The president wants to see you.”
“Thank you.”
David Abraham brushed past the nurse and hurried toward the guards posted outside Robert’s room. The president had been out of surgery for forty-five minutes, and David knew that the local anesthetics hadn’t dimmed his mind in the least. If he knew what David had for him, he’d have told the nurse to let him through sooner.
He dipped his head at the guards, one of whom opened the door for him. “Thank you.”
“David!” The president grinned from his hospital bed as David crossed the room.
“Miracles never cease,” Robert said.
“Clearly. How are you feeling?”
“Sore but otherwise surprisingly well. They’re using local anesthetic at my request, but I’m not sure how well it’s working.”
“Your mind’s clear, then. That’s good. Your prognosis?”
“I’ll be up in two days, they say.”
David glanced at two aides who sat by the window. “I need to speak to you privately.”
“Give us a moment.”
David waited for the aides to leave before he spoke again.
“Do they have any leads?”
“You’re asking if I told anyone about this man you recognized?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve only been conscious for an hour, half of that time on a table with bright lights overhead. The game’s changed, I’m sure you understand that. Someone just put a bullet through me. An attempt was made on the life of the president of the United States—this is far bigger than either of us.”
David knew that what he had to say wouldn’t be easy. Knew that Robert might very well reject it. Most sane men would.
“Robert, please. What I am about to tell you may offend you at the deepest level. God knows that I am culpable in matters you know nothing about, and I’m willing to suffer any fitting consequences when this is all over. But I’m begging you to open your mind.”
The president studied him for a moment, then looked at the ceiling. “God willing, this is over. Whoever’s behind this will be dealt with in a manner expected by both the office and the nation.”
“Of course. But you’re wrong—it’s not over. In some ways it’s just beginning.”
“I’m a reasonable man, David. But you’ve caught me in a down moment. Please don’t patronize me.”
“Down but not dead. That’s the point, isn’t it? Why are you down but not dead? You know the details of the shooting?”
“I was shot. The bullet missed my internal organs. Evidently somebody up there still wants me around.”
“You were shot from a garbage bin at over two thousand yards. There are only a handful of shooters in the world who could accomplish such a feat. Do you know what a bullet’s trajectory looks like after it’s traveled a mile and a half?”
“I didn’t realize you were so interested in shooting.”
“I’ve become interested as of late. I’m sure that the FBI will get around to filling you in on this, but let me put it in layman’s terms. When a bullet leaves a barrel, it’s spinning. That spinning motion eventually forces the bullet to move off its axis and rotate in circles. They call it parabolic rotation.”
David moved his finger through the air like a corkscrew.
“At two thousand yards, the diameter of the bullet’s parabolic rotation is about a foot. There’s no way the shooter can know which part of the rotation the bullet will be in when it strikes a body, only that if it’s perfectly aimed, it will strike somewhere in a twelveinch circle. Did you know this?”
“No. Go on.”
“Since the bullet is moving in a circular pattern, it will enter the body at a slight angle and tear the flesh in that direction. Like a corkscrew. Lateral tear.”
“Okay, so what’s the point?”
“The point is that I’ve seen the images of your wound. The path of the bullet was perfectly straight. It entered and exited your body in a perfectly straight line. And that straight line happened to be through one of the only paths a bullet could travel without causing significant injury.”
“Like I said, a miracle.”
“The lack of damage was intentional, Robert!”
“That’s impossible.”
“Of course it is. Which is why you have to listen to me.”
David had pushed Robert to the edges of his reasoning many times, and he knew the look of a man being stretched. Robert was being stretched.
The president sighed. “I’m listening.”
David stood and walked to the end of the bed, dragging his hand on the bed rail. “You’re alive because the shooter is a man named Johnny Drake. Do you recognize the name?”
“That’s the name of the man you recognized in the footage of Assim Feroz?”
“Yes.”
“Then he’s in custody? You thought he was after Feroz!”
