The Crimson Fall (The Sons of Liberty Book 1) (30 page)

“I don’t know,” Adam replied. “I sure hope it did.”

“Still hopin’ when you should be prayin’,” Elizabeth said with a smile. “What do you think, Mr. Corsa? You think we did the right thing?”

The captain was quiet, staring down at the chair, before finally speaking without looking away.

“Alea iacta est.”

“What is that?” David asked curiously.

“It’s Latin,” he said, finally tearing his eyes away from the chair and looking over at the others. “Two thousand years ago, Julius Caesar stood at the banks of the Rubicon, faced with the decision to cross into Roman territory with his army at his back. He knew if they crossed the river to save his dreams for Rome, he would become a public enemy and begin a civil war. If he remained behind, then everything he had ever wanted would be destroyed. So, when he finally made up his mind, he crossed the Rubicon and uttered the phrase, ‘Alea Iacta Est’ as he entered Roman territory as a traitor.”

“What does it mean?” Adam asked.

“It means the die has been cast,” Eric said. “It means events are now out of our hands and that we won’t know what’s going to happen until those dice stop rolling.”

“So, did he save Rome?” Adam asked.

“He destroyed it,” Eric replied after a pause. “He entered as a tyrant and when he won the civil war, he abolished the Republic it had been and transformed it into the Roman Empire. I know we are on the right side of this fight; I only pray that when the dice stop rolling, we can rest assured that we’ve stopped Caesar from destroying Rome this time around.”

C
hapter
S
ixteen

The Truth Shall Set None Free

Adam Reinhart sat in the back of the white van, taking deep breaths and staring down at a gear driven timepiece. He watched it impatiently as it ticked toward six o’clock. His belief that they might actually witness a peaceful solution to the nightmare he had found himself in was about to be proven as true or false. If Lukas Chambers wasn’t exposed, the American people would soon witness a war that would try to eliminate their way of life. However, Adam also knew if the president’s secrets were laid bare for the entire world to see, and if the American people didn’t unite against their newfound threat, then Adam very well could be one of the men who helped jumpstart a second civil war. Success teetered on the edge of a knife, and Adam hoped—and almost prayed—that fate would side with honorable men for once.

Eric Corsa occupied the front driver’s seat, glancing around casually from behind his wide aviators as he looked for any possible danger. Eric was a good man, and Adam was thankful to have his expertise. Adam knew without his help he, his family, and the entire nation wouldn’t have ever stood a chance at discovering the truth about the president.

“All clear, sir,” Eric said. “We’ve got two agents north of here circling Central Park in a getaway car just in case Mr. Martin doesn’t cooperate.”

“I gave Dan my word,” Adam said. “If he does his part and still decides to take me in then I won’t resist.”

“You think the agents are there just for you?” Eric asked with a smile. “I was thinking more along the lines of saving my own ass if push came to shove. Regardless, if you change your mind and we need to bail or switch vehicles, they’ll be waiting. Keep your hat and shades on. Those glasses are new, and Rob assured us they work flawlessly. They were made to prevent any FOD sensors from scanning your eyes and alerting the feds. Not that they’ll throw every human eye off, but I’m optimistic that your hat and beard can do the rest, sir.”

No matter how much Adam had begged the captain over the past few weeks to refer to him simply as
Adam,
Eric had insisted on calling him
sir.
Adam saw himself as no more than an American merely trying to right a monumental wrong. He most definitely did not envision himself as the captain’s leader. That was a job for military men—something Adam had no desire to become. Even so, Eric showed no intentions of axing his increasingly annoying habit.

“Good,” Adam replied. “Honk twice if you see anything.” Adam put his hat and sunglasses on and opened the door. “And please, just call me Adam.”

“Whatever you say, sir,” Eric said with the slightest of grins.

Adam stepped outside onto a bustling street. Cars and taxis passed by slowly, honking their horns in protest as they fought rush-hour traffic. He waited for a break in the steady stream of cars and jogged across the street to a clearing between the roads.

