“Sir, none of our contacts have heard from her after the failed attack on the holding facility,” Ron Bollinger said as he glanced around the mall he was in. He always chose open public spaces when talking to Dick, on the off chance someone detected that communication. The location would never be anywhere near the capital or his home.
“There has to be some sign of her,” Dick said, clearly aggravated. “She couldn’t have simply disappeared.”
“The base north of us recorded the radio contact they picked up when she ordered the pilot to come about and clear the yard. That can only mean some of the potential prisoners the MPs were about to round up were acceptable casualties in order to keep our secrets. But I can’t confirm if she was standing right next to them when the pilot complied.”
“Can you make contact with Marva Brian? I don’t know who this is, and I can’t chance being compromised. She’s called me more than once to talk about Rachel.”
“I’ll take care of it, and I’m hoping the call she made was legit. Losing Rachel isn’t good for morale, and for you personally. You must love her a great deal.”
“Get it done and get back to me,” Dick said, not giving away any feelings, as usual.
“Certainly, sir.” He took a sip of his now luke-warm latte and watched the guy in the bistro across from him read the paper while drinking some kind of juice. The tingle of fear at the base of his spine made him wonder if the guy was covertly watching him, making him hold his breath when the guy looked directly at him and waved. “Shit,” he muttered, forcing himself to keep his seat.
A second later a woman walked by him and waved back. When she stopped in front of the man and kissed him, Ron’s heart seemed to start beating again. “I need a fucking drink,” he said softly as he clutched the phone and did his best to relax. He didn’t want to call attention to himself, and to distract himself, he figured it was time for a new burner phone.
Before he could stand, it rang, and he recognized the personal number of Chase Bonner, Speaker of the House. He considered ignoring it, but Chase could be childish when ignored. “Yes, sir?”
“Where are you? Our follow-up press conference you insisted on is in twenty minutes.” Chase might’ve wanted the ultimate power of the presidency, but he was at times afraid of his own shadow. “I need you here.”
“I’m sorry, sir, but I told you I had to attend to a matter this morning I couldn’t reschedule. Marjorie from my office has everything you need, and if you follow the script, you’ll do fine.”
“If you’re finished, get over here. I’m not counting on Marjorie. I’m counting on you.”
Ron hung up before Chase got any whinier and threw the phone away after removing the SIM card and snapping it in half. That he threw into the next trash can and made his way to the electronic store to replace it. The guy behind the counter was kind of old for the location, but he understood the economy was bad. “Thanks, Pops,” he said as he took his bag and change from the hundred dollars he paid with. Cash guaranteed that no paper trail would lead to him.
“No problem, and thanks for shopping with us.”
He tossed the box with everything else outside and headed for his car. If he hurried, he could make the press conference, but he was in the mood for something else. “Hey, are you free?” he asked, handing over the money for his parking. “Good. I’m on my way.”
* * *
“Did you get that?” the agent in the booth in the parking lot asked.
“Loud and clear,” Jonas answered from the van outside. “Wrap it up and head to the address we identified last week in Georgetown. Our boy is looking to let off some steam.”
“We’re on it, Director.”
The back door of the van opened, and Charles, the agent who’d sold Bollinger his phone, climbed in. “I think the loving couple freaked him out—good call, Boss. If you want, we’ll take it from here.”
“Thanks, Charles, but don’t lose him. We didn’t get anything on that last call, and it was important enough to change his phone after he was done. Make sure the guys get the old phone and do the analysis here,” Jonas said, thinking he’d like nothing better than to pick this guy up and beat the answers out of him. “If he’s setting a trap to check to see if he’s being watched, I don’t want the location services to give us away.”
“We’ll take care of it, and we’ll be in touch if there’s anything else,” Charles said, changing his shirt from the polo the electronics store had issued him. “Don’t worry. We want this as bad as you do, and we won’t cut any corners.”
Jonas nodded and put his finger up when his cell phone rang. “Chapman.”
“Sir, we found something.” He recognized Erin’s voice. She’d been traveling to Baltimore to oversee Rachel Chandler’s interrogation, but she’d continued working the overall case while she was out of the office. “You want to come here, or should I come in?”
“I’ll send a plane,” he said, bracing his feet on the ground when the van started moving. “We’ll meet when you get back.”
“Something important?” Charles asked.
“Might be,” he said before he leaned over and tapped the driver on the shoulder. “Stop at the corner and let me out.”
He hailed a cab and had the driver drop him a block from FBI headquarters “Erin called and found something,” he said softly into the phone.
“Keep us posted unless you want to come here. We’re not far from deploying, so I can’t leave,” Carl Greenwald said.
“I’ll review whatever it is, but we’re closing in on Speaker Bonner’s assistant. We’ve got him under surveillance. That should warrant me reporting in, if nothing else.”
