Divide & Conquer (36 page)

He was already out of the Mansion’s door by the time he had ended the call. The governor’s car sat ready should the governor wish to go anywhere. Sean jumped in and gave the driver two choices. The driver seeing Sean’s size and agitated state took the healthier one and hit the gas.

Chapter 70

Sean quizzed the driver how far they were from Katie’s address. Just over 10 minutes he had thought. Sean used the time to check the weapons he had packed for his trip to Moscow, as the governor’s bodyguard. He replayed what Katie had said in his mind, over and over again, 'don’t bring anybody else’. Her final warning. Nothing, although she hadn’t said 'anybody’ she had said 'anyone’, one. She was telling him there was only one guy.

One thing was certain, whatever happened, it seemed that Katie Fox was in danger. They had assumed that with Sean leaving, she would be fine but that had obviously been wrong. He was going to have to arrange alternative arrangements ongoing but first things were first. He needed to rescue them.

The Governor’s driver pulled into the hospital parking lot. He explained to Sean that the apartment block he needed was just around the corner in the street. Sean thanked him and climbed out. His weapons bag clunked as the magazines Sean had prepared in the car cracked together. An MP-7 and H&K UCP had been his weapons of choice for protecting the Governor - a small submachine gun that offered decent firepower along with a highly accurate pistol that shared the same ammunition. He took out his smartphone and hit the maps button. A map of his location with a blue dot highlighting where he stood appeared. He selected 'satellite 'and the image changed to an actual overhead view of the street and building, again highlighting his position.

Sean looked at the building pointed out by the driver as the target and decided he had little choice but to enter from the front. He took what he needed from the bag and began the walk towards the block. Had he misread Katie’s warning, there was every chance he could be dead already but the more he thought about it, the more he was convinced she was telling him just one. If there were just one, he’d be in the apartment waiting, gun to James’ or Katie’s head. Sean wanted to crush the fuck’s throat with his bare hands, the more he thought about it. The anger swelled as he drew closer. He knew he had to remain calm but after yesterday and getting James back to his mom, the thought of anyone else threatening the boy infuriated Sean like he had never felt before.

He entered the building. So far, so good. Katie had said the third floor, apartment five.

Sean walked towards the door, careful to make no noise. No peep hole, good and bad. They couldn’t see him but he couldn’t see the movement that would tell him if they were behind the door. He stood to the side of the door and knocked loudly.

He heard footsteps approach the door, one set, not light not heavy, Katie’s. The guy was holding James at gunpoint. Motherfucker. Sean’s blood was boiling. Sean heard the door unlock and it began to open.

The explosion caught them all by surprise.

Sean burst through the door, he had done it many times before, clearing rooms in hostage situation, hard and fast. As Katie had opened the door, before it was open even an inch, Sean had the flashbang in the hallway. He burst through the door, knocking Katie clear across the room and saw the man holding James by the throat at the end of the hallway. His hand had gone to protect his eyes but far too late. Two taps on his trigger and the man was down. Hard and fast, no mercy.

Sean checked the other rooms just in case but just as Katie had warned there was just the one. James detached himself from the gunman and ran to Sean and latched onto his leg.

Katie picked herself up and looked at Sean with some confusion.

“What the hell was that?” she asked, recovering from the effects of the flashbang and being hurled against the wall.

“Don’t mention it,” said Sean having just saved their lives.

“What if there had been four or five of them, how the hell did you know there was only one?!”

Sean suddenly realized what could have happened and just how reckless he had been. Jesus, what if there had been three or four, he thought. None of that, however, would calm the current situation.

“Heat sensor,” he said, lying through his teeth. Three heat sources, one small,” he said, pointing down at James. Then, pointing at Katie, “A medium one and a big fat dead one,” he pointed to the gunman.

Katie gave him a look that made it clear she’d believe him but wasn’t convinced. Jesus, she really could read him like a book.

“Any idea who he was?” asked Sean checking the gunman for id and finding none.

“He made me call you and said little else. I think he was going to kill you the second you showed your face though.”

