Free Destined for Power by Kathleen Brooks

kinds of information on everyone who played last night.”
    “Good work, Dario. Is this the copy?”
    “It’s the exact copy I gave Mr. Simpson. I erased the mainframe, though. But, Mr. Black, they will know it is me. I had to use my employee login to erase the data. I have to get out of here. Mr. Simpson will find out before he leaves tomorrow, and I know I’ll disappear.”
    “We’ll take care of you.” Mr. Black turned to his partner and gave a simple nod before walking away. The muffled gunshot was barely audible.
    “Do you want me to take care of Mr. Simpson along with the candidate you gave me?”
    “Yes. Do it on American soil. I don’t want a connection to Stromia. And make sure you destroy both him and the flash drive.”
    “Consider it done.”

     

CHAPTER SEVEN
     
    “It has to be then,” Bowie argued as he and Mallory looked at the papers laid out on the desk the next day. They had arrived in Atlanta the day after the ball and since then had been researching every political campaign stop the candidates were scheduled to make.
    “They are with each other at the next event, but how are we to know if the assassination will take place when both candidates are together?” Mallory asked as she looked at their schedules.
    “Because then they will both be in the spotlight. Think about it. Pictures all over the world of a dead candidate in the arms of his opponent who is frantically trying to save him. It would be election gold. The only timeline we have is what you overheard. It's going to be by the end of the month. This is the only event that fits that description.”
    “I don’t know; you’re assuming the person who hired the assassination would be there at the time,” Mallory said as she looked over the paperwork. “I mean, this event my father is going to be at in two weeks will be huge. Thousands of people.”
    “You heard Liam demand it be public with lots of press. That has to mean the person behind it all wants to be seen there too. If he tries to save the injured man, or men, he’d be hailed a hero. How would you do it? How would you kill them publicly?”
    Mallory let out a long breath. Bowie was right. She would do it at this event. It was a charity event for wounded soldiers. The press was already going to be there. Security wouldn’t be as tight as if it were a debate, making it easier to smuggle weapons in. “I’d do it at the event. I would do it when the candidate makes his speech.”
    “How?”
    Mallory looked at the blueprints of the resort. “There.” She pointed to the maze of air ducts in the ballroom. The room was set up like a chessboard above the ceiling with ductwork running the length and the width of the room and intersecting at various points. “If the pictures of the ballroom are accurate, there’s a huge return vent right there that looks out over the ballroom instead of facing downward. All you have to do is take some pliers to make room for the muzzle of a rifle. The industrial air ducts are large enough to crawl through. No one would see me. Escape would be simple if you had the layout of the maze of ducts. Take the right turns and you’re at the restrooms. Drop back down and run out with the other guests.”
    “Hmm. I would go for a more direct approach. I would plant three small bombs under the stage. One at the podium and one under each side. Then I could detonate according to where my target was standing.”
    “We can stop both, but I have a bigger problem. This is Reid’s new resort. If he sees us . . .”
    Bowie just smiled. “He won’t. You’ll look fabulous as a brunette.”
    “Goodie, our little bag of tricks. I’ll scope out the resort now. Reid isn’t supposed to get back until later this afternoon according to the flight plan Troy filed. I’ll spend the day there, getting a feel for the place, and be gone before Reid arrives.”
     
    * * *
     
    Mallory walked the ballroom under the pretense of wanting to rent it for a wedding