THE 13: STAND BOOK TWO (29 page)

Keene continued down the steps and into the kitchen. “You’re lucky I didn’t shoot you.” He stole a piece of toast from the plate sitting on the counter.

“How do you like your eggs?”

“From a chicken,” Keene said.

Boz turned and gave him a sour face.

“Scrambled is fine.” Then, “What are you doing here?”

“Couldn’t sleep. Been up for about two hours. And since you and I are going to be spending the rest of the day together, I just came here. How’d you sleep?”

“Couldn’t tell you. I was out before my head hit the pillow.”

Boz brought plates filled with eggs, toast, and bacon to the table and set them down. Keene poured himself a cup of coffee and refilled Boz’s. He sat down and looked at the food. “Thanks for this.” He crammed a whole piece of bacon in his mouth. “I’m starving.”

When they were finished, they headed straight for the car. Boz drove while Keene fished the sat-phone out of his pocket and waited for Jennings to answer.

“Where are you?” Jennings said.

“Well, good morning to you, too,” Keene said. “We’re on our way to Bethesda. Going to check in on Megan and Eli. See if there’s been a change.”

“Good. You see any coverage from the speech?”

“No. It was all I could do to keep my eyes open long enough to get inside my house.”

“I’ll fill you in when you get here.”

“Roger that. We’ll head that way soon as we check on Megan and Eli,” Keene said as he heard the click on the other end of the line. He turned to Boz. “Jennings asked if I saw any of the reaction from the speech. You see anything?”

“Nope. Went straight to bed.”

Keene decided to turn the radio on and see what the pundits were saying.

It didn’t take long to find it. The first two stations were playing music; the next one was on commercial. The fourth, however, a local talk program, was right in the middle of it. The show’s host was going on and on about how Walker had been made to look like an idiot. That Governor Nolan was the man of the hour. Nolan had in ten minutes gone from a virtually unknown politician—outside of North Carolina, anyway—to a rock star. It seemed that the majority of the country, so far, was calling for Nolan to be the next vice president. And in the next breath, that he do as he said and see that Walker was brought up on charges.

“Man, this isn’t good.” Keene reached over and turned the radio back off. “That guy is exactly what Quinn was talking about. And if I find out he had anything to do with Megan and Eli…” He let his thought trail off.

“Yeah,” Boz said. “We definitely need to squash this as quickly as we can. I’m just not sure how.”

Keene looked at him with narrowed eyes.

Boz shook his head. “And we can’t just kill him. So stop thinking about it.”

“What?” Keene shrugged.

“Don’t
what
me.” He laughed. “I know exactly what you were thinking.”

“Would make it easier.”

They rode in silence the rest of the way. When they got to Bethesda, the guard waved them through and they drove around the compound to the place they had parked before. They went inside and split up: Keene went to check on Megan while Boz went to see about Eli. Though they were in the same wing, their rooms were at opposite ends of the hall.

Keene found a nurse and asked if there had been any change. The nurse said that there hadn’t, but she allowed him to go in and sit by Megan. He pulled the chair over to her bed and sat down. He reached up and took her hand.

“Hey, kiddo. How you doing? I know they’re taking good care of you. I threatened them within an inch of their lives if they didn’t.” He smiled, though she couldn’t see him. He watched as the plunger from the breathing tube rose and fell.

The door to the room opened and Boz came in. “Any change?”

Keene leaned back in the chair and let go of Megan’s hand. “No. Not yet. Eli?”

“Doc said he woke up a couple of times, but that’s about it. Didn’t talk or anything. Just opened his eyes. Then he was out again.” Boz pulled up a chair and sat next to the bed with Keene. “Jon, I want you to know something.”

“Yeah?”

“I want you to know that God hasn’t abandoned Megan. Or Eli. Just because they are lying in these beds like this doesn’t mean He has lost control over this situation.”

Keene bit his lip and turned his head away. He knew deep down that Boz was right. But he was still new at this whole
believing
thing. And he was having a hard time dealing with the fact that Megan was lying in the bed in front of him, and she had done nothing to deserve it. Himself, maybe. He had deserved a lot of things that had happened to him. He had fought against God for so long…well, he just understood things on his end. But Megan was different. He felt Boz’s hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, look at me for a second.”

