'Why not? Let's just go and ask them who in the hell they are and why their names are connected with over sixty-five deaths in the last twenty-four hours,' Jack said as he terminated the secure connection with Nevada.
'Now, this should be interesting,' Everett said as he led the way out of the cafe.
The man in the van had barely caught the last two names on the list and their addresses in his telephoto lens. He wrote them down and then picked up his cell phone and punched the one number as before.
'Martha Laughlin and Carmichael Rothman--mean anything to you?'
'I will pass this on to my employer.'
'I suspect they're heading to the airport,' he said to the driver. 'Follow and confirm and then we're done here; Dahlia can have them.'
William Tomlinson had decided to stay at the office and work on the final plans for staging the Wave operations from the sunken city where the Coalition would be protected by two miles of water and another half mile in seafloor. Ever since Caretaker had left for the night, he'd felt more at ease. He supposed that he would have to get used to the old man looking over his shoulder, but when you were used to privacy it was hard to take. As much as he needed some new rules and changes for the Coalition, he knew the value of tradition, and Caretaker was at least that.
His private phone line buzzed. He took a deep breath, tossed his pen onto the seagoing-operations plans for the Mediterranean, and picked up the phone.
'Yes.'
'I'm afraid we have a problem that was not foreseen in your plans.'
'I thought we had eliminated most of the obstructions, Dahlia.'
'I have, but the items that were missing from Keeler's journal have turned up.'
'Okay, Dahlia, bury them. And good work, by the way. How did you uncover their whereabouts?'
'They were hiding in plain sight in Virginia. We gave them too much credit for subterfuge.'
'Live and learn. Get to them before they acquire the needed courage to do some name-dropping. Keeler's death may have made them nervous.'
'William, we did not uncover the names.'
Tomlinson sat forward in his chair. 'What?'
'The people that showed up at the warehouse in New York--it was confirmed by my source that it was they who recovered the two names and addresses. They are on their way to Virginia as we speak.'
The new chairman of the Coalition eased back in his chair.
'Salvageable. Hit these men in Virginia when they show up there. I want these pests out of the way. No, wait ... I want to know when they arrive and enter one of the houses. I want to say good-bye to the two Ancients and to this ... what is the man's name?'
'Collins; Colonel Jack Collins.'
'I think it appropriate that I terminate this last threat. Very good, and I can finally say, very thorough work, Dahlia.'
Dahlia ignored Tomlinson's snide comment.
'Now, I suppose you are off to Hawaii?'
'Yes, I leave within the hour. I will have my strike team in Virginia inform you on when to make your call. Good night, William.'
It had taken just two hours to fly south to Richmond. Jack had decided to go to Carmichael Rothman's house first, for no other reason than that Rothman was the last listed.
The countryside was beautiful as Mendenhall drove them through rural areas of large and very expensive houses. It was a full thirty minutes until they found the right address. The house was set deep in the woods and had a long concrete drive leading to it. The large iron fence coursed around the manicured lawns. There was a small building next to the thirty-foot-high gate and they could see two guards sitting inside.
'Tell me what-all you see, Lieutenants,' Jack asked Ryan and Menden-hall.
'Ah, the test continues,' Ryan said. 'Well, besides the two guards, the gate is crash-proof. There are two- foot-thick steel posts descending from the gate to the cement, anchoring it firmly.'
'There is a laser-security perimeter around the entire property. They didn't hide the power source well enough, as it can be seen coming directly out of the gatehouse to the first laser reflector. Knock out the gate-house, take the property,' Mendenhall said as he pulled into the drive and stopped.
'Very good. But you failed to notice the small building across the street. It has no business being there. No house, no drive,' Collins said as he watched the first guard come out to greet them.
'But plenty of extra guards ready to take back the gatehouse you guys just took,' Everett finished for Jack.
'Oh,' Ryan said. 'How--'
'Separate power source. See the generator at the side of the building? No reason for that in a neighborhood like this. In addition, can you see the landline leading from the gatehouse to the structure across the street? This Rothman character takes his security seriously. But hey, you guys are learning the craft ... almost,' Everett said, looking at Ryan.
Mendenhall rolled down his window as the well-uniformed guard approached. Jack saw that the second guard had disappeared from the window.
'Can I help you?'
'We're here to see Carmichael Rothman,' Jack said from the backseat.
The guard shook his head. 'Mr. Rothman does not accept visitors. No exceptions.'
Jack thought for a moment. 'Inform Mr. Rothman we're here to see him about the death of Jackson Keeler.'
The guard looked into the car. 'I will inform the housekeeper. Please remain in the vehicle.'
The four watched the guard turn and head back into the gatehouse and saw him pick up the phone. The other guard was still nowhere to be seen.
'We have company behind us and to the right. The large bush next to the gatehouse--the second guard, I suspect--and he has a rather large weapon trained ... well, trained on the back of my head.'
'It's that take-charge personality you have, Jack,' Everett said as he slid farther toward his door.
'Funny.'
Suddenly the large twin gates started to part. The guard reappeared and stepped to the car's front window.
'Please keep to the paved drive until you arrive at the front porch, where you will be met by Mrs. Laughlin, a very close friend of Mr. Rothman. I have been instructed to tell you that you have only one minute to convince Mrs. Laughlin of your sincerity. If you fail, we will remove you from the property.'
The guard abruptly turned and walked back into the gatehouse. Mendenhall drove slowly through the gate.
'Lucky we have both of the people that interest us the most,' Jack said under his breath.
When they arrived at the front porch, they saw an elderly woman standing in front of the ornate and gilded front doors. She slowly made her way down to the car as it stopped. Collins stepped out of the backseat and looked at the casually dressed woman, who was short in stature. She crossed her arms over her chest and waited for Collins to speak.
'Ms. Laughlin? Martha Laughlin?'
If the woman was taken back because Jack knew her first name, she didn't show it.
'Yes.'
'My name is Colonel Jack Collins, of the United States Army. You were informed that we're here to see you and Mr. Rothman about the death of Jackson Keeler. I assume you have heard of this man?'
This time Jack saw the woman blink. That was all she did, but in that brief moment he saw sadness there, but not shock at the news of Keeler's death.
'Why is the army interested in the death of an attorney, Colonel?'
'You and Mr. Rothman's names were on a slip of paper Mr. Keeler hid in his person before he died. Do you
