The Singularity Race (17 page)

Woodson ran after him, but with a squeal of tires, the vehicle surged forward. Woodson saw MacArthur sprawled backwards across the console with his head lying on the passenger's seat. A dark red hole marred his tanned forehead. The inside of the passenger door and window were splattered with blood, bone, and brains. There was no need to check for a pulse. Then he saw a corner of the file protruding from underneath the vice admiral's left shoulder. Woodson knew the murder scene would be under the jurisdiction of local cops and Apollo's information had no business being in their custody. He snatched the file free and ran for his car in the Ramada Conference Center lot.

Inside the Waffle House, Mildred picked up the five-dollar bill from the table, pleased at the generosity of the tip for only two coffees and plain waffles. She glanced out the window and saw the younger of her two customers running across the street. He certainly was in a hurry.

Chapter Twenty-four

“What's wrong?” Lisa Li stared anxiously at Mullins. She and Peter stood with the roiling Potomac at their backs.

“Nothing. I'm waiting on a call is all. I don't want to talk while driving.”

Li's dark eyes narrowed. “I don't believe that. I want to know what you know. We're in this together.”

Mullins gritted his teeth, uncomfortable in telling her everything until he knew why she'd lied about her relationship to the boy.

“I'm expecting to hear from my son-in-law. He's a little late.”

Li nodded. “Then let's get out of the wind and wait in the car.” She hooked his left arm with her right and started forward.

She stopped. “You've gotten rid of your sling.”

“Are you all better, Mr. Mullins?” Peter asked.

“Pretty close. But we still need to stay safe and out of danger.” He scanned the parking area near their rental car. From the corner of his eye, he saw Peter mimic him. “That's right, Peter. You want to be alert.”

He opened the car doors for the front and rear passenger seats. “Be thinking about what you want for lunch.”

“That's easy,” Peter said. “Carrot cake. I need vegetables.”

Mullins laughed, and then felt the burner phone vibrate in his pocket. He closed the doors and walked twenty feet away.

“Yes?” he said.

“Where are you?” Allen Woodson's voice was calm. Too calm.

“At Great Falls with Li and—” he paused. “With Li and her son.”

“MacArthur's been assassinated.”

Mullins pressed the phone tighter to his ear. “What?”

“A man in a hoodie shot him as he sat in his car waiting for me. I don't have a description. Hell, I don't know whether he was black or white. His hands were gloved.”

“Are you there?”

“No. I tried to give chase and I took the file with all the information I brought MacArthur. I didn't think we wanted the local cops involved. But, I'll probably be identified and MacArthur is my commanding officer. I have to step forward.”

“No,” Mullins barked. “We can't jeopardize our access to Apollo. Lisa Li made more progress in two days than our entire intelligence network made in nearly a month.”

“Rusty, I'm not a private citizen. It won't do any of us any good if I'm caught and courtmartialed.”

Mullins knew he was demanding that his son-in-law crawl out on a limb, a limb that would ruin his life if it broke. He had to give Woodson a safety net, even though doing so might be the biggest mistake of all. “Look, we have credible evidence that MacArthur lied about the DNA tests. We don't know if he's the only one lying or if it runs deeper. He and others might be sabotaging the entire investigation.”

“Right, but that doesn't give me permission to go off on my own.”

“I understand,” Mullins said. “And if you received that permission, would you have a problem?”

“No, but nobody else knows—” Woodson stopped in mid-sentence. “You're going to him?”

“We've got no choice. Go to ground somewhere outside of D.C. I'll move as quickly as I can.”

Mullins ended the call and then scrolled through his recently dialed numbers. Highlighting the one he wanted, he pressed the send key.

“Yeah,” Sam Dawkins said without enthusiasm.

“Don't mention my name. Where are you?”

“With the man. Lead car en route to Air Force One at the Indianapolis airport.”

“You accompanying him?”

“Yeah.”

“Listen. If he hasn't already, he'll soon get word that Vice Admiral Louis MacArthur has been shot and killed.”

“Jesus,” Dawkins muttered.

“I know something about it. Stress to him that he needs to talk to me before making any public statements. MacArthur could have been dirty.”

“Should he be alone when he calls?”

“If he wants to stay ahead of the story and still have deniability.”

“This number?”

