CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Elizabeth Harker leaned back in her black leather chair. She took a tissue from a box on the desk and coughed into it. She folded it and dropped it into the wastebasket. She tapped her pen on the desk and thought about Nick.
Two days on the ground and he was already up to his neck in the madness of the Middle East. It was uncanny how much trouble he drew to himself. She sipped from the cup of coffee she'd brewed and added more sugar. She broke into a fit of coughing, almost spilling the coffee. She waited for it to pass, blotted her lips with a tissue. She excavated an inhaler from her purse and took in a labored breath.
Elizabeth had been up since Nick's call, running through possibilities. She'd had no reason to think someone would kill Arslanian. She'd had no reason to think someone would try to take Nick off the board. Someone didn't want Arslanian talking to Nick or anyone else.
Her intuition bugged her, demanding attention. It was something she didn't talk about, intuition. Her male peers would have rolled their eyes if they knew how she operated. Sometimes it made her feel like a modern day Cassandra, warning of disaster and trouble to come.
Something was very wrong.
Her phone rang.
"Director, it's Stephanie. General Hood is in Walter Reed. He went down with a stroke last night."
Stephanie Willits was Elizabeth's deputy and right arm. General Hood was the Director of the National Security Agency and Elizabeth's ally.
"What's the prognosis?"
"It doesn't look good. He's not going to be able to run the agency. My sources say his successor will be General Dysart."
"Where are you now, Steph?" Elizabeth heard the sound of traffic in the background.
"On the Beltway, on my way in. Traffic's bad, like always. Maybe thirty minutes."
"Thanks for the heads up. Better plan on a long day."
"Roger that, Director. See you in a bit."
Elizabeth hung up the phone.
The Director of NSA was one of the few who knew about the Project. Part of Elizabeth's job was to review NSA CRITIC briefs sent to the President. She'd had a good working relationship with General Hood. It had made things a lot easier. Now he was out of the picture.
Elizabeth knew Dysart and she didn't like him. He was a Pentagon power player, conservative and hawkish, allied with several important congressional figures. He was smart, she'd give him that. He was also controlling and patronizing, dismissive of women and others he considered his inferiors. The largest and most secretive intelligence agency in the world was about to come under his sway. The day had just gotten worse.
Her secured desk phone rang. She picked up and covered her surprise at the voice on the other end of the line.
"Director Harker, this is General Dysart. General Hood has been taken seriously ill and I have been ordered to assume his responsibilities. I've been reviewing his files and I wanted to give you a call. You seem to have enjoyed an unusual relationship with him."
Elizabeth kept her voice neutral. "I'm sorry to hear he's ill. General Hood has always been supportive."
"I'm calling to offer a bit of friendly advice. You are currently running a mission in Israel." It wasn't a question.
Her intuition sounded an alarm. How did Dysart find out Nick was in Jerusalem? No one was supposed to know that, outside of the team. Hood hadn't known. Even the President didn't know yet. Dysart continued.
"I believe it's in your best interest to recall your agent. I've been talking to Lodge over at Langley. I realize you have the President's interests to consider, but there is more than enough security in place. You're treading on toes, Director. I just thought I'd let you know."
Director Central Intelligence was another on the short list of those who knew about her unit. Elizabeth trusted Lodge about as far as she could throw the Pentagon across the Potomac.
Dysart had been in charge of NSA for only a few hours at most. He should have more important things to do. Yet here he was, "advising" her to end a sensitive intelligence operation that might affect the President's safety and security. Her intuition waved a red flag.
"I certainly don't want to tread on any toes," she said, in her best "little lady" voice. The voice worked almost every time. She only used it when she wanted someone to think she was compliant, but compliant wasn't an important word in Elizabeth's vocabulary. She wasn't about to let Dysart know what she was thinking.
"I appreciate the call, General. I'll take your advice under consideration."
"Good. You've done some excellent work for NSA in the past, Director. I'm sure we'll be able to work well together in the future."
Dysart sounded conciliatory, but Elizabeth knew better. She hadn't gotten where she was without developing a fine sense of when she was being conned. Dysart had no intention of working well with her. He ended the call.
She replaced the phone. Why did Dysart want Nick out of Israel? She didn't believe for a moment it was because of ruffled feathers over at Langley.
At odd times Elizabeth would remember something her father, the Judge, had told her. Now she remembered an incident that had happened when she was seventeen. She'd been accused of cheating by one of her teachers. Sent home in disgrace.
The Judge had sat across from her at the kitchen table, a tall glass of bourbon and ice nearby, dressed in an old sweater and jeans. Her mother had been off shopping in town. The Judge was taking a rare day away from his offices in the County Courthouse.
Outside, the snow was almost gone. Spring had arrived on the western slope of the Rockies and color was everywhere. Purple crocuses, yellow daffodils and green shoots lifted through the remaining patches of snow. Green leaves had appeared on the aspens in the front yard. But for Elizabeth, spring had been colored by anger.
"It's not fair," she'd said.
"No, it's not. What do you think you should do about it?"
"Can't you do something?"
"Not really. It has to be worked out between your teacher and you."
"But she doesn't want to work anything out. She's mean and she's stupid."
"If that's true, you have to rethink your relationship with her. She's the teacher, she's got the power. But only if you give it away to her. You're the one who really has the power over yourself. You know you weren't cheating, whatever she thinks. Who's right, her or you?"
Elizabeth had smiled, in spite of herself. "I am."
"If I were you, I'd put it down to the experience of people, how they can be difficult and unfair, wrong headed sometimes. You'll be graduating in a couple of months. You'll be gone on to college and there won't be anything she can do or say to affect you. Plan your next steps, put her in the past. You can't change people. They are the way they are."
They are the way they are. You can't change them. Plan your next steps. The Judge's words echoed in her head. He was right. She'd have to wait and see what Dysart was going to do. She needed to prepare in case he turned out to be a problem.
However he'd found out Nick was in Israel, the Project was compromised. Elizabeth had a contingency plan for that possibility. She'd never had to use it.
She took out her sat phone and sent a short, pre-programmed burst. A classified encryption chip broke the message into indecipherable scrambled pieces that were reassembled by a matching chip at the receiving end. Even if intercepted, the message would mean nothing in the wrong hands.
Alpha Red. 3P.FC.XG.E5.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Carter looked at the message on his satellite pone.