His children were young and well behaved. They would have good lives. They looked up to their father. He was popular with his constituency and his district had been redrawn to make him election-proof. That allowed him to spend less time fund-raising and more time plotting his political aspirations. Yes, all in all, he led quite a satisfactory life.
There was only one major problem, but it overshadowed all of the positives. He had long since regretted becoming a part of a plan that was spiraling out of control. But his position as chairman of the Intelligence Committee had made him a pivotal player in a scheme so grand it had taken Decker’s breath away the first time he was approached about it.
He was an old-school believer in national security. Nothing trumped that. He had been in New York during 9/11 and had seen the towers collapse. He had run along the streets with thousands of other terrified people as the dust and debris and bodies rained down. He had told himself never again would something like that happen to his country. Not if he had anything to say about it. And he did, more than most people.
And that was why he’d agreed to be part of this colossal plan that, if successful, would right the power balance in the world, bringing it back to where it needed to be to create global peace. He’d thought it a huge, perhaps career-ending risk, but a goal well worth that risk. He had worked behind the scenes to secretly authorize the movement of personnel, equipment, and funds to enable this to happen. Just about everything the Intelligence Committee did was secret, from the funds deployed to the operations on which the members were briefed. Thus he had been in a unique place to assist the plan. He had felt honored to be part of it. He had felt immensely patriotic, particularly as he watched brave young Americans die every week in foreign lands, many of them killed by the very people they were fighting to protect and training to defend themselves. It was a horrendous situation that couldn’t be allowed to continue.
But things hadn’t gone smoothly or cleanly. Problems had cropped up almost immediately. His partners in this venture, principally Sam Kent, had handled these far better than he had. They were used to mistakes resulting in the loss of human life. But Decker was not accustomed to such things. They scared him. And the more they occurred, the more scared he became.
He had come to the park tonight to walk his dog simply to get away from these thoughts, if only for a few minutes. But he couldn’t escape them, not even with big, happy-faced Bruin licking his hand and wanting to play.
Decker was especially afraid of Kent. When the man had said he’d killed a potential assassin, Decker knew that the man was not exaggerating. He had killed the man. And it had been a clear warning to Decker not to step out of line.
He had no intention of crossing such men. He’d seen what they were capable of doing. As the chair of the Intelligence Committee he was far more privy to clandestine operations than the average congressperson.
He knew about the Special Activities Division within CIA that utilized the resources provided by people like Jessica Reel and Will Robie. He knew how skilled they were at their work. He’d been briefed on their missions. He’d seen photos of the bodies that resulted from those missions.
His phone buzzed.
He looked at the screen and groaned. It was him.
He hesitated, thinking he wouldn’t answer, but he did. He was afraid not to.
But then his courage bucked up.
He was the chairman of one of the most powerful committees in Washington. He had leverage. He had strength. He could play hardball with these folks.
He clicked the button.
“Hello?”
Sam Kent said, “We need to meet.”
“Why?”
“You’ve seen the story about the train?”
“What about it?”
“It was Reel and Robie.”
“How?”
“That’s not important. They’ve teamed up. Without a doubt.”
Decker swallowed nervously and held tightly to the leash as Bruin started to go after a squirrel. “The last time we spoke you didn’t think that was a real possibility. You said they might have been at the center of what happened in Arkansas, but you weren’t convinced they were in this together.”
“Well, the simple answer to that is, I was apparently wrong.”
“That is not a good enough answer, Sam. I’ve risked everything for this. Everything.”
“And you don’t think I have?”
“You as good as threatened me the last time we met.”
“I know. I apologize for that. I’m under unbelievable pressure.”
“And you don’t think I am?”
“We have to stick together on this. I’ve been given an ultimatum. I have to find Reel and Robie and eliminate them.”
“Okay. But how?”
“I’ll need your help.”
“Me? What can I do?”
“You’re the chairman, Howard. There’s a lot you can do.”
“Okay, okay, just calm down.” He thought for a minute. “I certainly can get information about the agency’s reaction to this recent development. They may have a line on the two.”
“That’s exactly what we need, Howard. We have to piggyback on the agency’s pursuit of Reel and Robie. If you’re not read in over there on it, get read in on it. Push for answers. Push for the ultimate solution. Tell them you want to be kept apprised of every step. If they’re located and a strike team is sent in you want to know ahead of time.”
“So you can send in your team?”
“Exactly.”
“But why not just let the agency personnel do it? It’s cleaner that way.”
“Because they might just take them alive. And then they can talk, Howard.”
“You . . . you think they know things that might lead—”
“That might lead right back to us. Yes, I do. We’re on Reel’s list. At least I am. And I would be stunned if you weren’t. We’ve talked about this before. Neither of them can be allowed to come in alive. You have to get the agency to lead us to them. That way we can end it quick and relatively clean.”
“But if I tip you off they might suspect my involvement.”
“Think, Howard, think! They want this put to bed as much as we do. This is a black eye for them. They will cover this over with so much dirt no one will ever get to the truth of it. Now, can I report back that you’re in?’
Decker didn’t hesitate. “Yes. Absolutely. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“Thanks, Howard. You won’t regret this. Let’s meet at my office tomorrow morning around seven. We can discuss further details. Time is really of the essence.”
Kent clicked off and Decker slowly put the phone back in his pocket.
He was shaking. He was actually shaking with fear and doubt.
But I will get through this. I will survive this.
The little dog was running toward him, its leash trailing behind it. Decker saw the same young woman racing to catch it. He shot out a hand and snagged the leash.
Breathless, the woman ran up and stopped next to him.
He held up the leash. “That’s your exercise for tonight,” he said.
“Thank you so much.”
“What’s your name?” He ran his eye over her figure. He couldn’t help himself.
“Stacy. The little guy there is Darby.”
“Hello, Darby,” said Decker, bending down to pet him. “Do you live around here?” he asked, rising back up.
A gun was pointed at his face.
“No,” said Stacy. “And neither do you anymore.”