Failed State (A James Winchester Thriller Book 1) (James Winchester Series) - James Samuel (top novels of all time .txt) 📗

up in an expansive resort at the end of South Beach. Rich Americans brought their families here to lounge by the pool and enjoy all-you-can-eat buffets. They walked with a carefree step James envied them for. Two enormous towers offered sweeping views of the golden sands and turquoise waters of Miami. Better to blend in with ordinary tourists than sneak around in the shadows, Sinclair had said when they checked in.

James grumbled as Sinclair summoned him to his room far too early on their first morning. The ultra-modern hotel room looked out onto a quiet and unassuming dark grey panorama. It wasn’t that which Sinclair stared at with a frown, it was the wide-screen TV.

“You see this?”

James rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he found himself looking at CNN’s 24-hour news coverage. The headline flashing at the bottom of the screen made him stop. The FBI had set the wheels in motion. Senator George Black and Harrison Phelps IV had been arrested on a myriad of charges. The talking heads discussed their connections to organised crime in Miami.

James held his tongue between his teeth. “Shit.”

“Shit indeed. The FBI has started moving. Romero will be next, within days.”

“Won’t Romero run back to Mexico?” asked James.

“He might.” Sinclair tapped his chin. “Romero might be packing now for all we know. If he gets away it won’t stop.”

James slumped down on the bed.

“I’ve been following this for a few months. They’ve been discussing criminals in Florida and their links to the Mexican drug war. The news people were always talking about how many people speculate that it could also have a political theme. This must have been it.”

“You think they’re guilty?” asked James as official pictures of Black and Phelps in happier times popped up.

“Nobody needs a trial to know that.” Sinclair pointed a finger at the screen as another picture came up of an older man. “This is Governor Newton, the state’s governor. He was taken down not long ago. Don’t be surprised if it comes out that they were working together.”

James folded his arms as he shook his head at the television. Stories like this didn’t surprise him anymore. The roots of corruption descended far deeper than the general public could ever comprehend. The link between Romero and Florida finally became clear. Black and Newton had to have helped Romero move his products in and out of the country through Florida. Phelps offered a level of political muscle through his father. The house of cards crumbled. Without political backing, Romero’s days were numbered. His chances of stopping Romero before he fled declined with every passing hour.

“You know,” said Sinclair. “They could get away with everything. Lawyers in the US can get you off even if you kill someone in broad daylight. Romero will have the best lawyers, and the FBI will know that as well.”

“All the more reason to kill him before it comes to that. We’re doing the world a favour.”

“I’m inclined to agree with you, but we have to do it fast. We can’t wait.”

Sinclair flew to the table he’d cleared of the free hotel coffee. His two brand new laptops hummed and whirred, powering up Sinclair’s software. James understood nothing about technology. The whole setup confused him.

“These are the satellite pictures of Romero’s mansion.” Sinclair brought them up. “Anyone can get these. The problem you have is the area he lives in. It’s like a fortress. Billionaire Bunker has a permanent security force, including around the island itself.”

James looked over each aspect of the satellite photos. He could only see one way in by land. A simple bottleneck, but no man could hope to break out of it. A billionaire colony’s private security force wasn’t exactly a set of Walmart security guards.

“What do you think, James?” asked Sinclair.

“I think you know my answer.”

“I thought so. It would be rank stupidity to try to break in like that. I suppose we could have tried the old pretending to be a landscape gardener trick, but that’s amateurish. A professional security force in the 21st century would never fall for that. But I found something else.”

Sinclair clicked on another tab on his computer. The face of Romero’s mansion appeared. Like the rest of the homes on the island, every mansion came with its own little dock. Romero had an enormous blazing white yacht sitting in his private marina.

“This is the back of the house.” Sinclair marked out the garden. “My contacts indicate he tends to spend a lot of time there.”

“Your contacts?”

“That’s what Raul didn’t want to tell me before. He called me during the night. Anyway, that could be the shot you need.” Sinclair brought up another image, this time of a skyscraper. “This skyscraper is situated across from Billionaire Bunker. A standard office building. They’re adding more floors on top, so the upper levels are something of a construction site. If he’s in the garden, you could get a shot on him.”

James’ mouth dropped open. “That’s almost a mile away in range if you look at it on the map.”

Sinclair threw his head in disgust. “An American sniper in Afghanistan made a shot of almost three miles. With your training, you don’t need to be a professional sniper to make that shot.”

James shook his head. He didn’t like the idea. He had used sniper rifles in the past, but he would only get one shot at Romero. If he missed, he wouldn’t get another chance. Romero would flee within minutes if it went wrong.

“This has a low chance of success. I wouldn’t even get a chance to get my range by making a few shots first. It would need to be perfect, even if it isn’t the most difficult shot in the world.”

“It’s the best option we have. We don’t have time to find a team and