WALTER OFFERED TO GIVE MAGGIE A RIDE back to the office. I was sure they had a few things to discuss outside my presence, and I wanted to walk back so I could clear my head. I reminded myself to be more alert, hoping Hans and his gun wouldn’t try to waylay me again. I wasn’t at all sure Lisa and Martin could pull off what I wanted, but I needed the chance to ask.
Brian was waiting in my office. I knew the office had been bugged, so I chose my words carefully. Brian was bright; I counted on his ability to see through my ruse. One slip and we might alert the enemy.
“While I’m in New Orleans, please schedule meetings with David, Jordyn Duarte, David’s girlfriend Rita, William Stanford and another person who might come as a surprise. Call Duke and tell him I’ve had a change of heart. I want to meet with both him and Gloria to see how we can work together. The order of the meetings doesn’t matter, but the sooner the better after I return from New Orleans.”
Brian’s eyebrows lifted when I mentioned meeting with Duke, but he didn’t question my reasoning. If Hans was listening, he wouldn’t be happy at the possibility of my working with Duke. Neither Duke nor Gloria posed any threat to their scheme, but Duke was a wild card they hadn’t foreseen. I hoped they would turn their attention to Duke for at least a little while. I needed some breathing space to put my evolving plan into motion.
Brian passed me a scribbled note. “Are the bad guys listening?”
I wrote, “I hope so,” and handed it back to him.
My response brought another eyebrow raise, but no questions.
It was time to meet with Lisa, Martin, and Mike. Lisa drove us to a location she assured me was safe from any form of electronic eavesdropping. Martin was to meet us there. She drove over the Roosevelt Bridge into Virginia and took the exit to Falls Church. We circled a block of office buildings a couple of times before entering an underground parking garage. She parked quickly and led us into an elevator. I watched her push the button marked P6.
We exited to a reception desk where a very unfriendly guy demanded our photo IDs. After running our names through some database, he escorted us to a room with no windows. The room was empty except for a small conference table, chairs, and Martin, who was sipping on a bottle of water.
“Welcome to Langley Annex, Jack. We’re six stories underground, and the room is lined with lead, just like the Skiffs at DOJ and State. If your opponents can listen through these walls, then God save us all. Now why the need for such secrecy, and why did you fire these two?”
Martin wasn’t one to mince words. Without pointing a finger at Big Mike, I told them I had received credible threats on the lives of Maggie, Beth, and my client, not to mention myself.
“No criticism of Mike or Lisa, but these guys have been able to breach any form of security we’ve placed in their way. I can’t give you any details yet, but my best form of protection is to appear to have none. At the same time, Maggie needs extra protection, and my client’s girlfriend needs round-the-clock protection.”
“What about you?” Martin asked.
“Unless you can be invisible, I’ll have to take my chances. Brian is a former Ranger and has helped with security in the past. I’ll be with Clovis tonight. I must appear to be unafraid, even confident. The truth is I’m scared shitless.”
“Walter has already called,” he replied. “He didn’t say why, but he was most insistent about Maggie. Do you mind stepping outside for just a minute? Otis has hot coffee ready for you both. He’s not as gruff as you might think.”
Otis proved to know more about the Washington Nationals than a DC sportswriter, but it wasn’t long before Martin opened the door and said, “Come on in, Jack.”
He closed the door carefully. “Mike will be in charge of Ruple’s girlfriend, unless that interferes with your plans.”
I thought a minute.
“No, it shouldn’t. Hans would expect me to protect her, and he knows he can’t use her to get to me. But, Mike—I have yet to meet her. What if she objects?”
“Leave that to me,” he replied with a smile. “She’ll be fine.”
Martin continued, “And Lisa will continue to provide your protection.”
I objected. “No, no, a thousand times, no. I need our opponents to think I have no protection.”
“Unless I have to act, they’ll never even know I’m there,” she said.
“Sure. An attractive blonde carrying a big gun is going to be invisible.”
She smiled. “Thanks for the compliment, but I’ll bet you two tickets to a Commanders’ game that you’ll never know I’m even close, much less spot me.”
“Better yet. You pull this off, and you and Mike will be my guest in the owner’s box when the Lobos play the Commanders.”
“You’re on.” Her smile exuded confidence.