Dennison and told him I wouldn't let him hang you for it.'
'Oh, you're too kind, sir.'
'No, I meant it. You did save my life, and if you made a slip and dropped my name—'
'Don't compound your asininity,' Rashad broke in. 'It's far, far more likely that any five of the others might have made a slip like that than either Grayson or myself. We live in the field; we don't make that kind of mistake.'
'Let's walk,' said Evan, no guards in sight, only his doubts and his confusion forcing him to move. His problem was that he believed her, believed what Manny Weingrass said about her:… she had nothing to do with exposing you… it would only add to her shame and further inflame the crazy world she lives in. And when Kendrick protested that the others couldn't have, Manny had added: Then there are others beyond others… They came to a rough track that led up through the trees apparently to the stone wall bordering the estate. 'Shall we explore?' asked Evan.
'Why not?' said Adrienne coldly.
'Look,' he continued as they climbed the wooded slope side by side, 'say I believe you—'
'Thank you so much.'
'All right, I do believe you! And because I do I'm going to tell you something that only Swann and Dennison know; the others don't, at least I don't think they do.'
'Are you sure you should?'
'I need help and they can't help me. Maybe you can; you were there—with me—and you know so many things I don't know. How events are kept quiet, how secret information is passed to those who should have it, procedures like that.'
'I know some, not all by any means. I'm based in Cairo, not here. But go ahead.'
'Some time ago a man came to see Swann, a blond man with a European accent who had a great deal of information about me—Frank called it PD.'
'Prior data,' said Rashad, interrupting. 'It's also called “privileged detail”, and usually comes from the vaults.'
'Vaults? What vaults?'
'It's the vernacular for classified intelligence files. Go on.'
'After impressing Frank, really impressing him, he came right out and made his point. He told Swann that he had concluded that I'd been sent to Masqat by the State Department during the hostage crisis.'
'What?' She exploded, her hand on Kendrick's arm. 'Who was he?'
'Nobody knows. No one can find him. The identity he used to get to Frank was false.'
'Good Christ,' whispered Rashad as she looked up at the ascending path; bright sunlight broke through the wall of trees above. 'We'll stay here for a moment,' she said quietly, urgently. 'Sit down.' They both lowered themselves on to the track surrounded by thick trunks and foliage. 'And?' pressed the woman from Cairo.
'Well, Swann tried to throw him off; he even showed him a note to the Secretary of State that we both mocked up rejecting me. Obviously the man didn't believe Frank and kept digging, deeper and deeper until he got it all. What came out yesterday morning was so accurate it could only have come from the Oman file—from the vaults, as you call them.'
'I know that,' whispered Rashad, her anger indelibly mixed with fear. 'My God, someone was reached!'
'One of the seven—six? he amended quickly.
'Who were they? I don't mean Swann and his OHIO-Four-Zero computer man, but apart from Dennison, Grayson and me?'
'The secretaries of State and Defense, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.'
'None of them could even be approached.'
'What about the computer man? His name is Bryce, Gerald Bryce, and he's young. Frank swore by him but that's only his judgment.'
