Read Online Fear the Future (The Fear Saga Book 3) by Stephen Moss - Free Book Online
Authors: Stephen Moss
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moments away.
- - -
Neal and Jim approached the elevator.
“Jim, I hear you, but I really think you can handle it, just make something up and send it. Your German is better than you give yourself credit for.” He smiled and Jim nodded.
“Sure, Neal. I’ll get right on it. No risk of international incident there.”
“Good,” Neal laughed, “I’m glad you see it my way.”
They did not press the button as they got into the wood-paneled cube. They assumed correctly that Minnie would take care of it, and she did, pressing it without looking as she entered the elevator behind them. Jim’s attendants were off helping Madeline, Ayala, and John as they went to their own negotiations with the Indian and Brazilian representatives, leaving Jim and Neal to their devices.
Their friendship had been a rocky journey, but in the end it had only been solidified by it. They had been colleagues, then rivals, then almost combatants, and now as friends and coworkers, Neal finally saw why so many had come to rely on Jim over the years. He was a better chief of staff than even Minnie could be; he was a superlative organizer and a diplomat with few peers. Where Minnie was still learning the human condition, Jim was a master of it, and he was proving invaluable as they navigated these complex times.
“OK, now, Kim Kwon will be your prime contact during this meeting,” explained Jim as the elevator doors closed and they began to rise. “Though he is not the most influential in the room, I am certain he will be in a matter of months when the next regional elections take place, and his emergence as a candidate for party leader becomes clear. Park Jae-won, who will try to run the meeting, is both on the decline in terms of power, and an active detractor when it comes to our efforts.”
Neal nodded as they exited the elevator and started down the corridor. Despite his jocular attitude, he really did appreciate the grave importance of this work, and his role in it.
“The main landmine here will be, of course, our stance on China and North Korea. They will be pushing for support with border control and will assume from recent events in Beijing that you are onboard with a more hard-line approach to that issue.”
Neal nodded again, appreciatively. Certainly it would be hard not to see his attack on the Politburo headquarters as anything other than a very hard line. But Jim was not done.
“As we discussed earlier, it will be tempting to go down that road as it will be the only issue on which the entire room will agree. But we cannot make any agreements here that will preclude future negotiations with the Chinese.” He was tapping on his tablet as he spoke, and Neal felt a data packet appear in his head titled: South Korean TASC Support Talks – Approved Agenda Points and Areas of Concern.
Minnie spoke up, both in the ether and in person, “Gentlemen, I am afraid the data packet in question is out of date. There is one data point that will need to be added.”
They turned to her as she spoke but she was looking straight ahead as they approached their appointed conference room.
Lim Min-soek saw them approaching the room. He saw the two men. He saw the burly woman alongside them that he assumed correctly was their bodyguard, and he tensed. She looked dangerous, and her eyes were pinned to his.
But his orders were clear, and he had an advantage. While guns were not allowed within the UN grounds, his post within the Korean security forces had earned him the use of one of twenty of the bionic suits they had been given by the very people whose leader he had been tasked with killing.
He was not fully versed with its use, and his lack of a spinal interface meant he could only operate the suit by muscle amplification, not direct control. But he felt confident he could still move quickly enough to kill the man known as Neal Danielson, and even his assistant, before their guard could stop him.
He felt scared but confident as he brought
- - -
Neal and Jim approached the elevator.
“Jim, I hear you, but I really think you can handle it, just make something up and send it. Your German is better than you give yourself credit for.” He smiled and Jim nodded.
“Sure, Neal. I’ll get right on it. No risk of international incident there.”
“Good,” Neal laughed, “I’m glad you see it my way.”
They did not press the button as they got into the wood-paneled cube. They assumed correctly that Minnie would take care of it, and she did, pressing it without looking as she entered the elevator behind them. Jim’s attendants were off helping Madeline, Ayala, and John as they went to their own negotiations with the Indian and Brazilian representatives, leaving Jim and Neal to their devices.
Their friendship had been a rocky journey, but in the end it had only been solidified by it. They had been colleagues, then rivals, then almost combatants, and now as friends and coworkers, Neal finally saw why so many had come to rely on Jim over the years. He was a better chief of staff than even Minnie could be; he was a superlative organizer and a diplomat with few peers. Where Minnie was still learning the human condition, Jim was a master of it, and he was proving invaluable as they navigated these complex times.
“OK, now, Kim Kwon will be your prime contact during this meeting,” explained Jim as the elevator doors closed and they began to rise. “Though he is not the most influential in the room, I am certain he will be in a matter of months when the next regional elections take place, and his emergence as a candidate for party leader becomes clear. Park Jae-won, who will try to run the meeting, is both on the decline in terms of power, and an active detractor when it comes to our efforts.”
Neal nodded as they exited the elevator and started down the corridor. Despite his jocular attitude, he really did appreciate the grave importance of this work, and his role in it.
“The main landmine here will be, of course, our stance on China and North Korea. They will be pushing for support with border control and will assume from recent events in Beijing that you are onboard with a more hard-line approach to that issue.”
Neal nodded again, appreciatively. Certainly it would be hard not to see his attack on the Politburo headquarters as anything other than a very hard line. But Jim was not done.
“As we discussed earlier, it will be tempting to go down that road as it will be the only issue on which the entire room will agree. But we cannot make any agreements here that will preclude future negotiations with the Chinese.” He was tapping on his tablet as he spoke, and Neal felt a data packet appear in his head titled: South Korean TASC Support Talks – Approved Agenda Points and Areas of Concern.
Minnie spoke up, both in the ether and in person, “Gentlemen, I am afraid the data packet in question is out of date. There is one data point that will need to be added.”
They turned to her as she spoke but she was looking straight ahead as they approached their appointed conference room.
Lim Min-soek saw them approaching the room. He saw the two men. He saw the burly woman alongside them that he assumed correctly was their bodyguard, and he tensed. She looked dangerous, and her eyes were pinned to his.
But his orders were clear, and he had an advantage. While guns were not allowed within the UN grounds, his post within the Korean security forces had earned him the use of one of twenty of the bionic suits they had been given by the very people whose leader he had been tasked with killing.
He was not fully versed with its use, and his lack of a spinal interface meant he could only operate the suit by muscle amplification, not direct control. But he felt confident he could still move quickly enough to kill the man known as Neal Danielson, and even his assistant, before their guard could stop him.
He felt scared but confident as he brought
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