~Chapter 10~

~Chapter 10~

~June 24th, 2014: 2 Days After Bombings
That morning, after a bagel, orange juice, a thousand push-ups and another thousand sit-ups, Josh accompanied Nathan, Scarlet, and the President to the Whitehouse. He left Agent Callaway in charge of the Estate’s security, and brought Al Bono along to handle the President’s security detail while Josh gave Matt an update on the information brought by Scarlet and Nathan.
After they spent around an hour reviewing the events going as far back as the attempt on Lexy’s life by Trissex and the new information brought by Scarlet, Josh cleared his throat and addressed Scarlet and the President.
“As we know, the car bombing and the firebombing were only the first attempts. Carl Mash and Pyros Lite will try another attack, and they will do something soon. Nathan has some information that might clue us in on what they might be planning.”
Nathan nodded and, as the saying goes, took the stage.
“Uh, yeah. Last night as I was visiting a few bars…”
Scarlet cut in, “A few?”
“Shuttup, Red. As I was saying, I was visiting a few bars last night and while I was in one of them I noticed a major increase in the mercenary crowd. I counted at least fifteen high-class guns-for-hire and at least thirty lower-class. Now I don’t know why they’re all here, but I saw guys from as far out as Chicago and as close to home as the Maryland area.”
Matt looked questioningly at Josh.
“You think they might be a part of the next attempt?”
Scarlet answered for Josh.
“You don’t understand; among the more high-ranking mercs you rarely can get two or three together in one place without them trying to kill each other. Fifteen all together and not fighting among themselves says they are here on a common goal and are being paid by the same employer.”
Matt acknowledged the information, “And since these Mash and Pyros characters are the guys at large right now we can assume they are the employers.”
“That’s right. Now before I came to join you here Wraith’s current information said they were the only ones in Washington DC and the adjacent states that had the backing and power of the Board.”
Matt motioned her to slow down.
“So, I know that the Board is the head of the syndicate started and led by Josh’s family, but who is Wraith?”
Nathan answered Matt’s inquiry.
“Wraith is basically a walking supercomputer who remembers everything he has ever seen or heard. He is a genius at hacking, infiltration, and information brokering. He is also one of our best friends, and one of your best allies right now.”
Scarlet confirmed Nathan’s summary.
“Before I came here I was helping Wraith gather information on the Board after he got wind of a new plot to assassinate Josh by Josh’s uncle, Regent Taske.”
Nathan threw Josh a look, “Hey, did I ever tell yah I just love your folks?”
Josh glared at Nathan before turning back to the President.
“If we can’t trust Wraith then there is no one we can trust. Now I strongly suggest that we evac you and Lexy to Camp David or some other secure area until we can get this all sorted out.”
Matt shook his head, “No, we will not evacuate. That is just giving them ground and allowing them to plan more attempts. We need to stick it through and end this.”
Scarlet’s tone was somber as she voiced her argument.
“Sir, we have no idea what their next move is, or even how long this will go on. Josh is the target; if you leave then they won’t be able to get to him by killing you.”
“No, they brought me into this when that assassin tried to kill my daughter.”
Scarlet and Josh looked to Nathan to voice an opinion. After a moment of fruitless thinking, Nathan presented his case.
“Hey, longer this goes on the longer I stay at your house.”
He threw an apologetic look at Josh.
Josh grimaced slightly, and then looked to Matt.
“Then at least send Lexy away. At least protect her from whatever their next attack is.”
Matt sat back and thought a minute.
“Fine. We will move Lexy to a safe house, then we will scramble the entire Secret Service and police enforcers to round up those mercenaries that have been gathering.”
Al Bono had rushed in just as Matt finished his sentence.
“Sir, it’s too late for that! The mansion is under attack!”
Matt and Josh jumped to their feet, Matt was dumbstruck.
“My God, Lexy!”
Josh stared imploringly at the President.
“Sir, this counts as an attempt against your life. Protocol says that you need to board Air Force One and get to safety as soon as possible. Me, Nathan and Scarlet will go with what members of you security detail you can spare and get Lexy out of there.”
Scarlet rose and added her gaze to Josh’s.
“It would be the wise thing to do, Mr. President.”
Matt nodded a numb consent.
“Fine, get her out of their and get her to safety.”
Josh turned and snapped instructions to Agent Bono as he rushed out the door.
“Get the President to his plane and send some agents to the Estate armed for combat.”
Bono saluted, “Yes, Sir!”
As Nathan left the room just after Scarlet, he threw Bono a cautionary look.
“And don’t let the beer get warm.”

