“My phone is turned off,” she said.
The president gave her an appraising look. “Why did you come all the way out here, Senator? If you don’t mind me saying, you should just get to it. Beating around the bush never gets anywhere.”
“Did you… have a group that reported to you?”
“Lots of groups report to the president,” he said with a smile.
“What about a secret group of operatives?”
The president gave her a shrewd look. “Technically, Delta reports to the president. There’s a chain of command, but—”
“I’m not talking about Delta.”
The president squinted at her. “I’m just a private citizen now. I don’t know anything, Senator.”
“There’s a secret group that’s been working for the president for over fifty years. Jim Kellerman knows. Now I do, too.”
The president’s face was blank. “Do you?”
“Yes. I think this man in Switzerland is part of that group.”
The president’s deep belly laugh echoed against the hardwood floors and stone walls. “You have an imagination, Senator. A secret group of what? Spies? Killers? Washington is full of the biggest gossips on earth. You really think something like that wouldn’t get out?”
Her face flushed. When he said it like that, it made her feel so stupid that she questioned why she had made the trip all the way to Texas.
But, before she could apologize, a chill ran down her back. “Sir? You never said this group doesn’t exist.”
“I’m busy, Senator. The girls will be here this evening, and I want to get this painting completed before they get here. Steve will show you out.” He turned back to his painting, casually dismissing her.
“The people won’t…”
Without turning around, the president asked, “They won’t what?”
“They won’t stand for something like this,” she finished.
He turned to her, and the boyish smile disappeared. “The people want to be safe. You think they want another 9/11? No, ma’am. They don’t want it, and they don’t deserve it. I’m sure the current president is busy keeping our country safe. It’s a helluva job, Senator, and he has my sympathy.”
Huang Lei stared at the old man’s face on the monitor. The man’s skin resembled that of a shriveled prune, and the whites of his eyes were turning yellow from age. Still, the old spy carried himself with the bearing of a man twenty years his junior, and his eyes sparkled with a fierce intelligence. “Mister Chen. A pleasure.”
Chen gave him a flinty stare. “I assume there is no point in tracing this connection.”
Huang Lei bowed his head. “Most correct. This videoconference call is being routed around the world. It would take months to trace.”
“You are a smart man,” Chen said, “like your father. If only you would work with us.”
“I’m afraid I have my own plans.”
“I must say, I am unsure why you requested my help. What can a tired old man such as myself offer you?”
“I require a thing you may be able to deliver.”
“As I said, I am just a tired old man. I don’t—”
“The Lotus Blossom.”
Chen’s face remained blank. “I do not understand.”
“The Lotus Blossom. I require it.”
“I’m afraid such a thing is…”
Huang Lei smiled at the old man. “Only a fool would believe you don’t know of the Lotus Blossom. I am no fool.”
“Even if I knew of such a thing, it would be more than I could provide.” The old man considered him with a thoughtful expression. “May I ask a question?”
“Of course.”
“What would you do with it?”
Huang Lei sighed. “I remember you, Mister Chen. I was a small child, barely more than three or four, but I remember you. I was playing checkers when my father brought you home. Do you remember?”
“That was a long time ago.”
“Yes,” Huang Lei said. “You stopped and patted me on the head. You were amazed that I understood the game of checkers at such a young age. My father was so proud.”
On the other end of the videoconferencing call, Lee Chen stared at the camera for a long moment before his eyes finally drifted away. “I do remember. Because of that, I ask again, what would you do with such a thing?”
“My father said you were the one.”
Chan blinked. “The one?”
“The one who convinced him to flee to China. To continue his research. Is that true?”
“There were some who felt your father couldn’t possibly be serious about defecting,” Chen said. “It seemed too convenient. He was a talented biologist. Your family had been in the United States for two generations. That raised suspicions.”
“But you convinced them, didn’t you? You fought for him, and you changed their minds. It is because of you that we left.”
Chen slowly shook his head. “As I said before, I’m just an old man. If you’ve been blaming me for your father’s death, you are mistaken.”
“My father died of a heart attack, Mister Chen. That wasn’t your fault. It was the fault of your superiors. They didn’t trust him to continue his work.”
“Your father’s work was dangerous,” Chen said slowly. “He envisioned terrible things that couldn’t be justified, not even in war. That is why your father wasn’t allowed to continue his research. It wasn’t a question of trust. It was about his sanity.”
“I’m afraid you misunderstand,” Huang Lei said. “I, more than anyone, realize the potential misuse of my father’s work. I don’t blame you. I don’t even lay blame upon your superiors. It was a difficult situation for everyone. You ask why I want the Lotus Blossom? It is to defeat our enemy without using such terrible weapons as my father hoped to create.”
Chen stared at him for a long moment. “And you think the Lotus Blossom will do that.”
“I believe with the Lotus Blossom, I can finally show the face of our enemy to the world. They are weak. When the world sees them for what they really are, the rot within will grow until they finally collapse.”
Karen Kryzowski glanced at her computer in surprise. She read the message three times before it made sense.
She locked her computer and stood. Clark nodded to her and approached her desk. “What’s up?”
“It’s Campbell.”
“Campbell?”
“Corporal Matthew Campbell,” Karen said.
Clark spun to stare at the entrance to the War Room. “Why is the duty officer messaging you?”
“I have no idea…” Oh, no. Damn it, Dewey. “I’ve got to go.”
Clark watched as she exited through the mantrap. When she made it safely through, she found Corporal Campbell standing behind the thick glass window, glaring at Dewey Green.
Dewey stood at the window. “That glass is bulletproof?” he asked Campbell. “Like, bulletproof or bullet resistant? Hey, do you know what it’s pressure rated for? Does it use a polymer sandwich between layers? The retina reader is a cool touch. It checks for a pulse—”
“Stop,” Karen said, snapping her fingers. “Just stop talking. Right now!”
Dewey turned to her. “Hey, Karen.”
Campbell continued his steely-eyed glare, then nodded at Karen and sat back down in his chair, never taking his eyes from the young man.
“C’mon, Dewey.” She led him through a hallway and up a small flight of stairs, then turned left and stopped at one of the two coffee shops located in the base. “You were banned from this section of the base.”