“Well, that won’t be necessary anymore.”
Blunt furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”
“Have you seen my approval rating numbers lately?” Young asked. “They’re in the toilet, swirling around.”
Blunt squinted at Young. “What’s that have to do with me and my team?”
“We cancelled the G5 Summit next week in London, J.D. Things are bad, really bad. And I have to make some changes and take some action to show the American people that we, as a nation, will not allow such gross negligence to take place without some type of accountability.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“You’re fired,” Young said. “We’re shuttering the entire program. Your agents will be recalled immediately.”
“You can’t be serious,” Blunt protested. “Right now, they’re the only people out there trying to get answers in a government that’s been corrupted by Obsidian.”
“That’s a lie, and you know it. We have some of the best and brightest minds trying to solve the riddle of how a highly talented black ops team murdered a man in broad daylight and tried to cover it up.”
“Cover it up? Are you insane? We were fed faulty intel.”
“Intel that you’re responsible for checking,” Young said. “Your agents should’ve known who they were targeting.”
“We were targeting him because everyone else in the U.S. government is chicken shit and didn’t want to get blood on their hands.”
“Well, your hands are pretty damn bloody now,” Young said. “And I’m not going to let you get away with it.”
“Are you accusing us of purposefully doing this?”
Young shrugged. “Not sure, but I do know that you broke several international laws to do what you did.”
“You can’t be serious,” Blunt said as he stood.
“Sit down,” Young said as he rose to his feet. He walked across the room and tapped on the door.
Two Secret Service agents entered and stood behind Blunt, who’d yet to sit down.
“What is this?” Blunt asked.
“You’re under arrest, J.D.”
“For what?”
“Initiating an unauthorized attack on foreign soil.”
“This is absurd. I was following orders … your orders.”
Young shook his head. “I never told you to do any such thing. Unfortunately, it’s come to this. I’ve let you operate for far too long unchecked, and now you’ve killed an innocent man, a man who was actually helping us win the war in Afghanistan. Do you realize how far you’ve set things back?”
“Do you even believe the words coming out of your mouth?” Blunt asked. “It’s me you’re talking to. There’s no press corps in the room to show how tough you are. It’s just you and me having a discussion about this. Did something go wrong? Yes. Was it our fault? Absolutely not. And if you think arresting me is going to make this go away for you politically, you’re wrong. It’s only going to spell your demise and open you up to unimaginable criticism.”
“I doubt it,” Young said. “Besides, nothing will happen until after the election.”
“You’re going to keep me locked up for two months without a lawyer?”
“You’ll get your due process … in due time.”
“This is an outrage, Noah.”
Young nodded at the Secret Service agents who each grabbed one of Blunt’s arms.
“I can’t believe you think this is going to make your problems go away,” Blunt said.
The agents ushered Blunt out of the room and down the hall. As they neared a restroom, he stopped. The realization dawned on him that his opportunity to warn his team was about to vanish the moment they put handcuffs on him and drove him off to a black site. He knew how this worked.
“Before we go, can I use the restroom?” Blunt asked the agents. “This can’t wait.”
They looked at each and nodded. They followed Blunt into the bathroom where he picked out a stall. He wasted no time hammering out a text to Hawk, imploring him to drain the foundation’s bank account and be prepared to ward off U.S. agents as Young would undoubtedly designate the entire team as enemies of the state.
One of the agents banged on Blunt’s door. “Let’s go, old man. We don’t have all day.”
Blunt deleted the text from his sent folder before slipping the phone back into his pocket. Then he flushed the toilet and rejoined the men outside.
“Shall we?” Blunt said, offering his arms.
He swallowed hard, unsure if he’d ever be free again. But he didn’t care as much about himself as he did his team. Knowing that his agents were out there trying to stop America’s true enemies and would soon be hunted for trumped-up charges made him sick. The members of his team deserved better than that, but he wasn’t sure there was anything he could do about it now except hope for the best … and pray.
CHAPTER 12
Copenhagen, Denmark
THE GUN FELT COLD against Mia’s temple as she stared wide-eyed at Lord Override. With narrowed, dark eyes and pursed lips, he glared at her. She scanned the room quickly, searching for anything that she could weaponize if she could get the gun out of his hand.
“Is that really necessary?” her gaze bouncing toward the weapon.
“I was hoping this would relay just how serious I am about this,” he said. “Now, I’m not asking again. Tell me who you’re working for.”
“Okay,” she said softly. “But first I want to tell you something.”
She drew up and planted a long kiss on his lips.
Lord Override drew back quietly, a blank expression on his face.
“Bet you and all your amazing algorithms didn’t see that coming?” she chided.
“This isn’t a game to me,” he said. “If you saw what I saw about you, there’s no way you would be making light of this situation. I suppose you’re trying to play me for the fool right now, but I’m not falling for it.”
“You’re not making any sense,” she said.
“Answer the question, will you? Otherwise, this is where we part ways. And not in an I-show-you-the-door kind of way.” He flicked the safety off his gun and trained it on her chest.
“I’m not working for anybody,” she said.
“I
