“I think it is indeed time to review your tasking. Both of your taskings, for that matter. Karen, I think Admiral Sherman, wherever he might be at the moment, has problems that are beyond the scope of your initial tasking. I want you to resume your normal duties in Investigations Review.”
Karen’s expression registered protest, and she looked over at Train as if for support. But Train was studying Carpenter.
“Mr. von Rensel,” Carpenter asked, “you remember those things I was going to order you not to do, when we last discussed this matter?.”
“Yes, sir, but-“
Carpenter cut him off. “Right. Execute.” The other thing I told you that I did want you to do remains in effect.”
Train was momentarily baffled. “The other thing.” Then he renyembered.
Keep Karen safe. “Oh, right,” he said.
“Good. I don’t think ‘we need to discuss this matter any further. Karen, you’ve been through a truly harrowing experience. I suggest you take a couple of days’ leave. In fact, I insist on it. You, too, Mr. von Rensel. How about we see you both back here, say Monday? You’ve both been through a lot.”
“What about Admiral Sherman?” Karen protested.
“What do we do if he gets in touch with us?”
“Refer any calls from Admiral Sherman to my office.
Captain Pennington will be instructing the IR yeomen to do the same.”
Then Mccarty was standing up, indicating the meeting was over. The admiral looked at both of them as they stood before his desk. “I’m sure it hasn’t escaped your attention that there are currents in this case moving above your respective pay grades,’ as the saying goes. Above my pay grade, for that matter. You both did well. You two were very lucky yesterday. Now I think it’s time to observe the golden rule about following orders when you don’t understand the reasons behind those orders: You must assume your boss knows something you don’t, okay?
Captain Mccarty will let you know if there are any new developments.
Thank you both. That’s all.”
After the door closed behind Karen and Train, Admiral Carpenter instructed his yeoman to hold all calls. He then went to his computer desk and entered the JAG archive system.
A minute later, the Rung Sat incident investigation report was on the screen. He read through the by-now-familiar findings of fact, opinions, and then the all-important endorsements. The archive files were, by law, read-only files.
He cursed his JAG forebear who’d put that restrictive protocol into the system. Access could be controlled, but content could not be modified.
Well, that would never do, he thought with a sigh. He dispatched the file back to the mainframe over in the Navy Yard across the river, and the screen settled into an undulating helix screen-saver routine.
But then he had an idea. It was a program protocol preventing anyone from altering data. Maybe, with the right kind of help, he could change the protocol, or perhaps inhibit it long enough to make one small change. He thought of the-dour Kensington. Okay, two small changes-if he’s nice to me. And he thought he knew right where he might get some help of that kind.
He picked up his secure phone and autodialed-the DNI’s office. The EA patched him in to the admiral. “‘Yes, Thomas?”
“Subject is the flag officer in difficulty.”
“No, Thomas, I rather think the subject is larger than that. “
Carpenter, surprised, said nothing for a moment. “Okay.
I’ll grant you that. I want to make a deal with those people.”
“Oh, they love deals. What’s yours?”
“They want us out of their sweeper problem, presumably so they’ll have a clear field of fire. I’m ready to accommodate them. But, in return, I want two things. The first is a complication with which I need some technical help.”
“What kind of help, exactly?”
“I need the services of a hacker, a really good hacker.”
It was Mallory’s turn to be silent. “Do I want to know the details of this, um, complication, Thomas?”
“You do not.”
“Didn’t think so. And the second thing?”
“I want their guarantee that nothing bad will happen to my two people, because if something bad does happen, I’ll be forced to tell the whole world. But you can also tell them that, as a measure of my good intentions, I’ve sent the two of them home for a long weekend, with orders to stay there. “
“All right. Back to this complication. It bears on your flag officer’s problem?”
“He’s got new problems. No, this is much more important.
“Very well. I’ll transmit the message.” There was. a pause on the line.
“If I may ask, Thomas, are you sure you know what you’re doing here?”
It was a question made just possible by that minute difference in seniority. Carpenter was not permitted to take offense.
“I sure hope so, Kyle,” he said. “But a lot of it depends on how quickly they solve their problem. And after what this guy did last night, sooner would be a whole lot better than later. You can tell them that if you want to. Don’t forget my conditions.” He hung up the phone and dabbed the sheen of perspiration off his forehead. This could not come out-not now, not ever. It would mean the end of his career, not to mention the field day the press would have with it. Why in the hell hadn’t’those people moved against this Galantz? What were they waiting for? The simplest and therefore the most likely answer that suggested itself didn’t help his disposition: They didn’t know where he was.
Karen and Train walked side by side back to IR, saying nothing. Captain Pennington was not in evidence when they reached the office. Two of the IR lawyers were outlining a case on the whiteboard, and the yeoman was threatening the copy machine with bodily harm as he -tried to unjam the paper tray. Karen automatically went to her cubicle to check voice mail.
The yeoman, seeing Train, gave up on the machine with one last, vengeful kick and then brought Train a computer diskette.
“This came in from NIS this morning,” he said.
Train thanked him and dropped the diskette on his desk.
It had to be the hard copy of the database screen on Jack Sherman. He sat down and checked his own voice mail.
There was one message, from Captain Mccarty: “The admiral thinks it might be a good idea if Karen stays somewhere else than at her home in Great Falls for a while. See what you can do about that.” Train replayed the message and checked the time stamp. The message had been recorded as they had been walking down the hall from the JAG front office, which meant Mccarty had not wanted to say that in front of Karen. As he was clearing it, Karen was walking over with a yellow phone-message memo in her hand. She had a strange look on her face.
“What’s the matter?” he asked.
“I just listened to a message,” she replied. “From Galantz.” Her eyes were a little white around the edges. Train quickly got up, looked around, and then steered Karen into the small IR conference room and closed the door.
“How do you know? What did he say?” he asked.
“It was on voice mail. It was-it was the same voice as on the phone Monday night.”
“Damn. Did you save it?”
“Yes. But that voice, it’s hardly human.”
“So much for voiceprints. What did he say?”
She consulted the message slip. “He spoke my name. He said that I -was lucky last night but that I would have to be lucky every time, and that he had to be lucky only one time.”
The Irish Republican Army, rule, Train thought. Man had a way with words. He took a deep breath and then exhaled.
“Look,” he said, “I’ve got to go ransom Gutter, preferably before the afternoon rush hour. Why don’t you come with me? I can take you home right after that. It’s on the way.”