David Golemon: Ancients

The president watched Niles turn at the door.

"The way it was always meant to be."

Major General Ton Shi Quang, former commander of the People's Army, was dressed appropriately in a white silk shirt and white muslin pants as he drank ice tea on the fantail of a two-hundred-foot yacht owned by one of William Tomlinson's corporations. The crew members had orders to take it slow and easy during their trip to Taiwan, where Shi Quang would receive his reward for loyal service to the Juliai Coalition.

His escape from Korea had been planned well in advance of his treasonous actions and he had left the coastal waters on a fishing boat for his rendezvous in the Sea of Japan. He knew that at this very moment he was one of the most hunted men in the world; but with what he earned, he would find no difficulty at all in vanishing into a broken world still reeling from the Coalition's strike. The reward offered by America for his capture was insulting for a man of his stature and very much a useless gesture on their part.

A waiter brought him a fresh glass of ice tea and then walked to the galley entrance of the luxurious yacht. After placing the tray just inside the doorway, he suddenly turned and walked briskly to the streamlined bow of the ship, where he met members of the crew.

The waiter placed a small, portable beacon on the bow of the ship and then gestured for the men to get over the side of the yacht.

The captain stepped from the well-appointed bridge and yelled down, asking what in the hell they thought they were doing. It was too late; the fifteen crew members had started the small outboard and were already fifty feet away. That was when the captain heard the roar of aircraft overhead.

The general squinted into the sun-filled sky. He never saw death as it struck seconds later. Two American-made AMMRAM missiles smashed into the $22 million yacht and blew it to pieces.

Pulling up and out of their attack run, two U.S. Navy Super Hornets from the carrier USS Roosevelt screamed back into the skies.

The judge and jury, consisting of five hundred dead U.S. sailors, had rendered their verdict against Major General Ton Shi Quang.

William Tomlinson and the woman code-named Dahlia sat in the small room. Tomlinson was wide-eyed and had not said a word since being placed in the room next to his former assassin.

Carl Everett walked into the room, followed by Mendenhall and Ryan. They stood with the door open but did not move, with the exception of Everett, who pulled something from his pocket and placed it on the table in front of the two handcuffed prisoners. Then he stood stock-still and waited.

Thirty seconds later, the president of the United States entered the room and sat across from the two Coalitionists. He stared at them for a full fifteen seconds.

"I believe you signed a document that pardoned me from any crime I may have committed in return for the cooperation I gave your people," Dahlia said when she realized that Tomlinson was content just to sit and stare.

The president did not say a word in response. He just pulled out a set of notes he had written. He adjusted the cell phone that Everett had placed on the table to make sure every word was heard.

"William Tomlinson and Loraine Matheson, AKA Dahlia, you are being charged with treason and crimes against humanity. As president of the United States, acting at a time of war, you are hereby sentenced to death. Said sentence will be carried out in two days at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary."

The president started to rise, but stopped when Dahlia shook her head.

"You can't do this. We ... I demand a trial under the laws of the Constitution!"

The president looked closely at the woman, then his eyes darted to Tomlinson, who was now aware of where he was and looking at Dahlia. Tomlinson shook his head.

"Power is the ability to be ruthless," he mumbled.

"Correct, Mr. Tomlinson. If the world finds out that I broke the law by hanging you, so be it, I can live with that."

The president stood and left the room.

"The man that saved your worthless life died. He would not have favored the actions of the president, because he was the most just man I ever knew. I know this because in a very short time he became my best friend," Everett said as he leaned on the table. "But one thing my friend never understood--that sometimes bad people need to end badly. You will, at the end of a rope."

Everett straightened, retrieved the cell phone, and started from the room, but then he stopped and faced the two Coalitionists one last time.

"I am not like my best friend, as much as I want to be. As much as I strive to be just like him. I know that I will sleep well with the knowledge you two will burn in hell for the millions you have killed."

Everett stopped outside in the hallway with Will and Ryan watching him. He raised the cell phone to his ear and spoke.

"You get some rest. It's all over. We'll be home soon."

Carl closed the cell phone and tossed it to Ryan, who caught it and then followed Everett and Mendenhall down the hallway.

Three thousand miles away, Niles Compton easily removed the phone from Sarah McIntire's weak grip, then he slowly closed it and placed it on her nightstand.

Then Sarah rolled over onto her right side and cried for the first time over the loss of Jack Collins.

Outside the closed door of Sarah's room, the Event Group went on.