Chapter 3
CHAPTER 3
J in has assigned a man from the communications department as a cameraman. Cassidy introduced herself while Warrick stayed hidden in the news van. He had eyes on the courthouse and access to the surrounding security cameras to be on the lookout for assassins. The cameraman took his instruction, thinking he was only filling in for a sick camera operator for a foreign journalist.
“Are you ready for this, Mr. President?” Cassidy asked, her voice as if she were just asking a journalistic question, but her eyes telling Deming she meant much more.
“Yes. Let’s do this.” Deming looked out of the van they were all traveling in and paused. “Wait, there’s Dasha. Pull over and let us walk in together. I need the people to know I’m backing Dasha’s testimony and will always stick up for the people.”
Cassidy glanced out the window. A woman with dark brown hair in a simple braid walked down the street alone. She wore a black pantsuit with an Oxford blue blouse under the jacket. Her makeup was minimal. Her shoes were sensible yet stylish. Everything about Dasha screamed normal. She didn’t appear to be a threat and Jin must have agreed since he ordered the van to be pulled over.
Cassidy noticed when the van slowed down, Dasha became nervous. She must know the threat to her life was very real. Then Deming opened the door and Dasha, while looking shocked, relaxed a little. She was probably a year or two younger than Cassidy, a couple inches taller, but leaner. The dark circles under her eyes told Cassidy the leanness was probably due to grief.
“Dasha, dear, would you like a ride to the courthouse?” Deming asked.
Dasha glanced nervously around and then nodded. “Thank you, Mr. President. I can’t shake the feeling I’m being followed.”
Deming held out his hand and Dasha took it as he helped her into the van. Cassidy wasn’t paying attention though. Her head was on a swivel as she tried to see anyone who might be following Dasha.
“Cassidy,” Deming said in a way that meant he’d already said her name a time or two and she hadn’t heard him.
“Sorry,” Cassidy said with a smile as she focused her attention on Deming and Dasha.
“I was telling Dasha you’re an American journalist reporting on the case.”
Cassidy fell into the lie easily. Dasha was sweet, scared, and yet incredibly strong to see this through.
“I see you,” Warrick’s voice said into her comms. “There’s a large crowd. Seems mostly pro-Deming.”
Cassidy glanced out the windows and saw the streets lined with people cheering for Deming and holding signs that said “Democracy or Death.” At least the crowd didn’t seem hostile.
A calm washed over Cassidy as the van pulled to a stop. This was the mission. She knew what would happen. She was prepared. “Mr. President, let me get out first and we can get video of the two star witnesses exiting and walking into the courthouse.”
Deming nodded. His nerves clearly taking control. Dasha reached out and squeezed his hand. “Thank you for doing this, Mr. President. You’re a very special, very brave man.”
Cassidy and her cameraman jumped from the van and moved into position. Little did the cameraman know Cassidy’s real reason for wanting to get out first. She wanted to keep an eye on the one position available for a sniper.
“The crowd seems peaceful,” Warrick said as Deming and Dasha got out of the van to a round of cheers. “They’re entering the hit zone in three, two...”
Cassidy glanced up and saw movement above the news van. “Position one!” Cassidy screamed into her comms as she went to grab for Deming. However, Deming moved right as the gunshot went off.
Deming was supposed to take cover behind Cassidy. Instead, he flung his body over Dasha. The way his body shot forward and took both Cassidy and Dasha down told her that Deming had been hit.
Cassidy felt blood splash against her face. She heard Dasha screaming at the top of her lungs and saw the panic in the crowd. However, her eyes were on the figure who had just jumped from the roof, onto the top of her news van, and then took off down the side street.
“War!” Cassidy yelled, gripping a lifeless and bleeding Deming. Warrick hurried from the van with his cane as Jin and the security team collapsed on the assassinated president. “Get him in the van and to the nearest hospital!”
Warrick leaned down and grabbed an arm. Cassidy had the other. Jin was there, looking frantic. “He’s dead,” Cassidy whispered over the screams of the crowd to Jin as she put her fingers to Deming’s neck. “We’re going to protect his body. Don’t tell anyone he’s dead yet. We need to secure the area. Get Dasha in the van too. We can’t have her telling the world the president died protecting her.”
Cassidy was struggling to rein in her emotions as Warrick and she struggled to get Deming’s body into the news van. Jin shoved Dasha into the front seat and slammed the door. Soldiers moved to escort the van out of the parking lot. “I’m securing the area and trying to find the shooter,” Jin yelled.
