“You have it all worked out, it seems.”
“Yeah, you can thank your old friend, General Matthews, for that.”
“Yes… his involvement was unfortunate but ultimately irrelevant. It won’t change anything.”
I smile. “You seem pretty sure about that…”
“Oh, I am. You see, the way I figure it, you wouldn’t have walked in here without some contingency in place. Credit where it’s due, Adrian, you’re a smart man. You would have made sure the evidence Matthews gave you was made public in some way, if you don’t get out of here. Or maybe even if you do, I’m not sure. But, obviously, I can’t allow that. So, here’s the thing — you make the call right now to stop that evidence going wherever you intend it to go, and I won’t use Cerberus to destroy your bar, your town, and the woman you love.” He picks up the desk phone receiver and holds it out to me. “Sound fair?”
I need a minute.
It’s funny, isn’t it, how sometimes the scale of something can be so big it becomes lost on you… like the size of it is simply too massive to comprehend. Take the speed of light, for example. It’s something ridiculous, like nine hundred eighty million feet per second. That’s some distance on its own. I think it’s the equivalent of traveling the entire circumference of the planet seven times. But when you think light travels that distance every second, it suddenly becomes just a number, with all meaning and scale lost because you can’t wrap your head around how something could possibly move that fast.
That’s how I feel right now.
I’m face-to-face with the man who is literally trying to take over the planet, but that’s a meaningless statement. All I can think about is two people in a small town in Texas. I can’t help myself. Despite knowing the fate of billions is probably hanging in the balance, resting solely on the outcome of this conversation, I’m standing here thinking only about Tori Watson and John Raynor — my girlfriend, and the sheriff of the town I call home.
She’s only the second woman I’ve ever loved. And he was a good friend who put his ass on the line for me, and trusted me, when he had no reason to. I owe them both.
Tori… I can’t lose her.
But I’ve already lost her, haven’t I? Because I know I’m not walking away from this… I’ll never see her again.
Besides, the priority is stopping Cunningham. If he succeeds, the world will be nothing more than a dictatorship.
Though, while that world would suck, at least she would be alive to see it…
But is that a life worth living? Is it a life worth sacrificing?
I feel my Inner Satan stand next to me and put a friendly arm around my shoulder. I glance to my right, as if seeing a person no one else can see.
Adrian, my man… You know what you gotta do, right?
I nod to myself. Yeah… I know.
You and me… we’re a team now, you hear me? I’m not the Hulk to your Bruce Banner anymore. Together, we’re what King Kong is to the Empire fucking State Building! You understand? He didn’t just tear through the lobby, he scaled the side… focused on taking out the whole thing. See what I’m saying here?
I smile. I bet I sound crazy, right? Well… sometimes sanity just doesn’t cut it.
“Everything alright, Adrian?”
I take a deep breath, treasuring every ounce of oxygen that flows into my lungs as if it’s my last. “Yes, sir, Mr. President. Everything’s peachy.”
“So, what’ll it be?”
I stroke my chin thoughtfully. “It’s a no-brainer, Charlie…”
He smiles.
I smile back.
After a moment, I’m still smiling, whereas his starts to fade, giving way to uncertainty. He won’t understand why I seem so calm and relaxed. But I’m that way because I know what I need to do, and smiling while I do it will stop me from screaming.
“Fuck you, Mr. President, and the horse you rode in on… That evidence is staying right where it is.” I nod at the laptop. “So go ahead, fire that missile. I fucking dare you.”
He hesitates, his brow furrowing with indecisiveness. He doesn’t believe me. I can see it in his eyes. It’s the look a poker player has when he believes his cards are better than the guy who’s just raised the stakes. He doesn’t think I would sacrifice someone I care about so quickly. And usually, he would be right. But these circumstances are far from usual, and I’m trying my best to remain objective, to keep my focus on the bigger picture.
Plus, I have a plan. I think…
“You do realize I’m not bluffing, don’t you?” he asks me after a moment. “This isn’t an empty threat. This needs doing, and, yes, while I could theoretically target anywhere in the United States, it makes more sense to use this situation to its full potential and break you at the same time.”
This gun hasn’t left my temple since I kicked down the door. The seven pairs of eyes along the right wall remain fixed on me. The two assholes near the sofas look relaxed, comfortable… confident. Cunningham looks like he believes he’s in control.
I don’t know how I look to everyone else, but I know how I feel inside.
I feel like… Adrian Hell!
I whip my left arm up and back, ducking slightly as I deflect the gun away from my head. I step around the agent next to me, putting my left arm under his chin and around his throat as I grab his wrist with my right, controlling the gun. I’m a little taller than he is, so I crouch slightly, hiding as best I can behind him.
No one’s reacted yet. I reckon I have maybe three more seconds before they do.
I drag this guy backward by his throat, moving as fast as possible around the desk to stand next to the president.
Three seconds. They know what I’m doing. They’re taking aim…
I squeeze tightly with my left arm. I feel him loosen his grip on the gun. Which is what I was waiting for. I slide it from his hand in a swift, practiced motion and let go of him, throwing a quick, short elbow to the back of his head as I arc the gun clockwise. I’m close enough now that I hold my arm out and place the barrel against Cunningham’s temple at the exact moment he spins the laptop around, sits down, and places his finger over the Enter key.
I’m standing at an angle, looking at him and most of the room. I can see the open door and the right corner in my peripheral vision. “If anyone moves, he dies before I do. We clear?” I shout.
The agents hesitate and glance at their commander-in-chief, who gives the slightest of nods, ordering them to stand down.
I gesture to the laptop. “Now, I can only assume that pressing that button launches the missile. Am I right?”
Cunningham nods, leaning slightly away from me under the pressure of the gun.
“Okay, if you press that button, you’ll be dead a second later. That’s not a bluff or an empty threat. I don’t do those things, either. I will blow your fucking head off if you so much as think about that laptop again, you understand me?”
He nods again, his eyes appearing calm and collected. “Surely your intention is to kill me anyway?”
“I thought about it, I’ll be honest. I’ve thought about shooting you pretty much exclusively for the last two weeks. But Matthews told me it wouldn’t make a difference. Not now. And believe it or not, my priority is to prevent North Korea from doing any more damage, not to settle the score with someone who isn’t fit to breathe the same air as me.”
Out the corner of my eye I see the agent on the far right shuffle to his left. A very subtle movement, but I saw it. He’ll be trying to widen their coverage of the room, make it harder for me to defend myself.