Colonel Howe’s voice punctured the fantasy as Bonham reached the door.
“General Bonham, this is Tom Howe. I need to talk to you.”
“Tom.”
Bonham pulled open the door. Next to Howe was the annoying FBI agent, Andrew Fisher.
“Come in,” Bonham said, trying to remain the gracious host. “Why didn’t you call ahead?”
“We didn’t want to wake you if you were sleeping,” said Fisher.
A lie, obviously. But why?
Pain-in-the-ass Fisher — why hadn’t he been reassigned yet?
Bonham led them back up to the den, killing the TV and offering drinks. They declined but he got a Scotch for himself, retrieving a few cubes of ice from the kitchen.
Howe sat ramrod straight in one of the chairs. Fisher sprawled against the corner of the sofa, his feet up on the table.
“Do you know where the Cyclops laser weapon is?” asked Fisher.
Bonham took a sip from his drink. “Is that a trick question?”
“Mr. Fisher’s not convinced that the weapon from Cyclops One was destroyed in the crash,” said Howe.
Bonham felt a twinge of panic. It was hard enough dealing with Fisher, who at least had a reputation as an eccentric and maverick. Howe not only was smart but had access to people who would listen to what he said. Bonham steadied himself with a sip of the Scotch, letting the bitterness sting at the insides of his mouth. He sat back down and closed his eyes momentarily, as if fighting off fatigue.
“As far as I know,” said Bonham, “the preliminary findings from the task force assigned to the disappearance of the plane is going to reflect — well, it’s going to say that it crashed in China after a fire aboard, which blew up the laser fuel.”
“There’s no evidence of that,” said Fisher.
“No?” Bonham knew that there was — they had very carefully worked out what the crash would “look” like — but it was not difficult to act surprised. “Did the Chinese get there first? Or the Indians?”
“Maybe the laser wasn’t there to begin with,” said Fisher.
Bonham looked at Howe and smiled, as if they were in on the joke together. “Well, I guess the satellites and Cyclops Two’s sensors were wrong, then.”
Bonham walked over to the chair and sat down. The more he heard of Fisher’s theory, the easier it would be to discredit it, though the agent had already given him more than enough ammunition.
“There was definitely another laser fired,” said Howe. He looked at Fisher, who was still staring at Bonham.
“So, was there another plane?” asked Bonham. “Chinese? Russian? I guess Russian wouldn’t work, because they’re allies of the Indians. Unless they were being altruistic. Possible, I guess.We were.”
Howe looked over at Fisher. Fisher, suddenly seeming very reluctant to talk, shrugged again.
Howe rose abruptly. He was angry, though characteristically he controlled his emotion so well that only someone like Bonham, who’d dealt with him for a while, recognized it. “I’m sorry we bothered you, General.”
“No, no, listen, I want to hear what you think,” said Bonham. “Have a drink.”
“It’s late,” said Howe.
Fisher remained on the couch.
“Tell me your theory,” Bonham told him. “Where is the laser if it didn’t crash?”
The FBI agent pulled out a pack of cigarettes. “Mind if I smoke?”
Bonham hesitated, but only for a moment. He had clearly discredited Fisher in Howe’s eyes, but it would still be useful to know what Fisher was thinking. He balanced that against his growing revulsion of the agent.
“Go ahead,” he told him.
“Maybe I better not,” said Fisher. He unfolded himself from the couch. “Probably bother your wife.”
“I’ve been divorced from number two for five years,” Bonham told him.
Howe was already at the hall to the door.
“He’s got my ride,” said Fisher. “But thanks anyway.”
“Now listen, if you boys have something solid, I want to know what’s going on. I know Jemma Gorman is competent, but maybe there’s something that’s been overlooked.”
“I’ll let you know,” said Fisher, shambling out.
Chapter 6
Howe didn’t talk until they were back in the car.
“What the hell was that about? We looked like a couple of assholes.”
“Pretty much,” said Fisher. “What do you figure a condo here goes for?”
“Maybe you like looking like an asshole,” said Howe. “I don’t.”
“According to his financial disclosure, he spent under two-fifty on the place when he bought it two years ago. Just from what I saw, there had to be three bedrooms, I’m going to guess a formal dining room on the other side of that living room, the den we were in, at least two baths plus the master bath. Gated community, yada yada yada — what, million? Million and a half? Tall ceilings, though, so probably even more. TV setup, furniture, paintings, that Chinese vase in the corner? Wasn’t Crate & Barrel.”
“You blew smoke up my ass, didn’t you?” said Howe. “Why did you want to see Bonham? Just to check his condo out?”
“Relax, Colonel. You’re too high-strung. Wave at the guards and smile. They did us a favor.”
Howe tightened his hands on the steering wheel as he passed out of the condo property.
“The general wouldn’t have seen you if you had come alone, is that it?” Howe asked.
“Part of it.”
“You should have just said that without bullshiting me about another plane, then. I don’t like being bullshitted.”
“I ain’t bullshitting you, Howe. Unlike everybody else.”
“Fuck you.” The traffic light ahead was turning yellow. Howe stopped at the intersection and turned to Fisher, who was sitting slumped against the door, his thumb pressed against his lips watching him.
“What’s the real story here? Was the laser destroyed or not?” asked Howe.
“Not,” said Fisher. “I think.”
“You think?”
“If I knew for sure, I wouldn’t be here, Colonel. I’m sure Bonham has a lot to hide. Maybe just money, maybe more. Whether it’s related or not, I don’t know. Everybody hides things.”
“You think he was paid off to steal the laser?”
“I think that would’ve come later, once he’s involved. Or not: Maybe these guys just figure they can do whatever the fuck they want. Just from what I can see, they control a lot.”
“They stole the laser so they could rig the ABM tests.”
“Yup.” Fisher squirmed in the seat. The light had turned green. “Listen, you didn’t expect him to drop to his knees and confess, did you? Of course not. He wouldn’t have gotten where he is, much less pulled this off, if he was like that. Hell, kid who breaks into a house isn’t even like that. You got some cars back of you.”
Howe stepped on the gas. “Why him?”
Fisher shrugged. “Had to be somebody pretty high up. I don’t have York, I trust you, so that leaves Bonham.”
“Why do you trust me?”
“There was a virus thing in your plane’s environmental system that nearly caused you to crash. Firenze compared what was left of it to the system in the plane that crashed and it’s identical. Doesn’t totally let you off the hook, I know, but it’s all I got to go on at the moment.”
“There was a virus in my plane?”
“They have a more technical explanation.” Fisher took out one of his cigarettes. “You think I operate by gut, huh? I look at you and decide you’re honest?”