The Last Election (21 page)

A CNN news reporter standing near the RenCen was describing what he had seen when the helicopter had crashed nearby. The camera shifted up to show a panoramic view of the RenCen buildings towering above. As the image of the Detroit Marriott tower came into view, Ixchel gasped. In her mind the image of the tower slowly morphed into the image of an ancient Maya temple.

Delgado stood on the roof of his truck staring at the tower before him. He was savoring the moment. He had blown up many things over the years, but tonight would be his crowning achievement.

He held his pistol in one hand and the detonator in the other. Slowly he raised his arms and opened them slightly. He flipped the cover off the detonator button with his thumb and took a deep breath. He smiled, and then firmly pushed the detonator button.

An enormous ball of flames erupted from the top of the Marriott. The explosion was so intense that the shock wave knocked Delgado back two steps. He could feel the blistering heat as the inferno climbed into the sky. Delgado’s arms remained outstretched as he gazed in wonder at his masterpiece.
“Dios
te
salve
María
!”
he exclaimed.

Clark, Martineau, and Stryker were still looking up at the Marriott as the explosion blew the top two floors entirely off the tower. The force of the blast pushed them back against the rescue vehicle. Shattered glass and fiery debris from the torched tower rained down on the area surrounding the RenCen.

The rescue team leader had been loading the agent into the back of an ambulance when the blast occurred. He turned around quickly and said to Clark, “Got to go!” A moment later the rescue team and the ambulance took off toward the site of the disaster.

Clark was filled with fury as fire raged from the top of the tower. “That was not done by rioters!” he roared.

As Ixchel’s eyes widened, Thomas looked at Daniel and said, “Uh oh.” The image of the Maya temple glowed before Ixchel’s eyes. The vision before her radiated evil and she sensed a tremendous atrocity was imminent. She again pulled her hands to her mouth and screamed. A violent blast of wind slammed into her body. She was shaking in apprehension. She stared at the temple as the glow became stronger and stronger.

Ixchel pointed to the television and screamed again. Daniel and Thomas turned to look at the TV. The CNN anchor announced, “We are receiving breaking new images of the rioting in downtown Detroit. This is coming to us live from a DMBC news helicopter that is hovering over the riverfront area near the RenCen.” CNN went to a split screen, with the anchor on the left and the images coming from the helicopter on the right.

The helicopter swung around and aimed its camera directly at the Marriott tower. It hung there as the CNN anchor carried on excitedly about the assassination attempt on President Bonsam. A minute later a mighty explosion blasted from atop the Marriott, sending pillars of flames high into the sky.

Daniel and Thomas were both stunned by the sight of the explosion. The temple-fire symbol raged through Ixchel’s mind. She let out another powerful scream and collapsed into Daniel’s arms.

Chapter 52

Morning had come. As dawn broke, sunlight streamed through the smoke-filled air of Detroit. Delgado and his two agents were making their way back to their truck to pack up their gear and get out of Michigan for good. Their work was done here. They had incited so much violence that it would be weeks, maybe even months, before Detroit returned to normal. Delgado smiled.
Perhaps it will never return to normal.

He was filled with adrenaline as he continued making his way through the back streets. He turned down an alley, still feeling extremely proud of himself for the operation he had organized and executed. It was flawless. The president was going to be so pleased.

As he approached the back of the truck, he heard strange thumping noises behind him. He snapped out of his daydream and turned to see where the noise came from. As he turned, he said, “Hurry up you g…” He stopped in his tracks, unable to complete his command. Less than ten yards behind him lay his two agents, blood pouring onto the asphalt from their freshly bashed in skulls. Over them stood two of the biggest black dudes Delgado had ever seen, each wielding an aluminum baseball bat.

Delgado knew right away that he was in deep shit. He had already broken down his assault rifle and he hadn’t put a fresh clip in his pistol since he had fired victory shots into the air as the RenCen exploded. He turned to race to the truck, but didn’t even get to take a single step.

“
Mierda
!”
was all he got out of his mouth as the barrel of a .45
Glock
was pressed against the center of his forehead. Delgado was overcome with shock. His shock was quickly replaced by fear.

The man holding the gun had seething hatred in his eyes. He pressed the gun harder against Delgado’s forehead and said, “
Hola
, amigo
.”

Chapter 53

 
“
Que
pasa
, George,” said Clay, as he applied more pressure to Delgado’s forehead with the barrel of his weapon.

 
“How in the hell…?” Delgado gasped as he slowly raised his hands.

Clay cut him off. “You should have counted the bullet-proof vests before you left,
muchacho
.”

Since day one, Clay’s instincts had told him that Delgado was not to be trusted. He had always sensed that Delgado was plotting something against him. Delgado’s suave Hispanic charisma did not work on Clay and he had grown more suspicious of Delgado each and every time he was around him.

Clay’s perception of Delgado had made him extra cautious. Clay had never turned his back to Delgado out of fear that the snake in the grass was patiently waiting for the right moment to strike. His distrust of Delgado prompted him to pick the lock of the SWAT truck a few days before the meeting with Lane. It wouldn’t hurt to take a look inside, he had thought.

