“So you kill him?”
Bill stared at Troy steadily but said nothing.
“Are you going to try again?” Troy couldn’t believe he was asking that question.
Still, Bill didn’t answer.
“Did you cut Maddux loose after the assassination attempt?” Troy finally asked.
“We had to. Roger and I couldn’t have the cell thinking we endorsed the shooting. That could have caused dissension in the ranks. It was strategic. Maddux understood.”
“Protecting this country rules his life. It’s the only thing he really cares about, the only thing that matters. You turned your back on him, Dad. You cut loose your loyalty to him for your own gain.”
“No, for the country’s gain. And like I said, he understood.”
“You made it sound like he alone was responsible for the shooting.”
“There was a bigger picture.”
“Now who sounds like a politician?”
“Why are you defending Shane Maddux so hard? He killed Lisa. You say he killed Jack. Why do you care about him so much?”
Troy took a deep breath. “He saved my life in Florida this afternoon. I’m sitting here now only because of his talents and his devotion to this country. If not for him I would have joined Jack today.”
Bill nodded. “Ah,” he murmured, “I get it now.”
“Jack died because of you, Dad, not because of Shane. Maybe Shane shot him, but you lit the fuse to that execution. Jack went to Alaska to show you how much he loved this family because you made him feel so terrible about who he was for all those years…and who he wasn’t. At least, you made him think he wasn’t. He’s dead because you didn’t care.”
“And a lot of people are alive today because he did go to Alaska, including you. And because I do care, deeply.” Bill hesitated. “There’s something you need to know about…” His voice trailed off.
“About what?”
“Never mind.”
“Come on, Dad. What were you going to say? I need to know.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“I want to hear what you were going to—”
“No,” Bill said sternly. “There’s something much more important we need to talk about now.”
“What is it?”
“I need you and Major Travers to go on another mission right away. I’ve already spoken to Travers about it, and he’s agreed. You must lead the mission because I can only truly trust you. But I can’t send you alone. It would be too dangerous.”
President Dorn eased into the big chair behind the desk with help from Baxter. It was the first time he’d sat in anything but that damn wheelchair in a long time, and it felt good. The wheelchair had served its purpose well, and it should be saved for its historic significance. It should probably go to the Smithsonian so people could appreciate his courage and conviction. But he had no more use for it than that.
“Feel good, sir?” Baxter asked cheerfully as he sat in the chair in front of the desk.
“Very good.” Dorn exhaled heavily. “It feels incredible to have these death squads stopped, too.”
“Absolutely. I got another call right before I came in here. They caught two more of them in Missouri. We’re down to only five outstanding. I think it’s safe to say the danger has passed. People will come back out from their burrows.”
“Excellent.” Dorn intended to put Baxter’s mind at ease quickly. “But it doesn’t change my view on Red Cell Seven, Stewart.”
“Thank God,” Baxter said loudly as relief spread through him like a wildfire through a bone-dry forest. “I was worried you might be rethinking your strategy with those bastards. You know, what with Troy Jensen leading the charge down in Florida today.”
“I don’t give a damn. RCS must be destroyed. It’s the only way.” Dorn’s eyes narrowed. “Is our plan still in place?”
Baxter nodded. “Yes, sir. I’ll be leaving in a few minutes.”
“You and Travers are going to Wyoming,” Bill explained, “to the Wind River Range in the western part of Wyoming, specifically to Gannett Peak. It’s the highest peak in the state.”
“Why are we going there?”
“You know why.”
“Protect the peak,” Troy whispered. “You told President Dorn in the residence the other day you didn’t know where the original Executive Orders were. But you did. You lied to him.”
“Grow up, son. We all knew what was going on in that room.”
“So one of the original orders is hidden on Gannett Peak.”
“Yes. And I’ll give you its exact location immediately before you leave here tonight.”
“What about the other one? The one not hidden on Gannett Peak?” Troy asked. “Where is it?”
“I honestly don’t know. I never did. But my gut tells me President Dorn has it now.”
“Why?”
“Roger Carlson’s wife, Nancy, is missing. No one has seen or heard from her in days, even her children. I believe she knew where the other original was, and Dorn made her pay the ultimate price for that knowledge.”
“Do you really think he would go that far to destroy us? I can’t see him killing a woman to get possession of something.”
“You underestimate President Dorn, son. He is weak, and he is a bad liberal, but he is not above having people get their hands very dirty for him. In the end, he is not unlike us.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“He’ll use any means he has to in order to get what he wants. But his objectives are not as honorable as ours. He’s concerned about himself, and that’s basically all.”
“Where is Karen?” Troy asked after a few moments.
“I don’t know.”
“I’ve called her over and over, Dad, but she doesn’t call back. If you know where—”
“I don’t know,” Bill interrupted sharply. “Now, will you go to Wyoming for me and bring back that original Executive Order? Will you go with Major Travers? It’s absolutely essential that you do, if you still believe in Red Cell Seven.”
Of course he would. Bill knew that. “If you’ll answer one question honestly for me, I’ll go.”
Bill stared across the desk for a long time before he answered. “All right, one question.”
“What happened to Rita Hayes?”
Baxter parked the car in the alley, turned off the headlights, climbed out, checked both ways through the shadows, and then hurried inside the abandoned building through a side door. This was a dangerous neighborhood in southeast Washington, but he couldn’t have anyone else do this for him. It had to be him and him alone.
“Stop.”
Baxter did so as soon as he heard the voice. Fortunately he recognized it right away. “Okay, I’m stopping,” he said, holding his arms up, though he didn’t know why. It just seemed like the thing to do. “What’s the deal?” he asked when Wilson Travers appeared out of the shadows in front of him. “What’s going on?”
“We’re going west. We’re headed to somewhere in Wyoming, but I don’t know any more than that yet.”
Troy stepped outside the mansion and onto the back porch in the bitter cold so he had privacy. He pulled his cell phone out and dialed Karen again. But once again it went straight to her voice mail.
CHAPTER 34
Snow and sleet whipped against Troy’s and Travers’s unshaven faces. The flakes and pellets were blown chaotically about by powerful gusts, which at times exceeded fifty miles an hour. After a long and grueling backcountry trek, they’d finally made their way to Bonny Pass, which was high and deep inside the breathtakingly beautiful and remote Wind River Range of western Wyoming. Gannett Peak, the highest point in the range — and the state — soared slightly over 13,800 feet above sea level, and was another thousand feet above them. If not for the heavy cloud cover and the snow and sleet lashing the two men, they might have been in its impressive shadow. Despite being so close to the massive mountaintop on this late December afternoon, they couldn’t see it through the gloom even though it towered directly above them. Thanks to the awful weather they hadn’t seen any of the peaks in the range since they’d arrived.