this?”
“ They tolerate it, sir. As long as information is genuine. And it has been up to now.”
“ So, that’s why we know terrorists grabbed Jeannie?”
“ That’s what we have to believe, Mr. President,” Stanford Howard affirmed. “That’s the only reliable information we have.”
“ That’s the only information we have,” the President corrected. “Did Everret give this guy his code name?”
“ No, sir. Senator Dunne says Nicholai Kuznetsov coined it himself. Kuznetsov directed that that’s how he should be identified. Warlock.”
“ And Dunne’s met him?” the President reiterated.
“ Yes,” said the national security adviser. “He says the guy approached him in Moscow a long time ago, during an official visit. Now Senator Dunne is a valuable go ‐ between for hard intelligence. We have to take it any way we can get it.”
“ Very well, gentlemen,” the President declared. “It’s an unusual step. Unusual, but I agree. As long as we get good intelligence—“ the President let the sentence trail away.
Before the President could ask the obvious, Paul McCallister offered, “I saw the Senator two days ago. He told me Warlock sought him out in Moscow just as he was about to return from his fact ‐ finding trip on our latest missile placement talks.”
“ That’s when he told him about Jeannie?”
“ As much as he knew, Mr. President.”
“ Shall we bring in Michelle McConnell?”
“ No. As far as everyone knows this is a local police matter. I’ll phone her and express my concern over her daughter. We can’t let on that this is a matter of state. Not unless at some point we’ll have to. I’ll just tell her for now that we’re closely monitoring the situation— unofficially.”
“ Yes, sir,” several advisers replied in unison.
“ Where’s Victor Sherwyck?” the President asked abruptly.
“ He’s in town somewhere, sir,” the chief of staff replied. “He’s due at a reception at the Smithsonian this evening.”
“ Oh, yes, of course. Catch up with him. Put him on the schedule for a meeting—maybe lunch.”
“ Yes, sir,” Brandon said perfunctorily.
“ I want this whole thing wrapped fast,” the President directed, knowing he had no real control over the outcome.
“ If anyone can do this, sir, it will be the Omega Group,” asserted Stanford Howard, the national security adviser.
“ Show me, Stanford!” the President challenged as he stood up from his chair.
“ Very well, Mr. President,” George Brandon interjected. When his President betrayed irritation it was time for the chief of staff to remove the irritants. ‘Stanford’ instead of ‘Stan’ was a clue. Brandon stood up also, giving the cue to the others that the meeting was over.
When the advisers left the Oval Office, the President sat down again, turned in his leather swivel chair, gave a long sigh of frustration and stared out the window into the Rose Garden, spotting a large, charcoal mockingbird bobbing among the flowers.
Chapter 3
The young woman walked briskly through the main hall of the Library of Congress between curved wooden reading tables arranged under the dome along her way. They were occupied randomly by congressional aides doing research that would evolve into eloquent statements on the floors of the House and Senate, students, scholars and curious tourists testing whether they could really find a copy of every book published in the United States.
They paused, however, and couldn’t help but notice, glance, or stare at the attractive young woman passing by. The black dress she wore outlined her shapely, soft body and the amber pendant around her neck swayed back and forth with the rhythm of her steps, made noticeably loud by her high heeled shoes. She smiled to herself, knowing that people don’t normally dress up for a visit to the library. She strode
“ They tolerate it, sir. As long as information is genuine. And it has been up to now.”
“ So, that’s why we know terrorists grabbed Jeannie?”
“ That’s what we have to believe, Mr. President,” Stanford Howard affirmed. “That’s the only reliable information we have.”
“ That’s the only information we have,” the President corrected. “Did Everret give this guy his code name?”
“ No, sir. Senator Dunne says Nicholai Kuznetsov coined it himself. Kuznetsov directed that that’s how he should be identified. Warlock.”
“ And Dunne’s met him?” the President reiterated.
“ Yes,” said the national security adviser. “He says the guy approached him in Moscow a long time ago, during an official visit. Now Senator Dunne is a valuable go ‐ between for hard intelligence. We have to take it any way we can get it.”
“ Very well, gentlemen,” the President declared. “It’s an unusual step. Unusual, but I agree. As long as we get good intelligence—“ the President let the sentence trail away.
Before the President could ask the obvious, Paul McCallister offered, “I saw the Senator two days ago. He told me Warlock sought him out in Moscow just as he was about to return from his fact ‐ finding trip on our latest missile placement talks.”
“ That’s when he told him about Jeannie?”
“ As much as he knew, Mr. President.”
“ Shall we bring in Michelle McConnell?”
“ No. As far as everyone knows this is a local police matter. I’ll phone her and express my concern over her daughter. We can’t let on that this is a matter of state. Not unless at some point we’ll have to. I’ll just tell her for now that we’re closely monitoring the situation— unofficially.”
“ Yes, sir,” several advisers replied in unison.
“ Where’s Victor Sherwyck?” the President asked abruptly.
“ He’s in town somewhere, sir,” the chief of staff replied. “He’s due at a reception at the Smithsonian this evening.”
“ Oh, yes, of course. Catch up with him. Put him on the schedule for a meeting—maybe lunch.”
“ Yes, sir,” Brandon said perfunctorily.
“ I want this whole thing wrapped fast,” the President directed, knowing he had no real control over the outcome.
“ If anyone can do this, sir, it will be the Omega Group,” asserted Stanford Howard, the national security adviser.
“ Show me, Stanford!” the President challenged as he stood up from his chair.
“ Very well, Mr. President,” George Brandon interjected. When his President betrayed irritation it was time for the chief of staff to remove the irritants. ‘Stanford’ instead of ‘Stan’ was a clue. Brandon stood up also, giving the cue to the others that the meeting was over.
When the advisers left the Oval Office, the President sat down again, turned in his leather swivel chair, gave a long sigh of frustration and stared out the window into the Rose Garden, spotting a large, charcoal mockingbird bobbing among the flowers.
Chapter 3
The young woman walked briskly through the main hall of the Library of Congress between curved wooden reading tables arranged under the dome along her way. They were occupied randomly by congressional aides doing research that would evolve into eloquent statements on the floors of the House and Senate, students, scholars and curious tourists testing whether they could really find a copy of every book published in the United States.
They paused, however, and couldn’t help but notice, glance, or stare at the attractive young woman passing by. The black dress she wore outlined her shapely, soft body and the amber pendant around her neck swayed back and forth with the rhythm of her steps, made noticeably loud by her high heeled shoes. She smiled to herself, knowing that people don’t normally dress up for a visit to the library. She strode
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