Chapter 548

The reason Ross had come to the Vice President’s home was obvious. The Eredar Twins had put him there.

They were supposed to meet with the President soon, and the Secret Service had placed strict restrictions on their outside communications. But restrictions designed for ordinary people were unlikely to accomplish much against the Eredar Twins.

Everything Evenson was doing, along with the intelligence Dottie had gathered, was being transmitted to them through their mental link.

And after running all that information through two minds that seemed to contain an almost inexhaustible supply of schemes and deception, the Twins had more or less reconstructed the entire situation.

It had started when Killian approached the Vice President under the pretense of offering a treatment for his daughter’s disability.

Once the two men became familiar with each other, Killian had laid his cards on the table.

I’ll eliminate the President.

Then I’ll make sure you take his place.

The Vice President’s initial response had essentially been:

What did you put in your coffee this morning?

People didn’t simply hand you the presidency for free. And killing the President of the United States wasn’t exactly easy.

If it were that simple, why hadn’t the Vice President done it himself?

Well...

Maybe not.

But after Killian explained the details of his plan, the Vice President’s resistance began to crumble.

The plan had a surprisingly high chance of success.

On one side was his daughter, whose disability had left a deep and painful mark on him. On the other was the intoxicating possibility of becoming the most powerful man in America.

Before long, he’d reached an agreement with Killian.

Two ambitious men had found exactly what they needed in each other.

Once the Eredar Twins understood what Killian was really attempting, they realized their rival wasn’t satisfied with government contracts from the Department of Defense.

He was playing a much larger game.

Once everything was over, Killian would control both sides of the equation: the terrorists capable of assassinating the President and the new President who would take his place.

He would be both arsonist and firefighter.

He would create the demand and control the supply.

It was an impressive plan.

The Twins had to admit that much.

They could imagine how much effort Killian had poured into constructing it. It would almost be cruel to let all that work go to waste.

So they would simply take the fruits of his labor.

For someone like Killian, having his magnificent plan stolen by them should be the highest honor imaginable.

Perhaps he’d even die smiling.

With that thought in mind, the Eredar Twins were already aboard Air Force One.

They had arrived first.

Meeting the President wasn’t something that could be treated casually, especially during a national crisis. Security had been raised to the highest level, which meant everyone traveling with the President had to undergo extensive screening before he himself arrived.

They had been waiting for roughly half an hour when the President finally appeared.

He walked along the red carpet toward the boarding stairs.

Just before stepping aboard, he turned toward the waiting reporters.

He intended to give them a confident smile.

More than ever, he needed to project the image of a President who wasn’t afraid of terrorists, a leader whose government remained firmly in control.

Then the Secret Service agent beside him suddenly touched his earpiece.

The man’s expression changed.

He hurriedly leaned toward the President and whispered something into his ear.

The President’s smile remained in place.

His eyes did not.

The light vanished from them.

Whatever he’d just heard had clearly changed everything.

He abandoned the photo opportunity and hurried aboard Air Force One, ordering the crew to take off immediately.

As the aircraft began moving, Salorass glanced at her watch.

"The departure seems to have been moved up."

She adopted an innocent, slightly puzzled expression.

"I hope nothing bad has happened."

Oreses looked genuinely worried.

"I watched a movie called Snake on a Plane a few days ago."

Salorass nodded gravely.

"I saw it too. Absolutely terrifying."

She glanced around the cabin.

"I certainly hope this flight is safer."

"You two are certainly entertaining."

A female flight attendant approached them with a polite smile.

"This is Air Force One. It’s the safest flight in the world, so there’s no reason to be nervous. The earlier departure is simply due to weather conditions."

"Oh?"

Oreses lightly touched her lips, looking surprised.

"I thought weather usually caused flights to be delayed. I didn’t realize it could make them leave early."

The flight attendant maintained her professional smile.

"This is Air Force One."

It was the sort of answer that could apparently explain anything.

"Thank you for clearing that up."

The Eredar Twins settled comfortably against their seats.

They rather liked this attendant.

"I’ll remember you," Salorass said. "What’s your name?"

"Alice, ma’am."

Alice gave a small nod.

"All right, Alice. If possible, I’d like you to be the one serving us during the rest of the flight. Would that be all right?"

"It would be my pleasure."

Alice considered the request. It didn’t appear to violate any regulations, so she agreed.

"Then stay close to us when you can. It’ll make things more convenient."

Before Alice could answer, an agent in a black suit approached.

His expression was stern, though he managed a courteous smile.

"Ladies, the President is ready to receive you. Please come with me."

"What an honor."

The Eredar Twins rose.

"Luther, bring the document case."

A large Black man sitting quietly in a corner of the cabin gave a silent nod.

He picked up a small case and followed them.

Luther had accompanied the Twins on this trip as their assistant, handling various miscellaneous duties.

The meeting was held in a conference room.

The President was there, along with several other government officials and Secret Service agents.

Once the Eredar Twins had taken their seats, the President removed his glasses and studied them carefully.

Under normal circumstances, this meeting would have taken place much later.

Ross had strongly advocated for it, but there was no reason for the President to rush.

Now, however, circumstances had changed.

The country was dealing with a terrorist crisis, and the President needed to demonstrate that neither he nor his administration had been intimidated.

So the meeting had been moved forward.

"Ladies."

The President skipped the pleasantries.

This meeting was only one item on an already crowded schedule, and it wouldn’t last long. Better to get to the important questions.

"Ross recommended you to me. He tells me you possess technology of tremendous importance to the United States government, particularly in the military field."

"He wasn’t exaggerating."

Oreses didn’t bother with false modesty.

"The technology we possess will completely revolutionize American military technology."

"Revolutionize?"

One of the President’s advisers leaned forward, clearly interested.

"In what way?"

"Completely."

Oreses’s voice carried a hint of pride.

"Look at the history of firearms. Matchlocks. Flintlocks. Rifles. Automatic rifles. What is the fundamental difference between them?"

She paused.

"They are all weapons that use the explosive force of gunpowder to propel a projectile."

No one interrupted.

"Cloth armor. Leather armor. Plate armor. Modern bulletproof vests. How are they fundamentally different?"

Her smile sharpened.

"The materials change, but they’re still just armor."

Her tone became colder.

"All of them are backward concepts producing backward weapons and equipment."

"They’re obsolete."

"They’re all destined to be replaced."

Oreses finished speaking.

The officials around the table were still processing her words.

But Salorass wasn’t listening anymore.

Her brow furrowed.

Something had caught her attention.

A powerful, searing energy was rapidly approaching the aircraft.

And it was coming fast.