Stone Cold (31 page)

CHAPTER 86

R
OGER
S
IMPSON WAS SITTING
at his desk in his office at the Hart Building working when his computer screen went blank. A second later a picture appeared on it.

Simpson gasped. It was the image of Rayfield Solomon materializing across his screen.
How can that be?

Typed letters next appeared on the bottom of the screen. “I hope you recognize your old friend.”

“What the?” Simpson said, looking around. “What the hell is this?”

“What the hell is this?” a voice said, sending Simpson nearly out of his chair. It was coming from the wireless unit Finn had hidden there when he’d broken into the senator’s office.

“Who are you?
Where
are you?” Simpson said fearfully.

“What’s important is that there’s a bomb hidden inside your computer.”

“What!” Simpson exclaimed, half rising from his chair.

“And if you try to leave the room it will detonate.”

Simpson immediately sank back down. “But they swept my office for bombs.”

“Unscrew the back of your computer. There’s a screwdriver in your desk drawer, I checked when I was in here.”

“But I—”

“Do it!”

Hands shaking, Simpson retrieved the screwdriver, undid the back cover and stared at the device Finn had put there.

“It’s designed to use the chemical and electronic components in the CPU to cause a chain reaction and then a big boom. By the way, I can also see everything you’re doing, so if you try to disarm the bomb I’ll blow you up. Understood?”

Simpson slowly nodded.

“Don’t just nod, I want to hear you say it. Do you understand?”

“I understand. For God sakes, I understand.”

“A man will come to your office shortly. You will go with him without resistance. If you try to warn anyone I will detonate the bomb and your whole office disappears. Once out of your office, if you try anything, say anything to anyone to try and get away, your wife is dead. Do you understand that?”

“You have Donna?”

“The former Miss Alabama is doing very well right now. That status could change, depending on your level of cooperation. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Simpson said in a defeated tone.

“Good. Now compose yourself and wait for him to come. I’ll be listening and watching until he does. He’ll explain that he’s taking you to an emergency meeting at Langley to cover a crisis that just came up, one that the chairman of the Intelligence Committee needs to be in on. You will confirm to your staff that this is true. Understood?”

“Yes.”

A few minutes later there was a knock at Simpson’s office door. Shortly after that the pale but composed senator was escorted down the elevator by Stone dressed in a black suit; he was also wearing sunglasses. They got into a car driven by Reuben. As the car pulled away Stone took off his sunglasses and stared at Simpson.

“Hello, Roger, it’s been a long time.”

“Do I know y—?” Simpson’s breath caught in his throat as Stone’s gaze bore into him.

“I guess I haven’t changed as much as I thought,” Stone said. “Actually, I think I did all my aging while working for you and Gray.”

Simpson stammered, “John, please you have to believe me, I had nothing to do with what happened to you or your wife.” He added quickly, “And we took care of Jackie. We loved her very much.”

Stone elbowed the man hard in the ribs. “
My
daughter’s name was
Elizabeth,
not Jackie.”

“Gray gave her to us. He didn’t tell us she was your daughter. He only told me the truth recently.”

“So who did order the hit on me?”

“I have my suspicions,” Simpson said.

“Gray?”

Simpson said slowly, “Could have been. He said you wanted to leave Triple Six. He didn’t like that one bit. That’s the truth.”

“Apparently neither did a lot of people. You ordered the hits on Andropov and Chernenko, didn’t you?”

Simpson almost choked on his own breath. “Who told you that?”

“Did you?”

“That’s in the past. But if I did anything of that magnitude, which I’m not admitting that I did, it would have been duly authorized from the highest possible level.”

“I’m sure you covered your ass. I talked to Max Himmerling before he died.”

A tic started at Simpson’s left temple. “Himmerling?”

“Yeah. I’m assuming Gray had him killed because he knew he’d tell me everything. And Max knew where all the skeletons were buried.”

“What all did he tell you?” Simpson asked nervously.