“Get here as soon as Erin touches down then, and if whatever she has is enough, I may drive the paddy wagon myself.”
Jonas changed his mind and retrieved his car, waving off his driver. Hopefully Erin had found the needle in the gigantic haystack of information they had. “If you found the key that lets us through the back door,” he said of Erin as he drove out of the parking lot, “you can have my job.”
* * *
“We have one more briefing before we hit our target site,” Aidan said as she sat with Berkley and Jin for breakfast.
“I am ready to go,” Jin said as she held a cup of tea with two hands.
“Are you afraid of anything?” Aidan asked, and Berkley glanced between them.
Jin didn’t answer right away, and she was about to take the question back when Jin shook her head. “As you know, my family is dead, so that part of my life holds no hope or fear, but Yong—that is something unfinished. Whatever I find when it comes to her is the only thing I truly fear. If it is bad, it is my fault, and I will never be able to make it up to her.”
“Think of it this way,” Berkley said softly, and her soft tone made Jin lean in toward her. “If she’s still alive, there’s hope. All you need to do is accept what happened and help her put the pieces back together. You obviously care about her, and because you do, Yong will eventually be fine. She’s a lucky woman.”
The way Jin stared at Berkley made Aidan’s heart ache for this somewhat broken woman. “I think it is you, Aidan, who are a lucky woman,” Jin said, glancing at her before turning back to Berkley. “Thank you, Berkley. Hopefully you are right, and I will find something I can live for.”
Jin left them alone and Wiley took her place. “You okay, Berk?” Wiley put her plate down and started pouring sugar into her coffee. “You survived that strike, but ejecting out of that thing can’t be pleasant.”
“Unfortunately, it’s become a habit since these guys painted a bull’s-eye on me, but I’ll be ready to go.”
Wiley pointed her fork at her and shook her head. “I’m not worried about that, buddy. We can walk at a snail’s pace, and the outcome will still be the same. I only want to know if we need to.”
“You make me feel better,” Aidan said. “Just make sure she doesn’t wander off.”
“And miss Cletus getting her wings clipped—no way,” Wiley said and laughed. “She’ll be okay, Captain. Once I saw Baylor and the other SEALs, I felt better myself. Whatever’s in this place you’re giving us a ride to must be the mother lode because of the company we’re keeping.”
“We didn’t think so until Jin reported seeing Americans when Chil held her captive, or who she thought were Americans making themselves at home,” Berkley said quietly. “When something’s that out of place, it’s memorable.”
“I’m not an intelligence officer, but for Chandler to succeed, he needs backing from men who love nothing better than to turn our country into a twisted version of their world. Think about it,” Aidan said as she took a bite of Berkley’s toast like she didn’t realize what she was doing. “Turning the US into a more totalitarian government would not only give Chandler power forever, but it’d also change the world.”
“So he blew up his house and ran into the arms of the Kim family?” Wiley asked.
“Or the arms of Putin, or a few others like him I can think of,” Aidan said, shrugging. “Of course, I could be wrong.”
“I doubt it.” Berkley smiled. “You’re not an intelligence officer, but you’re highly intelligent.”
“What she said,” Wiley added, pointing at Berkley again. “All this stuff that’s happened isn’t even a scenario they cover during battle-strategy classes at West Point, and up to now, all I’ve done is read about it in the paper with a sense of disbelief. I was happy in my little cocoon in New Orleans, but you guys have been neck deep in this since it started.”
“We’re sorry to take you away from that,” Aidan said. “You really do have a beautiful family.”
“Thanks,” Wiley said, running her finger along the top of her cup as if she couldn’t sit still. How she managed the stillness of the nest baffled Berkley. “It was a change for sure.”
“You don’t have to tell me,” Berkley said, and Wiley lowered her head. “How did you end up with a kid who looks and acts just like you?”
Wiley laughed, her head still down. “The thrill General Greenwald’s team promised was hard to turn down, and when I made the cut right before graduation, I took the offer without talking it over with Aubrey first.”
“Uh-oh,” Aidan said, and Wiley nodded. “Let’s go to my office to finish this. It’s no one’s business, and I don’t want anyone listening in.”
They walked together, and Berkley was surprised Wiley went so willingly. Talking about herself was never her forte during the years they’d known each other. “I can understand the allure. It’s the same thing with me and jets,” she said when Aidan closed the door.
“I figured a year with Carl and I’d be set, but that turned into a few years of me going out when called and home to Aubrey when I was on leave.” Wiley sounded almost disgusted with herself. “I was at the point then where I’d had enough and was trying to either transfer or muster out and settle in New Orleans with Aubrey. It was that last job, though—it had legs that followed us home. We’d just landed, and I had the phone in my hand to call Aubrey when I watched most of my unit die right in front of me. One guy had just been welcomed by his whole family, and they were all gone just like that. I didn’t want that to happen to me, and my only thought was to keep Aubrey safe.”
