Black Harvest

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Nick stepped out of the entrance to his building. He was on his way to meet Selena at a restaurant near DuPont Circle. He thought about what he'd say to her. About living with her in the new condo.

A gleaming black Cadillac limo sat by the curb, motor idling. Nick recognized it as the armored Presidential model. Not something you saw every day. A $300,000 car. Five inch thick armor. Run flat tires. Turbo charged 6.6 liter diesel engine. Security countermeasures beyond most people's conception.

The windows were black. At the same time he saw the limo, he saw a man on either side of him. His hand moved toward his pistol.

"Please don't, Director Carter. You are in no danger." The man on the right had a deep voice, calm. "Someone wants to speak with you."

Both men wore dark overcoats and sunglasses and earpieces. They might have been Secret Service, but something told him these two didn't work for the Treasury Department. They kept out of reach and made no sudden moves. Their hands were outside their pockets and away from their bodies. Both men wore their hair short. Both had hard, experienced faces. Nick assessed his chances. He figured it at about 50/50 in a fight. He'd never reach the gun in time.

He stopped on the sidewalk. A driver in a dark suit got out of the car. He had sunglasses and an earpiece, like the others. He came around to the curbside and opened the rear door. Waiting.

"If someone wants to talk, why not call?" Stalling. He felt the adrenaline kick in.

"Director. I assure you, there is no harm intended." The voice of the man was educated. "If you would please get in the car."

"I have a dinner engagement."

"Ms. Connor has been advised that you will be delayed."

"And if I choose not to get in?"

"As you wish, Director. No one will attempt to force you, but you would be making a mistake." No menace in the comment, just a recitation of fact.

The car door beckoned. If they knew about Selena, knew where she was, they were efficient, organized. A possible threat if they wanted to be, maybe to Selena. Nick weighed his options, shrugged, got in the back seat of the Cadillac. Sometimes you had to go with the play. The door closed.

The windows were opaque. The interior was lit by overhead halo lighting. The back of the limo stretched comfortable and long, with the smell of new leather. The leather was black. The limo had a black glass partition in front, behind the front seat and the driver. Another partition of thick, black glass ran all along the length of the rear compartment. Nick had never seen anything like that in the back of a Cadillac. He could not see the driver, or whoever sat on the other side of the rear seat. A speaker grill was set in the glass by his head.

The car started moving, quiet, soft. Nick couldn't tell if the men had gotten into the car. He could not see outside through the black glass. The inside of the door lacked a handle. He was along for the ride until someone decided he could get out.

It was like riding in a luxurious closet. Or a coffin.

They hadn't taken his gun, but the glass was probably bullet proof. He'd end up shooting himself with the ricochet. They hadn't threatened him. That was interesting.

"I apologize for the intrusion, Director."

The voice from the speaker startled him. It was altered by electronics. It could be the voice of a man or a woman. Hell, it could be the voice of a child. Nick didn't think a child sat on the other side of that glass.

He waited. The obvious questions were unlikely to be answered.

Nick heard the person on the other side chuckle. Probably a man, he thought.

"Not curious about who I am?"

"Would it do any good to ask? Why the dramatics?"

"It seemed best this way. Appointments and phone calls are not secure. This vehicle is. May I call you Nick?"

"You can call me whatever you like. Who are you?"

"You may call me Adam."

"What do you want?"

"I sent you the video."

Nick didn't have to ask what video.

"Why send it to us?"

"Surely that's obvious. Who else could I send it to? The Pentagon? The FBI? Langley, perhaps?"

"And the Russians?"

"Vysotsky will not go to his boss. He will only do that if there is no other choice. These things can escalate out of control. Vysotsky is a patriot. He does not want a war with us that Russia can't win. There are people in the Kremlin who don't understand that concept. He can help. He will be invaluable if you have to enter Russia."

"No one's going to invite us into Russia."

"Stranger things have happened."

"What is Demeter?"

"A plan to destroy all food crops in Russia with a fast-acting virus."

"That's the conclusion we came to."

"Dansinger is an egomaniac and a fanatic. He wants Russia on its knees. He thinks he can control this virus once it is released. I think he's wrong. It is likely to spread throughout Asia. Half the world's food supply will be destroyed within a few months. Think what will happen, if he succeeds."

"How does Lodge come in?"

"He hates Russia as much as Dansinger. Among other things, he provides covert support. Wet work."

"Campbell and the others."

"Yes. He had them terminated. He has his own private unit of rogue agents operating outside the boundaries."

Nick made a mental note. Terminated.

"Dansinger is part of a very powerful organization. He has promised Lodge the White House four years from now and he can deliver it."

What Adam had just told him explained Lodge's motivation. The White House could be delivered. Nick didn't want to believe that, but somehow he did.

"What organization?"

"We'll talk about that on a different day."

The car rolled through the streets. Nick had no idea where he was. Sometimes they stopped, he assumed for lights or traffic. Sometimes they turned.

The electronic voice was unsettling. "Lodge has been observing everyone in the Project for some time. Did you know he had someone outside your cabin in California the last time you were there?"

Son of a bitch, Nick thought. He kept silent.

"He had someone watching when you and Doctor Connor met with McCullough. I assume he sent those Georgian gangsters to Greece."

"You seem to know a lot about Lodge. Why haven't you stopped him?"

"We're doing what we can."

Nick noted the plural. We.

"Is the Pentagon part of this?"

"We think there is a rogue element in the military leadership. Dansinger is involved in a Pentagon bio-warfare program. He receives a great deal of money from them. His research facilities and laboratories are unmatched, except at CDC."

We, again.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Demeter is about to be implemented. That must not happen. The virus is stockpiled in Building Four at Dansinger's Texas research facility. It has to be destroyed and your group can do it."

"You want to use us. Why should we cooperate?"

"Because it is in the country's best interest to do so."

Nick said nothing.

"One thing you should know. The virus is airborne. You can't blow it up. Use thermite charges. Intense heat will finish it."

"What does the virus look like?"

"Demeter looks exactly like common pepper. Samples are kept in one of the refrigerators in the laboratory. The main supply is in a large freezer, packed in sealed boxes. All of that is in Building Four."

The car slowed.

"One more thing." The electronic voice crackled over the speaker. "He has effective security on site. Be careful."

The car stopped. The door opened. They were in front of the restaurant.

"How do I contact you?"

There was no response. Nick got out. The driver closed the door, went around the back, got in. The car drove away. The license plate was obscured.

He walked into the restaurant where Selena waited.