told you-because you know what you've done."
Decker became rigid again, brows arched, eyes clouded, a military man
having given his serial number but refusing any subsequent interrogation
despite impending torture. "I have nothing to say to you, Mr. Cross. It is
Cross, isn't itF'
"It'll do," said Havelock, nodding once. "But you~ve got a great deal to
say, and you are going to say it. Because if you don~t, a presidential
order will send you to the deepest cell in Leavenworth and the key will be
thrown away. To put you on trial would be far too dangerous to the security
of this COUnt37.'
"Nol ... You catetl I did nothing wrongl I was right, V-V were rightl"
"The joint Chiefs and key members of the House and Senate will agree,"
continued Michael. "It'll be one of the few times when the umbrella of
national security will be completely valid."
The mask cracked; the face shattered. Fear turned to desperation as Decker
whispered, -Wbat do they say I've done?"
"In violation of your oath as an officer and the codes of secrecy you~ve
sworn to uphold, you reproduced dozens of the most sensitive documents in
this countrys military history and removed them from the Pentagon."
"And to whom did I deliver them? Answer me that."
"It doesn't matter."
576 RoBEnT LuDLum
"It doesl It's everythingl"
"You had no authorization."
"That man has all the authority he needsl" Decker's voice trembled as he
tried to regain control. "I demand that you get Secretary of State Matthias
on the phone."
Havelock walked away from the desk, away from the telephone. The movement
was not lost on the naval officer. It was the moment to retreat slightly.
"rve been given my orders, Commander," said Michael, permitting a degree of
uncertainty in his own voice. "By the President and several of his closest
advisers. The Secretary of State is not to be consulted in this matter
under any eircurnstances whatsoever. He's not to be informed. I don7t know
why, but those are my orders."
Decker took a halting step, then another, zeal joining the desperation in
his wide, frantic eyes. He began barely above a whisper, the words growing
louder with a zealoes conviction. "The President? His advisers . . . ? For
God's sake, canI you see? Of course they don~t want him informed because
he's right and they're wrong. They're afraid and he isn'tl Do you think for
a moment if I disappeared he wouldn't know what had happened? Do you think
he woul(Wt confront the President and his advisers and force a showdown?
You talk about the joint Chiefs, members of the House and the Senate. My
God, do you think he couldn7t call them together and show what a weak,
ineffectual, immoral administration this really is? There'd be no
administratioul It would be repudiated, crippled, thrown outl"
"By whom, Commander?"
Decker straightened his broad-shouldered body, a condemned man knowing that
ultimate justice would bring a pardon. "The people, Mr. Cross. The people
of this nation recognize a giant. They won1 turn their backs on him because
a hack politician and his weak-kneed advisers say so. They won~t stand for
itl The world has lamented the loss of great leadership these past few
decades. Well, we produced a great leader and the world knows it. And my
advice to you is to get Anthony Matthias on the telephone. You don't have
to say anything, hispeakto him."
Havelock stood motionless, something more than uncertainty now in his
voice. "You believe there could be a showdown? The President-impeached?"
THE PARSWAL MOSAJC577
"Look at Matthias. Can you doubt it? Where in the last thirty years has
there been a man like himF'
Michael slowly walked back to the desk and lowered himself into the chair,
glancing up at Decker. "Sit down, Commander," he said.
Decker quickly sat in the chair that Havelock had purposely placed in front
of the desk. "We~ve used some harsh words with each other, and for my part
I apologize. But you mud understand. We are right."
"I need more than that," said Havelock. "We know you removed copies of
detailed strategies developed by the Nuclear Contingency Committees,
documents that spelled out everything in our own arsenals as well as the
results of our deepest penetrations of both the Soviet and Chinese systems.
You delivered these to Matthias over a period of months, but we've never
understood why. If you could tell me, give me a reason. Whyr
"For the most obvious reason in the worldl It goes back to the key word in
the tide of those committees. 'Contingency! Contingency, Mr. Cross, always
contingencyl Reaction-reaction to this, reaction to thatl Always replying,
never initiatingl We don't need contingencies. We can't let our enemies
think well only respond. We need a master plan, let them know we have a
master plan that will ensure their total destruction should they
transgress. Our strength, our survival, can no longer be based on defense,
Mr. Cross, it must be based on offensel Anthony Matthias understands this.
The others are afraid to face it."
"And you helped him develop this-master plan?"
"rm proud to say I contributed," said the officer, his words rushed-the
pardon was in sight. "I sat with him hour after hour going over every
conceivable nuclear option, every possible Soviet and Chinese response, not
a single capability overlooked."
"When did you meet?'
"Every Sunday, for weeks on end." Decker lowered his voice, confidentiality
joined now with zeal and desperation. "He impressed on me the highly
classified nature of our relationship, so I'd drive out in a rented car to
his lodge in West Virgin* to a cabin on the secondary road where we'd meet
alone.'
