Call to Treason

FIFTY-THREE

The low hum, more tangible than audible, came upon them suddenly. The windows began to wobble before anything else. That caused the drawn drapes to shake. A few moments later, everyone felt the vibrations.

The nearly sixty-foot-long AH64-D Apache Longbow helicopter lowered itself sideways beside the hotel. The sun threw its stark shadow against the drapes. The Longbow looked like a mosquito, with its slightly dipped rotors and stubby wings set against a long, slender body, a large General Electric T700-GE-701 turboshaft engine mounted high on each side of the fuselage.

The helicopter rotated slowly so that its 30 mm automatic Boeing M230 chain gun was pointed toward the room.

“Christ in heaven,” Stone muttered as the aircraft turned.

He started toward the door just as the knob and lock popped loudly, and the door flew in along the hinges. Mike Rodgers stepped through the acrid smoke of the C-4 blast. He was followed by a small complement of marines. The marines were all carrying MP5-N assault rifles. Several of them moved toward Thomas Mandor and Kendra Peterson. They directed the two toward the bedroom. Neither of Stone’s companions protested. Two of the marines remained with Mike Rodgers.

“Put your weapon down!” Rodgers ordered as he walked toward Stone. He had to shout to be heard over the beat of the Apache that had ferried them to the rooftop. Rodgers expected to be using it again shortly.

The USF officer hesitated, but only for a moment. He turned the gun from Kat to Senator Orr.

“Don’t!” Kat screamed.

“You are leaving me no choice!” he replied.

“I am,” she said. She edged toward the senator. “We can talk about your concerns. We’ve done that before, all of us.”

“It’s too late,” Stone said.

“Eric, have you actually killed anyone?” Rodgers asked as the marines filled the room.

“No,” he admitted.

“Then don’t start now. I know you think there’s no other choice. People in an emotional situation often think that. But it isn’t true.”

“You don’t understand!” Stone said. He gestured angrily at Orr with the gun. “This man is evil!”

“This man is a United States senator, and you are not his judge!” Kat yelled.

Slowly, the woman sat beside Orr. She was obviously attempting to place herself between the handgun and the senator. That was a sweet gesture, but at this range, Stone would take both of them out before Rodgers could reach him. That left just one option, and the general did not want to use it.

“Kat is right,” Rodgers said. “You may get jail time for whatever you’ve done till now, but it beats having these boys cut you down.”

“You tell me not to kill by threatening to kill me?” Stone laughed. “You’re as twisted as Orr!”

Rodgers continued to move closer to Stone. The young man was standing sideways, the gun aimed down. He scowled, angry, cornered. In hair trigger situations like this, it was important to be determined without being overly aggressive.

“Let’s stop thinking about who can kill who,” Rodgers suggested. He extended his left arm slowly and opened his hand. “Let’s do as Kat suggested and talk this thing over. Give me the weapon so we can start to ratchet this thing back.”

Stone said nothing. Often, that meant the individual was ready to capitulate. It was usually noticeable in a softening of the tension around the mouth and eyes, in the sinew of the neck. Unfortunately, none of that was happening here. The thumping of the helicopter probably was not helping Stone to think straight.

“I’ll tell you what, Eric,” Rodgers said. “I’m going to have Lieutenant Murdock, who is standing right behind me, get on the radio. He’ll send the helicopter away. It will be easier to talk.”

“I don’t want to talk!” Stone cried. “I want to finish what we started!”

“What who started?” Rodgers asked.

“The admiral, Kendra, and myself.”

“What did you start?”

“The counterprocess,” Stone said. “That was the code name the admiral devised. It was his idea, and it was the right idea!”

The young man was under both internal and external stress. More than intent and desire, physical strain could cause the handgun to discharge. Rodgers had to take precautions. He held his right arm straight down, the index finger pointed toward the floor. That was a sign to the marines. If the general crooked his finger, that meant to ice the target. If he raised his arm again, it meant to stand down.

“Talk to me about the counterprocess,” Rodgers said.

“It was conceived to work within the senator’s plan.”

“Like a virus or a mole,” Rodgers said.

“Yes.”

“What was the senator’s plan?”

“To kill his enemies,” Stone replied.

“That’s a lie!” Kat shot back.

“Let him talk!” Rodgers cautioned.

Rodgers watched Stone’s grip on the handgun. There was no change. The general continued to walk toward him.

Stone turned slightly to address Rodgers directly. “Killing William Wilson was Orr’s idea,” Stone said. “Kat fleshed it out. It was a way of drawing attention to a problem and solving it at the same time.”

“The problem of anti-American economic activities,” Rodgers said.

“Exactly.”

“How do you know the senator was behind the killing of Mr. Wilson?” Rodgers asked. He wanted to draw Stone deeper into conversation, focused on him and not on the senator.

“Orr told the admiral, and the admiral told me,” Stone said.

“Did you ask the senator yourself?” Rodgers asked.

“Why bother? He would have lied to me. Anyway, the admiral never lied. Not to me.”

Rodgers was just a few paces away. “If this is true, I need you to tell me everything. Then I can pass it along to Op-Center.”

“Op-Center!” Stone snarled. He turned a little more. “They were the ones who screwed this up for all of us—”

Rodgers saw an opening and took it. Stone had raised his arm slightly so the Glock was pointed away from both Donald Orr and Kat Lockley. Rodgers reached across Stone and grabbed the man’s right wrist with his own right hand. He forced the gun toward the floor as he simultaneously swung his left hand toward the gun. Rodgers pressed left with his right hand, against the back of Stone’s forearm, and right with his left hand. Stone’s wrist snapped audibly. The gun hung loosely in his trembling fingers, and Rodgers snatched it.

The marines moved in. One of them secured Stone by pushing him facedown on the carpet. The other ran to look after Kat and the senator. He told Kat to call downstairs for the hotel physician. Rodgers picked up the Glock.

“You don’t know what you’re doing!” Stone said.

“Saving you from death by lethal injection, I think,” Rodgers replied. He motioned for the marine to let Stone sit up. Then the general crouched beside him. “Where is Admiral Link?”

“I don’t know,” Stone replied.

“I don’t believe you,” Rodgers replied. “You were filibustering outside the hotel while his limo was being hijacked. You wanted to keep me from seeing anything.”

“That doesn’t mean I know where he went,” Stone said.

Rodgers shook his head. “Don’t you get it? The counterprocess is over. Whatever it is, whatever it was supposed to be, this whole thing is done. Cooked. The only way you save any part of your own ass is by cooperating.”

“I believe that what we have done is right,” Stone replied. “And I won’t rat out my boss. Neither will Ms. Peterson.”

“This gentleman says he will,” said a voice from the bedroom door.

Rodgers looked over. The other male member of Stone’s party was standing there. His short marine guard was behind him, the assault rifle lowered. There was something contrite in the manner of the big man.

“Who are you?” Rodgers asked, rising.

“Thomas Mandor, sir.”

“What is your role in all this?” Rodgers asked.

“Just muscle,” Mandor replied.

“He was hired by Admiral Link’s staff, supposedly as a personal security officer for the senator,” Kat said bitterly.

“I was hired by Mr. Stone, but to escort the senator to another location,” Mandor said. “And I happen to know where Admiral Link is.”

“I’m listening,” Rodgers replied.

“My partner has him. If I tell you where they are, can we cut some kind of deal?”

“No,” Rodgers said. “If you don’t, I’ll do my damnedest to make sure the state of California adds obstruction of justice to whatever else you may have done.”

Mandor considered that for just a moment. Then he told Rodgers where Kenneth Link had gone.