'You know, there might be a way to satisfy everyone with a minimum of fuss,' McCaskey said. 'Mike, how receptive do you think Senator Orr would be to meeting with me?'
'I don't know. To what end?'
'To show his goodwill. An interview would acknowledge Op-Center's role in this investigation. That could be our big, public flourish. It would allow me to tell the press and Scotland Yard that I met the man, found him blameless I presume and would like to hand this investigation to the police, where it belongs. We can still be the Yard's eyes and ears but from a distance.'
'I don't know if the senator would have a problem with that, but his associate Admiral Link might,' Rodgers said.
'Why?' Hood asked.
'He has openly wondered if this whole thing is a ploy to get our I mean your budget cuts restored,' Rodgers said. 'He might see this as a way for Op-Center to get attention.'
'Is Link running the show?' Hood asked.
'No,' Rodgers said. 'But he was at the Company for years, and I would not want to invoke retaliation needlessly.'
'If Link has it in for us, visiting the senator probably won't change things,' McCaskey said.
'It might,' Rodgers said. 'He does not seem to be the kind of man who likes to be cornered.'
'Who does?' McCaskey asked.
'My point is, Link has the influence and resources to get un cornered Rodgers said.
'That's a potential problem,' Hood admitted. 'But we're in this thing now, and that's a real problem.'
'How do you position it so that Senator Orr doesn't appear to be a suspect?' Rodgers asked.
'I'm not going over there to find out what he did, only what he might have seen and heard,' McCaskey said. 'We can even say he asked for the meeting. That would make him seem eager to cooperate.'
Rodgers considered the proposal. 'I'll call him,' he said after a moment. 'Kat told me that Senator Orr is going to do Nightline. That may be a good platform to announce something like this.'
'It would help everyone,' McCaskey agreed.
The general excused himself. Hood and McCaskey exhaled.
'That was? strange,' McCaskey said, after searching for a better word but not finding one.
'Yeah.'
'I guess we're the enemy now.'
'I didn't get that,' Hood said.
'Oh? I heard a serious threat with Ken Link's name attached.'
'That was an advisory,' Hood said. 'Mike is hurting, but he's looking out for Op-Center. My head is the only one that might interest him.'
The men discussed other Op-Center business until Rodgers returned. He looked like a catcher who disagreed with an jump's call but knew better than to say so.
'I just had a conference call with Senator Orr and Admiral Link,'
Rodgers said. He regarded Hood. 'The senator has declined to see Darrell but said he would meet with you as a courtesy.'
'As a courtesy!' Hood declared.
'This is a criminal investigation, not a press conference,' McCaskey said.
