Page 126 of Enemy Within
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Kara Sea - Madigan’s Base Camp
ETHAN’S WORLD WENT FROM pitch black to screaming pain, a whirlwind of blows and kicks as he came to.
Arctic air bit into his skin, his chest, arms, and face. He’d been stripped of his stolen jacket and his dry suit had been cut away. His exposed skin puckered, slapped with the sub-freezing temperatures.
Another kick to his stomach. Groaning, Ethan tried to curl into a ball.
A chain, wrapped around his neck, bit into his skin and hauled him back. He went flying, dragged across theVeduschiy’sdeck.
He tried to get to his knees, but kicks and punches rained down on him, and the chain kept dragging him left and right, knocking him off-balance. He saw the world in snatches: the deck of theVeduschiyand Madigan’s men circling him. Criminals with rotten teeth and tattoos swirling over their necks and fists, grinning wickedly as they punched him over and over again. Men with jaundiced, bloodshot eyes, almost feral as they kicked and beat him, rejoicing in their bloodlust. He smelled blood, and tasted copper in his mouth, on his tongue. Spat, and saw red stain the deck.
The chain strangling him looped over a long launch tube, the gun barrel for theVeduschiy’smassive five-inch caliber guns. A Sudanese man with rotten teeth held the end, and he grinned every time he hauled on the chain.
Ethan collapsed to his side, coughing, and tried to roll to his stomach. He spotted Sergey and Sasha kneeling on the deck, side by side, weapons pressed to the backs of their skulls. Both stared at him, their expressions grim even by Russian standards. Blood soaked the right sleeve of Sasha’s jacket.
“Sir!”
The voice came from off to the right. He turned and got a fist to the face for it. But he spotted Adam, kneeling with his hands locked behind him. Two guards stood over Adam, weapons trained on his head. Ethan met Adam’s gaze, for a split second. Desperate fear hung in Adam’s eyes.
Footsteps rang over the deck, and the wild, endless beating slowed, and then tapered off. One last criminal remained, holding him by the slack in his chain and punching him in his stomach, his ribs, over and over.
“That’s enough.”
Ethan collapsed, falling in a heap to the deck. He tried to breathe, tried to drag in freezing air, but his lungs were seizing. He only managed quick, wet gasps. A part of his brain went wild, primal panic trying to take over.
He lay on his belly, his temple pressed to the cold steel. A pair of boots stopped in front of him, with another man standing behind the first.
“Ethan Reichenbach.” The voice spoke again, deep and rumbling. The man almost sounded amused. “You never fail to be predictable.” He knew that voice. He’d know it anywhere. He’d committed it to memory, sworn an oath to his soul that he’d wipe the man off the planet.
Slowly, Ethan pushed himself to his knees. Shuddering, he glared up at the speaker. “Madigan. You’re fucking insane.” Behind Madigan, Cook winked at Ethan.
Madigan laughed. “No, I’m just ahead of my time. The world is headed for a collapse all on its own. I’m simply speeding up the process. Taking control of what’s to follow.” He grinned down at Ethan. “You should remember, from your time in the Army. Destabilize. Destroy. Seize the initiative and take control.” Madigan spread his hands. “This is nothing different. Only the target has changed.”
He swayed on his knees. “You’re targeting your own country. Our country. The world.”
Madigan shook his head. “And this is why I decided not to recruit you. You’ve been on my radar for a while now, Reichenbach. You stood out in your Special Forces unit. A regular killer. You knew when to get things done. Had a reputation for efficiency.” He grinned. “I liked that. But then you left and joined the Secret Service.” Madigan moved, slowly circling Ethan. His boots scraped the frigid steel. “I kept my eye on you. Thought you might come in handy, especially when you rocketed up the ranks. But.” Madigan sighed behind Ethan, disappointed. “You are terribly, disgustingly naïve. You think you’re loyal, but you’re just a dog chasing after a bone, slobbering because you think it’s the right thing, what you’re supposed to do.” His circle complete, he squatted in front of Ethan. “Your bone is rotten, son. You’re feasting on the remains of a failed state.”
Ethan shook his head. “You are fucking insane. America isn’t a failed state.”
“Isn’t she? She’s lost her power in the world. Lost her respect, her standing. We once controlled economies, countries, had armies stationed in every hemisphere. When we lifted our fingers, the world jumped to where we said. We had true power. True might. We forged this world into our own image, crushing whatever and whoever stood in our way. Communism. Fascists. Terrorists. Radicals. And you know who really had that power? I did.Itoppled governments.Icreated insurgencies.Idestroyed and rebuilt whole countries while you were sleeping.”
He stood, gazing down at Ethan with disgust. “And president after president ruined the world I built. Your leadership can’t even stand firm in the face of a single enemy. Now, Spiers has finally sold America out, hopping into bed with the Russians, the Saudis, with anyone who will hold his hand and help him through the hard choices. He won’t do what’s right. He’s not strong enough, and he never will be.”
Blood rage blinded Ethan, and he snarled, lunging forward. The chain jerked him back. He fell to his ass, sprawling on his bound hands as he choked, struggling for air.
Madigan held up his hand. The chain stopped pulling, but the frozen links still bit into his skin.
“Ibuilt this world you live in.Iemboldened the Caliphate to destabilize your president,” he purred. “Iput Al-Karim on his path. Sent the Middle East into a tailspin. I waited for each president to fail to take charge, and fail to take care of the problem. Like a festering wound going rotten, Al-Karim helped pull the world down. And your president wanted totalkabout it. Endless summits with his allies.” Madigan looked at Sergey, his lips curling in a sneer. “And selling America out to her enemies. He made false promises to the world that America was for them. This world your president tried to create? It’s a sickening parody of peace. This isn’t what I spent my whole life fighting for!” Madigan’s voice rose to a shout. “So, I will rebuild this world,” he hissed, “undermycontrol.”
Silence hung over the deck, heavy. Ethan felt the freezing wind slice against his cheek, curl through his hair. He still could barely breathe. “What do you want with me?” he choked out.
“With you?” Madigan snorted. “Nothing.” He turned to Cook. “What’s Kobayashi’s status?”
“He’s ready to weaponize the reactor. All safeguards have been taken offline. It will take him about two hours to complete the process.”
“Excellent. Tell him to begin immediately. Send out the signal to our worldwide forces. They need to be ready. And bring me the ship’s radio.”
