Now that they had all the “mine is bigger than yours” nonsense out of the way, Kane accepted the Service’s offer of a briefing. Clark Millingham was nominally in charge but he was there mostly to keep Kane from bullying his people. S.A. Robert Dohenny was the direct supervisor on the Hopper Protection Detail and he ran Kane through the moving parts in textbook fashion.
Locations: (1) Home; (2) Work; (3) Other Venues; and (4) Transit;
Threats: (1) Short Range – Knife/Handgun; (2) Long Range – Long Gun; (3) Explosives; (4) Chemical Agents – gas/poison.
Human Factors: (1) Strangers; (2) Employees/Co-workers; (3) Known Third Parties – service personnel, journalists, attorneys; (4) Friends/Relatives.
Kane recognized it for what it was, a Dog & Pony Show to keep Senator Denning happy, but he took careful notes anyway, occasionally interrupting to ask a question. By the time the briefing finished at around ten-thirty Kane was convinced that the Secret Service had done a thorough and professional job of providing Hopper with world-class security and it depressed the hell out of him because it left him with a big problem.
In theory Kane’s job was done. He had checked out Hopper’s security arrangements and found that they were first rate. He could make his report and go back to looking for Mearle Farber, except for one thing – he didn’t believe that Hopper actually was safe. He still thought that Eustace had been killed by a pro. A pro likely meant that serious money was behind the hit. The combination of a professional killer and financial resources meant that the operator wasn’t going to be scared off by a solid protection team. Just the opposite. It meant that the hitter knew what he was up against and thought that he had a way around it. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe he would make a mistake and get himself caught or killed. But maybe not.
So, Kane asked himself what he should do – smile, shake Millingham’s hand, and tell Denning “Mission Accomplished” or should he stick around a little bit longer just in case he thought of something that Dohenny and Company had missed?
“Agent Dohenny, what’s the latest on Kathryn Hopper?” Kane asked as the supervisor was packing up his reports.
“We have her covered 24/7,” Dohenny said easily, hoping that Kane would let it go.
“Covered how?”
Dohenny took a half breath and looked up from his materials.
“An agent is stationed overnight in her apartment. She’s relieved in the morning and a fresh agent accompanies Ms. Hopper wherever she needs to go. When she finishes work we lock her and the night-shift agent back inside. The next morning we start all over again. She’s never alone.”
Dohenny turned away and zipped up his leather case, hoping that Kane was done.
“A single agent? Do you have a follow car?”
Frowning, Dohenny put the case down and turned back to Kane.
“As a precaution we detailed a second team to Ms. Hopper the morning Agent Eustace’s body was found. So far we’ve detected no activity whatsoever in Ms. Hopper’s vicinity. We’re going to keep the second team in place through the end of the week. If nothing turns up between now and then we’re going to reduce her detail to the primary officer starting on Saturday.”
Kane got a faraway look as plans and schemes ran through his head. If, as he suspected, Kathryn Hopper was the weak link, a single babysitter wasn’t going to be enough. A blitz attack would take out her minder and five seconds later she would be gone, all of which was bad. On the other hand if the Service continued to double-team Kathryn that might force the hitter to go to Plan B which could be much worse. Ten pounds of shaped C4 in a parked vehicle, triggered when the Justice’s car drove past would kill not only Hopper but probably five or ten others as well including the Secret Service agents riding with him.
“Any other questions, Agent Kane?” Dohenny asked after two seconds of silence.
“No,” Kane finally answered.”
“So, you’re ready to write your report?”
“Uhh, no, not quite.”
Dohenny struggled not to frown.
“Is there something I can do to help you finish up?”
“Yes, I’m sure there is,” Kane said then, again, seemed lost in thought.
“And what would that be?”
“As soon as I think of it I’ll let you know.” Kane hesitated, distracted by a trill from his phone. “I’ve got to take this,” he said, tapping the screen. “Danny, what have you got? . . . . Stay where you are. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
Kane slid the phone into his jacket and hurried away. Neither man bothered to say ‘goodbye.’
* * *
Kane found Danny parked in a four-year-old Mazda 3 on T Street. He had stripped off his tie and shed his coat but he still looked slightly out of place.
“That’s it,” Danny said when Kane slipped into the passenger seat. Rosewood pointed his chin at the Capitol Mail & Shipping store across the street and four shops down. Danny’s field trip here was wrong in so many ways that Kane didn’t know where to even begin.
“Technically, you’re not supposed to use a mail box as the address on your driver’s license but if you’re a criminal I guess you don’t care,” Danny said, nervously fingering the camera in his lap.
“Did you find something that makes you think Farber’s going to show up here today?”
“No, I–, oh,” he said, raising the camera. “This is just in case. It’s got a 50X zoom so I can get his plate and a good shot of anyone he meets from a long way off.” Danny smiled and turned back toward the mailbox store.
Greg kept his mouth shut and tried to think. The kid had worked his ass off and done an amazing job, an unbelievable job in tracking down Mearle Farber. For that, Kane could have kissed him. Then he jeopardized it all with this harebrained field trip. If Farber didn’t show up Danny’s coming here was a complete waste of time and if Farber did show and spotted Rosewood all Danny’s work would be for nothing. Farber would instantly dump the Paul Conklin identity and they would be worse off than they had been before.
Kane knew what Danny was thinking – that he would come out here, get lucky and find Farber without being spotted himself, follow him, again without being noticed, and track Farber to his real address, and then call in the cavalry. Good God, it was like a kid’s fantasy out of some old comic book. Dumb, Dumb, Dumb.
Ten seconds went by and when Kane didn’t speak Danny turned to look at him. One part of Greg’s brain told him, People will never learn if you don’t point out their mistakes. Another voice wondered, If Jason had been in this situation would he have acted any differently?
“You did a terrific job, Danny,” Kane said.
“Those tips you gave me really helped. We’re gonna catch this guy, Agent Kane. We will.”
Kane shot a nervous glance across the street. They had to get the hell out of here.
“Let’s go over everything back at the office and figure out our next move.” Kane reached for the door handle, then turned back.
“I’m really proud of you, Danny,” Greg said. Rosewood gave him a smile that threatened to break his face.