Executive Actions by Gary Grossman Read Free Book Online

was only beginning to hit his stride.
    “I’ll tell you what going to do,” he shouted. “Tell ya what I’m gonna do,” he said raising his voice even more. “Win or lose, I’m going to make that Hudson turn-off sign bigger…I’m going to make stopping in Hudson the thing to do!
    “And,” he shouted over the applause. “And if you do hire me…then book me some rooms at the St. Charles Hotel. Cause I’m comin’ back!”
    He saluted over at the hotel and another minute of cheers red-lined the audio meter on Wheaton’s camera.
    McAlister’s sized up the man at the microphone through his Colt scope. There wasn’t a bead of sweat on Lodge. The gunman sensed his intensity…his confidence…and through the optics, he could virtually feel Teddy Lodge’s breath.
    McAlister readied himself, gently squeezed the trigger and quietly said to himself, Bang.
    All was ready. The next time he would have the ambidextrous safety off his Galil SAR. He double checked the seal on the silencer and locked the cartridge loaded with the 5.56 x 45mm NATO ammunition. He put his eye back on the scope and began to take deep, relaxing breaths. Teddy was speaking slowly now.
    As he listened, McAlister ran a mental checklist one final time. Fingerprints: His room was clean. He was sure of that. Inside his room he’d worn latex gloves except when any of the hotel help announced themselves at the door. He never used the hotel elevator. When he went to his room he always took the stairs, and never touched the polished hardwood banister. McAlister even took care to wipe the outside of his door knob after he entered. His suitcases provided no clues to his identity. There were no phone calls to trace. No paperwork left behind. No hairs left in the shower. No fingernail clippings on the floor. His hotel check-in voucher was signed with an unintelligible scribble. And McAlister’s Mastercard was issued through a cash-funded Austrian bank account; a dead end.
    He was careful not to touch anything outside, as well. Since he wasn’t a very effective insurance agent, he hadn’t left any materials behind—intentionally. No broucheres. No contracts with fingerprints. He didn’t even have business cards. He laughed at the notion that anyone would even talk to him about life insurance.
    The assassin smiled at his patience. While others in his field could take the shot with equal ability, no one else could have set up the assignment in such detail. To him, it was more like a theatrical play, with complex choreography and bravado performances.
    “What you’ve done here, others can do,” continued the congressman. “I feel it. I know it. From small towns like Hudson to big cities everywhere, the new spirit of America is in the air. Take it in…fill your lungs with it. It’s from your fresh maple trees. Your oaks. Your pines. Tall and strong. Untainted and pure.
    “You had factories here…and pollution. And when the factories closed down, Hudson didn’t die. It took years to rebuild…and you did it through hard work, not easy handouts.
    “What you accomplished here, we can do across the country. We can bring your message of ingenuity, of re-invention, of renewal to all America. Hudson, New York. You hold the key.”
    Applause spread across the park, overflowing down the streets, over the airwaves and to people listening at home. The Congressman smiled thinking that his triplets really did work wonders.
    It was time to move into the real heart of his speech.
    “But there’s more to the world than just the community you live in. We live in a world where our borders are no longer our barriers…. Where danger openly crosses with a passport rather than a missile…. Where too often we look over our shoulders nervously rather than straight ahead with confidence…. Where we worry about tomorrow, because we’ve witnessed unspeakable horrors today.
    “The world has changed. But, We can all be part of changing the world.”
    McAlister adjusted