“No, he’s not in custody. And I was wrong about Feroz being the target. In hindsight, I realize I should have known. Samuel didn’t know who would be killed, only that a very powerful man would be assassinated, resulting in Israel’s disarmament and downfall. Either way, this doesn’t change the fact that the killer made an impossible shot. I believe that the only man alive who could do this is named Johnny Drake.”
“This has to do with Project Showdown.”
“Johnny was one of the children in Paradise, yes.”
Robert closed his eyes, brought both hands to his forehead, and swept his hair back, sighing. “David . . .”
“I’m not finished. Please, you know about Project Showdown. You of all people should consider what I’m telling you. Without reservation!”
“I thought the children were all placed in homes with strict confidence so that they couldn’t be tracked.”
“They were, all but a few who were special cases.”
“It’s one thing to believe that dragons once existed. It’s another to actually go hunting for one because someone believes they still exist!”
“You won’t have that problem long, my friend. You’ll believe soon enough. I have a feeling that you’re going to meet more than a dragon before this is over.”
“It is over!”
“Not until you die, if you go after the only man who can save you. Johnny Drake must be allowed to follow the path he is on. No charges, no media leaks, not a word.”
He’d said it. Prematurely, perhaps. Not as part of a carefully constructed argument that had the president eating out of his hand, but there it was.
“I should let the man who tried to kill me walk? Please, David, you’re—”
“You’re alive because Johnny Drake wants you alive. If he wanted you dead, believe me, you would be dead. He’s capable of far more than even he knows. Take him out of the equation, and another man will shoot you. That man will shoot to kill. You will die.”
“This . . .” Robert stalled. “You’re making an assassin out to be some kind of hero.”
“Call him what you like. He’s the only thing standing between you and death.”
“Based on a vision—”
“Based on what I know!”
A knock sounded. One of the guards opened the door. “Is everything okay?”
“Unless you hear a scream, assume I’m fine,” the president said.
The man bowed out.
“Forgive me for raising my voice, but I can’t overemphasize my conviction on this matter. I’ll explain everything when we have more time, but for your sake I’m begging you to do everything in your power to thwart any investigation that leads to Johnny as the shooter.”
Robert closed his eyes again. He wondered if David knew what kind of stress he had just put Robert under.
“What else are you not telling me, David?”
“Only what makes no difference to you.”
“You’re right, you are culpable. What makes you think Johnny has this supposed power?”
“Besides what he just pulled off? Read the report again. We didn’t pick up on it until three years ago, but it makes sense. He has . . . a gift.”
He couldn’t read the president’s reaction to this.
“And what made you so sure he wouldn’t kill me?”
“I thought he was after Feroz, and I wasn’t sure Johnny wouldn’t kill him. As for killing you, it’s not in his nature. Again, read the report and you’ll understand far more than I can convince you of. We are dealing with matters that reside between the head and the heart, Robert. I had faith in Johnny. Enough to put the world on his shoulders.”
“Including my life?”
“Samuel’s vision saved your life. If we hadn’t intervened, you would be dead right now. I would expect some gratitude when this finally sinks in.”
“Intervened? How did you know Johnny was with the X Group?”
David took a deep breath. He bit his lip and answered slowly, with a tremble in his voice.
“Because we put him there.”
The president kept his eyes locked on David for a long moment. “My, my, you have been busy.”
“For your sake. For the sake of Israel.”
“Based on a vision.”
“Based on Project Showdown, which gave me the faith to believe in this vision.”
“And would you happen to know who ordered my assassination?”
“No. The X Group has no political agenda.”
“If you had to guess?”
David hesitated. “Assim Feroz. Impossible to prove. It’s not over, Robert. The X Group will not accept failure.”
“And neither will I.”
“I don’t think you can neutralize them. Certainly not in the time we have. How long did it take to deal with Al Qaeda? From what I understand, the X Group is far more organized.”
“Then what?”
“Keep a heavy guard. Make sure everyone around you is armed to the teeth. And pray that I’m still right about Johnny.”