The Value Of Valor - KJ3

by Lynn Ames

  “What is it, buddy? It must be pretty important for you to sniff me out.” Last he had heard from Keith, he was applying for a job with the CIA. They had laughed about it at the time—Keith had always liked the world of shadows.

  “I think it is.”

  Hyland heard his friend’s hesitation and wondered what could be making him that nervous. “Keith? This is a secure line. Whatever you have to say, it’s just you and me. Okay?”

  “Yeah, thanks. Charlie, are you trying to start a war in China?”

  “What?” The president was completely befuddled.

  “Yeah, that’s kind of what I figured. Didn’t sound like something you’d do—at least not a month into your first term.”

  “What are you talking about?” the president asked.

  “You know I’m the number two spook in Asia now, right?”

  “No, I didn’t. Congratulations, I guess. Sounds like it’s right up your alley.”

  “It is. I got a strange order today from my station chief. He gave a green light to set in motion a ‘student-led rebellion.’ Said the order came right from the top. Maybe I’m getting cynical in my old age, Charlie, but it didn’t smell right to me; it’s not your style.”

  “I’m glad to see your instincts are still sharp, my friend. I certainly didn’t give any such order, nor did I sanction any action whatsoever in China.”

  “What do you want me to do here?”

  The president weighed his options. He knew he could countermand the order right away, but then he might not get to the bottom of whatever was happening and whoever was behind it. “Don’t do anything for the The Value of Valor

  moment. Somebody gave that order, and I want to know who it was and why. I’ll try to get to the bottom of it on this end. What was the timetable for this little revolution?”

  “We were supposed to start planting the seeds now, with the main event beginning in April.”

  “Okay. If anything more comes up and you need to get in touch with me, use the same protocol. In the meantime, follow your orders, but take your time implementing them, if you know what I mean.”

  Keith laughed. “Yeah, I always was good at dragging my feet.”

  “As I recall, you majored in foot dragging.”

  “Just because you were Mr. Motivated is no reason to go picking on us more deliberate types.”

  “Sure it is.” There was a momentary silence on the line before the president spoke again. “Hey, Keith?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thanks for coming to me on this one. I really appreciate it.”

  “Well, if we’re going to start World War Three, I want to know that our commander in chief is the one who’s making the call.”

  “Having me as your president must scare the living bejeebers out of you.”

  “Seriously, Charlie, I find it very comforting. I couldn’t think of a better man to have at the helm, and I’m honored to serve under your command.”

  “Thanks, buddy. Good luck and God speed.”

  “You too, Mr. President.”

  When he severed the connection, the president sat for a moment thinking. If someone inside his inner circle was giving orders that could change the balance of world power, he wanted to know about it. But he also didn’t want to tip his hand just yet. Suddenly, he remembered that he’d left Kate sitting in the dining room. He got up and crossed the hall again. If there was one single person in the administration he trusted above all others, it was Kate.

  “I’m so sorry to have kept you waiting.”

  “That’s quite all right, Mr. President. I don’t want to be in your way.”

  “On the contrary, Ms. Kyle, I always enjoy your company, as you know, and I’m glad you’re here.” He looked down at his cold steak and sighed. “Well, at least dessert ought to be good. I seem to remember you had a particular fondness for chocolate mousse.”

  Chocolate mousse was Jay’s favorite dessert, and the mention of it sent a pang to her gut. Still Kate managed to maintain a neutral expression. “Yes, it’s one of my favorites.”

  The president motioned one of the servers to clear his plate and bring in the dessert. He also asked the Secret Service agents, over their Lynn Ames

  protests, to wait outside the room. When they were gone, he pressed a button under the table to turn off the recording equipment before speaking. “I want to bounce something off you, and I need it to stay just between the two of us.”

  “You know you can rely on my discretion, Mr. President,” Kate said.

  “I certainly do. That phone call I took a few minutes ago was from an old college buddy of mine. He’s the CIA’s number two man in the Pan Pacific region. I haven’t talked to him in years.”

  Kate studied the president’s face. He was clearly troubled. “I take it this wasn’t a social call.”

  “No, it wasn’t.” He looked up at her. “He was calling to tell me that someone very high up in my administration authorized inciting a pro-democracy revolution in China.”

  “What?” Her tone was incredulous.

  “Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction, too. He was given the order to set the wheels in motion this afternoon. It didn’t sound right to him, so he thought he’d better go to the top and check it out.”

  “Good thing you’ve got friends in interesting places.”

  “I guess so,” the president said contemplatively. “If Keith wasn’t over there, the first I might’ve heard of U.S. involvement would’ve been when the Chinese government demanded an explanation.” The president paused, recognizing the full implications of his next words. “And that would’ve been right before they launched their missiles on North America.”

  Chilled by the possibilities, Kate asked, “If you didn’t give the order, sir, who did? And why?”

  “Exactly what I’m wondering. Which is why I didn’t stop the action—just asked Keith to slow it down a little. I need to do some digging on this end without anybody getting suspicious.”

  “You probably don’t want to assign it internally since you don’t know how deep this thing goes.”

