The Third Option

31

Cameron scratched his beard and tried to figure out what to do. He was standing in the parking ramp at George Washington University. After hanging up on Rapp, Cameron was forced to make a practical decision: use his own car, or find other transportation. As he huddled behind a concrete pillar in the ramp, he went over the phone conversation, trying to figure out how Rapp had found him. Something occurred to him. Rapp had never used his real name. He only called him Professor. Cameron put himself in Rapp's shoes. If he were the one doing the confronting, he would use the person's real name, not an alias. Hell, he wouldn't even call them, he'd show up on the person's doorstep with a little muscle and beat the truth out of them.

Cameron had decided it was Villaume. That slimy little frog had gotten hold of Rapp and given him the phone number. That was the only thing that made sense; otherwise, Rapp would be all over him. Cameron checked the under- side of his car for tracking devices and left the ramp. He took his time driving to the Hill. The normal ten-minute drive took forty-five as Cameron zigzagged his way across the city. When he finally pulled into the underground garage of the Hart Senate Office Building, he was pretty confident that he had not been followed.

Senator Clark entered the small room and shut the airtight, soundproof door. He was in a light blue shirt with a white collar and an expensive gold silk tie. He had left his suit coat across the hall in the larger conference room. He was far from enthused about the interruption, but he didn't show it.

Clark remained standing. «What's wrong, Peter?»

«Nothing we can't handle,» answered Cameron with reserved confidence.

The senator eyed him cautiously; «Elaborate, please.»

«I received a phone call this afternoon from Mitch Rapp.»

Clark 's eyes opened wider. «Really?»

«Yes, but I don't want you to be too alarmed. He doesn't know my real name.»

Clark wasn't sure if he believed Cameron. «How did he find you?»

Cameron held up his mobile phone. «He called me on this.»

«How did he get the number?»

«Villaume gave it to him.» Cameron neglected to tell Clark that this was an educated guess.

The senator took a deep breath and glanced over at the blank wall. «I thought you said Villaume wasn't going to be a problem now that his large friend is gone.»

«I don't think he will be.» Cameron lied, again neglecting to mention the conversation he'd had with Villaume earlier in the day.

«Well, I think him giving Rapp your number would fall into the creating problems category.»

«It's not what you think.» Cameron held the phone up again. «There is no way they can use this to find me. It was purchased under a false name and was paid for with a credit card that can't be traced to me. Villaume doesn't know my real name; he knows nothing about me.»

Clark strained to keep his demeanor calm. None of this was good news. «You don't feel the slightest bit threatened by Rapp?»

«No.» Cameron lied. «I can handle him.»

«I'm not so sure.» The senator looked away and said, «Maybe I should bring in someone else to take care of things?»

«No. I can handle it.»

«You're sure?» The senator studied him.

«Yes.»

«How are things proceeding with the girl?»

«We have all of the information you requested.»

«All right.» Clark sat at the small table, and Cameron did the same. «Grab the girl, and be very discreet about it. Has Rapp shown up at his house yet?»

«No, and I don't think he will until this thing blows over.»

Clark sat in silence for a while, concentrating on how to proceed. After several minutes, he began to tell Cameron what to do. His attention to detail was amazing. So much so that Cameron felt the need to take notes, but he knew better than to ask. After ten minutes of Clark talking and Cameron listening, the meeting was over. Clark had sent his minion on his way with very specific orders on how to proceed.

Clark stayed in the small room by himself for several minutes, taking the time to gather his wits before he went back into the other meeting. As he sat there, he thought of one thing he'd forgotten. This would be the end of his relationship with Cameron. Whether the man succeeded in taking care of Rapp or not, he had become too big a liability. He had received confirmation that a man called the Colonel had accepted the contract on Cameron and was on his way to Washington. When Clark got home, he would have to put the Colonel in a holding pattern until this business with the reporter was taken care of. He absolutely could not allow Rapp to get his hands on Cameron.

ANNA RIELLY WAS tired. She'd just finished giving her last nightly news update and was packing up to head home. The rain had finally stopped. She did her first two stories standing under an umbrella on the north grounds of the White House. The dreary weather was affecting people's moods, including hers. It had been a long week, and it was only Wednesday. All she wanted to do was go home, curl up in her own bed, and go to sleep. It would be nice if Mitch was there, but she doubted she would be that lucky.

