Free The Gemini Deception by Kim Baldwin, Xenia Alexiou

States would come with plenty of sacrifices, and she hadn’t minded making them. Ever since she was a little girl, she’d realized it was her destiny. Not so much because she had been groomed and raised in the political arena—her father had also represented Maine in the Senate—but because she sincerely wanted to make a difference. Her ideas for a better America would rub some the wrong way, but as with all new laws and initiatives, it was just a matter of time before the dust would settle and people came to accept the changes.
    The elevator arrived and one of her guards stepped in to make sure it was secure. Exaggerated, she thought, but they, too, needed to follow protocol.
    “Madam President.” He gestured for her to enter, and the remaining four men who surrounded her followed her inside. One pressed the button to the eighth floor, and they all stood solemnly staring at the floor indicator above the sliding door.
    Elizabeth heard a noise right above her, and in an instant, two of her guards were at her side, hovering over her and shielding her with their bodies, while the other three pointed their guns at the ceiling.
    “What’s happening?” was all she had time to ask before the lights went out and the sound of bullets surrounded her. Dull, almost distant reports—they were using silencers, she realized, as she was abruptly and roughly pushed to the ground, facedown. Her two nearest men covered her, their weight oppressive. Barely able to breathe, and unable to see what was happening, she felt her heart roar in her chest. Seconds later, in a momentary lull of the gunfire, she heard the sound of something heavy drop next to her.
    “What’s going on?” she shouted, and squirmed under the weight of her guards, which had become increasingly unbearable. Dead weight, she realized with a panic. They weren’t moving at all.
    The shooting stopped, but Elizabeth didn’t dare move. “Is it over?” she whispered. She was trembling, and her pulse boomed in her ears. No one answered, but she could hear heavy breathing, and suddenly the weight on her lessened and she could move a little. Thank God. At least some of her men were apparently okay, and she was still alive.
    Then the weight crushing her was gone entirely, but it was still pitch-black in the elevator. Still too shaky and out of breath to get up, she rolled over onto her back. Immediately, a bright beam of light pointed directly in her face blinded her.
    “Be quiet, and lie still,” a voice behind the light commanded, and Elizabeth was surprised to realize it was a woman’s voice. Her heart began to beat even faster.
    The figure was hovering over her. Elizabeth tried to push her away, but the woman pinned her down roughly.
    “Help!” she shouted, but the assailant quickly covered her mouth.
    “I said ,be quiet, or I’ll shoot you right now.”
    Elizabeth froze and let herself be pulled up. The beam of light shifted as she rose, allowing her to see more clearly. Though she still couldn’t make out the woman’s identity—she was dressed all in black and wore a ski mask—she could see that all five of her guards were dead, each of them shot in the head.
    She glanced up to where the initial sound had originated and saw that a metal ceiling tile was missing. The masked woman immediately blindfolded and gagged her, then tied some kind of harness around her.
    Elizabeth wanted to kick, punch, try to scream through the gag for help, but she was afraid she’d end up on the pile of dead bodies. The woman bound her hands and feet, and removed her wedding ring. Seconds later, she was being lifted. She could do nothing to stop it; it was impossible for her to move much at all.
    “Go,” she heard a man say as she was being pulled up.
    “Jesus, are they dead?” a female voice replied.
     
    *
     
    Ryden had never imagined any operation could happen this fast and be this well organized. One guy had deactivated the elevator and lights, while another two