door. That spoiled his mood.
'So is there anything you can do about this, Mr. President?'
Evan painted on a sad face. 'At this time, I am greatly limited by the new treaty. However, it is my intention to strike a dialogue with the extraterrestrial powers with the aim of expanding the treaty's scope to the other nations of the world. I hope that-'
The President's attention was diverted again, this time not by boredom but by the intrusion of Dante Jones. Evan-always the quick thinker-took advantage of the new arrival.
'Ah, the Secretary of Defense is here. I must end our meeting at this time,' he stood. 'I will discuss the matter with Secretary Jones. In the meantime, if you'll excuse me…'
The red-headed assistant with the scar on her face came from a corner of the Red Room and pointed the visitors toward the exit. The Pakistani huffed in disappointment, the Spanish lady appeared ready to say more but a stern look from Evan dissuaded her, the Italian gazed around at the paintings and furniture one last time. Regardless, all three finally left. Evan collapsed into his chair once again. 'Well handled, my dear,' Sharon spoke but Evan could not tell if she spoke sincerely or sarcastically. Jones heaved a deep breath and boomed, 'What the Hell did you do? What is going on?'
Evan did not need specifics to know Dante referred to the taking of Jorge Stone from his family beach house, a move Evan personally approved based on the promise Gannon made on behalf of The Order.
Godfrey sighed, stood, and lifted his cup from the tea tray. As he raised it to his lips, he noticed Dante's expression change-slightly-from pure anger to puzzlement.
Evan realized that the hand with which he held the tea cup shook…a little. He concentrated, stopped the shaking, and then quickly replaced the cup on the tray.
A little shake in the hand. No big deal.
Jones' anger returned. Sharon smartly closed the Red Room door leaving the three of them and the dog alone in the chamber.
Dante pressed in rapid-fire words, 'I just heard through Roos that you let them have JB. Is that true? What do they want with Trevor's kid? This is bull shit!'
'Relax, Dante,' Evan tried to appear calm but he found himself agitated at Roos having told Jones about the boy, no doubt because Roos wanted to force a confrontation such as this. 'I will not relax!' 'It's a sacrifice, Dante.' 'What? That's bull! It's wrong, Evan! I didn't sign on for this type of shit.'
'It's no different than things Trevor did,' Godfrey rationalized, drawing a wide-eyed expression of disbelief from Jones. Godfrey continued, 'What? You don't think so? Trevor murdered hundreds at New Winnbow, he assassinated political leaders, and for the longest time he took no prisoners on the battlefield. He built an underground complex at Red Rock to take apart sentient alien beings piece by piece.'
'Yeah, but he hated doing all of that.'
'Yes! He did, didn't he? He sacrificed because he thought it the best thing to do. Why is this any different? It's better, I tell you. It's better because these sacrifices are for something more than war. They are for peace, and security.'
Dante shook his head and pleaded, 'No more, no more. Man, I can't take this anymore.'
Evan rested a hand on the Secretary's shoulder.
'Don't you give it a second thought. It's not your responsibility; it's on my shoulders. You have more important things to do.'
'Yeah, yeah, I, a, yeah…'
'I have something I want you to look into.'
Jones said, 'I can't find anything that makes me think the military is going to move against the government. I don't know where these rumors are coming from. But Jon Brewer is talking to the leaders in the army. He says they're all anxious, but on board.'
'Yes, that's great, but that's not what I mean. I've heard rumors that some of the troops we are de- mobilizing are signing up with mercenary groups to go fight overseas. It seems they did not get enough violence to satisfy their appetites fighting here. We can't have this.'
'Huh? How can I stop people from leaving? They're private citizens they, well, like they have rights.'
'They do not have the right to jeopardize all of us. Put a stop to it, Dante. That's your number one priority right now.' 'I thought this whole conspiracy thing was my number one priority.' Evan smiled and assured, 'Leave that to me, I've got it covered.' During the course of their conversation, Evan successfully maneuvered them to the door. He opened it, offering Dante the exit. 'Yeah, okay, whatever.'
The Secretary of Defense-either frustrated or de-toothed-left the Red Room with no hint of the anger that had accompanied him inside.
Sharon made to leave but stopped to say, 'He could be a problem, my dear.'
'Perhaps. But not right now. He's easy enough to manipulate.'
'You do have a knack for that, don't you,' she kissed his cheek. 'But as for Trevor's wife, it seems to me that she may be so distraught over her husband's death that she might just take her own life. Why, some might even think that the noble thing to do.'
'Yes,' Evan agreed but thought of the boy's disappearance when he said, 'that is possible. But there are other things to address before that.'
'I suppose I'll leave that to you, my champion,' her words slithered and she left the room.
Evan-in need of a few minutes of alone time-closed the door to the Red Room. His hand shook as he pulled it away from the knob. Just a little. Merely a tremble. Nonetheless, he clamped his free hand over the other as if to silence an annoyance. Evan gave his attention to the art work and regal furniture in the room. 'It's all mine,' he said to no one. No, wait, a pair of ears still listened.
Evan swirled around and eyed the Doberman Pinscher sentry sitting perfectly still and perfectly straight inside the closed door. The dog's dark brown eyes stared straight ahead as if it might be a statue.
The President tilted his head in curiosity for the beast and-slightly hunched over-stepped toward the canine, speaking as he moved.
'This is all mine now, you know. Not Trevor. Mine. I worked hard to get here, got it? I won't let anyone take it away from me, not this time. I belong here.'
Evan leaned over and nearly touched his face to the snout of the sturdy animal. For its part, the K9 blinked, sniffed the air, but otherwise did not react.
Evan gazed into those brown eyes. The voice of Gordon Knox haunted, ' Can you see him, Evan? Can you see Trevor Stone looking back at you? Watching you?'
'I don't see anything in there,' Evan insisted. 'Nothing but a mindless animal. Nothing but a product of training. Just a dumb dog!'
Evan turned fast, frustrated and scared at the same time then…then stopped and faced the K9 again. He took a deep breath, calmed, and stepped close again.
'Do you understand what I'm thinking? I am the leader now. You must obey me.'
The dog blinked. Evan waited. Nothing happened.
The President laughed out loud; a chuckle.
Oh how silly of me. How ridiculous. It's only a dog. Nothing more.
He stood straight, adjusted his sport jacket, and left the room.
22. Trigger
Waves curled into white caps, crashing in on themselves and rolling to the quiet beach where they faded one after another under a cloud-filled night. Those clouds added a new sound to the steady onslaught of breakers: the pitter-patter of a light rain on the grassy dunes as well as the patio pavers outside the Stones' beach house.
The drizzle dripped on the roof, rolled along gutters, and filled the darkness with a constant dribble that helped mask Nina and Gordon's footsteps as they crept toward the sliding glass door separating the rear patio from the kitchen.
The pair moved silently, speaking with gestures and intuition, but they moved with urgency: the lone exterior
