The 13: Fall (38 page)

“So you know who I am.” It was a statement, not a question. “Please, then, just call me by my first name. Quinn.”

Megan said, “Why are you calling us?”

“Because. God has heard your prayer. And He has searched your hearts and knows that you—”

“Wait!” Megan interrupted. “You mean, just now? When Boz and I were praying?”

“Yes,” he said. “Just now.”

“That’s pretty heavy,” she said.

“Yes, it is,” he agreed. “God has heard your prayer. I am to tell you that you are correct, Boz. God will not give our country over to be destroyed. Not yet.”

“What does that mean?” Boz asked.

“It means that we have work to do,” he answered. “He has appointed one who will lead our country back to Him. In the meantime, there are others who have committed some pretty big wrongs.”

“I don’t understand,” Taylor said.

“Though our country has turned its back on God, it is still His creation. He gave us this land. And He loves us. But there are those who have betrayed this nation to satisfy their own personal selfishness. In doing so, they have done more than just turned their back on Him. God is sovereign, but we are still responsible for our choices. They have willfully betrayed Him. He will allow them to be brought to justice. And then … He will deal with them.”

“You mean Marianne Levy,” Boz said.

“And some others. But specifically her,” Quinn said.

“And you’re telling us it’s our job to find them,” Boz said.

“For now,” Quinn said. “Until something changes.”

“What’s going to change?” Taylor asked.

“I don’t know. I’m only telling you what I’ve been told to say. I have to go now.”

“Why? Where are you going?” Taylor asked. “How will we get in touch with you if we need you?”

“Trust me,” Quinn said. “If you need to talk to me, He’ll let me know.”

There was a beeping sound, and then the line went quiet.

“So what do we do now?” Taylor asked. “We need to talk to Jennings.”

Boz dialed the number and waited. Jennings answered after three rings.

“Hey, it’s Boz and Taylor.”

“You find Levy yet?”

“Not yet, but we believe we know where she is. Where’s Keene?”

“Still at the border. He just saw an entire Chinese convoy, fighter jets and all, headed here. We’re in the middle of it pretty good right now.”

“Is he okay?” Taylor asked.

“He’s okay.”

“Kevin, you’ve got to get our boys home as quick as you can,” Boz said.

“I’m trying, Boz. Believe me. The Joint Chiefs have already given orders for every naval vessel we have to report to Norfolk immediately.

But it’s going to take them at least ten days to get here. We could be completely taken by then.”

“Not gonna happen,” Boz said. “What about the UK? Are they coming to help? They can have ships here in two days.”

“They’re saying no. The Chinese own them as much as they do us. Probably worse. They aren’t going to lift a finger to help us out. They don’t want to be next. And neither does anyone else. They’re all waiting to see if the world’s greatest superpower falls. Listen, I need to go. You two find Marianne Levy and bring her to me. And bring her alive. Don’t you two
dare
kill her before I do. You understand me?”

“Understood,” Boz said.

The line went silent.

Ten minutes after the call, Boz and Taylor sped through the streets of Mumbai back to the plane. It was a short drive, but it felt like an eternity. Neither one said much on the drive.

As they pulled up to the tarmac, the plane was already out of the hangar. They got out of the car and met the new flight crew. Boz handed Taylor her bag from the backseat and then grabbed his own. She was halfway up the stairs when he called to her.

She turned around and stopped. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t go with you.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“I can’t go,” he said. “You heard Jennings. It’s going to take our Navy more than a week to get home. We need some help.”

“What are you talking about?”

“England is the only country with a military that can help us right now.”

“And Jennings said they’re leaving us high and dry. We’re on our own.”

“Maybe not. I know some guys there. Maybe I can change their minds.”

She walked back down the small set of steps and stood inches away from him. “Boz, this is crazy! Get on the plane. Marianne Levy is responsible for this. She needs to pay.”

“And she will. You’re more than capable of finding her and bringing her back. I have a good shot at getting our boys some help quickly. I’m not going to sit back and do nothing.”

She sighed and stepped back a few feet. “And how are you going to get there?”

“Give me the sat-phone.”

She stared him down for a few seconds, but he wasn’t budging. Finally she reached inside her bag and tossed him the phone. She watched him dial the number and wait for the call to be placed.

“Mac, this is Boz…. Yeah…. You still in Surat?” He listened for a second then said, “Good. I need a pilot and a plane…. Mumbai….” Then, “London…. Great, I’ll be waiting for you.”

He hung up the phone and looked at her. “Old friend who owes me a favor. He’s going to come get me. I can be in London by morning.”

Megan threw her hands up in the air. “They’ve already said they’re not helping us!”

“
They
may have said no.” He smiled. “But I know a guy who can change their mind.”

“I can’t go chasing after Marianne by myself. I need your help.”

