The Cuban Gambit: A Historical Political Saga (ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF WAR Book 3) by Jay Perin

Author:Jay Perin [Perin, Jay]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: East River Books
Published: 2022-05-02T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 35

A week later, December 31, 1987

Sikkim, India

Rumtek, the mountaintop monastery of Buddhist faith, was gorgeous. Alex walked with Lilah, their pace slow as she rotated the prayer wheels. Harry and Liam were strolling in front, talking in muted voices.

“What are you praying for?” Alex asked, flexing his shoulder and grimacing when sutures tightened across his wound. The bullet had been dug out, and the gash stitched by surgeons at the local army base. The Americans were asked to stay put in the region while the CIA and the Indian military collaborated, documenting the incident and deciding which details would be released to the public. Thankfully, there were guesthouses around the Buddhist shrine.

“I wasn’t praying,” she muttered, her thoughts seemingly far away. “Maybe I should. We could definitely use some divine intervention.”

“With what?” Alex asked.

Lilah halted. “We need to be careful about security. Remember how many people wanted Sanders gone. We’ll be bigger than he ever was... with more enemies... Hoda and Prince... God knows who else.”

“True,” Alex mused. “Prince is a friend of the Noriega regime. Everyone involved in the network will now need security... not only you and Brad... the rest of us, the board members...”

Eyes snapping wide open, Lilah stuttered, “The board? Yeah... and the chairman.”

They weren’t too far from the formation of a formal governing structure. The network’s first meeting would happen soon, at which a board would be elected. “Whoever we pick as chairman will be in an extremely powerful position. The fellow will definitely need protection.”

“Powerful,” Lilah parroted. “Right.” She glanced at Harry. He and Liam were now a few feet ahead but still within earshot. “We need to hire more guards,” she repeated.

After a short time, the four of them sat on a cast-iron bench, the peak dropping off to a cliff mere inches beyond their feet. Tonsured monks in fluttering red robes walked about the large, open courtyard, uncaring of the freezing cold. Chants from inside the shrine-temple echoed through the pristine green forest behind. All around them, sun glinted off the snow-covered crests of the Himalayas.

“Peaceful,” Harry murmured.

“Peace might be one of the things permanently lost to us,” said Alex. At the inquiring looks on the other faces, he clarified, “Lilah thinks Prince might send Noriega after us.”

Lilah glanced toward the buildings of the shrine. “Not just Noriega. There are other things to worry about. Power corrupts, and even the most well-meaning of us can make bad decisions. So we need to strengthen the checks and balances in our own charter. No matter who’s at the top, the person should never be able to cross certain lines. Also, anyone who... umm... could be thinking of dethroning us might think again if leadership gets them nothing except responsibility.”

“Make it so unpalatable so no one would want it?” Harry asked. “Might work to some extent. Ahem... talking about power corrupting... Alex, Rekha is terrorizing Dalal Street. The manager of the Bombay office made her security guard and gave her a pistol. She’s very proud of it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.