustling activity.
From the seemingly endless groups of news broadcasters and reporters gathered directly outside the building itself, to the throngs of armed Swedish police who had cordoned off the entire area from the mainland to the Slottskajen road, to the winter-camouflaged snipers watching intently from the snow-covered rooftops, to the patrol boats that trudged slowly through the near-freezing channels of Stockholm’s vast system of waterways, it was abundantly clear to any observer that something important – possibly world-changing – was going to happen today.
And so it was.
2
The idea had started developing long before the actual event, as is the case with all such monumental initiatives. It had first been suggested by Ellen Abrams, President of the United States of America, to the absolute shock of much of the world. The Mutual Defence Treaty was to be a defensive pact between the United States and her age-old enemy, the Russian Federation. Such a treaty would have been unthinkable even just a few short years before, but President Abrams had changed everything.
Ellen Abrams was not only the first woman to be elected President of the world’s only remaining superpower, she was a woman with a singular vision; a vision of how the world should be. And Ellen Abrams thought that the world should be at peace, not at war.
As a senator she had campaigned tirelessly for the troops to be pulled out of Iraq and Afghanistan, and one of her first actions upon taking office as President was to cancel the plans being drawn up to invade Iran.
Instead of invasions and projections of military force, Abrams believed in diplomacy and partnership development, with countries being brought into line with the American democratic ideal through subtle influence rather than direct coercion. It wasn’t that she was anti-military; on the contrary, as part of the United States Army Reserve, she had herself been stationed in Iraq, and knew only too well the horrors of war.
It was her own direct experience, in fact, that many felt shaped her policy on international affairs. She had seen how the huge might of the US military, wielded bluntly, often caused too much collateral damage and subsequently created a whole new generation of terrorists.
Her stance on such issues made her wildly popular in some areas, and widely hated in others, but after two years into her first term, it seemed to be working. Terrorism was a decreasing trend, countries were turning to democracy – with the added lure of capitalism, of course – of their own accord, and America’s reputation abroad was improving daily.
The Mutual Defence Treaty was another step towards ensuring some level of global security. All too often at meetings of the UN Security Council, US suggestions would be blocked by Russian or Chinese veto. This was just an example of some of the problems faced by the United States when operating with the major players around the globe, but it was one that Abrams hoped she could fix.
Vasilev Danko was the President of the Russian Federation, and an infamous traditional hardliner, graduating from the higher echelons of the FSB, the modern incarnation of the feared KGB. Danko was also a realist, however, and the proposals made by Abrams were too good to refuse.
After the financial crash of 2008, America had gradually rebuilt her economy, until under Abrams it was in the best shape of its life. Russia, meanwhile, had not been so lucky; an explosion at her largest oil refinery had put her progress back several years, and she was again struggling to make ends meet.
The Mutual Defence Treaty was as much a trade deal as anything else – the US promised Russia various economic concessions in return for Danko’s support of US policy abroad. It brought Russia closer into the top players of the global trade community, and also ensured that decades of mistrust and unnecessary defensive outlays would end.
It was thought at one time that Russia would join NATO, but Danko drew the line at this, unwilling to make his country a member of the opposing group to the old Warsaw Pact. The MDT was a good half measure though, and showed the world Russia’s willingness to shed her old ways and become a more modern nation.
It was true, however, that not all the world wanted to see this happen.
3
‘We’re just minutes away now, ma’am,’ announced the driver of the black Mercedes limousine that swept along the deserted E4 expressway. The main conduit between Arlanda Flygplats, the main airport thirty miles to the north of Stockholm, and the city centre, the expressway was usually busy, like most roads serving a capital city. Today it had been entirely cleared of traffic however, secured by the Swedish police solely for the safe passage of the numerous heads of state who were due to attend the treaty signing.
‘Thank you, James,’ came back the velvet smooth voice of President Abrams from the rear compartment. She looked poised and elegant as always; some people thought she looked like that asleep in bed. It was true that she was never off-duty; you simply didn’t become the first female President of the United States of America without an iron will in all areas, a fierce determination, a striving for perfection in all aspects of life, and physical appearance was no different. As America’s leader, people looked to her for guidance and inspiration, and she felt it was her duty to give it to them at all times.
She looked over at the man next to her and smiled. ‘Cheer up, Clyde,’ she said. ‘I know you spent your early years thinking of how to beat ’em, but you’ve got to admit, it’s better this way.’
