The Road to Nowhere

The Deception game

       He straightened his hair as he glanced in the mirror at the dead body of Rohaan Bashir seated at a desk full of bomb making paraphernalia. The young Islamic mechanic that had access to Ms. Natalie White's private Lear Jet. It was easy to seduce the young man after gaining his trust at the low-key gay nightclub which he frequented. Sterling's intel from Mr. Cain was through, but he needed the young man's access badge to get into the secure hangar.

      Due to the high-profile nature of Ms. White's relationship to the now dead Montgomery Cain; They elevated security to ensure her safety. Now that he has the coded card, there was only the task of leaving no trace of himself here and enough evidence to misdirect the authorities to chase down a dead end. Sliding on his nondescript black hoodie and placing on a black ball cap, Mr. Sterling set about placing several bomb-making materials throughout the room with his black latex gloved hands.

     Unfortunately, there had to be innocent casualties to make to perceived accidental explosion of making to bomb. The seedy motel he chose was just outside the city limits, so it would take first responder's longer to get here. There would be enough destruction to take well beyond the target date to sift through before making the connection between this explosion and the planned one for the jet. Closing the circle, leading back to poor Rohaan. With the number of articles on Ms. White and the Cain's plastered on the walls, the easiest conclusion was the Cain Empire were targets for terrorists.

      With one last thorough run through of the motel room, Sterling flipped a switch on the device in front of the dead man before exiting the room. The brisk night air washed over him, causing him to scratch the fake well-groomed beard he wore. He strode toward the staircase that led down to the parking lot. He glanced at his watch and stopped the stopwatch function with a pleasant smirk of satisfaction, "Four minutes ahead of schedule."

      He made way to the plain looking rental he acquired for this part of his plan. He drove off humming 'The ride of the Valkyries' satisfied with the results so far. Five minutes later, with a cacophonous explosion, the fruit of his meticulous planning announced itself to the early morning sky.

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     "Are you sure, Riley?" Emiko asked, excitement in her voice.

     Kris raised a quizzical eyebrow at the petite Japanese woman as he buttoned the black silk dress shirt Emiko had bought for him to wear.

      "Okay, I'll tell him. Thanks Riley." Emiko looked at Kris with a bright smile as she hung up her cell.

     "What's got you sparked, Emi?"

      Emiko raised a finger to halt him, then pulled out another tumbler, then poured two mini bottles of whiskey each into the pair of glasses. "I know where Jes is and you're going to flip when you hear where," she said as she jubilantly approached him, handing him a tumbler.

      Kris screwed his face with a dumbfounded smirk at the woman as he took the glass. "OhhhhkkaaaY! I'll bite. Where?"

     He looked cute in the clothes she had bought him. She sighs a little at the fact that he got dressed. The sight of him in the towel still lingered in her head. Emi wanted to shake the image out of her head, but she had not seen a near naked body for a while now. With her practice booming, her rising stardom as LBGTQ+ activist, and the daily radio show that having just gained syndication. There was a very detrimental downside that her high sex drive took a big hit.

    Kris' expression changed to frustrated annoyance at her silence. "Well..."

    Emi shook herself, "I didn't know your Dad had a place in Nevada."

   The sheer shock mixed with relief caused him to stumble over his reply," Sh...she's... in Nowhere?"

     Emiko blurted out a loud laugh at his reaction. The statement itself was hilarious, but his facial expression and vocal tone threw it over the top to even attempt to stifle the laugh. "I take it you know where that is?" she asked between laughs.

    "Hell yes. Let's pack up and get going?"

     "We can't."

    "Why the Fuck not?!" Kris' demeanor shifted from joyous shock to a deathly glare in an instant.

     "Dan is on his way here. He wants us to stay put until then," she said as she involuntarily took a step away from him. Emi wanted to believe he wouldn't harm her. His intimidating glare gave her doubt.

      Kris noticed Emiko back away from him. "Shit. Sorry, Emi. I didn't mean to lash out at you. Please forgive me. But Jes is only a two-hour drive away. Why should we stay here and wait for Dan Henshaw?"

     His sudden shift in demeanor confused Emi. Was this how men of action flowed from one extreme to the next? Regardless of her relationship with his family, Emiko's penchant for analyzing the mental health of people kicked in. Kris could have PTSD. The display of extreme mood swings he just went through could be a symptom of the disorder that plagues combat veterans. She took a deep breath and steeled herself," Kris, I need you to get ahold of yourself. Dan wants to be here to make sure we all meet safely," she adjusted her tone to a compassionate one to help soothe him, "You're not the only one being looked for by bad guys. In Jes' case, some powerful politicos with axes to grind."

     Kris closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself. It made logical sense. Jes was safe where she was, there were only four people that knew that his father kept and maintained his family property. Two of them were dead and, besides himself, Dan Henshaw was the only other one," Okay yeah, you're right. What sort of trouble is Jes in?"

     Emi gently touched his arm and ushered him to the loveseat in the room, " I don't know all the specifics, but she testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee against someone named Albrecht."

    "Jason Albrecht?"

    "Yes, that was who Riley said it was. Apparently, his father is a Senator who has a lot of influence."

     Kris nodded his head as he took a swig of his whiskey," Senator Galvin Albrecht of New Hampshire. The man is a womanizing dick with a lot of that old school money and influence."

    "I take it you know him?"

    "Not personally, but I know that he's covered his son Jason's ass more than a few times. Jason Albrecht isn't a reliable or even a bright guy. His only talent is to create chaos in anything he does," Kris said with a great deal of disdain as he downed the rest of his drink, "He took the sector chief position from Jes because his dad pulled strings and called in a few favors."

     Emi winced at the last comment," Jes didn't take that well, I'm certain," she knew Jes well enough to know if the Jason guy was incompetent, Jesalyn wouldn't let it slide.

    "Honestly, Jes surprised all of us and rolled with the punch. She just made sure every detail checked out before she okayed an assignment."

    "She had that power?" Emi questioned, not understanding how C.I.A. cells worked.

     He nodded in affirmation," Jes was the head analyst and the Assistant Sector Chief. She could wash a mission just cause the wind changed direction. Which surprised Nate and me when we were told Jes was on board with the last mission. Obviously, that was a lie."

     Emi shook her head in disbelief. Jes didn't go into great detail about anything they had talked about. She couldn't since Emiko's high-profile lifestyle prevented her from being vetted as a secure asset in the political world. Though she was conservative in a lot of her views, Emi's lifestyle labeled her as an extreme liberal liability, "I don't know about any of that. She couldn't talk to me freely when we spoke, and I only just learned about a lot of this cloak and dagger bullshit."

      Kris chuckled, "Jes was more cloak and dagger than the rest of us, Nate and I were more the blunt instruments where she was more the finesse."

     Emi placed her hand on his shoulder," That is hard to believe. Jes finessing anything is to how to hit something as hard as she could."

     "Masters' first rule of a fight is the best defense is an overwhelming offense."