Don Case wasn’t invited to the President's strategy meeting this morning. It was just Harry and the Vice President. It happened this way now and then when Harrison had fast decisions to make before bringing in the others.
Case was entering notes from yesterday afternoon's session with Harry and the crew when his assistant rang.
"A. J. Minter and Representative Platt are here to see you," she said. "He doesn't have an appointment, but he said they would only take a moment of your time."
Minter? President Parkes's Chief of Staff? What is he doing here?
"Are they right there with you?"
"Yes, sir. Shall I bring them in?"
She was clearly flustered by this breach of protocol. No one showed up unannounced and asked to see a person at this level in government. Even congressmen and presidential assistants called for an appointment.
Don closed his laptop and said, "Of course. Show them in."
Minter came in first, followed by Eric Platt, a Democratic congressman from . . . where? Case couldn't recall. He'd never met the man, but you recognized the faces when you'd been in Washington awhile. When your agency was beholden to Congress for funding, you made sure you didn't ignore even the ones you didn't know personally.
The Chief of Staff was his usual jolly self, Case thought wryly as he watched the slump-shouldered man shuffle in with the representative in tow.
"Good morning, gentlemen. To what do I owe the honor of this visit?"
Minter said, "You know Representative Platt, I think."
Case shook the man's hand. "I'm not sure we've met, but of course I know who you are, sir. The agency appreciates everything you folks up on the Hill do for us."
In his usual awkward manner, Minter hemmed and hawed, gazed at the floor and said, "Uh, you can go back to whatever you're doing, Mr. Case. I just wanted to show Representative Platt the office for a minute . . ."
Don suddenly realized what was going on, but he was determined not to make this easy for either of them. If Platt was taking a tour of the director's office, accompanied by the President's lackey, it could mean only one thing.
He played dumb. "I'm not sure I understand, Mr. Minter. You two are on a tour?"
Minter was so flustered at this point it would have been laughable in other circumstances. As happened so often, the President had put him in an extremely uncomfortable situation, one that the Chief of Staff had no idea how to handle. He stammered a moment and Platt stepped in.
"I'm sorry, Director Case. I was under the impression you knew why we were here."
"He doesn't know," Minter mumbled under his breath. "The President hasn't told him."
"I'm so sorry, Director. There's obviously a serious miscommunication here and I apologize for the inconvenience. We'll get back with you later."
Now Don twisted the screw. Platt was a good guy and he was caught in the middle, but the director was going to have a little fun with the situation. He had nothing to lose at this point.
"No, no! You've come all the way over here. By all means, look around. I insist! Do you need a tape measure or anything? I'm here to help. Some of this furniture's mine personally, by the way. Do you want me to show you which pieces?"
Platt was turning red with embarrassment and Minter looked like a whipped dog.
The representative said sharply, "A.J., let's go. Director Case has work to do and so do I."
When he was alone, Don couldn't help but laugh, even though this was deadly serious. He called the island and Harry answered immediately – any news from the CIA at this juncture could be critical.
"We'd better get into high gear, sir. They just paraded my replacement through my office."
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
A. J. Minter didn't have any friends.
He couldn't remember having even one in his entire life. Maybe that was his fault. God knows his mother had said enough times he'd never have any friends if he didn't get out and meet people.
Then again, his mother had said a lot of things.
Children are to be seen, not heard. A.J., let's play the quiet game. See how long you can go without interrupting. If you don't have anything to say, don't say anything. Can't you ever stop talking?
Every time he came home from school, bursting to tell her what had happened today, she said one of those things. I'm busy right now. Don't talk. Can't you see I'm doing something important?
At last he got it. He quit trying, and he stopped talking to other people too. He hung his head a lot and boys bullied him, calling him a sissy. He was smart – really smart – and he made top grades, but he never, ever had any friends.
Some people felt sorry for A.J. His high school counselor couldn't remember ever seeing a more awkward boy, and he took pity on the intelligent kid who had no social skills. He'd gotten a flyer announcing that two students could go to Washington, just an hour away, and serve as pages in the United States Senate for a week. It might be good for the boy, the counselor thought as he wrote A.J.'s name and one other on the nomination sheet and sent it in. When A.J. was chosen and his mother agreed to let him go, no one was more surprised than the boy was. He figured she just wanted him out of the house so things would be quiet. But he decided that now, for once in his life, he was going to step out. And he did it.
He and a girl from his class who'd never spoken to him rode the bus to Washington. They stayed in a hotel with a hundred other pages who worked in the United States Capitol building for a week. He'd never been there and he was absolutely blown away. He was randomly assigned to Representative Cham Parkes from Texas, and he spent a week mostly running errands and doing whatever the congressman told him to do. Parkes wasn't very nice to people, A.J. noticed, but at least he talked to the boy. It was the most exciting thing he had ever done in his entire life, and he vowed to work there someday.
A.J. won a scholarship to the University of Virginia, majoring in political science and graduating with honors. He returned to Washington to do the one thing that had piqued his interest. He wanted to work in the Capitol, and he went straight to the only man he knew – Representative Parkes, who hired him as a staffer.
