Betrayal (17 page)

“And?” Brady asked.

“And liaise with the locals. Strengthen their trust, help rebuild local commerce in order to stem insurgents.”

Brady swallowed hard. “What was it called?”

“What?”

“The operation. Did the operation have a codename?” Brady asked.

“Well, of course,” Taylor offered. “Brady, what the hell does this have to do with…”

“Please, what was the name?

Taylor pursed his lips and tightened his jaw, “SPHINX, the codename was SPHINX.”

Steven Brady collapsed into his chair. “I think you need to see this.”

“Brady, what the hell is going on?”

“Remember when you said Merrow was at the head of every…”

“Jesus, Steven…just tell me!” Taylor interrupted.

“SPHINX…as in the creature for which you must solve a riddle.”

“I suppose,” Taylor said.

“There’s the riddle,” Steven Brady paused and approached his friend and mentor carefully. “That mission; that’s not what SPHINX’s objective was.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Taylor yelled in frustration.

“Brackett, Merrow, according to this, that had to be a front.” Brady picked up one of the papers. “I have to dig some more…”

“Brady, what the hell are you saying?”

“ASA…money filtered from SPHINX to ASA.”

“The Russian arms manufacturer?” Taylor asked.

“That would be the one. Somehow SPHINX was linked to funds that landed at ASA. Money filtered through a Swiss account. ASA was the destination. Brackett’s directive. I can’t tell what was brokered. I think…”

“What?”

“I think it was weapons shipped into Baghdad through Jordan. It would have been in what appeared benign shipments,” Brady explained.

“Christ, Brady. Alex is coming there tomorrow to touch base. She’s not official, not until next week…I…”

“I won’t say anything,” Brady said.

“No. Tell her. Give her what you have.”

“Do you really think that’s…”

Michael Taylor exhaled and interrupted his friend. “Steven,” he said quietly, “this is Alex’s. No one knows the contacts we used during SPHINX better. If it was a cover for what you suggest, Alex will be able to unravel it the fastest.” He stopped and took a deep breath. “She has the right. She’s blamed herself all these years; give it to her.”

“Sir, with all due respect. Agent Toles has just….”

“Toles can handle it. Trust me. She’ll find it anyway. If she thinks we kept it from her…Well….You need to keep following the admiral’s trail. There’s more there. If SPHINX was a cover, our operations were not the end of it. If John knew that,” his thoughts trailed to a whisper.

“All right. What about the younger Brackett?” Brady asked.

“That’s well in hand. Follow the admiral and O’Brien. Anything new on that front?”

“Not yet. Separate pile,” Brady chuckled in an attempt to relieve the palpable tension.

“Keep on it.”

“Taylor?” Brady inquired.

“Yes?”

“If the president was…”

Taylor felt his stomach lurch. He looked out his window at the trees that were beginning to bloom. “If John knew…well,” Taylor swallowed hard. “It’s hard to kill a president from the outside.”

Brady nodded silently. There was nothing more to say. Whatever SPHINX was, it likely would tell a new story about Admiral William Brackett and President John Merrow. “Maybe he didn’t.”

“There’s only one way to know. Give it to Agent Toles.”

“I don’t understand,” Christopher O’Brien said to the president.

“What don’t you seem to comprehend, Congressman?”

“Why would you want me to go to Corsica? I just got back,” O’Brien replied.

President Strickland smiled. “Christopher, you wanted in. Right?” O’Brien looked at the president but remained silent. “You wanted to be in the center of it all. Now you are. We financed your campaign. We set you up on the right committees. We charged you with certain legislative goals. All of that, Christopher is just a screen. The legislation won’t stop or start anything. It can complicate things, but we do not operate from a legislative position. The risk is exposure. You can no longer stay on the sidelines. Your missteps with Chairman Stiller… Well, he is more determined than ever to increase oversight at the CIA and the NSA and follow through with the port restrictions. Even the National Security Council is on his docket. People do not trust you, Congressman.”

“What do I have to do?” O’Brien asked.

“You have to convince our partners that their investment is secure. And that you are invested.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You will. You will get directive. Corsica next Thursday, Chris. The cover story will be a meeting with several foreign
corporations that provide us with military equipment; to hear their concerns over the legislation. Be prepared for them to ask for your assurances.”

“Sir, Callier did not want assurances.”

Strickland laughed. “Edmond Callier regards you as a fly. He has no reason to believe you. Stiller spoke with the French Prime Minister on Monday before you arrived. Callier is well aware of that.”

O’Brien was confused. “How would….”

“You are naïve, Congressman. Stiller has had a close relationship with the French Prime Minister for years. Their daughters attended the same university. Don’t be fooled. Either you immerse yourself fully or…” O’Brien looked at the president as the man took a seat in his large leather chair. President Lawrence Strickland nodded at the questioning he saw in the younger man’s eyes. “Or they will swat the fly,” he said hitting the top of his desk for dramatics. “You need to learn how to make the right friends, Congressman. Corsica. Get ready.”

