"I hope this doesn't lead to a dead end," Yuri said as he rounded another corner.
"It was going to be a dead end back there," Sean said between breaths. "This way, at least it might be faster."
A few minutes in, the tunnel made a sharp left and then flattened out again. The men slowed to a walk as they made their way forward, their flashlight beams dancing along the ground several feet ahead.
"The air's cooler up here," Tommy said. His breath was coming quickly but not like it would have a year prior.
"Yeah, I was wondering if I felt that right," Sean said. "We must be closer to the surface."
"Or the main tunnel coming into the mine," Yuri said. "Listen."
The sound of men shouting orders echoed into their secret passage.
"Keep going," Sean said. "Put your palms over the top of the lights so the beams stay on the ground. Last thing we want to do is give up the element of surprise."
The others did as instructed and pushed ahead. The sounds of footsteps grew louder for a moment and then faded away. Probably reinforcements heading either to the gate or down below. If it was the latter, that would mean Foster had more men aboveground. Sean hoped it was the former.
He and the other two slowed down as their lights cast a faint glow on something obstructing the path ahead.
"This passage must be one of the ones that was blocked off," Sean said in a hushed tone.
No sooner had he gotten the words through his lips than the three heard a new sound. It was an engine — like a motorcycle.
Suddenly, lights danced on the wall beyond the barricade.
"It's a four-wheeler," Sean said.
"How do you know that?" Yuri asked.
"He's got a thing with motorbikes," Tommy explained.
Sean waited for a moment until the ATV was close. The engine roared and the lights grew brighter. From the sound, Sean could hear it pass by, and the second it did he charged forward, breaking through the old boards like a dump truck through a stack of matchsticks.
He turned to his left first to make sure no one else was coming and then spun to the right, aiming his weapon up the gradual ascent.
The four-wheeler was speeding toward the mine's entrance.
Sean took aim and squeezed the trigger.
The submachine gun fired round after round, forcing the muzzle upward. Sean's muscles tensed, fighting to keep the weapon steady.
Rounds sparked off the walls and floor. One struck the back right tire of the ATV. He didn't see one of his bullets tear through the driver's left shoulder. He did, however, see the man fall out of the saddle and roll to the ground as the ATV smashed into the wall.
The driver stood up and started running toward the door that began slowly creaking open.
Sean took aim at the driver's back and squared his sights. He squeezed the trigger, but the weapon clicked.
"Shoot him!" Sean yelled to Tommy and Yuri as they clambered out of the side shaft and into the main tunnel.
They raised their weapons and opened fire, but the wounded man had already slipped out the door.
"Hold on," Sean said. "He's out."
He tossed his gun aside and took off at a dead sprint.
His legs burned after the climb through the secret corridor. Now he was running uphill. The cool air burned in his chest, but he kept going.
Up ahead, the door to the mine hung wide open. Snow blew into the tunnel from the pale gray beyond.
Sean burst through the door, and his face smashed into something. He fell over sideways, his jaw throbbing with a sudden sharp pain. He rolled around in the powder for a second before he felt something dig into his ribs.
He swung both arms forward and wrapped around a leg. He looked up and saw Kent Foster standing over him with a bloody shoulder and a pistol in one hand.
"Goodbye, Sean."
Sean didn't let the words fully escape the man's mouth. He reached up and grabbed the barrel Foster fired. The muzzle popped loudly, ringing both men's ears, but the round dove harmlessly into the snow.
Sean wrenched the weapon away and smashed the secretary across the side of the face with his forearm. Then Sean tossed the weapon aside, far out of Foster's reach.
"It's over, Mr. Secretary. You've lost."
"Lost?" Foster huffed. "I don't lose, you imbecile. You do!"
Foster pulled a long hunting knife out of his coat and lunged forward.
His attack was reckless, but dangerous nonetheless. Sean sidestepped the charging madman like a matador in an arena.
Foster slid to a stop and spun around. He rushed at Sean again, shrieking a war cry as he charged.
Sean faked one way and then dipped to the other. Foster took the fake and swung his knife that direction. Sean grabbed the secretary's good arm and then swung his left foot at Foster's heels.
The kick flipped Foster's feet out from under him, and he hung in the air for a second. Sean yanked down, helping gravity to slam him to the ground.
Foster's head hit the snow hard, jarring him for a moment and loosening his grip on the knife. Sean pried it from his fingers and pressed the sharp edge to Foster's neck.
Foster breathed heavily. He swallowed hard, raising the blade slightly as Sean kept it firmly against his skin.
"Go ahead, Sean. Do it."
"I could," Sean said. "Not my style."
"Then do it. This is your last chance. I won't go to prison. It won't matter if the president himself tries to make it happen. I'll go free. We are everywhere."
"What was that you just said?" A new voice startled Foster from just over the ridge. "Something about how the president himself couldn't make it happen?"
John Dawkins crested the snowy hillside along with Adriana and Emily. Secret Service men and special ops surrounded him, clad in white winter gear. They swarmed the area and started pouring into the mine.
"Tommy and Yuri are down there," Sean said as he tossed the knife into the snow.
"My men know to look for them," Dawkins said.
He pulled up his goggles as he neared Sean and the wounded Foster.
"With all due respect, sir, maybe you should hang back until we get this cleared up. There are armed men down there."
"With all due respect, Sean, I've been in combat. And even though my men told me not to do this, I'm here. Deal with it." He winked as he said the last line.
"Yes, sir." Sean bowed his head and stepped aside.
Dawkins stood over Foster, looking down at him with disdain. Emily and Adriana gathered around, Adriana wrapping her arms around Sean and squeezing him tight.
"Secretary of State Kent Foster, you're under arrest," Dawkins said in a thunderous voice.
A sinister, sickly laugh escaped Foster's mouth. The volume of his voice continued to rise, and he put his hands up, waiting for someone to put cuffs on them.
"Go ahead. Arrest me."
Chapter 39
President Dawkins stood on the other end of the room in front of a mirror. He straightened his blue tie and pressed out his suit jacket to make sure there were no wrinkles. He must have done the same thing a thousand times and never found a problem. Old habits and all that.
Sean sat in the corner, staring at his phone.
Adriana had taken off the previous day. She said her father found a lead on a piece of artwork she'd been trying to find for some time.
Sean and Tommy had stayed with the president. Emily, too, had lingered behind to spend some time with the commander in chief.
"Mr. President?" His press secretary poked his head in the door of the green room. "It's time, sir."
"Okay," Dawkins said.
Sean scrolled to a newsfeed that caught his eye. He read the headline and studied the image that accompanied it.