Among the twenty personnel urgently dispatched by the LockSat organization, there were even several who were former CIA operatives, so-called "action experts," who had been purged during the CIA's internal cleanup of LockSat members some time ago!
But let's be honest, since the retirement of true, last-generation action experts like Frank Moses and Marvin, the CIA has largely produced more of what can be called "pill agents," akin to Jason Bourne.
Moreover, after Jason Bourne's rampage in Europe, where he nearly dismantled the CIA's European division, both the "Treadstone" and "Blackbriar" programs were halted due to the unexpected backlash from Bourne. This forced the CIA to cease further development of these drug-dependent agents.
This situation indirectly left the CIA without any truly capable "experts," let alone the field operatives who were purged shortly after Benjamin took office!
So, what about these so-called "action experts" from the CIA who now belong to the LockSat organization? In front of seasoned veterans like Ivan and his team of battle-hardened Russians, they're really nothing special.
Despite the bravado of these LockSat "action experts" operating on their home turf, driving several government-issue black Suburbans straight toward the First Lady's vacation retreat, all twenty of these fools were wiped out by Ivan and his men before they even got a glimpse of the retreat's gates.
Originally, Castle had planned for Ivan and his team to rescue Benjamin. However, after being reminded by Gianna that an American president could die in battle or be captured but must never be rescued by a group of Russians, Castle repositioned Ivan's team around Gianna's perimeter. This was to prepare for the possibility that the LockSat members might resort to desperate measures if things spiraled out of control.
As it turns out, Castle's predictions about these people were spot on...
Ivan's men, stationed five kilometers away from the retreat, easily spotted these "action experts" driving government vehicles aggressively toward the retreat. After confirming with the First Lady's security detail that these were not Secret Service agents, both John and Gianna knew exactly what was going on. With Ramsey stationed back in New York at Castle's supercomputing lab, providing all necessary intelligence support, they cross-referenced the surveillance footage of the individuals in the vehicles with the known LockSat members. It didn't take long to identify the approaching convoy as hostile.
Knowing that the incoming group was an enemy, Gianna, with her ruthless temperament, didn't hold back. She ordered the six Secret Service agents, who had been trained by her husband over the past two days, to guard the First Lady and her son. Meanwhile, she instructed Ivan to ambush these idiots before they could reach the retreat, adding the command: "No prisoners!"
And then... that was it.
The entire team of LockSat operatives, led by former CIA "action experts," sent to capture Benjamin's wife and child, was completely wiped out over two kilometers away from the retreat where the First Lady and Gianna were staying.
Equipped with the best weapons provided by the U.S. Special Operations Command, Ivan and his team, leveraging their tactical advantage, launched a surprise ambush on the unsuspecting convoy. The outcome was inevitable.
Originally, the biggest news worldwide was the massive earthquake and subsequent nuclear plant leak in Japan on March 11. Even amidst this disaster, the world's attention quickly shifted to Washington, D.C., as the drama unfolding there was far juicier than the aftermath of Japan's 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami.
Of course, the world had no idea that a decade later, Japan would pull off the audacious move of dumping nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the ocean, effectively holding the entire world hostage.
Meanwhile, the South Korean Prime Minister, forcibly taken hostage by Kim Yeon-kang, was utterly baffled. He had come to the U.S. as a representative of the "greatest nation in the universe" to pay respects to his American overlords, who still had troops stationed in his country. He had planned to discuss several issues with the new U.S. president, including the recent stealth bomber strike on Gaddafi's air defenses, the implications of the March 11 earthquake in Japan, and the possibility of renegotiating the $18 trillion won price tag for the THAAD missile defense system, which South Korea had to pay for but was operated solely by U.S. personnel.
But who could have imagined that he would be kidnapped by his own interpreter the moment he arrived at the White House? This was beyond absurd!
However, what truly shattered the confidence of the South Korean Prime Minister, who had always been as self-assured as someone using Head & Shoulders, was what happened next. After his interpreter kidnapped him, countless armed militants emerged from outside the White House and launched an assault on the building. It was impossible to believe that this had nothing to do with the interpreter who had just taken him hostage.
What made the Prime Minister even more despairing was the realization that his interpreter had been brought from South Korea. This meant that the U.S. could potentially pin the entire attack on his country. The thought alone made him want to break down. Life was just too cruel...
By this point, most of the armed militants on the White House lawn had been neutralized, meaning the attack had largely been thwarted. But for the South Korean Prime Minister, who was still a hostage, this wasn't good news. He knew that once the remaining militants were cleared, his life would still be in grave danger. Given the U.S.'s tendency to handle such situations with brute force, it was highly likely that they would simply eliminate both the hostage and the kidnapper, then claim his death as an "accident" or "collateral damage."
The thought brought tears to the Prime Minister's eyes...
Meanwhile, Benjamin was busy, not with directing his security team to mop up the remaining militants, but with holding video conferences with the Speaker of the House and the Secretary of Defense in the Pentagon's Strategic Command Center. They were discussing how to wrap up the aftermath of today's attack on the White House.
Before today, the U.S. had always been seen as the world's most powerful nation. Even after 9/11, when hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center, the U.S.'s image hadn't suffered much. In fact, it had allowed the then-president's family to profit from the ensuing wars.
But today's attack was entirely different. While 9/11 targeted civilians, today's assault on the White House was a direct slap in the face of the U.S. government.
Even though the president is essentially a figurehead for the country's corporate, military-industrial, pharmaceutical, and Wall Street elites, he still represents the most militarily powerful nation on the planet. To have him so publicly humiliated was unacceptable.
Therefore, aside from the immediate goal of locating Aamir Barkawi with the help of the CIA, another, more accessible and equally dangerous target became the perfect outlet for Benjamin's pent-up rage: the LockSat organization. Born within the CIA but now spreading throughout the U.S. political landscape, LockSat had played a significant role in today's attack.
According to intelligence provided by Castle, who had been quietly gathering information on LockSat, at least ten members of the organization had contributed to today's assault in various ways. Emails and phone records from these individuals revealed that even more LockSat members had played some role, whether minor or major, in the attack.
This revelation drove Benjamin to the brink of madness.
When he first took office, based on initial information from Castle and subsequent investigations, Benjamin had purged the entire CIA. But he never imagined that the LockSat organization was this formidable.
Although Castle had informed him that a Japanese intelligence agency was also involved in the attack, directly implicating the Japanese government at this time, especially in the wake of the recent earthquake, would be unwise. Everyone knew the Japanese government was already overwhelmed. If Benjamin were to confront them, they might simply resign en masse, leaving him with no one to hold accountable.
After all, the Japanese government's traditional response to crises is to offer a superficial apology, then carry on as if nothing happened.
So, with Aamir's whereabouts unknown and Japan off the table for now, the best target for Benjamin's wrath was none other than the LockSat organization, operating right within his own country. Who else could it be???
(End of Chapter)
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