“And you left for her sake?” Aidan asked, her voice the very definition of compassion. “God, that must’ve been so hard.”
“I did, and I couldn’t even really tell her why. For years I buried myself in death and missions, trying to forget the pain of walking out I’d caused until I realized I couldn’t erase her from my heart through the Black Dragon.”
“Damn, Wiley, I had no idea. Why didn’t you call me?” Berkley asked.
“I was like a wounded dog who didn’t want comfort from anyone, and if serving was bad, retirement was its own death sentence of loneliness. It stayed that way until Aubrey reached out and said it was past time for me to fulfill my obligations.” She told them where she’d found Aubrey and Tanith, and what she’d done to free them from the trouble they were in. “The danger’s still there, but I couldn’t walk away again without bleeding to death from the pain.”
“I’m glad for that, Wiley. You’ve given enough to deserve every bit of happiness you have now,” Berkley said.
“We’re going to have a baby,” Wiley said, and her face took on an expression of wonder.
“Really?” Berkley stood up and pulled Wiley into a hug. “Congratulations, buddy. What the hell are you doing here then?”
“I’m here to watch over you so you can experience the same things I have now, and also because Aubrey insisted I not turn the assignment down. She said, if ever I was needed, it was this go-round. By telling you, I’m hoping you’ll walk faster once we’re on the ground. I’m not interested in anything but getting home to my girls.”
Aidan laughed and hugged Wiley as well. “Congratulations, and we do want the same things. Aubrey seems like a wonderful and understanding woman.”
“You two are probably a lot alike. I always knew Cletus would pick someone good and that it’d be for life,” Wiley said as she released her. “I’m glad she found you.”
“Wiley Gremillion, sappy?” Berkley asked, slapping her hands together. “Write that down, baby, because I doubt it’ll ever happen again.”
Wiley stared at Aidan before taking her hand. “Are you sure about this one? If you go through with the wedding, put me on speed dial. I have a pellet gun at home that’ll help keep her in line.”
“It’s a deal,” Aidan said before her intercom buzzed. “Yes?”
“Captain, Command is requesting an earlier link. Would you like it in your office?”
“Patch it through.”
Carl, Neil, and Preston appeared on the screen right after that, and they all appeared serious. “Good, you’re all together,” Carl said, skipping his usual greeting. “There have been some new developments.”
“What now?” Aidan asked, almost sorry she had when each man spoke in turn.
* * *
Erin Mosley stood in the White House Situation Room and took a deep breath to settle herself before she started through her presentation. She’d been working on it for the last couple of days and had backup for everything she’d found. At Quantico her instructors had always preached that any case without proof was merely speculation.
“Agent Mosley, whenever you’re ready,” Olivia Michaels said. Erin knew Olivia had postponed the announcement of her vice president because of this meeting, and she wanted to make sure it was worth the wait.
“Thank you, ma’am.” Someone dimmed the lights for her when she put up her first exhibit. “Six months ago, President Khalid asked for and received Army General Homer Lapry’s resignation.”
“Good call on his part,” Carl said. “The man’s an idiot, but that didn’t take away from his arrogance.”
“Yes, sir,” Erin said. “Lapry didn’t agree with the president’s changes to the troops, which were in his purview to make, and by all accounts, Lapry left voluntarily but has complained bitterly ever since about being pushed out.” She moved from Lapry’s official picture to copies of plane tickets and video of Lapry going through customs in South Korea. “Two weeks before the president’s assassination, Lapry traveled to South Korea on vacation.”
“That’s what he listed on his entry documentation?” Drew asked.
“Yes, sir, but he hired a car to take him to a small fishing village on the West Coast, as verified by the agents I had check. He sat in his small hotel room for a day until he hired a charter boat for a fishing trip.” She put up a map of North and South Korea. “After a little over four hours of fishing, the same car service drove him back to the airport in Seoul, and he returned to the United States.”
“What did you find so strange about this trip?” Pentagon Security Chief Rooster asked. “I mean aside from traveling an eternity for basically a four-hour fishing trip.”
“The South’s security forces have brought the charter captain in for questioning, and after hours of interrogation, he admitted his business is merely a taxi service at times.”
“A taxi service for who?” Olivia asked, narrowing her eyes.
“He waits at certain coordinates, and North Korean forces pick up his passengers, with an agreed-upon arrangement to bring them back. It’s a way to bypass any sign you’ve been in the rogue state,” Erin said, and she could see the ramifications of what this meant appear on everyone’s face. “According to the captain, Homer Lapry was one of the people requiring that unique service.”
