“We know a little.”
“You’ve still got a lot to learn, Jake. Truth isn’t something you can extrapolate from a tiny piece. And believe me, those two have given us the tiniest piece they could. If it was a piece of the truth at all, which is debatable.”
On Monday morning Jake signed his report, which recommended the TRX prototype as the plane the navy should buy, and hand- carried it to Admiral Dunedin’s office. The admiral flipped through it to see that the changes he wanted were made, then he signed the prepared endorsement. From there Jake carried it over to the pro- gram coordinator’s office. Commander Rob Knight was tapping a letter on his word processor when Jake came in.
“This is it, huh?”
“Yep.” Jake pulled up a chair. Knight reviewed the changes, then signed the routing slip. “Congratulations. Another milestone passed.”
“Think we’ll get this plane?”
“Looks good. Looks good.” Knight grinned. He spent a large portion of his time talking to congressional staffers on behalf of the CNO’s office. “They know we need it They know it’s a good buy.
The only really iffy thing is the choice of prototypes. Duquesne knows this is coming and he’s loading his guns.”
“What’s he going to come at me with?”
“I’ll know more by tomorrow. I’ll be over at nine with a guy from the Office of Legislative Affairs to brief you on expected ques- tions, suggested answers, how to keep your cool — all the good stuff. You’ll be testifying with Admiral Dunedin and he’ll go first. But you’re the guy they’ll try to rip. You originated the recommen- dation. If they can get you to admit you’re an incompetent, lying idiot, then Dunedin, CNO, SECNAV, SECDEF, they all have to reconsider. So wear your steel underwear.”
Jake’s next stop was CNO’s office. He had to talk to the execu- tive assistant — the EA — and wait an hour, but with the CNO’s blessing on his document, he walked it down to the Secretary of the Navy’s office. After the obligatory half hour wait while the EA reviewed the document, Ludlow invited him in.
“How close is this to the draft I saw?”
“Pretty close, sir. Vice Admiral Dunedin and CNO wanted some changes, and they’re incorporated.”
“Are you prepared to defend this report on the Hill?”
“Yessir,”
Ludlow quizzed him for an hour on the technical aspects of the report. Apparently satisfied, he accompanied Jake to the door. “Just don’t get cute with the elected ones. Be open, aboveboard, a good little sailor.”
Smoke Judy changed into his running clothes and stowed his rags behind a Dumpster in a Georgetown alley. God, he smelled ripe. But what the hell — they sold this stink in a bottle now, didn’t they? He would probably have women crawling all over him. Everyone would think he just ran five miles and dropped by for a tall, cool Perrier. Just as trendy as a pair of Gucci shoes.
He walked the four blocks to the bar carrying the gym bag in his right hand. The place was packed, just like last week. If anyone noticed his aroma, they didn’t show it.
He made his way through the crowd and into the men’s room, where he washed his face and neck and arms as thoroughly as possible. He even used a paper towel on his armpits without taking his shirt off.
Whew! He felt better.
He stepped out of the men’s room and stood looking. A two- person booth opened up at the back of the room, so he immediately slipped into it. Holding the gym bag under the table, he extracted the pistol from the bag and laid it on his lap.
The waitress didn’t give his four-day beard a second glance. “Gimme a Bud.”
He drank the first one quickly, then nursed the second. Twenty minutes passed, then thirty, -r
What if Albright doesn’t show?
Judy got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. The beer felt like it was going to come up. He stared at the door, scrutinizing every face.
When Albright came in, Judy almost shouted.
He walked the length of the room and shd into the booth. Only then did Judy realize his hands were empty.
“Jesus,” Albright said. “You look bad.”
“Had a little trouble.”
“I guess you did. I read about it. Dealing, are you?”
“A crock.”
“Yeah.” Albright ordered a Corona. He sat looking around.
“Where’d you spend the weekend?”
“In an alley.”
“Smart.”
“They haven’t caught me yet.”
“You wired?”
“What?”
“Are you wearing a wire?”
“Hell no- Where’s the fucking money?”
“You got it?”
“Yeah, right here. You wanta see it?”
“Okay. Show me.”
Judy passed him the gym bag. “The side pocket. Look but don’t take it out.” Albright did as requested.
“So, you got it?”
“What’s it look like?”
“What it looks like, my friend, is a five-and-a-quarter-inch floppy disk, which could have anything under the sun on it. It could even be empty- You didn’t think I was just going to take it on faith that you’re an honorable gentleman and hand you all that lettuce, did you?”
“Something like that.”
The Corona came. Albright took his time squeezing the lime slice and dropping it down the neck of the bottle. “Your good health,” he said, and took a sip.
“Where is it?”
“Where is what?”
“The bread, asshole.”
“Out in my car.”
“You want the disk, you go get it.”
“I need to see what’s on the disk first. What say we both go out there and I’ll check the disk on my laptop. I brought it along, just in case.”
“Uh-uh. No money, no disk.”
“You make me very suspicious, my friend. Your refusal to come outside indicates there is a very good possibility you are wearing a wire. The possibility is even higher that the file I want is not on this disk.” Albright grinned. “You see how it is.”
“What I see is this: I’ve got it and you aren’t leaving here with it until I see the money.”
“When did you copy this disk?”
“Friday afternoon.”
“When did the admiral come by?”
“About ten minutes later.”
Albright looked at the faces around him, then turned back to Judy. “Even if you think you have the file — I will grant you your good faith — I doubt seriously if it is the information I want. Not on Friday afternoon, with NIS and the FBI just ten minutes away. They were waiting for you. It was a trap.”
“I got the file,” Judy insisted.
“No. I think not.” Albright started to slide out of the booth. Something hard hit his leg, and he stopped.
“Is that what I think it is?”
“I don’t know what you think- Use your hand, gently, and feel.”
