The Hunters (Presidential Agent 3)

“Congratulations again on your promotion, Colonel,” Betty said and offered her hand to shake.

He took it.

She shook it briefly, turned, and walked to the door.

There, she turned again and said, “Take care of yourself, Charley.”

And then she was gone.

“Oh, shit,” Castillo said, slowly.

He stared at the empty doorway, shook his head, then walked to the conference room.

XV

[ONE]

Conference Room

Office of the Chief of Operational Analysis

Department of Homeland Security

Nebraska Avenue Complex

Washington, D.C.

1015 11 August 2005

Castillo saw that there were now names and events and dates written all over the three blackboards, most of them marked with symbols, arrows, and question marks and connected by a maze of arrows. Juliet Knowles and the pale-faced girl whose name he didn’t know were sitting with their fingers poised on the keyboards of the laptops.

Inspector John J. Doherty turned from the blackboard on which he was writing to see who had entered the conference room.

“I’m beginning to understand, Colonel,” Doherty said, “what I originally thought was your overzealous desire for secrecy.”

Castillo ignored the remark and looked at Dick Miller.

“I think we’ll know something from NSA about where that two million dollars came from by tomorrow morning, maybe even sooner. But we’re going to need Yung to make sense out of what they’re going to be able to get for us. How about making sure he comes up here just as soon as he can after the funeral?”

Miller nodded and picked up one of the telephones.

“That’s Special Agent Yung of the FBI you’re talking about?” Doherty asked.

Castillo nodded. “He’s an expert in money moving,” he said.

“I know,” Doherty said.

Castillo didn’t like Doherty’s tone of voice.

“I understand he also knows where the FBI hides their skeletons.”

“That, too,” Doherty said. “What two million dollars are we talking about?”

“The two million dollars somebody gave the Aari-Teg mosque in Philadelphia so they could buy a farm in Bucks County in which they are going to hide in old iron mines when someone sets off a suitcase nuke in the City of Brotherly Love,” Castillo rattled off.

Doherty considered that for a long moment and then exclaimed, “Jesus Christ, is that credible?”

“Britton doesn’t think so and…”