“Everything I needed to know,” Stone said quietly. “Like it was either you or Gray who ordered the hit on me.”

Simpson could barely speak now. “Are you going to kill me?”

“That depends on you, doesn’t it?” Stone put on his sunglasses and sat back. “
And
how much Carter Gray values your
friendship
? If he doesn’t take the bait, you’re of no value to me.”

“I could well be the next president of this country!” Simpson snapped.

“Like I said, no value to me at all.”

CHAPTER 87

S
IMPSON SPOKE SLOWLY
into the phone. His words had been scripted. If the man had any desire to deviate from that script, Stone was holding a gun against his head to dissuade him.

“They want to meet, Carter,” he said in a strained voice.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Gray said. “
Who
are you talking about?”

“You know who!”

“Well, tell them, whoever they are, that if they’re recording this conversation, I wish them luck in trying to use it against anyone.”

“Carter, dammit, they’ve kidnapped me!”

“I can call 911 if you’d like. Any idea where they might be holding you?”

“They have something you want.”

“Really?”

“They know about David.”

“Again, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“They have the orders I signed, you know the ones.”

“No, I really don’t.”

Simpson said angrily, “You authorized that order, Carter.”

“Again, without possibly knowing what you’re really talking about I can try to make a trade.”

“Me for the boy.”

“No, for the orders.”

“What about me!”

“What about you, Roger?”

“They’ll kill me.”

“I’m very sorry to hear that. But you’ve lived a fairly long and full life. Where do they want to do the exchange?”

“You son of a bitch!”

Stone took the phone. “We’ll call you back with the place and time. And we’ll throw in Simpson for no extra charge. I have no desire to keep him.”

“John, nice to hear your voice. Do you know how difficult you’ve made things for me?”

“It seems to be the only thing I live for anymore.”

“And of course you won’t be lying in wait to ambush me.”

“You’ll have to take your chances, just like I will.”

“And what if I don’t show up?”

“Then the orders for Andropov and Chernenko’s assassinations get sent to five people in D.C., none of whom you’d call a friend. And then we can let the distinguished senator sell you out to save himself. I think he’d make a great witness.”

“After all these years you think anyone will really care?”

“Fine, if you don’t think it matters, why bother coming? We’ll just messenger them out and let the chips fall. Take care, Carter.”

“Wait!”

A few moments of silence passed.

Stone said, “I don’t hear anything.”

“Where did you get these orders? Lesya?”

“You don’t need to know. Roger has seen them. And judging by the paleness of his skin I’d say he thinks it matters a lot.”

“He was always a bit excitable. Not like you and me. All right, John, but if you really want to do a deal, you’ll have to sweeten the pot. I want the original recording you took at Murder Mountain.”

“That’s not negotiable.”

“Oh, but it is. You cost me my career. I want it back. And don’t try to run and make copies. We have technology now that shows that.”

“And if I don’t?”

“I don’t have to tell you the consequences, do I?”

Stone looked at Finn. “All right. I’ll call you back with the time and place. And you have to be there in person or it’s no deal.”

“Then I’d prefer to pick the location.”

“I know, that’s why
I’m
doing it. One more thing. Anything happens to David Finn, you won’t walk away alive.”

“You’re not what you once were, John. I have fifty men as good as you ever were.”

“Make that forty-nine. I ran into one of your
best
about a month ago, an ex–Triple Six turned spy.”

Gray put down the phone and wiped a trickle of sweat from his face.

CHAPTER 88

M
ANDY AND THE REST
of the Finn family were moved to other quarters by Reuben, Caleb and Alex that night, after taking great precautions to make sure they weren’t followed. They also brought Lesya to stay with them. Caleb was left on guard with strict instructions to phone immediately if anything seemed suspicious. Then Reuben and Alex left to help the others with the preparations for the exchange of Simpson and David Finn.

Back at the cellar Stone quickly made it clear that only he and Finn would be directly involved in the exchange.