“Yes. I'll be waiting, but he has to move fast. I can't sit on this for long.”

“Understood. Sit tight.”

Mullins sensed Dawkins was hanging up. “Sam, hold on.”

“Yeah?”

“The people who killed MacArthur are on the move and I'm in their way.”

“You think Orca won't realize that?”

“But their way to me might be through my family. I need Kayli and Josh protected.”

Mullins waited out the silence while Dawkins digested his request.

“All right, Nails. Give me their address. I'll go myself if necessary.”

“Thanks.” Mullins hung up and dialed Kayli's cell. He immediately went to voicemail. “Kayli, someone will come to take you and Josh into protective custody. Go with them. I'll explain later.” He thought about giving her a callback number but decided not to leave the burner phone on her voicemail. She was probably on her phone and would check the message soon.

Mullins walked back to the car.

“Everything okay?” Li asked.

“A few things are up in the air. But I'll get it sorted out.”

Li stared at him with undisguised skepticism. Mullins made a slight head gesture toward the backseat, hoping she'd not ask more questions in front of the boy.

“I vote we find a place nearby for lunch,” Mullins said. “Then I know a little bakery in McLean that bakes the best vegetables.”

“I vote yes,” Peter said. “We win.”

“Remember an aunt has veto power over a nephew,” Li said, “but in this case I'll make it unanimous.”

They'd traveled no more than five miles before Mullins' burner phone rang. He quickly fished it out of his pocket.

“Yes?” Mullins said.

“What's happened?” President Brighton asked urgently.

“It's MacArthur, sir.” Mullins grabbed for euphemisms in front of Lisa Li and Peter. “He was taken out. My son-in-law witnessed it from a distance, but left the scene with a file that you need to see first. He will probably be identified and charged for leaving the scene, but the information he retrieved is of utmost sensitivity for national security.”

“What kind of information?”

“Not over the phone, sir. We need to meet in person. MacArthur may have had another agenda and I don't know who else is involved.”

There was a long silence as if Brighton had covered the phone with his hand. Then he said, “Come to the White House tonight. Communicate with Dawkins on the logistics.”

“I will if Dawkins picks us up.”

“Us?”

“Yes. I'll have Dr. Li, her nephew, and Woodson with me.”

Li shot Mullins an inquisitive glance.

“All right,” Brighton agreed. “Are you in immediate danger?”

“Not immediate, but the situation is extremely fluid. I think my family could be in danger, and I spoke to Dawkins about protective custody.”

“Understood. We'll be on the ground in ninety minutes. I'll coordinate with Dawkins.”

“And Woodson's status, sir?”

“If what you said is true, I'll have his back.”

Mullins didn't like the answer. “No, sir. I need you to give him a direct order to stay isolated. Whether what I said is true or not doesn't mitigate the circumstances. He believes the information he has should come to you first and no one else. If you want that to happen, then as his commander-in-chief you need to give him the order.”

“All right,” Brighton conceded. “Your son-in-law is now working directly for me. Pass the order along. And consider yourself in that category as well. Stay in touch with Dawkins.” The President disconnected.

“A few things up in the air?” Li asked sarcastically.

“Believe me, you and I are going to talk.” The tone of his voice silenced her. He turned into the first gas station and pulled to the far pump. “I want us to have a full tank at all times. Stay here while I pay in cash.”

He went into the convenience store and handed the cashier a twenty. As the pump's numerals rapidly spun cents into dollars, Mullins stepped away from the hose and called Woodson. He instructed him to rendezvous at the Breezewood motel at five that afternoon. Before then, Mullins needed to get things sorted out all right, and he wasn't about to face President Brighton without knowing why Lisa Li and Peter were living a lie.

***

Robert Brentwood was in his corporate jet descending into BWI when Ned Farino slid into the leather seat across from him. His executive vice president's eyes were wide and he appeared out of breath as if he'd been running laps around the fuselage.

“I just heard from Jenkins.”

Brentwood leaned forward. “Did he find them?”

“No. But he just heard some shocking news. Vice Admiral Louis MacArthur's been murdered.”

“Jesus Christ!” Brentwood's face flushed crimson. “What the hell's going on?”

“We don't know if there's a connection. Evidently it was a handgun shooting in a public parking lot.”

