Page 109 of Edge of Honor

“I tried,” said Harvath. “But by that point, it looked like he was headed for a rapid unscheduled disassembly.”

Gallo tilted his head, confused.

“He was redlining. His pulse had spiked so high that I thought he was going to go into cardiac arrest. So I stopped the interrogation.”

“Rendition. Chemical interrogation. You realize that I can’t use any of this, right?” the FBI agent stated. “None of it’s admissible in court.”

“With all due respect, we’re under attack and we’re losing. They’ve killed and injured a lot more of us than we have of them. I’m more concerned with stopping the threat than making sure they get their day in court.”

“You guys are hammers. I get that. My job and my oath, however, are different. I’m bound by a more complicated set of rules.”

“I understand. Believe me,” said McGee, who’d had to straddle both worlds—the lawful and the lawless—when heading the CIA. “We’re here as a courtesy. We’re not looking to get in your way. We just want to help.”

“I’ve got to be honest,” Gallo admitted. “I’m not sure where to even start. If the Russians are ultimately behind this, they’ve effectively weaponized pieces of our national security apparatus against us. There’s no telling how long it could take to unwind this and clean out all the infection. Anyone we turn to for help, in any organization, could be part of the plot.”

“Which is exactly where we are in looking at all of this,” said Harvath.

“That’s why we came to you,” McGee added.

The FBI agent shook his head. “I don’t know whether to thank you, or to tell you to lose my number and never call me again.”

The men shared an uncomfortable laugh.

“As far as I see it,” McGee continued, “we’ve got to stop the bleeding. Stop the attacks.”

“I agree,” said Gallo. “But I don’t want any of the perpetrators walking free because we couldn’t build cases against them.”

Harvath looked at him. “I guarantee you: Not a single one of them is going to walk. Not one.”

Based on his ominous tone, Gallo didn’t doubt it. “There’s a lot of things I’m hearing in here that, for the record, I’m going to pretend I didn’t.”

“So, what do you want to do?” asked McGee, cutting to the chase. “Do you want us to go home, set Hale loose, and encourage Ambassador Rogers to make his peace with God?”

“Or,” interjected Harvath, “do you want to find a way to put us to work?”

CHAPTER 55

WASHINGTON, D.C.

It’s official, folks,” said Chuck Coughlin, his neon American flag burning brightly behind him. “We are living in a time where leadership has failed us. Where the very promises that brought tens of millions to the polls—promises of strength, of honor, of reclaiming this country from the forces that seek to destroy it—have been abandoned in the name of… what? Political expediency? Corruption? I don’t know. But I’ll tell you this: It’s not what we voted for. It’s not whatAmericavoted for.”

Staring into the camera, Coughlin gripped the edge of his desk, the passion increasing in his voice, and continued, “James Mitchell, the man We the People put into office, is not the man we thought he was. This isn’t about policy decisions or a few hiccups. This is about betrayal. We saw it in his speech last night—his so-called calm address after the attack on the NATO motorcade. Calm? You call that calm? That was weakness, ladies and gentlemen.

“The President couldn’t even bring himself to say what we all know:This was an act of war. You think he’s going to stand up to the radicals, the globalists, the ones who’ve been pulling the strings for decades? Of course he isn’t. He’s too busy worrying about his approval ratings, too busy playing nice with the very people who’ve sold us out. The man’s a puppet—and he’s no longer in control of his own strings.

“Vice President Cates, on the other hand, is the real deal. He has been with us from the beginning. He speaks the language of the people—realAmericans—while Mitchell is only interested in cozying up to the elites. I’m telling you this country needs leadership.Desperately. We need someone in that Oval Office who will do what has to be done—no matter how hard and no matter what the consequences.”

Chuckling bitterly, Coughlin said, “The media is calling this a ‘moment of crisis.’ Well, let me tell you something: This is not a moment of crisis. This is the moment when We the People decidewhois in charge. And it’s not Mitchell anymore. I don’t care if he’s been elected. I don’t care if he’s got the sharp suits and all the advisors. Wedeservebetter. Wedemandbetter. And we will not sit idly by while this so-called leader squanders the future of our country.

“I, Charles Armstrong Coughlin, am calling for Mitchell to step down. Not just for the good of the country—though I believe that’s reason enough. But because it’s the only way we can truly honor the promises that were made on the campaign trail, not to mention all the sacrifices since then. Mitchell’s weakness isn’t just hurting us politically—it’s costing lives. Lives lost in that senseless terrorist attack on his own supporters, people who trusted him, who believed in his leadership, as well as those killed in the NATO motorcade attack—people attacked for the sake of global diplomacy while our own people are left to fend for themselves. These are the consequences of failed leadership.

“Mitchell can’t do it. He’s lost his spine. We need someone who hasn’t been corrupted, who still believes in the fight—someone who will put the people first and not apologize for doing what’s right for us, for America. And that someone, my friends, is Vice President Christopher Cates.

“It’s time for change. It’s time for James Mitchell to resign and for Chris Cates to take the reins. We can no longer sit back and watch as our country slides into chaos and is torn apart by a leader too scared to make the tough calls. We need Cates to lead. And if Mitchell won’t step aside, then we need toforce him out.

“This is about the survival of this nation—about preserving the future of America. For ourselves, our children, and our grandchildren.”

Glancing up at the digital clock upon the wall, he then announced, “And that’s going to do it for us today, folks. Another three hours ofBunker Radio in the can. I’ll see you right back here tomorrow. Until then, remember—when you’re under attack, Chuck Coughlin has your back. And we are all, God help us,definitelyunder attack. Stay safe, America.”

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