He had told Dan he would hand himself over after Dan asked one question pertaining to Lukas’ journal, and he had thought a lot about where that should be. In the end, he knew exactly where he needed to go. Dan Martin was a popular man all over America, but he was known as the Voice of New York. He had lived there his entire life and had become loved by New York City over his long and prosperous career. For years his popularity had grown to a point that many people began to outwardly hope he would run for mayor. However, Adam didn’t want a mayor. He just wanted an ally that would be willing to help.

Adam stopped in the clearing, eyeing the FOD overhead as he took out an old camera phone. The drone merely floated in place, making no move or indication that it knew the nation’s most sought after fugitive was literally underneath its very eyes. He looked back across the street to Eric who gave him a nod, then he raised the old phone, and took the picture. In a few minutes, if Dan held up his side of the bargain, Adam would press send and either seal his fate or save a nation.

“Alright,” Adam said quietly. “Your move, Mr. Martin.”

Even with the air cranked down to a chilling sixty-one degrees, Dan Martin had to wipe the sweat from his brow. He shifted uncomfortably in his red leather chair as he waited in his New York City studio for the interview to commence. Dan had spent the four days since his abduction debating on what to say to the president, or even if he should say anything at all. As much as he hated to admit it—even silently to himself—he couldn’t help but believe some of Adam’s take on what had actually happened over the past year. Though believing the congressman’s tall yet plausible tale to some extent had been enough to deprive Dan of sleep, it was what he had read in the journal that had filled those sleepless hours with waking nightmares.

Lounging across from Dan was the president himself, laughing annoyingly as he casually went on and on about how much he looked forward to his
inevitable
second term. Dan smiled and laughed along with him, but inwardly he felt sick. Dan had read the journal five times since arriving back at his vacation home. With each new read he had come to believe in his heart that it was, in fact, the president’s authentic journal. The murdering of his platoon, the mysterious Patriarchs, their planned destruction of the United States; it all burned inside of him like molten fire that melted his rigid core, rising to the surface and tearing a rift in what he believed about Lukas Chambers. The journal had divided the part of him that loved the president for who he said he was and the other part of him that was beginning to see the man that Lukas Chambers might actually be. As much as Dan wanted to believe the journal to be a sham, he knew he could not remain neutral for the sake of fear.

Initially, he had hoped to have some time to question the president before the interview, but Dan knew he couldn’t hint at his suspicions until they were live. If Dan waited until after the interview to question the president, then his window of opportunity to expose Lukas’ lies would have in all probability passed. Either way, Dan believed that if the journal proved to be true, Lukas wouldn’t let him breathe another day unless the whole world saw the truth as well.

He knew his only option was to separate fact from fiction live on air, and nothing—not fear or doubt—was going to stop him from that. He had told the station’s producers that he and the president had a bombshell to drop on air that night and for them to avoid cutting the feed no matter what. He didn’t think they had any inclination of what exactly he had meant, but he hoped they would honor his request if things got heated.

“One minute!”             

Dan’s nerves began to electrify his skin, and he thought he might empty his stomach if he couldn’t calm himself down. Never in his life had he been so nervous, and he started to question what he was about to do. However, as the little traitorous voice was trying to talk him out of following through, another voice—one of the patriot inside him—shouted back defiantly. He had always lived his life for the mission of revealing both the truth and his honest opinion about what he found. As much as he hated to admit it, the old woman, Elizabeth, had been right when she said that his failure to act would haunt him forever if the journal was legit. Dan took a long breath to calm himself just before his earpiece chimed. He had worn his old cellular watch so that he might be more discrete during the interview, and he tapped it twice to reveal a new text message on his nVision display.

‘I stand by my word and await your move. One question and I’ll know I can trust you.’

It bore no signature, but it didn’t need to. For now, Dan would ask his question—his one probing query that would in all likelihood lead to others—and uncover the facts once and for all.

“Thirty seconds!”

He took one more deep breath and waited to begin the one interview that would change his life and the lives of so many others in one way or another. The introduction music began and the red light under the camera came to life, Dan smiled as best as he could as one last thought dashed across his mind.

I’ll find out the truth if it’s the last thing I do.