Friday, April 18
^th

Alex Toles sat at the kitchen table pouring through files. The full cup of coffee to her left had gone cold. She set down a paper and rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands. There was a trail here; she was sure of it. The problem was that all of the breadcrumbs seemed to abruptly end. There was little doubt in her mind that Steven Brady was right. SHPINX was indeed a project; not simply a codename for a military operation. What she couldn’t figure out was whether John Merrow or anyone else in the unit knew about it. It made sense that whomever was behind SPHINX wanted intelligence on the local merchants. There would be no better way to ship arms than to bring them in through general commerce. She remained uncertain who the weapons were destined for and who was actually selling
them. If the goal was to equip the local police and army; why wouldn’t the unit simply have been informed? She moved the palm of her hand to her temple and pressed forcefully. Her eyes were tired, her head was throbbing and her concentration was continually interrupted by thoughts of her parents. “Shit,” she whispered, running her hand over the length of her face.

The agent sensed the hand in front of her and slowly opened her eyes. “I think you need a break,” Cassidy said bluntly. Alex released a heavy breath and accepted the two ibuprofen in the teacher’s hand. She watched the coffee mug be lifted and replaced with a large glass of water. “Alex…”

“Cassidy, I have to know.”

“And you think your answer lies in there?” She pointed to the pile.

“I don’t know,” Alex snapped back.

“I see,” Cassidy stood firm. “So….you sitting here with this all afternoon has nothing to do with the fact that your mother has called three times since last night?”

Alex looked up, her eyes nearly on fire. “My mother has nothing to do with this.”

Cassidy nodded and pursed her lips. “Alex, I have no idea what is going on; what you are looking for. I do know you. And this is not just about that pile,” she gestured to the full mug in her hand. When Alex was focused she had a habit of unconsciously lifting her coffee or her Diet Coke to her lips as she read. Cassidy had observed that when Alex was pouring over files during the investigation into Carl Fisher. Alex was clearly unfocused. There was no doubt that whatever Steven Brady had given the agent was troubling her, but there was more to it and Cassidy was sure of that. Helen Toles had called the house three times since the night before and Alex avoided her call each time. Cassidy had finally picked up and spoke with the woman herself. “Alex, just call her back. She was very sweet on the phone.”

“I need to deal with this. That’s all,” Alex answered sharply.

“Fine. I have to pick Dylan up.” Cassidy looked at the agent who was already feeling guilty for her impatience. The teacher set the mug in the sink and turned back. “Take those,” she nodded toward Alex’s hand and left the room.

Alex pinched the bridge of her nose and looked down at her hand. She silently scolded herself for losing her temper and took the pills as Cassidy had directed. Her eyes scanned over the pile in front of her and she collapsed back into the chair. There was something here. She knew it. She just had to find it. The agent looked to the ceiling and a chuckle escaped her. She wasn’t going to find it; not now. Cassidy was right. She couldn’t concentrate. Gently her thumb caressed her temple. Lifting her gaze she noted the time on the clock. It was still too early for Dylan to come home. “Dammit,” she looked at the pile and cursed it and herself. Cassidy wasn’t even going to remind her. They were supposed to meet with Dylan’s teacher and the principal. “Brilliant, Toles,” she admonished herself. Swiftly, she gathered the papers in front of her and put them in her briefcase. Grabbing her jacket and keys, she headed for the door. “I hope she doesn’t give me detention too.”

“They’re sending me back to France,” O’Brien said as he watched the tall redhead climb from her bed.

“I know,” Claire Brackett replied. The congressman rolled to his side and reveled in the view that stood before him. “See something you like?” she cooed.

“I’d like it better back here.”

“I’m sure you would,” she quipped. “Why do you think they are sending
you
?”

O’Brien collapsed back onto the pillow and put his arms behind his head. “I don’t know something about immersing me; making the right friends. That’s what Strickland said.”

Claire Brackett let out a roar. “And you believe that?”

“Why else would they send me?”

“You might be handsome, but you certainly are stupid,” she shot.

“Excuse me?” he sat up.

“They are setting you up,” she said as she pulled a black sweater over her head.

“How do you know that?”

“Because they are sending the sparrow in to take care of it,” she shrugged.

“The sparrow?” he laughed. “Claire, that sounds like some spy movie. How would you even know what they are planning?”

She licked her lips and winked as she seductively made her way back to the bed and straddled her lover. She hovered just above him planting a soft kiss on his chest. “I know,” she said placing another kiss on his throat. “Because,” she kissed him on the nose. “I am the sparrow.” She lifted her eyebrow and kissed him passionately.