'That's it?' McCaskey said.
'That's it,' Battat replied.
'Great,' Rodgers said. He looked at Aideen. 'What about you?'
She hesitated before replying. 'I'm very interested,' she said. 'I'd like to discuss this some more.'
'Sure,' Rodgers said.
Rodgers did not know whether her hesitation was bitterness toward Op-Center, a desire to run her own life, or maybe even impatience with Battat. Possibly a little of everything.
'What I suggest is that we go back to the office and have a real chat,' Rodgers said.
Aideen nodded.
106
OP-CENTER
'Question,' Battat said. 'When were you thinking of fielding this team? Just so I can work things out schedule- wise.'
Rodgers finished his coffee and looked at his watch. He replied, 'In about six hours.'
SIXTEEN
Washington, D.C. Thursday, 8:12 A.M.
The list of people who Bob Herbert trusted was short. The list of people he trusted absolutely was shorter still.
Edgar Kline was never on the very short list. Now, Herbert was not sure he was on the short list. Kline also had selfinterests to protect. The well-being of the Vatican and its inner circle was his top priority. Herbert understood and respected that. But Herbert also had interests to look after. That was why he called one of his freelancers, April Wright.
April was a professional watcher, one of the hundreds who walked the streets of the nation's capital every day. Some were hired by American agencies to spy on rival agencies. Others were hired by Americans to spy on foreigners and vice versa. They were dressed as delivery people, tourists, souvenir salesmen, or joggers. A few watchers worked in teams and pretended to be TV reporters or college kids making a student film. Some carried handbags that contained changes of clothes. If the watchers had to watch an area with a security camera, they did not want to stay in the same outfit all day.
April used to be an actress. She worked mostly in regional theater, so her face was not well known. She had been a close friend of Herbert's wife. Now the woman was married to a pilot and had a young daughter. During the course of a day, she went from posing as a nanny to being a mother out for a walk to being a homeless woman with a child. In all of her disguises, she carried a digital camera. When she was 'homeless,' she kept it hidden in the bottom of a brown paper bag. Whenever she needed to take a picture, she took a drink. April
108
OP-CENTER
was good at what she did, and she loved it. It was also a secret only Herbert shared. April was only available when her husband was out of town.
Herbert asked April to keep an eye on the Watergate. He wanted to know where Kline went and who came to see him. She signed in at ten P.M. then came downstairs in her nanny guise and found a spot near the house phones. She rocked her baby until two A.M. and then became homeless, watching Kline's window from the outside. Shortly after dawn, she was an early-rising mom out for a few turns around the lobby. She always made sure she was near the phone when anyone used it. If Kline had left the hotel, she would have followed him. The driver that had brought her there waited for that purpose.
Herbert had arranged for Kline to come to Op-Center at eight A.M. and brief Hood. At two A.M., April made an interim report. At seven forty-five, she made her final report. Herbert thanked her and told her to go home. In the meantime, he had asked Matt Stoll's computer group to check the flights from Spain to Botswana. There was something he needed to know.
Kline arrived in a taxi. Herbert greeted his old friend at the main level and took him directly to Hood's office. Kline sat in the armchair in front of Hood's desk. Herbert parked his wheelchair inside the door. Hood had also asked his political liaison, Ron Plummer, to attend the meeting. The former CIA intelligence analyst for Western Europe arrived just a minute after Herbert. He shut the door and leaned against it, crossing his arms tightly. Plummer was a short man with thinning brown hair and wide eyes. He wore thick, black-framed glasses atop a large, hooked nose. He was an intensely focused man, which was fortunate. His work on the delicate situation in Kashmir had been the key to keeping it from exploding.
Herbert asked how Kline's evening had gone. The Vatican security officer said that it went well. He had met with Cardinal Zavala before Mass this morning. Kline said that when he was finished here, he was going directly to New York to meet with Cardinal Murrieta.
MISSION OF HONOR
109
'Did you get what you wanted from the cardinal?' Herbert asked.
'I did,' Kline told him. 'We arranged to have Bishop Victor Max go to Botswana. He's flying to New York to meet me.'
'Max is a big human rights advocate, isn't he?' Herbert asked.
'He is,' Kline said. 'The bishop is going to take Father Bradbury's place in a show of support. He will fly to Gaborone and then take a shuttle to Maun. We have asked two of the deacons not to leave but to meet him there.'
'That could be dangerous for the bishop and the deacons, you understand that,' Herbert said. 'They understand that.'
