"The bottles were poisoned? I didn't think this was possible. The virus wouldn't survive suspended in the water for very long. Are you sure this was their plan?" Sanderson questioned.
"I'm not seeing any other conclusion to be drawn. We found the original virus canisters shipped from Europe. They sure as hell did something to the bottles that left this facility. Whatever they're planning for those bottles, I guarantee it won't be random. They've carefully crafted the events leading up to this sudden demand for bottled water. You need to convince the president to shut this whole fucking town down," Daniel said.
"That won't work. First of all, I'm back on the shit list. They won't believe a word I say, especially with Director Shelby whispering in their ears. Secondly, the bottles might already be on the way to their intended targets. Unless someone confesses on-site, the FBI has no way to force this information out of them. This water will disappear into the population as soon as it hits the shelves. Give me specific targets, and I'll try to call the president."
"The president could go on national television and tell the American people not to drink Crystal Source water! How hard can this be?"
"He'll only do that if he believes me. You know how this works. If I call him up right now, rambling about poisoned bottled water linked to a bottled water company, I'm going to have a problem with credibility. Especially when I try to explain how we obtained the information. Anyone that could prove we were working in good faith on behalf of the FBI task force is either dead or unconscious. Right now, we are once again enemies of the state. Get over to the distribution hub and unfuck this situation. Please."
The line went silent for a few moments.
"All right. We'll close up shop around here and try to figure out which hub they're using. Things sound a little tense down there, General," Petrovich said.
"We're leaving the compound. Headed to more populated areas east of here. I'm not taking any chances."
"It wasn't a bad run while it lasted," Daniel said.
"A minor setback. I'm nowhere close to finished," Sanderson said.
"There's no place for someone like you or me in the system they've created. They'll congratulate you with one hand and put a gun to your head with the other."
"Don't lose the faith, Daniel. We're their last line of defense. It's worth the trouble. Can I count on you to see this through to the end?"
"Have I ever disappointed you, General?"
"Just once I wish you'd quit answering my questions with another question. Is that too much to ask?" Sanderson said.
"Yes."
"Enjoying yourself?"
"Not really."
"Get me some targeted information, and I'll make the call."
"We're on it," Daniel said.
Sanderson disconnected the call and walked up a short path to meet with his operations officer. Standing on the covered porch of the headquarters lodge, Parker looked disturbed.
"What's wrong?" Sanderson asked.
"I just lost all satellite connectivity. They're shutting us down," Parker said.
"Can they do that without Argentine cooperation?"
Parker shook his head.
"Shit. What's the impact to our organization?"
"We're temporarily cut off from our EW teams in the States. We'll probably lose our sat-phones next. We need to get out of here immediately and reestablish our entire communications network. We've been transmitting from a fixed position known to the U.S. government for at least a week, which has given them plenty of time to sniff around our system. I've been careful with our data management. All of our U.S. feeds were one way, which is impossible for them to intercept. I scrubbed the return data in case they had somehow managed to piggyback the satellite we were using. Our network hacks are still intact. The team in McLean has full access to FBI headquarters."
"Issue backup SATCOM to each vehicle and clear out. I'll meet up with you in Neuquén," Sanderson said.
"We'll be ready to roll in fifteen minutes. I guess we should be thankful for the cloud cover," Parker said.
"Let's hope it's cloudy all the way to Neuquén. Start working on a plan to take us to the coast. Neuquén's bound to shrink really fast if the Argentine government gets involved. Senior Galenden told me he had to back off this for a while. We're more or less on our own."
"We'll be fine. We have the best team possible on the job up north," Parker assured him.
Sanderson pondered the ex-SEAL's statement. Daniel's sense of duty was confused. He had long ago ceased buying U.S. patriotism wholesale. His dedication to Jessica overshadowed all of his motivations, which was why Sanderson always framed their conversations around what was best for their future together. It wasn't a disingenuous tactic. Daniel could smell his bullshit for miles, so there was no point in trying to psychologically sway him. Framing it for their benefit allowed him to continue conversations that Daniel would normally dismiss.
He thought about Daniel's tone near the end of their most recent phone conversation. Petrovich resorted to humor when he was undecided. He also tended to quickly agree with Sanderson when he had no intention of following instructions. Daniel remained an enigma to this very day, which gave Sanderson no comfort. Unfortunately, there was little he could do to control the situation. If Daniel walked off the mission with Jessica, he still had four extremely capable operatives to continue the mission. He didn't want to think about it. He had enough to worry about on his end.
Daniel walked over to the two men sitting side by side on the laboratory floor. They were both tightly cuffed to a large, stainless steel workstation, using two pairs of metal handcuffs found in Brooks' desk.
"Good news. You're free to go," he said.
Douglass Kemp expressed a look of relief, which was not shared by Michael Brooks, head of security.
"Not really," Daniel added, instantly deflating the man.
Douglass had been quick to identify Brooks' position after a few minutes of impromptu waterboarding on one of the lab tables. He'd been unable to identify the destination of the convoys leaving this site, but he'd professed that the delivery trucks were filled with crates of water processed in the assembly line next door. He'd also confirmed that the trucks were unmarked and had run nonstop since three or four in the afternoon yesterday. They had pressed him about potential targets, but it was evident that he knew little beyond what he had seen firsthand at the site or had learned from his equally uninformed fellow security guards. He had no solid concept of True America's greater plot for the next few weeks, only that he'd go down in the history books as part of the New Recovery.
Daniel told him that he might make medical history. This comment managed to raise Brooks' eyebrows, which gave Daniel some hope that he might not have to resort to cutting them open. Brooks had shown considerable resilience against waterboarding, leaving them with little choice. They didn't have all day to identify and exploit his psychological weaknesses, though Daniel had an idea. If it didn't work, he'd turn this over to Aleem Fayed and Tariq Paracha. Sanderson had assured Daniel that the two of them would produce results.
"Here's where we stand. Douglass has nothing more to tell, and Michael plans to hold out as long as he can. Michael knows he'll eventually tell us everything, but he's clinging to the notion of loyalty and honor. I can appreciate that, but I assure you that these notions will be crushed just as quickly as your testicles. Just one of a hundred painful, non-lethal examples of the misery you'll endure for your masters. The end result is always the same," he said, walking over to Fayed and Paracha.