A decade later, here he was, still a glorified page but now Chief of Staff. He was still running errands and getting ordered around by the man who had been Speaker and now was President. It was exciting, A.J. had to admit, but his boss really was a jerk.
Tonight he faced a dilemma. He'd listened and overheard things time and again that were underhanded, sneaky and sometimes just plain wrong, but he'd never overheard anything like what had happened today.
He had felt downright dirty yesterday when he and Representative Platt had walked into Director Case's office. He knew Parkes was shoving Case's replacement down his throat, announcing his impending termination the dirty way – Parkes's way – but A.J. wished he'd had no part of it. Platt didn't like it either – he was a nice guy and he was deeply embarrassed by what had happened. It was simply wrong.
For the first time in years, he decided to do something that was good, proper and right instead of being pushed around by other people. He picked up his home phone. He would never dare to make this call at the office.
"There's a call from A. J. Minter at the White House, sir."
Case glanced at his watch – it was nearly eight. He was surprised that Minter worked as late as he did, and after yesterday's office visit, he wondered what was next.
"This is Don Case. What can I do for you?"
"We need to meet. I have something to say, and I don't know anyone else to talk to. It's something so big we have to find a secret place to meet, someplace President Parkes can't know about."
They met after dark in the parking lot of a Walmart not far from where Minter lived. He appeared extremely nervous and went straight to the point.
The President had taken a call from Amin Hassan, he told Case. "I had dropped off some cups in the pantry next to the Oval Office, and he didn't know I was there. I didn't intend to eavesdrop, but I couldn'
t help overhearing. It was wrong, but what the President's doing is wrong too. I didn't know who else to call, and after the embarrassing thing in your office yesterday, I thought of you. I know you're no friend of the President, and right now I'd be afraid to tell this to anyone who is. But someone has to know. This just isn't right, Director Case. It's bad for our country."
You don't know the half of it, Case thought.
Minter had only heard one side of the conversation, but he related how Parkes had called Hassan a slimy bastard, how they'd talked about ten million dollars Parkes got and how he was already working to fulfill his part of a bargain. Case grew more and more astounded – and concerned – as he listened.
Finally he told Minter to go home and keep everything to himself. He promised to be back in touch as quickly as he could.
"Hurry," A.J. advised. "The President's not going to keep you around much longer. I can stall it a day or two maybe once he gives the order. But it'll be really soon. Just hurry."
As he drove home, Don Case, director of the CIA, a man who was typically unflappable in a crisis, literally shook like a leaf.
This was it! Holy Mother of God!
Case went back to Langley. His men had hacked Cham Parkes's cellphone. They could see the calls but had no idea what was said. They knew Cham Parkes had called Amin Hassan during the night and that Hassan had called him back this morning. That last call was the one A. J. Minter was talking about. Case looked at the record – there it was, date and time noted. He picked up the secure, encrypted phone. This was the mother of all smoking guns and he had to tell his boss immediately.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
Brian wasn't sure what was going on this morning, but it certainly wasn't business as usual around here. He and Nicole were having breakfast on the patio with Henry and Julia when Agent Moore walked from table to table, whispering in the ears of three people – the Vice President, Secretary of State and the Chief of Staff. Each exited the room immediately, leaving his breakfast unfinished. For the past hour they had been with the President behind closed doors.
Nicole commented, "I wonder what's up?"
Henry replied, "I can only hope it's a breakthrough. We need something to get the ball rolling."
In Harry's office at the other end of the house, the attendees listened to Director Case on speakerphone, explaining what he'd told Harry last night. Case said what Minter had revealed. The men around Harry's desk agreed there was no way Parkes could get out of this one. His words left no room for misunderstanding. He was in something dark – something criminal.
The team was upbeat even though this was the most serious situation the United States had ever faced. There had been instances of betrayal from within but never at the top. And never involving such a heinous individual as Amin Hassan.
The Speaker of the House had obviously made a pact with the Syrian billionaire. In exchange for Hassan's paving the way for Parkes to become President – which could only happen by getting rid of any obstacles – Parkes would receive ten million dollars and fulfill "his side of the bargain." That part wasn't spelled out, but everyone in the room knew what Hassan wanted. He wanted to dominate the oil business worldwide, starting with ExxonMobil. He'd been blocked once in that quest, but he was making sure it didn't happen the next time he tried.
With a puppet in the White House, Amin could achieve his goal. The President and Vice President had been eliminated. Two conservative Supreme Court justices were dead, leaving the court leaning to the left. There were three new cabinet Secretaries, each in a position to help Hassan. With Parkes and Lou Breaux running the country, it was a classic case of the foxes in the henhouse, except this time there was a fearsome specter behind the scenes. There was a man who financed the Falcons of Islam, the terror group who had taunted Americans, saying they had sleepers – non-Muslim terrorists – hidden inside the US already. They were planning to attack the country from within, and the President of the United States was right in the middle of it.
In the interest of grabbing power and fortune, Chambliss T. Parkes had literally made a deal with the devil. He had to be stopped. The men in this room, all of whom were presumed dead by the American people, had to create a plan. They had absolutely no time to waste. If Parkes replaced the CIA director, their plan to stop Parkes would end. Don Case was their conduit of information, and they had to move quickly before he was shut down.
