The Legacy (20 page)

What? That was a possibility he hadnt considered.

I dont think you were hung over that morning. I think you were drugged.

Suddenly Cole remembered the nasty mineral taste that had stayed in his mouth for twenty-four hours. Really?

Yes.

What was she looking for? Cole asked.

I dont know. You tell me.

He saw Bennetts accusing look. Who could she have been working for? Cole asked.

Bennett shrugged. Maybe those characters we just left locked in the warehouse. Maybe the DIA operation I told you about when we were on the river in Wisconsin.

But the DIA got the tape, Cole argued.

You dont know they were the ones, Bennett retorted angrily. Neither do I. Like I told you, Im not certain that operation inside the DIA ever really existed. All your father and I ever heard were rumors and innuendo. Like with anything compartmentalized, there was never anything definitive. We put two and two together and came up with ten.

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Finally Bennett checked his watch. Its four oclock and I need to get going. Do you mind catching a cab back to work? Do you have enough cash or are you going to have to knock over a bodega?

I think I can scrape the fare together somehow. Cole grinned. And dont worry. Im going to pay you back the seven thousand dollars.

Youre damn right you are, Bennett said quickly, chuckling. Actually, its expense money. Dont worry about it. I can convince my superiors I lost it.

I pay my debts, too.

I told you, dont worry. Hows that finger? Bennett asked, pointing at Coles hand.

He held it up. Itll be all right. Cole touched the skin, which was already turning black and blue.

What about that girl of yours?

Same. Not great. Cole glanced out the car window at the deli. There was no need to tell Bennett that Nicki didnt seem to want to speak to him ever again. Its good of you to ask, though, he said. Then he grabbed the handle, opened the door, turned back toward Bennett and held out his right hand. Thanks for everything, Bennett.

Bennett shook Coles hand. Im sorry about the way I talked to you back there at the warehouse. I saw that dont-talk-to-me-like-youre-my-father look on your face.

Instantly, Cole was embarrassed. You had every right to say what you said. I was acting like a child.

Bennett released Coles hand. Make sure you call that Washington number if you need me.

Cole nodded. I will. Thanks again. He patted Bennetts broad shoulder, stepped from the car, closed the door and waved as Bennett eased the car into traffic.

Cole puffed out his cheeks and exhaled as he watched the Ford disappear into the distance, then began walking. He was a long way from Gilchrist and needed to find the closest subway station. He didnt have enough cash to pay for a taxi.

Jamison paced back and forth behind the Oval Office desk. Zahn and Walsh sat in the chairs beside the desk, as they had the week before. A second tape? he asked Yes, Mr. President, Zahn answered hesitantly. That is William Sewards concern.

Did he voice this concern in front of my associate?

Yes.

Dammit! Jamison smashed his fist on the desk.

Zahn winced.

Why the hell did you let him say that? Jamison demanded, his eyes burning.

I didnt, the general said. Seward just blurted the whole thing out. Including a story about Jim Egan conveying the original film to him to throw him off the track. Zahn stared steadily at Jamison.

Finally Jamison folded his arms over his chest and glanced away. He knew Zahn was livid at not being told about the film.

On what does Seward base his assumption that there is a second tape? Walsh asked. Like the president, Walsh was wearing a tuxedo. They were both about to head into a state dinner.

I dont know, Zahn responded. Just his analysis of Jim Egans character, I think. He says Egan was too careful not to make a second tape.

What are you doing about it, General? Jamison asked. I mean, is it possible that Seward could be right? He was clearly shaken. He had already counted the mission in the successfully closed column.

Its obviously possible, Walsh interrupted. So what are you doing about it, General Zahn?

We have someone very close to Cole Egan who is monitoring the situation carefully.

Jamison stopped pacing for a second. He was already well aware of the person who was close to Cole Egan. How did my associate react to the news?

Not well, Zahn answered.

Cole stepped from the hotel elevator. His apartment would be undergoing renovation work for at least a month. He whistled as he walked down the long corridor. During the afternoonwhile he had eaten lunch with Tori Brown and been occupied with Mad Dog and his crewinterest rates had dropped a few ticks, increasing the value of his portfolio almost a million dollars. Suddenly the prediction was for additional rate drops in the next few weeks as a mass of weak economic data was being reported. Out of nowhere the possibility of receiving a bonus was looking better and betterand with it the possibility of paying off his debt at the Blue Moon. Life was funny. Just when things looked bleakest, they could turn on a dime.

Cole pulled the magnetic-strip hotel key from his shirt pocket, inserted it into the slot, waited as the light on the pad turned green, then pushed. Just inside the door a note lay on the floor. He picked it up and in the light from the hall began to read. Finally, he shook his head and laughed softly. On a damn dime.

THERE WAS MAGEES familiar knocktwo hard raps. Come in, Seward called from the chair in front of the fireplace.

Magee pressed down the latch, shoved the door open with his shoulder and moved into Sewards Virginia cabin, briefcase in hand. Good evening, sir. He nodded stiffly.

Hello, Commander. Seward recognized that Magee was still annoyed from his last visit. I hope the drive down from Washington wasnt too bad. As much as it annoyed him, Seward forced himself to use a conciliatory tone.

General Zahn had made it quite clear that he wanted everyone working well together at this point. No petty differences were going to fuck up anything. According to Zahn, those were President Jamisons exact words. The president wanted everyone involved to understand that nothing was going to get in the way of the operations successful conclusion. If something did, heads would roll. Seward had realized that the threat was literal, and it had shaken him. He had been involved with Operation Snowfall from its beginning in 1963, and he knew by now that everyone was expendable. He was seventy-two years old and still in reasonably good health. There was no reason to die before his time.

