“Before you start,” he said, “I spoke with the doctors. Sam Imura will be in surgery for several hours yet. The injuries he sustained in the explosion are considerable. He has multiple fractures, including his left humerus, both femurs, several ribs, and right cheek; and they’ve identified forty-three separate pieces of shrapnel. Beyond that he has burns and surface lacerations. He is in critical condition, and the doctors have confided that they are only cautiously optimistic that he will survive the surgery.”
“Ay dios mío,” breathed Rudy. “I will call his parents. They’re in California, I believe.”
“Yes. Brick can supply you with their information. And I understand you’ve already spoken with Agent Ming’s family. Thank you for that.”
“D.J. and his partner have two adopted children,” said Rudy heavily. “Four and seven.”
I said nothing but there was a big hollow cavern opening inside my chest.
“Aunt Sallie is another matter,” said Church. “She suffered a massive stroke and it is too early for a prognosis. She is alive, and they are working to keep her stable.”
“Damn,” I said. “Maybe I should have taken her somewhere closer and—”
Church leaned over and clamped a hand around my wrist. He looked me in the eyes, and even through the tinted lenses I could see the intensity of his stare.
“Listen to me and hear me, Captain,” he said. “You saved her life. You defended her and then did exactly what you needed to do in order to get her to the best available medical treatment. There were no better options, and I want that to sink in. Even if she dies, there was nothing else you could have done. For that, I will always be indebted to you. More than you can know. I am not a sentimental man, as you are eminently aware, so this is my truth. Hear me.”
I looked into those eyes for as long as I could, then I nodded. He gave me a final squeeze and sat back, brushing invisible lint from his immaculate trouser leg.
“Now,” he said calmly, “tell me what it is you think I need to know.”
“It’s only a theory,” I began. “There’s a whole bunch of supposition, wild guesses, and maybe just me being crazy.”
Church leaned back and folded his hands in his lap. “Please, Captain, don’t pull your punches with me. Believe me when I tell you that I’ve probably heard stranger things.”
We studied each other for a moment, then I launched in.
“It’s the God Machine that made me think of this,” I said. “We know that when it’s in idle, it messes with your head. It allows some people to step into the heads of other people and take them over. We know that because they used it on us. Top and Bunny on the gas dock in Oceanside. That wasn’t them killing people, it was assassins hijacking their minds and bodies to do that. Same with me. Harcourt Bolton and Rafael Santoro were both inside my skull. They got Rudy, too, made him attack me. So, there’s no way we can dismiss mind control as part of this, because we suddenly have hundreds of people going bugfuck nuts and attacking each other or committing suicide. If I hadn’t seen a small God Machine firsthand I might have thought this was more of the nanite stuff from last year. Or some kind of rage virus. Or something, but now I’m landing pretty hard on this being those devices. With me so far?”
Church made a twirling motion with a finger, telling me to get on with it. He likes to be informed, not schooled.
“Okay, so we have the Speaker of the House kill himself in a big, flamboyant way. What’s the immediate upshot? Suddenly all eyes are on D.C. Bam. Just like that. Everyone is tuned in to TV, Sirius, their online news services, and social media. The bad guys had used that to draw the eyes of the whole country, and as soon as we’ve all been brought to point, there’s an earthquake. And before you say anything, boss, there is nothing you can say that is ever going to convince me that the earthquake was a coincidence.”
Church gave me another of his microsmiles. “When have you ever known me to err on the side of coincidence, Captain?”
I grinned. “Fair enough. So, the earthquake hits, and hits hard. Just as everyone is watching D.C., the earthquake destroys the Capitol Building, damages the White House, and fills the streets with what amounts to a riot. Rudy is the expert here, but I’m pretty sure that once the shock wears off we’re going to see a nationwide dramatic drop in confidence in the government. It’s like what happens when a head of state is assassinated — people panic because there’s no mommy or daddy in the room. Have you checked the stock markets? I bet they’ve dropped like a son of a bitch.”
“They have.”
“Has POTUS suspended trading?”
“He has not.”
Rudy cursed under his breath.
“He should have done that already,” I said.
“And I, along with a number of others, have tried to advise him on that point. Our requests have gone unanswered.”
“Crap. Okay, getting back to my theory. The government is going to take a credibility hit bigger than what happened with FEMA after Katrina. If POTUS has made a public statement to try and reassure the people, I sure as hell haven’t heard it.”
“He has not,” said Church. “The silence is telling.”
“And damaging,” added Rudy.
“Okay, whatever. All politicians blow. Back to this crap,” I said. “The Secret Service tried to pick me up before the earthquake. Twice. Why? My guess is that someone thought I was in the area for some reason other than why I was actually there.”
“And why would they do that, Captain?” asked Church, though I suspected he already knew.
“Because I was the point man for the Kill Switch op, and I was the point man for Extinction Machine. We now know that tech from Kill Switch is in play; and as you pointed out, boss, the two guys Top, Bunny, and I danced with were not rent-a-Closer. They were the real deal. Actual men in black. Maybe that makes them aliens, or weirdos working for E.T., I don’t know. But they bugged out of there in a frigging T-craft, and that means that whatever’s going on ties in with what we were into during the Extinction Machine case. Two of my biggest cases overlapping, and suddenly the Feds want to put a black bag over my head and whisk me off for some water sports. I don’t buy Brierley’s theory that this was POTUS flexing his muscles and just screwing with us. The timing is wrong. How would they know I was coming to Baltimore? It wasn’t a long-range plan. I grabbed an open spot in my calendar and just went. So, I think someone spotted me in town and thought I was there investigating whatever hinky shit they were planning. And if POTUS isn’t being mind-controlled, then there’s someone in his circle who is.”
“Or,” countered Church, “there is someone in his circle of influence who is involved in whatever conspiracy is in play behind the scenes.”
“I can buy that, too,” I conceded. “Maybe even more so.”
“Who would we suspect of that?” asked Rudy.
“I’ll put our analysts on it,” said Church. “We’ll make a list.”
“That brings up my next thing,” I said, “and it’s as obvious as it is scary. If these real-deal Closers are back on the case, then we have to accept the possibility that someone inside our government has gotten their hands on some of what was in the Majestic Black Book.”
“That seems likely,” admitted Church, and he did not look happy about it.
“Wait for a moment,” interrupted Rudy. “The last time that happened, the aliens or whatever they are threatened to cause a mega-tsunami. Could the earthquake be a warning from them? Or a punishment?”
We considered that, then Church and I began shaking our heads at the same time.
“No,” I said. “The earthquake thing works too well with a more political agenda.”