Washington, USA.
Collins could hardly fall asleep, but he did not sleep enough because before dawn he was awakened by an urgent call from the Secretary General and Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, the Englishman Frederick Williamson, and Italian Admiral Guido Martinengo, respectively. Upon reaching the telepresence room, he found both characters on either side of the big screen in front of him.
"I apologize for being late, gentlemen," justified Collins, sitting in the chair behind the large table in the center of the room. “Has NATO already taken a position on the conflict in the Middle East?”
"Greetings, Mr. President," Williamson told him. “We are calling you to inform you that Turkey has asked the Council to activate security and defense protocols for its nation, arguing that it could soon be the target of attacks by Israel.”
“I understand that Turkey is already mobilizing its troops. W
Tel Aviv, Israel.The five men had talked animatedly for a few minutes in one of the rooms of the old house on the outskirts of town. Abinadab was outside waiting, heard a car stop in front of the house, looked out the window and saw three men coming out of it. He recognized them and hurried to open the door for them, letting them in. Prior to the closure he made sure there was no suspicious person on the street.“Where are they?” One of them asked.“In that room,” Abinadab pointed to one of the rooms. The three men entered the room and found the other Israelis sitting on the floor in a rug, immediately ending the conversation.“Our friends, the gringos!” One of them said, the leader of the group. “Come on! Come on! Sit down with us.”The newcomers sat down next to them.“We heard there was a problem with the missiles,” the American leader said in
Tel Aviv, Israel. In an old shack built in the middle of the desert on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, the group of mercenaries who had lost their nuclear weapons regrouped around the commander of the operation and the rest of their companions, obfuscated by the audacity of the Israelis. The commander, an African-American man with an imposing presence, had just given the news to their client, throwing the satellite phone on the table he was sitting at. He looked closely at his men and after a few seconds that seemed like an eternity to everyone, he got up and said, resting his fists on the table:“Gentlemen, I have informed our client of the latest events, and to my surprise, he has taken it very well, to the point that he has ordered us to leave the country immediately.”“¿And the rest of the payment?” One of the men asked.“The rest of the money is being deposited at the moment in the accounts of e
Tel Aviv, Israel.Justin had taken advantage of the fact that his friends were already drunk when he decided to leave the bar to find a quiet place to try to call his country. He had stolen one of his companions' jeeps and already was on the outskirts of Tel Aviv when he saw in the distance what appeared to be two missiles traveling through the Israeli sky, almost at the same time, and after a few seconds slightly take two different directions approaching the ground. Within seconds he heard a loud bang and saw a huge cloud of smoke and dust rise. In the bar he had heard one of his former colleagues say that the stolen missiles had already been launched against Iran, so he assumed that those that had just hit the city had been launched by Iran in response to the initial attack.He pulled off the road and stopped about two hundred yards from it in the middle of the barren landscape. It was already waning the afternoon. He took the satellite p
Buenos Aires, Argentina.The flight had departed around midnight the day before and despite being sleepy they couldn't get much sleep. The journey went smoothly despite how long she considered it had been. Only when they were passing through the Amazon did they feel some turbulence, and that made the girl a little uneasy. She told her that was normal when they traveled by plane and she calmed down. As always, Julianne gave her the security and confidence she needed when she was feeling uneasy or worried about something. Despite not being her mother, she raised her as if she were, especially when her brother strongly asked her to do it for him. She considered herself his mother, having had her under her care practically since she was born.And to Marianne she was her mother.The captain announced over the loudspeakers in English and Spanish they were approaching the airport and began the descent maneuvers for the landing, ordering the passe
The Vatican, Vatican City State.He was about to go to sleep when he heard a knock on his bedroom door. Lazily he went and opened it, finding a man in his late sixties with an expressionless face. He was just like him, in pajamas and slippers."Cardinal Agnello," he greeted him, intrigued. “I was about to go to bed. What can I do for you?”"May I come in? It will only take a few minutes ...”He stepped aside and the newcomer entered the room. In the middle of it he turned to look at him, still with an expressionless face. After several seconds, which seemed like an eternity, he began to speak:“Cardinal Nitti, I have just received very important information and I didn’t want to wait until tomorrow to communicate it to you. It is important we make a decision tonight.”“And what information is that?”"It took a while for our investigator, but after so long we finally
New York, USA.The Bentley pulled up in front of one of the great buildings on Fifth Avenue, near the Metropolitan Museum. They got out of the car and entered the building. The man who had always spoken to them entered the elevator with them, while the other two who accompanied him stayed in the car and continued on their way. They came to a large entrance hall to one of the apartments, with marble floors and walls covered with some paintings that they supposed must cost a fortune. A butler greeted them and led them across the hall to an office which looked more like a library, judging by the number of books. The butler asked them to sit down, while the other subject told them he was going to look for Mr. Richmond, leaving immediately."Can I get you something while you wait?" The butler asked them."If possible, a soda," Doris asked, somewhat embarrassed. The butler nodded slightly."And for the gentleman?""Just water, than
Buenos Aires, Argentina.Julius and his sister spent most of the night talking and reminiscing about some of their childhood memories. David and Karen joined them once the children had fallen asleep, and shared with them part of their lived experiences throughout the years. Julianne was surprised by the number of families David had gone through when he was orphaned, but he assured her despite everything he had learned many things from each one. When he was a teenager, he did not give them the importance they deserve or appreciate the sacrifice they made to have him, which is why he ended up doing military service when he could. Now that he could think about everything with the necessary maturity, he was willing to go back to each and every one of them to thank them for their efforts and willingness they dedicated to him over the years."It’s a debt I owe them," he said melancholy. “And someday I will. Also, they should know that I&rsq
The Vatican, State of the Vatican City.Night was already beginning to fall when Cardinal Agnello received a WhatsApp message on his phone. He opened the app and looked at the images he had just received, along with a message that said, “The target is the boy in jeans and a light blue shirt. At his side, in the first photo, the father, and in the following with the protector and some of his friends.” Agnello detailed the photos, in some of them a boy of about eleven or twelve years old was seen, accompanied by an adult man, in others with a younger one, and in the last one with other children of the same age. Agnello recognized Dr. Hansen’s face from the reports of the investigator hired to locate him, but he never presented any of the boy, so he assumed that the one in jeans and a light blue shirt that the investigator mentioned must be him. He looked like a normal child, who shared with his friends and was happy.He was sittin