Harker picked up her pen and began tapping on her desktop.
"We've reached the limit of what we can do on our own," she said. "This is getting complicated and there are too many implications for national security. It's been compromised. We can't risk making a mistake. I'm going to bring in Langley. We can't trust the White House to help while Edmonds is running things but we can trust Hood."
"Lucas likes him. He's a pretty good judge of character."
Lucas Monroe and Stephanie had been lovers for the better part of a year. He was on the fast track to become Director of National Clandestine Services. If he made it, he'd be the first black man to ever hold down one of the four top directorates at Langley.
"See? That's a powerful endorsement, coming from him. How are you two getting along?"
Stephanie twisted the bracelets on her wrist and took a deep breath. "We're going to move in together."
"Steph, that's wonderful."
"We thought we'd try it out." The words came out in a hurry. "Living together. If it works, we'll make it permanent."
"You're the first person I've told," Stephanie said.
"That's wonderful," Elizabeth said again. "Are you keeping your apartment?"
"No, it's too small. So is his. We've begun looking for a place with more room."
Harker set her pen back down. "It's good to talk about something normal for a change."
"Isn't that why we do this?" Stephanie said.
"What do you mean?"
Stephanie gestured around the room, at the monitor on the wall, the files on Harker's desk. "So we can have normal lives. Our job is all about stopping people who think normal means doing whatever they want. People who start wars because they're rich, sociopathic assholes who want to get richer, or religious lunatics who think God is on their side."
"I never thought of it quite like that," Elizabeth said, "but that sounds about right."
"What are you going to tell Hood?" Stephanie asked.
"Everything. That we're on the track of something that relates to Novosibirsk and that I'm waiting for more information. I want you to look at that hard drive Nick recovered before I talk with him. The more I know, the better."
CHAPTER 25
Stephanie was waiting for them when they got back to Washington. Nick handed over the salvaged hard drive and logbook.
"Meeting tomorrow with Elizabeth at 0900," she said. "Ronnie, you come with me and we'll get those ribs checked out."
Nick turned to Selena. "Do you want to stay at my place tonight?"
"It's better if I go home. All I want is a hot bath and a good night's sleep."
He pushed his disappointment away.
"I'll see you in the morning," he said.
Back at his apartment, Nick poured himself a whiskey. He thought about Selena. What was it between them, anyway? Sometimes it seemed like they were on the same wavelength, as close to each other as a person could get to someone else. Other times, it was as if they lived on two different planets.
The whiskey warmed his stomach. He poured another. What did he really want from her? He realized he had never thought it through. He loved her, but did he want to marry her? What did people usually want from a marriage? He knew what he didn't want, he didn't want all the complications that went with having children. As far as he knew, that wasn't an issue for Selena. She had never given any indication that she wanted kids. So what was it?
He knew that most men would envy a situation like his. He had his own place and she had hers. They could get away from each other when they needed to. The sex was great. They worked well together. She could hold her own in the unusual and dangerous world they shared and he could rely on her when the chips were down. What more could anyone want?
Nick thought about Megan, the fiancée he'd lost years ago, the only woman he'd ever loved before Selena walked into his life. It was getting hard to remember how she'd looked. He used to dream about her but there had been a dream where she said goodbye and she hadn't appeared since.
Megan had been so different from Selena. He'd wanted different things with her and he'd been a lot younger then. With Megan, Nick had looked forward to a life pretty much like other people had. A civilian life with a couple of kids, a house somewhere, a job doing something where nobody was shooting at him.
Then all that disappeared in a fireball of burning jet fuel and twisted metal. The image of her plane arcing into the ground as he watched was seared into his memory.
The hell with it, he thought.
Nick finished his whiskey and went to bed.
CHAPTER 26
The next morning they were gathered in Elizabeth's office. Lamont had the cat in his lap. Burps was drooling onto his leg and purring, a low rumble beneath the conversation. Ronnie sat next to Lamont on the couch. He wore one of his Hawaiian shirts, this one with a gaudy picture of a volcano erupting in a bed of exotic flowers.
"It feels like we're running out of time," Elizabeth said. "It's nothing I can put my finger on, just a feeling."
Stephanie said. "I was able to recover some files from that hard drive, but most of it was corrupted."
Elizabeth sipped from a cup of coffee. "Before you get into that, Vysotsky called me. The Russians found something at Ground Zero in Novosibirsk. It's a receiver and amplifier. The weapon sends a beam from a satellite, the device picks it up, amplifies it and broadcasts it out over a wide area."
"Any way to trace where it came from?" Nick asked.
Harker shook her head. "Not much was left."
"What about the explosion before everybody went nuts? What did Vysotsky say about that? Does he think it's related?"
"Yes, he does. The explosion was caused by a bomb. Vysotsky thinks it was a diversion to add to the confusion and pull rescue services away from the center of the riot. He has his forensic people working on what's left of the device but he's not hopeful. At least he's keeping me informed of what he discovers."
There was a sudden silence in the room, broken only by the erratic purring of the cat, one of those spontaneous moments when no one knew what to say. Stephanie broke it.
