Mexico City, "Feathered Serpent Temple" top floor.
When Bramo pushed the door open, Victor was standing by the window, holding a cup of coffee that had already gone cold.
Outside the window, Paseo de la Reforma was silent, with only streetlights casting a dim yellow glow in the night.
Reports from the Middle East streamed in one after another, all conveying the same message: The Americans were going to intervene.
"Just received the news." Bramo's voice was low, as though discussing something meant to be unheard, "The United States Congress has just passed an emergency act for military intervention in the Middle East. It's not those politicians in the House of Representatives pushing it, it's AIPAC—the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee. They bypassed the White House and laid three hundred checks on Capitol Hill."
Victor didn't turn around. "How many votes?"
"411 votes in favor, nineteen against, five abstentions. A record-breaking number."
