They checked the bodies. Dysart lay by the door, his green uniform dark with blood. That was the good news. The bad news was that he wasn't going to answer any questions.
Selena stood frozen in the kitchen, her rifle still held close to her cheek. Nick walked over and laid his hand on her shoulder.
"You're all right."
Something changed in her eyes. She lowered her weapon.
Harker and Stephanie came into the room. Harker looked at the carnage and shook her head.
"I'd better call the President," she said. "He needs a new spymaster."
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
They moved the bodies into the garage. Harker called Rice. They sat around the table in the ruins of the kitchen.
"I've got to set your nose," said Ronnie. "This is going to hurt, Director."
"Go for it."
He placed both hands on the side of her nose and moved the cartilage back into place with a quick movement. She gasped. Tears came to her eyes. Ronnie taped it in place.
Nick called Lamont and filled him in. Stephanie made coffee and threw brandy in it. The team sat for a few minutes with the cups, thinking their own thoughts. Harker broke the silence.
"I didn't think Dysart could find us. I was wrong. Whoever's behind this just upped the ante. The question is why? Why would Dysart himself come after us like that?"
"We know too much," Nick said. "They can't know what it is that we know, but it doesn't seem to matter. We know why they tried to stop us in Jerusalem. They wanted to blow up the Mosque and kill Rice."
"And keep us from finding out what Arslanian knew. About Himmler's plan." Harker took a deep breath through her mouth. "That must be why they're still after us. There must be more to it than the bombing."
Nick sipped the brandy and coffee. "Himmler's plan was to try and take over the US. There are plenty of would-be Nazis around. It's hard to believe they could be powerful enough to pull it off."
"They have first rate intelligence. How did they know we were in Argentina? Maybe Dysart figured it out, but I don't see how." Ronnie yawned and stretched.
Harker looked at her watch. "Let's get some sleep. I can't think straight anymore. Set the alarms, but I don't think we're going to get any more visitors tonight."
They went to their rooms.
The adrenaline had worn off and Nick was bone tired. Selena came out of the bathroom and sat on the edge of the bed. Things were good between them again. She looked at him, shuddered.
"Jesus, Nick."
He put his arm around her. "Yeah."
"I don't know if I can keep doing this. The team, I mean. I thought I knew what I was getting into. When we were tied up in the cellar, I thought they were going to kill us."
"They were. But they didn't. That's what counts."
"But what about next time?"
"You can't think about that. If you start thinking like that you'll lose your confidence."
She looked into his eyes.
"We're so different, you and I," she said.
"How so?"
"You always seem so, I don't know…detached. It's like you turn on a switch and after that everything is action until the shooting stops. You don't seem to worry about it. It's instinct with you. With me, I have to think about it. Don't you think about it, at all?"
"Not much when things are happening. After, I do. It's probably because of my training. To know what I'm supposed to do."
"I think it's more than that. I do things I'm trained to do that people think is crazy, like jump out of airplanes for the fun of it. But I've thought about it first. It's a choice, something I've reasoned out."
She looked down at her hands. "Today wasn't something I chose to do. Nick, I was scared. Reason has nothing to do with people like Dysart."
"People like Dysart give reason a bad name." Nick paused. "I don't think we're so different. In the end, you did what had to be done, scared or not."
"You don't understand what I'm saying. It seems natural for you. It's not, for me."
Nick could feel a headache starting. Selena had just called him a natural born killer. It wasn't what he wanted to hear.
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
The President sent a clean up team. They said nothing and asked no questions. They took the bodies away. Pretty soon the media would announce that the Director of the NSA had suffered a heart attack or a fatal car accident. The need for secrecy and stability meant what really happened would never be made public.
Rice appointed an obscure General to fill in at the agency until things could be sorted out. With the safe house compromised and Dysart dead, there seemed no point in keeping away from Project headquarters. The team moved back into town.
They met in Harker's office. The Director had two black eyes and a broad white bandage across her nose. About all you could say for it was that it complimented her black and white outfit. Nick waited for her to start and thought about what Selena had said the night before. It bothered him.
He'd never known a woman like her. To say they were different was a hell of an understatement. That was all right. It was the thought that killing was natural for him and not for her that got under his skin.
Out came Harker's pen. She began tapping. "There are new developments, bad ones. First let's talk about Dysart. He's gone, but there are others. They've made a determined effort to take us out of the picture. I'm wondering if we need to keep out of sight?"
"You think they'll keep trying?" Nick asked.
"They might not. I've been subpoenaed to appear before the Senate Intelligence Oversight Committee, to answer questions about 'questionable and unauthorized covert operations in Argentina'. It can't be a coincidence."
"That's Senator Greenwood. How did he find out about Argentina? What's he up to?" Carter scratched his ear.
"There's a lot of media mileage in an investigation. Greenwood has a shot at the Presidency and an investigation could embarrass the President. That might be reason enough but I think there's more to it. I think Greenwood wants to stop what we're doing."
"Like Dysart," said Ronnie.
"Steph and I had an idea that whoever was behind this might be looking to profit from war in the Middle East. We've done some checking. Senator Greenwood made large trades in the last six months, moving funds into domestic gas and oil and military contractors. If there's a war he'll make a killing.
"If Greenwood is one of the conspirators, this could be a change of tactics on their part. Knock us out with legal moves and expose the Project. He could discredit us and Rice at the same time."
Nick said, "Greenwood is one of the powerhouses in the Senate. How high does this go, anyway?"
"It goes damned high, almost to the top. That's the other development, bigger than Dysart. We've gained access to all of Dysart's files. You aren't going to like what we found. Steph, would you run it down, please."
Stephanie cleared her throat. "Dysart's encrypted emails show communication with several key correspondents. There are repeated references to 'Parsifal'. We know that's Himmler's plan to subvert our government. It took a while, but I was able to back trace most of the recipients. It's a scary list. By definition, all these men are traitors."
Lamont said, "Who's on the list, Steph?"
"You can start with the Vice-President."
"Earlston? You're saying the VP is part of a Nazi conspiracy?"
She nodded. "That's what it looks like. Justice Smothers is another."
Selena looked shocked. "Smothers? The Supreme Court?"
"Yes. Also Admiral Lang and Senator Blackfriar."
Ronnie sat up straight. "Lang runs Naval Intelligence."
"Blackfriar makes or breaks the money for defense appropriations," Nick said.