“Of course,” Paul said. “But any competent CPA can do that kind of work.”
Rhodes pointed at Jack. “Jack, if you sign on, your assignment would be more qualitative in nature. I’d want you to look around, size up the people you meet there, the working conditions, the general feel of the place — even the city. Is it the kind of work environment you’d want to be in? Are the people happy, productive? What’s Dalfan’s quality control like? Their security? And I’d want you to take some time to confer with Paul. If he pulled up a questionable file or two, I’d hope you’d burn some shoe leather and check things out, kick the tires. Do you catch my drift?”
“I think so.”
“They’ll put on their very best dog-and-pony show,” Hendley said. “That’s to be expected. Just keep your eyes and ears open and try to see what’s behind the curtain.”
Rhodes added, “I need you both to keep a very low profile while you’re over there. If word of what you’re doing gets out, it could affect the deal.”
Jack and Paul nodded their agreement.
“Questions?” Rhodes asked.
“What was the third condition for the job?” Jack asked.
“Oh, yes, I almost forgot. You would need to leave for Singapore tonight. We’re up against the clock and it’s a twenty-one-hour flight.”
Paul Brown’s eyes got wide as dinner plates. Jack frowned.
Rhodes saw that he hadn’t sealed the deal yet. He turned to Hendley. “Gerry, do you mind if I have a private word with Paul here in your office?”
“No, not at all. I want to grab a cup of coffee, anyway, and catch up with Jack about another matter. Will thirty minutes do?”
“That should be fine.”
“Call me if you need more,” Hendley said. The four men stood. “C’mon, Jack. They’ve got prune Danish in the cafeteria this morning.”
Jack sighed quietly and followed him out the door.
Gerry Hendley was about to serve him a steaming pile of something, and it sure as hell wasn’t going to be prune Danish.
11
Hendley poured himself a coffee, but the prune Danishes were already gone, so he grudgingly reached for a blueberry muffin. Jack snagged a granola bar and a bag of Jocko White Tea, his new favorite caffeinated beverage. Hendley led him to a table in the far corner, away from the other patrons. Free breakfast and lunch was one of the perks of working at Hendley Associates. So were eighty-hour weeks. It was a competitive industry and there was always a market open somewhere around the globe. Eating in meant less time away from the building. Adding a cafeteria had been a costly but necessary expense for the firm.
“Ding and John gave me a detailed brief of the rescue mission yesterday,” Hendley said. “You and the team did excellent work. I never got the chance to tell you that in person.”
“John told us to take some time off. I was sound asleep when you called this morning.”
Hendley flashed a conspiratorial grin. “Late night, eh?”
“Started a new Churchill biography I just bought, and binge-watched the whole first season of Stranger Things.”
“Such a misspent youth,” Hendley joked. “But seriously, you doing okay? That was a hairy op you all pulled off.”
“Yeah, fine. Still processing a few things. Looking forward to the next one.”
“That rescue mission was kind of a fluke. I feel badly about it, to tell you the truth. Things could’ve gone sideways.”
“It was lucky we were training for exactly that kind of mission. It paid off.”
“I know. But if you guys hadn’t already been in the area you wouldn’t have received the call. John and I talked about it yesterday. We’re going to try and avoid that kind of thing in the future. Too many variables and too many unknowns on a mission thrown together like that.”
“If we hadn’t gone in, the rest of the hostages would’ve been killed. It was worth the risk.”
“Now that we know the outcome, I agree. But we could have lost both your team and the hostages, given the circumstances. If anything had happened to you or any of the others, I just don’t know what I would have told your father.”
“You would have told him we did our best. That’s all he’d want to hear.”
“You’re right about that.” But Hendley’s mood suddenly darkened. He still hadn’t gotten over the deaths of Brian Caruso, Dom’s brother, or Sam Driscoll. The Campus lost two good men when they lost the two of them in the last few years. The business they were in was risky, no question, and all of the members of The Campus were willing to take that risk on behalf of the country. But Hendley felt the responsibility to make sure that every effort was taken to mitigate those risks as much as possible. Advanced planning and intelligence were key in that effort, but the rescue mission had largely forsaken both because of the time factor.
“Tell me about this thing with Rhodes. What’s really going on?” Jack asked.
“You know as much as I do. He called me late last night and made his pitch. He and I go back a long way. It sounds like an easy gig for the two of you, and you’re going to love Singapore.”
“It’s just that I haven’t done any white-side work for a while.”
“All the more reason I want you to take this job. Your analytical work for Hendley Associates provides you with fantastic cover and you need to keep those skills up.”
“I like The Campus work better.”
“I bet you do. Firing a machine gun must be a little more exciting than reading 10-K reports or all of those other SEC filings. But remember, son, the analytical work is still part of your job description.” He took another sip of coffee.
Jack frowned. It wasn’t like Gerry to pull rank. “What’s this really all about?”
“I’m sorry?”
“I get the feeling you want me in Singapore for some reason you’re not telling me about.”
Jack wondered if he was being reassigned permanently. It had all been laughed off by now, but last year Gerry was none too happy about getting machine-gunned by Jack with Simunitions belowdecks on a yacht anchored off Carpenter Point. Jack had pulled the trigger too quickly on that mission. On the North Sea rig, he hadn’t pulled it soon enough.
Hendley sat upright. “Frankly, you’re one of my best analysts and I really need you to do this assignment for Rhodes. It’s that simple. You know him as well as I do. He isn’t just connected to Marin Aerospace. He has ties all over town. If we do a good turn for him on such short notice he won’t forget, and that will lead to a lot more work, boring as it can sometimes be. But it’s that boring work that keeps The Campus fully funded and operational.”
Jack examined Gerry’s determined eyes. He was a friend and a mentor even more than he was a boss. He could read between the lines. “And?”
Hendley held Jack’s gaze for a moment, then his face broke into a smile. “Well, there is one more thing.”
Jack smiled, too, trying not to gloat. It wasn’t often anybody called Gerry Hendley’s bluff. “Yes?”
The former senator laid a fatherly hand on Jack’s muscled forearm. “I just like the idea of you being in Singapore. It’s probably the safest city in the world — certainly the cleanest. This will be like a paid vacation. Give you a chance to rest up, see a part of the world you haven’t seen before.”
“I knew it. You’re worried about me.”
“Worried? Why would I be worried?”
“Did Ding say something to you?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact. He said you did a good job on that rig, and that anybody could’ve made the mistake you did.”
“And that’s all?”
“Anything else you think I should know?”