Page 7 of Zero Visibility

Chapter Three

Every hour that passed felt like an eternity when all he wanted to do was be with Jen.

Smoldering fires illuminated the extent of the destruction around the countryside where they traveled. Many of the less traversed roads were flooded with vehicles. People were trying to get away from the big cities in case another attack was imminent.

The good news was no one really paid much attention to their vehicle. After covering several hundred miles, they hadn’t run into a single law enforcement officer. Ben was certain that wouldn’t last. Legion would enforce martial law soon enough. When that happened, the towns would be crawling with military.

With nothing to do but wait, Ben’s mind created all sorts of lethal possibilities. He used Tegan’s phone to call Cole, having destroyed his device as an added safety measure.

“Where are you?” Cole asked the moment he picked up.

“We’re almost through Montana. What’s happening there? Our service is sketchy. From what we can hear on the radio, the attacks were more widespread than originally believed.”

Cole sighed deeply. “That’s correct. Just about every single major city in the US was hit. All of our allies are reporting widespread damage. This thing is enormous and well calculated.”

The news was discouraging. “What about Abby and Brookes? Any news from them?” Even though the two couldn’t be tied to Strike Force yet, the news had come through earlier that all commercial and private flights were cancelled. Which meant the likelihood of Abby and Brookes being spotted—and God forbid, shot down—was great.

“They’ve successfully refueled at their first stop without being questioned. I hope they can stay under the radar until they get outside of the D.C. airspace.”

“Whoa!” Peter’s surprised exclamation garnered Ben’s attention.

“What’s going on?”

Peter turned up the volume on the radio. “Did I hear the announcer correctly?”

“You did.” Will confirmed with a grim nod. “The vice president is about to make an announcement.”

“We’re picking it up here as well,” Cole said. “This is unbelievable.”

Ben’s thoughts scrambled. “I can’t believe they’ve landed already. They made it in record time. But then, when they’re the only ones in the air and no doubt had fighters as escorts the whole way there, it’s smooth flying. I just hope Collins hasn’t dispatched Nolan to take out the president yet. We need our people there and ready to back Nolan up.”

“Yeah, and they’re still several hours out.”

Cole’s answer was not what Ben wanted to hear. “Nolan won’t stand a chance if he disobeys the order. He’ll be assassinated. Someone else will step up and do the deed. We don’t even know if President Douglas is still alive or not.”

If they lost the president—their biggest supporter—there would be no stopping Legion. They’d be in firm control of the country, and Ben had a feeling the rest of the world would crumble beneath their control.

“Oh no,” Cole could barely be heard saying.

Ben put the call on speaker so the rest of the team could hear. “What’s going on?” His gut clenched tight at the unknown.

“I have a bad feeling about this press conference. I’m looking at the coverage of the vice president’s arrival on the screen. So far, there’s no sign of Nolan or Collins, but guess who’s standing at the vice president’s side.Ahmad Hassanzai. They’re not even trying to hide the connection.”

“Unbelievable.” Revulsion swept over Will’s face. “You’re right. This isn’t good.”

The announcer on the radio gave a play-by-play report of what was taking place. “Vice President Kincaid has just arrived at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland via the Afghani embassy plane. As some of our listeners may know, there is a strong friendship between the US and the Afghani government. According to our sources, the plane was at a private airport in Amarillo, Texas, and the Afghani government offered the vice president safe passage to the nation’s capital—” The announcer paused. “I believe the vice president is heading to the microphone now.”

“They aren’t even worried about being detected for the crimes they committed,” Cole muttered.

Ben wasn’t surprised at how bold the players of Legion were becoming. “Why should they be worried? Everyone who knows who they really are is dead or forced into hiding.”

“I’m seriously worried about the president by now.” Cole’s concern came through the phone clearly. “I’ll keep trying to reach him on his private line, but I’m losing hope. It appears Kincaid is getting ready to speak,” he said before Ben could answer.

Peter cranked the volume up some more. Silence followed briefly before Kincaid’s voice could be heard.

“My fellow Americans. Our country and indeed the world have suffered a tremendous blow today, and my prayers are with each and every person who has lost someone close to them. I want you to know we all suffer along with you.” Kincaid paused as applause erupted. “It is with great sadness that I must announce that my dear friend and the president of our great country is dead.”

A communal shocked gasp filtered through the SUV. Ben sank back against the seat, unable to believe what he’d heard. Was it just a ruse created by Legion? Did they have the president and were waiting for Emerson to make Kincaid’s statements a reality? One way or another, they had to find out the truth. Because if the president were deceased, then Kincaid would be sworn in as president and the country would be under Legion’s complete control. If that happened, then God help them all.

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