Page 107 of Scarlet Angel

“What’s your poison?”

“Sparkling water.”

“Seriously?”

“Drink away. I don’t care. But I’ve got thirty minutes and then I’m off to a private tarmac.”

I pop the top on a Pellegrino, give it to him with a glass, then sink into the sofa.

“Let’s hear it.”

“Someone within the alliance is changing course.”

“Explain.”

“Do you remember the stolen cache of chemical weapons?”

“Did you find out who did it?”

“I’ve been looking into it since you called me about the theft. Took some digging, but the trail leads back to the syndicate.”

“That’s not right.”

I mentally run through the agendas that coalesced in the syndicate. Finance-minded people, the lot of them. We convened to maintain a modicum of stability and to influence fiscal and regulatory policy as necessary. If a third world war ignites, markets go to shit.

“I have a theory,” Jiang says.

“Oh, well…that proves it.”

“I flew halfway around the world to discuss this with you. In my car, I have a secure device with the evidence I’ve gathered.”

“Why’d you leave it in the vehicle?”

“Because if I exited with a bag, you’d have held me at gunpoint, and that’s not a way to start this conversation.”

“Noted.”

“What it comes down to is this. What happened in the EU recently? The EMP attack?”

“Right?”

“And the transatlantic wire cutting?”

I nod.

“Tests. Preparing to disable the EU and the United States for an extended period.”

“Why?”

“To allow the authoritarian regimes to take over.”

“I don’t buy it. That’s completely against the syndicate’s directive.”

“No, it’s not.” He stands and paces back and forth in front of the hearth. “I’ve thought about this. Think back to Davos. The philosophical discussions between socialism, communism, and democracy.”

“We agreed maintaining order would be the best way to ensure stable markets. None of us are pro-Russia or pro-China.” I wouldn’t have joined the blasted group if they’d been remotely pro-Russia. Fuck Putin and his narcissistic blowhole.

“No. It’s not Russia or China.”

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