Patricians: Power Politics (2 of 9)

Chapter 13: Containment

Leaving the congressional hearing, Henry and his Board of Directors headed to their waiting transportation. Cpt. Anderson and his security team stood watch over the Muse shuttle. Neural communications had reported that the hearing was over and to prepare the shuttle for departure. Leading the Board of Directors onto the shuttle, Maj. Lee looked back and saw Henry standing still. Journalists had interrogated Henry about the sudden news coming out of Israel. IRME and Russia had declared war, and the first salvoes of the attack on Israel were already beginning, captured in videos on the Web. Every major media outlet was running footage of the first attack and filling the air with pro-war rhetoric. All over the planet, the sound of the drums of war beat in the people's ears.

Maj. Lee walked over to Henry to see what was going on. From his body language, Henry appeared to be lost in thought. Edward tapped Henry on the shoulder, but that provoked no response. Lack of response told Maj. Lee his boss was using his neural implant for something, but the communication wasn't on the Muse neural network.

Edward tried to delve into the communication, but security protocols he had never seen before prevented him. Whoever Henry was talking to was going to great lengths to ensure the privacy of the communication. It was a bad omen and didn't sit well with the Director of Security. Pulling out a neural patch cable, Edward was just about to force his way into his boss' mind when Henry snapped back to reality. Henry was able to hide his emotions in most cases, but not this time. Everything in the man's body language told Edward something big had just happened.

"Achilles just reported in. Ivan is locked in his palace and has remained there since returning from New York. He sent a complete, detailed schematic of the palace grounds and a situation report on Romanov's magnetic rail system. I want a team sent in immediately. Tell Cpt. Anderson to assemble his team, and Operation Troy is a go."

Henry had communicated his thoughts through the network. Looking around at the public space, Edward worried someone might pick up the transmission.

"Henry, we still don't have any real evidence that Ivan was behind the attack, but I guess with the war, it doesn't matter anymore." Maj. Lee always urged caution, but the declaration of war had changed everything. U.S. government forces were already seizing Romanov assets within America. Britain and the European Union would soon follow. Ivan and Russia would do their best to undermine their public enemies, and that now included Muse Industries. Edward realized that Henry had seen this coming year's ago.

Marching towards the Muse shuttle, Henry was hell-bent on finding his daughter. This was an opportunity he couldn't ignore. Racing up the shuttle ramp, Henry headed towards his private room. Maj. Lee informed Cpt. Anderson and his team to meet him there through the network. Marching through the shuttle, the Board of Directors could tell something was wrong, but no one intervened. Everyone could see in Henry's body language that he would handle the situation and would hear no opinion on the subject.

Walking into the small office, Henry saw Cpt. Anderson and the team already gathered and waiting. Everyone in the room wondered what had happened. Sitting behind the desk, Henry uploaded Achilles' report to the holoemitter on the desk. Light spread out from the emitter, creating a map of the Romanov magnetic railway system throughout Russia. Henry gave everyone a moment to study the map before speaking.

"Achilles managed to infiltrate the Romanov Industries system. We can see that each magnetic arch contains a large gravitational reactor. We know that the power system for the railway is controlled by a centralized computer in Ivan's palace, and Achilles has managed to infiltrate that system. Cpt. Anderson, you and your team will leave from Muse headquarters in a stealth shuttle and drop into Russia tonight under the cover of darkness. Weather channels are showing fog conditions in the insertion area. Achilles will meet up with you at this point and escort the team to the Romanov compound."

Shifting the map to the rendezvous point just inside the border of Russia, Cpt. Anderson could feel his teammate's anxiety at the plan. This operation would put them deep behind enemy lines with no possibility for extraction, should the mission go awry. Maj. Lee didn't like the idea, but the plan made sense to him. Achilles having access to the Romanov Industries mainframe would allow the team to use the rail system to carry the strike force into Moscow and past checkpoints. Magnetic trains were all automated and had little security inside. Most modern security system relied on automation, and that system was now under Muse control. Cpt. Anderson looked to Henry with one question.

"What's our objective, sir?"

"To infiltrate the Romanov Palace, aid operative Kincaide, and to discover any information that Ivan has on my daughter's location. Once you have secured those objectives, you will then ensure that Ivan and Romanov Industries are no longer a threat. Your team will assist Agent Kincaide in this objective, but he has operational control." Henry's orders left no room for questioning. Even if Ivan wasn't behind Julia's abduction, he was causing problems for Muse and was threatening too many innocent people. Everyone including Maj. Lee agreed that Ivan had to go, and now was the perfect opportunity.

"Yes, sir." Every member of the team sounded in unison with the exception of Maj. Lee.

"I have one question, sir. I don't doubt Cpt. Anderson's abilities to execute this operation, but would the mission not be better served if I took command?"

No one seemed to object to Maj. Lee. Cpt. Anderson even agreed with him.The reality of the situation told Henry he would need Maj. Lee with him.

"I understand you want to go with your people, but I am going to need your help. We have to mobilize immediately. I imagine President Woods expects our troops on the frontlines in the Middle East. Russia is still in early troop movements, and I am going to need you in that theatre of war." Henry could lead his troops, but knew war required delegation, not autocracy. One man couldn't pay attention to everything. Micromanaging was slow death by self-asphyxiation. Muse forces also respected Maj. Lee and would follow him the same way they would follow Henry.

Edward didn't like letting his people go into such a dangerous situation without him, but the orders made sense. The chain of command existed for a reason. News reports showed the severity of attacks in Israel, and they could use all the help they could get. Despite almost a century of being built up by Western powers, IRME had managed to eclipse them in the span of a few years. Missiles had breached the Israeli defense system, and IRME forces were pushing across the Gaza strip into Israel. Terrorists were bombing government facilities and it slowed the mobilization of the Israeli army. Political experts had declared this war was the result of Israeli policies towards the Palestinian people before the creation of IRME. Regardless of who was to blame, innocent people were paying with their lives, and Henry's business deals with the Western governments had put Muse Security forces into that battle.

The situation would only worsen with time, and Maj. Lee knew his boss would want to stop the conflict from spiraling further out of control. Western leaders like President Woods may have wished for this war, but no one could be certain of the outcome. Henry refused to stand by and watch the horrors of war running rampant. This was a war that would be fought with all the powers available to the West.