“The remaining two could be here,” said Harvath. “I suppose.”
“You’ve had one murder in Georgia and two now, unfortunately, in Boston. I’d say just numbers-wise Boston is your best bet.”
“So what do you suggest?”
“First, coffee,” said Cordero.
“And then what?”
“And then we try to figure out where the killer is keeping the remaining two and get to them before he can kill again.”
CHAPTER 49
WASHINGTON
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
“Go easy on him,” said Wise, as he watched them secure the CIA operative. “You don’t have to hurt him.”
Bob McGee looked up at the man like he was nuts. “In case you missed what just happened, Mahatma, this guy wasn’t here for yoga class. He came to kill you. In fact, he came here to torture you and then kill you. Why are you so bent out of shape about how tight I put the cuffs on him?”
“Because I know Samuel, and I want you to treat him with respect.”
McGee shook his head. “This is a big boy. We’re trussing him up tight. After that you can show him all the respect you want. Fair enough?”
Wise knew there was no point in arguing. In fact, he wanted McGee to restrain Samuel as tightly as possible. If he didn’t, and the man got loose, they’d all be in trouble. What’s more, by petitioning for kind treatment, Wise was already conditioning Samuel for interrogation. The gruffer and more inconsiderate of Samuel that McGee was, the more it played into Wise’s plan.
“There,” said McGee, as he stood back and admired his handiwork. “This fella ain’t going anywhere anytime soon, are you?”
Samuel did not reply.
Wise looked at Ryan and said, “You can lower your weapon now.”
Ryan looked at McGee, who nodded, at which point she aimed the muzzle of her weapon down, but didn’t put it away.
Samuel had been secured to a support column and was facing away from the living area. Wise brought over a pair of shooting muffs.
Showing them to Samuel, he said, “This is only going to be for a few minutes while we discuss what we’re going to do. May I?”
Samuel nodded and Wise slipped the muffs over the man’s large head. They almost didn’t fit. When he had them in place, he laid his hand on Samuel’s shoulder for a moment and then walked away to join the others.
They gathered on the other side of the glass display case with the sewing machines and the typewriters. It was not only an additional sound barrier; it also allowed them to keep Samuel in their sight. McGee was the first one to speak.
“Why are you so deferential to that guy? Do you have any idea who he is? What he does?”
“Of course I do. I trained him.”
“Wait. What?”
“Maybe trained is the wrong word,” said Wise. “Samuel was under my tutelage for a time.”
McGee looked at Ryan. “I told you I knew who this guy was.” Looking back at Wise he stated, “You’re that guy from the Agency they called Dr. Kill. Some of our people in the Special Activities Division worked with you on a couple of your projects.”
“Can we back up for a second? Can you please better explain who you both are and what you’re doing here?”
In the chaos of taking down Samuel, getting him secure, and helping a dazed Bill Wise to his feet, there hadn’t been time for introductions. Ryan stepped forward and did so now.
It was a bit of an intellectual standoff. Ryan and McGee wanted more information about why Wise had been made a target, while Wise felt he was owed the same explanation from Ryan and McGee. “You are in my house” battled against “If it wasn’t for us, he would have killed you.” In the end, it was Wise who finally conceded. To his credit, though, he didn’t give them everything. A good operative always kept a little bit in reserve. Just in case.
“I’ve heard of Swim Club,” said McGee. “Past tense, though. I thought it had been shut down.”
“Seems like there’s been a lot of that going on at Langley,” Ryan stated.
That piqued Wise’s interest and he raised his eyebrows in response, but McGee had a couple more questions first.
“So Samuel passed from your program into Swim Club?”
“That’s my assumption. I think he’ll tell me if I ask.”
“Why?”
“Because I know him and he sees himself as a good man. Honor is important to him.”
McGee shook his head. “A psychopath with honor. That’s a first for me.”
“Samuel may possess a certain moral flexibility, but he is not a psychopathic personality. He’s actually quite gentle most of the time. In fact that’s why they took to calling him ‘the Lamb.’”
“That’s the Lamb? Samuel? He’s that Lamb?”
“You’ve heard of him?” asked Ryan.
“Yeah, I’ve heard of him. I’d never met him, but some of our people have used him. The guy’s a legend and not in a good way. In a Hannibal Lecter sort of way.”
“He eats people?”
“No, he’s just a stone-cold killer,” said McGee. “Somebody you send in to do very difficult or very disagreeable wet work. There was another guy we used whose nickname was the Axe Murderer and there were things even he wouldn’t do. The Lamb, though, came through every time. No matter what.”
“So imagine,” said Wise, “how interested I must be to find out why you followed Samuel here.”
The ball was now in their court and Ryan did the talking. While she was generous with her information, she wasn’t completely generous. Like Wise, she understood that it was smart to keep a little bit in reserve.
She walked him through everything, beginning with her surprise meeting with a foreign intelligence official all the way up to how they had found Samuel and decided to follow him when he engaged in a sudden shift change.
When she was done, Wise had almost the same question for her that she had asked upon her rescue by McGee. “What took you so long to step in? Why didn’t you intervene sooner?”
“We were trying to pick the right moment,” Ryan replied.
“She was trying to pick the right moment,” McGee offered. “I was trying to decide which of you I was going to shoot.”
“And I assume you wanted to hear some of my interrogation,” said Wise.
“That, too.”
“Speaking of which,” interjected Ryan. “I’d like to take a crack at Samuel. I have a lot of questions I want answered.”
“It sounds like we both do.”
McGee cleared his throat. “Make that three.”
Wise nodded. “You’ll find Samuel much different than what you are used to. He’s highly intelligent, and if he can play you, he will. He also appreciates being treated with courtesy. Respect is a significant issue with him. He only has one true loyalty and it trumps anything at the Agency, so we should attempt to leverage that to our advantage.”
“Why don’t I take second chair and let you run the show,” said Ryan.
“I think that would be best. If we handle this properly, it can be quick and smooth.”
“And if we don’t handle it properly?” asked McGee.
“Then you may wish you had your friend the Axe Murderer here instead.”
CHAPTER 50
“I’m sorry if wearing these was uncomfortable at all, Samuel,” Wise said as he removed the shooting muffs from the man’s head and sat across from him. He was relaxed and spoke calmly, almost soothingly.
“It wasn’t uncomfortable, Dr. Wise, but thank you for saying so.”
“Samuel, do you recognize this gentleman and this lady?” he asked, gesturing to Ryan and McGee.
“Yes, doctor. The lady is Ms. Lydia Ryan and the gentleman is Mr. Robert McGee. Both are employees of the Central Intelligence Agency.”