ERICA IS DUE OVER AT McCormick Place in an hour. But she picks up the hotel’s landline and calls Greg in Sydney, where it’s ten at night.
“Erica, don’t you have a busy day ahead of you?”
“I do, but I need to talk.”
“All ears here.”
She quickly gives him an update on her investigation, the murders so far, Becky’s death, the cameras discovered in her apartment, her suspicions about mind control, and then George Yuan’s pointing out how the ancient text seems to perfectly describe some of the tactics the CIA uses. The words tumble out of her in an urgent rush, and when she’s finished there’s a pause.
“Erica, you’re in deep on this.”
“Do you think I’m off on a wild goose chase?”
“No! I wish you were. Your instincts are sharp, and at this point we’re way beyond instinct. Someone is committing systematic killings. And it’s certainly within the realm of possibility that the CIA would want to control the presidency. It would give it the ability to dictate American foreign policy. Not to mention domestic.”
“Listen, we’ve all seen what the CIA is capable of. It has engineered the overthrow of more than one legitimate government,” Erica says.
“The time Ortiz spent as a hostage is basically unaccounted for,” Greg says. “The CIA could have come in with suitcases of cash and bought control of him from Al-Qaeda. And then brainwashed him. Sounds farfetched at first blush, but look at Nylan Hastings. That seemed beyond the realm of possibility.”
“Exactly. Do you have contacts I could absolutely trust who might be helpful?” Erica asks. “A former CIA agent would probably be best. Or maybe someone who dealt with them over in Iraq?”
“You know, when I was a photographer in the Middle East, I did meet a guy, Anwar Hamade. He’s an Iraqi journalist. Upstanding guy and incredibly knowledgeable. His specialty was covert action, by his own and other governments. He spent a lot of time studying the CIA.”
“Do you have contact information on him?”
“I can find it. Erica, you’ve taken on another biggie.”
“They find me.”
“That’s not true and you know it. Can you handle this?”
“I think I’m past the point of no return.”
“You can’t be too careful.”
“Listen, I’ve got to get over to McCormick Place. Big night tonight.”
There’s a pause. Greg lowers his voice and says, “I wish I were there with you.”
“So do I, Greg.”