“It’s got that effect,” he said but it obviously wasn’t a time for jokes. Katie frowned and removed James with some effort from Sean’s leg.

“So what now?” she asked, taking Sean into a small bedroom away from the body.

“I make a call and you cease to exist!”

Chapter 71

Vincent promised to make the call and place Katie and James within the Witness Protection Program. How he was going to achieve that was another matter. The wife and son of a drug dealer with nothing to offer in return for their expensive and lifelong protection were not the usual beneficiaries of the service. Vincent used every ounce of his charm and when that failed miserably, he offered to allocate funds in excess of the actual cost to the US Marshalls for doing him the favor.

An hour after Sean had arrived at the apartment, the full force of the US Marshall’s relocation and witness protection program rolled into action. Katie and James Fox were swept away and would, as far as the world outside the US government was concerned, no longer exist.

Sean watched the car drive off into the distance before walking back to the hospital to find a cab. The governor’s driver sat waiting and waved to Sean. He folded the newspaper and started the engine, as Sean walked towards him.

“What are you still doing here?” asked Sean quizzically, as he climbed into the car.

“Katherine told me to wait and bring you back,” he replied, selecting 'Drive’ and pulling away. “And trust me, what she wants I give her!” he said with a wide grin.

Sean gave the driver a look, the look that men know, the look that said, you are fucking kidding me. The driver was in his fifties overweight and had not been blessed with looks.

“Fuck no, man, but I can dream!” he laughed.

With a few minutes to spare, he called Vincent.

“Sorry I never asked, how are you feeling?” asked Sean.

“About a million times better than yesterday,” he replied, the strength had still not returned to his voice.

“You really should be taking it easy, V,” replied Sean. Vincent may have been a million times better than the day before but he was still a million times worse than he’d been the day before that.

“There’s too much to do, Sean,” replied Vincent.

“Let somebody else deal with Surkov!” he argued.

“I can’t Sean. There’s just not enough evidence to convince anyone, we’ve lived it, we know it’s real. Other than that, what do we have? Mike’s been retired since the cold war and to the boys on the Russian desk, he’s a dinosaur. Christ, half of them don’t even know who the KGB were they’re so fucking young now!’

“OK, OK but please, just try to take it easy. It would be good if you were still around when I got back from Moscow,” suggested Sean. “Look, I’m at the mansion, I need to go.”

Vincent replaced the receiver and stared at the handset.

“What’s wrong?” asked Jane, rushing over.

“The call I had with Justice this morning, they are serious. They are going to throw the book at Sean. I thought they might have calmed down overnight but not a chance. They have a team of prosecutors gearing up to hit him with everything and anything they can think of. They warned me to say goodbye to my boy, I’ll not be seeing him for a very long time.”

“But it wasn’t just Sean, I made the calls!” she said. “We should all be in trouble!”

“You’re a CIA employee, they wouldn’t dare. Same with Mike, he was being paid for his work”

“Say Sean was working for you!” she countered logically.

“He’s already told everyone he’s not a CIA employee,” replied Vincent, shaking his head.

“They’re going to charge him with smuggling on a national scale and for hooking up the cartel and the East coast suppliers!”

“You’ll think of something,” smiled Jane.

“Quote 'you can’t get him out of this V, drugs are the President’s big thing’ and that’s straight from the Attorney General, the childhood friend of the President! He’s about to risk his life for a country that wants to lock him up and throw away the key. That same country who protected the Senator that nearly got him killed!”

“Tell him not to go!” she said defiantly. “Fuck them all!”

Vincent stared at Jane in shock. In all the years he had known her, she had never once blasphemed, never mind use the F word.

“I can’t, it’s the same country I would give every last breath to protect!”

Chapter 72

Katherine led Sean through to the Governor’s study where the Governor sat, despondently staring into space.

“Good afternoon, Governor Brown,” said Sean, taking the seat next to him.

Katherine waited until Sean looked at her, took the hint and left.

“I’ll leave you to it,” she said, closing the door behind her.

