Betrayal (13 page)

“You worried about who will fix the sink?” Alex tried to lighten the teacher’s mood.

“It’s not funny, Alex.” Cassidy’s mood was darkening.

“Hey, I’m good at what I do. I promise. Trust me,” Alex said.

“It’s not you I don’t trust,” Cassidy admitted.

“What did I just tell you?” Alex reminded the teacher. “You trust me?” Cassidy nodded. “Then trust me when I tell you the biggest lion’s den you will see me enter will be next weekend in Massachusetts.” Cassidy shook her head and closed her eyes again. “Maybe I should take you upstairs. You look tired, Cass.”

“No.” Cassidy snuggled against the agent. “Let’s just stay here for now.” Alex smiled her silent understanding. “Alex, what did Ambassador Matthews say to you in Russian?”

“He said you were more charming and beautiful in person,” Alex explained. “As usual, he was right.”

“Je t’aime,” Cassidy whispered.

“J’espère que tu te sentiras de cette façon quand je ne pourrai pas faire fonctionner l’évier
(I hope you feel that way when I can’t fix the sink).” Cassidy had drifted off into sleep and Alex smiled as she tenderly tucked the woman’s long blonde hair behind her ears. Her conversation with the Russian Ambassador was invading her thoughts. Something did not feel right. She had been in
and around the intelligence community long enough to know a few important things. It is not easy to assassinate a president. In fact, it is nearly impossible. Random acts of violence were seldom random at all and there were powerful interests involved in the smallest political decisions. Cassidy had a right to be concerned. Alex knew it. She had a family now. It was ironic that suddenly, as she approached what she suspected would be the most dangerous investigation of her career, she had other people to consider. The agent had two burning needs and they stood at desperate odds with one another; to understand what John Merrow was telling her, how it connected to Carl Fisher and Christopher O’Brien, and to build a life with the woman in her arms. Alex kissed Cassidy’s forehead.
“Je vais garder notre famille en toute sécurité, Cassidy. Je te le promets
(I will keep our family safe, Cassidy. I promise),” she whispered.

“I know you will,” a voice mumbled. “Just remember you are part of that family,” Cassidy said softly.

“I will.”

hat are you thinking, Strickland?” Admiral Brackett bellowed.

The new president sat behind his large picturesque desk and calmly smiled. Lawrence Strickland was the consummate politician. He had made his life and his career a success by consistently developing his ability to read people and he was practiced in the art of remaining cool under scrutiny. In President Strickland’s world he was no elected official, no appointed commander, no entrusted leader; he was king. This was his dominion and everyone was now his subject. Not even the stately presence of Admiral William Brackett could intimidate him. He had waited a lifetime to sit on this throne and he intended to make that known. Deliberately but casually he leaned back in his chair and sighed. “Admiral, you were a naval commander for many years.” The admiral watched the shorter man as he continued, still leaning comfortably back in his chair. “How many captains on a ship, Admiral?”

“One.”

“Yes, I know. This is my ship. You may be a chief; you are not Captain here,” Strickland said.

If the new president had hoped his show of outright cockiness would somehow rattle William Brackett, he had been drastically mistaken in his assessment of the larger man. Admiral Brackett had spent his life in this arena, nearly all of it. He had counseled many presidents. He had orchestrated wars. The admiral shook his head at the arrogance of the president. He
walked slowly toward the desk and leaned over it. His eyes narrowed into tiny pinholes as he regarded the man in the chair. “To steer a ship successfully one must know what waters he is navigating. A good captain has studied the history of the waters he traverses. He looks below the surface in order to predict what perils may befall him. He follows as much as he leads and his goal is to arrive safely at his destination; whatever destination has been prescribed to him.” He leaned in closer and his gaze narrowed further. “An arrogant captain will sink his own ship, Lawrence. He fails to understand that he does not control what lies beneath the surface. A captain is only a navigator.” The admiral stepped away and turned his back to the president.

President Strickland sat back up in his chair and surveyed the movement of the man across his desk. Admiral Brackett was as poised as any man he had ever seen. While the president understood the veiled warning; he was not certain where the admiral was heading now. Brackett kept his back to Lawrence Strickland in a show of disgust for the president’s ignorant assertions regarding power and authority. “So you are sending Christopher O’Brien to meet with Edmond Callier? Interesting choice. A young, imprudent, smug politician to meet with an experienced, connected and cautious ally. What do you hope to gain?”

“It will deter Toles. It will deter Taylor,” an assured answer came from behind the desk.

