Last Man Standing

48

Percy Bates was sitting in the strategic ops center at WFO when the man walked in. Buck Winters wasn’t alone. He had his usual twin escorts and also several others with him. Bates recognized one as a young Bureau lawyer and another as an investigator from the Bureau’s Office of Professional Responsibility, which looked into any wrongdoing by members of the FBI. With exaggerated solemnity, they all sat down across from Bates.

Winters tapped the tabletop with one of his long fingers. “How’s the investigation coming, Perce?”

“It’s coming real well,” answered Bates. He looked at the other people. “So what’s all this? Are you starting an investigation of your own?”

“Heard from Randall Cove lately?” asked Winters.

Bates once more glanced at the others. “You know, Buck, with all due respect, is it okay for these people to be hearing that name?”

“They’re all cleared for it, Perce. Trust me. They’ve been cleared for a lot.” Winters stared directly at him now. “This is a total disaster, you know.”

“Look, HRT got sent in and they were fired upon and they fired back. Those rules of engagement are about as clean as you can get. Nothing in the Constitution says our guys have to stand there and get gunned down.”

“I wasn’t specifically talking about the Free Society massacre.” “Damn it, Buck, it wasn’t a massacre. The Frees had guns too, and they were using them.”

“Eight dead, old men and young boys, and not one loss on HRT’s side. Now, how do you think the press will play out that one?”

Bates dropped the file he was holding along with any shred of patience he had left. “Well, if the Bureau does its usual head-inthe-sand and lets everybody else control the facts and the spin, I guess not real well. What do we have to do to make our ‘image’ look okay, lose a few guys on every mission?”

“Another Waco,” said the fresh-faced lawyer, shaking her head. “Like hell it is,” yelled Bates. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You were still in law school with your thumb up your ass when Waco went down.”

“Like I was saying,” said Winters calmly, “I wasn’t specifically talking about the Frees.”

“What, then?” asked Bates.

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe the fact that the entire security of the FBI has been compromised.”

Bates took a long breath. “Because of the psychiatrist’s office?” Winters exploded. “Yeah, Perce, that’s right, because for God knows how long, agents and secretaries and technicians and who the hell knows who else, but apparently everybody who has a head problem in the Bureau, has spilled their guts in that place. And somebody’s been vacuuming it up and using it for God knows what. I’d call that a compromise of security.”

“We’re out looking for O’Bannon right now.”

“The damage has already been done.”

“It’s better than us never having found out about it.”

“Not by a wide margin it’s not. I guess you know that I was on record a long time ago against using outside psychiatrists and psychologists, for this very security reason.”

Bates studied the man warily. And so you’re going to use this disaster to move your career a few pegs higher, right, Buck? Like maybe the director’s office?

“No, Buck, actually, I wasn’t aware of that.”

“It’s all in the paper trail,” Winters said confidently. “Check it.” “I’m sure it is, Buck. You were always the best of the best with the old paper trail.” And not much else having to do with being a real FBI agent.

“Well, heads are going to roll on this one.”

But not yours.

“So what’s this I read about London participating in the assault? Please tell me that’s just an enormous typo.”

“He was there,” admitted Bates.

Winters looked like he was ready to erupt again. Then Bates sensed a very small indication of satisfaction on the man’s features, and he finally understood where this conversation was going.

“Well, the press can just go ahead and crucify us now,” said Winters. “HRT takes out its revenge on old men and young boys. That’ll be the lead headline on the wires tomorrow. Now hear this, Bates and hear it good, London is through, effective immediately.” For effect, Winters picked up a pencil off the table and snapped it in half.

“Buck, you can’t do that. It’s still under review.”

“Yes, I can do that. He was on official leave of absence pending an SRB inquiry.” Winters motioned to one of his aides, who handed him a file. Winters took his time slipping on a pair of reading glasses and then glanced over the file. “And now I’ve also discovered that while on paid leave he was assigned to protection duty regarding one William Canfield who operates a horse farm in Fauquier County. Who authorized that?”

“I did. Canfield’s son was killed by the Frees in Richmond. Three people connected with that incident have been murdered, we believe by the Frees. You know all that. We didn’t want Canfield to become number four. Web was available and Canfield trusts him. In fact, Web saved his life. And mine. So it seemed a good fit.”

“Can’t say much for Canfield’s judgment, then.”

“And we had direct evidence connecting a truck, rented by Silas Free, to the machine guns that were used to ambush HRT. We had every right to hit them. And the assault was okayed by all appropriate parties. Check the paper trail.”

“I realize that. I actually signed off on it myself.”

