Agent Hill: Powerless by James Hunt

his attention. “Hey! You see this?” Sarah asked, pointing to her face. “This is ice burn. From ice.”
    “You don’t have to keep saying where things come from,” Bryce said.
    “Can we get the satellite link up so we can go and kill these guys? Please?” Sarah asked.
    “It’s going to take a while for the uplink to connect,” Bryce said.
    “How long?” Sarah asked.
    “I don’t know. A day, maybe?” Bryce answered, wincing in anticipation of the physical blow that was about to consume his face.
    But instead Sarah just stood there, her face blank. Finally, after a few moments of silence, she quickly turned on her heel and headed for the door. “I need to shoot something.” And then she disappeared into the high snowbanks outside.
    While Sarah worked out her frustration, Mack tried to think of any other individual who could have helped the Russians find a way past the Americans’ defense. But his mind kept going back to one name, and the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. The data on Sarah’s family, the infiltration of HQ, the Russians invading—it was all too perfect. There was only one person who was connected to all of it: Vince.

Chapter 8
    Andrea reached for the glass of water and drank. The heads of state on the monitors in front of her were busy arguing with one another. The Japanese president demanded the United States send more ships to the area to aid with their defense against the Chinese aggressors. The Italians and French demanded the UK provide more troops to the eastern European border.
    “The Chinese have already taken a handful of islands to the south,” the Japanese prime minister said. “That is our land.”
    “I understand,” the American president replied. “We’re allocating our resources as best we can.”
    “There are tanks rolling into Poland and Ukraine,” the French president replied.
    “It won’t be long until the Russians make it to Germany, Italy, or Spain,” the Italian president said.
    The back and forth had gone on for more than an hour. The Russian and Chinese aggression was quickly growing into a full-fledged war.
    “They have the power back on,” the French president said. “How is it not possible that they are the ones responsible for what happened? How?”
    “We were all contacted by the same individual,” Andrea said, trying to calm the hysteria. “It is all our nations’ priority not to negotiate with terrorists. The Russians and Chinese clearly do not follow that same principle.”
    “The chancellor is right,” the American president said, “and all our intelligence suggests that those responsible for the attacks acted independently of any nation.”
    “And whose intelligence is that, Mr. President?” the French leader asked. “You have yet to share anything with the rest of us. How do we know that you don’t have a hidden agenda yourself?”
    “Our investigations are still ongoing,” the American president replied. “Once we have a better understanding and we’re no longer postulating, we’ll be sure to share anything that is pertinent.”
    “How convenient,” the French president answered.
    “Enough,” Andrea said, shaking her head in exasperation. “Now is not the time to bicker about such petty things. We are at war, gentlemen. Both the Russians and Chinese have sent very clear messages. We must band together.” The room went silent. The solemn lines on their faces flashed embarrassment.
    “My apologies, Mr. President,” the French leader said. “The stress of the past week seems to have caught up with me.”
    “I think it’s caught up to all of us,” the American president replied. “We’ll be sending reinforcement troops to Eastern Europe and a carrier to the south of Japan for support. I would request that the Japanese make whatever plans necessary to help support the American troops.”
    “Of course, Mr. President,” the Japanese leader said, bowing his head slightly. “I’ll have a unit ready