Cassidy nodded and then thumped the side of the van. Warrick sped off as fast as he could, but the rumors were already rippling through the crowd. President Deming Nikan was dead. The pool of blood on the sidewalk only confirmed it as did the smiles on the defendants’ faces as they were led into the courthouse by prison guards. They knew they would be free. While Dasha’s testimony was damaging, it wasn’t enough for a conviction and they knew it.
Cassidy didn’t stick around though. She pushed her way through the crowd and sprinted down the alley she’d seen the shooter disappear down.
“Where are you going, Cassidy?” she heard Warrick ask.
“To get the shooter.”
“Wait for backup!” Warrick ordered.
“No time.”
Cassidy caught sight of the heel of a shoe as it disappeared down a street at least three blocks away. She picked up her pace even as she pulled the gun she’d hidden at the small of her back.
Cassidy turned down the street and caught a flash of him turning once again, but she’d gained on him. Warrick was yelling at her to back down as she zigged and zagged down the back streets and alleys of Crusina.
She almost had him.
Cassidy turned the last corner and slid to a stop. Cassidy looked at the man standing in front of her. She was aiming her gun, but he didn’t seem concerned. Maybe because more men were stepping from the shadows aiming their guns at her. Cassidy felt the hair on the back of her neck rise as she felt the bodies move in behind her. She’d been ambushed.
Fuck. He was too late. He was now in the shadows of the low roof above the alley. They’d already surrounded Cassidy by the time he’d arrived. No matter how good she was, she wasn’t getting out of this without help.
Suddenly, a shadow emerged from the back of the alley. He came to stand near the leader of the ambush. He cocked his head and studied Cassidy. His body language screamed power.
“Hello, Cassidy.”
He frowned as he looked at the tall, middle-aged man now standing in front of Cassidy. He could be European or North American. His accent was vague. His hair was a non-descript brown. Everything about him was anonymous.
“I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure of an introduction.” There was his girl. Cassidy would never shrink back, even against all odds.
“First,” he said, reaching forward and plucking an earpiece from her and tossing it on the ground. Cassidy watched it land ten feet away and hoped it wasn’t broken. “Now that we have some privacy. You, young lady, have been a real thorn in my side.” The man ignored the request for an introduction.
Cassidy smiled sweetly. “Oh good. I would so hate to be forgettable.”
He smiled. This was one of the reasons he had fallen in love with her. He checked his weapons and got ready to move when she did.
The man who had ambushed Cassidy chuckled. “Nothing about you is forgettable. Especially the way you’re messing up our plans. At least you didn’t save Deming.”
Cassidy cocked her head. “I failed at keeping Deming alive, so I’m guessing you’re wanting to fill the power void. But you’re not from Crusina.”
“I’m not, but my allies are. And I want you to be my ally, Cassidy.”
He froze as he watched the subtle reactions of the woman he’d believed would always be for justice. When faced with life or death, would she turn on her country?
Cassidy tried not to react. She needed more information from this stranger who had appeared out of nowhere. Plus, she needed to give Warrick time to realize she was in danger and send help.
“An ally? Like you want me to be your bodyguard? Looks like you have enough of those. Worried someone is trying to kill you?” Cassidy asked.
“Just making sure you know you have no options available to you. I won’t underestimate you. However, even you can’t take down eight men before one of them kills you.”
“I get the death part, dude.” Cassidy almost rolled her eyes. Kale’s freaking computer nerd friend was rubbing off on her. Alex always called everyone dude. “I don’t get the ally part. Why do you need me as an ally?”
“For your connections. We’re changing the world, Cassidy, and we want you to be a part of it.”
Cassidy considered his calm demeanor. She didn’t know how she was going to get out of this, but she also wasn’t going to be a traitor. She could buy some more time, though. “And the first change is getting Deming out of office.”
“That’s right.”
“Well, you’ve already done that,” Cassidy pointed out. “What do you need me for?”
“You took down an ally and now we need to fill his spot. There’s more, but you don’t need to know that yet. You need to prove your loyalty first.”
“Can you give me a minute to think about it?” Cassidy asked. She had Piper’s clothes on. She wore Abby’s vest filled with weapons under her shirt, with a gun and two knives strapped to her thigh under her skirt. The only question she had was how many could she take down before they took her down.
He knew the look in Cassidy’s eyes. He’d been watching her ever since he’d seen her in France. He knew that slight sparkle of her blue eyes meant she was about to do something reckless.
He aimed his gun and waited for her to make her move.