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“You son of a bitch!”
Stone took the phone. “We’ll call you back with the place and time. And we’ll throw in Simpson for no extra charge. I have no desire to keep him.”
“John, nice to hear your voice. Do you know how difficult you’ve made things for me?”
“It seems to be the only thing I live for anymore.”
“And of course you won’t be lying in wait to ambush me.”
“You’ll have to take your chances, just like I will.”
“And what if I don’t show up?”
“Then the orders for Andropov and Chernenko’s assassinations get sent to five people in D.C., none of whom you’d call a friend. And then we can let the distinguished senator sell you out to save himself. I think he’d make a great witness.”
“After all these years you think anyone will really care?”
“Fine, if you don’t think it matters, why bother coming? We’ll just messenger them out and let the chips fall. Take care, Carter.”
“Wait!”
A few moments of silence passed.
Stone said, “I don’t hear anything.”
“Where did you get these orders? Lesya?”
“You don’t need to know. Roger has seen them. And judging by the paleness of his skin I’d say he thinks it matters a lot.”
“He was always a bit excitable. Not like you and me. All right, John, but if you really want to do a deal, you’ll have to sweeten the pot. I want the original recording you took at Murder Mountain.”
“That’s not negotiable.”
“Oh, but it is. You cost me my career. I want it back. And don’t try to run and make copies. We have technology now that shows that.”
“And if I don’t?”
“I don’t have to tell you the consequences, do I?”
Stone looked at Fi
“Then I’d prefer to pick the location.”
“I know, that’s why I’m doing it. One more thing. Anything happens to David Fi
“You’re not what you once were, John. I have fifty men as good as you ever were.”
“Make that forty-nine. I ran into one of your best about a month ago, an ex-Triple Six turned spy.”
Gray put down the phone and wiped a trickle of sweat from his face.
CHAPTER 88
MANDY AND THE REST of the Fi
Back at the cellar Stone quickly made it clear that only he and Fi
“Oliver,” Alex said. “You have no idea how many people Gray’s going to be bringing. If you remember Murder Mountain, it was a lot of guys with submachine guns.”
Stone said, “This time we’ll have the advantage.” He looked at A
Alex stepped between them. “Wait a minute. If anyone’s going in there with you, it’s going to be me, not A
“She will only be involved in getting David out of the building. We have a way to do that that doesn’t involve confrontation with Gray and his men.” He looked at A
She looked at Stone and then over at Alex. “Well, your handpicked replacement did a pretty good job. So I am game. Where is this all going to go down?”
Fi
“It’s not finished yet,” Milton said.
“Which is exactly why we’re using it,” Stone answered.
Fi
“But the visitor center isn’t even open, like Milton said,” Reuben added. “Why would Homeland Security want you to test its defenses now?”
“Because that’s exactly what a terrorist might think. Hit it now before it’s fully up and ru
“When is all this going to happen?” A
“Tomorrow night,” Stone answered.
Alex said, “But that’s the night of the mock terrorist attack on Capitol Hill. We got that notice a while back. The place will be total chaos, Oliver. Ambulances, police, fire trucks, casualties, total bedlam.”
“Chaos always makes it easier to escape,” Stone noted.
“If you escape,” A
“You’ve summed it up nicely,” Stone said.
“How do you know Gray won’t just kill Simpson? He might be pretending to agree to do an exchange and then his men will just kill all of you.” They all turned to stare at Milton as he finished speaking. “When you’ve been around Oliver long enough you do tend to get a bit paranoid.”
Stone smiled before answering. “Milton, you’re absolutely right. In fact, I don’t think Gray would have any trouble killing Simpson and then blaming it on us. But I do have something he really wants. And I knew he’d ask for it.”
“The evidence you used to make him resign,” Alex said.
“That’s really the only reason he’s coming. The orders we have only tie Simpson to the assassinations of Andropov and Chernenko.”
“So Gray comes with a lot of firepower and the exchange is made. Once he has what he wants, how are you going to get David and yourselves out of there safely?” A
“There is a way,” Stone said. “And we’re going to need help from all of you to do it.”
CHAPTER 89
FINN’S RED CELL TEAM had prepped a tractor-trailer rig for use on its pla
And Fi
He was now driving the rig through the middle of the capital. As he pulled into the entrance to the visitor center he could see preparations for the mock terrorist attack unfolding all around him.
He brought his truck to a stop in the loading dock alley and hopped out. He wore the requisite uniform and had the proper ID, and shipping orders all phony but good enough to fool a very bored government gunslinger. He showed the manifest to the guard and then popped the back door of the truck. The guard inspected the cargo, even pulling the tops off some of the boxes and peering in before closing them back up.
Fi