"What Vysotsky told you fits with what I picked up on the hard drive," she said. "I found a program that tells the computer to broadcast a specific frequency to a satellite and have it relay back to the surface. There's nothing particularly unique about it. It's common practice."
"So there isn't anything to indicate who sent it?" Elizabeth asked.
"No. Anyone with a reasonable amount of computer knowledge and satellite communications could have done it."
"Then it's another dead end," Nick said.
"Not quite. The disc was in bad shape, but I salvaged part of it. The drive contained instructions that triggered the attack on Novosibirsk. The attack you stopped when you hit the facility was against Riyadh. There are more targets."
"How many more?" Selena said.
"I don't know, most of the data was corrupted. But I know one of them," Steph said. "It's in London. The GPS coordinates tell us where the receiver will be. Do you know the O2 in London?"
"The big arena that looks like a flying saucer with sticks coming out of it? The one that sits in the middle of the Thames?"
"That's the one," Steph said. "It's an indoor arena where they put on shows and sporting events, one of the biggest in Europe."
Everyone sat up a little bit straighter. Knowing where the next attack was scheduled meant they had a chance to stop it.
"When?" Selena asked. "When do they plan to target it?"
Stephanie said, "I don't know. All I have is the location, not the timing."
"Why would they target an arena?" Selena wondered. "It's not a strategic target."
"Neither was the center of Novosibirsk," Nick said.
"People," Lamont said. "If there was a big event, the place would be packed with people. This weapon makes people crazy. There would be a massive riot."
"Like in Novosibirsk," Ronnie said. "Only it would be worse. All those people crammed in
together. They would tear each other apart."
"It would be worse than Novosibirsk," Selena said. "London is much more crowded. The government would have to come down hard to stop it."
"They would declare a state of emergency and suspend civil liberties," Elizabeth said.
"But when the riots were over, the restrictions would be lifted. Wouldn't they?" Selena brushed a strand of hair away from her forehead.
"That depends on who is in control," Elizabeth said. "It's a lot easier to keep the lid on once the troops have been called out. You just keep the rhetoric going. You know, terrorist attack, threat to the nation, more attacks planned."
"That's cynical, Elizabeth."
"I prefer to think of it as being realistic," she said.
"What are we going to do about it?" Nick asked.
"We need to know what's happening at that arena. Stephanie, can you call up a schedule for the O2 on the monitor?"
Stephanie entered a few commands and a webpage came up with a list of events that were scheduled.
"Busy," Steph said.
"How many does the arena seat for one of the events?" Selena said.
"According to this, around 20,000," Steph said.
"I don't even want to think about 20,000 people going mad all at once," Nick said. "How do we know which event they're going to target?"
"We don't," Harker said. "We have to assume it could be any of them."
"They'd want to affect as many people as possible," Nick said. "Is anything coming up that's sold out?"
Steph scrolled through the list. "Yes, one. There's a concert this Saturday night featuring a British rock singer. I've seen him on television. He's got that same kind of electric energy Springsteen had when he did Born to Run."
"We have to let the Brits know there's a terrorist attack coming," Elizabeth said. "I know the Director of MI5. I'll talk with him. He'll get you inside the arena."
"We need to plan out the mission," Nick said. "I want Lamont in on this one."
Elizabeth looked at Lamont. Burps was still on his lap, with his paws in the air. Lamont was busy scratching his stomach.
"How are you feeling, Lamont?" she said.
"I'm fine, Director."
"You're up for a mission?"
"I'm going nuts sitting around here, Director. I'm okay, really."
"All right. Nick, you'd better get to it. You only have a few days before the concert. I'll book you on a commercial flight to London."
"The people behind this don't like us much," Nick said. "They could be waiting for us to show up."
"They could. I suggest you stay alert."
"That's it? Stay alert?"
"What do you expect me to say? This isn't a deep cover mission. MI5 will meet you in England."
"What about weapons?"
"Leave them here. The Brits have been sticky about Americans carrying guns lately. You'll have to get something from them." Harker paused. "Try not to step on any toes while you're there."
As they were walking out to the parking lot, Nick took Lamont aside.
"You really feeling okay, Shadow?"
"Yeah, I'm good Nick. I threw away those pills and I feel a lot better."
"Pretty soon to come back after a hit like that."
"Really Nick, I'm fine."
Nick looked at his friend and hoped it was true.
CHAPTER 27
The next morning, Nick and Selena sat next to each other on the flight to England. The Atlantic Ocean was a monotonous gray seascape far below. The first class seats were wide and comfortable, covered with cool, gray leather. Selena had upgraded their tickets. She didn't flout her wealth, but she saw no reason why she shouldn't make life easier with it. Lamont and Ronnie were two rows back.
Nick leaned back and closed his eyes. Beats a C130, Nick thought. He couldn't remember how many hours he'd spent inside the cold aluminum belly of some droning transport, sitting on a strap bench, weighted down with gear and heading for some godforsaken place where people wanted to kill him.
"Nick," Selena said.