“Oliver,” Alex said. “You have no idea how many people Gray’s going to be bringing. If you remember Murder Mountain, it was a lot of guys with submachine guns.”

Stone said, “This time we’ll have the advantage.” He looked at Annabelle. “However, we need someone to lead David out. For a number of reasons, you fit the bill. Are you game?”

Alex stepped between them. “Wait a minute. If anyone’s going in there with you, it’s going to be me, not Annabelle.”

“She will only be involved in getting David out of the building. We have a way to do that that doesn’t involve confrontation with Gray and his men.” He looked at Annabelle again. “I know you have a great deal of nerve. But I wouldn’t ask you to do this if I could think of any other way.” He added quietly, “And you have no reason to help me. I certainly abandoned you in your time of need.”

She looked at Stone and then over at Alex. “Well, your handpicked replacement did a pretty good job. So I am game. Where is this all going to go down?”

Finn answered, “The Capitol Visitor Center.”

“It’s not finished yet,” Milton said.

“Which is exactly why we’re using it,” Stone answered.

Finn explained. “The company I work for has been targeting the visitor center for a penetration. We do that under contract to Homeland Security as a way to evaluate the security of a particular facility. We do penetrations on airports, shipping ports, nuclear reactor facilities; highly sensitive and strategic operations like that.”

“But the visitor center isn’t even open, like Milton said,” Reuben added. “Why would Homeland Security want you to test its defenses now?”

“Because that’s exactly what a terrorist might think. Hit it now before it’s fully up and running. But the more important reason is that the visitor center is connected by tunnel to both the Capitol building and to the Library of Congress. Terrorists might use that to attack either of those buildings from below ground. I’ve already done extensive reconnoiters of the visitor center. I have a way to gain access and also a way to get my son out.”

“When is all this going to happen?” Annabelle asked.

“Tomorrow night,” Stone answered.

Alex said, “But that’s the night of the mock terrorist attack on Capitol Hill. We got that notice a while back. The place will be total chaos, Oliver. Ambulances, police, fire trucks, casualties, total bedlam.”

“Chaos always makes it easier to escape,” Stone noted.

“
If
you escape,” Annabelle said. “The two of you are basically going into an unfinished building with limited exits to meet a heavily armed force of government killers led by a guy who sounds about as brilliant and ruthless as they come.”

“You’ve summed it up nicely,” Stone said.

“How do you know Gray won’t just kill Simpson? He might be pretending to agree to do an exchange and then his men will just kill all of you.” They all turned to stare at Milton as he finished speaking. “When you’ve been around Oliver long enough you do tend to get a bit paranoid.”

Stone smiled before answering. “Milton, you’re absolutely right. In fact, I don’t think Gray would have any trouble killing Simpson and then blaming it on us. But I do have something he really wants. And I knew he’d ask for it.”

“The evidence you used to make him resign,” Alex said.

“That’s really the only reason he’s coming. The orders we have only tie Simpson to the assassinations of Andropov and Chernenko.”

“So Gray comes with a lot of firepower and the exchange is made. Once he has what he wants, how are you going to get David and yourselves out of there safely?” Annabelle wanted to know.

“There is a way,” Stone said. “And we’re going to need help from all of you to do it.”

CHAPTER 89

F
INN
’
S RED CELL TEAM
had prepped a tractor-trailer rig for use on its planned penetration of the visitor center. Those plans had been put on the back burner due to the incident involving Sam. Yet the truck was ready to go and when Finn told Stone about the rig’s capabilities, the ex–Triple Six had bluntly replied, “Go get it.”

And Finn had, with very little trouble actually since he had the keys to the tractor and access to the secure storage facility where it was housed.

He was now driving the rig through the middle of the capital. As he pulled into the entrance to the visitor center he could see preparations for the mock terrorist attack unfolding all around him.

