Daylight

Chapter 66

“What a lovely house,” said Pine sarcastically as they entered the front room.

The floors were marble, the walls upholstered in what looked to be silk, and with the very finest wood trimmings done by an expert hand on the miter saw. The furnishings clearly coincided with the price tag of the real estate, and the paintings on the walls would not have seemed out of place in any of the myriad museums housed throughout the city.

“Thank you,” said Franklin just as sarcastically.

A young woman dressed in a domestic’s uniform entered the room and greeted the congresswoman.

“Ms. Franklin, do you need anything?”

“No, Lily, you can go up to your room. I won’t require anything else tonight.”

Lily glanced at Pine. “Would your friend like some refreshment? Carl is still in the kitchen.”

“No, you can tell Carl that he can turn in for the night as well. I will let my ‘friend’ out later.”

“Yes ma’am.” Lily turned and hurried out, closing the door behind her.

“Let’s go to my study,” said Franklin curtly.

She led Pine down a long hall that, instead of marble, was floored in random-width walnut planks. She opened one of a set of double doors and motioned Pine inside.

She closed the door behind them and Pine eyed the book-lined room, the fire crackling and popping away in the hearth. There was a lovely wooden desk with leather trimmings and a set of antique writing instruments displayed on the surface that looked like they cost a mint. The carpet underneath Pine’s feet was thick and forgiving. The whole atmosphere was of a great English country house dropped smack into lower Manhattan.

There was a bar set up against one wall. “Would you like a drink?” Franklin said.

“No, but help yourself. You may need one.”

Franklin flinched for a moment but then poured out a snifter of brandy and swirled the liquid around in the glass.

She was dressed conservatively in a tailored dark blue dress suit. Franklin undid the bun in her hair and let the blond tresses flutter down to her shoulders. She sat down in a high-back chair and Pine sat across from her on a small settee.

Franklin took off her heels and rubbed her feet.

“You’d think by now women wouldn’t have to wear these damn things.”

“I think you’re a woman in a position to wear what you want, unlike a lot of other women. But that’s not what I came here to talk about.”

“Okay, what did you come here to talk about, other than to make wild, unsubstantiated allegations?”

“Your net worth is really impressive. This house alone is worth what, five, ten mill easy? And you have another place in upstate New York, right?”

“And I have another place in the south of France. A charming villa.” Franklin took a sip of the brandy and let it slide down her throat. The look she gave Pine was one of amusement, which Pine decided not to let go.

“For a woman who’s been in Congress for the last dozen or so years at a fixed salary of a hundred seventy-five thousand and change, that’s really quite an achievement.”

“I was a lawyer before that.”

“Right, but only for a few years. And not in any practice field that pays big bucks.”

“I invested well.”

“And your position in Congress allows you to write laws that concern companies that you’re invested in, I know.”

“That would be a conflict of interest.”

“Of course it is, but it still happens. Because people in Congress write the laws in a way that allows them loopholes the size of the Grand Canyon. And the burden of proof on public corruption is so high that it’s almost impossible to get a conviction, so prosecutors have just stopped trying.”

“Thank you to the United States Supreme Court for that. But if you have a complaint, you can speak to my assistants.”

“I think you probably have done the conflict-of-interest thing. But I doubt that’s where the bulk of your fortune came from. Your official financial disclosures only have to give broad ranges. You don’t have to disclose the value of your principal residence, and assets in certain trusts don’t have to be valued and disclosed at all. I would assume that you take advantage of all of those loopholes.”

“On the contrary, I take no steps to hide my wealth. You knew where I lived, or else you followed me here. I’ve had parties and fund-raisers here, and at my other residences. My personal financial history is transparent.”

“Not even close. And members of Congress don’t have to undergo security background checks. So there could be a lot in your background that we don’t know.”

“The media would have ferreted out any issues. And if you’re questioning my patriotism, we take an oath of secrecy, and as a member of the Intel Committee I took a separate oath.”

“Just words, nothing more.”

“I’m an elected official. The voters have vouched for my integrity by casting their ballot for me. So that case is closed.”

Pine shook her head. “That hardly does it in my book.” “Look, it’s been a long day and I need to get to bed.”

“Trust me, your days are going to get longer.”

Franklin sat forward and snarled, “I’m getting tired of this back-and-forth bullshit. And just so you know, vague threats do not move me. Try it again and you’ll be looking at a lawsuit for slander. And a congressional investigation into how the FBI vets its agents. I doubt the FBI director likes his agents going rogue.”

Pine sat forward, too. “Then let me make it a little less vague. All the penthouses are under surveillance. Any time now you’re going to get served with search warrants along with God knows how many other high-ranking officials and CEOs and judges and cops and other traitors.”

“Do you think I’ve been blackmailed, Agent Pine?”

“I don’t recall mentioning anything about blackmail. I wonder why you would.”

Franklin tensed but then relaxed and sipped her brandy. “I made an assumption based on what you just told me. I’m allowed that, right? People in high places? Traitors?”

“Do you really want to know why I’m here?”

“Certainly. Then maybe we can draw this meeting to a close.”

“I can cut you a deal.”

Franklin almost spilled her drink. “A deal? I’m a lawyer, Pine. I’m assuming you’re not. So don’t try to intimidate me. I eat people like you for lunch.”

“You weren’t a criminal lawyer, but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. They killed Jeff Sands. They gunned down Tony Vincenzo on a beach in New Jersey. Lindsey Axilrod, or whatever her real name is, was going to stick him with some shit in a syringe before I temporarily rescued him.”

“I know none of those people and you have no proof that I do.”

“By tomorrow the proof will be there. Do you want to be ahead of the curve, or behind it and in a jail cell?”

“The FBI really needs to start hiring higher-caliber personnel. I will be delighted to subpoena you to appear before one of my committees. I will tear you to shreds. You’ll lose your badge and what little dignity you might have left. You can spend the next fifty years in regret.”

“Do I take that as a no?”

“This meeting is over,” snapped Franklin. “Please leave, now. Or I’ll call the police.”

Pine rose. “Okay, then I’ll give Gorman the deal instead. He’ll probably claim you ordered the killings and the kidnapping of an FBI employee and an Air Force lieutenant colonel. SAC Graham doesn’t care where the inside help comes from. He told me it’s full throttle all the way.”

Franklin paled just a bit and her voice changed. “Graham? You spoke to Warren Graham?”

“He is head of the New York Field Office. Who else would be heading up an operation the size and complexity of this one?”

“Operation?”

“Yes, it’s official title is Operation Stars and Stripes.” She looked down at the woman in all her smugness. “But it has an unofficial name, just for the amusement of us FBI types.”

“And what, pray tell, is that?” asked Franklin, giving Pine a cocksure smile.

“Operation Kiss Your Ass Good-bye.”

Pine let herself out of the mansion.