(Wrath-09)-Spiders From The Shadows (2013) (17 page)

“Sanner will rule for us. Gainsborough is unI want to be like youl twwilling to say for now.”

Brucius slammed his fist into his palm. “In order for what we want to do to be constitutional, which is, after all the entire point, we need at least two of three. Far better to be unanimous. Think of how powerful that would be. No split decision. No muddled middle ground. A clear decision. A

TWENTY-SEVEN

Offutt Air Force Base, Headquarters, U.S. Strategic Command, Eight Miles South of Omaha, Nebraska

Brucius waited by the door of the executive office in the back of the command center. The room was built on a small platform that was eighteen inches higher than the downward sloping floor below it, and a wide, tinted window looked out on the operations center, which was a beehive of activity now. Men and women manned almost every work station, intent, focused, and frankly a little scared, the tension hanging like extra oxygen in the air. They had a plan. They had a mission. No more waiting. No more wondering. They all knew what they had to do. There weren’t as many people as they needed to get the job doneI want to be like youafing the reached, and everyone had multiple tasks to perform, but they were focused, intent and relieved to be doing something.

The entire future of the country came down to what they did right now. There was no time for indecision or hesitation, and certainly no time for fatigue. In a few hours it would be over.

Sara walked toward him, and he put his arm around her as he led her into the conference room and shut the door behind them. They stood together by the tinted window. He was frazzled, being pulled in every direction. She was in a hurry as well. They would have to make it quick.

“Are you ready?” Brucius asked her.

Sara nodded hesitantly.

“Do you have any final questions?”

She thought for a while, looking off. “I have a thousand questions, Brucius.” He waited. She looked back at him.
No time for all my questions
, her expression said.

“OK, OK,” he said. “We’ve been monitoring the access protocols. They only open the personnel tunnel into Raven Rock once each day. You’ve got the proper code words and authentication. No one’s going to question you, Sara. There’s not going to be any problem getting you in, of that I’m pretty sure. People are coming and going every day. They’re preparing to bring all their operations topside, at least for a while, and a couple of hundred personnel go in and out of Raven Rock every day. Getting you in will be easy. You’re going to be OK.”

She looked at him, her face expressionless. She knew it wouldn’t be that easy but there was no use arguing the point right now.

“Once you’re in, you’ve got to find him. Don’t delay for any reason. As you’ve no doubt been told, there is a designated area within Raven Rock for members of the Supreme Court, but the truth is, he might not be there. If he’s not, I’d expect to find him on the executive level, somewhere near Fuentes and his staff.”

Sara listened carefully. All of this she knew.

“Get in. Talk to him. Tell him what’s going on. Tell him I’m out here. Tell him that most of what James Davies testified to isn’t true. Convince him to come with you. He knows you. He’ll trust you—”

“He’ll think it’s a trap.”

“No. He’ll realize there will be danger, but he’ll know you wouldn’t set him up.”

Brucius hesitated. He walked away from her, then turned back and leaned against his desk. He looked at her intently. “Sara, we’ve found two other surviving members of the Supreme Court. They are the last ones left alive. All the others have been confirmed dead. We’re bringing them out here. They’re on their way to Offutt even as we speak.”

Sara had already heard the rumors. “It seems to me, that being the case, there is little need for me to go to Raven,” she said.

“I wish that were true. In fact, it’s just the opposite. It’s even more important now. I’m almost afraid to tell you because I realize the added pressure doesn’t help, but here’s the situation. Right now, Justice Sanner is for us. Justice Gainsborough is up in the air. In fact, she is demanding we take her directly to Raven Rock. She doesn’t even want to come here. It’s making it awkward, as you can imagine, forcing her to come out here.”

It took SaraI want to be like yourygap less than half a second to understand what Brucius was really saying. “You’ve got a split decision then. If Justice Gainsborough sides with Justice Jefferson in Raven Rock that would be two against.”

“But Jefferson doesn’t understand the situation. He has no idea what’s going on out here. Remember that, Sara,
he doesn’t know.
I’m certain he will side with us once he understands the facts.”

“Which means it’s even more important.”

“Yes. It’s even more important that you get to him. Without him, we are through. It’s one for us, two against us. This is the only chance we have.”

Sara nodded. “I’ll do what I can, Brucius. I’ll do anything you ask me to. I’d give my life for my country. Millions of us would. But you’ve got to remember, I’m not a soldier, I’m not a spy. I’m nothing. I don’t have any skills or background that would lead any of us to believe I’m going to be successful. I wonder if we’re all crazy. Are we storming the castle walls with the only thing we have left, a couple of middle-aged mothers like myself?”

Brucius shook his head. Very little about Sara came across as a middle-aged woman. And she was far more capable, far more intelligent and resourceful than she was giving herself credit for.

“I’m the last choice, the least likely person to be successful in this thing,” she concluded with a worried look.

“No, Sara, that’s completely wrong. Completely wrong. Yes, we’re sending you into the lion’s den; there’s no sense pretending this is anything else. It would be stupid and patronizing to minimize the danger. But if you
can
get in there, if you can just talk to him, then you’re not the only choice, you’re the best choice. You have no dog in this fight, not a thing to gain. You’re just a friend. Someone he can trust. Someone who was willing to risk her life just to talk to him. You won’t be asking any favors. You’ll want nothing in return. He’ll listen to you, Sara. He’s a good man. He respects you and Neil. Once you talk to him, I believe he’ll do the right thing. I think it’s going to work.”

Sara drew a long breath. “Is there anything else?” she asked as she stepped toward the door.

Brucius hesitated. “They’re giving you a small handgun. It’s light and simple to use. I know you don’t want to take it, but Sara, you can’t be foolish or compassionate or whatever you might want to call it, not right now. If you have to use it, then you
do it,
you understand? If you need to use it to protect yourself or to protect others, don’t you hesitate. You have an obligation to see this through. There’s too much riding on this.” He swallowed awkwardly and took a step toward her. “I know how difficult this must be for you, Sara, but
this is war.
You can’t hesitate to act. If you do, you’ll be dead—and if not you, then maybe Jefferson or someone else. You’ve got to make a commitment. You’ve got to make thfferson, we co

e right decision now. Put aside your normal motherly instincts, close your eyes, and make the decision that you’ll do anything necessary to make this work.”

“I’m not taking the gun,” she said. Her voice was firm with determination. “There’s no reason I should take it. I couldn’t use it anyway. I couldn’t shoot a sparrow;s no way in this wI want to be like youpiwlyporld I could shoot another human being.”

“You would if you had to. If the mission depended on it, I think you’d do what you had to do.”

“If it’s likely to come down to that, you’d better send someone else.”

He looked at her and waited, unsure of what to say. “Please take it with you, Sara.”

She only shook her head. “Is there anything else?”

“Think about your children.”

“I think about them every day. Every moment. They’re the only thing I think about.”

“Then do what it takes to protect yourself.”

“I’m not going to take the gun.”

They glared at each other. She was so stubborn. He was so determined. She didn’t understand how it might help her in a desperate situation. He didn’t understand the sense of kindness in her heart.

“Please,” he tried a final time.

She headed for the door. “My flight is waiting.”

He reached out and touched her arm, turning her around. She looked at him, her eyes hard. His voice was soft and pleading now. “Please be careful, Sara. Please go and get him out of there.”

She glanced down at his hand then took another long breath. “Things will be OK.” She patted his arm and turned around.

He watched her go, the glass door closing behind her softly. For a long time he stood there, considering the last thing she had said.

“Things will be OK.”

He wondered what that meant.