“So I would take the money that you do have and use it to dig a very deep hole to crawl into. Even though Russia’s involvement in the crisis will be used for pragmatic political advantage, the Americans will take immense pleasure in announcing your death to the world, just as they did Bin-Laden’s.”
Almasi stretched out one of his rare smiles, a gesture that caused the Russian president to pause and cast a quizzical look his way.
“Mr. President,” Abdul-Shahid Almasi began, “I believe we will both share the same fate for what we have done recently. Only in my case I will find eternal life and peace with my God. What awaits you? That will be known any moment…”
The sentry drone arched forward and descended toward the pair, a heartbeat before the explosives aboard the quadcopter detonated.
President Rene Ortega looked over at the sallow face of Owen Murphy and nodded.
“You’re welcome,” he said to the president-elect, a title Murphy would hold for another six hours. “Now all you have to do is rebuild the United States of America… from the ground up. Good luck with that.”
The ex-governor of Maryland remained silent, although a prominent swallow could be seen traversing his thick neck. This was so much more than he’d bargained for when he set out to win the highest office in the land. Now he would actually have to do… something. And at that moment, Owen Murphy had no idea where to begin.