Zero Option

49

Carrotbers sat at the communications command post, waiting for the secure patch to General Waddell at the Pentagon. He had taken a nap in the car on the way back from Smyrna, and he felt marginally better, but only marginally. The cylinder was still lost The individual most likely to have it was on the run somewhere in Georgia. Now he had to report to Waddell, and through him, to the Army chief of staff. He had a sinking feeling that they wouldn’t be able to keep a lid on this thing much longer. For the moment, the entagon and Justice were in this mess together, but the instant the Justice Department saw a way to shift all the blame to the Army, they’d seize it What had his wife said? To trust all his instincts. His instinct was to talk to Stafford, without the FBI. He had done what he had been ordered to do and had discovered an even bigger mess than before. It was time to start doing the right thing.

While he still couldn’t feature Stafford for a crooked cop, the facts of the problem certainly raised reasonable doubt on that score. For one thing, Stafford sure as hell didn’t act like the typical federal agent.

He must understand the degree of concern this mess was generating at the national level, and yet here he was, handing in his resignation and holing up in some godforsaken mountain village. Maybe Kiesling was right. On the other hand, maybe Stafford knew something that the Army, hi its determination to bury this fiasco, didn’t know or didn’t want to know. Either way, doing something would be better than just sitting here waiting for something to happen.

“This is the Army Command Center with a secure satellite call for General Carrothers,” the headset announced.

“Carrothers here, secure.”

“Standby one.”

A moment of silence, punctuated by a tone burst. “Lee?”

Well, now, he thought, we’re back to Lee? “Yes, sir, General. We still haven’t found him. They’ve got the whole damn state looking for him, though.”

“All right. Justice has him listed as armed and dangerous. They’ve told the Georgia law-enforcement agencies to capture him alive if at all possible, but the Bureau people are saying that might be tough in Georgia. The lawmen down there purportedly do not screw around, especially with a cop killer. I wish we could we confirm he has the weapon.”

“So do I, General. There were no traces of the Wet Eye in the products of combustion during the fire, or in the ash piles and debris afterward, but as I reported, two of our people saw him getting away with an object.”

“But basically, we still don’t know shit.”

“That’s correct, General. Everyone’s operating on assumptions here.

That’s why we should want him alive. There is one other development.” He described Sparks’s strange story about a psychic child and the FBI’s speculation about Stafford, and that Stafford had resigned from the DCIS and was holed up in Graniteville. These revelations produced a hiss of silence on the net.

“A psychic?” Waddell said finally. “What kind of shit is that?”

“Beats me, General. I guess anything’s possible at this juncture.”

“The FBI really serious about suspecting Stafford?”

“I think they’re mostly circling the wagons. They’re desperate to broaden the target. I assume senior management in the Bureau is appropriately galvanized?”

“Oh, yeah, you might say that. That guy Tangent is in so much trouble, they don’t have a name for it at the Bureau, not only because he didn’t tell them what he was doing but also for losing one of his agents. But the Attorney General apparently reminded Secdef that none of.this could have happened if we hadn’t let one get away.”

“Tough to argue that one, sir. I’m thinking of going to find this DOS guy, Stafford, see what else he knows. Without the FBI people.”

“Has he been cooperating?”

“In a manner of speaking, General, although by resigning, he’s kind of out of it now. He did warn us that Carson had the item, and that was before the balloon went up. Anyway, here’s what I’m thinking: I want to go up in the mountains to talk to Stafford. And this psychic girl, if I can. If she detected the cylinder, maybe she can tell us where it is now.”

“For Chrissakes, Lee—”

“I know, General. But we’ve got the whole state of Georgia turned upside down looking for this guy, and sooner or later, some inquiring minds are going to want to know why. I have nothing better to do. If I get the sense that Stafford is bent, I’ll turn him over to our own Special Forces for some counseling.”

“I’d do that right now, if it were me, and the Bureau’s gonna howl when they find out they’re being cut out”

“Their job is to find Carson, and right now, anyway, their guy here is fairly passionate about doing that. I can always tell them later I was consulting the psychic. Gun shy as they are right now, they won’t want any part of that. Remember the Agency’s Stargate flap?”

“I do indeed. Okay, but remember, nobody here gives a shit about Carson, as long as we get the weapon back. He’s responsible for the death of an agent, so in a way, he’s a traveling free-fire zone. On the other hand, if he calls hi, wants to make a deal, for instance, we tell him anything he wants to hear, understood?”

“Absolutely, General.”

“And as far as I’m concerned, that DCIS guy is expendable, too, especially now that he’s quit. If he was involved in this little caper, go ahead and put his ass in the crosshairs with Carson. Nobody on either side of the river up here will object.”

“I don’t think he was on the take, General, but there’s something strange about the way he’s acting, which is why I want to go up there.”

“Well, nothing beats personal reconnaissance, Lee. Keep your comms suite with you, and keep us informed.”

“Yes, sir, General. Carrothers off net”

He pulled the headset off and rubbed his perspiring ears. He thought about what the general had just said. Jesus, Stafford, he thought, you’ve really made some friends in high places, haven’t you?

He stepped out of the trailer and told the regular team to return to their positions. Then he summoned one of the MP captains, who came trotting over, pulling out his notebook.

“I want to requisition two of those Suburbans,” Carrothers ordered.

“Lose the police lights. I want the two biggest MPs you’ve got, a medic, and a two-man CW monitor team, fully equipped. I want you, the medic, an MP driver, and me in one vehicle, the other three and the gear in the other. I want side arms for everyone, a night scope, a SATCOM terminal, and GPS tracker in my vehicle. Then get directions to a north Georgia burg called Graniteville, and once there, to something called the Willow Grove Home. And, finally, I want a total blackout on my movements, especially with reference to the FBI. Anyone asks, I’ve been summoned to Anniston to await developments.”

“Got it, General.”

“Good. A departure any time in the next twenty minutes will do just fine.”