"I apologize for any problems I may have caused you," Wigland said. He sounded like he was strangling on something as he said it.
"Accepted," Nick said.
"One of my men will drive you back to your hotel."
"That would be appreciated."
As they headed back through the city, they could see a thick column of black smoke rising into the air where the bomb had exploded. A convoy of fire trucks and ambulances roared by. But there were no trucks full of soldiers, no police in riot gear.
"We were lucky," Selena said.
"Yeah." Nick looked out the window at the smoke. "Not so lucky for whoever was there when that bomb went off."
"Can you imagine what would have happened if that thing had gone off in there?" she said. "All those people."
"It didn't, that's what counts."
"They'll try again," Ronnie said.
Nick tugged on his ear. "That's a safe bet."
CHAPTER 31
The call from the White House caught Elizabeth by surprise.
"I've been summoned to the White House," she said to Stephanie. "Edmonds has something on his mind."
"What do you think he wants?"
"I have no idea, but I doubt that it's good news. The man has never liked me."
"I wonder if it has anything to do with Alaska?" Stephanie said.
"Only one way to find out."
An hour later Elizabeth was at the White House. A Secret Service agent escorted her to the Vice President's office. Edmonds was behind his desk, reading something. He didn't bother standing when she came into the room.
"Mister Vice President," she said.
"Take a seat, Director." Edmonds didn't look at her. He gestured at a chair in front of the desk.
She sat down and noticed that the chair seemed slightly lower than normal. It had the effect of putting anyone who sat in it lower than the desk. Already a small woman, Elizabeth was forced to look up toward Edmonds behind his desk.
So it's going to be like that, is it? Elizabeth thought. She controlled her anger. What a cheap trick. That son of a bitch put this chair here on purpose.
Edmonds continued reading for another minute. He set the document down and looked at her for the first time.
"I'll get right to the point, Harker. It's come to my attention that you have been interfering in a classified military operation code-named Ajax."
Elizabeth's expression revealed nothing. Without meaning to, Edmonds had told her something she hadn't known. Now that she had the name of the program, she'd be able to find out everything about it. She would get Stephanie on it as soon as she got back to Virginia.
"I'm not sure that I follow you, sir," Elizabeth said.
"Oh, I think you do. The President has seen fit to overlook your indiscretions in the past. This meeting is to clear up any misconceptions you may have about the way I view your unit and your methods of operation."
"I'm sure your observations will be helpful, sir."
"Are you trying to be funny, Director?"
"Of course not, sir." Asshole.
"Your meddling may have seriously compromised our security. I cannot allow you to continue. The undisciplined way in which you and your team approach issues affecting our nation's well being is unacceptable. As of this moment, you will immediately cease any activity associated with Ajax. I'm putting a hold on your unrestricted security clearance pending review."
"With all due respect, Mister Vice President, only President Rice has the authority to do that."
"Well, Harker, President Rice isn't here right now. You're on notice. Any more interference and there will be serious consequences."
Elizabeth wanted to throw something at him.
"That's all," Edmonds said. "You know the way out."
Sometimes when she felt stressed or angry, Elizabeth would remember something her father had said. A memory surfaced now.
Judge Harker had been sitting in his favorite green chair, a glass of aged Kentucky bourbon in his hand. A crackling fire balanced the cold of a Colorado winter outside the windows of his den. Elizabeth had been 20 years old, home on a winter break from college. They'd been talking about the cultural gender gap.
"There will always be men who don't respect women," her father had said. "You can't change them, but you don't have to put up with it. Sometimes you can walk away. Sometimes you have to demand respect."
Looking at this pompous man sitting across from her, Elizabeth knew she should keep quiet, but this was one of those times when her personal sense of integrity demanded more than walking away. She stood.
"Mister Vice President, you have no conception of what my unit does or how it acts to safeguard our nation's security. I find your implications insulting. I don't know who has been feeding you misinformation, but I'll find out. When I do, I will take whatever steps I feel are necessary to protect the national interest. In the meantime, I will continue to act with the authority of the President."
Edmonds pursed his lips and frowned. He looked as if he had eaten something unpleasant. Elizabeth looked down at the chair she'd been sitting in and back up at Edmonds.
"By the way," she said, "you might want to get a carpenter in here to fix this chair."
She turned her back on him and walked away.
CHAPTER 32
Stephanie's fingers sped over her keyboard, entering commands. She was hacking into the main server at the Pentagon. Elizabeth had come back from the White House, told her what Edmonds had said and set her on a search for anything about Ajax.
Stephanie entered a final command and the screen cleared. She was in, with full access to the Pentagon's servers.
The SATWEP substation in Alaska was a military asset. Stephanie decided to start there. Once she had isolated the proper location, the first thing she found was a damage report on the aftermath of the team's action. There was nothing in the report about any kind of unusual equipment or installation, much less a planned attack on Riyadh. The raid was being treated by the Pentagon as a domestic terrorist attack by an unknown group, possibly carried out by eco-terrorists.
Stephanie entered a new search using Ajax as a keyword, along with the facility location. A warning screen appeared with the seal of the Pentagon and a security level Steph had never encountered before. It requested a password.
Interesting, she thought. What's this? She activated a program she'd written to unravel encrypted and password-protected files. A progress bar appeared on the screen and began to fill with a solid blue stripe. She sat back in her chair and waited.
As she waited, Steph thought about Lucas. A few years ago, she never would have dreamed that she would be in a relationship with a rising star in the CIA. Langley and the Project had often been at odds in the past, although now that Clarence Hood was director things were good between the two organizations. Sometimes she felt uncomfortable with Lucas and she knew he felt the same. There were things they simply could not tell each other.
Elizabeth had been wonderful. She'd never given so much as a hint that she thought the cross agency relationship was inappropriate, or that Stephanie might somehow compromise a Project operation because she was so intimately linked to Langley. As for Lucas, he had appeared like a rescuing angel at the worst moment of her life. Since then, the two of them had been skirting the edges of deeper commitment. Now they were about to take the next step.
Stephanie smiled to herself. She reached up and absently touched a gold hoop earring dangling from her right ear.
The computer beeped and the screen cleared. Stephanie saw a neat row of icons that represented file folders. She opened one at random. It was an inventory of small arms pistol and rifle ammunition being stored by the Department of Homeland Security. Why is this here? she thought.