Super Sniper

by Rawlin Cash

  “What are we doing here?” Hunter said.

  “Waiting. Order a drink. We’ve got to look like guests.”

  A waitress approached. Hunter put his hand on Fawn’s knee and said, “What are you having, honey?”

  “Scotch on the rocks,” she said.

  He squeezed her thigh. “It’s a little early for me,” he said to the waitress. “I’ll stick to the coffee.”

  When the waitress left, Fawn shoved his hand from her leg.

  “Very funny,” she said.

  “I thought Hale was already here.”

  “He is, with President Blackmore and two secret service agents.”

  “Underground?”

  “I’m not sure. Hale had the idea of using the old bunker. He wanted to set up shop quietly. But once he got here, I think he preferred to just book a room. I’m waiting for him to get back to me.”

  Fawn’s phone rang.

  “We’re here,” she said. “Should we come up?”

  She hung up and Hunter told the waitress to cancel the drinks. They got an elevator to the top floor. It opened onto a wide corridor with plush, red carpet. They walked to one of the rooms and Fawn knocked.

  A moment later the door opened and a secret service agent let them in.

  “They’re back there,” he said.

  Hunter took in the suite. It was a fine example of classical grandeur. They were in a sitting room with comfortable leather furniture, old-fashioned radiators, and a fireplace. Through a wide pair of doors was a second seating area with more lounge furniture and another fireplace. The fireplace was lit and fresh flowers were on the coffee table.

  Inside the room was the other secret service guy, the helicopter pilot, Hale, and President Jennifer Blackmore.

  Hale spoke first.

  “Madam President, this is agent Fawn Aspen and this is the operative.”

  “Jack Hunter,” Hunter said.

  The president shook both their hands and indicated for them to take seats.

  “I take it you’ve been apprised of the situation,” she said.

  Hale was standing by a side table and he poured two cups of coffee for the newcomers.

  “You’ve been sworn in?” Hunter said.

  “Not quite. We’re still deciding what we should do. I can take the oath of office in private but there need to be certain witnesses present.”

  “There’s a bible in that bedside table, I’ll bet,” Hunter said.

  Jennifer smiled. “No one knows we’re here.”

  “You’re sure of that?”

  “As sure as we can be,” Hale said. “The chopper flew in dark and didn’t use the president’s call sign. No one at the safe house knew where we were headed and no one in DC has been informed of where we are.”

  “All they know is you flew off right after Walker was killed?”

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t have to tell you folks this is a very dangerous situation,” Hunter said.

  Jennifer looked toward Hale.

  “We know,” Hale said.

  Fawn spoke up. “We need to bring in more people,” she said. “We need to swear in the president.”

  “We’ll get to all that,” Hale said. “Right now, my priority is to keep her alive long enough for everything else to follow. I want to make sure we keep things airtight.”

  “And if there’s a leak, we need to be able to narrow down where it came from,” Hunter said.

  “Exactly. Set up a decoy. Smoke out any rats.”

  Jennifer spoke up. “Right now, everyone who knows where I am is in this room. The nation is without a president. There’s a killer out there who has already killed my two predecessors and probably has his sights on me next. I have three objectives. Catch the killer, secure the presidency, and reassure the nation. Right now, the only one I really care about is catching the killer.”

  “We can come up with a plan for that,” Hale said.

  “We’re going to need to enlarge our circle,” Fawn said.

  “We’ll do it, but we’ll do it smart,” Hale said. “Goldwater is dead but if we can get Antosh, Fitzpatrick, and the Attorney General together, we can swear you in, Madam President.”

  “And if one of them is our leak? Or someone working for any of them.”

  “Leave it with me,” Hale said.

  “Send me somewhere as a decoy,” Hunter said. “Put me in a helicopter under the president’s call sign. I’ll wait until something happens. You folks stay out of sight until it’s over. When the killer’s dead, take care of the constitution.”

  Hale smiled. “If only the constitution would wait,” he said.

  Twenty-Seven

  Hale watched Hunter. He was standing by a window looking out at the grounds of the hotel.

  “These windows,” he said to Hale.

  “I know.”

  “Why did you bring her here? This isn’t protocol.”

  “Protocol got two presidents killed.”

  Hunter rose an eyebrow. “If anyone finds out she’s here, we’re done for. Guided bullets?” He made a whistling sound through his teeth.

  Hale nodded. He knew it already. He’d picked this location without thinking things through and now he realized it wasn’t as secure as he’d thought.

  “We could go down to the bunker,” Hale said. “That’s what I had in mind initially.”

  “You’ve made a mistake,” Hunter said.

  Hale looked at the back of Hunter’s head. It gave him a strange sensation. The two of them had seen so much. Hale didn’t have a son. If he did, he would have been about Hunter’s age. He felt, when he looked at Hunter, that he was looking at the only real creation of his life.

  That was why it was so difficult to order his death.

  “What do you say?” Hale said. “We could go down to the bunker. It’s all intact. I visited it recently.”

  “All the schematics are public record. We wouldn’t hold out long against a determined enemy.”

