Conspiracy

29

When National Security Advisor Donna Bing asked Rubens to convene a joint briefing session on the Vietnamese Assassin Plot, as she called it, Rubens tried to demur, telling her he thought it was premature. But she had insisted, and so late that eve ning he and Ambassador Jackson trekked down to Washington via Admiral Brown’s he li cop ter to meet with representatives of the CIA, FBI, and Secret Service to, as Jackson put it, sing for their supper.

It was easy to see how much credence the various agencies placed in the theory by how high-ranking their representatives at the meeting were. Collins was there for the CIA; the initial information was theirs and she had turf to protect. But Frey had sent one of his deputies and a mid-level member of the investigative task force on the McSweeney investigation.

Rubens didn’t even know the FBI officials representing the bureau.

He understood the skepticism. His agency’s review of Vietnamese intercepts found nothing that indicated a plot existed.

“Of course they would be careful about it,” said Bing briskly. She badgered the other agencies for opposing theories — a disgruntled constituent was preferred by both the FBI and Secret Service, though he had yet to be identified — and then disparaged them. For once, she dropped her belligerent attitude toward Rubens and actually seemed — not nice, exactly, but human.

Rubens saw why when she summed up the session.

“Looking at this from the macro level, it makes utter sense,” Bing declared. “The ultimate players here are the Chinese. They’ve helped the Vietnamese set it in motion — I would be looking for that connection in the intercepts.” Rubens was hardly a fan of China. But if there was still scant evidence that the assassination plot had been backed by the Vietnamese, then there was even less — as in nil — that the Chinese had a hand in it. He exchanged a glance with Jackson, who, diplomat that he was, returned only a hint of a smile.

“Was there something else, Bill?” asked Bing.

“I would only emphasize that we have yet to develop hard information about Vietnam’s involvement, let alone China’s.” Disappointment fluttered across Bing’s face. But she quickly banished it, saying, “Well, then we have to keep working. Unfortunately, this is the sort of development where I would expect future attacks to bear us out.” She rose, dismissing them.

“Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. I’m sure the President will be pleased.”

“Interesting theory,” said Jackson on the he li cop ter home.

“That’s one word for it.”

“Sometimes it’s useful to know why the wind is blowing at your back.”

“In Donna Bing’s case, it nearly always signifies there is a hurricane seeking to overtake you,” replied Rubens.