“So have I. Nowhere is perfect. People aren’t capable of that. But Jinshan will get us closer. You know what the problem with democracy is? Freedom. People don’t know what is best for them. It’s not a popular sentiment, but you know in your heart that it’s true.”
Chase said, “You’re naïve if you think that a dictator is the answer.”
“Democracies around the world let voters choose politicians that create unsupportable entitlement programs. Their politicians know better, but they promise their constituents the moon because it gets them elected. By the time the programs fail or bury the nation in debt, the politicians that put us there are long gone. The proper period of performance measurement does not fit within the same timeframe as the voting cycle. And even if it did — most people aren’t like you and me. They have not lived lives filled with sweat, and stained with blood. They don’t have the wisdom to make the right choices.”
“You’re advocating for a global government where the people don’t have a say?”
“Important decisions must be made by the wise, not the popular. So, yes, I believe that a global government under proper leadership, with real power and good decision makers, is the best thing that could happen. I will also tell you that the only way it will happen is through force. Again, not a popular opinion. Again, truth. When the sick, the weak, the sucking leeches and self-interested pigs have taken over the thrones, the strong and brave must stand up for what is right. We will not let our children be trampled by a corrupt and ignorant world.” Her chest heaved as she spoke.
“You mean your one child, right? Because you can only have one child under Chinese law. Maybe it’s two now? Either way, I don’t want to live in a world where a dictator tells me how many kids I can have.”
Her face reddened and she glared at him. “Well, there’s a good chance you won’t live in that world. But trust me, that world is coming.”
She sat and remained silent for a while, cooling off. Then she whispered to him, her beautiful eyes looking directly into his, “This will likely be the last time we speak.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
She flipped back a lock of her black hair that had fallen over her shoulder. The steady noise of the Skyview Bar remained in the background. Aside from them, it was a jovial atmosphere. Chase saw a large silver platter of lobster wheeled past their table.
A glance at his watch. Waleed should have been here by now.
Lena stood and regained her composure. She spoke in her confident tone. “Well, Chase, it was a nice time that we shared.”
She looked like she was contemplating whether to say something else.
He wasn’t sure what to do next. He said, “Lena, you know that I can’t let you leave.”
She cackled. “I thought you would say as much. Could you double-check the time?” He showed her his watch. “Thanks.” She looked back over her shoulder. Chase followed her gaze.
A very large man with a black beard stood at the entrance of the Skyview Bar. He had his hand hidden under his coat. Chase’s blood chilled as he realized that it was Pakvar.
Chase looked at Lena. “Is he here for me?”
“Only if you try to stop me. I was very specific about that. I told you that you meant something to me.”
“That’s touching. Didn’t you shoot one of his men? Isn’t he pissed at you for that?”
She frowned. “You let me worry about that. Listen, Chase, I’m sure you doubt my honesty at this point, and I don’t blame you. I can’t quite reconcile why, but I would prefer that you were unharmed in what comes next. My gift to you now is a chance at living. But once I walk out this door, all bets are off.”
She stood.
Chase looked at Pakvar. He glared back at Chase. “What do you mean when you say, ‘what comes next?’ What do you think is coming?”
She leaned over to whisper in his ear. Her low-cut dress hung open in front of him. She said, “Whether you think that I am crazy or not, know this — your world is about to be turned upside down. Be safe. I hope that we can meet again sometime long from now, in a different place.” She kissed him on the lips, slid her thumb down his cheek. He didn’t kiss back. “Now don’t move, or Pakvar will shoot you right in the chest.”
A woman across the restaurant let out a yell of alarm and Chase’s eyes reflexively glanced in that direction. Lena didn’t turn.
She said, “Sounds like my time is about up.” Chase couldn’t see what the woman in the restaurant had yelled about, but others were starting to raise their voices as well.
Lena turned and walked away, leaving Chase at the table. He gritted his teeth and stared at Pakvar, who smiled back at him. He was clearly holding a weapon, daring him to move.
Another yell from across the restaurant. Now people stood, looking out the windows. Lena made her way through the crowd, ducking in between people and starting to run.
The restaurant came alive as people started getting up from their tables and heading over to the large panoramic windows. When Lena passed Pakvar, he walked backwards to trail her, careful to keep his eyes on Chase. A moment later, they were gone.
Someone else screamed. Chase was frazzled by Lena’s departure. It took a second for him to realize that something drastically out of the ordinary was going on outside the building. The patrons of the Skyview Bar began jockeying for space to look out the windows.
There was a blaze of reddish orange on the horizon that Chase had thought was the remnant of the setting sun. But that didn’t quite fit. It seemed to be in the wrong place.
He looked back out the window and finally he saw it, in the direction of the Port of Jebel Ali. It wasn’t a fiery sunset at all. It was fire. A giant, blazing fire with plumes of thick black smoke spiraling up into the sky.
There came several flashes in the same vicinity, with more smoke plumes following them shortly after. Chase knew that pattern of light and smoke from his time in battlefields in various war zones. The restaurant crowd let out shocked gasps as Chase realized what he was witnessing. Multiple conversations in different languages were all saying the same thing: Dubai is being attacked. But it wasn’t Dubai. It was the port. Jebel Ali. That’s where the US Navy ships were, and where the aircraft carrier Truman had just sailed into port.
Chase got up and darted toward the elevator. A crowd was gathering there now, many of them frantic to get to safety. Some people were running down the stairs.
In the chaos, someone gripped his arm.
It was Waleed.
“Chase, you must come with me immediately. I need to speak to you now.”
Chase said, “Those explosions were coming from Jebel Ali.”
“My sources tell me that they were Iranian cruise missiles. Our air defense radars picked up Iranian surface missile radar signatures in the last hour. We have been on high alert, but the cyberattack has hampered all defensive efforts. Other US Navy ships in the Gulf have reported similar attacks within the last hour.”
Chase couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
He listened to Waleed as they ran down the stairs. Chase was hopping three steps at a time. The Arab man was out of breath as he struggled to keep up. They had to weave through the crowd of frightened people that had decided to head down the stairs instead of wait for the elevator.
Waleed said, “I received a message from Gorji. That is why I needed to see you.”
“Gorji’s dead. I thought he was killed at Bandar Abbas. How did he send a message?”
“He sent the message two days ago. But in this mess with the communications, I only today received it. He said Jinshan knows. He knows about Satoshi.”
“What do you mean?”
“In the message, Gorji apologized that he wasn’t able to have Satoshi meet us in Abu Musa. He stated that Satoshi was dead. That he had been killed almost two years ago, not long after Gorji had met him. His contact on Abu Musa discovered that Jinshan had sent someone else in his place. This man that you and Elliot have been supporting… he is working for Jinshan.”