  “Against one sniper?”

  “You’re not up against a sniper,” Hunter said. “You’re up against a weapon system you don’t understand. One crack in our perimeter and she’s dead. And what are we going to do then? We can lose soldiers. We can’t keep losing presidents. Things will break apart.”

  Hale felt a chill run down his spine. He realized the potency of the attack that was being made. He wondered how long the nation would hold together under a united leadership if the assassinations kept coming. Washington was a fractured, divisive place at the best of times.

  There were numerous foreign adversaries who could count on more support in DC for their lobbying efforts than any domestic political caucus.

  What would happen if a third president was killed? And a fourth? And a fifth? What if the line of succession got muddied? What if Jennifer named a vice president before she was sworn in and then got killed? Hale was no lawyer but it wasn’t difficult to see how two competing claims to the presidency could arise.

  He knew a real enemy would never have to defeat the US militarily. Every foe on the planet knew that was impossible. But if they could divide the nation. Split the leadership. That could cause a fracture.

  Who was behind it?

  Russia? Iran? North Korea? Islamic terrorists? Some domestic wack job?

  “I’ve got to call DC and get Jennifer sworn in,” Hale said.

  “As soon as you do, the clock starts ticking.”

  “Okay.”

  “They’ll be coming for us.”

  “So we know that. How do we use it?”

  “If you call Washington, who will you speak to?”

  “The attorney general, I guess.”

  “What about congress?”

  “Jennifer was speaker of the house. I’ll have to notify the Senate majority leader.”

  “What if you told each of them a different lie?”

  “See where the sniper turns up?”

  Hunter nodded. It was a standard tactic when trying to roo
t out a mole. Tell everyone something different and see which one filtered back.

  “I think a mole would see right through that. It would be a mess.”

  “What if we tell everyone the wrong location?”

  “Then why tell them anything at all.”

  Hunter sighed. He was frustrated. “This isn’t my area,” he said. “This is politics. If you want to keep the president safe, don’t tell anyone she’s here.”

  “But she’s not president yet. That’s the problem. And in order to make her president, I need to tell someone she’s here.”

  Hunter smiled.

  Hale heard someone behind him and turned around. It was Fawn.

  “Jennifer’s getting impatient,” she said. “She said this is your call.”

  Hale knew it was time to make a decision.

  “Madam President,” he said.

  He walked into the room where she was sitting. Hunter and Fawn followed him.

  “This is what we need to do. This building has a concrete bunker that’s about as safe a place as we’re likely to find. I’m going to go to the head of the hotel and tell him we’re here.”

  “Can we trust him?”

  “This man kept a secret agreement with the government for decades. Before him, his father kept the same secret.”

  “And that secret got out,” Jennifer said.

  “I don’t think it was the owner.”

  “You don’t think?”

  “Ma’am,” Hale said. “We’re going to have to trust someone. He’s as good a bet as we have.”

  “This is my life you’re betting with.”

  “The alternative is for us all to remain in this room indefinitely, not tell anyone we’re here, and let whoever’s in DC make up their own mind on what to do.”

  Jennifer was quiet. She was thinking. Hale knew she wasn’t a coward. She wasn’t being unreasonable. She just knew what was at stake.

  “So we call the owner. He comes up here with a big set of keys and walks us through the hotel to the bunker. Immediately, people in the hotel are going to know something’s up.”

  “Right, but we’ll be as secure as possible once we’re down there.”

  “Assuming the bunker is functioning properly.”

  “It’s not set up the way it was when it was operational, but it’s still a concrete box and it’s got power, ventilation, water. I’ve been down there. It’s as good as we’re going to get.”

  “So we get down there and then what?”

  “Then I call DC and we bring in the troops.”

  “The troops?”

  “The full presidential protection detail. The secret service, the military, the lawyers and politicians necessary to get you sworn in properly. You can start governing the country.”

  “And what about the sniper?”

  “After you’re sworn in, we can bring you to an official government location. I’ll make the plans personally. I’ll keep everything as secure as possible.”

  “We know we have a leaky ship.”

  “Right. So before we leave the bunker, Fawn will dress in your clothing and take your place.”

  Hale looked at Fawn. She said nothing. Her face was expressionless.

  It was Jennifer who said, “Is that okay with you, Fawn? To play the role of decoy while a sniper takes pot shots at you?”

  Fawn glanced at Hunter and then said, “Yes, ma’am.”

  “I can’t say I like this plan very much, Hale. Not only does it put Fawn’s life at risk, but it keeps me holed up down here.”

  “If the sniper makes a move, Hunter will get him.”

  “So you say.”

  “He will, ma’am. If he comes here, Hunter will get him.”

  “You’re putting a lot of faith in this operative.”

  “It’s well founded, ma’am.”

  The president looked at Hunter. Hunter’s face was as blank as Fawn’s had been.

  “Don’t tell me,” Jennifer said to Hunter, “that you’re going to promise me this plan will work.”

  Hale watched Hunter closely. He had no idea what he would say.

  Hunter looked at Hale and then at Fawn before answering. “There’s only one thing I like about this plan,” he said to the president. “It keeps you protected.”