Upon entering the back of the truck, the first thing that had caught his eye was a large box of tranquilizer darts. He could not imagine why in the hell Delgado would need those. Whatever the reason, it had confirmed Clay’s suspicion that Delgado had other plans for the Lane rendezvous that he had not shared with him.
 

As he continued to poke around the back of the tuck, he found a fireproof lockbox. He picked the lock in an instant, and discovered that it was full of fake driver’s licenses, counterfeit passports, and real-world badges for several high-level government agencies. He helped himself to a few badges then returned the lockbox to where he had found it.

Next he popped the lock of an equipment chest, removed a bulletproof vest, and then relocked the chest. As he was exiting the truck with the vest and the badges, he grabbed a couple of boxes of .45 caliber rounds as extra insurance. He was going to be well prepared for the upcoming mission, much more prepared than Delgado realized.

Clay continued, “So, the president extends his thanks, huh?”

Delgado quickly regained his composure. His voice lowered, “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into, Clay.”

With one quick nod from Clay, Isaac and Isaiah each grabbed one of Delgado’s arms and twisted it up into Delgado’s back, nearly dislocating both shoulders. Delgado let out an, “
Ahhh
,” as the Grant brothers continued twisting his arms.

Clay narrowed his eyes and moved closer to Delgado. “No, it’s Bonsam who doesn’t know what he’s gotten himself into, George.”

Delgado let out a laugh. “What are you thinking? You think you’re
gonna
kill the president? Bonsam will squash you like a
cucaracha
.”

“Maybe you’re right, George. Maybe I can’t kill Bonsam.” Clay moved directly in front of Delgado’s face. “But I can kill you,
pendejo
.
”

Delgado’s blood ran cold. His composure started to fade and his voice cracked with nervousness. “You don’t have the
cojones
to shoot me, Clay.”

Clay looked Delgado straight in the eye. “You’re right, George,” he replied, and with one swift move he pulled a ten-inch blade from his belt and plunged it to the hilt into Delgado’s stomach. Delgado’s eyes rolled back and a choking sound came from his throat as he took in his last breath. “
Adios
, George,” said Clay, and he gave the knife a quick 180-degree twist.
 

Isaac and Isaiah let go of Delgado’s lifeless body and let it drop to the pavement. “I told you we were
gonna
kill you, motherfucker,” said Isaiah as he looked down at Delgado.

Clay bent down and wiped the blood from his blade on Delgado’s sleeve. His hatred for the man he had just killed still remained. He stood back up and said to his brothers, “Come on, we’ve got some work to do.”

Chapter 54

The command center that had been set up at City Hall was bustling with activity. Law enforcement personnel from a dozen different agencies were hastily coordinating their efforts to bring law and order back to Detroit. Messages cracked over police radios, phones were ringing off their hooks, fax machines were churning out faxes nonstop, and so much documentation had been printed that it was necessary to send out for more print cartridges.

The main conference room was the command center’s hub of activity. Within it many of the major players had gathered around the wall-sized projection of a map of Detroit. The Deputy Mayor, the Detroit Chief of Police, the Director of the Michigan State Police, and the Command Sergeant Major of the Michigan National Guard were among those listening intently to Lieutenant Governor Christopher Purnell.

Purnell had actually been in the Palace during the assassination attempt on the president. Luckily, he had managed to get out of the arena quickly. His instincts had told him that rioting was sure to begin. He quickly decided that the Secret Service and the FBI could deal with the assassination attempt. Detroit was his number one priority, so he had dashed straight down to City Hall.

Clark and Martineau had spent the early morning hours making their way to City Hall. They had to walk, understandably, since they weren’t about to find a taxi downtown after the previous night’s events. Along the way they had to stop a few times to give assistance to citizens who had been hurt by the explosion’s falling debris. Finally they arrived at City Hall, haggard and tired. A police officer quickly escorted them to the main conference room.

Purnell stopped talking and raised his eyebrows as Clark and Martineau entered the room. Everyone at the map turned to see what Purnell was looking at and they too raised their eyebrows. “Uh, good morning, Governor,” Purnell said.

“Christopher,” Clark said with a nod to Purnell as he slowly limped toward a chair and took a seat.

Purnell looked at Clark’s appearance and was baffled. “Well, how nice of you to join us,” he said sarcastically yet politely. “So, how was Mackinac Island?”

“The flight back was a little bumpy,” Clark replied. “But other than that….”

 
“Stop with the exchange of pleasantries already!” Martineau brashly said. “The president was almost killed, we were in a helicopter crash,” she said as she pointed back and forth between herself and Clark, “and there was an explosion at the RenCen that you could feel in Toledo. What is wrong with you two?”

Purnell stared at Martineau for a moment then turned back to Clark. “Well your mother and I have been worried sick! You couldn’t just pick up a phone and let us know that you were going to be….”

“Stop it!” yelled Martineau.

 
“Let’s all try to remain professional, shall we?” the Deputy Mayor said diplomatically.