Brian and Nicole were swimming with Jennifer and the girls when Harry and his team walked out onto the veranda. They joined him at a table and he said, "Sorry I was tied up this morning. We have a major development and we've been discussing strategy with Don." No one could miss how serious he sounded.
"Are we leaving, Daddy?" Lizzie asked. "Are we going home now?"
"Not yet, honey. We're going to stay a little while longer."
"Oh, boy!" Kate said, clapping her hands. "I love it here! I don't ever want to go home!"
Their mother laughed and commented, "Ah, the sweet innocence of youth!"
Nicole nodded her head. It was nice to see the girls so happy.
Brian asked, "Not meaning to pry, but are you optimistic about this major development? I'm hoping it was a positive one."
"It was positive and it's huge. I wish I could discuss it with you, but for the moment we're keeping this one under wraps. I will say this – it's not going to be easy, and there are some huge obstacles, the primary one being that we have a very short timeframe to make some really big things happen." He took Jennifer's hand. "I'll be tied up in meetings, the first one starting right after lunch. This may go on for a while."
She squeezed his hand. "You've been a basket case since we got here, Harry. You've been pretending things are okay for the sake of everyone else, when all of this is weighing hard on you. Cham Parkes is dangerous – every decent American knows that. Whatever needs to be done, go do it. Your team's the best and I have faith in all of you. I'd rather have our country's future in your hands than anyone else's."
Brian and Nicole nodded in agreement.
They went through the buffet line and brought soup and fish sandwiches out to their table. Clearly deep in thought, Harry ate in silence as the adults chatted and the girls laughed at each other's jokes. As soon as he finished, Harry excused himself. They didn't see the team again that day. Later Jennifer explained that the four of them were having a working dinner in the office.
The next morning President Parkes announced his choice for attorney general. The position required Senate confirmation, but in an unprecedented side note, Parkes said the current AG, an appointee of Harry Harrison's, would be leaving office immediately.
"I'm sure you've heard about Parkes's AG appointment," Brian said when Harry joined them at the breakfast table. "I saw it on the news a few minutes ago."
"He can't do what he's doing. Not legally, I mean. I spoke to Michelle this morning. She's livid, as we all are."
Michelle Isham was the Senate Majority Leader and one of the three in Washington who knew Harry was alive. She was a Midwesterner – an Iowa girl – who was in her fourth term in the Senate. The attorney general had called her last night and said he was being forced out. Parkes had told him to submit his resignation this morning and the AG had complied.
Isham told Harry that the AG had simply given up. "I'm not serving under that asshole. They can all go to hell. Life's too short," he had said in defeat.
Harry told Michelle it would have been better for the cause if the AG had stayed and fought, but he understood. Although she wasn't in the loop on the newest development, Isham knew time was short. Something had to happen to stop all this, and it had to be soon.
"Back to work," Harry said, pushing back his chair. Just then his mother and father came outside, and Harry stopped to kiss her cheek. "See you guys by lunchtime, God willing."
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
That morning Brian and Nicole took bicycles and traversed an eleven-mile trail that ran along the island's shoreline. It was a beautiful da
y and a great ride. When they returned, they went to the veranda and were pleased to see Harry and his kids in the pool. The President looked happy, Brian thought. Maybe things were going well.
Things were going well, Harry believed. He and Marty had spent two hours alone this morning. They had worked out a plan. It was good, but implementation would be the difficult part. It was tough when so few people were in on the secret. Most people thought Cham Parkes was someone they had to live with, at least through the Democratic convention in August and most likely for four years after that. Only the people on the island and the three in DC could be enlisted to help.
This afternoon they'd bring Aaron and Bob back into the office, get Don Case on the line and finalize things. Time was so short that they agreed to work straight through until what they had dubbed Operation Clawback was finished and ready to go.
Time seriously was running out for all of them. If they didn't have Don as CIA director, Harry would have to let more people in on the secret or the mission couldn't be accomplished. Even one more person who knew Air Force One and Two really hadn't crashed was one more person who could blow the entire thing wide open.
If Cham Parkes – or worse, if Amin Hassan – found out they were alive, Harry feared for the future of the country itself. If the Falcons of Islam really did have a band of sleeper terrorists across America and if they struck at once, it could mean the end of the United States. And President Parkes would have been an instrument of the jihadists to make it all happen.
It was a strange crew who sat around Harry's desk on the island this afternoon. Three dead men – the President, the Vice President and the Secretary of State – conferred with three very live individuals who sat around a conference table in Director Case's office. The always-secure phones had been checked once again before the meeting started. This would be the call to end all calls.
The team took a huge risk by choosing Case's office. The Senate Majority Leader and the chief justice were very familiar faces in Washington, and it would be hard to meet anywhere in secret. Inside the Beltway someone was always watching – looking for a news story or a tidbit of information that a foreign government could use. Finding a place and getting the players there was an obstacle; Harry finally told them to use the director's office. Case had a private elevator that ran directly from the underground parking garage to his office, and it had carried many individuals who were here for meetings nearly as sensitive as this one.
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