  Hale let out a sigh of relief.

  “Shall I begin?” he said.

  Jennifer looked at all of them and stood up.

  “Don’t make any phone calls until we’re secure in the bunker,” she said. “I’m afraid of all these windows already.”

  Hale nodded. He was nervous around them too.

  Twenty-Eight

  They sent Fawn to find the owner of the hotel.

  While she was gone, Hale watched every move Hunter made. He felt like he was in a cage with a tiger. He remembered a novel he’d read about a boy trapped on a lifeboat with a tiger, a hyena and a monkey. That was how he felt. There was something predatory about the way Hunter prowled around the room, taking everything in. And Hale was just stuck there with him.

  “Have a seat,” Hale said.

  Hunter sat on the sofa and Hale prepared more coffee.

  Hale brought the coffee to the table and sat down. He cleared his throat. Then, under his breath, he said, “She’s expendable.”

  Hunter looked up at him and said nothing.

  Hale looked through to the other room, to where Jennifer was sitting by the fire with the secret service guys. She was no newcomer to Washington. She’d been one of the most important politicians in the country for years. She was the longest serving Speaker of the House and one of the most loved and hated people in the country. It didn’t feel right, what he was saying, but Hale was a man who always knew his mission. And his mission was not to protect Jennifer, it was not to protect the president, it was to protect the presidency itself. He wasn’t head of the secret service, he was head of the CIA. If protecting Jennifer was what was best for the country, he would do it. But if something else was better, then he would do that instead.

  If he had the chance of hanging Jennifer out to dry to catch the assassin, he would take it.

  “Everyone’s expendable to you,” Hunter said after a long pause.

  “I don’t make the rules.”

  “You can’t keep losing presidents,” Hunter said. “Even you know that.”

  Hale shook his head. “I need you to kill this assassin, and that’s all I need. Whatever else happens, whoever else has to die, that’s acceptable.”

  Hunter said nothing. Hale needed to be sure he and Hunter were on the same page. He needed to know Hunter would obey. But Hunter wasn’t his soldier anymore. Those days were over.

  “You know,” Hunter said, “I’ve often wondered why you haven’t come for me yet.”

  Hale felt like the oxygen had been sucked out of the room.

  “What are you talking about?” he said.

  “You know what I’m talking about.”

  “I’m sure I don’t.”

  “Oh, come on, Hale. You know those memory wipes don’t last forever.”

  Hale looked away.

  Neither of them said anything.

  Hale wanted to know what Hunter remembered. The devil was in the details. Clearly, he remembered something, he remembered part of the story, but which part? Those memories never came back fully formed. They were always jumbled up, like they were being viewed through a prism.

  Anything he said now would be a liability.

  “I see,” he said at last.

  “Don’t you wonder that?” Hunter said.

  He was fishing. Hale knew this game too well to be drawn in. He’d taught it to Hunter.

  “How long has Fawn been gone?” he said.

  Hunter said, “Let’s not change the subject.”

  “I don’t think we’re ready to have this conversation,” Hale said.

  “And what conversation is that, Hale?”

  “Hunter,” Hale said.

  “You should have killed me when you
had the chance. You never leave loose ends. You know that.”

  “Why would I kill my own asset?”

  Hale felt the mistake as soon as the words left his lips. It was too late to take them back.

  “Why indeed?” Hunter said.

  There was another pause and then Hale let out a long sigh. He was no longer a young man. He’d made it to the top of the CIA but he’d lost everyone who ever meant anything to him along the way. He had little left to look forward to. Soon his tenure at the agency would be over. Even if he survived this crisis, there would be another, and another, until he made a mistake that couldn’t be forgiven. And what would he have then? No family. No loved ones. If Hunter wanted to have it out, he didn’t have much reason to put it off.

  “If you have something to say, Hunter, you might as well say it.”

  Hunter looked at him, those predator’s eyes taking in every movement like a snake watching a mouse.

  “Why haven’t you killed me?” Hunter said.

  It wasn’t a question Hale had ever expected to be asked, and he didn’t have an answer.

  “Don’t you want to know why I haven’t killed you?” Hunter said.

  That was a question Hale had put a lot more thought into. “I know why you haven’t killed me,” Hale said.

  “Why’s that?”

  Hale sighed again. He was doing it a lot. He drank his coffee and poured himself more.

  “I had a mentor too, once,” he said.

  Hunter looked away. He wasn’t interested in life lessons. He didn’t want to hear a story. But a story was the only thing Hale had. It was the only thing anyone had.

  “He told me once, if someone puts a gun to your head, there’s only one thing to say.”

  “And what’s that?” Hunter said.

  “You tell them, pull the trigger.”

  Hunter watched him and then nodded. “Is that what you’re telling me?” he said.

  “Hunter,” Hale said, and for the first time in a very long time, he knew that what he was saying was the complete truth. “If you’re putting a gun to my head, then that’s what I’m saying. Pull the trigger. If you’re sure that’s what you need to do, then go head. No one will stop you.”