The Escape (John Puller 3)

CHAPTER

55

HE DID END up sending a coded message first, to advise his brother that he wanted to meet. Then he did what he had done before. Drove to Quantico, swapped cars and left via another exit. He drove the rural roads, doubling back and then doubling back again before setting off for his actual destination. His brother’s pickup truck was parked in front of the same motel room door.

He knocked. He saw the swish of curtains and put his hand on the butt of his M11. He said, “Bobby?” And his brother answered, “The coast is clear, Junior.”

Déjà vu.

Puller closed the door behind him, crossed the room, and sat down on the edge of the bed. His brother was on the chair he’d occupied at their last meeting.

“Heard the news?” asked Puller.

Robert nodded. “It’s all over the place. Carter’s dead.”

“And two other guys.”

“Media said a bomb.”

“Media is right. My partner Knox was there. She saw it all. She tried to prevent it. Almost got killed.”

“What exactly did she see?”

Puller gazed sternly at his brother

. “I said she almost got killed, Bobby. She’s in a hospital bed right now. She wanted to climb out of it, get back to work on this thing. To help try to clear you.”

It seemed to be an unfortunate quirk of his brother’s genius that he did not always grasp the personal side of the equation.

Robert looked thoroughly taken aback. “I’m sorry, John, how is she?”

“She’ll be okay.” He went on to tell his brother what Knox had observed.

“They moved fast, then,” said Robert. “And they had operatives who could get it done on short notice.”

“How do you know this hasn’t been planned for a long time?”

“You met with the man this morning and he’s dead by the early evening.”

“Could be unconnected.”

“We have to deal in probabilities, John. And the clear probability is that the connection is there. A plus B equals C.”

“But when we met with Carter and his sidekick, it was clear that they thought Reynolds was completely innocent. The matter was over and done in their mind.”

“I read your notes on the conversation. They might have said that, but I don’t think they believed it.”

“Based on what?”

“For one they played their hand too strong, John. The head of DTRA is not going to meet with you directly the morning after you had a nightcap with him. He is not going to bring in his chief internal security officer. I happen to know Blair Sullivan. He’s worked all over STRATCOM. If the guy said more than two words to you, or became emotional in any way, it was an act. That’s not what he does. He could see a piano falling toward his head while he was at an outdoor café having lunch and he’d just move to the right and finish his sandwich.”

“But why an act? Why try to deceive us? If they believed what we told them then I don’t get it.”

“Just the act of believing does not mean they wanted to necessarily collaborate with you on this. You’re not one of them. DTRA is a critical agency to this country. They would never want it to appear that they could not appropriately control their employees. And if they have a spy in their midst, that would be dirty laundry that they would most assuredly not air in public.”

“So what would they do?”

“Clean it up from the inside. That’s why Sullivan was there.”

“So they thought Reynolds was dirty?”

“I can’t tell you exactly what they thought, but I can tell you that for an allegation of spying they would not have done a quick financial search the next morning and concluded everything was hunky-dory. This would take some time to complete and they would have gone back over her entire history. She’s at the WMD Center, for God’s sake, John. There is no room for mistakes. And if you found out about the suspect circumstances of her husband’s death, then they could too. They have a whole department of extremely bright people to work on stuff like that.”

“Really? Well, if they were really bright people they wouldn’t have let her do what she’s been doing for probably the past twenty years, would they?”

“People have failed at their jobs on this; I would agree with you there.”

“So why did they target Carter so fast?”

“I would imagine at DTRA the scuttlebutt of your meeting with Carter and Sullivan reached Reynolds’s ears.”

“They told me that they had met with Reynolds and informed her of their conclusions.”

“Then there you are. But she must have suspected what I just did. That they weren’t satisfied. And that they were going to keep looking into it. So she made contact with her people. The decision was made to pull the trigger.”

“Damn, like you said, they don’t waste time.”

“The fact that they knew his travel schedule leads me to believe that Reynolds has spies everywhere over there.”

“Spies everywhere at DTRA? Are you serious?”

“Well, at least exceptionally well-placed ones even if they’re not numerous. And if you’re really well positioned the few can accomplish what sometimes the many can’t. A secretary, a clerk, a data manager. Those positions might seem relatively trivial, but they’re at the heart of important information flows.”

“I’m glad you can sit here and analyze this so calmly.”

“There are more spies here than you would ever want to believe, John. And not just in government. The corporate side is filled with them. And many of those come from our so-called allies. They steal our secrets, use them against us, and smile at us while they’re doing it. We’re America, the one-ton gorilla. Everybody hates us.”

“But what if Carter told someone of his suspicions? Wouldn’t his death put a bull’s-eye on Reynolds?”

“Possibly. But things don’t move that fast in the intelligence field. Carter was never in uniform. He’s a scholar and a wonk for the most part.”

“He killed three Taliban in Afghanistan to get away.”

“Granted, but in the intervening years he’s been immersed in academia, for want of a better term. Slow and sure drives the boat. He would have wanted to mull this over, gather and consider additional facts. He brought along Sullivan for his input, surely. Reynolds is at the managerial level at DTRA, with a distinguished record. You do not knee-jerk accuse someone like that without indisputable evidence. Otherwise you’re looking at a lawsuit and a huge black eye for the agency. And Carter could have lost his job.”

Puller shook his head in frustration. “This intelligence world is beyond me, Bobby. I’m used to being able to count on the people wearing the same uniform I do.”

“Now DTRA is not focused on Reynolds. They’re looking for who did this to Carter. And I doubt anyone will seriously believe she had anything to do with it.”

Puller rubbed his temples and said, “We still don’t know why Daughtrey was killed.”

“I think we can reasonably speculate that he was killed because he no longer wanted to play the game. Niles Robinson committed this same act of treachery when he came to Union Station to talk to me. They had followed him, perhaps surmised that I was on the other end of that line, and he paid the ultimate price.”

“Okay, but how did they bring Daughtrey into this in the first place? All I found out about him points to a patriot above reproach.”

“Then we have to find a reason why he would switch sides. It might be very subtle, but obviously enough for a ‘patriot’ to turn tables.”

Puller thought about this. “He has a condo in Pentagon City.”

“Think you can get in there?”

“I can try.”

“I’d like to go with you.”

“Not going to happen, Bobby. Nothing personal, but if I get caught with you, we’re both going to DB as fast as they can get us there.”

As Puller rose to go, Bobby said, “I am sorry about your friend. Sometimes I’m too damn analytical for my own good.”

Puller smiled weakly at his brother. “Don’t worry about it. Comes with being a genius, I guess.”

“Well, that doesn’t seem like a good enough reason,” said Robert quietly.