The Cadillac came to a quiet stop. A silver tray bearing a slim, manila envelope came through the slot in the partition.
"Everything is in the envelope," Adam said.
Nick picked up the envelope. The tray slid back into the partition.
The lock on the rear door clicked open.
"Goodbye, Nick."
Nick got out and closed the door. He was back in front of his apartment building. He watched the car pull away and merge smoothly into the Washington traffic.
He wondered who Adam was. He looked at the envelope in his hand and opened it and began to read.
He went inside to call Harker.
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
The first two weeks of rehab had been difficult. The next two were hell. Arlene knew Selena needed to push herself. She let her do it without passing the limit of what her body could endure while it healed. The two women had become friends.
Her spine was healing. The bruising was less serious than feared, but her feet still didn't feel right. Her legs were weak. It would be months before the damage was fully repaired. If it could be. It was too soon to tell.
Once, Arlene had asked how she'd been shot. Selena had made up a story about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. She knew Arlene didn't believe her, but the nurse didn't bring it up again. Nick, though, was a different subject.
"He's good looking, in a kind of scary way," Arlene said. Selena was walking on a narrow moving strip, holding on to two long parallel bars.
"I suppose so," Selena said. She didn't want to talk about Nick.
The walkway slowed and stopped. Sweat beaded her forehead. Her legs trembled. She stumbled as she stepped off the walkway. Arlene reached out and steadied her.
"Goddamn it." There were tears of frustration in her eyes.
"You're doing good. You're way ahead of where you should be. The doctors are all talking about it. Don't let it get to you."
She walked Selena over to the hot tub and helped her in. The warm, bubbling water was soothing. The jets felt good on her sore back.
Arlene leaned over and began massaging Selena's shoulders. Her touch was strong, nurturing. Suddenly Selena began crying. Arlene continued kneading and working the knots of muscle under the skin.
"It's okay. Let it out." Arlene's voice was soft. Selena put her hands over her face and sobbed, deep, racking cries that shook her body. After a while, she managed to stop.
"It's him, isn't it?" Arlene said.
Selena nodded. She still had her face covered with her hands. Arlene stopped rubbing her shoulders and reached for a hand towel.
"Here. Use this." Selena took the towel and blew her nose twice. She folded the towel over and wiped her face. Arlene took the towel and set it aside.
"You want to talk about it?"
"I can't. I mean, I can't tell you what happened."
"I can guess. It's got something to do with how you got shot."
Selena nodded again. "But it's not that. What we do…" She stopped. "I don't know if I can keep doing it. But Nick will never change. He'll do it until it kills him."
Arlene helped her out of the tub and handed her a clean towel.
"He loves you. Anyone can see that, the way he looks at you. You quit what you're doing, you think you'll lose him?"
Selena said, "It's more than that. He relies on me. They all do." She was saying too much, but she didn't care. "If I quit, I let them down. I put them all at risk."
They began the slow walk back to Selena's room.
"You think you're responsible for Nick? For his safety, and, uh, the others, whoever they are?"
"Yes. No, I know better. But I can't get over what happened. It was Nick's fault."
As soon as she said it, she started crying again. Arlene looked distressed.
"Oh my. Girl, you do have a problem. What are you going to do?"
"I don't know."
"You talk with him about it yet?"
"No. I pushed him away. He didn't come back for a week." Selena got control of herself. "Since then everything's been wrong between us. Like we're strangers."
"Then I guess you better start talking. Looks like you're going to get your chance."
Selena saw Nick coming from the other direction. He had a dozen red flowers in one hand. She brushed tears away from her face with the back of her hand.
"Anyone who brings you roses can't be all bad, " Arlene said.
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
Elizabeth called Alexei Vysotsky in Moscow.
"Director. We seem fated to work together."
"I take it Adam has contacted you."
"Yes. A package by way of UPS, if you can believe it. He seems determined on detente between our two organizations. He suggests a joint operation, not unlike what you and I did before."
"How much did he tell you?"
"Enough."
Elizabeth picked up her silver pen. "We have to act, Alexei."
She could feel him hesitate, thousands of miles away.
"How well do you understand what is happening here?"
How much should she say? Vysotsky was referring to the internal power struggle he was waging with Ogorov and the FSB. He was losing. There was no tactical advantage in concealing her knowledge.
"I am aware you are in a difficult situation and cannot trust many of your own people. Ogorov seems bent on getting control of your security services. Of course, it is AEON directing him."
"I've been watching him closely since our meeting in Denmark. He has been using state funds, materials, deploying troops. All without anyone in the Kremlin seeming to notice."
"How could that be possible?" Elizabeth asked.
"It isn't possible. That is what worries me. Were it not for his attempts to subvert my organization, or his membership in AEON, I would applaud him for building this weapon. As it is…"
Vysotsky left the sentence unfinished.
It was a game of world chess with consequences far more important than the toppling of a wooden king. Vysotsky wanted to take Ogorov off the board. In that, she was his ally. But then he would want to keep the weapon for Russia. In that, they were opponents.
Elizabeth had no illusions. Vysotsky was a nationalist, a right-wing patriot. He was ambitious. He would try and get control of the weapon. It would give him a very big stick, perhaps big enough to propel him into the Kremlin without the trouble of another sham election. Russians were always looking for a strong leader. She had to make him see that if the Federation possessed Tesla's secret there would be war. The United States would not permit it. She had to make him see reason. Whether he did or not, the weapon would still have to be destroyed.
The objective was deep inside Russia and well guarded. Her team would never get close without his cooperation. Maybe she could play to his male ego.
"What do you suggest, Alexei?"
She put just a hint of uncertainty in her voice, a woman asking for the superior judgement of a powerful man.
Vysotsky laughed, a deep belly laugh. "Very good, Elizabeth. But I know you better than that. You mustn't try to use your considerable charm on me."
In Moscow, Vysotsky couldn't see her smile. "It was worth a try."
"I would have been surprised if you had not."
Choose your words with care. "Alexei, I will be frank. In your place I would want to eliminate Ogorov and keep the weapon intact. But it must be destroyed."
"Oh?"
"If Russia gets this weapon it will have bad results."
"If we had told you there would be bad results, would that have made a difference when you built your atomic bomb?" She could hear annoyance in his voice.