‘What difference does it make? So the guy knew Simon Ballard a long time ago.’
John Woods threw the file Teddy Adleman had given him on the small coffee table in front of him. He sat back and crossed his legs and then, agitated, uncrossed them and leant forward. He leant back again and said, ‘It’s more than just knowing him, Teddy. Jesus, turns out the guy was doing business with him.’
‘So what? A lot of people probably did business with Ballard back then. Innocently doing business with him. Donald Parker would have had no more idea about Simon Ballard’s fanatical ideology than his neighbor did or the mailman. Parker was a business man and so was Ballard. Let’s be sensible, here. Look at it properly. They were in a couple of the same business and trade organizations, which means at times they went to the same meetings and conferences. If there had been something out of the ordinary, the intelligence services would’ve picked it up at the time. But he’s clean, John. There’s nothing on Parker apart from the fact that the man was unfortunate enough to cross paths unintentionally with Simon Ballard. It doesn’t mean anything.’
Woods face twisted up in rage. ‘How the hell can you say it doesn’t mean anything?’
‘Look, Ballard disappeared in 2001, and no-one knows where he is now. They’ve all but stopped looking for him. Yes, he’s still on the wanted list but that’s just academic, isn’t it? We don’t even know if the guy’s alive… Unless of course you’re not telling me something I should know.’
Woods stared at Teddy. He’d battled with the question of whether he should divulge that Ballard was in fact very much alive. He wanted to tell himself the reason he hadn’t was just a matter of not wanting to compromise Teddy at this moment in time… He wished it was. But he doubted it. He also wanted to tell himself that not picking up the phone to Central Intelligence was just him wanting to make sure the information about Ballard was correct. Again, he wished it was. But the truth? He needed time to work out the right thing to do… Bullshit. Who was he kidding? He knew what the right thing to do was. Tell Central Intelligence. Distance himself from Parker until an investigation, however long that would take, was done. Period. But the right thing to do wasn’t always the right thing to do when there was so much resting on this one man.
‘Look, what if it comes out and blows up in our face?’
‘It’s not going to though, is it? There’s nothing to blow up. It’s not like Parker knows him now. I just don’t understand where this is coming from.’
‘Maybe I should ask him.’
Teddy sounded mystified. ‘Ask him what?’
‘About his association with Ballard.’
Unusually for Teddy, he lost his cool. Slammed down his hands on the table. ‘And risk him backing off? John, listen to me. I don’t know why all of a sudden you wanted to dig around but you can’t even think about asking him about it. The vote isn’t far away. And you know how precarious it gets.’
‘Truth is people don’t back off when they’ve got nothing to hide.’
‘Shall I tell you something, John? You want to know my truth? My truth is, I don’t give a damn if he’s got anything to hide. I say. Let it stay hidden… The gun reforms are coming up. That will change the course of history. The course of the next generation. It’ll save lives. And you’re going to mess it up by dragging up stuff from decades ago.’
Woods said, ‘Try telling that to the people Ballard hurt.’
‘No, John, I won’t because they’re not going to know. This is insane. Come on. I’ve known you a long time. And I’d put the primaries on the fact you’re not telling me everything.’
Woods hesitated. Thought of Cooper. ‘I just have a feeling about Parker.’
‘A feeling. You kidding me? You’re going to lose everything you worked so hard on, everything this administration has worked so hard on, because of a feeling?’
Woods sneered. ‘Funny. I once told somebody just that.’
‘Then maybe you should listen to your own advice.’
‘All I’m saying is it suddenly hit me Donald Parker couldn’t be that perfect. All this couldn’t just be that easy. And look, hey what do you know, I’m right.’
‘No kidding, John. He’s a goddamn businessman, has senators in his pocket and you think he’ll be Snow White.’
‘No, of course not.’
‘No, but he is going to be your fairy godmother. John, he’s all you’ve got for the votes. You listen to me. Leave whatever it is that you think or you know alone. You’re in the here and now. Sometimes you have to lose one thing to get another. Everything’s an exchange, John, everything’s an exchange.’