Hagen stared at him questioningly. "You've told no one about this, not even your security council?"
"Perhaps I'm paranoid, but this `Joe' character slipped through my Secret Service cordon like a fox through a barnyard. And he claimed members of the ìnner core' were highly placed at NASA and the Pentagon. It stands to reason they've also penetrated the intelligence agencies and my White House staff as well."
Hagen studied the President's report of the golf course meeting intently, going back occasionally to check the Jersey Colony file. Finally he hoisted his body off the bicycle and sat on a bench, looking at the President.
"This photo blowup of a man sitting next to you in a golf cart. Is that Joe?"
"Yes. When returning to the clubhouse, I spotted a reporter from the Washington Post who had been photographing my golf game through a telescopic lens. I asked him to do me a favor and send an enlargement over to the White House so I could autograph it for my caddy."
"Good thinking." Hagen peered closely at the picture and then set it aside. "What do you want me to do, Vince?"
"Dig out the names of the ìnner core.' "
"Nothing else? No information or evidence on the Jersey Colony project?"
"When I know who they are," the President said in a dead voice, "they'll be rounded up and interrogated. Then we'll see how deep their tentacles reach."
"If you want my opinion, I'd pin a medal on every one of those guys."
"I may just do that," the President replied with a cold smile. "But not before I stop them from kicking off a bloody battle for the moon."
"So it adds up to a presidential cutout situation. You can't trust anyone in normal intelligence circles and you're hiring me to be your private field intelligence agent."
"Yes."
"What's my deadline?"
"The Russian spacecraft is set to land on the moon nine days from now. I need every hour I can steal to prevent a fight between their cosmonauts and our moon colonists that might spread into a space conflict that none of us could stop. The ìnner core' must be convinced to back off. I've got to have them under wraps, Ira, at least twenty-four hours before the Russians touch down."
"Eight days isn't much to find nine men."
The President gave a helpless shrug. "Nothing comes easy."
"A certificate saying I'm your brother-in-law won't be enough to pass me through legal and bureaucratic roadblocks. I'll require a concrete cover."
"I leave it to you to create one. An Alpha Two clearance should get you through most doors."
"Not bad," said Hagen. "The Vice President only carries a Three."
"I'll give you the number of a safe phone line. Report to me day or night. Understood?"
"Understood."
"Questions?"
"Raymond LeBaron, dead or alive?"
"Undecided. The wife refused to identify the body found in the blimp as his. She was right. I asked the FBI director, Sam Emmett, to take possession of the remains from Dade County, Florida. They're over at Walter Reed Army Hospital now, undergoing examination."
"Can I see the county coroner's report?"
The President shook his head in wonderment. "You never miss a trick, do you, Ira?"
"Obviously there had to be one."
"I'll see you get a copy."
"And the lab results at Walter Reed."