Rogue Kingdom by John R Monteith

Author:John R Monteith [Monteith, John R]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781640620339
Publisher: Braveship Books
Published: 2018-02-22T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 12

Olivia McDonald examined the man in his mid-thirties seated across her desk. He seemed unsure of his purpose but excited to serve the CIA’s most powerful woman. “Thanks for coming in.”

“My pleasure, ma’am.”

“Call me ‘Olivia’.”

“Thank you, Olivia. What can I do for you?”

She recognized his improved confidence since she’d last needed him years earlier. “You’ve probably heard rumors about my involvement with the new mercenary navy that’s been handling unique missions.”

His eyes lit up. “Yeah. Of course. The one that’s been handling surgical strikes against some of our allies. Russia, Greece, and Israel?”

“That’s the one.”

“So, it’s true. You do have your own navy.”

“Don’t rush to conclusions.”

“Sorry, ma’am, Olivia. It’s just… the rumors are practically legendary.”

“And exaggerated. If you believe half of them, you’d think I was Poseidon’s daughter.”

He nodded and crossed his ankle over his leg. “Okay. There’s always exaggerations in rumors. The human imagination fills in the gaps. But there’s also usually some element of truth behind most rumors.”

“Let’s just say I have an interest in that fleet. I watch it.”

“And I’m here because it’s tangling with the Iranian navy, or it’s getting ready to do so?”

“They’re heading towards Iranian waters.”

“I’m no naval expert. Are you looking for an assessment of Iran’s motivation for state-driven action against your… excuse me, the mercenary fleet?”

“That’s right.”

“Is there any evidence you’ve seen suggesting hostile action, other than your fleet’s movement?”

She offered her half-lie, a type of misleading and conditional half-truth her monster created to manipulate people while easing the inner girl’s guilt. Though powerbrokers abused such linguistic sins on instinct, Olivia despised the practice, and she despised herself for succumbing to it. “Of course, if I had anything useful I could share with you, I would. But you’re going to have to speculate for now.”

“That’s a lot to speculate about.”

“Maybe I can narrow it down for you. Do you remember five months ago, an Iranian Kilo submarine took damage and headed to the repair yards?”

“Yeah. They were tight-lipped about it. Collision damage was the official story, but we’ve got photos showing something much cleaner. It looked like explosives planted by divers.”

“For the sake of argument, let’s say the mercenary fleet was responsible. What the hell? Let’s say it’s hypothetically my fleet to keep it simple.”

He looked away in thought and then responded. “Okay. If your fleet did that, then that could lead to a retaliation. But it’s hard to say without more data.”

“My fleet has no other bad blood with the Iranians.”

“You’re sure? They haven’t messed with any Iranian allies or sympathizers?”

“That’s an awfully small population.”

“But non-trivial. You have the usual suspects, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Venezuela, and Russia. After the fall of Saddam, you have Iraq, too.”

“I don’t see much chance of a connection there.”

“But your fleet attacked Russia recently, right? The Iranians could be doing secret puppet revenge work for the Russians.”

In the Black Sea conflict, she’d helped bail Renard out of a stalemate, paying the Russians double the amount of damage the Frenchman had inflicted. “They did attack Russia, but they paid off anyone who’d still be pissed off.

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