578 ROBEr-tT LuDLum
"The Woodshed," said Michael, the word escaping from him.
"You know it, then?"
"I've been there." Havelock briefly closed his eyes; be knew the Woodshed
only too well. A small cabin retreat where Anton went to work on his
projected memoirs-to talk out his thoughts, every phrase picked up by a
voice-activated tape recorder. "Is there anything else? I want you to know
rm listening, Commander. You're very impressive-and Im listening."
"He's such a truly brilliant man," continued Decker, his tone close to an
awestruck whisper, his eyes gazing on some unseen holy light. "That probing
mind, the depth of his every observation, his grasp of global realities-all
truly remarkable. A statesman like Anthony Matthias can take this nation to
its zenith, bring us to where we were meant to be in the eyes of man and
God. Yes, I did what I did and I'd do it again, because I'm a patriot. I
love this country as I love the Scriptures, and I would lay down my life
for it, knowing that I would retain my honor. . . . There really is no
choice, Mr. Cross. We are right. Pick up the phone and.call Matthias, tell
him Irm here. And 1rll tell him the truth. Small men who worship graven
images have crawled out of the ground and are trying to destroy him. He'll
stamp them out-with our help.-
Michael lea
ned back in the chair, the weariness, the futility, as complete
as they had ever been. "'With our help,'" he repeated in a voice so low he
was barely aware he had spoken.
"Yes, of coursel"
Havelock shook his head slowly back and forth. "You sanctimonfous son of a
bitch," he said.
"WbatP"
"You beard me. You sanctimonious son of a bitch!" Michael roared. Then he
breathed deeply and continued quietly, rapidly, "You want me to call
MatthiasP I wish to hell I could, just to watch your goddamn face, to see
your steely, self-righteous eyes grow wild when you learn the truth."
"What are you talking aboutP" whispered Decker.
"Matthias wouldn't know who you arel Any more than be knows who the
President is, or his aides, or the undersecretaries, or the diplomats he
works with every day-or nw,
DiE PARsrFAL MOSAIC579
who's known him for over twenty years, closer to him than any other person
alive."
"No ... no, you're wrong. Nol"
"Yes, Commanded He broke. More precisely, we broke him. That mind is gonel
les shattered. He's insane. He couldn~t take it any longer. And, by Christ,
you did your part. You gave him his ultimate authority, his final responsi-
bility. You stole the world's-yes, the worlds-secrets and told him his
genius could handle them. You took a thousand facts and a hundred
theoretical strategies, mixed them up, and turned them into the most
terrifying weapon fl-As earth has ever known. A blueprint for global
annihilation."
"Thaes not what I didl"
"Granted, not all by yourself, but you provided the-wbat the hell's that
God-awful Pentagonese?-support structure, that's it. You provided the
support structure for a fiction that's so real there's not a nuclear expert
alive who wouldn't accept it as truth. Gospel truth, if you like,
Commander."
"We only discussed, analyzed, tore apart optionsl The final plan was to be
his; you can't understand. His grasp was brilhand There was nothing he
couldn't comprehend; it was incrediblel"
"It was the act of a mind dying, on the edge of becoming a convoluted
vegetable. He wanted you to believe, and he was still good enough to make
you believe. He had to, and you wanted to."
"I didl So would youl"
Mat's what rve been told by a better man than youll ever be."
I don't deserve that. He appealed to a truth I do believe in. We must be
strongl"
"I don't know any sane person who would argue with that, but there are
different kinds and degrees of strength. Some work-usually quietly; others
don't, because they're swollen with bellicosity. The savage explodes from
his own tension; be can't contain himself, he's got to flex. And somewhere
along the line be blows up, setting in motion a dozen responses that are
explosions themselves."
"Who are you? What are you?"
"A student of history who went astray. But rm not the issue. You are.
Everything you gave Matthias is within arm's reach of the Soviets,
Commander. That master plan, which
5WROBERT LUDLUM
you're so convinced we must let the world know we have, may in all its
details be on its way to Moscow. Because the man you gave it to is insane,
was on his way to becoming insane when you delivered the materials to him."
Decker rose slowly from the chair. "I don't believe you," he said, his
voice hollow, the words spoken in dread.
"Then why am I here? Why would I say it? Personal considerations aside, do
you think anyone with the brains to get out of the rain wants to make that
statement? Have you any idea what it means to this country to know that the
mind of its Secretary of State has been destroyed? I'd like to remind you,
Commander, that you don't have an exclusive claim on patriotism. None of us
does."
Decker stared down at Havelock until be could no longer bear the contact.
He turned away, the broad-sbouldered body somehow shrinking beneath the
tunic. "You tricked me. You made me say things I never would have said."
"Ies my job."
"Everything's over for me. Im finished."
