might be, she had information he needed—?he was sure of that. And to get it, he’d have to give.
The drinks arrived and Jackson took a sip, then turned to him, a hostile look on her face. “All right. Now who are you and why are you interested in Wu?”
“Just as I’m sure you can’t tell me all the details of your assignment, I can’t tell you mine.” The walk over had given Gideon time to work up a story; but he had always felt that the best lie was the one closest to the truth. “I don’t even have a badge, as you do. Oh, by the way, as a professional courtesy I’d like to see yours.”
“We don’t have badges. We have IDs.” She brought hers out and quickly flashed it at him under the bar. “So. Who do you work for?”
“I know this is going to frustrate you, Mindy, but I work for a private contractor with the DHS. They wanted me to get the plans for the weapon from Wu.”
She stared at him and he could see she was pissed. “DHS? What the hell are they doing meddling in our affairs? With a
He shrugged.
“What do you know?” she asked.
“Nothing.”
“Bullshit. Wu spoke to you right after the accident. He said something to you. I want to know what it was.”
“He told me to tell his wife he loved her.”
“That’s not even a decent lie. He doesn’t have a wife. He gave you some numbers. I want to know what those numbers are.”
Gideon gazed into her face. “Um, what makes you think that he gave me numbers?”
“Witnesses. Said they saw you writing down numbers. Look,” she said, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face. “You said it yourself. We’re on the same side. We should be working together, pooling our resources.”
“I haven’t noticed you pooling with me.”
“You give me the numbers and I’ll pool with you.”
“That sounds exciting.”
“Don’t be an ass. Give me the numbers.”
“What do the numbers signify?”
She hesitated, and he sensed that maybe she didn’t know. But numbers were always stimulating to a CIA agent.
“I’ve got a question for you,” he continued, pushing just a little harder. “What is CIA doing working domestically? Isn’t that FBI turf?”
“Wu was coming from overseas. You know that as well as I do.”
“That’s not answering my question.”
“I can’t answer your question,” she said, looking increasingly irritated. “It’s not my place to do so, and it sure as hell isn’t any of your business.”
“If you want to know anything more, you’re going to have to answer it. You can’t force me to talk. I haven’t broken any laws. Talking to an injured man, inquiring about his condition, isn’t illegal.” He wondered where Mindy had been during the firefight at the police vehicle yard. Cutting somebody’s head off, perhaps?
“If it’s in the interests of national security, I can damn well make you talk.”
“What, are you going to waterboard me right here at the bar?”
He saw her smile despite herself. She sighed. “This was too sensitive to hand off to the FBI. Wu was our honey pot. We set it up.”
“You set up the honey trap?”
She hesitated. “Wu went to a scientific conference in Hong Kong, and we learned he had the plans with him. We set it up.”
“Tell me about it.”
She hesitated again, seemed to come to a private decision. “Okay. But if you’d like a behind-the-scenes tour of Guantanamo, just try telling somebody—
“And that actually worked? You said the guy wasn’t married. What’s he afraid of?”
“It works in China. The Chinese are prudish. It wasn’t the sex, it was the perversion that, ah, would have destroyed his career.”
He laughed. “Perversion? What was it?”
“Dominatrix. Athletic, over six feet, and blond. We had reason to believe he liked that stuff but we had a hell of a time finding one. She whipped his ass good and we got it all on video.”
“Ouch. So then what happened to your blackmail scheme?”
“We approached him with the goods. Said we’d trade the pictures for the plans. But he freaked out. Said he needed half an hour to think about it. Instead he took off, got on the first plane here.”
“You miscalculated.”
She frowned.
“Why here?” he asked.
“We don’t know.”
“Was he defecting?”
“We have no idea what his intentions were. All we know is, he had the plans when he got on the plane.”
“Hidden where?”
“No idea.”
“And the car that ran him off the road? Who was that?”
“The Chinese are after him hammer and tongs. They sent an operative over to deal with Wu, immediately and with extreme prejudice. We believe he’s a man known as Nodding Crane.”
“Nodding Crane?”
“After a certain kung fu stance. We don’t know his real name. He was sent to kill Wu and retrieve the plans. He did the first, but since he’s still here, we figure the Chinese haven’t gotten the plans. They’re still floating around out there somewhere.” She looked at him pointedly. “Unless
“No,” he said. “You know I don’t. Why would I still be running around like this?”
She nodded. “Now: the numbers, please?”
He racked his brains, thinking how he could appear to be reciprocating without actually giving her anything. Could he tell her about the cell phone? But then he’d have to explain where he got it…bad idea. Giving her fake numbers would be an even worse idea. But, he sensed, so would be giving her the real numbers. She’d have no more need of him. And he believed Mindy Jackson could prove an invaluable asset.
“The honest-to-God truth is,” he said, “I don’t have the numbers with me.”
The hostile expression returned immediately, this time with more than a hint of dubiousness. “Where are they?”
“I passed them on to my handlers. They’re being analyzed.”
“You didn’t keep a copy?”
“For security reasons, no. That fellow—?what’s his name, Nodding Crane—?seems to be after me.”
“That is really unfortunate for you. You didn’t memorize them?”
“It was a long string of numbers. Besides, I figured some things are better not known.”
She stared at him. “I don’t believe you.”
He shrugged. “Look, when I next meet up with my handlers, I’ll find a way to get you the numbers. And then I’ll share them with you. Deal?” He gave her a big smile.
Her hostile expression softened just a little. “Why did you visit the hospital?”
“I was hoping Wu might have said something before he died.”
“I guess you found out he didn’t.”
He nodded.
“Who was that Goth woman you were with?”
“A hooker I hired to help me go undercover, to sidetrack that assassin.”
