Page 8 of Chinook Winds

Duncan quickly bristled. “I thought I was trying to do good for the country and the world by signing up with Collins. He presented a good front and made me believe we were going to be on the ground floor of something revolutionary. I had no idea it was all a cover for a madman’s quest for power.”

Victor wasn’t about to get sucked into Duncan’s desire to spin the truth to make himself look like a victim.

“Give the phone to Tom. You and your wife will be at your current location until I decide the best way to deal with you.”

“You promised me immunity,” Duncan all but yelled into the phone.

“And I plan to keep that promise, but until I know where your allegiance truly lies, you aren’t going anywhere.”

???

“They are in place?” Collins asked. There were loose ends to take care of, and only he could handle them. They still had the weapons. As long as they controlled them, the power remained squarely with him.

The one man he trusted assured him the weapons were secured. “Yes, they are safe. No one will ever know where they are until it’s time to use them.”

Ahmad Hassanzai had been at his side since Collins had requested sanctuary in Afghanistan ten years earlier. Hassanzai was the only one who truly understood the vision. Collins’s men followed him because that’s what they’d been doing since they’d faked their deaths and left the CIA’s restraints behind. All except Nolan Emerson. He’d been the biggest disappointment, but one Collins should have seen coming in hindsight.

“We can’t allow traitors to remain amongst us. Kincaid reached out to the extractor earlier. According to Martinez, he tried to bribe him to take him out of the country.” Collins seethed at the lack of devotion Kincaid showed. He’d made Kincaid president, and this was the thanks he received. “A few bumps along the way, and he’s willing to bail on everything we planned so carefully when it’s within our grasp. Kincaid was merely a puppet president and he couldn’t even do that right.”

“If they capture him, he’ll talk. Have no doubt.”

Hassanzai’s thoughts mirrored his own. Halfway across the ocean and he couldn’t get to the states fast enough. Kincaid had no way of knowing when he’d called for an extraction for himself and his wife that the man on the other end of the phone would be in touch with Collins as soon as the call ended. He was one of his most trusted followers. Martinez would do exactly as Collins instructed him.

“That’s why he and his wife will be taken to the secure location in Washington State. I’ll see to them personally.”

“What about Duncan? He’s by far a weaker link.” Hassanzai confirmed the truth.

That someone as weak as Howard Duncan could escape his grasp was almost comical. If Collins was in the mood to laugh. “We’ll find him soon enough. He’s not that smart, and I’ve no doubt he’ll try to work out some sort of deal to save himself. We can’t allow that to happen.”

“What about Larsen? Do we trust him to be part of the next plan or do we eliminate him?”

Stephan Larsen had taken over the position of deputy director of the CIA after Collins had to terminate Jake Evans because he’d failed to see the threat that was among his ranks. Larsen was young and ambitious and would do whatever Collins asked of him.

“For now we need him, and he will cooperate.” Darkness was slowly being replaced by a new day dawning. A world in chaos awaited direction. He wasn’t about to let that come from Strike Force or Victor Douglas.

“As soon as I land, I’ll be in touch. In the meantime, keep your eye on what’s happening around the world. If Douglas and his people make a move to return to D.C., we may be forced to move the second phase of our plan forward.” Getting the world to the brink of destruction was only the beginning and part of the true plan for control. He’d outlined it to Duncan and Kincaid. Larsen.

“So soon?” Hassanzai asked. “I thought we agreed to wait.”

“That may not be an option. If public opinion is shifting back to Douglas, it has to be stopped.”

Hassanzai was quiet for a long time. “As you wish. You know I trust your leadership, my friend.”

Collins smiled. They’d been brothers united in a cause back when the cause was all they had. “I do. You have things under control there? Our people are standing strong in Europe?”

Hassanzai was quick to dispel his fears. “They are. For now. But all eyes are on America. The world will take their direction from what happens there.”

Collins fought down his anger. “Then we’ll just have to make sure the US falls into line. Without Kincaid.” He ended the call and tossed the phone into the seat beside him. He was flying on Hassanzai’s private jet. It was too risky using the Afghani Embassy plane. Strike Force knew he’d used it in the past. They’d be watching for it.

He thought about Kincaid’s betrayal, and his fingers curled as if circling Kincaid’s neck. All he had to do was deny the allegations being broadcast across the web by Strike Force. Stay true to the company line. But Kincaid had tried to bail by bribing Martinez. That was unacceptable. He had to be dealt with swiftly.

“We are two hours from our destination,” the pilot announced.

Collins straightened himself in his seat. Years had gone into the planning for world domination. Most of his people had no idea the things he’d done to facilitate this moment in time—the chess moves he’d had to carefully play.

He grabbed his phone again. Checked for text messages. There was one from Martinez.

I have them. We are at the compound.

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