“Of course not.” She smiled. “I’m just impressed at how proactive BSE is. You have really impressed us with your technology and the stellar service you offer.”
“It’s what we do. The safety of our country’s leader is of the utmost importance to all of us,” Hawk interjected.
“We also have a couple of additional data and internet safety features we’d like to discuss,” Parker added.
“Anything that will assure my family is safe at all times.” Grayson got up and buzzed his personal secretary, Heidi Wallis, to order coffee and tea. “I believe we’re going to need something to coat our throats for this.”
The following hour was spent discussing and detailing the security and safety features. By the time the Sinclair cousins left, a timeline for implementation and activation had been agreed upon.
They were in Stone’s helicopter on their way back to The Seven Keys Island when Parker broke the silence. “Zeke and I have started in-depth background checks on the president’s cabinet members and senators after Nesser’s death. Those eligible in the cabinet are in the presidential line of succession and any of them could be involved with a potential coup d'état. Usually, a military coup is the most effective, but that has been foiled, so there has to be someone else involved who is so desperate to overturn the presidency, they have no qualms in siding with the Russians.”
“Without the proper authorization it could get us in trouble, Parker,” Hawk said quietly.
“I’m aware of that but we’re being very careful. We have no idea who could be involved, so who do we approach for permission, except President Grayson?” He tapped Stone on the shoulder. “He’ll take a direct call from you. We’ve planted the seed and he needs to realize that even his closest confidant could be the traitor and his biggest enemy.”
“That was a very good initiative to take, little brother, and one we should’ve thought of sooner.”
“You almost died, Stone, and all of us were caught up in the Nesser issue and in keeping you and Ace safe.” Hawk glanced at him sideways. “I’m just glad Parker kept his wits about him.”
“You’re right, but it goes to show how well we work together as a team.” Stone glanced over his shoulder and winked at Parker. “Proud of you, little bro. I’ll give the President a call as soon as we arrive home.”
“We have a problem.”
“You sound stressed. What problem exactly?” The heavy Russian accent drawled with a calmness that elevated the caller’s annoyance.
“It’s easy for you to brush off everything, isn’t it? Sitting thousands of miles away in your luxurious office while we’re the ones in the eye of the storm.”
“What storm? I suggest you calm down and tell me what is going on.” Sergei Ivanon, the Director of Russian Foreign Intelligence, didn’t bother to hide his irritation. He’d known it would become a headache to integrate a spy network within a U.S.-based organization and worse, be personally involved, but the aim was to instigate a successful coup d'état. He had to ensure the next U.S. President was in their pocket. The only way to do that was to soothe the feathers of the leaders of SPEONUS, the secret U.S.-based organization involved with the insurgence. SPEONUS stood for Special Executive Order of the New United States, which was exactly what they intended with the coup.
“It came to our attention that additional security and safety measures are going to be implemented at the White House. It’s but a matter of time before it’s rolled out to every governmental and Federal entity. Once that happens, we’re screwed and we can kiss the fucking coup goodbye.”
“What kind of measures?” Sergei straightened where he stood in front of the roaring fire at his home.
“It’s very detailed and involves NanoTechnology. Very sophisticated and specifically designed for its purpose. We don’t have anyone in the organization with the ability to get past it, let alone decipher it.”
“What is the timeframe for implementation at the White House?”
“Four weeks.”
“That doesn’t give us enough time to roll out our detailed coup. I still don’t understand how Nesser fucked up and got caught. He wasn’t supposed to act yet.” Sergei walked to the bar and poured a vodka shot. He swallowed it down. “I’m losing my confidence in your ability to manage your team.”
“He became greedy and believed it would give him an upper hand in the race to the presidency.”
“I have warned all of you from inception that a successful coup takes time and proper planning. The timing is essential and he singularly fucked up our best opportunity. It’ll only be effective if no one is aware that any of you are involved—or Russia for that matter.” He filled his glass and sat down in front of the fire. “Although, you said they believed they shut down the entire group when they caught Nesser. It means they won’t expect another any time soon.”
“Turns out we were wrong. BSE continued to dig and it appears they might have uncovered traces leading to the organization but they haven’t been able to penetrate it. Now that we know they’re onto us, we’re adding additional security measures of our own.”
“At least you acted wisely for a change. Fuck! They’re on alert now which means we can’t roll out our original plan.”
“Why not? Everyone has been warned to be doubly careful. I don’t see any reason we can’t move forward.”
“It’s become high-risk. No, we’ll have to put our plans on the back burner.” Sergei took another sip of his drink, a deep frown drawing his brows in one dark line.
“I’m afraid it’s not an option.”
“What did you just say?” Sergei’s voice lowered dangerously. His blue eyes turned glacial as he sat forward with his fingers tightening around the encrypted sat phone. Sergei Ivanon ruled as the Director of Foreign Intelligence through fear. No one dared to oppose a directive from him or sideline his instructions. Least of all, override a well laid out plan. That an American, who was counting on his support to become the next President of the United States, dared to, infuriated him.
“We already put the plan into action. It’s too late to stop it. I’m afraid we all have to find ways to ensure Be Secure Enterprises and the Sinclair cousins don’t stand in our way.”
“You better listen to me very carefully. If you make a fuckup of a foolproof plan for Russia to form an unbreakable allegiance with America because you’re so eager to be president, mark my words … it’ll be a very short ruling.”
“Are you threatening me?”
Sergei dragged in his breath and listened to it hiss through his teeth. “It’s not a threat, it’s a fact. Don’t forget who gave you the ammunition and tools to head up this organization, who designed the entire coup d’état, and to what end it was done. Believe me, you don’t want us as your enemy.”
“You are overreacting. All I’m saying is, we all have to be aware and double check every move we take.”
“From the number of times BSE fucked up well laid out plans, I’m not as confident in your ability to pull that off,” Sergei scoffed in a sharp alto.