Keene turned to face him.

“I know you’re thinking,
Why her, God? What has she done to deserve this?
The answer is maybe she didn’t do anything to deserve it. But we need to understand, Jon, bad things happen to good people sometimes. And it’s not because God can’t control it. It’s because we live in a fallen and broken world. Remember what I told you before you went to Texas to look for Quinn?”

He remembered. “Yeah. This is how it’s going to be until Christ comes back and restores all things.”

“That’s right. And we might not understand it fully, but we have to believe that God’s plan is being worked out. The way He intended it.”

“So if I were to go back across the border and kill Chin, you’re saying God intended it?”

Boz let out a huge sigh and scratched his head. “Not exactly…maybe…but that’s a theological discussion I don’t think is necessary for us to have right now. Let’s just say God is sovereign over all things, but we’re responsible for the choices we make. And what matters is that we seek His guidance in all things.”

Keene didn’t fully understand it, but he mostly did. And really it didn’t matter anyway because, ever since that night in his cell when he’d cried out to God, his whole paradigm of decision making had been changed anyway. It was as if, without thinking, he just automatically thought about what God would have him do. So he guessed that was a good enough explanation for now. “What are we supposed to do, then? Just sit and wait?”

“That, and we continue to pray for them.” They sat there in silence for a minute. “And…we do what we’re called to do. Right now, that’s trying to figure out what’s going on out there and putting a stop to it.”

Keene thought about that for a moment. He agreed. But what were they supposed to do? They had no direction. They had nothing to go on except the Prophet’s vague directive: stop the insurrection. And besides, right now all he really cared about was being here with Megan. He looked at Boz. “Every day, while I was in that cell, all I could think about was her.” He looked back at Megan. “I mean, how ridiculous is that? I barely spent two weeks with her.”

“Jon, sometimes it just happens that way. I can tell you she feels the same about you.”

“How do you know that?”

“Every day that you were gone, she never stopped looking. Even when Jennings ordered her to let it go. She never did.”

“And now I’m back. And she’s here, in this bed.” Keene sat back and ran his hand through his hair. He’d known for some time now that Megan had done a number on him. And the weird thing was, he was okay with it. But now, sitting here, looking at her fighting for her life, he felt something he hadn’t felt in a long time. Fear. He was afraid that she wouldn’t make it. That he would never have a chance to tell her how he felt about her. He looked back at Boz.

“When I lost my wife in that terrorist attack, it almost killed me. You told me you lost a wife, too.”

Boz nodded. “That’s right. I did. She got sick and they couldn’t save her.”

“So you know what I’m talking about.”

“I do.”

Keene looked back at Megan. “I don’t think I can handle losing her, too.” He felt Boz’s hand on his shoulder again.

“You haven’t lost her, Jon. She’s right here. And by God’s grace, she’ll recover.”

Keene felt the buzzing from the sat-phone in his pocket. “This is probably Jennings.” He pulled it out and answered. “Hello?”

“Jon, this is Quinn.”

Keene cupped the phone and mouthed,
Quinn!
Boz sat up and leaned in to listen.

“Hello? Are you there?”

Keene pulled his hand away. “Yeah, sorry. I’m here. Boz is here, too.”

“Good.” There was a hesitation. “I’ve been told to tell you it has begun.”

“Yeah, we kind of gathered that last night.”

“Yes, well, you need to know it’s going to get worse.”

“Quinn, I have no idea what you—He—wants us to do.”

“You have two problems right now. The first one is immediate. The Russian woman is headed to Washington. She is working for Gavin Pemberton. That’s who Megan and Eli were investigating. She’s the one who shot them.”

Keene gripped the phone tighter. Jennings told him he’d assumed it was Sokolov. Hearing it confirmed caused an anger unlike anything he’d ever felt to rise up inside him.

“I do not know why she is coming to Washington,” Quinn was saying. “But you know what she does. So if I were you, I would assume she’s coming for a job. Stop her.”

“Gladly,” Keene said.

“Second, General Chin is aware of the events of last night.”

“I figured he would be.”

“He won’t be the aggressor. But make no mistake, if he feels threatened, he will do whatever he feels he needs to do in order to protect his border. You must make sure Pemberton doesn’t gain control of the White House.”

“It seems to me that Governor Nolan is the problem.”

