Mike Freeman picked up his phone at the L.A. offices of Strategic Services. “Yes?”
“Mike, it’s Scott Hipp.”
“Hello, Scott, how’s life?”
“Interesting,” Hipp replied.
“Uh-oh.”
Hipp laughed. “You have a point: when it’s interesting here, it’s often hairy elsewhere.”
“That has been my experience,” Mike replied. “What is it this time? Any more mentions of The Arrington in your traffic?”
“No, but . . . You still have a scrambler on that phone?”
The scrambler was one manufactured by the electronics division of Strategic Services, and Hipp had been given one. Mike pressed a button. “Go,” he said.
“My people picked up an e-mail sent from a cell phone in California to a Middle Eastern website we keep a watch on. It read: ‘All is well. I am fine.’”
“Did you run it through decoding?”
“Yes, and it appears to have been sent in the clear.”
“Sounds like someone has completed a task,” Mike said.
“Right. It was signed ‘Nod.’”
“As in land of Nod?”
“Correct. We’re running references on that now.”
“So the only connection to The Arrington is that it came from California?”
“So far. That and the fact that it was transmitted via a cell tower at the top of Stone Canyon, in L.A.”
“I know the one—it would cover The Arrington’s location.”
“Yes, but because of the tower’s elevation, it would cover a big chunk of Beverly Hills and the San Fernando Valley, as well.”
“You have a point.”
“A rather blunt point, I’m afraid.”
“Right now, that’s the way I like it,” Mike said. “If it were any sharper, I’d be worried.”
“Are you worried enough for me to pass this on to the Secret Service?”
“If it were my call, no,” Mike said. “But that’s your call.”
“I think I’ll hold off until I have more, if we should actually get more, which I doubt.”
“I think that’s wise.”
There was a brief silence, then Hipp said, “You know Holly Barker, don’t you?”
“Sure,” Mike said. “I sold our air transport company to the Agency a few years back, and Holly ran it for a few months, until they could hire somebody who could get through the vetting.”
“Well, Holly got promoted to assistant director at the Agency.”