Starting from South America, speeding through the world

Chapter 185 Coup? As things change.

It was nearly midnight, and the conference room lights were blindingly bright.

McCann stood by the table, his right hand gripping the corner tightly, his palm white and his knuckles taut, as if he were trying his best to suppress an outburst of some emotion.

“Repeat it,” he said, his tone laced with barely suppressed chill.

Rogers and Hollen have been confirmed dead.

"The remaining targets are still being tallied."

The man's voice sounded weak and unsteady.

"The other party was very efficient and did not leave a complete video record."

"We've only received a few photos so far, and the image quality is very poor, but we can confirm—"

McCann slowly turned around, interrupting him: "How many people did it?"

The man's eyes darted around, as if he was carefully choosing his words.

McCann, however, lost patience.

“Tell me,” he asked, emphasizing each word, “how many people are there?”

".one."

The air seemed to have been suddenly sucked out.

The room was deathly silent.

McCann stared at him for a full five seconds without blinking.

Then, the corner of his mouth twitched, as if he were smiling.

Do you think this is a movie shoot?

The man didn't dare to respond.

"How many men did we send in? Dozens? Thirty-six, fully armed."

"You can swear on your heart that they are all top-notch and meticulous in their work."

"And what happened? An unknown assassin wiped them all out."

"Actually, there are still three alive." The man swallowed hard and said, forcing a smile.

"Seriously injured, he is being treated at George Washington Hospital, but his condition is not optimistic."

“Almost all wiped out.” McCann seemed to be talking to himself, then walked around the long table.

"Who? Who's still alive?" he asked.

"James, Joe, and Ellison. The former suffered a ruptured spleen, the latter two were in hemorrhagic shock, thankfully—"

“No.” McCann shook his head. “I wasn’t asking them.”

"How many of those Democrats are still alive?"

His expression was cold as he spoke.

"Forty-seven," the man answered without hesitation.

"Most of them are in Maryland, escorted by state troopers; the rest are still being confirmed."

Upon hearing this, McCann sat down gently, tapping his fingers on the table.

"They know it's me."

"And, action will be taken soon."

The man opened his mouth, hesitated, and finally only reminded them: "Currently, no media outlets have released any information pointing to you personally."

“Of course not.” McCann sneered.

“To make a hasty naming without evidence is tantamount to declaring war. They are not stupid; they are not ready.”

"."

The room fell silent again.

Only the clock hands ticked on the wall.

The man stood still, and could even hear his own pulse.

He felt uncomfortable all over, and the collar of his suit suddenly felt a little tight.

The anxiety brought about by death, failure, and out-of-control situations is like a thorn in one's side.

After about ten seconds, McCann finally spoke.

He looked up, his gaze fixed on the void, a plan gradually taking shape in his mind.

"It's not time to declare defeat yet."

"We still have the opportunity to take the lead in defining the definition."

"What has happened recently is no longer ordinary political violence."

McCann speaks slowly, as if he is carefully considering the weight of each word.

"It is not a terrorist act, but an organized and planned act that targets the core of the national system."

"The Insurrection Act is far from sufficient to address this issue."

"Nearly a quarter of members of Congress have died, including the president-elect."

"The federal government, and our democratic system, are on the brink of life and death."

“The COG-1 level response mechanism must be activated immediately [1].”

He paused for a moment, as if recalling a familiar crisis from the beginning of the century. Only this time, it was far more thorough.

"All agencies are now operating under wartime conditions, with full command from the White House National Security Council."

"Media, state governments, courts, and other entities will all be subject to review."

"If necessary, some civil legal proceedings will be temporarily suspended to prioritize the continuity of the government's core functions."

"With the Democrats losing half of their members of Congress, I don't see much real opposition."

The man breathed a slight sigh of relief when he saw that the man's thoughts were still clear.

McCann did not stop there.

They even started talking faster and faster.

"Call the people from CNN, NBC, and ABC."

"I want them all to be at the White House by seven o'clock for a briefing."

"They must know clearly what can be asked and what cannot be mentioned."

"Freedom of the press is not a privilege, and it cannot be used to create chaos in the name of 'neutrality'."

"I will make those boards of directors understand that cooperation is the only way to ensure security."

Sensing the ruthlessness in his words, the man nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then said in a low voice:
"The solution you've proposed is very good."

"However, all of this is based on one assumption."

"Democrats will remain silent, choose to back down, and do nothing."

"."

He stopped there, wisely refraining from continuing.

So, McCann glanced at him and softened his tone:

I understand your concerns.

"Start full-scale monitoring from now on."

"The FBI's actions are too big; let the ATF and DHS handle it."

"If they dare to say 'White House,' 'DHS,' or my name in public—"

He raised his head:

“Take him away immediately on the grounds of ‘review process’.”

"It was emphasized that it was not an arrest, but assistance with the investigation."

"Will the state government cooperate?" the man asked.

"The governor of Maryland is a Democrat."

McCann said casually, "But he's not a fool."

“Call him and tell him that the information we have indicates that this incident is related to smuggling routes through the port of Potomac.”

"If he were smart, he would understand that cooperation is the only way to gain leverage."

"Just in case, notify the National Guard command and the Coast Guard to expand the deployment plan."

"In short, all plans have entered an accelerated phase."

"We have no retreat."

The man lowered his head in silence.

After a long pause, he asked the question that couldn't be avoided:
"What about him? That assassin. What should we do?"

McCann's expression remained unchanged as he adjusted his posture.

"He was the mastermind behind this attack; he is a terrorist."

"However, we should try to minimize the level of discussion."

“We don’t want too many people to start seriously thinking about the whole story.”

"The more discreet the better. Wait until everything is ready before making a move and kill them on the spot."

"As for the two who were seriously injured..."

"Shut them up forever."

The man calmly accepted the order.

But he knew that deep in his consciousness, unease was accumulating.

McCann was too confident.

This is not good.

Because this is America.

Countries that are too large have complex structures, hierarchical power structures, and countless variables.

One person may be able to plan a meticulous assassination, but cannot predict the reactions of every department in the system.

State? Military? Law enforcement? Citizens?

A chain reaction will begin sooner or later.

However, they still cannot see exactly where the crack is.

　[1] Continuity of Government: A legacy of the Cold War, its structure includes FEMA, military control of communications, and presidential emergency signing mechanisms. George W. Bush briefly activated it after 9/11; PEADs within it could even temporarily suspend Congress/elections.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)