The Camel Club

“Because they were also the ones who killed Patrick Johnson.”

Alex sat back, stunned. “Why would they have killed Johnson?”

“Because he was altering files at NIC. Making people seem dead who weren’t really dead. And I think someone was paying him a lot of money to do it, but Johnson got greedy or sloppy or both.”

“Let me get this straight. Johnson was altering files at NIC to make some people appear dead who really weren’t?”

Stone said, “We believe that these men were the ones used in Brennan, Pennsylvania. The newspapers said that not one of the Arabs killed there was in the NIC files. That is inconceivable. I think these men were human sterilized weapons, and they were used to kidnap President Brennan. When we searched Reinke’s home, we discovered that he’d invested a lot of borrowed money in expectation of the stock market plummeting, which it has now.”

“Are you saying this whole thing was about making money in the stock market?” Alex exclaimed.

“No, it’s much deeper than that,” Stone replied.

Alex looked at him. “Any idea who’s behind it?”

“Someone high up at NIC,” Stone ventured. “Higher than Reinke and Peters certainly.”

“Let me take another look at that video,” Alex said.

He watched once more as Reinke and then Peters appeared on the screen. Then he pointed at the image of the man in the black mask as he leveled the security guard. “He hit the guy pretty hard,” Alex noted. “He had to check his pulse to make sure he hadn’t killed him.”

Reuben suddenly put a finger up to his lips and motioned toward the window. The blind was drawn but the window was open. They all had heard it now: footsteps.

Alex eyed Stone, and the pair quickly reached a silent agreement. Stone motioned to Reuben to join the Secret Service agent. While the group talked as though they were all still there, Alex pulled his gun and silently opened the front door. He went left while Reuben went to the right and around the side of the house toward the rear.

A minute later they all heard screams and a struggle, and then silence. Then the front door opened and Alex marched in. Behind him Reuben was carrying someone.

Jackie Simpson didn’t look very happy.

CHAPTER

62

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING here, Jackie?” Alex demanded.

She glared at him. “I’ve been calling your house to see how you were doing, but you never called me back. So I came by tonight to see you, and I seem to have stumbled upon a conspiracy. What’s going on, Alex?”

Stone had not taken his gaze off Simpson. “We’re actually trying to figure out what’s going on at NIC.”

“I know, I heard that part. And that Reinke and Peters broke into someone’s house.” Simpson looked at Alex. “If you know something about the president being kidnapped, you have to take it to the Service. Alex, you could get into a lot of trouble for withholding that sort of information.”

Stone cut in. “I don’t believe that’s a good idea.”

Simpson stared at him contemptuously. “Who the hell are you?”

He held out his hand. “Oliver Stone.”

“Pardon me?” she said incredulously.

“His name’s Oliver Stone,” Alex interjected. “And these are his friends, Reuben, Milton and Caleb. You’ve already met Kate Adams.”

Stone said, “And you are Jackie Simpson, the only child of Senator Roger Simpson of Alabama, and the goddaughter of Carter Gray, the secretary of intelligence.”

“Is that a problem?” she asked coolly.

“Not at all. But going to the authorities at this stage would be a huge mistake, Agent Simpson”

“Listen, Oliver Stone or whatever your real name is, I can do anything I damn well please. I’m a cop, okay, and—”

“And you’re a very intelligent cop,” Stone broke in, gazing at her. “And because you are, I’m sure that you’ve already considered the obvious.”

Simpson rolled her eyes, but Stone continued to stare at her until she said, “And what might that be?”

“If we’re right and NIC’s files have been corrupted, the unfortunate result was that an army of terrorists was allowed to go to Brennan, Pennsylvania, and successfully kidnap the president. That does not bode well either for your godfather, who heads that agency, or your father, who oversees its operations as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. I’m quite sure that you would not want to do anything to hurt them professionally. If you go to the authorities now, you could very well destroy both of their careers.”

All eyes were on Jackie Simpson as she and Stone engaged in a protracted stare-down. Finally, Simpson broke off and looked at Alex for help.

“Alex, what the hell is going on? What am I supposed to do here?”

“We’re trying to figure this all out, Jackie. Until we do, we can’t say anything, to anybody.”

Caleb looked at his watch. “We now have exactly seven hours and forty-one minutes to find Brennan and prevent a possible Armageddon.”

“Well, everybody ought to cross their fingers and toes, then,” Reuben said.

“Omigod!” Alex asserted. “Fingers!”

“What?” Kate exclaimed.

Alex snatched Milton’s computer and replayed the DVD. “There,” he said, pointing. “Right there, do you see that?”

They all looked confused because he wasn’t pointing at Reinke or Peters. He was pointing at the man in the mask who’d knocked out the security guard.

Stone looked at him puzzled. “All I see is a man in a mask, Alex. What else is there to see?”

He froze the screen and pointed with his finger. “This.”

They all squinted at the screen. Simpson said, “The security guard’s neck?”

Alex said, “No, the right hand on that neck. He took his glove off to check the guard’s pulse.”

Reuben shrugged. “Right. So what?”

Alex looked exasperated. “Look at that hand. Tell me you don’t recognize it.”

Kate said, “Recognize a hand? Are you serious?”

“Like I told you before, Kate, hands are my specialty. And I recognize that hand. It’s very distinctive with bolt-size knuckles, and fingers thicker than I’ve ever seen.” He hit another button, and the picture zoomed in on the hand. “And the thumbnail has a black spot the shape of a triangle in the upper left-hand corner. When I saw that earlier, I thought it was some weird tattoo.”

“Saw it earlier? What are you talking about? When did you see it earlier?”

“In the bar that night. When you introduced me to Tom Hemingway. And I saw it again when he met us at NIC.”

Kate stared at him openmouthed and then glanced at the screen. “You’re saying that’s Tom Hemingway’s hand?”

“There’s no doubt about it. To me hands are as good as fingerprints, Kate.”

Simpson said, “I think Alex is right. I believe that is Hemingway’s hand.”

Stone ventured, “So this Hemingway may have kidnapped the president? Why?”

“Who the hell knows!” Alex exclaimed. “But I think we might be able to figure out where they’re holding him. And Kate might have the answer.”

“Me!” Kate exclaimed. “How?”

“You mentioned that you and Hemingway were working on a project together.”

“That’s right.”