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me.”
    Elliott stood and said in a very direct and formal manner, “Thank you for taking the time to chat with me Mr. President. I’ll await word on your decision.”

Chapter Nine
     
    Eddie Kelley climbed from the shower, quickly dried off, and studied his sturdy figure in the mirror. The angry pink scars from the hail of shrapnel he’d endured dotted his physique. For a moment he thought back to his years chasing the Taliban around Afghanistan.
    “For what?” he asked for probably the hundredth time.
    James Lally called from the living room of their rented suite at the Comfort Inn in New Braunfels, Texas, “Dude, you gotta get out here and see this. It’s all over the evening news. Maria Baritromo just said upwards of ten thousand prisoners have escaped.”
    Eddie strolled from the bathroom with a towel around his waist, grabbed a beer from the fridge and stood in front of the television.
    “Is it just me or is Maria Baritromo hot as hell?” Eddie asked.
    “Yeah, yeah. Look at that hole in the prison wall in Phoenix! Did those guys use a Patriot missile or something?”
    “Sub-standard construction,” Eddie replied. “They saved a few pennies on concrete by not filling the voids in the center of each cinder block.”
    “Let’s see what they’ve got on another channel.”
    “No, not my Maria.”
    “Sorry.”
    “Damn, good-bye Maria.”
    The CNN news anchor was stating in shrill tones, “Local police forces are overwhelmed. Governments are calling in the National Guard. There are rumors the feds may send in the army. There are upwards of twenty thousand criminals released on the streets of our cities.”
    “Wow, the number of escapees just doubled,” Eddie said.
    James switched the channel again. Bill Maher was laughing with the other members of his guest panel.
    “I don’t see the big issue. Calling in the National Guard? Nonsense. Let me ask you a question? If you were a prisoner who just got a get of jail free pass, what are you going to do? I’ll tell you what you’ll do. You’ll buy a six pack and find the nearest street walker. After that you go visit mom, and after that you get another six pack and find the nearest … ! Anyway you get the picture. I don’t think these guys are the threat they’re being made out to be.”
    The show goers burst into laughter.
    James laughed as well saying, “I love Bill Maher. He’s always so right on.”
    “He does have a unique view. I’m bushed. I’m going to hit the hay. If Elliott calls wake me.”
    “Sure thing. Good night.”
    “Good night.”

Chapter Ten
     
    Steve Crawford and Silas Woodford, two of Elliott’s long time warriors, waited patiently inside a forest green Ford Expedition watching for any movement outside an enormous walled and gated mansion that overlooked the Hudson River.
    “Place looks like a fortress,” Silas commented.
    “Did you expect something less? Don’t forget this guy is the CEO of Capital One.”
    “Yeah, yeah, big deal. I’m just saying it looks like more than a two-man job.”
    “Piece of cake,” Steve replied lowering the pair of field glasses from his eyes. “From what I’m able to see it looks like one guard with a dog is all that patrols the grounds, and the electronic surveillance system was disabled this morning by a fake UPS delivery man.”
    “We’re a quarter mile away and it’s starting to get dark. Are you sure that’s all we’re up against?” countered Silas.
    Steve gave him a withering look and said, “When I say I’m sure, I’m sure. Have you got the iPad 12?”
    Silas patted a back pack in front of him resting on the floor of the vehicle.
    “We’d better get moving,” Steve continued. “The intelligence we were given indicates George Hearthstone is a creature of habit. He always pours himself a double scotch at exactly 5:30 and sits out on the patio reading the Wall Street Journal.”
    Exiting the vehicle the two men set their watches. Steve shouldered a heavy rifle case