  “Precisely.” The president paused for a moment. “Any chance you could send Peter my way when you’re done with him tomorrow, Kate?”

  “I thought that might be where you were headed. I’m sure I could arrange it. I could send him here before he comes to see me, if you’d like, sir.”

  “No, I want you to get your answers first. I’ll have Vicky squeeze him in whenever he arrives.”

  “Very well, sir.”

  “Whatever this is, it’s worrisome. As I said, I’d like to keep it just between us for now.”

  “Of course, Mr. President.”

  The Value of Valor

  “I’m glad I could share that with you, Kate. You make a great sounding board, as always. It gets pretty lonely sometimes at the top.”

  “I’m sure, sir. Any time. For now, though, I think I’d better get home and at least pretend to get some sleep.”

  The president looked at his watch: 11:13 p.m. “Wow. I’m sorry. I had no idea it was so late.”

  “Thank you for inviting me to dinner, Mr. President, I enjoyed it.”

  “Me too, Kate. Let’s make it a standing appointment once a week when I’m in town, okay?”

  “That would be wonderful, sir.”

  “Stay safe.”

  “You too, Mr. President. Good night.” She stepped out of the dining room and was escorted out of the residence by a Secret Service agent.

  Lynn Ames

  CHAPTER FIVE

  eter strode into FBI Deputy Director Derek LaPointe’s office and P stood over his desk.

  Without breaking concentration, LaPointe motioned to a chair. “Sit down, Peter. I’ll just be another minute.” When he had finished reading the report on his desk, he glanced up to see Peter still standing, a gleam in his eye. “I’ve seen that look before, Enright. You’ve got something.”

  Peter dropped a red folder onto his friend’s desk. Never
one to waste time, he got right to the point. “Deliberately scored tie rod. I found it shortly after we last spoke and sent it to your guys at Quantico. They finally got around to analyzing it and confirmed that the damage to the rod was sufficient to cause it to break. The car would’ve been uncontrollable.”

  “Murder?”

  “So it would appear.”

  LaPointe opened the folder and scanned the contents. “Not a very large sample.”

  Peter’s temper flared, his face turning red. “There wasn’t much to find. The car was obliterated. The segment I discovered turned out to be the critical piece, though. Your guys had no doubt.”

  “Easy, Peter. I’m not disagreeing with you. I’m on your side, remember?”

  “You weren’t last time I was here.”

  LaPointe sighed. “You and I both know there wasn’t enough evidence to go on then. Now you’ve given me something solid to work with—a smoking gun, if you will.”

  “So you’ll reopen the investigation?”

  “Absolutely. I’ll put some of my agents back on it today.”

  “I want to work with them.”

  “Out of the question.”

  Peter, his emotions still raw when it came to Jay, exploded. “Listen, Derek. There wouldn’t be an investigation to reopen if it weren’t for me.

  Your guys didn’t care enough to really examine the scene properly. If they had, they would’ve turned the goddamned tie rod up, and I wouldn’t have had to come back here begging you to change your findings. We’ve The Value of Valor

  lost precious time, and leads are getting colder by the day. None of this is going to bring Jay back, but I will not be stuck sitting on the sidelines on this one. I won’t.”

  The deputy director tipped back in his chair. In all the time they’d spent together in Vietnam, including in some very tight spots, he had never seen this man lose his cool. “Are you done with your little tirade?”

  He paused and continued quietly, “It hurts me that you don’t trust me to do my job right, Peter.”

  “It wasn’t you out in the field, Derek. If it had been, I’m sure you would have found the evidence.” Peter’s voice was much calmer, though still flinty.

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence, I think.” LaPointe considered, weighing the pros and cons in his head. Peter was not some rank amateur trying to horn in on his investigation. He had credentials and years of experience. He also knew the victim, was too personally involved, and allowing a civilian to take part in an ongoing case was against protocol.

  “Well?”

  LaPointe threw up his hands in surrender. The president himself had instructed the FBI to give Peter priority clearance and assistance with anything he needed. Who was he to stand in the way? “I’ll have you coordinate with Dave Darasio—he’s the best I’ve got. You can meet with him now, if you like. He’s just down the hall.”

  “Thanks, Derek. I appreciate it.”

  As Peter got up to go, LaPointe called after him, “Don’t make me regret this, Enright.”

  Peter simply smiled, closing the door behind him with a satisfying snick.

  Kate opened the door to admit Peter, who immediately enveloped her in a heartfelt hug. They hadn’t seen each other since he’d left for Arizona several weeks before, although they’d stayed in touch by telephone.

  He pulled back and looked at her. “I thought part of our deal was that you were going to take care of yourself while I was gone, Katherine Ann.”

  Kate had thought she had things pretty much under control, but seeing her best friend standing there, knowing where he’d been and that he’d returned without Jay, shattered her fragile composure.

  He held her and rocked her as she sobbed, his own tears running into her hair. Eventually, they both quieted, and he moved away from her enough to take her hands and lead her to the sofa.

  “I’m sorry. I thought I was past that.” She smiled weakly. “I guess not, huh?”

