The Lion

Continuing with the subject of stupid, I said to Tom Walsh, "I assume you sent out a mass text message to all agents regarding this incident."

He replied, "Of course."

I reminded him, "If Kate's cell phone is actually in Khalil's hands, Khalil is now able to read all our text messages."

There was a short silence on the phone, then Walsh said, "Damn it."

I took out my cell phone and saw that I, too, had Tom's text message, though I hadn't heard the chime. I retrieved the message and read: NY ATTF-FBI Agent Kate Mayfield criminally assaulted in Sullivan County, NY. Possible suspect, Asad Khalil, a known terrorist, Libyan national. Her medical condition classified. See your e-mail for full details, updates, and operational instructions, or call Ops Center. Amber alert. BOLO and APB sent. Walsh, SAC, NY ATTF.

So that is what Asad Khalil had most probably read, right from the boss. Walsh was correctly withholding Kate's medical condition, leaving Asad Khalil wondering if he'd had a good day or a bad day. In any case, Khalil now knew that everyone was looking for him-but he knew that anyway.

Walsh said, "We'll cut off the service to that phone immediately."

"Good idea. But before you do that, send out a final text saying, 'Two Libyan informants in NY Metro have come forward with info on suspect Khalil in CONUS. Check e-mail for details and operational instructions regarding apprehending suspect.'" I added, "Or something like that."

Walsh was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Okay. I'll do that."

And take credit for it. I said, in case he didn't fully get it, "That should spook him, and maybe keep him away from his resources here and mess up his game plan."

"Right. Good."

Tom Walsh and I discussed cell phones for a minute, since that was about all we had at the moment.

While I was half-listening to Walsh, I had a thought that I should have had an hour ago and said to him, "You should also alert George Foster."

"Right… we've contacted everyone about the attempt on Kate's life. You saw the text."

"I did. But what I'm saying, Tom, is that Khalil is here for revenge, and George was on the original team assigned to meet Khalil at the airport three years ago, and George worked the case." I added, "Assume Khalil knows George Foster's name."

"Okay."

Tom Walsh wasn't around when Khalil was here with a long list of must-kill people, and Walsh wasn't fully appreciating the nature of the beast. I suggested, "Call George yourself, or have him call me."

"All right."

I wanted to impress on Walsh the serious nature of this problem- and also ruin his day-so I said to him, "You should not think that Asad Khalil hasn't considered killing you as well."

There was silence on the line, then Walsh said, "We have no idea what his intentions are, aside from his attack on Kate." He added, "And by the way, I'm wondering, why didn't Khalil just pull a gun and blast both of you on the ground? You know? This skydiving knife attack really doesn't make much sense."

"Not to you. But it does to him." I suggested, "When you get to the office, pull up The Lion file and see what Khalil did last time he was here, and how he did it."

"All right." He informed me, "We're managing the news on this, John, so be careful what you say, even to the State Police."

"I think I said that in my recorded report."

"Right. Also, there are some agents from Washington on their way there, and I'll assign a detective and an FBI agent from the Task Force."

I informed Walsh, "The guy who is handling the case here is Senior Investigator Matt Miller of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation." I gave Walsh Miller's cell phone number and said, "He seems competent, and he's got the troopers out looking for Khalil."

"Good. We will assist in any way we can."

"He's looking forward to that."

Tom Walsh advised me, "The CIA may also have some interest in this case."

The best reply to that was no reply, and I said, "There's a guy you need to locate. His name is Elwood Wiggins, a.k.a. Chip Wiggins. He was one of the pilots on the Libyan air raid back in eighty-six, and he was on Khalil's original hit list, but we got to him before Khalil did. Wiggins is in our file. Last known address, Ventura, California. When you locate him, have the local FBI office pay him a visit and tell him the Libyan is back." I added, "Also, he needs protection." Actually, I was certain that by this time what Chip Wiggins needed was an undertaker. I said to Walsh, "But we may be too late for that."

Walsh stayed silent for a moment, then said, "All right. I'll let you get back to Kate-"

"She's still in surgery."

"And if you feel you need to take leave time to be with Kate-"

"I will, after we find Khalil." On that subject, I said to him, "I assume I am the case agent on this investigation."

There was a silence on the phone, then Walsh said, "Well-"

"Tom. Don't mess with me."

"Excuse me, Detective. I believe I am still in charge of this Task Force."

"And I believe I should be the CA."

He replied, "The thing is, John, if Kate… takes a turn for the worse, or whatever, then you will want some time off, and I need to assign this case to someone who can stay with it."

"I will stay with it. I am very motivated."

"Yes, but you don't know how you'll feel if Kate-Look, to be quite honest, you may be too emotionally involved to… use good judgment in dealing with the Muslim community."

I thought he was going to mention Big Bird's assault on me, but he didn't, so I assured him, "I have very good relations with the Muslim community in New York." That was actually true, though I had perhaps gotten a little rough with a few of them, but that was immediately post-9/11. I've been a lot nicer in the last year or so. Well… unless you count Big Bird. But he wasn't a U.S. citizen.

Tom Walsh said to me, "John, I will promise you this-you will be assigned to the case, but I can't promise you that you will be the lead case agent. I'll think about that. Meanwhile, George Foster will lead the FBI end, and you work well with him." He added, "End of subject."

No use arguing and pissing him off, so I said, "All right."

"Good. Meanwhile, I'll speak to Captain Paresi and have him call you." He let me know, "I've asked the hospital to keep me updated. My prayers are with Kate."

"Thank you."

"One more thing. If the State Police apprehend him, and if we don't have any agents there yet, please don't speak to the suspect or do anything that might compromise our case against him."

"Why would I do that, Tom?"

"And keep in mind, John, that Khalil may have a wealth of information that we can coerce out of him."

"I won't kill him."

He didn't respond to that directly and said, "I know you're angry, but don't get yourself in a bad situation." He reminded me, "We don't do revenge-we do justice."

Is there a difference? I replied, "Right."

We hung up, and I walked back to the waiting room. I went to the window and looked out at the countryside and the mountains. The sun was still high above the distant peaks in a blue, cloudless sky. The morning of September 11, 2001, had been a perfect day, like this.

Kate and I had arrived separately at the North Tower, and we each thought the other was inside the building, so when it collapsed, I thought she was dead, and she thought I was dead. That day changed our lives, but it didn't change our careers.

I kept staring out the sunlit window. It was a beautiful world, and ninety-five percent of the people in it were beautiful. I, unfortunately, have spent most of my life with the other five percent, trying to whittle them down to about four percent.

I had mostly gotten over the serve-and-protect thing years ago, and what motivated me for most of my police career was my own ego-I was smarter than any killer who had the audacity to murder someone on John Corey's beat. Then came the Anti-Terrorist Task Force, and I got a little patriotic buzz going, especially after 9/11.