second. They would find a way to win in the end. If this got worse, Wilson would have to get the media involved. It was his only hope for success.
It was nice to have Ferris in his corner, but the FBI was still an organization with rules and regulations and a very strong chain of command. Wilson had wandered off into dangerous territory in order to keep Hargrave in the dark. Technically, the old coot had him, but Wilson had a few surprises in store for him. It was all going to come down to Director Miller and how much latitude he was willing to give him.
Wilson was sitting in the director’s outer office trying his best to ignore the hulking bodyguards and predict how his bosses would come after him. He’d been waiting for more than an hour, which could not be a good sign. Director Miller was militant when it came to punctuality. Hargrave, with a stick up his ass, was sure to have everything documented. Wilson could see him in there right now, with his ridiculously bushy eyebrows, pompously and meticulously going over every perceived transgression. Wilson was filled with hatred for the man and was putting the final brushstrokes on his plan to take him down when Director Miller’s personal assistant told him it was time to go in.
Wilson stood and picked up his briefcase. The secretary was a very attractive brunette with brown bedroom eyes. Wilson flashed her a smile and said, “So this must be what they felt like before they were led to the gallows.”
The woman ignored his attempt at humor with a blank stare and then turned her attention to her computer screen. Wilson, in a rare moment of insecurity, wondered if she was privy to his transgressions and had already passed judgment. He straightened his tie and prepared for the onslaught. As he put his hand on the doorknob he told himself that there would come a day where this repugnant little woman and lot of other people would be apologizing to him.
Wilson stepped into the office, closed the door and tried to remain confident as he faced the people arrayed around the twenty-person conference table. Wilson had expected Director Miller and Hargrave, and maybe someone from the General Counsel’s Office, but he didn’t expect to see Lisa Williams, the director of the Intelligence Division, and Jason Smith, who ran the Office of Congressional Affairs. Perhaps the most ominous sign, however, was the presence of Wilson’s direct boss, David Taylor, who was on medical leave after back surgery. As he took a quick glance at the five faces, he didn’t find a welcoming or supportive expression among them.
Wilson fought the urge to sit at the far end of the table and across from Director Miller. The distance would have made things even more awkward, so he picked his way down the right side of the long table and grabbed the seat next to David Taylor. Wilson set his briefcase on the floor and looked at Taylor, who was wearing a white plastic clamshell that encased his upper body from his neck down to his torso. The device was Velcroed into place at the shoulders and on the sides. Taylor looked extremely uncomfortable.
“How are you feeling?” Wilson asked.
Taylor looked at Wilson but made no effort to speak.
“Let’s get right to it,” started an impatient Director Miller. He pointed his pen at Wilson and said, “Do have anything you’d like to say in your defense before we get started?”
Wilson felt his throat tighten while he chided himself for not coming to see Miller the second he landed. It was a mistake to cede the discussion to Hargrave. It was obvious by the pissed-off look on Miller’s face that the well had been poisoned. With his options limited he started with the avenue that seemed most natural.
“Director, I have no idea what EAD Hargrave has been telling you, but I can assure you that there is another side to this extremely complicated and important investigation and I have some very good reasons for not keeping EAD Hargrave up to speed on every aspect of it.” Wilson leaned back and took a deep breath, hoping Miller would slow things down and at least be open-minded.
Miller did not pause. He instead forcefully stated how things were to proceed. In light of the fact that he was a former federal judge, that shouldn’t have been surprising. “I don’t want to hear innuendo, I don’t want to hear rumors. Do we understand each other?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” Miller looked at his watch and said, “Start.”
“Sir, with all due respect, I think EAD Hargrave is not in the best position to judge me and the actions of my team.”
Taylor, with his stiff back brace, held up a hand and didn’t bother to try to look at anyone, as his neck couldn’t move. “We are not here to discuss the men and women on your team. This is solely about you and your behavior.”
“Fine,” Wilson said, trying to sound reasonable, “EAD Hargrave is not in the best position to judge me.”
“And why is that?” Director Miller asked.
“Because of his extremely close relationship with Director Kennedy.”
Miller’s face twisted into a look of disapproval while he leaned forward and tapped the screen of an iPad several times.
Wilson heard his voice emanate from the overhead speakers. Oh, I’m reading you loud and clear. Are you still recording our conversation? Because I want to make sure you get this part. I didn’t tell you any of this because I can’t trust you. Because the entire Counterintelligence Division knows that you’re too close to Director Kennedy, and based on what I’ve experienced the last few days I’m inclined to believe those rumors. So you better get ready for your own board of inquiry.
Wilson remembered the words all too well. At the time he had spewed them at Hargrave it felt good. Hearing them now in this setting, they seemed foolish.
“This is a fairly serious accusation.” Miller picked up a pen and held it just above the surface of a yellow legal pad. “Which employees of the Counterintelligence Division believe that Sam is too close to DCI Kennedy?”
“Sir, I’m here to answer for myself. I’m not comfortable involving other people in this.”
“But you’re comfortable enough to throw around wild accusations?” Miller stared at Wilson, waiting for a reply.
“It’s not that, sir, it’s just that I’m willing to answer for my own opinions, but I’m not going to get any of my people into trouble.”
Miller turned to Taylor. “David, you ran that division for three and half years. At any point during that time did you hear anyone complain that Sam was too cozy with DCI Kennedy?”
“Not a single person.”
“How about anyone else at the CIA?”
“Nope.”
“Well,” Miller said, setting down his pen, “that’s a pretty short list. Your case doesn’t look very strong at the moment. We have protocols in place for a reason and it is not up to you to decide when you may or may not follow them. So this is your last chance. Why did you think you couldn’t trust EAD Hargrave?”
Wilson cleared his throat and drummed his fingers on the table for a minute. This was a card he’d hoped he wouldn’t have to play, but he really had no choice. “Senator Ferris told me that EAD Hargrave was not to be trusted in this matter and that I should try to run my investigation without his interference.”
Miller made a great show of taking notes. As he scratched away he asked, “Tell me, Joel, I’m pretty familiar with the Bureau’s organizational chart, but I must have missed something. Just where does Senator Ferris’s name appear on that chart?”
“It doesn’t, sir.”
“Jason,” Miller said, turning to the head of the FBI’s Office of Congressional Affairs, “I assume Joel followed protocol and reported his discussions with Senator Ferris to your office.”
“He did not.”
“Were you aware in any way that Joel was working with Senator Ferris?”
“No. We had no idea.”
Wilson could see how bad this looked. His only hope was to get to heart of the corruption. “Sir, I don’t want people’s animosity toward the senator to cloud their judgment.”
“Careful,” Miller snapped, like a judge warning a wayward attorney, “we’re not talking about feelings or opinions. We’re sticking to the facts right now. And so far the facts are looking an awful lot like you willfully withheld information from your superior and that you failed to inform Congressional Affairs that you were running an investigation based on information passed along to you by Senator Ferris.”
“That’s not true, sir. I received independent information that employees of the CIA were stealing millions of
