Page 35 of Beaches

On his yacht in the middle of the ocean, he had twelve men on board, plus eight crew. It wasn’t enough, and it wouldn’t be enough to do what he needed done. He needed to find a way to hide. Hell, he needed to find a place to hide.

“Where to, sir?” asked the captain.

“I’m not sure yet. Do we have any weather to avoid? I’d like to not end up like my brother,” he said with a sour expression.

“There is a potential storm to the southeast. We should probably head northwest, which would put us awfully close to Taiwan.”

“No. No, not there. Move me closer to the States. If I can get back to my home in California, I have just what I need.”

“It’s going to take a bit longer, sir. We’ll have to go north, then east.”

“I understand. Just do it.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Mr. President, do you have any information for us?” asked Bodwick.

“In fact, Micheal. I do.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

“I’m headed to Washington,” said Bodwick.

“You just got home,” frowned his daughter, Aspen, her stepmother, Miriam, beside her.

“I know, honey, but I won’t be gone long. This has to be done.”

“What’s up, brother?” asked Wilson.

“Are you busy?” asked Bodwick.

“Not too busy to help if you need me.” Bodwick nodded, looking at Nine and Gaspar.

“I need him and two more. This won’t take long,” frowned Bodwick. Nine nodded, looking around the room.

“Baptiste? Hawk? Can you go with him?” The two men nodded.

“Let’s go.”

“What’s going on?” asked Ian.

“I’ll let you all know for sure when I get there, but keep your comms on. Kaplan has a home in California. We need to get a team there and tear that fucking place apart. We’ll get to D.C. and do what we need to do. If you have to get to those islands, go.”

“We’re still working on getting visuals on the islands. Once we have that, we’re going to move out.”

Minutes later, Bodwick, Wilson, Hawk, and Baptiste were on the jet headed to D.C. The president was arranging a meeting with someone who might be able to put a pin in this balloon for them. If so, it would speed things up considerably.

“Are you sure, Michael?” asked Wilson. Bodwick’s face was contorted in disbelief and sorrow.

“I’m sure. The president is sure. He suspected something was going on with him. Not this, but something. He put one of our undetectable recording devices in his office. Let’s go pay a visit.”

An hour later, they were in a black car on their way to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Whisked away to a small meeting room, they waited inside until the president walked in.

“Nice to see you, boys. Not under these circumstances, but nevertheless. The former vice president is currently being questioned by the CIA and held in custody by the Secret Service. The cabinet members are also being questioned and will be handled.”

“Nice to see you too, sir.” There was a knock on the door, and a man entered.

“Mr. President…” He stilled, staring at the three men. Then back at the president. For a moment, you could see it in his eyes, the desire to escape. To run. But there would be no escape for him.

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