“What was he doing in North Korea?” Carl asked.
“That I can’t verify yet, but it might be where Chandler is,” she said.
“The charter guy make many of these trips?” Olivia asked, and Erin nodded as Jonas stood up.
“We might’ve connected this to our ongoing investigation in DC,” Jonas said, and more than one person shook their head as if not understanding. “We’ve had Speaker Bonner’s assistant under surveillance for the last week, after one of our agents put together a pattern Ron Bollinger has that raised a red flag,” Jonas said.
“Which is?” Marcus Newton asked. “The CIA could’ve helped with that.” He sounded irritated.
“If there’s a case to be made, we want it done by the book. Your guys can help as we expand our South Korean investigation,” he said, but Marcus still appeared peeved.
“I don’t like being left out of the loop. It’s like you’re trying to hide what you’re doing.”
“Excuse me,” Jonas said with heat.
“Back to the pattern,” Olivia said, sounding like a scolding mother.
“Ron Bollinger sits in a crowded mall, has lengthy conversations in hushed tones, and changes his phone every couple of days. He tosses the old one into a mall trashcan and the SIM card into another one. Yesterday we forced a quicker change, and he’s using a phone we modified.”
“Seriously?” Carl asked. “Can you do that?”
“We got a blind warrant that’ll stand up in any court, which covers us if Bollinger ends up in a regular legal channel. From what we’ve been able to find, some of his most frequent calls are to Homer Lapry and Speaker Bonner.”
“Bonner makes sense, since that’s his boss,” Marcus said in a tone that sounded like he was leaving “fucking idiot” off the end of his statement.
“It does, but it’s also possible that Bollinger is the courier between Chandler and Bonner,” Jonas said, and Olivia appeared shocked. “We’ve investigated the military, security intelligence personnel, but not one elected official.”
“And we should have,” Olivia said.
“Yes, ma’am, and if we can prove that this is accurate, the attempt your former lead agent made on your life makes total sense. If you were out of the way, the next in line at the seat of power would’ve been Chase Bonner,” Erin said. “If he’s really working with Chandler, what better way to pave an easy path to victory for Chandler?”
Olivia chuckled a little and Drew joined her. “Obviously Dick doesn’t know Bonner as well as he thinks he does,” Olivia said.
“What do you mean?” Erin asked, wondering if some big piece of her puzzle was missing.
“It would’ve taken another well-planned assassination to get Bonner to give up the Oval Office if he’d actually been sworn in.” Olivia gazed at her and winked. “You’re a good agent, but I’m familiar with politics and its ravenous power-hungry people.”
“True, but back to Lapry,” Drew said. “How’s he fit into all this?”
“When Captains Sullivan and Levine first uncovered this conspiracy quite by accident, they thought it had worked because only the lower ranks were involved. Captain Levine had used the term worker bees, but recruitment had to have started high enough to make the worker bees not fear serious repercussions if they’d been discovered.”
“Enter General Lapry,” Carl said.
“Precisely.” Erin nodded. “Anyone serving in your command might have feelings about this last election that mirrored Chandler’s, and up to now you’ve had to bear it until the next election. If it was a military general who told them it was their duty to work against the government, you’d probably snag quite a few recruits.”
“That’s true,” Carl said, “but Lapry is a certifiable idiot. He was promoted more from politicking than by merit.”
“It’s the authority of his rank, sir, not so much the man,” Jonas said. “Once he secured a few, they probably found like-minded people to swell their ranks.”
“So now what?” Olivia asked.
“We wait and listen, and once we have the evidence, we’ll remove Chandler’s eyes and ears within the capital. While we wait on that, we’ll continue to work on Rachel Chandler,” Jonas said.
“Any progress there?” Rooster asked.
“She has very colorful language, but none of it is relevant to this case,” Erin said.
“I bet,” Drew said with a smile. “The government’s case against Jeffery is almost done, so maybe it’s time to move Rachel to a more permanent home.”
“Get it done,” Olivia said. “If there’s nothing else, we’re due on the Hill, and you should all know I’ve chosen Drew as my vice president. Once he’s sworn in, he’ll take charge of the day-to-day operations of this investigation. Commander Palmer will replace Drew as defense secretary at the Pentagon, but I’m sure he won’t mind if you still call him Rooster. Congratulations, gentlemen.”
The group gathered stood and clapped, obviously approving of the choices. “As for the rest of you, you’ll remain in your posts since we have a good team in place. You all were loyal to Peter, and I hope you’ll stay on and work with me to finally finish this.”
“We’ll follow you to hell and back, Madam President,” Carl said, saluting at attention. “To hell and back.”