“Get out now! They know what you’re doing.”
“How do you know that?” There was the hint of fear in Casey’s voice.
“They traced your call back to the pay phone I was using, and nearly grabbed me there. The only way they could have done that was through you. These are the same people who took Anna and Tony. You need to leave now. Don’t tell anyone.”
“Are … are
“Don’t worry about me. Just go!”
There was a pause. “Okay. But … I think you need to know what I found out.”
Wes desperately wanted to hear what it was, but he said, “Later. Right now just get out of there. I’ll call you on your cell at exactly one-fifteen, okay?”
Silence, then, “All right.”
“Be safe,” Wes said.
“You too.”
67
Larsspent the night in a room that wasn’t one of the normal military holding cells used by Naval Criminal Investigative Services, or NCIS. It was more like a windowless office where the desk had been replaced by a cot. Anytime he needed to use the head, he had to wait until one of the guards checked on him, and then he was escorted down the hall.
The guards weren’t NCIS, either. They also weren’t members of the contracted federal police force that handled the day-to-day law enforcement on the base. Rather, they were a group of naval personnel under Jenks’s and Wasserman’s command. Or, more accurately, under Forman’s.
When he’d first woken up, he’d made a request to see someone from his office. The guard he had talked to had listened but made no promises. So far, no one had shown up.
Well, not
At just after 7:30 a.m., as Lars had been eating breakfast, the door had opened and Commander Forman had entered.
Lars got slowly to his feet and, after a brief pause, saluted. If the commander read any disrespect in the delay, he didn’t acknowledge it.
“Don’t let me stop you eating,” Forman said.
Lars sat back down, but didn’t touch the food.
Forman leaned against the wall near the door and regarded Lars for a moment. “I trust you’ve been treated well.”
“Well enough.”
The commander moved the ends of his mouth up in an imitation of a smile. “Lieutenant Commander Andersen, were my orders unclear?”
“No, sir.”
“Could you repeat them back to me, please?”
Lars chose to remain silent.
Frowning, the commander said, “Your little excursion last night. What was that all about?”
“There are duties I have that don’t fall under your command.” A beat, then, “Sir.”
The ridge along Forman’s cheek began to redden. “You are in a hell of a lot of trouble, you know that?”
Lars locked eyes with Forman. “Commander, if there is any trouble here, that would belong to you.”
“And what the hell does that mean?”
“It means I’ve learned just how deep this cover-up of yours goes. Figured out your little arrangement with Laredyne. Oh, and I found out about Jamieson, too.”
Forman froze just long enough for Lars to know he’d been right. Smiling to himself, Lars picked up his fork and started in on his breakfast again.
“Lieutenant Commander, I’m disappointed. I really thought you understood.” Forman paused. “I’m going to do everything in my power to see that you are destroyed. And I’ll tell you another thing, since you weren’t able to finish the job on your friend, Stewart, I’m going to finish it for you.”
Lars cut one of the sausages with his fork and put a piece in his mouth, chewing it several times before swallowing. “Commander Forman. You can go to hell.”
Forman glared at him, then pounded twice on the door. When it opened, he looked back at Lars. “You have just ruined more than your career.”
Lars kept his expression unchanged, making sure Forman got the message that he didn’t care what the commander thought.
After Forman left, he put the fork back down and pushed the plate away. The truth was, he was worried. Not about his career, but about his own life. Affixing the blame to him would be so much easier if he were dead.
Several hours later, after his unfinished breakfast had been removed, and the lunch he had no desire to eat had been delivered, the door opened again. This time it looked like his request to speak to someone had been granted, as his new visitor was Lieutenant Commander Meyers.
“Janice?” Lars said.
“Lieutenant Commander Andersen.” She looked at the untouched tray of food sitting on his cot. “Is there something the matter with your lunch?”
“Just not hungry,” he said, confused by her formality.
“I see. Is there anything you need?”
“I’m fine.”
She positioned herself between him and the door.
“Water? A bathroom break?” Her voice dropped. “Are you okay?”
“Pen,” he mouthed. “I said I’m fine.”
She gave him a nearly imperceptible nod. “Would you like me to take your tray for you?”
“Yes. Thank you. I’d appreciate that.”
She walked over to the cot. As she bent down, she slipped a hand into her pocket, pulled out a pen, and dropped it on the bed.
“No,” he whispered.
She hesitated, confused.
“On second thought,” he said in a normal voice, “can I eat the fruit first?”
“Of course.”
She backed off and Lars sat down next to the tray. When she was once again blocking him from the door, he scribbled a message on the napkin.
“How did you get in here?” he whispered as he wrote.
“When you didn’t show up this morning, Commander Knudsen found out you were being held here. He sent me to check on you. They didn’t want to let me in, but they didn’t have much choice. What happened?”
So his request for a meeting
“You can count on me.”
He smiled, then quickly ate the cup of fruit.
“Thank you, Lieutenant Commander,” he said.
“You’re welcome.”
As she leaned down to get the tray, she crumpled the napkin into her hand, then shoved it in her pocket and turned for the door.
“If you need me for anything, please let one of your guards know. I’ll instruct them they are to contact me immediately.”