Outside Josh commandeered the large white van he used as his team’s mobile base and portable armory. He drove while Nathan and Scarlet armed themselves with weapons from the back.
As Scarlet slammed home a clip into a HK MP7A1 she shouted up to Josh.
“We have a plan!?”
Josh ran three consecutive red lights and shouted back to her.
“Yeah, you and Nathan cover me while I and get Lexy out.”
Scarlet threw Nathan a reserved look.
“Wow, what a plan.”
Josh pulled a key from his pocket and tossed it to Scarlet.
“That goes to the gun cabinet by the back door.”
Scarlet opened the cabinet and both Nathan and her looked over its contents in awe.
Nathan let out a low whistle, “Damn Josh, what’re these?”
Scarlet pulled out a strange looking assault rifle with two clips and optic sight.
Josh grinned and looked at into the rearview mirror at the two in the back.
“Me and Wraith designed them a while back. They are kind of a cross between the AR-15, Masada, MP5SF, and the SSG 300. We only made four, three are in the cabinet and the fourth is back home. They are equipped with two fifty-round clips, two bayonets, a four-inch blade in front and a six-inch in the back. It’s got single shot and full-auto features, and an M68 optic scope.”
Nathan took one out and selected four extra clips from the bottom of the cabinet.
“What’s this thing shoot?”
“7.62mm rounds, same as the Ak-47.”
“What do you call this bad boy?
Josh shrugged, “I call it the “Wraith-Gun”, but Wraith insists that it is the “ST S29”.”
“Nice.”
Scarlet chambered a round and hefted the S29 in one hand. She cast a dangerous grin in Nathan’s direction that he readily matched.
“I feel a helluva lot better about our chances.”

Josh pulled the van up in front of his small house next to Scarlet’s Corvette and his Ninja 3. The three soldiers piled out and had a quick planning meeting before moving out.
Josh armed his Desert Eagles and took their safeties off, then loosened his Sais in their sheathes.
“Scarlet, you go through a back window and secure the kitchen and performance hall. Me and Nathan will go around and go through the front door. Lexy is probably hiding in her bedroom, so we’ll make our way there.”
Nathan chambered a round in his ST S29.
“You wanna meet in the entry hall?”
Josh nodded, “That’s the plan, move out people.”

Scarlet used the butt of her assault rifle to break in a kitchen window and threw a flash-grenade into the hole. She ducked, counted to ten, and after breaking the rest of the glass, climbed through the window.
On the floor of the kitchen lay three mercs, one Scarlet recognized as the Chicago-based explosive expert called “Det”.
Scarlet jumped off the stainless-steel counter she stood on and, giving each mercenary an extra rap on the head to keep them down, made her way to the door that entered the performance hall.
Inside the hall were four more mercs, watching the doors going into the dining room and music room, but not the kitchen. Scarlet guessed that they expected the three she had just neutralized to have the kitchen covered.
Before climbing the fence and beginning her infiltration of the Estate, Scarlet had gotten a few things from the trunk of her ‘Vette. Among other things she selected from her car’s arsenal was a small CO2 gun that fired small tranquilizer darts. Careful not to attract attention, Scarlet drew the dart gun from the under-arm holster and carefully loaded four darts. She waited a moment or two until the mercs had drifted closer together, and then drew a bead on the first one.
Phuutt-Phuutt-Phuutt-Phuutt
One by one the mercs fell in a heap on the performance hall floor.
Scarlet holstered the dart gun and stepped smoothly into the room.
She smiled down at the inert forms of the mercenaries, “Oooh, girl’s got bite, I like!”
“Girl’s gonna get bit.”
Scarlet spun around to face two more mercs coming out of the door just next to the one she had exited. The two where obviously twins, one man, one woman. Both had crystal-blue eyes, platinum-white hair, and were extraordinarily thin and athletic. Scarlet recognized them as Pallas and Apollos, twins from Florida, her home state.
The woman, Pallas, reached behind her head and drew a short katana-like sword.
“It is the one called Scarlet, brother.”
Apollos flicked open a collapsible metal bow staff.
“Yes sister, the European warned us of her. She is threat…”
Pallas finished her twin’s statement; “…Threats must be eliminated.”
The two assassin’s started to spread out and circle Scarlet, their final declaration uttered in unison.
“She must die.”
Scarlet shook her head in silent amusement and took a combat knife with a foot-long blade out of a boot-sheath. She slung the ST S29 across her shoulder and adopted a deceptively defensive posture. This was going to be fun.