The admiral let out an uncustomary animated guffaw. “It will deter them from what? Investigating?” The admiral shook his head and paced the floor. “Toles and Taylor
are
captains, Strickland. In fact, they are practiced captains. They excel in studying what lies beneath the surface. You are leading them to follow O’Brien and in the process leading them straight to Edmond and France.”

“There is nothing of consequence for them to find, Admiral. O’Brien will be in Paris. The exchange will occur in Corsica as planned. It will peak their interest in his dealings, remove
their focus from his accident and the assassination, at least for a time. It’s simply a diversion. The money will still follow its route through Prince Abadi.”

“You idiot. I know all of that. I planned it. You think this is about a simple trade of weapons through the Saudis? One deal?”

“Of course not,” Strickland answered. “O’Brien can be an asset, William. He can also be the focus as we move ahead. He’s a pawn to move across the board. Let him take the fall, even if Krause falls with him.”

Brackett turned and stood straight. “1985.”

“Excuse me?” the president responded.

“You are opening a much bigger can of worms than you realize, Larry. Much bigger. You forget how those TOW missiles made their way into Iran. You think there was one player? Two? Five? You think it ended there? Started there? Who do you think Edmond Callier is? How do you think money made its way to Nicaragua? Where do you think these insurgents learned their tactics?” The admiral took a few steps forward. “You leave me no choice.”

“No choice in what?” the president asked.

“You’ve sent O’Brien to Paris. You will send him to Corsica.”

“Why on earth would you want the congressman involved in the…”

“Do it. I will take care of the rest. Do not speak to Callier….”

“You presume,” the president began, his anger rising quickly. “I do not answer to you. You forget who the Commander in Chief is,” he asserted.

“You,” the admiral admonished, “have no idea what a Commander in Chief does. You sit when I tell you to sit and you stand how I tell you to stand; that is if you hope to occupy that chair for any length of time.”

“Are you threatening me?” Strickland rose to his feet. “Your hands are tied. You’ve already killed a popular president; martyred him.”

“There are many ways to sink a ship, Mr. President. John Merrow was worth his martyrdom. Your fate will not be so glorious. Sit. Now. Make the move.”

“Alex, how are you doing?” Michael Taylor asked.

“I’m okay, Taylor. Ready to go home. Any news from the bureau?”

“On your reinstatement you mean?” Alex nodded. “No, not yet, but that never stopped us before.” Alex laughed. There was a great deal of truth in her friend’s statement. Intelligence work was always officially unofficial. “I’ve been thinking about what John said to you, about following Brackett,” he said.

“Yeah, I still wonder what she is looking for at the bureau. Most of my cases have not been politically…”

“Well, she might give us some hints but I don’t think that’s what he meant,” Taylor suggested as the two friends walked along the National Mall.

Alex looked straight ahead, keeping her pace steady. “What are you thinking?”

“I think he meant the admiral, Alex.”

Alex pinched the bridge of her nose instinctively. “Still involved, you think?” She turned to see Taylor’s eyes widen and his head tip to the side. “I agree,” Alex offered. “But Claire is still the best trail. Maybe this isn’t the time for me to move back…”

“No,” he said flatly. “You are too compromised to be able to follow her trail at the FBI. But, I think we have an answer.”

“What’s that?” she asked as they moved closer to their destination.

“Fallon.”

Alex stopped dead in her tracks and turned to Taylor. She knew Brian Fallon wanted in on the investigation and she had
even considered bringing him in. That was until John Merrow was shot. This was no place for a man whose family meant everything to him. “No,” was all she said.

“Not your choice, Alex,” he reminded her.

“Taylor, no.”

“Alex, it’s done. He’s in. He understands.”

“Jesus Christ, Michael. Fallon has three kids. What the hell are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking he is a good agent. He’s smart and he has an unassuming presence. He is exactly who we need.” Taylor watched Alex as she pressed her tongue against her cheek in frustration and her right thumb firmly into her temple. “He’s not going to let it go. Safer if he is in than if he is out on his own,” Taylor surmised.

“I don’t like it.”

“I know. Listen, Agent Brackett...Guess who she was cuddling up to last week?” Taylor smirked a bit. “Our favorite congressman,” he deadpanned.

“Brackett and O’Brien?” Taylor nodded. “Are you serious?”

“Never been more serious. Someone is scared, Alex.”

“Why do you say that?”

Taylor motioned ahead for them to continue walking. “O’Brien booked a ticket to Paris for Monday.” Alex stopped again. “Yeah, interesting. I agree. Particularly when you consider Brady’s information that Krause was in Paris just a week ago.”