Pug thought about the dreaded military term for friendly fire, considering for a moment what Donahue could mean.
“Are you saying some of our own military is going to turn rogue? Attack other units?”
“Probably not active duty military forces. I don’t know the details, but my source seems to feel that some of your federal agencies are in danger of internal attack, most likely from the western militia units. It’s all tied into this growing secession mania out west. And they did attack federal agencies last year in California, didn’t they? He says the militia is also going to start cracking down on illegal aliens, not only Mexicans, but those who they think are of Middle Eastern origin. They feel the growing public support for the secession of western states gives them legitimacy. If they kill a few hundred Mexicans, it will make border crossings a bit more risky.”
Pug thought about that for a moment, accepting the possibility. “You’re confident of your sources in this, Kevin?”
Donahue shook his head. “No, it’s a secret world we deal in, lad, and information is always suspect. I’ve just admitted the fallacy of my prior information, but my source this time — an Irishman well-placed inside Washington, I might add-had no reason to exaggerate or mislead. He’s been accurate in the past. That’s the first story I’ve got for you this morning, my friend. Proving it’s up to you. I wouldn’t want you to think I’d misled you or put you on the wrong track. Wolff seems to have been a pawn to point in the wrong direction. They probably thought you’d kill him rather than take him prisoner. They wanted it to have the look of foreign origin. Al Qaida is your enemy and they probably are behind much of the turmoil, but someone else, someone here, in America, has taken it to new heights. Unless I read it wrong, Strategic Initiatives has simply tapped in to some of the netherworld of terrorist groups and used them to achieve their objectives, and SI’s objectives. Until I received this information, I had no reason to suspect that someone in America was working both sides of the street, so to speak.”
“Nor did I,” Pug replied. “You said that was the first story you had for me?” he added, standing up.
“The second story is shorter. I don’t know much. In fact, I know nothing of the details, but,” Donahue hesitated, again knocking his pipe on the heel of his shoe before standing up to face Pug. “Word is that someone from America has procured a nuclear device. A small, portable nuclear device, according to my source.”
“ Has procured, or will procure?”
“Sorry, lad, has already procured,” Donahue repeated.
“Is it in America yet?” Pug asked.
Donahue shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“Thank you, Kevin. It’s certainly not good news, but thank you.”
“When this is all over, General, if it’s ever over, come home and see the old sod the proper way. No business, no intrigue. I’ll personally take you down the Ring of Kerry, we’ll play a few rounds of golf, and you can see what your ancestors left when they ran away toward the American dream. God’s blessings on ya, lad. And sorry for the bad news. It seems that double dealing was not limited to Wolff. You’re damn lucky that Wolff is behind bars. You’ve got some ferrets under your own umbrella, it would seem. Given the furor over this new legislation, and what my inside source intimated, the links may go deeper than the security firm, even into the venerable halls of Congress or even the president’s cabinet. It would seem that all Americans are not… well, American.”
Donahue watched the younger man for a few moments, then smiled broadly and his voice grew lighter. “You remember how things turned out between our two Irish compatriots, Michael Collins and Eamon de Valera. Politicians switching sides or looking out for number one is nothing new. Never assume the enemy is over the other side of the barbed wire. He might be on your side of the barricade. Oh, and give my regards to your young associate, Carlos. If he’s listening,” he nodded toward the white van parked in the restricted zone about a hundred yards distant, “top ‘o the morning to you, Carlos.” Donahue grinned and gave a gentle wave.
Pug reached to shake Donahue’s hand. “Thank you, Kevin. I owe you another one. A big one, it would seem. Safe trip home.”
Chapter 35
Eisenhower Executive Office Building
Trojan Headquarters
July
Pug reached to turn off the tape and the men in the room sat silent as they contemplated the information that had been provided in the audio and written transcript. Around the table were Pug Connor, Carlos Castro, George Granata, Director of the FBI, Paul Duffield, Deputy Director of the CIA, and President William Snow. The president spoke first.
“When was this meeting, Pug?” the president asked.
Pug glanced at his watch. “Seven hours ago, Mr. President.”
“George, have you or Paul uncovered any corroborative evidence to support this information?”
“No, sir,” Granata responded, “but we can’t afford to ignore it.”
“Granted,” the president nodded. “I want this given top priority, gentlemen. Pug, how confident are you about Strategic Initiative’s connection to the domestic attacks?”
“Mr. President, it’s all speculation at this point, but we can draw some valid assumptions. If only three cities were selected for the Domestic Tranquility pilot program, it seems coincidental that one of the ground attacks took place in one of those cities, San Antonio, and was thwarted, with no survivors among the terrorists. However, that’s pretty thin evidence to confirm their involvement. Mr. Castro has put two Trojan operatives on it and they’re checking with former military associates who now work for SI, supervising some of the troopers they have in the field. No information yet.”
“Do we have any reason to believe, I mean any reason, that the transfer of a nuclear weapon into the U.S. has occurred?” the president pressed.
The CIA director responded. “We’ve not had any intelligence to that effect, but again, we can’t afford not to take it seriously, Mr. President.”
‘Agreed. Take every measure you have to assure we cover every entry point. I know the difficulty. Thousands of containers arriving every day, tens of thousands of trucks on the road across the nation. Just find it, gentlemen. If it’s here, find it.”
“It may take care of itself, Mr. President,” Pug said.
The group went silent. Then the president nodded his understanding. “If SI is involved, they may find it like they uncovered the San Antonio attack to prove how well their program is working?”
“Yes, sir. But I agree with Mr. Duffield-we can’t afford to make any mistakes.”
“That will do it, gentlemen. I need to stay with Pug for a few moments.”
The other department heads left the room and the president took his seat again at the head of the EEOB conference table.
“Pug, I’ve had a heads up from DOJ about some court-ordered action that will transpire tomorrow. As you predicted, without any hard evidence of terrorist involvement, Jean Wolff is going to be released on Monday morning in Illinois.”
“I thought that might happen. I’ll handle it, Mr. President.”
“Do you need any further authorization?”
“No, sir. The Troy designation you gave for the initial capture covered all contingencies. We just need to be a bit more careful here in America.”
“Do you think he’ll leave the country immediately?”
Pug hesitated for a moment before answering. “No, sir. If he knows he was betrayed by Strategic Initiatives, he’ll be looking for payback. He’s not a foolish man, but he just might feel obligated to take revenge.”
“That’s in our favor, right?”
“I don’t know, Mr. President. It’s always helpful if two of our enemies decide to kill each other, but it’s rare. I’ll discuss it with Mr. Castro and my staff. But rest assured, sir, we’ll watch it closely.”