The afternoon brought more of the same with one exception. Everyone at the table seemed a lot more uptight, and every so often he would catch someone glancing at both him and Regan with a strange look. He was beginning to think Si was right and they needed to split ASAP. Nothing changed until late in the afternoon when there was a knock on the door."I'll get it," Lorena said, pushing her chair back.Everyone seemed to freeze in their seats while she walked to the entrance. Max watched her carefully, shocked to see Luis Rojas and three men who could only be his "fixers" walk into the room. The muscles in his stomach tightened, and he pushed back in his chair, reaching slowly for his gun. Before he could get his hand around the grip, Gavin Emery was behind hm, grabbing his wrist. When he glanced at Regan, he saw Whitlow had pulled her from her chair and yanked her hands behind her back. In seconds, he had her gun, also."What the hell is going on here?" he demanded.Anna Whitlow l
"I suppose someone should check on Max Whatever His Last Name is," Anna said."Why?" Jed asked. "He isn't going anywhere.""True. I just thought we might get him down here and find out who he works for. Who got onto us and how."Lorena gave an unladylike snort. "You think he'd tell you? I'd bet he's former military and has withstood more than you can dish out to him.""You haven't seen me at work," Gavin told her.She actually burst out laughing. "Gavin, you're a fifty-five-year-old rancher who has never been in the military yourself. Wrestling bulls isn't the same thing.""So, you don't think we should try to question him?""I don't think we'll get anything from him, but you're certainly welcome to try."Gavin looked around the table. "What do you all think?"Elizabeth, his wife, leaned forward. "I think I'd like to know where whoever planted them found someone who could be a double for the real Max Ferren.""And I'd like to know more about where Jeanne and Bernardo are," An
"This is just fucking bullshit." Gavin Emery leaned forward in his chair, his face set in angry lines. His hoarse growl caught everyone's attention. "How do we know this is even real?"Jed Whitlow looked at the hologram in front of him. "Because I say so, and there's no fucking way I'd lie to you or anyone else in this group. We've been together too long, and the plan is too critical, especially at this point. We are almost at the target date."Jed was the one who had called the meeting, so suddenly that the only option was to hold it holographically. They all lived too far away from each other to hold it live. At least this way they'd all be able to see each other. The eight people gathered for this represented a major portion of the wealth in North America and wielded significant behind-the-scenes power, globally as well as nationally. In two weeks, they would gather at the Whitlows' hunting lodgealthough the luxury of the place made it too extravagant to call a lodge. The subject
Jed personally thought it was a stroke of luck Bernardo had a good solution for them, but he wasn't sure if everyone else would think so. Max Ferren, Bernardo's brother, was his partner in the company and knew exactly what was going on. Was he as plugged in to the operation as Bernardo was? The man had assured him that was the case.What about his wife, though? Did she have the same skills as her sister-in-law? He wished he'd been able to meet them when he was there, but they were just at that moment returning from a trip out of state. Fuck it all to hell, anyway. This group had planned so carefully and worked so hard to kick off their plan with a bangliterally choosing the target date for maximum impact. They could not afford a screwup now.He cleared his throat."Bernardo has an answer to the problem," Jed told them. "I wanted to double check everything before I brought it to you, but this is as perfect as it can get. Bernardo's brother, Max, will take his place. Max is Bernardo's
Max DiSalvo (Commander, Navy SEALS, Ret) double checked to make sure his boat, the lead boat in his small fleet, was securely moored in its slip before heading along the dock. Next he made sure that everything was locked up in the small shed where he kept extra equipment and where they finished cleaning at the end of the day. Finally he climbed the steps to the parking lot where his truck sat. His shoulder still bothered him now and then, but it didn't keep him from pulling his share of the load. It just meant a hot shower at the end of the day and an application of the stuff the therapist had given him. He'd learned to live with the twinges and the stiffness when the weather was really cold. He was grateful that it hadn't been worse, even if it had ended his career as an active duty SEAL.Hauling himself into the driver's seat, he rolled down his window and sat for a moment before cranking the ignition, just enjoying the scene. The sun was setting, its rays warming the air and sendin
"It's a lot darker than you think," Si grunted. "So, how's the shoulder? Heard it might be kind of gimpy."Anger rose up in Max at the mention of his injury. It had ruined his career as a SEAL, and talking about it made him want to throw something. Or hit someone."Doesn't hurt my fishing," he snapped."Hey, hey, hey." Si held his hands up, palms outward. "Just asking. I have the same kind of problem. Wrecked my back and just could not come back from it. Killed me with the SEALS."Max was instantly contrite. "Sorry to hear that, buddy. And sorry I bit your head off."Si shrugged. "No biggie. I know just how you feel. So, no women in your life these days? I thought for sure the minute you retired you'd have a long string of them."Max's laugh was short and sharp. "Yeah, I might have to look beyond Sunset Harbor for that. Seems the best women here are already taken. Anyway, how's Maggie? Did I hear right that the two of you kissed and made up and got hitched again?""You did." Si
"Like I said, they have delusions of grandeur and want to take over this country. The chatter we've captured indicates their first step is a massive terror strike to dismantle the government. The unholy thought at Bone Frog is that the cabal has made a deal with these terrorists to be group leaders, with small armies made up of low-level terrorists and cartel soldiers."For a moment, Max was afraid he would throw up."Terrorism is, as we know, a tactic. A strategy used to achieve a specific end. One effect of what they're planning is the weakening of the American economy by forcing massive spending on security. But that's only stage two. Others will follow as the country collapses and these maniacs take control."Mac dipped his head. "Go on.""The cabal is pandering to the desires of these animals," Si continued, "to help create a network in this country as they've done in their own. Then these traitors can destroy our existing structure through fear and intimidation and take over
A large black Bell 525 chopper with no markings picked them up at exactly one o'clock the next day. After one stop for refueling, the helo landed them on a horse farm at about five-thirty in the afternoon. Max spent most of the time on the trip reviewing the material on a tablet Si handed him when he arrived. He was impressed with the amount of wealth and power that would be represented at this gathering and realized how important it was not to forget one little detail that involved these people.A black SUV with blacked out windowsMax wondered if the government only had one color for every means of transportationwaited to transport them to the house. As they pulled up to a gate set into heavy fieldstone posts, the driver punched a code into the security box, and the massive sections of the gate swung open."The entire perimeter of the grounds is connected to the security system, too," Si told him. "That gate we just drove through can be electrified with a punch of a button if someon