“Nolan is a mouthpiece. The only reason he’s even in the governor’s chair is because of Pemberton. If you remove Nolan, Pemberton will have another one waiting to take his place. It will do you no good to go after Nolan. Find Pemberton. He’s the one behind this.”

“And how do we do that? From what I hear, the man is a ghost.”

“The same way you found me. Look for him.”

Keene pinched the bridge of his nose. “Can’t He just once—just one time—just tell us? Like, ‘Hey Jon, go to this address. Pemberton’s waiting for you.’ ”

Quinn sighed. “You know that’s not how this works, Jon. You have the information you need. Find Pemberton and stop him. And find the Russian woman before she does any more damage. Before the president loses control over the people.”

The line went dead.

Keene looked at Boz. “We need to go see Jennings. Now.”

J
ennings was on the phone when Keene and Boz came in. He motioned for them to take a seat. Keene couldn’t tell who was on the phone, but it sounded like a heated discussion. Jennings finally said good-bye and forcefully hung up the phone.

“You two been over to see Megan and Eli?”

“Yeah,” Keene said. “Who was that?”

“SECNAV. He’s all riled up over last night. Says he’s got half his commanding officers scared to death that we’re going back to war with the Chinese. The other half is chomping at the bit to go.”

“And where is
he
with all of this?”

“He’s on our side. He knows as well as anyone there’s no way we could sustain a ground war with the Chinese. They have over a million foot soldiers over there. It would be a slaughter. Not to mention all the physical damage and the lives of Americans caught in the crossfire.” Then, “Any word on Megan and Eli?”

Boz shook his head. “None yet. But we’ve got more problems to think about than that right now.”

Keene took over. “Quinn called a little while ago. He says Sokolov is headed to DC. He doesn’t know why, but assumes—as we should—that she’s not here for sightseeing.”

“And we don’t know who the target is?” Jennings said.

“It’s a short list,” Keene said. “My money’s on Walker. Quinn said she’s working for Pemberton.”

Jennings pursed his lips and rubbed his chin. “I don’t think so.”

Keene was confused. “What do you mean?”

“Doesn’t make sense. Why would Governor Nolan do all that grandstanding about nominating him as the vice president, if Sokolov is just going to take Walker out. Talk about a screwed up mess, then. Nolan would have to try and move in and take the White House by force. Even Pemberton knows that would never happen. No, he needs Walker in that seat right now. It’s the quickest way to the White House.”

“Then who? You? Me? Boz? Who?”

“I doubt it. You’re not a threat to him. At least not in his mind. Me, maybe. But I doubt it. He knows if I get whacked, there’s probably six more just like me waiting to take my place. And if he has any clue about anything, he knows it’d probably be you. And that’s even worse.”

“Thanks for the encouragement,” Keene said.

“There’s more,” Boz said. “Quinn said that if Chin feels threatened, he’ll do whatever it takes to protect his border. So you need to tell SECNAV Sykes that he needs to keep those boys in check. No matter what.”

Keene sat up in his chair. “That’s it. I know why Sokolov is here.”

Both Boz and Jennings looked at him questioningly.

Keene couldn’t believe that neither of them had got it. “SECNAV. She’s here for Sykes.” Keene could feel the adrenaline begin to pump. “Think about it. Sykes is in full control over the military. Yeah, he answers to Walker, but what if—just what if—he decided not to. How many of those men and women do you think would go against him if he turned on Walker?”

“Not many,” Boz said.

“Especially with half of them already wanting to go back to war,” Jennings added.

Keene was rolling now. It was obvious. “And guess who Nolan’s father-in-law is—”

Jennings smacked his hand on the table. “Jake Irving!”

“Irving?” Boz shook his head. “The former SECNAV is Nolan’s father-in-law?”

“That’s right,” Keene said. “And who do you think would be standing right there, offering his services to Walker, should something happen to Sykes?”

“That’s pretty slick,” Boz said. “I mean, you’ve got to admit, that’s a pretty solid plan.”

Keene was fired up now. Not ten minutes ago, he’d felt completely lost and helpless to do anything. Now, though, everything was different. He wasn’t lost, no way. The tables were about to turn. Advantage: Jon Keene! He turned to Jennings. “Where’s SECNAV right now?”