Sean had a list of things he had been told not to discuss with the Governor. Specifically anything to do with Surkov and what they may or may not think he was up to, along with the Russian President. As they had been warned previously, relations with Russia were at an all time high. It was not the time for the next US President to storm into Russia and declare their president was hooked up with a lunatic of world ending proportion.

The man was broken. Nothing Sean said was going to change that. And nothing he said was going to get the Governor on a plane to Moscow any time in the near future. He stood up and patted the man on the back before joining Katherine in the hallway.

“Well?” she asked

Sean began to shake his head but stopped as he considered what he had been through the previous day. Five CIA agents had given their lives and all because of Dr Boris Surkov. For all they knew, it was Surkov who had had the Governor’s wife killed.

“Just give me another minute,” said Sean, before rejoining the Governor.

Katherine paced the hallway as Sean did whatever he was doing. After ten minutes, a cry came from the study. “Katherine!” had her rushing into the room.

She looked at the sofa where the governor had become a feature. He wasn’t there. She looked at his desk where the Governor stood, reviewing his diary.

“What time are we leaving?” he asked, all business.

“Five pm Sir, in just over three hours.”

“Anything in the diary for this afternoon?”

'No I cleared it,” replied Katherine.

Governor Brown looked over at Sean. “Well, I don’t see any reason to wait, let’s go now! It’s not like we’re flying commercial,” he announced.

As the Governor marched out of the room, Katherine looked across at Sean, hoping for some inkling as to how he pulled off the impossible.

Sean shrugged in response. It was bad enough he had spilled his guts for the Governor, he wasn’t about to do it for Katherine as well.

“Oh, and Katherine,” the Governor paused at the door. “Get the FBI to investigate Nicole’s death more fully. I want a full report on my return!”

“Of course, Sir!” replied Katherine, remaining as calm on the outside as her body would allow. Tricking the Austin police force with her killing was one thing, the FBI was another.

She immediately turned back to Sean who gave her a 'what can you do’ shrug, as he followed the Governor into the hallway.

Katherine went to the desk and picked up the phone. If she called the FBI, they wouldn’t rest until they found something. Her affair with Nicole might even be uncovered if they decided to look deep into Nicole’s life before her death. The local police had not done any of this, accepting, as expected, the tragedy at face value.

She hovered over the telephone, the FBI could destroy everything she had spent a lifetime preparing. Involving them now couldn’t be undone. But nobody would know but her, she realized. They were about to leave. The FBI wouldn’t arrive until after they had left in any event. And after Moscow, well none of it would matter, she thought. The White House and first lady remained the goal.

Chapter 73

Surkov received the update from Katherine and was, as ever, amazed at how she achieved the seemingly impossible. Not only was the Governor coming but he was coming early. Remarkable, just like her mother, he thought. He remembered her fondly, a beautiful child whose beauty had grown throughout her life. However, that had never been in question; her breeding and selection had been very specific. Katherine’s mother was pre-ordained to be the beauty she had become. The training thereafter allowed her to become the seductress that would best serve her country. Katherine was not her only child. While still within the confines of Grebnevo, she had given birth to another daughter, just as beautiful as Katherine but world’s apart in looks. Katherine’s sister looked more at home in Moscow. Her blonde pale skin and beauty had made her the pin up girl of the moment, Yolana, the First Lady of Russia could do no wrong.

Leaving her daughter Yolana in the hands of Surkov and his team, Katherine’s mother had embarked on her ultimate mission. The trip to Cuba secured the man that would help her defect. Their low-key and legitimate entry ensured the unborn Katherine would inherit an American passport and citizenship. In the land of the free, it meant nothing would stand in her way. Born just eight months after they first met, the dark haired beauty captivated everyone whose eyes fell on her, none more so than her father. The more he stared at her beauty, the more he wondered how he had created such a beautiful creature. Katherine’s mother would look at him staring and lived in fear that one day he would realize she wasn’t his. Inseminated before leaving Russia, there had never been any doubt just how potent a weapon Katherine would become.