She had told Liz all about her conversation with Mitch. She had yet to tell Liz who Mitch worked for or what he did, and Liz had been a good enough friend not to force the issue. Although Liz O'Rourke seemed to be relieved by the news that Mitch had contacted Anna, the same couldn't really be said for Liz's husband. Michael was not happy about the events of the last week, and Anna was still worried that he might use his contacts to start digging around.

As Rjelly walked toward the northwest gate, she made the decision that she would stay at her apartment tonight. She had imposed enough on the O'Rourkes. They didn’t need this kind of stress in their lives, especially with the baby on the way: Mitch had called and said everything fine. If he wasn't worried, then she could relax a little.

As she approached the first gate, Rielly stuck her access badge under a sensor, and the lock on the gate released. She pushed the gate open and waved good night to the uniformed Secret Service officers as she walked past the guest house. At the next gate, she repeated the process and then stepped out onto the sidewalk bordering Pennsylvania Avenue. As she turned west, her thoughts settled on taking a nice, long, hot bath when she got home. Then maybe she would put a call in to her parents in Chicago and see how things were going.

There were always plenty of good stories about her nieces and nephews. The count was even right now. Three boys and three girls with two unknowns on the way: Rielly and her mother were hoping for girls. Anna had grown up with four very protective older brothers. Three of the four were married, and one was currently unmarried and looking for number two. Rielly needed to get home and see them. It had been almost three months. That was too long. Maybe when Mitch came out of his debriefing or whatever it was that he was doing, they could book a trip. The family had met Mitch the previous summer, and they had all gotten along wonderfully.

Rielly didn't even notice the two men at first. She was a thousand miles away, skinny-dipping in the water of Lake Poygan with her future husband, reliving the pleasant memories of last summer's trip. She stopped abruptly and looked up at the two serious-looking individuals.

«Ms. Rielly, I'm Special Agent Pelachuk with the FBI.»

The man gestured to his right. «And this is Special Agent Salem. We need to ask you a few questions.»

Rielly took half a step back and glanced over her shoulder. The White House was only a block away. She was not nervous; rather, she was checking to make sure none of her fellow reporters was witnessing the exchange. «May I see your badges, please?»

Without hesitation, both men produced their identification. Rielly studied them, not really knowing what an FBI badge looked like, other than what she'd seen on TV. The pictures matched, and they looked fancy enough. Rielly handed them back and asked, «What is it that you would like to talk to me about?»

«I'd rather not say, right here.» The man looked uncomfortable as he glanced over his shoulder and then across the street at the Old Executive Office Building.

«I'd rather you did.» Rielly folded her arms across her chest as if to say she wasn't moving until she got some answers.

The man slowly leaned forward and whispered, «This has something to do with your boyfriend.»

Rielly took half a step back. «Excuse me?»

The man waved his hands back and forth in an attempt to rid Rielly of her fears. «It's not what you think. It's a good thing.» He smiled.

«What?»

«I can't really talk about it out here on the street.» Rielly still looked concerned, so the man again leaned in and whispered, «He wants to see you.»

«Where is he?»

«I can't say. All I can tell you is that he is safe, and he would like to see you.»

«And if I say no?»

«If you say no, we will walk away and report back that we tried and you rejected us. It's not a big deal. He should be done in about two weeks, and you can see him then.»

Two weeks was out of the question. Rielly didn't know if she could wait two days. «All right. I'll come with you, but I need to make a phone call. Someone is expecting me.»

«That’s fine, but we'd ask that you not mention his name on a nonsecure line.»

«That's not a problem.»

«Good. Our car is right here.»

Rielly walked with them to a sedan that was parked only a few feet away. Always the reporter, Rielly checked the plates and was relieved to see they were government issue. She got into the back seat and pulled out her cell phone. After a few rings, Liz O'Rourke answered.

«Hello.»

«Liz, it's me. I think everything is back to normal.»

«Are you sure?»

«Yeah. Don’t worry.»

«So you talked to him again.»

Rielly watched through the front window as the car pulled out into traffic. «No… not really.» She wasn't sure how much she could say. «I'm on my way to meet him right now.»

«Is that good?» Liz asked.

«Yes. I'll call you in the morning.»

«All right. Let me know if you need anything.»

«I will, Liz, and thanks for everything. Apologize to Michael for me, please.»

«Don't worry about him. You don't need to apologize for anything. He'll just be happy he gets to sleep in our bed again.»

Anna laughed. «Liz, you're the best. I love you.»