luggage at his house, then have lunch at his club.
He closed the trunk and locked it, then put the two keys into his pocket. He would have time for a nice lunch at the patio restaurant; he had already booked the table, late, for two P.M.
He packed his two Vuitton cases with his clothes and set them near the front door for collection by Hans, then he showered, shaved, and began to dress for lunch.
–
H olly Barker returned to the presidential cottage with the president and the first lady after the press conference. The president seemed in a particularly good mood, and so did the first lady.
“Lunch in half an hour,” Kate Lee said, and at that moment, Holly’s phone rang.
“Holly Barker.”
“It’s Tom Riley: scramble.”
She scrambled. “Yes, Tom?”
“I don’t know why we took this long,” Riley said sheepishly. “We should have had it last night.”
“What, Tom?”
“Algernon.”
“Yes?”
“When we ran the search on Mo, we got his birth certificate; we got Hamish’s, too, in his birth name of Ari Shazaz. What we didn’t pick up on was the deed poll.”
“Tom, what the hell is a deed poll?”
“It’s the legal procedure used when the name of a British subject is changed. Ari Shazaz’s name was changed at the age of nine, after his parents’ divorce. His full name became Hamish Algernon McCallister.”
Holly’s knees went weak, and she sank into a chair. “Tom,” she said.
“Yes, Holly?”
“Phone in a fire alarm on the house on the Chelsea Embankment. Put some smoke on the roof, if you can, for verisimilitude. When the fire brigade arrives, send your people in with them and detain both Hamish and Mo. Get them to a quiet place quickly and start interrogating them. No nice chat-use whatever you have to use to find out what they did in Palo Alto. No police department, no intelligence service is to be brought into this. When you have everything you can get from the two men, get them out of the country to Gitmo. Is that clearly understood?”
“It’s understood, Holly, but I’m going to have to hear it from the director, in person, before I can do any of that.”
“Stand by, Tom, don’t hang up.” Holly went into the next room and looked for the first lady; she was nowhere in sight. Clutching her phone, she ran up the stairs to the second floor where the first couple’s bedroom was. A Secret Service agent stood at the top of the stairs.
“Yes, ma’am?” the man said, blocking her way. “How may I help you?”
“I must see the first lady immediately, priority one.”
“And your name, ma’am?”
“Oh, God, you’re new, aren’t you?” Holly asked.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I’m Holly Barker, assistant director of intelligence. I’m Mrs. Lee’s number two.”
“May I see identification to that effect, please?”
Holly smote her forehead. “It’s in my handbag downstairs.”
“I’ll wait while you get it, ma’am.”
“I don’t have time for this. Go and tell the first lady I’m waiting. I’ll be right here. It’s a matter of life and death.”
“I think I’d better call my supervisor,” the man said, producing a handheld radio. “Just a moment.”
“I don’t have a moment,” Holly said.
But the man was already speaking into the radio; he wasn’t moving, and he was too big for Holly to move. “This is Special Agent Jack Shorstein,” he said into the radio. “Chief of detail, please, priority.” He took the radio away from his lips. “This will take just a moment.”
Holly began to take deep breaths, trying to bring her rate of respiration down. She raised her phone. “You still there, Tom?”
“Yes, Holly. I can hear you having difficulties.”
“Just hang on.”
The agent’s radio crackled, and he put it to his hear. “Yes? Special Agent Shorstein, sir. A woman who says her name is Holly Barker is demanding to see the first lady. She has no ID. Yes, sir.” He handed the radio to Holly. “Special Agent Rifkin wishes to speak with you.”
Holly snatched the radio from him. “Steve? It’s Holly. I’ve got to see the first lady right now. ”
“Holly, give the radio back to my agent.”
She handed him the radio and waited while he listened, then put the radio back on his belt. “You’re cleared to see the first lady, ma’am,” he said, stepping aside.
Holly ran down the hall to the master bedroom and knocked on the door. It was answered by a maid.
“Yes, ma’am?”
“I’d like to see the first lady at once,” Holly said.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but she’s in the bath.”
Holly shoved the woman aside and went for the bath. She opened the door without knocking, stepped into the bathroom, and saw, clearly, the president of the United States and the first lady in the shower together.
“I apologize for the intrusion,” Holly shouted over the noise of the running water, “but this can’t wait!”
53
Kate Lee sat in a terry-cloth hotel robe and listened to Holly’s story. “Hamish’s middle name is Algernon,” Holly said.
Kate looked stunned. “This doesn’t seem possible.”
“Ma’am, Hamish recruited-or at least, assigned-Wynken, Blynken, and Nod. All the e-mails the NSA and the Brits intercepted originated from him. We’ve got to interrogate him at once.” Holly held out the cell phone to her.
Kate took the phone. “Tom? It’s Kate Lee.”
Nothing.
“The phone’s dead,” Kate said.
Holly took it from her and redialed the number.
“Tom Riley.”
“Tom, we got cut off. Here’s the director.” She handed the phone back to Kate.
“Tom, it’s Kate Lee. You recognize my voice?”
“Yes, Director.”
“Carry out Holly’s instructions and report back to her at every stage of the operation. Get the two men to that air force base in the Midlands and on an airplane to Guantanamo. The brothers are to be isolated from each other and everyone else. Am I clear?”
“Absolutely clear, ma’am.”
“Good-bye. Let us hear from you.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Riley hung up.
Kate handed back the phone to Holly. “I hope this is productive,” she said, “because, believe me, this is going to come back and bite me on the ass. Probably the president, too.”
“You can always blame me,” Holly said. “I’ve still got my army pension.”
“I hope you won’t need it,” Kate said. “Can my husband and I get dressed now?”
Holly turned red. “I’m so sorry, ma’am.”
“What do you want to bet this makes his memoirs?”
“Oh, God, I hope not.”
