Vaughn just continued to stare. Now was not the time or place to fight. The fact that the man was laying this out meant they would be able to walk away from it. "What's the deal?"
The man seemed to relax for the first time. "As I said-no word of the Citadel." He opened the briefcase and removed a piece of paper. "A Xerox of tomorrow's headline in the Washington Post."
He handed it to Vaughn. Tai leaned over his shoulder to read: DIRECTOR CIA, SECDEF, 9 OTHERS KILLED IN PLANE CRASH
Vaughn looked at the man. "And?"
"Let's say you did a service to your country. Exposed something dangerous. And it was dealt with."
"A service to my country?" Vaughn repeated.
The man stood. "So to speak." He walked to the door and stopped. "I will assume I have your agreement." He stepped out.
Vaughn looked over at Tai, giving her a weak smile. "Are we having fun yet?"
Tai rubbed a hand through the tangle of her dark hair. "You think they'll just let us go?"
"Yes." Vaughn closed his eyes briefly. "Because they think we're working for Royce. And Royce is still working for them. In some form or another."
"So what exactly did we accomplish?" Tai asked.
Vaughn felt the pain in his chest. He was very tired. Exhausted down to his core "I don't know exactly. Remember on the ice? The cracks and then the killer whale coming through?"
"Yes."
"I think we've started some cracks in the ice that protects the Organization."
About the Author
ROBERT DOHERTY is the covert name of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than thirty books. He is a West Point graduate, commanded a Special Forces A-Team, and taught at the JFK Special Warfare Center & School at Fort Bragg. For more information, check www.bobmayer.org.
