Payback

129

“You ever hear of a place called Wellington?” Dean asked Daniels.

“Little town outside of Philadelphia. It was mostly farms ten years ago,” said the state trooper.

“We have to get there. Local police found a car that was stolen in the same area that the truck from Mexico was found.”

“How come they haven’t reported it?”

“They’re doing it right now,” said Dean, reaching to the switch to connect with the pilot. “Trust me on this — like I say, my information is always a little ahead of the curve.”

The big helicopter scattered dirt and papers before it as it fluttered down in the small lot near the road of the county highway. Dean hopped out, trotting toward the row of revolving police lights nearby. Two sheriff ’s deputies met him; Daniels and two of his aides trailed behind.

“Where’s the vehicle?” said Dean.

They led him to a battered Subaru Forester, surrounded by local detectives and policemen.

“You FBI?” asked a white-haired man in a blue uniform.

“Dean. I work with Homeland Security.”

“I’m Chief Dalton. We’re waiting for some crime scene people from the state police.”

“Yeah, they’re on their way. That’s Daniels, from the state police,” Dean said, thumbing behind him as the captain huffed across the macadam. “He’s in charge of the task force.”

Dean took his phone out as he walked over to the car so he could talk to Rockman without looking too peculiar. He bent down in front of the car, reading the New York license plate for verification and examining the front of the car. It looked as if it had been in a light fender bender. Bits of wood were stuck in the front grille. Dean stepped back, looking around.

“Part of a broken crutch.” he told Rockman, walking toward it.

“Mr. Dean, this is Rubens. Describe the crutch as precisely as you can for Mr. Rockman. Then please do two things. Find out if there are any tire tracks or other indications of what sort of vehicle the weapon was loaded into—”

“It’s asphalt pavement. No tracks.”

“I see. Then please describe the pieces of wood you mention to Mr. Rockman, and any other items at the scene, inside and outside of the car. Any items at all.”

Rubens walked to the front of the Art Room and stood over the communications console. He put his finger on the button of a voice-only scrambled phone, connecting himself to George Hadash in the situation room under the White House.

“We have evidence that Babin has reached the Philadelphia area.”

“The warhead?”

“We have no direct evidence of the warhead. However, we have wood that might have been part of a crate. I urge a full Red Sky alert at this time.”