“No you don’t,” he said. “I’ve watched how you handle yourself. Go get her. Bring her back. You’re right. She needs to pay for what she’s done.”

He pointed for her to get on the plane. She realized she was on her own for this part. And a whole new set of emotions began to take hold. How was she going to bring Marianne in by herself?

As if Boz were reading her mind, he reached up and squeezed her shoulders. “You’re not just a computer technician, Megan. You’re an FBI agent. And a very good one, at that.”

Boz was right. Even though her time in the field had been minimal, she was more than capable of doing this. And if Boz could somehow get help, he had to do it. She couldn’t stop him.

She set her jaw and nodded to him. She turned and walked up the small set of stairs to the plane. The flight attendant took her bag and closed the door behind her.

She leaned into the cockpit and said, “Let’s go.”

   CHAPTER 62   

J
ennings rode inside the armored SUV with Director Preston and Bob Sykes, the secretary of the Navy. The other heads of the military, along with the Joint Chiefs and President Walker, were in cars behind him, along with half of the Cabinet. The Speaker of the House and the other half were two cars back and had two separate escorts. Somewhere in the midst of the convoy, an armored medical van carried the fragile body of President Grant and the First Lady. With the attack, it was decided that any type of air travel was too dangerous. Even for Marine One.

With Vice President Walker having become President Walker, there was a vacancy in the office of vice president until Walker could appoint someone. Therefore, Speaker Cunningham was next in line for the presidency, should something happen to Walker. And so, as President Walker was being taken away to the presidential bunker in Virginia along with half of the Cabinet members and President Grant, Cunningham and the other half of the Cabinet were being moved to a secondary facility in northern Pennsylvania. As the convoy sped up the ramp onto the beltway, the two sets of cars split and went in their designated directions.

Prior to leaving Washington, President Walker had gone on television and given a statement. The country was being attacked, and people were asked to take refuge wherever they could find it. It was suggested that people flee the major cities and prepare themselves for the worst. He made no attempt at reassuring the people that the United States would survive this attack. Jennings thought it was a cowardly act, but in all reality, he knew the president was right. No point in trying to sell false hope.

As he suspected, people were panicking and trying to evacuate the city. Cars were jammed bumper to bumper in both directions. And that was the report coming in from around the entire country, as news came in of the advancing Chinese troops. The small number of US troops still in the States had already deployed and were being engaged. For the first time since the Civil War years, the United States was at war on its own soil.

As the truck hugged the shoulder of the packed freeway, Jennings held the phone to his ear, listening to Keene’s warning.

“Call them back right now! And get the Navy back here!”

He hung up the phone, knowing that Keene was right. Sykes and the Joint Chiefs were adamant about running out to meet the Chinese. But the reality was, there was no great concentration of troops anywhere in the country. The 101st was running on a skeleton crew; Parris Island and Fort Benning were primarily training bases. And though they did house the majority of the remaining US troops, they could only cover so much territory. The entire country was a giant sitting duck. Sykes had been candid in telling him there was no chance of mounting an offensive against the Chinese army inside the US border.

As of now, there was no sign of an immediate attack on the East Coast. But that wasn’t something the president, or any of them, were willing to take for granted. Walker had ordered every available ship and military personnel in the DC and Virginia area to set up a perimeter and stand watch over the East Coast from New York City to Norfolk. Those troops inland would try to hold off the Chinese until the Navy and the rest of the deployed troops overseas could return.

In all actuality, their hands were tied. The idea of bombing the Chinese on American soil was not an option. There was no way the president was going to authorize the destruction of American cities or the death of its own citizens. And the Chinese knew that. A ground war was their only option. And that was bleak, at best. China had over three million foot soldiers. And word was coming in that at least three hundred thousand had already entered the country, either by land or air. It was also learned that a fleet of submarines had surfaced in the Gulf of Mexico and had laid cover for the arrival of an entire fleet of Chinese ships carrying more soldiers and military equipment. Pensacola, Mobile, and New Orleans had already been all but destroyed as the Chinese troops made ground and advanced north. Dallas, Kansas City, Chicago, and St. Louis had already seen air strikes from the FC-3 Chao Qi fighter jets, preparing the way for ground troops. The only hope for the United States was to establish a front that would keep them west of the Appalachian Mountains until they could figure out how to move forward.

The lead vehicle swerved around the last few cars on the exit ramp and took off toward the secure bunker. The convoy followed and sped ahead. Less than twenty minutes later, they arrived at the foot of the giant hill that housed the bunker. They radioed to the guard shack up ahead, so as to not be shot as they approached at such a high speed. They only slowed down briefly, long enough for the four armed sentries to identify the vehicles’ passengers. Once inside, they got right to work. Jennings spoke first.