He brought his truck to a stop in the loading dock alley and hopped out. He wore the requisite uniform and had the proper ID, and shipping orders all phony but good enough to fool a very bored government gunslinger. He showed the manifest to the guard and then popped the back door of the truck. The guard inspected the cargo, even pulling the tops off some of the boxes and peering in before closing them back up.

Finn had arrived here at half past six because he knew the construction workers were scheduled to go off duty promptly at six because of the mock terrorist attack. The next shift came on the following morning. The exchange with Gray would be set for midnight as soon as the call was made two hours from now by Stone. This would give them an opportunity to put their exit plan in place and give Gray very little time to make his own preparations.

Down the street Milton was sitting in a parked car with a cell phone in hand. He was the failsafe. If everything seemed to be going to hell, he was to call the police, the FBI, the fire department and anyone else they could think of. Since they would all be in close proximity, their response time should be very fast, although it still might not be fast enough. Caleb was back at the hiding place keeping watch over Lesya and the rest of the Finn family. Reuben and Alex were nearby, waiting for word from Stone.

“This is going to take some time,” Finn told the guard. “I not only have to offload the equipment, but I have to unpack it too. And my helper called in sick.”

“How long is long?” the guard asked.

“Probably after midnight before it’s all done.”

“You better get to it, then,” the guard said, walking away without bothering to offer to help.

Finn used a power-driven hand truck to offload the boxes of HVAC equipment and take it inside the visitor center. Four of the cargo boxes had compartments cleverly concealed in the bottom. Out from one box popped Stone, and from another, Annabelle. From another box they pulled a gagged and bound Simpson. From the fourth box Stone and Finn retrieved their weapons, including sniper rifles that Stone had used when he worked as a Triple Six. Finn looked at them doubtfully.

“They still work just fine,” Stone assured him. “Despite their, uh, vintage.”

“No night-vision equipment?”

“No.”

“Gray’s men will have them, state of the art,” Finn said slowly.

“I’m actually counting on that.”

“And body armor, latest generation.”

“I always aim for the head.”

They put the bound Simpson behind a crate of ceiling tiles and Finn showed Stone and Annabelle the interior rooms, most of which were unfinished.

Stone stopped at one room and looked up. “Balcony?”

Finn nodded. “This is the Great Hall. It looks down on the main visitors’ area. There’s also the atrium, the congressional auditorium, exhibition gallery, theaters and dining area.”

“I like this room,” Stone said firmly as he stared at the waist-high concrete wall along the balcony. “High ground is always good ground. Now show me where the closest power supply is.”

After that was done, Finn led them through a series of doors that ended in a long hall that was closed off. “That’s the underground corridor leading to the Capitol. It’s totally blocked off for now.”

“So how do I get David out of here?” Annabelle asked.

Finn nodded and pointed overhead. “The ventilation ducts. That was going to be the focal point of our penetration. That duct there will carry you directly into the Capitol. I’ve drawn up a map.” He handed it to her and went over various points, including how the duct ended in a small storage room.

“You only have to walk down a short hall and there’s an exit door there. It’s not guarded and you can open it from the inside. I had an associate go through it when we made an initial penetration. It was a tight fit for him, but he was bigger than you and David. You two should have no problem; you’re both very lean.”

Stone looked at Annabelle. “That’s why you fit the bill. There’s no way Reuben or Alex could have fit in there. Caleb and Milton are small enough, but—”

“I know,” Annabelle said. “If we run into any problems I can try and talk my way out.”

“Alex and Reuben will be stationed near the exit you’ll be using. If need be, Alex can use his Secret Service credentials to get you past any security checkpoints.”

“So where do you want me to be, Oliver?” Annabelle said.

“Right here next to the entrance to the ductwork. We’ll bring David to you.”

She looked at the tall and broad-shouldered Finn and Stone. “But I don’t understand. Harry and you obviously can’t fit in the ductwork, so how are you two going to get out?”

“Let us worry about that, Annabelle,” Stone said.