4:40 AM
STEPHANIE CONSIDERED BRENT GREEN’S INQUIRY-
“Everybody in this administration wants me gone. Why I’m still here, I don’t know. So I don’t trust anybody at the moment.”
Green shook his head at her suspicion.
“Those files were accessed by someone with a password,” she added. “Sure, they scanned through a dozen or more, but we both know the one they were after. Only a few of us are privy to the Alexandria Link. I don’t even know the details-just that we went to a lot of trouble for something that was seemingly meaningless. Lots of questions. No answers. Come on, Brent. You and I haven’t actually been asshole buddies, so why should I trust you now?”
“Let’s be clear,” Green said. “I’m not your enemy. If I were, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“I’ve had friends in this business say that to me many times and not mean a word.”
“Traitors are like that.”
She decided to test him further. “Don’t you think we ought to bring more people into the loop?”
“The FBI is already in.”
“Brent, we’re operating in the dark. We need to know what George Haddad knows.”
“Then it’s time we deal with Larry Daley at the White House. Any road we take will lead straight to him. Might as well go to the source.”
She agreed.
And Green reached for the phone.
MALONE HEARD THE PERSON WHO HAD JUST MURDERED LEE Durant scream that there was a man with a gun who’d shot somebody.
And he was still holding the Glock.
“Is he dead?” Pam muttered.
Stupid question. But standing with the murder weapon in hand was even more stupid. “Come on.”
“We can’t just leave him.”
“He’s dead.”
Hysteria filled her eyes. He recalled the first time he’d watched someone die, so he cut her some slack. “You shouldn’t have seen that. But we have to go.”
A warning rush of heels on tile echoed from beyond the room. Security, he assumed. He grabbed Pam’s hand and yanked her toward the opposite end of the Corner Chamber.
They scampered through more rooms, each like the next, sparsely furnished with period pieces, illuminated by dim morning light. He noticed more cameras and knew he’d have to eventually avoid them. He stuffed the Glock into his jacket pocket and brought out his Beretta.
They entered a room identified as the Queen’s Chamber.
He heard voices from behind. Apparently the body had been found. More shouts and footfalls, coming their way.
The Queen’s Chamber was an apartment. Three doorways led out. One to a staircase up, the other down, the remaining portal opening into another room. No security camera in sight. He scanned the decor trying to decide what to do. A large armoire towered against the exterior wall.
He decided to play the odds.
He rushed to the armoire and grabbed the double-door iron handles. Inside was spacious and empty. Plenty big enough for them both. He motioned at Pam. For once she came without comment.
“Get in,” he whispered.
Before entering, he cracked open both stairway exits. Then he climbed in and eased the doors shut, hoping their pursuers assumed they either went down, up, or back into the castle.
STEPHANIE LISTENED AS BRENT GREEN BRIEFED LARRY DALEY about what had happened. She couldn’t help wondering if the arrogant ass on the other end of the phone already knew every detail, plus more.
“I’m familiar with the Alexandria Link,” Daley said through the speaker.
“Care to tell us?” Green asked.
“Wish I could. Classified.”
“To the attorney general and the head of one of our most elite intelligence agencies?”
“For a select set of eyes only. Sorry, neither of you qualifies.”
“Then how did someone else manage a peek?” Stephanie asked.
“You haven’t figured that out yet?”
“Maybe I have.”
Silence stung the room. Daley apparently received her message.
“Wasn’t me.”
“What else would you say?” she asked.
“Watch your mouth.”
She ignored the jab. “Malone is going to give them the link. He won’t risk his son.”
“Then he’ll have to be stopped,” Daley said. “We’re not handing that over to anyone.”
She caught his meaning. “You want it for yourself, don’t you?”
“Damn right.”
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “A boy’s life may be at stake.”
“Not my problem,” Daley declared.
Calling Daley had been a mistake, and she could see that Green now realized that fact, too.
“Larry,” Green said. “Let’s help Malone out. Not make his task more difficult.”
“Brent, this is a matter of national security, not a charity case.”
“Interesting,” she said, “how you’re not the least bit concerned that someone accessed our secured files and learned all about this highly classified Alexandria Link-a matter of supposed national security.”
“You reported that breach more than a month ago. The FBI is handling the situation. What are
“I was told to do nothing. What did you do, Larry?”
A sigh came through the speaker. “You truly are a pain in the ass.”
“But she works for me,” Green made clear.
“Here’s what I think,” Stephanie said. “Whatever this link is, it somehow fits with whatever it is you geniuses at the White House have conceived as foreign policy. You actually like the fact the files were compromised and that somebody has this information. Which means you’re going to allow them to do your dirty work.”
“Sometimes, Stephanie, enemies can be your friend.” Daley’s voice had fallen to a whisper. “And vice versa.”
A knot formed in her throat. Her suspicions were now fact. “You’re going to sacrifice Malone’s boy for your president’s legacy?”
“I didn’t start this,” Daley replied. “But I intend to use it.”
“Not if I can help it,” she said.
“Interfere and you’ll be fired. Not by you, Brent, but by the president himself.”
“That could become a problem,” Green said.
She caught the threat in his tone.
“You’re saying you’d stand with her?” Daley asked.
“Without question.”
She knew that this was a threat Daley could not ignore. The administration possessed a measure of control over Green’s actions as attorney general. But if he quit, or was fired, then it would be open season on the White House.
The speakerphone sat silent. She imagined Daley sitting in his office, puzzling over his quandary.
“I’ll be at your house in thirty minutes.”
“Why do we need to meet?” Green asked.
“I assure you, it’ll be worth your while.”
