Bodyguard of Lies

CHAPTER 30

Nero didn't lift his head for Bailey. He was simply too tired. He was glad he didn't have to worry about budgets and expenditures. In any other agency they would have had to justify the seat on the Concorde that had gotten Bailey back to the States while Gant's woman and Hannah were having their legs waxed.

Nero's voice was so low that Bailey had to lean across the desk to hear his words. "Do we know where the women are going?"

Bailey cleared his throat. "I would assume Neeley is going to see Jesse. They're flying to Pittsburgh and they have a rental car waiting. Morgantown is close by."

Nero smiled, a most rare occasion. "Ah, yes, Jesse."

"And the boy."

“A man now.”

“Yes. Physically at least,” Bailey amended.

“Yes. That was — is — a terrible shame,” Nero said. He was reflective for a few moments. "You need to talk to Jesse," Nero finally said.

"I will. I might have to slow Hannah and Neeley down a little."

"Do whatever is necessary."

“And Jack Gant?” Bailey said.

“What about him?”

“I’ve gotten a call,” Bailey said. “Jack’s heard rumors his brother is dead. He’s asking questions.”

Nero nodded weakly. “Neeley must have called the Uncle in New York for the connection with Suggs. I didn’t think of that. Jack’s on his island, right?”

“Yes.”

“But he hasn’t been contacted yet and I would prefer it stay that way until this problem is resolved.” Nero paused. "Where is Mister Racine?"

Bailey shifted his feet uncomfortably. "We don’t know."

"You don’t know?" Nero repeated.

Bailey shrugged. "Racine is good at certain things. I will take care of Mister Racine later. He won't stay hidden long."

Nero's head shook very slightly. "Racine won't go away. Perhaps you should have finished him in Europe when he was there against my wishes."

"I had other priorities and I wasn’t aware of the entire situation until I interrogated the doctor," Bailey said simply. The two men had worked together for so many years that they wasted no time on recrimination, but rather focused on reality.

“Racine will show up,” Nero said.

“I know. How would you like me to handle it?”

“Racine has run out of chances. The women bested him enough. He might get lucky, so I would appreciate it if you could even the odds a little. Jack Gant might help in that matter. There was never any love lost between the Gant brothers and Racine, even though the love between the two of them was greatly strained by Mogadishu and even more so by Jesse. However,” Nero added as he considered it, “hold off on Jack unless absolutely necessary.”

“So Racine is a Sanction?”

“Yes.”

Bailey nodded. Then he tossed a folder on the table. "There's what Jean-Philippe had to say and his precious papers and photographs."

Nero didn’t pick it up. “The gist?”

Bailey sank down into one of the hard seats, an indication of the seriousness of the situation. “Racine has been working for Collins for a long time. Since 1991 at least.”

Nero had already guessed that much. “He was the one who arranged the bomb with Jean-Philippe?”

“Yes.” Bailey looked at his old companion. “But there’s more to it than that.”

Nero waited.

“Racine was ordered by Collins to insure that the snatch mission failed. Not just failed, but was an embarrassment. A disaster to cover things up.”

Nero rubbed his forehead. “Racine shot down one of the choppers?”

Bailey nodded. “To kill al-Turabi, Gant and Masterson. And destroy the tape and papers. Except Gant and Masterson, along with the tape and papers, weren’t on the chopper.”

“So Racine initiated the disaster in Mogadishu,” Nero said simply. “And Collins didn’t trust I would do my part to cover his ass,” Nero added, almost to himself.

“He had his own agenda,” Bailey said.

"Neeley are Hannah are getting closer to the truth even as I get closer," Nero murmured. “And they have copies of Jean-Philippe’s papers.”

Bailey nodded. “I think Jean-Philippe double-crossed Racine and Collins though. I think he told them that Neeley gave Gant the papers and pictures and was going to go public on Collins.”

“Interesting,” Nero said.

Bailey waited as Nero sat in a cloud of smoke after lighting a cigarette. Finally the old man spoke again. "When you have the videotape, give me a call. Do you understand?"

Bailey nodded. "You can count on me Mister Nero."

Nero sagged back onto his chair. "I always have, Mister Bailey. I always have."

Bailey paused. "What about Senator Collins? And the papers?"

"That will depend on what exactly Neeley has," Nero said. "This has gotten out of hand. There are others besides Collins involved and they are not pleased. I think the events of the past week and this new information clearly show that my judgment — not Collins — should be trusted."

Nero leaned his head back. “Parallels. That is what is important about studying history. To see the parallels between current events and past events and thus be able to project forward and anticipate the future. Do you know why the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor?”

Bailey had been through many history lessons in this office. “No, sir, I don’t exactly.”

“Most people don’t remember,” Nero said. “It’s the same reason most of the wars in this century have been fought. One word. Quite simple. Oil.” Nero paused as he caught his breath, the air wheezing through his tracheotomy. “Oil is power. And wars have always been fought over power. On 25 July 1940 the United States government decided to limit its export of oil to Japan — curious isn’t it, that we were actually once in a position to export oil?

“This put the Japanese in an untenable position. Their economy was just beginning to recover from the Great Depression. But without US oil, and no source of their own, they would have to look overseas. They cast their eyes upon the Dutch East Indies and Malaysia. Thus setting themselves on a collision course with the European powers who controlled those lands, and, because those powers were embroiled in fighting Hitler, the United States, which was trying to pick up the slack in the Pacific.

“Yamamoto knew it was mistake to attack Pearl Harbor. He’d lived in America and he knew the true character of the American people. While those around him who only knew the United States second hand saw the Americans as weak and cowardly he felt differently.

“Bin Laden made the same mistake as those around Yamamoto. Bin Laden watched what happened in Mogadishu, how quickly we pulled out after a handful of our soldiers were killed and he thought us weak and vulnerable. So he attacked us. But he might also have known we shot our own helicopter down and figured we were so screwed up we were vulnerable in our greed.

“But behind it all was the power of oil.” Nero fell silent, lost in thought.

Bailey had seen his boss do this before, think out loud to a certain point and then go inside his head, sorting through all that had been learned. He stood to leave and cleared his throat. He knew he should just leave, but he too had spent many years preparing for this. “The women?”

“Yes?” Nero was distracted.

“Are they—“ he left the rest of the question unsaid.

Nero nodded ever so slightly. “They just might be, Mister Bailey. They just might. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”