“So, they drive off, and Hamlin’s safe house is close. Malcolm does the ‘be sure we’re not followed’ thing, gets the proof he needs, and leaves Hamlin in safety, probably with the promise to come back to take care of things. Maybe to contact him the next day, even.”
“Then what?” Christopher asked. “Oh, and the whole car thing would have been more helpful six months ago.”
“I hate you sometimes. Just want that on record.” Christopher smirked. Decided I preferred him glaring. Chose not to share this. “So, anyway, then Malcolm does . . . what? Comes back to the party?”
“No,” Buchanan said slowly. “I’d go to prove whatever Hamlin showed me.”
“I found him unconscious in the tunnels under Gaultier Research,” Christopher said. “We assumed this before and I think it’s still a good assumption now—I think you headed there.”
“Maybe.” Buchanan sounded doubtful. “I don’t know that the timeline would have worked out.”
“We’ve never recovered your car, and the P.T.C.U., C.I.A., and several other agencies were quite determined to find it. So maybe you went elsewhere, and that’s where your car is or was, and where Clarence hit you.”
Raj cleared his throat. “Ah, if I may, what if Mister Buchanan headed to Titan?” Everyone in the room’s turn to stare at Raj. He smiled. The full room’s attention didn’t seem to be a bother for a troubadour. “It would make sense from a timeline perspective, and also logic. We all know Titan is rebuilding. Per Mister Buchanan, they’re supporting Club Fifty-One. Colonel Hamlin had identified that Titan had actions running against us. Maybe he’d identified more, and Mister Buchanan went to check those out.”
“So they dumped me under Gaultier to, what, throw the blame onto them?”
“Seems possible to me,” White said. “Precedent exists for actions like that.”
“Or they’re working together and decided the Gaultier tunnel section was easier to hide you in. Or they wanted you found. These companies were in bed with each other before; it’s not a shocker that they’d be in bed again. And based on my morning, the five heads are tight, so I think it’s a good bet it was a joint action.”
“I agree,” Chuckie said. “And it makes logical sense. So, we know what Horn wants, and it’s now coinciding with what we want. So what do we want to tell him when we go back to the main meeting?”
“Nothing about Hamlin or Malcolm. In fact, I’d like to tell him nothing at all about this meeting. Of course, that means that Chuckie and I will tell whatever lie we come up with and the rest of you will smile and nod.”
For the most part, A-Cs couldn’t lie to save their or anyone else’s lives. There were exceptions to the rule. White and Raj were both pretty good in the short term, as were a few others on staff. The best liar in the A-C community I knew of was Camilla, who was undercover at Gaultier right now, under Chuckie’s orders and direction.
Chuckie shook his head slowly. “I’d like to mention the Club Fifty-One activities, if only to see how Horn reacts. However, I realize that would mean we’d have to tell him all about your morning and explain how we got word of the rest of it, and that we want to avoid.”
“Why not say that one of our personnel was ill?” Tito asked.
“Why did I need every guy in the room with me who wasn’t a politician?”
“I’m a politician,” Jeff said morosely.
“You’re special.”
“Yeah, thanks, baby. Why don’t we just say we were called away on official Centaurion business, smile, nod, and go on with our meeting?”
We all looked at him. “Um, will that work?” I asked finally.
Jeff shrugged. “As I’ve had the ‘pleasure’ of learning, it works on Capitol Hill every damn day.”
White and Gower both nodded. “I have no issue with that story,” Gower said. “Especially since it’s true.”
“Then it’s settled. Malcolm gets to hang out with Tito and we get to go back and play mind games with the F.B.I. Today’s just continuing to get better and better every hour, isn’t it?”
Gower chuckled. “Yeah, Kitty. Routine.”
CHAPTER 13
HAPPILY, Jeff was proven right and the “private meeting, it’s all good” explanation was accepted without argument.
We got back to the issue at hand, which was how to find out what Gaultier, Titan, and YatesCorp were up to, beyond the presumed assumption, based on a lot of precedent, that said “horrible evil.”
“We have an agent infiltrating within Gaultier,” Chuckie shared. “However, I won’t share that operative’s information with you, Vander, for a variety of reasons.”
“No argument,” Horn said, looking like he’d like to argue but already knew he’d lose. “Do you have anyone in YatesCorp or Titan?”
Chuckie shook his head. “Titan’s involvement with the assassination attempt at last year’s President’s Ball meant we had full access into the company. However, the E-T Division was removed from control, and I was told to leave Titan alone.”
“And you did?” I found this hard to believe.
Chuckie shrugged. “The order came from up high. There are times to do what you’re told, and this was one of them.”
“Does that mean we need to look into whoever gave you that order?” Horn asked.
“I honestly don’t know,” Chuckie replied. “Angela’s aware, and she may have someone on it already. The P.T.C.U. didn’t relinquish jurisdiction on Titan, since they posed a terrorist threat. They also coordinated with Homeland Security, which turned it over to the Department of Defense. Bottom line is that I stopped worrying about it because the right agencies and divisions were working together.”
“What about YatesCorp?” Nathalie asked. “Is anyone there?”
“Not from the F.B.I.’s side,” Horn said.
“None that I know of from the C.I.A., either,” Chuckie said. “We were all told to back off a long time ago.” He shot me a look that said to shut up and not ask the question I wanted to.
So I didn’t ask him why he’d obeyed that command. Because his look told me that Chuckie had indeed ignored it. However, he didn’t want to share that with present company, and I was in agreement with that mindset.
“Amos Tobin is the new guy in charge,” Amy said. “Though it took forever for him to get appointed.”
“The Board of Directors did take their time,” Horn agreed. “However, I believe it’s because there’s an unusual stipulation within the incorporation documents, and in light of your fight to reclaim Gaultier Enterprises, I believe it’s relevant. If a blood relative of Ronald Yates is found, and proven to be a blood relative, that person can assume a seat on the Board at any time, with full membership and voting rights, and with a salary commensurate with the rest of the Board. There’s no limit to the number of blood relatives who can do this, by the way.”
Didn’t look to see which of our A-Cs were clearly showing they were Yates blood relatives. Figured at least three of them were. Instead I focused on Horn. “How many have stepped forward?”
“None so far,” Horn said. “Ronaldo Al Dejahl had sent a letter to the Board of Directors two years ago. However, he wasn’t confirmed as a blood relative before he, ah, disappeared.”
“And just how do you know this, Vander? I’m asking because you seem to know a whole lot about these things, and I’m wondering how long you’ve been digging into these corporations before you came by for this informal little stress fest.”
Horn smiled at me. “I was in our White Collar division before I moved over to Alien Activities. I know a great deal about most of the Fortune Five Hundred.”
“Has the Board searched for any Yates relatives?” Amy asked.
“No.” Horn chuckled. “YatesCorp isn’t in any hurry to bring on some untried Yates relative just for the thrill of them throwing a wrench into the smooth working of a multinational conglomerate.”