Shepherd One by Rick Jones Page A

his coat in spoke
English into a mike with noted urgency. Once the information was duly received
and copied, The Man stood up and produced a firearm bearing a suppressor that
was as long as the barrel. 
    Perchenko looked at the man. “You spoke English.”
    The Man said nothing.
    “You’re not SVR, are you?”
    The Man nodded. “CIA.”
    Perchenko clenched his teeth, the muscles in the back of his
jaw working furiously. He had lost that ‘special sense,’ that intuitive feeling
that had once made him an elitist in his field. “At least I’m still a hero,” he
said.
    The Man raised the weapon and shot Perchenko twice, once in
the forehead and once in the center of body mass.
    The Man quickly moved across the landing with the agility of
a cat, swift and graceful, to the concrete banister of the Madison, which
overlooked the city’s busy traffic. To his right was a fire escape ladder, a
requirement for the nightclub in case a fire trapped patrons on the veranda.
Just as The Man took the rungs and began his descent, members of the SVR rushed through the doors, the music blaring, and took shots at the escaping man, the bullets
taking out chunks of concrete from the banister around him but missing.
    From a rooftop across the street, muzzle flashes flared and
two SVR agents immediately went down as boneless heaps, forcing the other
agents to pull back for the cover of the club.
    By the time they made it down to street level, The Man was
gone.
    They had been taken totally by surprised.
     
    #
    Raven Rock (Presidential Bunker)
    Early Evening
     
    The president was quickly informed
of the mission’s status. Perchenko was dispatched and his black marketing
empire, at least for the moment, gone. More importantly, however, operatives
were able to ascertain the number of units sold.
    “So that leaves two available targets,” said the president.
“So we can assume one of the targets is Washington D.C.”
    “And the other most likely New York City,” added Thornton.
    After agreeing, the president continued. “OK, people, listen
up. I want all available resources including military, law enforcement, even
kids with bad attitudes, posted at every possible way into cities of strategic
value such as D.C. and New York. Also look into Los Angeles. Although it’s not
really a city of strategic value, it does have the second highest population in
the country, and the closest point where the first weapon was found.”
    “I would think they would try to take out the highest
political seat in the land with Washington,” said Thornton. “And the financial
district of New York. I really don’t see them deviating from their plans of
9/11, especially now since they’re highly equipped to finalize the job.”
     “I agree,” said Burroughs. “But let’s not get complacent
either. If we have to violate certain inalienable rights to achieve the means,
then do so. Our optimum goal is to find Hakam and his team before they’re able
to achieve their agenda.”  He turned to Craner. “Doug, you got anything from
the security end?”
    “As you already know, Mr. President, every airport is on the
highest alert. All chartered aircrafts have been grounded nationwide, and every
terminal in the nation is under the microscopic eye of TSA. There is no way a
package the size and shape of the unit we appropriated at the border is getting
on any plane.”
    “Which leaves ground transportation,” said Hamilton. “I have
agents from California to the Florida panhandle checking into all car rental
agencies for those of Middle-East persuasion, who have rented a vehicle within
the past thirty days.”
    “Any leads thus far?”
    “None that fit anybody in Hakam’s known team. But we’re
still looking into the matter of those who rented vehicles in case there are
coverts working under Hakam’s commands that are not yet named or listed in
Homeland Security’s data base.”
    “Good.”
    Although pleased that the situation was moving forward,