Washington, D.C.: Tuesday 27 October
7:30 A.M. local time
The two men walked along the Reflecting Pool in the Mall. A cold wind ruffled the waters beside them, splintering the image of the Washington Monument mirrored by the pool’s surface. Gerald T. Boyd clasped his hands behind his back and fixed his gaze on the towering obelisk before them. “So what have you managed to learn, Colonel?”
Colonel Lee cleared his throat. “I’m getting a little uncomfortable with this, sir.”
“Oh? How’s that?”
“I saw the station’s report on what happened in Berlin.” Lee hesitated, then pushed it out. “I didn’t realize I was setting Alexander up as a target.”
“Alexander made himself a target.”
“But…he’s CIA, sir. He’s one of ours.”
“You need to remember, Colonel: this operation is more important than one man. The very future of America is at stake here. We’re talking about the survival of our entire way of life. Freedom, democracy—everything we hold most dear. You do understand that, don’t you?”
“Yes, sir.”
A gust of wind buffeted the grass as a cloud half obscured the rising sun. Lee turned to stare down at the choppy waters beside them. Most people thought of the CIA and the Pentagon as two distinct organizations, and in many ways they were. But there were always a significant number of military personnel assigned to the CIA. In fact, by tradition either the Director of the Agency or his Deputy was always a general. Sam Lee might work for the CIA, but he was still an Army colonel. Which meant he not only owed his plum job at the Agency to Boyd; Boyd could destroy Lee’s entire future in a heartbeat, if he wanted to. And they both knew it.
Boyd said, “Where is Alexander now?”
A muscle began to tic beside the other man’s left eye. “Turkey, sir. Izmir. But I don’t think he’s planning to be there long.”
“Where’s he going next?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, keep on him. Is the Guinness woman still with him?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What have you found on her?”
“I’m working on it, General.”
Boyd grunted and turned toward the Capitol Building. “Work faster, Colonel.”
“Yes, sir.”