“I haven’t read that, either,” Fritz said.
“Then read it. It’s by Eugene Field, who wrote children’s poetry in the late nineteenth century. There are four stanzas. I don’t have time to recite the whole thing for you, so Google it, print it, and go through it carefully. Give some thought to the wooden shoe and the nets of silver and gold. There could be other meanings, who knows? Now beat it.”
—
Fritz left Hipp’s office, went back to his cubicle, found the poem, and printed it, while two of his colleagues looked over his shoulder. “What is it?”
“A poem that Hipp said to take a look at,” Fritz replied. He printed two more copies and handed them to the two young men, who read it.
“Check out the last stanza,” one of them said.
—
Fritz read aloud:
“Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
And Nod is a little head.
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
Is a wee one’s trundle bed.”
The three looked at each other. Fritz was the first to speak. “So what the fuck does that mean?”
13
Holly Barker was working at her desk at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, when her boss, Lance Cabot, the Agency’s deputy director for operations, walked into her office and sat down across the desk from her.
“Good morning,” he said.
This was odd, Holly thought; she had met with him two hours before, at eight A.M., as was their daily custom. “Good morning again,” she replied.
Lance looked at her thoughtfully
but said nothing.
“What?” Holly asked.
“It appears that you will no longer be working for me,” he said finally.
Holly sat back in her chair. “Are you firing me, Lance?”
“There are signs you might be moving from under my wing.”
“Come on, Lance, spit it out.”
“Are you saying you don’t know what I’m talking about?”
“Finally, you understand me. First of all, there’s nowhere to promote me. I’ve gone as far as I can in operations, so unless you are resigning or being promoted, where would I go?”
“Only the director knows,” he said.
Holly shook her head. “I’m baffled.” Her phone rang.
“Answer it,” Lance said.
Holly picked up the phone. “Holly Barker.”