“You did?” Bates asked, with a curious expression. “I actually wanted a SWAT team, Buck. You didn’t insist on HRT going in, did you?” Winters didn’t answer, and right then and Bates realized exactly why HRT had been sent in. Winters had wanted something like this to happen to fuel his crusade against Hostage Rescue. And Bates also knew that, as wily as Winters was, he’d never be able to prove it.

“I was not made aware that Web London was part of the assault,” Winters continued.

“Well, that came later,” Bates said slowly. He was defenseless on that one and he knew it.

“Oh, thanks for the explanation, that really clears it all up. And who authorized London being in on the assault?”

“His commander, Jack Pritchard, would’ve had to give the okay.” “Then he’s gone. Effective now.”

Bates stood. “My God, Buck, you can’t do that. Pritchard’s pulled twenty-three years at the Bureau. He’s one of the best we’ve ever had.”

“Not anymore he’s not. As of now, he’s one of the worst. And it will be duly noted for the official record. And I’m going to recommend that he be stripped of everything, including his pension, for insubordination, action detrimental to the Bureau and about a half dozen other things. Believe me, it’ll be an easy sell once all this breaks. There will be an enormous need for scapegoats.”

“Buck, please don’t do this. Okay, maybe he stepped out of bounds a little on this one, but he’s got a list of commendations taller than I am. He’s risked his life more times than I can count. And he’s got a wife and five kids, two of them in college. This’ll ruin him. This will kill him.”

Winters put the file down. “I tell you what, Perce, I’ll make a deal with you, because I like you and I respect you.”

Bates sat down, instantly suspicious as the cobra moved in for the kill. “What sort of deal?”

“If Pritchard stays, London goes. No questions asked. No fight, no defenses. He just goes. What’s it going to be?”

Percy Bates just sat there while Buck Winters watched him, waiting for his answer.

For years Claire had been a tooth grinder, to such an extent, in fact, that her dentist had made her a mouth guard that she wore at night to save her teeth from being worn down to the gums. She had wondered where this symptom of anxiety came from, perhaps from listening to her patients’ problems. Now she was thankful for her grinding because she had worn the gag down such that it had finally ripped apart and she spit it out. The way her hands were bound over her head, however, made removing the blindfold impossible. She had tried to rub her head against the wall to pry it off that way, until it felt like she had worn off most of her hair. Exhausted, she slumped over.

“It’s okay, lady, I’ll be your eyes,” said Kevin. “They got me locked up too, but I’m working on that.”

With her gag off, they had started talking and Claire had learned who Kevin was.

“Web London told me about you,” she said. “And I’ve been to your house. We spoke to Jerome.”

Kevin looked anxious. “I bet they worried. I bet Granny about to die from worry.”

“They’re okay, Kevin. But they are worried. Jerome loves you very much.”

“He always good to me. He and Granny.”

“Do you know where we are?”

“Nope.”

Claire took a deep breath. “It smells like chemicals. Like we’re near a dry cleaner’s shop or some type of manufacturing plant.” She struggled to recall the details of how she had gotten here. The roads and the terrain the man had carried her over seemed more reminiscent of the country than the city.

“How long have you been here?”

“Ain’t know. Days sort of run together.”

“Has anyone been in to see you?”

“Same man. Ain’t know who he is. He treats me nice. But he gonna kill me, I can see that in his eyes. It’s the nice ones you got to watch out for. Folks who scream and shake their fist, I’ll take them any day over the quiet ones.”

If she hadn’t been so unnerved at the thought of being murdered, Claire might have smiled at the boy’s mature insight into human nature.

“How did you get hooked up with all this?”

“Money,” Kevin said plainly.

“We saw the sketch you did, with the remote control.”

“I ain’t know what was gonna happen. Nobody told me that. They just give me it and told me what to say.”

“Damn to hell?”

“Yep. Then I was supposed to trail ’em going down that alley and then, when I got close enough to the courtyard, hit the remote button. I seen that man, Web, he all froze up, and the rest of his buddies went running into that courtyard. Web, he ain’t never see me behind him. He got up and followed his buddies, but he was walking like he was drunk or something. I hit the button and then hung back.”

“Because you wanted to see what happened?”

“Those people ain’t never tell me about no guns. I swear that on my mama’s grave, I swear!”

“I believe you, Kevin.”

“I was supposed to go back to where I was, but I couldn’t. Seeing all them folks die like that. And then Web, he yelled at me. About give me a heart attack. He saved my butt. I would’ve run out there if it ain’t for him and then I be dead too.”

“Web said that somebody switched you for another boy.” “That’s right. I ain’t know why.”

Claire took a deep breath and the strong chemical smell invaded her lungs again. Now she too was able to identify it as chlorine, but she had no idea what its source was. She felt totally helpless.