60
THE NAVAL OBSERVATORY
Twenty minutes later, they were sitting in the acting president’s dining room.
Foster recounted for Hernandez what he had just told McDermott. Then he set up his laptop on the dining room table, played about fifteen minutes of video, and showed some digital photographs the SEAL team had taken.
“So the video leaked to CNN was fake,” Hernandez said.
“Yes, sir,” Foster confirmed.
“And the Libyan doctor?”
“Probably a Kairos operative.”
“This was all a psyop?” Hernandez clarified. “A diversion?”
“And a good one, too, unfortunately,” Foster said.
“We were set up,” Hernandez said, standing now and pacing the room.
“Yes, sir.”
“Abu Nakba knew we’d sweat his guy at Gitmo,” Hernandez continued. “He expected him to talk—planned for it, in fact.”
“That’s the way I figure it, sir,” Foster agreed. “My guess is he left his satellite phone in the compound—turned on and pinging—so we’d find it. But by that point he was long gone to another safe house, probably in Yemen. They must have had the video of the bombed-out school racked and ready to release, and the plan to attack the warehouse in Aden and grab the three American girls, well in advance.”
Hernandez ran his hands through his hair, seemingly torn between rage and relief. “Tell me we at least got some of his top guys.”
“Too soon to say, sir. The SEAL team brought back every intact body and every body part they could find. They’re running the DNA as we speak. It might take a day or two until we know for sure who we’ve got, but I’ll tell you the moment I know.”
“No one can know we have this until the DNA results are in,” Hernandez insisted. “We can’t say anything publicly that isn’t 100 percent truth. Fact-checked. Bulletproof.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Meanwhile, we’ve got to get into those phones and laptops and see if there’s any salvageable intel on them,” Hernandez continued. “But I hate to involve NSA, much less CIA. The more people who know about this, the faster it’s going to leak. And I want to break this news myself. Understood?”
Foster and McDermott said they did.
“And Stephens can’t know,” Hernandez stressed. “Nor Dell. Not yet. Not until we have all our ducks in a row. But who do we use to get into those devices?”
McDermott spoke up. “Noah Daniels,” he said.
Hernandez stopped pacing.
“Daniels?”
“He’s one of the best tech guys Langley has.”
“I know who he is, but doesn’t he work for Ryker?”
“For a time, yes. Now he works for Hwang and Morris in the new—”
“No, no, I’ve got that, Bill,” Hernandez interrupted. “I’m talking about the optics of having anyone connected to Ryker anywhere near this.”
“I realize that, sir,” McDermott acknowledged. “But the game has just changed. You have conclusive proof that Ryker was right and Stephens was wrong. So it’s not like Ryker’s team can be accused of cooking this thing up. But I’m telling you no one is better qualified to get access to those hard drives and SIM cards, whatever their condition, than Daniels. His skills are second to none, and his reputation is unimpeachable.”
Hernandez raised an eyebrow. “Not exactly the word I’d be using right now.”
“Sorry, sir,” McDermott said. “But—”
“Stop,” the commander in chief said. “You’ve sold me, Bill. But don’t call Daniels. Go find him in person and drive him out to Andrews yourself. Don’t leave his side. Spend the night if you have to. Watch everything he does. And the moment you have anything, come straight back here. And don’t tell anyone else what you’re doing. Got it?”
“Yes, sir, but . . .”
“But what?”
“What about Ryker?”
“What about him?”
“Doesn’t he deserve to know this, sir? That he’s been vindicated?”
“And Jenny Morris, too,” Foster added.
Hernandez nodded. “They do. So who tells them?”
McDermott looked at Foster. “You’re a little too high-profile for that job.”
“Probably right,” the SecDef said. “But you’re going to be at Andrews all night.”
“What about Pete Hwang?” Hernandez asked.
“I thought you didn’t want anyone else read in on this, sir,” McDermott said.
“Don’t tell him the specifics. Just tell Pete the acting president needs him to track down Ryker and get him to the Oval Office ASAP. Tell him it’s a matter of the most urgent national security. Then get your tail over to Daniels’s place, drive him to Andrews, and get cracking on those computers.”
✭
EISENHOWER EXECUTIVE OFFICE BUILDING
It didn’t take McDermott long to find the team.
He knew they were hunkered down in the EEOB, working every possible lead to find the hostages. He also knew he wasn’t exactly welcome in their suite of offices. But he didn’t care. The clock was ticking, and he had his orders.
The conversation was brief. McDermott didn’t exactly apologize, but there would be time for that later. Daniels immediately agreed to go to Andrews. Pete and Jenny immediately began working the phones, hunting down Marcus.
The rest of the team went back to searching for Brighton, Weiss, and Minetti.