Clyde Rutherford was her Secretary of Defence, the member of her administration most closely involved with the technicalities of the treaty. He had been in the US Navy for the early part of his career, a sub driver who had trained to get his vehicle as close to the Soviet coast as possible, to launch his missile payload straight onto Moscow if war was ever declared.
Rutherford smiled back at her. She truly was an exceptional woman, that much he was sure about. She had a vision, and she pursued it relentlessly and in that, they were both very much the same. ‘Well, seeing as I’m the front man for it, looks like I’ll have to admit it, doesn’t it?’ he replied jokingly.
‘It’s the right thing to do, Clyde,’ Abrams continued. ‘Believe it.’
‘Oh, I believe all right,’ Rutherford responded. Just not necessarily in the same thing as you, he added silently, smiling as he thought of what lay ahead.
4
Although there was a cordon on the waterways immediately surrounding Helgeands-Holmen and Gamla stan, at a radius of six kilometres beyond the Riksdagshuset there was no visible security presence.
The area was, however, being monitored by satellite. An ultra-sensitive real-time system, it was part of a global US defence system that was unrivalled by any other nation. The DamarSat KH-90 was indeed an awesome technological weapon, with the capability to penetrate dense cloud and, even at night, read the time on a lady’s wristwatch.
The forty-foot Onassis yacht floated steadily on the waters of the Lilla Värtan, seven kilometres from the Riksdagshuset and thirty kilometres below the DamarSat’s near-earth orbit as it passed over the area as scheduled. But the yacht was just one of a large number of vessels which routinely travelled from island to island. The very nature of the Swedish capital, with its numerous small islands, means that the boat is as common there as is the car in most other cities. From fishing trawlers to pleasure boats, and from passenger ferries to the huge luxury yachts of Stockholm’s rich and famous, the city’s busy waterways were its lifeblood.
And so the satellite’s operators, watching real-time footage from their operations room at the headquarters of the National Reconnaissance Office in Chantilly, near Washington Dulles International Airport, saw no need to examine the Onassis yacht more closely. Had they decided to utilize its incredible zoom capability to take a closer look at the apparently innocent vessel, however, their suspicions would have been instantly aroused. Onboard the yacht,
there was a flurry of activity as the Oriental crew heaved two large containers out from below decks, whilst lookouts scanned the surrounding canals and islands with high-power military binoculars.
And had the satellite zoomed in further, its technicians might have then alerted the NRO’s onsite specialist intelligence analysts, who would in turn have identified the men onboard as being of Han Chinese origin; the major ethnic group on mainland China, these moved with a certain focus that indicated some degree of military training.
And alarm bells would certainly have started sounding had the satellite stayed over the area long enough to pick up images of just what exactly these Chinese peasant-soldiers had started unloading out of the crates.
5
‘I’m not paranoid,’ Alexei Severin said defensively, and not for the first time.
In the rear of the car, the President of the Russian Federation, Vasilev Danko, and his experienced Foreign Minister Pyotr Vorstetin, just laughed.
‘Of course you are, Alexei,’ Danko teased. ‘But that is of course exactly why you do this job, neh?’
Severin just grunted in response, as he scanned the road ahead with a scrutiny that certainly could be regarded as paranoia. As he constantly told people, however, it wasn’t paranoia; it was his job. And his close attention to detail was a professional necessity, utilizing a natural survival instinct which had been further honed and refined on the battlefields of Dagestan, Chechnya and Abkhazia, as well as on his home streets of Moscow.
A former member of the elite Russian Spetsnaz Alpha team, he had been recruited by the FSB for ‘special’ assignments before becoming Danko’s personal bodyguard. It was a job he was proud to have, but along with the pride he also took on the huge weight of responsibility that came with it.
Looking in the rear-view mirror, Severin saw Danko return to chatting animatedly to Vorstetin. They were both excited about the upcoming treaty signing, apparently nonchalant towards the dangers they could face on their way to the Parliament House.
But, Severin reflected, it was easy to be complacent; President Abrams had already arrived at their destination, the highway on which they were travelling was guarded and secure, and they had well-armed Lynx scout helicopters shadowing their every move.
But the Mutual Defence Treaty was not universally welcomed. Severin was aware of strong opposition to the defensive pact from a wide range of nations. The European Union, although congratulatory on the surface, was in actual fact more than a little fearful of the implications of a more powerful Russian neighbour. Countries throughout the Middle East were more than a little concerned about two such major players coming together, fearing it would lead to increased pressures on their own nations. But it was China that disturbed Severin the most.