  Lynn Ames

  “That’s okay, I think we both needed a good cry.” Peter leaned over to pet Fred, who was insistently throwing Peter’s hand up in the air in an effort to gain attention. “Yeah, you spoiled beast, I missed you, too.”

  Fred sat down on Peter’s foot as soon as Peter began scratching him behind the ears. “I hate when he does that, you know. He’s got a bony butt.”

  “Tell me about it.” Kate rolled her eyes, then focused on her friend.

  “What did you find? You said you had news.” Her tone was guarded.

  “Remember I told you I found a small piece of metal under some dirt and rocks at the crash site?”

  “Yes.”

  “It was a piece of a tie rod.” At her blank look, he explained further, in simple terms. “It’s connected to the steering mechanism. If a tie rod is worn or damaged, it can cause erratic steering or loss of control of the wheels.”

  “Okay.”

  “I gave the piece to the FBI for testing; I heard back from them yesterday. There’s evidence to indicate that someone tampered with the tie rods on Jay’s car.”

  Kate’s heart constricted. “But it was a rental. How would they know which car to fix?”

  “Good question. My guess is they were close enough to overhear which car she was assigned, then created a distraction to delay her for a few minutes. It looks like they used a blow torch or a grinder on the rod to weaken it, so it wouldn’t have taken long for them to accomplish their goal.”

  Kate’s face turned ashen. There it was—Jay had been murdered in cold blood. “So Jay couldn’t steer the car?”

  He reached for her hand, wanting in some way to soothe her. “She probably could for a while, until the steering was stressed.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means they likely followed her until she got to that canyon, then chased her hard into a curve, knowing the steering would give way and she wouldn’t be able to control the car.”

  Kate’s throat was tight, and she was finding it difficult to breathe.

  “They forced her over the edge.”

  “In a fashion, yes.”

  “God.” Kate covered her eyes with her free hand. “Poor Jay,” she whispered, trying to imagine her lover’s terror when she realized what was happening.

  “Kate,” Peter wanted to bring her back from that awful place. “I’ve gotten the FBI to reopen the investigation. Not only that, but I’m going to The Value of Valor

  be spearheading it with a guy named Dave Darasio. I met with him earlier today. He’s a good man and he’ll do a good job.”

  Kate simply nodded, unable to say anything.

  “I need you to think, honey. Who knew Jay was going to Arizona?

  Who was familiar with her itinerary?”

  “Nobody. It came up at the last second. Even I didn’t know until we were on our way to the Inaugural Ball the night before she was leaving.”

  “Her editor knew, right?”

  Kate’s eyes snapped back from staring off into space. “Trish would never…”

  “I agree,” Peter said, before she could even finish her sentence. “Did Jay talk to anyone else about her trip from the time she found out about it until the time she left?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Think, Kate. This is important.”

  “I know it is.”

  “Did she make her own travel arrangements?”

  “Yes. She always complained about the number of layovers on flights booked by Time’s travel agency.” Kate ran her fingers through her hair in exasperation. “I think she mentioned the assignment to the president at the ball when he tried to hire her away from the magazine.”

  Peter smiled. “I think it’s safe to rule him out. Could anyone have overheard the conversation?”

  Kate thought. “Sure. There were hundreds of people there. Anybody could have heard her if they were close enough.”

  “Okay.” He squeezed her hands for a second longer and let go. “That gives me a place to start.”r />
  “It does?”

  “Yeah. I need to run a check on everyone who attended that ball. It was by invitation only, right?”

  “Yes. It was a thank you to some of the president’s biggest supporters.”

  “So anyone who gave enough money to the campaign would’ve gotten an invitation?”

  “Right.”

  “I’ll get going on this right away and let you know the second I come up with anything.” Peter rose to leave.

  As Kate uncoiled from the sofa, she suddenly remembered. “Wait!

  Before you do that, the president needs to see you right away.”

  “Do you know what it’s about?”

  She shook her head. “I’d rather he filled you in, Technowiz.”

  “Okay, I’ll head right over there. Should I call and let someone know I’m coming?”

  Lynn Ames

  “No need. He’s already cleared you, and his secretary knows to interrupt him when you arrive.”

  “Must be pretty important, huh?”

  “You could say that.”

  He gave Fred one last scratch and Kate a hug, promised again to be in touch soon, then was gone.

  It took Peter less than twenty minutes to gain admittance to the Oval Office. “Mr. President, it’s good to see you again.” He stood stiffly and gripped the president’s proffered hand.

  “Peter, thanks for coming on such short notice.”

  “Of course, sir. What can I do for you?”

  “No need to be so formal. Sit down, make yourself comfortable. Do you need something to drink? Water?”

  “Thank you, sir, I’m fine.”

  The president took a deep breath. “I’ll get right to the point then. Did Kate tell you anything?”

  “No, sir. She thought whatever it was should come from you.”

  The president shook his head. “That woman is truly remarkable, isn’t she? Everything she’s been through in the past two years—I think they’d have to have locked me away in a rubber room by now.”

  “Kate is a very strong person, sir. I don’t want to say she’s indestructible because none of us are, but she’s about as close as it gets.”

  “I’m worried about her, Peter.”

  “Me too, sir.”

  “She said you had some news for her today.”