Lukas Chambers sported a handsome smile and rested quietly in his chair as he waited for Dan to introduce him. The lights blazed overhead as he sat in the middle of the carefully crafted news set. Six unmanned arms holding cameras captured every angle of the president and Dan Martin. Despite how frustrated Lukas had been over the past few months, he managed to beam happily. Adam Reinhart, David Malcovich, and whoever else had been aiding the men had continued to elude his best efforts to find them. However, he had faith in his army of Secret Service and FBI agents that were scouring the nation, and he had since managed to double the number of FODs in most states with little notice.

He had given his men a shoot to kill order after he learned of the deaths of five agents in Montana. Even the forensic team sent to investigate had found little proof of who had been there, but Lukas had no doubt it had been Adam and his friends. He had yet to figure out who had led them to one of his many vacant homes, even though his list had been short. While he didn’t necessarily fear the idea of the fugitives killing his agents or destroying his drones, he was terrified at the idea that one of the Patriarchs—someone like Rhys—might be hoping for and aiding an attempt at bringing about his downfall. Nevertheless, he refused to let it show outwardly. He felt sure he would eventually find out whoever was assisting them, and he looked forward to watching them die a slow, agonizing death.

“. . . who has devoted his life to preserving our freedoms and defending our liberties. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to introduce to you Lukas Chambers, the president of the United States. Mr. President, thank you for being here today.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Dan.”

“Mr. President, I’d like to first express my condolences on what this year represents. It has been over five years since the murder of Sue Chambers, and you have my deepest sympathies.”

Lukas hated being questioned about his previous wife—let alone her death—but time and indifference had made their inquiries easy to shrug off. It had been something the media focused on earlier that year, and he figured Dan wouldn’t pass it up during his first interview with the president since the anniversary of Sue’s death.

“I appreciate that, Dan,” the president said with a fake smile.

“Five years ago your late wife was shot to death just as you began your career in politics. Though it saddens my heart to think back to that horrible act on that fateful day I—and I say this with the utmost sympathy and respect—I am thrilled that you’ve found love again.”

“Thank you. Maria is a wonderful woman, and I could not be happier with her by my side.”

“Speaking of Maria, how is the first lady adjusting from a life out of the private sector to the fast-paced political atmosphere of Washington?”

“She is great and doing a phenomenal job,” the president replied. “I think it has been a very natural and easy transition for her. As I said, the two of us are truly happy together.”

“Very good,” Dan said. “And I assumed things would be great. I mean, you’ve known her and her father for, what, over twenty years now?”

“Correct, and it’s been—” Lukas almost choked.
What the hell?
“Sorry, I thought you meant Mar—I mean Sue. The first lady and I met shortly after Sue’s death. Her father, Mr. Brekor, and I are now friends but only after I met his daughter. I assure you I didn’t know him beforehand.” Lukas scolded himself internally for blundering over his response.

“Sorry, my mistake,” Dan replied with a cold look on his face. Dan peered down at his watch, smiled as he appeared to let out a small chuckle, and looked back up at the president. “Forgive me. It seems like a wonderful marriage, and I hope she’s happy with her new life . . . and everything that comes with it.”

“Thank you, Dan,” the president said cautiously.

“As great as your presidency has been thus far it hasn’t been without its challenges, now has it?”

“I don’t think we could name a president that looked back on his first term and thought of it as an easy one,” the president replied. “The entire ordeal in Chicago was quite the mess. But as dark as these days have been, it is comforting to watch as Americans have banded together.”

“First term, Mr. President? I don’t think it’s any secret—and I know we’re a year out from even talking about the coming election in Thirty-Two—but you do think you’ll run again?”

“I love this country, Dan. I love what I do, and I do not see myself quitting just yet.”

Dan laughed. “You make it sound as though you wish it didn’t end with two terms.”

“Well, we have rules for a reason.” the president laughed uncomfortably. “Two terms will be—”

“Regardless,” Dan said quickly with a trace of anger in his eyes. “I’m sure you wish you had a way around it. But with all that being said, not everything outside of Chicago has been a walk in the park, has it? Let’s not forget that the Dulles Massacre happened only nine months into your presidency. No president has ever had to deal with anything remotely close to that scale of terror since Bush and Nine-Eleven. I know it’s been difficult for you, but tell me, what are you doing now to prevent horrible and . . .
unexplainable
tragedies like Dulles from happening in the future?”