"Maybe not. As of this moment, I'd guess you are the least likely candidate
as a security risk in the Pentagon. You've been burned by a legend and it's
a pain you'll never forget. Nobody knows better than I do how persuasive
Matthias could be.... We need help, not prison sentences. Packing you off
to Leavenworth would only raise questions no one wants raised. We're in a
blind race; maybe you can help."
Decker turned, swallowing, his face ashen. "In any way I can. How?"
Michael got out of the chair and came around the desk to face the officer.
'Tor starters, nothing I've told you can be repeated."
"My God, of course not."
"No, of course not. You~d be banging yourself."
"I'd be banging the country. I have no exclusivity on patriotism but I am
a patriot, Mr. Cross."
kaveiock walked past the coffee table and the couch, and was reminded of
Jenna's absence. Since they bad agreed her presence would be inhibiting,
she was upstairs; more accurately, she had insisted on not being there. He
reached the wall, aimlessly studied a brass plaque, and spoke. "I'm going
to guess again, Commander. There came a time when Mattbias wouldift see you
anymore. Am I right?"
Tim PAmsrFAL MosAic581
"Yes. I phoned repeatedly-not at State, of course-but he never returned mv
calls."
"Not at State?" asked Michael, turning. "But you did call there. It's bow
I found you."
"Only three times. Twice to say there were Sunday conferences at the
Pentagon, and once to tell him I was going into the hospital for minor
surgery on a Friday and expected to be there until Tuesday or Wednesday. He
was very solicitous, but that was when he told me never again to reach him
at the State Department."
"You called the lodge, then?"
"And his house in Georgetown."
"This was later?"
"Yes. I called night after night, but he wouldn't come to the phone. Try to
understand, Mr. Cross. I was aware of what Id done, of the enormity of the
violation rd committed. Mind you, until a few minutes ago I never regretted
it; I can~t change my beliefs, they're ingrained in me. But back then-five
or six months ago-I was bewildered, frightened perhaps, rm not sure. I'd
been left stranded-"
'You were in withdrawal," interrupted Havelock. 'Tou'd been on a high, on
one of the most potent narcotics in the world. Anthony Matthias. Suddenly
he wasn~t there any longer.
"Yes, that's it. Those were heady days, magnificent memories. Then I don~t
know why, my connection to greatness ended. I thought perhaps it was
something rd done that displeased him, or information I'd brought him that
was deficient, incomplete. I didn't know; I just knew that I'd been cut
off, with no explanation."
"I understand," said Michael, remembering so clearly the night in
Cagnes-sur-Mer when his pfiftel did not come to the telephone five thousand
miles away. "I'm surprised you didn7t force the issue, con
front him
somehow, somewhere. You were entitled to that explanation."
"I didn't have to. It was finally given to me."
~What?"
"One evening, after rd tried to reach him again, to no avail again, a man
called me back. A very strange man-2'
The prolonged outburst of the phone shattered the moment, blowing apart the
taut line of concentration. Havelock
582 ROBERT LUDLUM
ran to the phone, to the sustained ring that signaled Emergency.
"It's Loring," said the strained voice in a half-whisper. "I'm hit. I'm
okay, but rin hit."
"Where are you?"
"A motel on Highway Three-seventeen, near Harrington. The Pheasant Run
Motel. Cabin Twelve."
"I'll send a doctor."
"A very specW doctor, Havelock. Use the field in Denton.*
"What do you mean?"
"I had to get out of there. I grabbed a police car--7
"A police . . . ? Why?"
711 tell you later. Everything.... Special doctor with a bagful of
needles."
"For Christ's sake, spell it out, Charleyl"
"rve got one of those sons of bitches. He~s strapped naked on the bed-no
capsules, no razors. I've got onel"
Havelock stabbed the buttons on the Sterile Five telephone one after
another, issuing orders one after another, as Lieutenant Commander Decker
stood rigidly across the room, watching, listening, a helpless shell of a
crusader whose cause had collapsed. The President was informed, and a very
special doctor was being tracked down, to be sent to Maryland by helicopter,
a Secret Service detail accompanying him. A second helicopter was prepared
for takeoff, waiting for Michael at the field in Quantico six miles away; he
would be driven there by the Secret Service escorts who had brought Decker
to Sterile Five. The final call placed by Havelock was within the house
itself. Upstairs. To jenna Karas.
"I have to leave. It's Loring in Maryland. He's wounded, but he may have
picked up a traveler-don't ask me how. And you were right. One source. He's
here and has more to say; please come down and take it. I have to go....
Thanks."
Michael got up from the desk and addressed the frightened naval officer. "A
lady's on her way here, and I'm ordering you-ordering you, Commander-to
tell her everything you were going to tell me, and answer fully any ques-
Robert Ludlum - The Parcifal Mosaic.txt Page 73
