Page 5 of Chinook Winds

“I said not now,” Kincaid snapped and glared at the younger man. Things were falling to pieces around him, and he hadn’t been able to reach Collins all day. The man was deliberately ignoring his calls. He struggled to project calm and somehow managed it. “Give me half an hour and we’ll strategize. Okay, Scott?” He forced a smile. Waited while his chief of staff slowly nodded and closed the door.

Pulling in a couple of calming breaths, he tried Collins’s number again with the same result. He should have known better than to trust Collins. The man had sold out his country and turned into a hired killer. Now, he was a worldwide terrorist.

When another attempt went to voicemail, Kincaid was angry enough to leave a message. “This is me. Again. Where are you? Things are falling apart here, and I need help containing the panic. Where’s Hassanzai? Duncan? Larsen? I’m not taking the fall for you. If I go down, you will, too, I promise you that.” Kincaid jabbed the end button and tossed the phone on the desk.

Years of planning. Recruiting leaders from every branch of the US government, law enforcement, intelligence communities. World leaders. People with the same vision as he possessed, and it was crumbling around them because of a team of traitors known as Strike Force. Patriots holding onto old ways of thinking. A mere handful of them, and yet they were threatening to break down one of the most well-planned attempts to shift world power in history.

Anger, rage rose to the surface. This was supposed to be their time.Histime. Now he stood to lose everything including his freedom, and Collins wasn’t taking his calls. He’d thought Martin Collins was the one to unite the world. But Collins had proven himself a loose cannon from the start with a tendency toward evil.

Kincaid glanced out the window at a city on the brink of self-implosion. He couldn’t keep the ship upright on his own. And he sure wasn’t going to take the fall alone.

There was only one thing left to do. He reached for his phone again. Called the number he never thought he’d have to use.

“Kincaid here. I need a parachute.”

He listened as an unknown voice confirmed his request for extraction. “Three A.M. Just you?”

“No. My wife as well.” The request was met with silence. He knew little about the person on the phone other than Collins had told him if something went wrong, he should call the number. The contact could spirit him out of the city. His wife might be a problem, but she’d been at his side through all of this. He couldn’t leave her behind.

“Fine. But we won’t wait.” The line went dead.

Three A.M. Until then, it had to be business as usual. Kincaid would spend his time strategizing on shutting down Strike Force. He’d host the winners of whatever sporting event was in the news lately. He’d return calls to world leaders. He’d do all the things that was part of his job. But by morning, he would no longer be in the White House, and this mess would be left for someone else to fix. And if he ever saw Martin Collins again, Kincaid would make sure that he paid for deserting his president. He’d pay dearly.

???

The waiting was the hardest. Hours had passed since Abby had reached out to Tom to bring Howard Duncan into protective custody, and for Kinsley the walls were closing in. She had no doubt Legion would do everything in its power to remain in control.

The war room hummed like a pulse, alive with activity. Still no sign of Collins. Kinsley couldn’t help but believe his lack of presence was a bad thing. Hassanzai had gone off the radar around the same time. With the nuclear weapons missing, was Legion planning to use them soon?

As always, her attention riveted to the man who had worked his way into her heart so slowly that she couldn’t pinpoint when she’d come to love him. But she did. Could she protect him when he returned to the states? After working side by side with Victor for many years, she knew his selfless dedication to his country.

He glanced up and caught her watching him. A quizzical smile spread across his face. She read the questions there in his eyes, but she couldn’t answer them. Did he know that for her the job of protecting him had become personal? She’d do whatever necessary to keep him safe. Even if it meant giving up her life for him. No matter her personal feelings, the job—her job—would always come first.

Victor finished speaking with Kaid and came over to her. “Everything okay?” He’d misunderstood what she was feeling, and she was happy to keep him in the dark.

“Just worried, I guess.”

“About?”

“About Duncan’s true motives. About the trip to D.C. The nuclear weapons.” She shook her head and tried to rein in her fears. “About so many things.”

He kept his attention on her face, and it was a struggle not to look away. She had to get her edge back before someone lost their life.

“How about we get out of here for a little while. Maybe take a walk.”

She glanced around at all the activity taking place in the room. “You sure it’s safe?”

He laughed and she was mesmerized by him. A former marine, he’d served two tours of duty in Afghanistan. The man standing before her was a true hero from the inside out. Tall, strikingly handsome, he kept his dark hair cut short like he had as a Marine. Green eyes held a sincerity in them that couldn’t be faked. Victor Douglas was the real deal and not a politician.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Why don’t we find out for ourselves?”

The need to protect him lost out to the desire for fresh air. “I’ll get my jacket.”

He followed her to the door and helped her into the jacket. Even though she was charged to protect him, he was always looking out for her.

Together they stepped out into a darkness that went beyond the time of day. The world was filled with a black cloud of fear and dissension. Would there ever come a time when their country wouldn’t be defined by the terrible events instigated by Legion?

The Chinook winds had calmed with nightfall. For days they’d been blowing upwards of seventy miles an hour, melting the heavy snow accumulation of the Canadian prairie.

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