"Oh, I am."
"You are?"
"You bet."
"But you tell me of phone calls and E-mails between you and your compatriots in the States."
"Not traceable. Not hackable." "But you trace others. You hack others." "I'm good."
"You're living on the edge." "There's no other way to live."
Hannah had dropped it with a shrug. He believed the only reason she raised the issue was because she cared, and she was, after all, a civilian when it came to technology. But he almost wished she hadn't planted the seed of curiosity in his mind. With every message, every transmission, every phone call, he got the niggling feeling that someone somewhere could be looking over his shoulder. Everything he knew told him it couldn't be, but there was no accounting for intuition. He ran continuous checks on his programs, searched for intruders. So far so good, but Hannah had spooked him. If nothing else, it would keep him on his toes.
David had begun the Carpathia meeting recording before he went to see Hickman, so he discovered several minutes of Carpathia alone in his office. The last time he had listened in that way he had heard Nicolae praying to Lucifer. Now, Nicolae was Lucifer. Did Satan pray to himself?
No, but he did talk to himself. At first David merely marveled at the fidelity of the sound. He had merely arranged a simple intercom system to both transmit and receive, based on his commands, but it worked better than he had hoped. He heard when Nicolae sighed, cleared his throat, or even hummed. That was the strangest part. Here was a man who apparently did not sleep. Yet he seemed to exude energy, even when alone. David heard movement, walking, things being arranged. In the background he heard the workers he had encountered just outside Carpathia's office.
"Hmm," Carpathia said softly, as if thinking. "Mirrors. I need mirrors." He chuckled. "Why deprive myself of the joy others luxuriate in? They get to look at me whenever they want."
He pushed the intercom button and his assistant answered immediately. "Excellency?" Sandra said.
"Is that foreman still out there?"
"He is, Lordship. Would you like to speak with him?"
"No, just pass along a message. Better yet, step in a moment."
"My pleasure," she said, as if she meant it with all of her being. Sandra had always seemed so cold and bored to David that he wondered how she interacted with Carpathia. She was more than twenty years his senior. David heard the squeak of a chair, as if Carpathia had sat.
Simultaneous with a soft knock, the door opened and closed. "Your Excellency," she said, to the sound of rustling.
"Sandra," Carpathia said, 'you need not kneel every time you-"
"Pardon me, sir," she said, "but I beg of you not to deprive me the privilege."
"Well, of course not, if you wish, but-"
"I know you don't require it, sir, but to me it is a privilege to worship you."
He sighed without a trace of impatience, David thought.
"What a beautiful sentiment," he said at last. "I accept your devotion with deep satisfaction."
"What may I do for you, my lord?" she said. "Do me the honor of asking anything of me."
"Merely that I want several full-length mirrors in the remodeled office. I will leave it to those in charge of such matters to position them, but I believe it would add a nice touch."
"I couldn't agree more, sir. I shiver at the thought of multiple images of you in here."
"Oh, well, I thank you. Run along and deliver that message now."
"Right away, sir."
"And then you may go for the day."
"But your meeting-"
"I will welcome them. Do not feel obligated."
"As you wish, sir, but you know I would be more than happy-"
"I know."
The door opened and shut, and it sounded as if Carpathia rose once more. Just loud enough for David to hear he said, "I too shiver at the thought of multiple images of me, you homely old wench. But you do know how to make a man feel worshiped."
Now it sounded as if he was moving chairs into position. "Akbar, Fortunato, Hickman, Moon. No, Moon, Akbar, ah… must let Leon wonder about his proximity and access, keep him nimble. Hickman needs assurances. All right."
Back to his intercom. "Are you still out there, Sandra?"
"Yes, sir."
"Before you go, get Mr. McCullum on the phone for me, please."
David froze, then chastised himself. He didn't care that Nicolae communicated with Mac. If David couldn't trust Mac, he couldn't trust anyone.
"Captain McCullum," Carpathia said a few minutes later. "How good to speak with you. You are aware, are you not, that 10 percent of all weapons of war were ceded to the Global Community when we were known as the United Nations?… The rest were destroyed, and I am satisfied that our monitoring has confirmed that this was largely carried out. If any munitions remain, they are few and are likely in the hands of factions so small as to pose little threat. My question to you is, do you know where we stockpiled the armaments we received?… You had nothing to do with that?… Well, yes, of course / know, Captain! The question is merely probative. You are former military, you are a pilot, and you get around. I want to know if the word has leaked out where we inventory our weapons… Good. That is all, Captain."
Clearly, Mac had told Nicolae he had no idea where the weapons were. As far as David knew, that was the truth. But what a massive operation that had to have been, and how was it pulled off without word getting out? And what might Carpathia be planning now?
"Gentlemen!" Carpathia said a few minutes later, welcoming the four visitors. "Please, come in."
"Allow me to be the first to kneel before you," Leon said, "and kiss your hands."
"Thank you, Reverend, but you are hardly the first."
"I meant at this meeting," Fortunato whined.
"And he won't be the last!" Hickman said, and David actually heard the smack of his lips.
"Thank you, Supreme Commander. Thank you. Chief Akbar? Thank you. Chief Moon? My thanks. Oh, Reverend, no, please. I would appreciate it if you would sit here."
"Here?" Leon said, clearly surprised.
"A problem?"
"I will sit anywhere His Excellency wishes, of course. I would even stand, if you asked."
"I'd kneel for the whole meeting," Hickman said.
"Right here, my friend," Carpathia said, devoting much time and energy to putting people where he wanted them.
"Sir?" Leon began when they were settled. "Have you been able to sleep, get some rest?"
"You are worried about me, Reverend?"
"Of course, Excellency."
"Sleep is for mortals, my friend."
"Well spoken, sir."
"I'm sure mortal, boys, er, gents," Hickman said.
"Slept like a rock last night. Out of shape, I guess. Gotta do something about this gut."
An awkward silence.
"May we begin?" Carpathia said. Hickman muttered an apology, but Nicolae was already addressing Intelligence Chief Akbar. "Suhail, I have become convinced that the location of our armaments remains confidential. Would you concur?"
"I would, sir, though I confess it baffles me."
"Baffles is right!" Hickman said. "Seems to me we had hundreds of troops involved in this thing and-oh, my bad, I'm sorry. I'll wait my turn."
David could only imagine the look Carpathia must have given Hickman. He had to have known whom he was putting in such a lofty position. Having Hickman share space with Sandra and become primarily an errand boy with a big title proved Carpathia knew exactly what he was doing.
"Peacekeeping Forces prepared to go on the offensive, Chief Moon?"
"Yes, sir. Ready to deploy, anywhere and everywhere. We can crush any resistance."
"An update, Reverend?"
"On loyalty mark, Jerusalem, religion?"
"Jerusalem, of course," Carpathia said, dripping sarcasm.
Leon was clearly hurt. "On top of it all, Excellency," he said. "Program is prepared, loyalists ready, should be a triumphal entry in every sense of the word."
"Commander Hickman," Carpathia said condescendingly, "you may put down your hand. You need not ask for the floor here."