Page 141 of Broken Wheels

“Sir, perhaps we should?—”

Oh for the love of….

He needed her to get the hell away from his desk and let him work. He had to adjust the plan to fit the new facts that had been introduced, and all she could do was bombard him with inane questions?

“Did I ask you for your opinion?”

“Well, no, sir, but?—”

“Get the fuck out of here!” he snarled, not bothering to watch as she scurried away.

Why did Kathy have to go? They were so close to fruition for the plan. He forced himself to take deep breaths. The only person required for the plan to succeed was himself. No one else could be counted on.

No one else mattered.

Sure, recent events had taken a bad turn, but he would get everything back on track. There was no way he was about to let it all unravel now. He wouldn’t allow it. All he had to do was turn this around, make it work to his advantage.

I need to be out in front, not playing catch-up.

He’d already pointed a finger at Malone, hadn’t he?

Now he needed to tighten the noose. But how?

It wouldn’t take much to set the wheels in motion. The bombs were in place. They were ready to go.

Then it came to him, and he smiled.

How does the saying go? “Winners find a way.”

And Aaron Spencer was the epitome of a winner.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He tapped the contact he needed and held the phone to his ear.

“This is Spencer,” he barked as soon as the call connected. “We’ve had new information that we’re currently in the process of confirming. I will have my answers in a few hours, so we’ll need a press conference.”

“When? Today?”

“No, it’s a ways out yet, so we have time. I’m not going to give the alleged locations. The last thing we want or need is a panic.”

“Locations? There’s more than one?”

“That’s what our intel suggests, but we still need to verify. Regardless, my people are prepping even as we speak.”

“Is this threat credible?”

“Yes, very credible. Malone clearly feels caged, so he’s going to launch an attack very soon.”

By the time he finished the call, he felt much better. In fact, he was grinning.

Dr. Malone, guess where you are? Back in my crosshairs again.

Chapter 43

Josh pulled out his phone. After ensuring the encryption was active, he dialed Dixon. Before he could utter a word, Dixon got in first.

“Doc. Please, tell me you’ve got something.”

“I don’t even get a ‘Hi, honey?’” Josh teased. Not that he was in a teasing mood, but right then, he needed to do something to bring a little light into his dark world. He couldn’t wait for this nightmare to be over—and have Dixon back where he belonged. “And yeah, I do have something, but it’s not good. In fact, it’s probably one of the worst things I could tell you.”

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