Separation of Power

The deputy director of the CIA shook the hand of his patron. "Good to see you also, Hank. You look nice and ta

"I was down at the island last weekend." Clark was distracted for a split second as he thought of his meeting with Ellis. "I'll have to have you down sometime. You love it. Do you like to fish or sail?"

"Both"

"Good, then. If all goes well in the next few weeks we'll have to fly down and celebrate our victory." Clark gestured to a wing chair. "Have a seat. May I get you anything to drink?"

"No, thank you." Brown sat in the chair and watched as Clark walked around the coffee table and sat down on the large brown leather sofa.

Clark unbuttoned his jacket and laid his arms out casually across the back of the couch. "This is the part where it gets tricky, Jonathan."

With a laugh that was more nervous than humorous Brown said, "I thought we were already in the tricky part."

Clark chose to ignore what he took as a sign of weakness and pushed on. "Rudin is ready to jump, or almost ready. All he needs is a little push from us, and he'll bring Ke

Brown knew Clark didn't call him to his office to simply fill him in. "Where do I come in?"

"I'm meeting with someone tomorrow. Former FBI. His name is Norb Steveken." Clark winked. "Very trustworthy."

The former federal judge wasn't impressed that the man had worked for the FBI. There were times on the bench when he thought the FBI was every bit as ruthless and corrupt as the people they were after. "What does he do now?"

"He's an investigator."

"For whom?"

"For whoever happens to be paying him."

Brown accepted the senator's answer. He'd learned long ago that Clark had acquaintances from virtually every walk of life. "Who's paying right now?"

Clark batted away Brown's concerns with a wave of his hand. "You don't need to concern yourself with that. The important thing is that when you talk to him you need to seem very reluctant to give him what he needs, at least at first."

"And what does he need?"

"He needs information that Congressman Rudin can use to launch hearings."

Brown knew it would come to this eventually but it didn't lessen his discomfort. Used to keeping his cool on the bench, he pressed forward. "What information?"

Clark casually crossed his legs and said, "Give him the goods on the Orion Team."

Not quite sure he'd heard right. Brown asked, "You want me to tell a former FBI agent about the Orion Team?"

"Don't worry," Clark cautioned. "I've convinced Congressman Rudin to meet with Mr. Steveken. I've told Albert that I don't want to get involved in this, and I don't intend to get you dragged into it, either."

"Then why are you asking me to meet with this Steveken fellow?"

"Steveken will do what I tell him, and I'm going to tell him if you give him anything it will be off the record, and it's to stay that way."

"What about sending the info to Rudin anonymously?" Brown was desperate to come up with an alternative.

Clark shook his head. "It won't work. Albert is already in deep shit with his party. If we're going to get him to put his nuts on the line, he needs to hear this from a real person who can tell him they heard it straight from the mouth of someone at Langley." Brown licked his apprehension through pursed lips. "I don't know. It's one thing to pass information on to you, Hank, but talking to a former Fed about the Orion Team doesn't sound like such a good idea." The potbellied Brown squirmed in his seat. "People who get caught locking horns with this group tend to disappear."

"Peter Cameron was too cocky. You don't have that problem."

"I don't know," said Brown with obvious reservation.

Clark kept his voice reasonable. "Jonathan, you know the plan. I promise you this is the last big step. Once Albert starts his investigation there will be no turning back. The press will be all over this thing, and you and I both know Ke

Brown was looking to cash in after years of public service. Besides, America was a nation of laws, and Ke

"Yes."

"Good. You can expect Steveken to approach you in the park by your house. Probably tomorrow night."

"And what do you want me to tell him?"

Clark thought about it for a moment. "I want you to act real nervous at first. Tell him you don't want to talk to him. Try to walk away. Don't worry, he'll follow. He's a very persistent fellow."

Brown repeated his question, "And what do you want me to tell him?"

"Nothing," smiled Clark. "At least not tomorrow night. Tell him you need to think about it. Tell him to come back the next night, and you'll have a decision for him."

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

Maryland, Wednesday evening

Rapp was ready to go. The cab was waiting in the driveway. He'd already gone out and said hello to the man, telling him he was waiting for his girlfriend to arrive and then they could leave. A

She'd actually held up Air Force One last month for close to fifteen minutes. Jack Warch, the special agent in charge of the Presidential detail, had been kind enough to call A

Rapp checked his watch more out of a nervous habit than a need to know what the exact time was. They were flying out of Baltimore International in less than two and a half hours. They still had plenty of time, but Rapp didn't like to be rushed when he was sneaking weapons onto a flight. From his vast arsenal, he had decided to bring his Heckler & Koch HK4 pistol. His version was designed to carry the 9-mm short round. Rapp had disassembled the weapon and concealed individual parts within various items in his suitcase.

The people at Langley's Science and Technology division purchased everyday common items like blow dryers, shaving cream cans, alarm clocks, radios and luggage. They then modified the items by creating false or hidden compartments while always maintaining each items ability to perform its task. If a customs officer or border guard plugged in a blow dryer and it didn't work it was a huge red flag. The people from ST were experts in this field. They even went so far as to test everything they designed on state-of-the-art airport x-ray machines. They could tell you the make and model of almost every x-ray machine and metal detector used in every major airport around the world, and more important, they could tell you the best way to pack your suitcase to minimize the risk of an operator discovering an illegal item in your luggage.

A