CHAPTER ONE
Zero Hour
California
His heart rate never rose above sixty as he looked through the scope of his .50 caliber sniper rifle at the unfortunate soul caught in his crosshairs.
He kept his breathing even. He inhaled deeply, slowly, so he could hold his breath as long as it took when the moment came. Then, he controlled his exhale equally. Hold. Breathing when he pulled the trigger could affect the shot’s precision. He had done this a time or two. Actually way more, but this one was different.
This one he knew.
Still, no reason to worry. Stick to the protocol.
He fixed on the target’s head in the center of the scope. The perfect kill shot. Just the way the United States military taught him.
Beside him sat a cell phone, the prepaid kind you could pay cash for in any discount store so it couldn’t be traced. Only one person had the number to this phone.
He sucked air into his nostrils, noting the feel of the air temperature as he watched the glowing face of the phone, the clock flicking in time from 8:59 to 9:00 PM. The phone vibrated against the cement. He turned it on and listened in his earpiece.
“You good to go?”
“Yep, have to go now. Target locked.”
“On my three,” said the voice.
It was important their shots go off at exactly the same time so the message would be unmistakable.
He heard the voice count it off at the other end of the phone.“One…”
His finger tightened on the trigger. His eyes bored into the skull of the man he was about to blow apart. He was lucky he still had a clear shot, but then again, the plan was perfect. Amazing something so incredible and horrible could be counted off in the same manner as ripping a Band-Aid off of a five-year-old kid’s knee.
“Two…”
His finger tensed just the right amount and held there, ready to fire.
“Three.”
As he squeezed the trigger, he heard the shot at the other end of the line.A blast right on top of my own. That’s a new one.
Even as the recoil slammed his frame backward, he was already back on his feet and disassembling the rifle. He thrust the pieces into his case in less than thirty seconds, then ran down the stairwell, calm but rushed.
And he was right to be in a hurry. He’d not only just heard the gunshot that killed the President of the United States.
He had just executed the Vice President.
Day 1: Early Morning
Washington D.C.
The phone
