Free Psion Omega (Psion series Book 5) by Jacob Gowans

turned into lead.
    “… breaking news coming in as we speak,” one news
reporter said to a politician being interviewed, “Two weeks since the
catastrophic attack in Detroit, and we finally have a name to the man behind
the attacks. Reports show that the mastermind is Samuel Harris Berhane Jr., a
NWG terrorist encamped with a group of insurgents calling themselves only ‘the
resistance.’”
    An image of Sammy showed on the screen. It had been
enhanced to make him appear about ten years older. It also gave him long dirty
facial hair and a buzzed haircut. But
it’s me . Sammy gripped his stomach and looked for the nearest garbage can.
He spotted one next to a water fountain. As he vomited, tears leaked from his
eyes. Head in his hands, he sat on the floor and listened to the reporter
continue.
    “Joining me now is President Newberry’s Chief of
Staff, Julia Navarre. Ms. Navarre, how are terrorists like this allowed to roam
free? How are NWG terrorists arming and aiding insurgents?”
    “You are right to demand answers to those
questions,” the Chief of Staff answered. “What America needs to remember is
that the President and his staff are doing everything in their power to win the
war, minimize casualties, and keep America safe. These are the kind of horrific
events that we went to war to stop. The President never said these attacks
would end immediately, he only—”
    “But this is a targeted attack on civilians. Tens of
millions of dollars in damage to the downtown area. Hundreds of lives lost.
People are asking themselves, ‘How safe are we?’ How does President Newberry
answer that?”
    “We press harder on the throats of the NWG and any
domestic rebels like this Samuel Berhane. We squeeze until they give up.”
    “So that’s it? You squeeze? You get more
aggressive?”
    “No, no, no. Our strategies are more detailed, but I
can’t discuss them.”
    “For obvious reasons,” the reporter added in a
plain, matter-of-fact tone.
    “Of course. But we will respond with aggression, be
sure. Our focus and intent has never been greater. We aim to win this war
decisively, to not only provide the American people with freedom from fear, but
also to liberate the territories of the NWG who wish to join our union.”
    “What message do you have—or does the
president have—for the American people? If he could speak to them right
now, what would he say?”
    “Have hope. Put your trust in us. We will take care
of you. We care about your safety. And a message, if I may, for Samuel Berhane
and those insurgents who committed this despicable act. You will answer for
your crimes. We will hunt you down and exact justice. You have the blood of
hundreds of lives on your hands. That spilled blood will never be forgotten.”
    Sammy’s heart boomed in his chest when he finally
turned away from the screen as the reporter thanked the politician for her
time. Then he threw up again. When the first reports had come out regarding the
death toll of the bombing, he hadn’t believed them. He thought surely the CAG
was sensationalizing the story. But a resistance member who’d performed search
and rescue at the scene had confirmed that the reports were true. Between the
building itself and the collateral damage of the collapse, over six hundred
people had died.
    As the leader of the failed mission, Sammy offered
his resignation to Thomas and Lara Byron with the explanation that he was not
fit to be in command. When they refused to accept his resignation, he stated
that he did not want it anymore. He was stepping down to let someone more
capable lead the teams.
    “There are better people,” he’d insisted. “Your son,
your grandson, Anna Lukic, Justice Juraschek, Nikotai … all of them have more
experience.”
    Thomas still wouldn’t hear it. “We knew when we
planned these missions that the collapse of a building was a real possibility.
You and everyone else did everything you could to prevent it.”
    “The