No Man's Land

by David Baldacci

  “Thanks, Officer, good night.”

  Rogers walked off and the cruiser pulled through the alley, following the other men just in case.

  Roger got to his van and drove off.

  His plan tonight was fairly simple.

  The Grunt was closed tomorrow night.

  So tomorrow night he was going to have a chat with Chris Ballard.

  Chapter

  32

  PULLER PACKED THE last of his things in the duffel and zipped it closed. It was like he had just zipped up the end of his life as well.

  He had left AWOL with a family living in the same apartment complex. His cat did fine with long separations, but this time Puller had no idea how long he’d be gone. He didn’t even know if he’d be coming back.

  He looked down at the email he had received ten minutes ago. It had come from a two-star he had never met or even heard of. The message had been terse but to the point:

  The investigation into allegations regarding the disappearance of your mother and culpability of your father has been concluded. No further action will be taken against any party.

  Against any party.

  That was telling him that his father was safe. The investigation was over.

  But that was all bullshit, because there had never really been an investigation. Nothing had been discovered. The truth was still out there but no one was looking for it.

  Well, one person is. Me.

  He had already written his letter of resignation. He was leaving the Army and the only career he’d ever known.

  The United States Army had done something Puller never thought it would do.

  It let me down.

  Still, as he had typed out the words, “I, Chief Warrant Officer John Puller Jr., 701st Military Police Group (CID), do hereby resign…” a knot had formed in his throat and a piercing pain had erupted in his gut.

  He couldn’t believe he was actually doing it.

  But he had no choice. They had left him boxed in a corner with only one conceivable way out.

  He had sent in the letter.

  He was not waiting for a reply.

  It didn’t matter what they said to him. If they wanted to try to hold him for some reason, they would have to find him first.

  So he was not going to Germany and his next assignment. He was going to continue to investigate this case whether the Army chose to or not.

  His goal was simple. His goal was always simple.

  It was how he had approached every case he’d ever undertaken.

  Finding the truth.

  He opened the door to his apartment.

  Two men in suits stared back at him.

  Five minutes later Puller sat in the back of a Tahoe and kept his gaze pointed out the window. The two men sat in front.

  Their credentials had given Puller no choice but to accompany them. His sidearm had been confiscated for the time being. His cell phone had also been taken. He was uneasy about all of this, but he had to see it play out. He had no other option.

  The SUV pulled through the guard entrance where the men in naval uniforms checked IDs, scrutinized Puller, and then motioned them on.

  Puller knew there was another wall of defense around the place that included men in suits with comm wires in their ears, like the pair in front of him.

  The imposing house loomed up in front of them.

  Puller had never been here. Most people had never been here.

  The truck stopped in front of the house and they all got out. Puller was escorted inside, down a hall, and into a large room outfitted as an office and library. The men left him there.

  He didn’t sit. He had no idea what was about to happen, but he would take it standing.

  He tensed when the door opened.

  He came immediately to attention.

  The man wasn’t in uniform, but he once had been.

  And more importantly, he was one beating heart removed from being the commander in chief of all the armed forces of the United States. That fact alone required Puller to treat him with military respect.

  He was the vice president of the United States, Richard Hall.

  Before that he’d been a U.S. senator from Virginia. And before that he’d been a one-star under Puller’s father’s command.

  Puller knew all this. And he’d also met the man once, over twenty years ago, before Hall had traded in his uniform for a suit and the life of a politician.

  Hall was about five-ten, and still retained much of the muscular build he’d had as a soldier. His hair was white and thinning, but his handshake was firm and his voice deep.

  “Sit down, Puller. You look very stiff standing there.”

  Puller sat.

  Hall went over to a table that held a decanter of whiskey and several glasses.

  “Drink?”

  “No thank you, sir.”

  “I’m pouring you one anyway. You look like you could use it.”

  Hall brought the drinks over and handed one to Puller. Then he sat down behind his desk.

  “I heard that you resigned from the Army today.”

  “News travels fast.”

  “Certain news travels fast in certain channels.”

  Hall held up his glass and took a sip of his drink. Puller followed suit.

  “And why did you do it?” asked Hall. “From all accounts you’re one of the best investigators CID has ever had.”

  “I didn’t think you’d been following my career.”

  “Your father was a good friend and a terrific mentor. So, yes, I have been following your career. And I know what you did in West Virginia. And in connection with your brother being unfairly imprisoned. You have done your country exemplary service both on and off the field of combat.” He took another sip of his drink, set the glass down, and added, “Which is why you are here tonight.”

  “And why exactly am I here, sir?”

  Hall leaned back in his chair. “There is something going on out there, Puller, that I’m not sure about.”

  “You’re the VP, sir, what can you not be sure about?”

  Hall gave a dry laugh. “You’d be surprised. This is a complicated country and a complex government, with many tentacles around the globe. No one can know everything about it. Not even the president himself, and certainly not his second in command.”

  “And how do I fit into the equation?”

  “I’m going out on a limb, Puller. But in this instance, I’m glad to do it. Your father changed the direction of my life. I know his current circumstances, and I know of the letter with the allegation against him. I don’t believe it for one moment. I know that your parents had their differences, but your father would have given his life to protect his wife. And his sons. I was deployed with him around the world. As a junior officer I had his confidences. There was not a day that went by when he did not speak to me about his family.”

