whispering the word.
Carlton was stunned. “
“I agree, and I could tell just by the look on my guy’s face that he didn’t believe it either.”
“Is he someone I know?”
Banks set his coffee cup on the Formica table. “Like I said, it’s better if you don’t know the details.”
Carlton understood and, leaning back in the booth, pulled his cup and saucer toward him. “So, what specifically is the charge? What is it we’ve allegedly done?”
“That’s what I’m still trying to find out. The minute anyone hears the word
“There’s more to this. Somebody can’t just accuse us of treason and put a hit on all of us. There has to be due process.”
“You and I both know we’ve been carrying out extrajudicial activities since the birth of this nation.”
“Against foreign enemies of the state,” said Carlton, “not American citizens.”
Banks shrugged. “A few Americans have also been helped on to their just rewards over the years.”
“True, but very, very few, and there’s always been a review process.”
“How do we know there wasn’t one this time?”
Carlton looked at him. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”
“Not at all. I’m just playing devil’s advocate.”
“But there’s no way any panel could come to the conclusion that I, or any of the people that work for me, could even be capable of treason.”
Banks shook his head. “You really do need to be retrained. Take your emotion out of this.”
“Do you know how many of my people, exceptional people, exceptional
“Yes, I do, and I’d be angry as hell too, but I’d lock it away somewhere and save it until I figured out what the hell was going on. Because if I didn’t, it’d probably get me killed.”
The older man let his words hang in the air for a moment as he took another sip of coffee. “You’re smart, Peaches,” he finally said. “Smarter than I ever was, but you’re going to need every last ounce of cunning you can muster to get yourself out of this.
“You’ve been labeled a traitor by your own government, and based on whatever evidence they have, they found the threat so compelling that it called for your immediate termination. I don’t see how anything could ever get more serious than that. So you can be pissed off all you want
Slowly, Reed Carlton nodded.
“Now that we seem to know who is out to get you, we need to winnow down the how and the why,” said Banks. “If we can reverse-engineer this thing, we may be able to get you your life back.”
“It won’t bring my operators back,” Carlton replied. Though he kept checking the Net for messages on the dating sites they used for emergency messages, there hadn’t been one. He knew they were dead.
“No, it won’t bring your men back. But once we have this thing figured out, that’s when I’m going to stand back and let you take your anger out of that box. That’s when you make sure that every last person involved in this pays. I don’t care who it is, even if this goes all the way to the Oval Office itself.”
CHAPTER 30
MEXICO
Harvath grabbed a couple hours of sleep on the couch in the staff room. At 7 a.m., Sister Marta, wearing her full habit, knocked and invited him to the cafeteria for breakfast.
“I thought you said you were informal around here?” he said as they walked.
“We are. Normally I wear a skirt and jacket of some sort. What you saw last night was Sister Marta off-duty, casual. I’m still a human being, especially after the children have gone to bed and I have things to do.”
“And now, the habit?”
“I’m driving you to the airport and then I have some other errands to run outside the city. There’ll be cartels. They’re filled with bad men, but they’re not all irreligious. Being easily recognized as a nun can be a plus, especially when on the road.”
She was indeed a smart lady.
The cafeteria, which looked like it also doubled as a classroom, was painted in bright colors. Along the walls were the letters of the alphabet with corresponding pictures—
“You’re lucky,” said Sister Marta as she picked up a tray and handed it to Harvath. “Today we have eggs.”
He accepted the tray and got in line behind her. The sounds of the children filled the room. Most smiled and laughed. Occasionally one or two of the younger children argued or pushed. Harvath expected a stern reprimand from Sister Marta, but none was ever needed, as invariably an older child would step in and patiently handle the situation.
“What I have found,” the nun said, “is that all children, no matter what their situation, look for love, they look for family, and they look for understanding. When they act out, they do so because they want to know that there are rules that apply to them. They understand that the rules exist because we love them.”
Their breakfast consisted of small portions of rice and beans, along with a little bit of scrambled eggs. One of the staff members offered him coffee and Harvath gladly accepted.
He and Sister Marta sat at a table of boisterous children ranging from five to eleven years old. Several were siblings, and the nun explained that it was their policy never to split children up unless they absolutely had to. When everyone was seated, they said the blessing and then began to eat. Harvath watched as one little boy monitored his younger sister, making sure she got enough to eat and even giving her some of the food from his own plate.
The children were thrilled to have an American visiting, and those who had been studying with Sister Marta tried out their English on him. Their innocent mistakes and Harvath’s attempts to reply to them in Spanish created much laughter around the table.
“You were a hit,” said Marta as they slid into her aging Volkswagen for the drive to the airport. “I guarantee you it’s all they’ll be talking about for the rest of the weekend.”
Harvath smiled thinking about the kids. It had been a long time since he’d enjoyed himself like that.
“Do you have children?” she asked.
“No.”
“You’re good with them. You should think about it.”
He did think about it, or at least he used to.
“Are you married?” she continued.
“No. I’m not married.”
“Why not?”
Harvath looked at her. She reminded him of Peio. He had taken an interest in his personal life right after meeting him as well. Harvath didn’t like talking about himself. It made him uncomfortable. When the subject came up, he either ignored it, changed it, or made fun of it. All three forms of diversion had failed with Peio, and he suspected they’d have just about as much chance of succeeding with Sister Marta. “I’m not very good when it comes to relationships, Sister.”
“I find that hard to believe. You are a nice man. You’re handsome, you like children. What’s the problem?” she said, pausing. “Do you not like women?”
He laughed. “No, Sister. That’s not the problem. I like women, believe me.”
“So what is it?”
“If you don’t mind, I’d rather not talk about it.”
