"Then I can't talk to you. Goodbye, Aloysius. And tell those people goodbye, too. Hamilton out."
Colonel Hamilton then signaled to Sergeant Dennis that they were leaving the sealed laboratory. The process took ten minutes, and included both chemical and purified water showers and then fresh clothing.
When they came through the final airtight door, four people were waiting for them-two women and two men, all cleared for Top Secret BioLab.
Hamilton knew that at least one of them, possibly two, were reporting to the CIA. And he strongly suspected that one of them was reporting to the Russians, either through an intermediary or directly to the Russian rezident. And he thought it entirely likely that one or more of them was on the payroll of those people in Las Vegas.
He was greatly frustrated that neither he nor Kevin Dennis-although they had set many traps-had been able to positively identify even one of them.
So they lived with the problem, following the adage that a devil one knows is better than a devil one does not.
"There have been some indications that we are making some progress," Colonel Hamilton announced to them. "And some disturbing signs that we are yet again on a path leading nowhere. We won't know more until tomorrow morning. Make sure everything is secure, and then you may leave. Please be on time in the morning; we have a busy schedule tomorrow." When they had gone, Kevin Dennis asked, "What is Aloysius going to do, Colonel?"
"I really don't know, Kevin, but I can't take the risk that what I want to say to him will go any further than him."
"You think he will call back?"
Hamilton shrugged.
"I don't know," Hamilton said. "I'm taking some small solace from the motto of those two brilliant young men who started Yahoo: 'You Always Have Other Options.' But between you and me, I have no idea what other options there might be."
Thirty seconds later, both Hamilton's and Dennis's CaseyBerrys vibrated.
It was Casey.
"I see that you're both on," his voice announced as it returned from a twenty-four-thousand-mile trip into space.
"Well, Aloysius," Hamilton said, "how nice to hear from you. Say hello to Aloysius, Kevin."
"Hello, Aloysius," Dennis said.
"Jack," Casey said, "do I have to say I wouldn't do this for anybody but you?"
"How about Castillo? Would you cut some of those people out of the loop if it would keep him from being thrown to the Russians?"
"I called back, didn't I?"
"And not only are those people not going to hear this conversation, but I have your word that you won't tell them anything about it?"
"You have my word, Jack, but I'm damned uncomfortable with this. I don't like lying to those people." He paused, then added, "And in my book not telling somebody something is the same thing as lying."
"What I'm afraid of is that one-or more-of them has either concluded, or will conclude, that if Castillo and the Russians are the price for the Russian stock of Congo-X, the President was right to agree to pay it."
"In other words, you don't trust them. Jesus Christ, Jack, you know who they are!"
"Their most endearing quality to me is their ruthlessness," Hamilton said. "I daresay they wouldn't be as rich as they are without that characteristic. But I have noticed a tendency on the part of wealthy ruthless people to regard people on their payroll as expendable."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"I think Colonel Castillo made a mistake in taking that money from those people when he began this project. What was it, two hundred thousand dollars?"
"That's all he asked for. They'd have given him whatever he asked for. A couple of million, if that's what he wanted."
"If he took only two dollars, people like those people would still have felt, 'He took the money, he's ours. We can do with him what we decide is in the best interests of the country.'"
After a moment's hesitation, Casey said, "I'm one of those people, Jack. And so are you."
"You and I are functionaries, Aloysius. Useful, but not, so to speak, anointed, as they are, by the Almighty. Have those people asked you what you think of the President's willingness to sell Castillo and the Russian spooks-without whom that laboratory in the Congo would still be manufacturing this obscene substance-to the Russians?"
"They didn't have to ask me. They know how I would feel about that."
"They haven't asked me either, Aloysius, what I think about it. Nor have they solicited my suggestions vis-a-vis what should be done about it by 'we people.' Which is what triggered my line of thought in this area. Have you considered the possibility that those people simply don't care what we think, Aloysius?"
There was a thirty-second silence which seemed much longer.
"Jesus Christ, Jack," Casey said finally, "you're right. I'm ashamed to admit that I never questioned anything those people did, or asked me to do. Well, fuck them!"
"It's not black-and-white, Aloysius. Those people do more good than harm. But when the harm they're capable of might be directed at people like Castillo and the Russians, I can't go along."
"Didn't you hear me say 'Fuck them'?"
"Don't say that to those people. Let them think they are still on Mount Olympus graciously protecting people like you and me-and of course the United States-from our ignorance."
"Okay."
"Do those people know where Castillo is?"
"Yeah. Of course. They have his position indicator on their laptops. So do you. He's at his grandmother's place in Mexico." Casey paused, then added, "Shit! You think maybe somebody already told the CIA?!"
"I have to think that's possible. Can you devise a spurious position indicator for him?"
"Where do you want him to start moving to in twenty seconds, Jack?"
"Doesn't he have family in Germany? Do you know where?"
"Yeah. Outside Frankfurt. But what about Budapest?"
"What's in Budapest?"
"A guy on Charley's net. He's sort of like an uncle to him. Billy Kocian?"
"I don't know the name."
"Good guy. Trust me."
"Budapest sounds fine."
"I can call Billy and tell him what's happening. And… what I could do, Jack, is put Charley's position indicator on one of those boats that sails up and down the Danube between Vienna and Budapest. That would drive those people bonkers wondering what the hell he's up to."
"A splendid idea!"
"Anything else I can do for you?"
"Aloysius, do you-or your people-ever work with extremely low temperatures, using gases in the minus two-hundred-degrees Celsius area?"
"All the time. The colder you get something, the faster everything electrical moves. Twice a week, I say, 'Eureka! This will work!' and then everything that cold turns brittle and shatters when somebody in Los Angeles or Chicago burps, and we're back to Step Fucking One."
"Helium?"
"Of course. It's a little pricey, but you can go down to about minus two-seventy Celsius with helium."
"You've got a pretty good source of supply for helium?"
"Yeah. Several of them. Where are you going with this, Jack?"
"You could order, say, a thousand liters, two thousand, even more, of helium without attracting much attention?"
"Why would I want to do that?"
"Because we may need at least that much to kill Congo-X."
"Helium kills Congo-X?"
"Fifteen minutes in a helium bath at minus two-seventy Celsius kills it."
"So it can be killed! I was really getting worried about that."
"You were not alone," Hamilton said. "We don't know how much the Russians have. I suspect that if the President doesn't give them Castillo and the Russians very soon, they will deliver more of it to encourage him to do so. My concern is that there will be an accident when they do so. I-"
"I get the picture," Casey interrupted. "I'll load what helium I have here… maybe three hundred liters, maybe a little more… on my Gulfstream. As soon as we know where the Russians have sent the new Congo-X, the helium will be there in no more than three hours. And I'll lay my hands on as much more as I can get as soon as I can."