  “He never said,” replied Puller.

  “That was not his way. Your father was a doer, not a talker. It made being under his command a bit difficult. He demanded Herculean effort from all of us. But I will say, without reservation, that he never asked any of us to do something he had not already done himself.”

  “Yes sir,” said Puller. “That was how he was wired.”

  “Which brings us back to this situation and to you. For now, the Army has tabled your resignation, but you are on indefinite leave. What you do with that time is up to you.” Hall held up a warning hand. “But mark this, you will not have the authority of the Army or the CID behind you, Puller. That was the best that I could manage.”

  Puller looked at him curiously. “Manage? With whom, sir?”

  Hall rose from his seat.

  Puller quickly stood.

  “That’s all for now, Puller. And just so you know, this meeting never happened. If you mention it to anyone, well, I would suggest that you don’t.”

  Hall put out his hand. They shook. “Tell your father I said hello. I know he probably won’t understand, b
ut please do so anyway.”

  “I will, sir.”

  “I’ve wanted to go by and see him.”

  “He’d like that, sir.”

  “One more thing, Puller.”

  “Yes sir?”

  Hall drew closer to him. “Watch all points on the compass, son. And I mean all points. You trust yourself. That’s it. No one else. No one is your friend on this one. And after tonight that probably includes me. I did this out of respect for your father. But this is where my assistance ends. Just the way it has to be. It’s going to be an uphill battle for you after this.”

  “But what about my brother? Are you telling me I can’t trust him on this?”

  “Good night, Puller. And good luck. I’m damn sure you’re going to need it.”

  Chapter

  33

  THE TAHOE DROPPED Puller back at his apartment. His gun and phone were returned. He went inside and slowly sat down in a chair, his thoughts like confetti.

  Puller had seen combat. He had killed and nearly been killed. He carried scars on his body earned in the defense of his country. He had worked hard to become a good investigator.

  None of that had prepared him for what he was now facing.

  All his life it seemed that he had been searching for something akin to the truth. And for the first time in his life it seemed that perhaps the truth didn’t matter. It was an astonishing admission, and one he never thought he would make. He had gone from sitting next to his failing father’s bedside to a quagmire that seemed to have no bottom at all.

  He took out his CID cred pack and stared down at the silver eagle shield and his ID card.

  For him this represented the culmination of years of sweat and blood. It represented the full force and effect of the United States Army, the greatest fighting machine the world would ever likely see.

  But now?

  He fingered the wings of the fierce eagle, as though hoping its touch would render all things clear.

  It didn’t work.

  He put his creds away and checked his M11.

  He had a spare in a gun case in his bedroom. He rose and fetched it and slid it into his rear holster. He felt a bit better being fully gunned up. But only a bit.

  There were not many things that unnerved John Puller.

  When you’d been through hell and back, when you’d seen pretty much every way one human being could kill another, it changed you in a way that was irreversible. In some ways it made you far stronger, able to act with confidence when the need arose, no matter the level of danger. People who were not so hardened became paralyzed in such dire conditions.

  And they died.

  Yet it also made you weaker in some ways, because it made you less compassionate, less able to forgive. Puller knew he suffered from that, but there appeared to be little he could do about it now.

  He sat back down in his chair.

  What the VP had told him tonight had unnerved him.

  Don’t trust anyone.

  Not even the VP.

  Not even his brother.

  On any level it was a stunning revelation.

  His phone rang.

  He glanced at the screen.

  His brother was calling.

  He hesitated, but then decided his brother would just keep calling if he didn’t answer.

  “Yeah, Bobby?” He kept his voice casual, carefree, although he was right now wound tighter than the nerves of a drill sergeant on ten Red Bulls.

  “I heard,” said Robert.

  “Heard what?”

  “That you resigned.”

  “Who did you hear that from?”

  “Messenger doesn’t matter. Just got one question for you.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Are you insane?”

  “Not the last time I checked.”

  “Resigning? Striking out on your own. For what?”

  “For the truth, Bobby. Don’t you think it’s important enough?”

  “What I think is important is for you to rescind the letter, get back on your horse, and start following orders again.”

  “Not sure I can do that.”

  “The Army will forgive and forget, Junior.”

  “It’s not the Army I’m worried about. And I can’t forget.”

  “Well, with this you have to. I know you want to find out what happened to Mom, but it was thirty years ago. It’s an impossible mission. And you should just forget about it. Why set yourself up for failure?”

  “Is that really your best advice?”

  “Hey, I get it, you were Mom’s favorite. So you want to avenge her. But this is not the way to do it.”

  Puller had stiffened when his brother said this. His attention became riveted instead of lackluster. “You really think so?”

  “I know so. Look, I’ve given you advice in the past that turned out to be good, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, this is good advice too. Take it. Pull back the reins, take some time to clear your head. Hell, go on a vacation for a few days, or even a week.”

  “I’m not sure the Army will let me do that,” said Puller. Did his brother know he was officially on leave with no end date?

  “I think you’ll find they will. So just lose yourself for a while, Junior. Then come back recharged. You’ll see things a lot more clearly.”

  “Okay, Bobby. I guess you’re right.”

  “I know I’m right. Now, don’t make me come back there and have to kick your ass, okay?”

  “Okay. And, Bobby, thanks.”