True Blue

CHAPTER 104

SAM DONNELLY did not look particularly pleased as he left the White House in a small motorcade. He was a former Army two-star turned congressman who’d been elevated to the top spy slot based on political payback and his years of military duty, and also because of his membership on the House Intelligence Committee. He’d grown gray in service to his country and had a reputation as a no-nonsense administrator with a hands-on approach.

Jarvis Burns sat across from him in the limo, which had a soundproof wall separating the driver and a bodyguard from the rear seats. Burns had fought with Donnelly in the swamps of Vietnam before each had gone his own way in life after the military. Once they hooked back up, Donnelly’s faith in Burns had allowed him pretty much free rein to run one of the most important top-secret programs in America’s counterterrorism operations.

“Tough meeting?” Burns said.

“You can say that.”

“Wish I could have been there.”

“The DCI gets a burr up his butt from time to time. Just wants what he calls the big boys in the room. I’ll throw him the bone. It’s not like I can risk making him into an enemy. The DNI is only first among equals.”

“It’s an unwieldy structure we have. Most countries are far more streamlined on the intelligence side.”

“With so many ‘intelligence’ agencies all jockeying for turf and budget dollars it is pretty much guaranteed that nothing will ever be streamlined on this side of the Atlantic.”

“But the results speak for themselves.”

“Absolutely they do. There hasn’t been a terrorist attack on American soil since 9/11. That is not by happenstance. What we’re doing is working. The president understands that. That is the most important thing.”

“And so does the public.”

“Well, if they knew some of the folks we were bankrolling it would not go over well.”

Burns nodded. “But a bag full of rials or dinars doesn’t cut it anymore. It’s a big business keeping this country safe. We have money and/or financial distribution channels and they don’t. They have things we need. It’s a simple business transaction.”

“It’s a deal with the devil, plain and simple.”

“But less of a devil than the ones we’re fighting.”

“How do you keep them straight, Jarv? They keep changing on us. We’re paying off the same bastards that just last year were shooting at us and blowing us up.”

“We’re fighting the good fight with the tools we have, sir. What’s the alternative?”

Donnelly gazed out the window as the famous monuments whirled by outside. “There’s no alternative, at least for now,” he groused.

“We all do what we have to do, sir. You’re a political appointee. I’m just a working man.”

Donnelly didn’t look pleased by this statement. “They can subpoena anybody, Jarv. Including you. Don’t ever forget that.”

“I’m sorry if I conveyed a different impression.”

“And everyone is expendable, including you.”

“I never thought otherwise,” said Burns in a deferential tone.

“We did what we needed to do to survive in Southeast Asia. I’m not proud of all of it, and maybe I’d do things differently today, but I’m not second-guessing anything with my country’s security at risk.”

“We’ll get through this, Director.”

“Will we? Well, just remember this, in my agency sacrifice starts from the bottom and works up. Don’t ever lose sight of that, Jarv. Don’t ever.” Donnelly gave the other man a prolonged stare and then looked away. “Money is as tight as I’ve ever seen it. And if we don’t keep paying the sons of bitches, we’re going to have a suitcase nuke go off somewhere where we don’t want it to. The ends do justify the means. When I was in Congress I would’ve launched an investigation of any agency head who uttered those words. Now that I’m in the hot seat I can definitely relate.”

“The money will continue. The stakes are too high.”

“What’s being done with Reiger’s and Hope’s families?”

“As far as they’re concerned the two died while serving their country. They’ll be taken care of financially, of course.”

“I was deeply disappointed it came to this.”

“As was I.”

“You’ve got to have the stomach for this sort of thing. We had to deal with this shit in ’Nam. We worked with whoever we had to, to get the damn job done.”

“The younger generation just doesn’t seem to get it.”

“But Mary Bard is a hell of an asset to have.”

“Quite accommodating of our Russian friends.”

“Even Moscow is scared of the terrorism beast. They’ve got money now, and an economy worth protecting. They know they’re a target. So I snagged her from the FBI as soon as I heard she was in town. I’ve worked with her before actually. Steve Lanier, the AD, was not pleased, I can tell you that.”

“I’m sure. I’m looking forward to deploying her again.”

“Don’t overuse her. There are enough damn bodies floating around as it is.”

“Absolutely, sir.”

But one or two more won’t really matter, thought Burns.