The Lion

He assured me, "Your request for leave will have no negative impact on your career, and nothing of a negative nature will be inferred from your request to be with your wife."

This was getting a little tedious, not to mention silly. I mean, I had no career here. I had a contract. And someday I was going to read it and see what I had to do to get out of here.

By my silence, Walsh may have thought I was wavering or that I didn't believe him about what he'd just said, so he also said, "I will place a letter of commendation in your file thanking you for your service in general, and your outstanding work on this case."

Paresi, in a rehearsed remark, added, "I will do the same."

Thanks, Judas. It seemed that the less I said, the more I got. If I could keep my mouth shut for ten minutes, I'd get a free cab ride home and a MetroCard. I just wanted to get out of there, so I said to Walsh and Paresi, "I appreciate that."

Walsh reminded me, "This case, like all our cases, is classified and on a need-to-know basis." He further reminded me, "You signed agreements acknowledging that you will not discuss, disclose, or divulge anything that pertains to your duties here."

I glanced at my watch.

He continued, "And I will also ask you not to discuss this case with anyone in this office-or anyone from the State Police or any other law enforcement or intelligence agency, unless authorized by me personally."

"Right."

Walsh reminded me, "Kate is under the same restrictions as you are."

"Okay. Are we done?"

"No." Walsh continued, "There is a news blackout on this case-authorized at a higher level-and it goes without saying that you will not be speaking to reporters."

He went on to the next subject. "I've asked Vince"-he nodded toward Captain Paresi in case I forgot who Vince was-"to arrange for protection for you and for Kate."

Paresi informed me, "There will be SOG perso

This is the Special Operations Group, the people I worked with last week on the Iranian dip surveillance. They're part of the Terrorist Task Force, mostly NYPD detectives, but also some FBI agents. Their specialty is not only surveillance, but also countersurveillance, and protective details. They're good at what they do, but I could give them the slip if I had to.

I suggested, "You should both take advantage of that protection."

Walsh replied, "Captain Paresi and I are taking necessary precautions."

"Good. One less thing for me to worry about."

We all thought that was fu

I then let them know, "I do not want surveillance people tailing me."

There was a silence, then Walsh said, "You will have a team assigned to you when you're mobile."

I reminded both of them, "I can take care of myself. In fact, I have a gun."

Paresi said, "Look, John, we don't want to lose another agent." He smiled. "Not even you." He let me know, "You, me, Tom, George, and maybe a few other people will have SOG perso

On that subject, I said to Walsh, "I'm still willing to act as bait."

Walsh replied, "I think we're all bait now."

"Good point." In fact, Walsh had finally come to the unhappy conclusion that he had no clue about how to find Asad Khalil-except for letting Khalil find us. Officially, we were all under police and FBI protection; unofficially, we were live bait. Thus I was authorized to leave my apartment to go on "necessary errands and such." In reality, and off the record, Walsh and Paresi didn't care where I went-if I agreed to not lose my protective detail.

Good plan, but it wasn't my plan. My plan didn't include being tailed by cops and FBI agents who could scare off Khalil, or arrest Khalil, or even kill Khalil; my plan included only two people: John Corey and Asad Khalil.

Paresi said to me, "John, there can be a role for you in this case, and maybe this is it."

I didn't reply.

Walsh informed me, "It's like the spy who came in from the cold. You're fired-officially off the case, but unofficially, you're bait."

"Got it."

"Good." He asked, "Agreed?"

Better half a loaf and all that. I said, "Agreed."

Paresi informed me, "You'll wear a vest when you go out, and we'll give you a GPS tracking device to wear, and a wire so you can speak to your surveillance team while you're mobile." He added, "You know the drill."

I nodded.

"You can pick those things up at tech before you leave."

"Will do."

That seemed to be the end of that subject, and Walsh said to me, "We have requested the NYPD ambulance helicopter to pick up Kate tomorrow A.M. and bring her here to Bellevue."

"Good. I'll be on the helicopter."

Walsh said, "All right. Someone will text or call you with the lift-off time from the Thirty-fourth Street Heliport."

"Good."

Walsh glanced at his watch, then asked me, "Any questions? Anything that needs clarification?"

"Yes." I said to him, "It seems to me that Asad Khalil needs to pay back the people who financed his trip here and who have provided him with information and logistical support." I asked, "Would you agree with that?"

He replied, "I agree that he has backers. I have no knowledge of how he needs to repay them." He added, "What Khalil is doing may be payment enough."

I replied, "I don't think so."

"Well, you can be sure you're not the first person to think of this, Detective." He let me know, "Washington is aware, and Counterintelligence is investigating."

"Good." I asked, "Is Homeland Security going to raise the alert level?"

He replied, "I have no idea." He advised me, "Check the news tonight."

Walsh was trying to put me in my place, of course. The Big Picture, if there was one, was none of my business, unless and until Tom Walsh or someone higher up made it my business. That was how 9/11 happened.

I looked out the window to where the Towers used to be and I said, "I felt I should mention this."

"Thank you." He assured me, "You're on the record."

I pointed out, "This meeting is off the record."

"This meeting is administrative." He asked me, "Anything further?"

Well, yes, Tom. I want to tell you about Boris, who could be an important resource for us in apprehending Asad Khalil. But you're such a shithead, Tom, that I'll keep that to myself. Or maybe you already know about Boris and you're keeping it to yourself. Either way, screw you.

"John?"

"Nothing further."

"Good." He stood, I stood, and Captain Paresi stood.

Walsh said, "Thank you, gentlemen, for your time and your thoughts." Then he gave a little speech. "This is not only a difficult case for us professionally, it is also difficult for us personally."

Right. Someone is trying to kill us.

He continued, "But the best way to resolve this case satisfactorily is to put our personal feelings aside and to follow procedures and directives."

Was he speaking to me?

He went into the pep talk phase. "This is not about us-it is about the security of our country. This is why we're here, and it is what we do." He concluded, "I have no doubt that we, working together with our colleagues in the war on terrorism, will bring this man to justice."

We all shook hands, and both men sent their regards to Kate, then I raced Paresi to the door. I got there first, but I heard Walsh say, "John, I just need a minute more of your time."

Paresi said to me, "See me before you leave."

I returned to Walsh's office, but did not sit.

He said to me, "I have an unofficial complaint forwarded to me through the State Department, regarding an incident that allegedly took place during your surveillance detail last week in the Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City."

I replied, "I'm sorry I used my government credit card to buy gambling tokens."