In his earpiece, Howard heard a voice say that Pied Piper was moving to the door of Marine One. The President appeared at the top of the steps and waved to the crowd. Howard heard an agent say that he’d seen a man reaching inside his jacket and there was a flurry of activity close to the tunnel with a trio of black-suited agents surrounding the man. It turned out to be a camera the man was reaching for. If the President was aware of the disturbance, he showed no sign of it. He walked down the steps, waving with his right hand and keeping a careful grip on the safety rail with his left. As soon as his feet touched the ground he was surrounded by half a dozen of the Secret Service’s bulkier agents and they moved together to the tunnel like some strange fourteen-legged sea creature. Only when the President and his security team were safely in the tunnel did the First Lady appear, followed by several more Secret Service agents. The First Lady followed her husband’s example and waved to the crowds before she descended. A second group of agents surrounded her and ushered her into the tunnel.
The crowd yelled and the rotor blades of Marine One began to spin, accompanied by the roaring whistle of its massive turbine. The huge helicopter lifted off, turned slowly in the air, and then flew up into the sky. It lifted up beyond the stands and the ranks of powerful spotlights which had been switched on, even though there was still plenty of daylight left.
“Come on,” said Howard, and he led Clutesi and Joker towards the tunnel entrance. Joker jogged to keep up with the fast-walking FBI agent. “Sanger says we’ll be allowed into the sky box, but he’d like us to keep our distance,” said Howard.
“The box is enclosed, so it’s unlikely that a sniper would try to shoot him through glass, isn’t it?” asked Joker. “The glass would deflect any bullet.”
Two Secret Service agents barred the way of the three men, their hands moving inside their jackets, until they saw their identification. They moved apart, their faces displaying no emotion.
“Yeah, that’d be the case if there was just one sniper,” said Howard. “But we’re talking about three. It could be that the first shot is to smash the glass, and it’s the second and third which will be the killing shots.”
They reached the sky box just in time to see the President shaking the hand of the Prime Minister. The two men were talking and smiling, though it seemed to Howard that the President was bored and only going through the motions. The First Lady joined them and began talking earnestly to the Prime Minister. A discreet distance behind the VIPs stood Sanger, his head turning slowly from side to side.
“Does your Prime Minister go in for sports?” Howard asked Joker, his voice little more than a whisper.
“Cricket, mainly,” said Joker. “And he goes to the odd soccer match.”
“I don’t see his wife here,” said Howard.
“She doesn’t get too involved in affairs of state,” said Joker. “Not like your First Lady.”
Howard grinned good-naturedly. “Yeah, I know what you mean. Seems to me that we voted in a two-man team without realising it.”
Secret Service agents were constantly moving around the President and his guests, and they were still on edge even though there were no members of the public within fifty feet. There were other security personnel around, members of the Prime Minister’s bodyguard unit. They seemed smaller and less fit than the American agents, and not as well groomed. The Secret Service agents wore expensive, immaculate suits, brilliant white shirts and perfectly knotted ties which wouldn’t be out of place in a bank’s boardroom. The Brits wore suits, but they clearly weren’t made-to-measure and their shoes were dull and scuffed. They did have one thing in common with their American counterparts, however — cold, watchful eyes, But while the Secret Service hid their eyes behind dark glasses, the Brits kept theirs unshielded and Howard had eye-contact with several of them as he stood by the door with Clutesi and Joker.
“Are these guys SAS?” Clutesi asked Joker.
Joker looked at the men standing guard on the Prime Minister and grinned. “No way,” he said. “They’re cops, not soldiers.”
Through his earpiece Howard heard an agent he assumed was Dave Steadman calling for situation reports from his men around the stadium. The President pointed down to the pitcher’s mound and said something and the Prime Minister smiled wryly. The First Lady said something to him and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. They all laughed.
“He doesn’t seem the happiest of campers,” Howard whispered.
Joker shrugged. “He’s got a lot of problems at home,” he said quietly. “How are they leaving? By helicopter?”
Howard shook his head. “Motorcade,” he said.
“That’s risky, isn’t it?”
“They’re only going to the National Aquarium, less than a mile away. Sanger says they’ve arranged for a dummy motorcade to leave first by the main entrance as planned. The real motorcade will go ten minutes later through a back way. They’re using a bullet-proof Rolls-Royce from the British Embassy in Washington. Sanger seems happy with the arrangements.”
Joker nodded. He looked out through the window of the sky box. Secret Service agents were gathering around the diamond. “I think I’ll go down and check out the ground level again,” he said. “Is that okay with you?”
“Sure,” said Howard. “Just remember what Sanger said — no sudden moves, okay?” Howard watched Joker go.
“Isn’t that your friend?” asked Clutesi, tapping Howard on the shoulder.
Howard’s heart sank as he recognised Kelly Armstrong. “What the hell’s she doing here?” he muttered under his breath.
Kelly walked up and greeted Clutesi and Howard. “I didn’t realise you’d be here,” she said to Howard.
“I was going to say the same,” he replied.
“I wanted to talk to the Brits about their security arrangements,” she said. “Why are you here? I thought the Kims had ruled out the ballpark.”
“They have done, but we wanted to keep Cramer close to the President to see if he recognises anyone.”
“Cramer?” said Kelly, frowning.
“The British guy we found at the house.”
“You mean O’Brien.”
“His real name’s Cramer. He used to be with SAS.”
Kelly looked confused. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked.
“We only just found out ourselves,” said Howard.
“And I really should have been told that you’d be here today.”
“I don’t see why. You have your job to do, I have mine.”
“But if you thought the assassins were going to strike here, I should have been told.”
Howard took a deep breath. “Like I said, we just wanted Cramer here to see if he could recognise anybody. He’ll be sticking close to the President for the next few days while we continue to look for the snipers.”
“I wish you’d stop hiding things from me,” she said. “It’s as if you’re deliberately trying to make me look stupid.”
“What on earth are you talking about?”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” she retorted. “You’ve resented me being part of this investigation right from the start.”
Heads began turning to see what the argument was about. Clutesi was watching the two of them, scratching his chin thoughtfully.
“That’s not true, Kelly,” said Howard. “Besides, I don’t think this is the place to be having this discussion.”
“Where would you rather have it? In a bar? The way I hear it, you function better with a few drinks inside you.”
“That’s not called for,” said Howard quietly.
“Yeah? Once a drunk, always a drunk, that’s what I say,” she said. “We all know that if it wasn’t for your father-in-law you wouldn’t even be with the Bureau.” For a moment it looked as if she wanted to slap him across the face, but then she turned on her heels and walked away.