“Of course it's connected. MacArthur was our point person for our AI military contracts. First they try for Dr. Li and when that fails, they go for our champion in the defense department. Where's Jenkins now?”

“Staking out Mullins' apartment. It's the only option we have.”

“Well, think of some way to bring them in. I don't want Dr. Li running loose while she's a target. Mullins is good but he's not infallible.”

“I thought Li was coming to the Fairfax lab tomorrow,” Farino said.

Brentwood smacked his palm on the armrest of his chair. “I want her back in North Carolina. We might have to accelerate our timetable and the Fairfax facility is too exposed.”

“Mullins won't be easy to deal with,” Farino said. “He's hardheaded.”

Brentwood closed his eyes and thought a moment. Then he said, “We won't have to force Mullins back to North Carolina. He'll want to return.”

“What can I do?” Farino asked.

Brentwood pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “Beef up security at Fairfax in case they do come in tomorrow. Leave the other part to me.” He turned his attention to the phone and began texting. Then he looked at Farino. “Well, don't just sit there, get busy.”

Farino rose and walked to the rear of the plane. He didn't like being left out of whatever scheme Brentwood was formulating, but he knew pressing for more information would only irritate his boss. The best he could do was anticipate Brentwood's moves and make sure whatever his eccentric employer devised didn't derail what had been so carefully planned.

***

Mullins, Li, and Peter had lunch at a small deli and then finished the meal with carrot cupcakes. When they returned to the motel, Mullins encouraged Peter to lie on the bed and read his Asimov book.

“I have a surprise for you tonight,” Mullins said, “so we need to rest up. A little nap might be good as well. Your aunt and I are going to step outside and talk for a few minutes. Okay?”

“About the surprise?”

“Among other things.”

Peter propped two pillows behind his back and grabbed his book from the nightstand. “Okay. But I can't promise I'll fall asleep.”

“That's all right. At least you're trying.”

Li looked at Mullins, but said nothing. Mullins opened the door and motioned for her to exit. Then he made sure the key was in his pocket before closing it.

“What's going on?” Li whispered.

“That's what I aim to find out.” He started walking. “Let's sit in the car. We can see the door from there.” He led her past several rooms to where he'd parked the rental car. When they were inside, he turned on the power so he could crack the windows for ventilation.

“I've solved one case,” he said.

Her eyes widened and he read the hope in her expression.

“Who tried to kill us?”

“No. Peter's case. The mystery of the missing hat.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The hat and your makeup were taken because someone wanted to run DNA tests. But you knew that, didn't you?”

Her face transformed from confusion into fear. She knew he read it clearly and she looked away. “I don't know what you're talking about.”

“I put my life on the line for you, Lisa. It's still on the line, and now my son-in-law's involved. A few hours ago, the Director of Naval Intelligence was murdered. I think it's tied to this investigation because I had him run my own DNA test on you and Peter.”

“I can explain,” Li said quickly.

“And you know what he told me that the test determined? That the samples came from an aunt and her nephew.”

Li's mouth dropped open. She shook her head in disbelief.

“Why so shocked? What did you expect?”

“I…” A sob caught in her throat. Her eyes filled with tears. “I expected the truth. Peter is my son.”

Mullins felt a knot loosen in his stomach. He hadn't realized how tight this confrontation had wound him. But Lisa Li hadn't retreated into the safety of a lie when he gave her the opportunity. In that split-second, he decided there was no need to confront her with the results of Rudy Hauser's test run through the FBI. She had come clean on her own.

“So why would a vice admiral in Naval Intelligence perpetuate a lie?”

“I don't know.” She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

“Why would you and Peter?”

“Peter doesn't know.” She took a deep breath and a tremor ran through her body.

Mullins wanted to shake the truth out of her. He wanted to hug the truth out of her. Instead, he sat quietly, letting the silence propel her story.

“Our government had a strict one-child policy. Shortly after my husband's death, I discovered I was pregnant. My first son had been selected for special schooling in math and science. He was diagnosed as a prodigy, enrolled in an experimental education program, and I only saw him a few times a year. The boy was only eight, and neither he nor I had any say in the matter. My husband had committed him and taken great personal pride in his status. But after my husband's accident, I was alone, expected to focus solely on my research, and I would have been pressured to have an abortion if my pregnancy became known.”