Why dont you get something to drink, Commander Magee? Seward motioned toward the kitchen. Theres soda and coffee in there, he offered. Make yourself at home.

No, thank you, Magee said, tight-lipped.

Then please sit down, Seward said politely.

Magee placed the briefcase on the floor next to the chair opposite Seward and sat without taking his eyes from the older man.

Tell me about Colombia, Seward said. They never discussed matters as sensitive as this over the telephone, always face to face.

Unfortunately, it was as we speculated, Magee answered tersely.

I see. Seward frowned. Come over to the table with me. Seward picked up his cane, rose with some effort and limped to a card table erected in a corner of the room. He pointed at six photographs spread out on the table. Do you recognize any of these men?

Magee perused the pictures. His eyes focused on one in particular. Him, Magee said confidently. He tapped the picture of a fair-skinned man with a shock of yellow hair.

Seward cursed softly.

Hes the one who came out of nowhere in Manhattan after I took the tape from Cole Egan, Magee continued. He shot Catherine. He probably killed Agent Graham as well.

Graham was found? Seward asked quickly.

Magee nodded. He was found in Bryant Park with the back of his skull smashed in. Magee glanced at Seward suspiciously. How the hell did you find this guy so fast?

When you told me last week that you had been chased in Manhattan, I did some digging. I spoke to a friend of mine in Washington and he sent me these. Seward pointed at the photographs. These are pictures of the men Jim Egan worked closely with during his career as a DIA agent. Seward picked up the photograph Magee had identified and scrutinized it for a few seconds. The man you have just identified is Bennett Smith. He was Jim Egans primary partner on covert DIA operations over the last thirty-five years.

Magee nodded. I see. So this operation involved the DIA. Seward hadnt told him that. Seward had simply told him to investigate the grave in Colombia and to inspect the body. There had been no particulars other than that. There hadnt been all along. A young boy in Colombia informed me that a man fitting Smiths description was the one who dug the grave.

That makes sense, Seward agreed. Egan and Smith were on a mission together.

What kind of mission? Magee didnt expect to receive any specifics, but what the hell, he might as well ask.

Seward turned, limped back to the chair and sat down. He motioned for Magee to do the same. Does the name Hector G mean anything to you?

Magee racked his brain for a moment. Almost, almost. There it was. Yes, it does. He smiled, pleased with himself. G is the kingpin of a drug family out of Colombia. He had heard Gs name mentioned once at a Pentagon briefing.

Jim Egan and Bennett Smith were in Colombia to kill G, Seward said matter-of-factly. Commander, what Im about to tell you is classified top secret and contained in a compartment into which you have just been admitted.

Magee nodded as he heard the official language. He loved this stuff. It was what he lived for.

Iraq has experienced a huge influx of crack cocaine over the last two years. Seward could see Magees resentment at being kept in the dark turning quickly to fascination.

Magee nodded again. He had performed SEAL team covert operations on Kuwaits beaches during the Persian Gulf War and had kept up with the political situation in the Middle East since. He was aware that drug abuse by Iraqs poor population had suddenly exploded despite hardline efforts by the government to stop the inflow. I assume from what you are telling me that G is supplying Iraq, Magee said.

Yes, Seward answered.

But why would we want to assassinate G? It seems to me wed be happy about what hes doing. More civil unrest in Iraq means their government has less time to focus on Kuwait or Saudi Arabia. It means they have less time to focus on moving the Republican Guard around and causing ulcers for our senior military officers. Our military spends billions every time the Republican Guard assembles at a border. G is probably saving us a lot of money.

G doesnt sell directly to dealers in Iraq.

It took Magee only seconds to fully grasp the implication. So from your tone of voice Im guessing there must exist a covert operation in which we are the middlemen.

Thats correct. Magee might be arrogant and obnoxious, Seward thought, but he was also very intelligent. Its an operation that perhaps ten people in the world are aware of. Seward knew that would impress Magee. An operation which the Drug Enforcement Agency doesnt know about, which is where the problem arises. Seward paused as he switched gears. A few months ago members of the G cartel killed two Drug Enforcement Agency people in Bogotnd the DEA went ballistic. They wanted G badly

And the people who put the operation together were afraid that if the DEA got to G, he would tell them what was going on in Iraq, Magee interrupted. And the United States government would have a political nightmare on its hands.

Right, Seward said stiffly. He hated the way Magee finished his sentences sometimes. A nightmare of epic proportions. Jim Egan and Bennett Smith were sent down to Colombia to take out Hector G before the DEA found him. G was the only one who could identify the middlemen in the Iraq situationin other words, identify the United States as funding those who delivered the cocaine. Egan and Smith led a small group of specially trained Army Rangers through the rain forests of Brazil and Colombia to Zaraza, where you went to recover the body. That was where Gs drug operation was based. Egan and Smith got G, but Egan was lost in a gun battle when the Rangers attacked the G compound.

I havent seen any news reports of Gs death.

And you wont, Seward countered. The G family is the most secretive of any drug outfit operating south of the border.

What does all that have to do with the tape I took from Cole Egan in Manhattan? Magee asked.

I believe that Jim Egans disappearance in Colombia is linked to the tape surfacing at this time. Somehow Jim Egan arranged for the tape you recovered in Manhattan to be conveyed to his son, Cole. Ive been trying to pry that thing out of him for thirty-five years. I knew he had it, but obviously I didnt know where it was. But I figured that when he died, the tape might appear. So I focused on anyone Jim was close to, including his son, his sister and the men he has worked closely with over the years, as people who might turn up with the tape. I had them all followed by teams. Your team was assigned to Cole Egan and you hit pay dirt. Seward paused. I had a team after Bennett Smith, but they lost him about twenty-four hours before you followed Cole Egan to that Chase branch. Smith is a slick character.