by L.T. Ryan
Chapter 8
The drive to D.C. took just under six hours. We took I-95 past the outer loop to I-395. Crossed the Potomac and drove into downtown. I found a parking garage near the National Mall on 11th Street. We left the car there and exited the garage onto 11th Street, turning left toward Pennsylvania Avenue.
I pointed at a store across the road. “We stand out. Let’s get some clothes.”
I found a brown leather jacket, t-shirt, and a pair of jeans. Bear donned a sweatshirt and cargo pants. We paid for the clothes and left the store.
“Grab some lunch?” Bear pointed at a pizza place across the street.
I pulled out the paper Abbot gave me with Neil Delaney’s number written on it.
“Yeah, let’s eat, and then I’ll call our contact.”
We sat at a table on the front patio. A black gate stretched out and separated the open air dining area from the sidewalk. Pedestrians walked by with their heads tilted back, noses in the air, taking in the smell of fresh baked pizza. A waitress with straight brown hair and very little makeup came to our table. We ordered a large cheese pizza and two beers. The air was cool and the smell of melted cheese, rising crust, and tomato sauce overwhelmed my senses. It felt like a perfect day. It would be a perfect day if it weren’t for the fact we were trying to save our lives.
Tourists, business people, and even politicians passed by. “Look,” Bear said. “Robert Marlowe. Seen him on the news a lot over the last year. Deputy Secretary of Defense.”
I watched the group of men approach. Marlowe walked in between two other men. He wore a blue suit, red striped tie, and a tan London Fog overcoat. His hair was a mix of silver and black, thin on top. He was clean shaven and wore thin glasses. He was tall and looked to be in good shape for a man his age. The men on either side were approximately the same age. I figured them to be politicians as well. Two Department of Defense agents followed close behind. They were younger than the three politicians and wore dark suits, dark glasses, and earpieces, just like you see in the movies. They scanned the street and sidewalk. I figured time moved in slow motion for them. They were trained to notice everything and take out a threat at a moment’s notice.
“Wonder if he knows about us?” I said.
Bear smiled. “I could go ask.”
“Find out if he’d never heard about our program. Can you imagine what that investigation would uncover if he hadn’t?”
“Don’t want to,” Bear said shaking his head. He took a bite of thick crust, chewed on it for a moment, and then swallowed. “From what I gather,” he wiped his face with a napkin, “this guy is big on Iraq, us getting involved over there. So who knows, maybe he does know about us. Maybe he’s the reason we’re there.”
I watched the Deputy Secretary walk past us without batting an eye in our direction. One of the agents assigned to Marlowe appeared to take notice of me watching him. The agents gaze lingered on me longer than anyone or anything else he’d looked at. I glanced away, reaching into my inside coat pocket in an effort to give him something to think about. A moment later I looked up. They had kept walking and were fifty feet past our position. It looked like the agent had forgotten all about me. I knew looks could be deceiving, though.
The waitress dropped the bill on our table. I finished my beer and set the empty bottle on top of two twenty dollar bills so the breeze wouldn’t blow them away. We exited the patio, and joined the stream of people walking toward the National Mall. We turned right on Pennsylvania Avenue and crossed the road at 15th Street, near the White House. I cut through the grassy area between 15th Street and the Presidential Park to get away from the crowds. Groups of trees were spaced out along the lawn, offering shade from the bright sun above.
I stopped near a fountain, looking around to make sure no one was within ear shot. Once I was sure the area was reasonably secure, I reached into my pocket, pulled out my cell phone and the paper with Delaney’s number. My fingers punched the numbers on the keypad. I brought the phone to my head and heard the call connect.
A man answered on the third ring. “Yeah?”
“Yeah, is this Neil Delaney?”
“Who’s this?”
“You don’t know me, but we have a friend in common.”
I looked over my shoulder and saw a couple walking hand in hand in my direction. I turned to the right and walked toward a tree.
“Who? Who’s the friend?”
“Colonel Abbot,” I said.
Delaney said nothing.
I looked around again, as if he were standing nearby. “You there?”
“How do you know Abbot?”
“He’s my CO.”
Delaney cleared his throat and continued in a hushed voice. “This isn’t a safe conversation to have on the phone.” He paused. “People are — uh, you know where the Lincoln Memorial is?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I can find it.”
“OK, you do that. Meet me there in forty-five minutes. Got it? Can you get there by then?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Stand on Abe’s right side, fifth step from the top. Got it?”
“Right side facing him or his right side?”
Delaney sighed. “Facing. I got to go. Forty-five minutes. Be there. You got one shot.”
“What do you mean one—” The call disconnected before I could finish. I shook my head, and tried not to read too much into Delaney’s behavior. It was possible I caught him off guard and that’s why he acted the way he did. I pushed away from the tree and started walking toward the park, on the lookout for Bear.
He found me first.
“How’d it go?”
I put the phone back in my pocket and turned to face him. “He knew something, that much was obvious.” I looked past Bear, trying to figure out where he had been during the call. “The moment I said Abbot was my CO, Delaney freaked.”
Bear leaned his head back, looked up at the tree in bloom. “What do you mean, freaked?”
“Went silent. Started whispering.”
“Guess this won’t be a wasted trip then, will it.”
“We have to be at the Lincoln Memorial, forty-five minutes. Right side, fifth step from the top. He’ll find us.”
Bear pointed toward the Washington National Monument. “That’s at the far end, past the monument there.”
“Guess we should head over then.”
