“I’m back to Foster’s house,” Louise said in McGarvey’s ear. “Nothing’s changed.”
“How about the chopper pilot?”
She came back a few seconds later. “He’s a chain smoker.”
“Stick with it.”
“Will do.”
McGarvey telephoned Dick Adkins’s home phone. The former DCI answered after three rings. “Yes.”
“Do you still have your encrypted phone?”
It took a moment for him to reply, and when he did he sounded cautious. “Yes.”
“Turn it on, I’ll call you in five minutes.”
Adkins broke the connection.
“Who did you just call?” Pete asked.
“Adkins.”
Pete shook her head. “All this should be taking my breath away, but I read most of your jacket and I
“You’d make a good field agent,” McGarvey said, but Pete shook her head.
“Louise was right. You guys are nuts. It’s just that I’m not quite that crazy.”
McGarvey called Adkins at the encrypted number.
“I didn’t expect you to call me.”
“You stuck out your neck for me with the president, so I figured I owed you one,” McGarvey said.
“Don’t do me any favors,” Adkins replied. “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to tell me where you are, or what part you played in a shooting this evening on embassy row. D.C. Metro is apparently having a fit.”
“I took out one of the shooters who killed Remington, and right now I’m headed to Robert Foster’s estate down around Mount Vernon. I need your help.”
“I thought you might say something like that,” Adkins said. “But first do you mind telling me what the hell is going on?”
“I found a bridge between Mexico City and Pyongyang.”
“Yeah, China.”
“Foster’s Friday Club financed both operations through Howard McCann.”
“That’s too far-fetched,” Adkins objected.
“Something else is in the works, and whatever it is will be big,” McGarvey said.
“We’ve already gone over this, Mac. All of it was on the disk we found in Todd’s car. Utter nonsense.”
“It was a fake. But I have a flash drive we got from Remington with a list of card-carrying members of the Friday Club. McCann had help inside the Company. Someone who had complete access to my files, someone who could track my movements.”
Adkins was very quiet.
“David’s a member,” McGarvey said. “From the looks of it he was in from the beginning. Eight years ago.”
Adkins was silent for a long time, and when he came back was subdued. “Who else?”
“Foster’s got guys just about everywhere, DoD, State, the Bureau, and even the White House. All of them were in on Mexico City and Pyongyang.”
“Maybe Todd’s disk wasn’t so far-fetched after all if what you’re telling me is true,” Adkins said. “What do you want me to do?”
“Do you still have your building passes?”
“I haven’t turned them in, if that’s what you mean. But I suspect they’ve all been deactivated by now. David would have been a fool not to.”
“He’s been distracted lately.”
“Yeah.”
“I want you to go out there tonight, right now. If you get in talk to the guys on the Watch and find out if they’re seeing anything developing in China, or Hong Kong, maybe Taiwan or the Strait. Chinese naval maneuvers, missile readiness drills. Anything involving Beijing, and especially their intelligence services, military and civilian.”
“Where are you going with this, Mac?”
“Right now I’m just fishing. But Foster has people inside the Pentagon. See if we’re planning anything in the region. Something that only the Watch might have been warned about.”
“Right,” Adkins said. “I’ll try to find out where David is. If he’s off campus I’ll try to get into his office. Maybe he hasn’t changed his passwords.” Adkins chuckled. “Maybe I’ll get lucky, or maybe someone will send for security and they’ll shoot me.”
“David’s at Foster’s right now,” McGarvey said. “He showed up a half hour ago in a Company helicopter, and he’s got one of your Gulfstreams standing by at Andrews to take them down to St. Croix.”
“It’s going to happen tonight?”
“I don’t know,” McGarvey said. “But I have a feeling that I’ve forced their hand and ready or not they’re going to launch.”
“Launch what?”
“I’m going to ask Foster and David just that.”
“Seriously, watch your back,” Adkins warned. “The Bureau and the U.S. Marshals are gunning for you. And I mean that literally. Comes from Justice through the White House. Langdon has developed a personal interest in you, and he wants you stopped no matter how they do it. The body count is just way too high.”
“Yeah,” McGarvey said. “Todd, Katy, and Liz. Way too high.”
“I’m sorry, Mac.”
“If you get into Whittaker’s office forget his main computer, but if his laptop is there, and you can get online, send a message to Otto, and just walk away, but leave the computer on.” McGarvey gave him Otto’s untraceable e-mail address.
“What if his laptop is password protected, which I’m sure it will be?”
“Call Otto,” McGarvey said. And he gave the phone number.
“I’ll try,” Adkins said.
SIXTY-SEVEN
Two cars had passed in the last hour. Boberg had seen the flash of the headlights through the woods below, and watched as they moved away. The night was still, except for the cry of a distant night bird, and at regular intervals he spotted the glow of a cigarette from inside the parked helicopter. Typical government service, he thought. Just like the military: hurry up and wait.
He looked over his shoulder as another set of headlights approached, these from the east, but instead of passing, the lights slowed and suddenly went out. It had to be McGarvey. According to Foster’s sergeant, no one else was expected out here tonight.
Taking care to make absolutely no noise, Boberg moved to a position from where he was still concealed and yet had a decent view of the driveway, the open field up to the house, and the edge of the woods leading around to the helicopter on the pad.
He called the house and Sergeant Schilling answered on the first ring. “What is it?”
“Someone pulled up and parked just below on the highway. It’s probably McGarvey.”
“Do you have decent sight lines on the possible approaches?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Good. Take him out if you have a chance.”
Boberg was about to say that was the idea, but the sergeant had already rung off. “Prick,” he said under his breath.
It would be tough to keep Admin together with both Sandberger and Remington gone. There would be no