Nick opened his eyes.
Selena said, "I need to tell Elizabeth about that file."
"What brought this on?"
"At first I thought that if Elizabeth knew about my father she'd want me off the team. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized you were right."
"About what?"
"When you said that I wasn't my father and that I was being biblical if I thought she would judge me because of what he was supposed to have done."
"So why do you want to tell her about it now?" Nick asked.
"I want to know who killed my family, if he's still alive. There isn't any way I can find that out on my own. I need help to get into the KGB files. Elizabeth has to okay that. Besides, it doesn't feel right to keep hiding this from her. What if someone discovers that my father is supposed to have sold secrets to the Russians? It could all come back on her."
"Adam told me that file is the only copy," Nick said.
"It may be the only copy Langley had but there must be something in the Russian files. They're even more obsessive about paperwork than we are. Even if it is the only copy, someone else may know what's in it."
Nick considered what she had said. "I suppose it's possible. It would be difficult to prove without hard evidence."
"All it would take is the accusation," Selena said. "It could make a lot of trouble for Elizabeth."
"What will you do if you find out that the assassin is still around?" Nick asked.
"I don't know. I'll figure that out when I need to."
Three hours later they landed at Heathrow.
Harker's MI5 contact was waiting for them. He was about 40 years old and looked like something out of a TV series made for PBS. He was dressed in a tailored blue suit with pinstripes. His white shirt gleamed. His tie was made of silk and probably told someone who understood the pattern what exclusive school he had attended.
"George Wigland," he said. "I'm your minder while you're visiting, Mister Carter. Let's hope your journey here is uneventful. Did you bring weapons?"
"No."
"Good. Then that's not a problem. We really don't want you going around armed, do we? I'm sure they won't be necessary."
"We were told you would provide them," Nick said. "We've had authorization to carry weapons in England before."
"It's not negotiable, I'm afraid. You won't need them. We'll take care of that."
"I hope you're right, Mister Wigland."
Ronnie lifted an eyebrow. Nick decided to keep his thoughts to himself. If Wigland thought this was going to be a walk in the park that was his business.
"Why don't you fill me in on the way to your hotel?" Wigland said. "We have a car waiting."
Nick briefed him during the ride in from the airport. Wigland didn't seem very interested in what Nick had to say. It was early evening. They agreed to meet in the morning. Wigland dropped them in front of the hotel and drove away. They watched him go.
"He doesn't seem too concerned about someone turning London into a kill zone," Lamont said.
"No," Nick said, "he doesn't."
"No weapons?" Ronnie said. "I know someone here who could help us out."
"I don't want to piss off the Brits. It would get Harker in trouble and she has enough on her plate right now. Maybe Wigland is right and we won't need them."
"Yeah, maybe. Maybe I'll win the lotto next time I buy a ticket."
"I'll talk to Harker. She might be able to get him to change his mind. Let's check in."
The hotel was a famous, exclusive landmark in the heart of London, overlooking Trafalgar Square. Selena had reserved a suite on the top floor.
The door to their room closed behind the bellhop. Nick eyed the perfect carpet and cream-colored furniture. No one could accuse the management of cutting corners when it came to providing for the luxury of its guests. The room was like something out of a designer magazine.
Nick gestured at the car
pet. "Are we allowed to walk on this? And look at that furniture. I'm almost afraid to sit down."
Selena laughed. "Nice, isn't it? It would be hard to live with, though. You can't take care of something like this without an army of maids."
Five minutes later there was a light knock on the door. Nick opened it for Ronnie and Lamont. Ronnie took one look and whistled.
"Nice digs. And I thought my room was something." He looked out the window at the square and a tall column with a statue on top. "Who's the guy on the pillar?"
"Admiral Lord Nelson," Selena said. "England's greatest naval hero. He defeated a superior French fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar and saved England. He was killed in the battle."
"The heroes always are," Lamont said. "Most of them don't get statues."
"Let's get down to business," Nick said. He sat on the couch with Selena. Ronnie and Lamont took chairs. Nick spread out plans of the O2 arena on a low table in front of the couch.
"Big," Ronnie said.
Nick nodded. "Besides the arena, there are restaurants, shops and a movie theater. There are a million places where someone could hide something."
"Bad odds," Lamont said.
"Best we've got."
"We can't search that whole complex," Lamont said.
"We don't have to. Wigland and his boys will have a team going through the place looking for anything suspicious. Our job is to watch the crowd, in case someone brings it in with them."
"You don't think they'd plant it ahead of time?" Ronnie said.
"They might, but the opposition probably knows we're on to them. If they place it ahead of time, it could be found. I think they'll wait until the last minute."
Selena said, "If this weapon makes people crazy, why would they have their agent in place when it goes off?"
"He won't know what he's carrying," Nick said. "The man who placed the receiver in Russia is dead. He was just a patsy."
Everyone had seen the video of the murderous riots in Novosibirsk, the images of rage and fear. No one mentioned the fact that if they failed to stop the attack, they would be affected like everyone else.
The Ajax Protocol (The Project) Page 9
