EIGHTY-SEVEN
WASHINGTON, DC
MONDAY, OCTOBER 10
8:30 AM
STEPHANIE SAT IN THE OVAL OFFICE. SHE'D BEEN THERE MANY times, mostly feeling uncomfortable. But not today. She and Cassiopeia had come to meet with President Daniels.
Brent Green had been buried yesterday in Vermont with honors. The press had lauded his character and achievements. Democrats and Republicans said he would be missed. Daniels himself had delivered the eulogy, a moving tribute. Larry Daley had been buried, too, in Florida, without fanfare. Only some family and a few friends. Stephanie and Cassiopeia had both attended.
Interesting how she'd read both men wrong. Daley wasn't a saint by any means, but he wasn't a murderer or a traitor. He'd tried to stop what was happening. Unfortunately, what was happening had stopped him.
"I want you back at the Magellan Billet," Daniels said to her.
"You might find that hard to explain."
"I don't have to explain myself. I never wanted you to go, but I had no choice at the time."
She wanted her job back. She liked what she did. But there was another matter. "What about bribing Congress?"
"I told you, Stephanie. I knew nothing about that. But it stops here and now. Just like with Green, though, the country won't benefit from that kind of scandal. Let's end it and move on."
She wasn't necessarily sure of Daniels's lack of complicity, but she agreed. That was the better course.
"No one will ever know anything that happened?" Cassiopeia asked.
Daniels was sitting behind his desk, feet propped on the edge, his tall frame leaning back in his chair. "Not a word."
The vice president had resigned Saturday, citing differences over policy with the administration. The press had been clamoring to get him on camera but had so far been unsuccessful.
"I imagine," Daniels said, "my ex-vice president will be trying to make a name for himself. There'll be a few public squabbles between us over policy, things like that. He might even make a try for the next election. But I'm not afraid of that fight. And speaking of fights, I need you to keep an eye on the Order of the Golden Fleece. Those folks are trouble. We've cut their legs out from under them for now, but they'll stand up again."
"And Israel?" Cassiopeia asked. "What about them?"
"They have my pledge that nothing from the library will ever be released. Only Cotton and his ex-wife know where it is, but I'm not even going to note that anywhere. Let the damn thing stay hidden." Daniels looked at Stephanie. "You and Heather make peace?"
"Yesterday at the funeral. She truly liked Daley. She told me some things about Larry I never knew."
"See, you shouldn't be so judgmental. Green ordered Daley's death after he studied those flash drives. They pointed to leaks in the dike and he moved to plug them. Heather's a good agent. She does her job. Green and the vice president would have destroyed Israel. They didn't give a damn about nothing except themselves. And you thought I was a problem."
Stephanie smiled. "I was wrong about that, too, Mr. President."
Daniels motioned at Cassiopeia. "Back to building your castle in France?"
"I've been absent for a while. My employees are probably wondering about me."
"If yours are like mine, as long as the paychecks keep coming, they're happy." Daniels stood. "Thanks to both of you for what you did."
Stephanie stayed seated. She sensed something. "What is it you're not saying?"
Daniels's eyes gleamed. "Probably a whole bunch."
"It's the library. You were awfully cavalier about it a moment ago. You're not going to let it stay hidden, are you?"
"Not for me to decide. Somebody else is in charge of that one and we all know who he is."
MALONE LISTENED AS THE BELLS OF COPENHAGEN BANGED loud for three PM. Højbro Plads was busy with its usual midday crowd. He, Pam, and Gary sat at an outdoor table, having just finished lunch. He and Pam had flown back from Egypt yesterday, after spending Saturday with the Guardians while they honored George Haddad.
He motioned for the check.
Thorvaldsen stood fifty yards away, supervising the remodeling of Malone's shop, which had started last week while they were away. Scaffolding now embraced the four-story façade, and workers were busy inside and out.
"I'm going to tell Henrik goodbye," Gary said, and the boy rushed from the table through the crowd.
"That was sad Saturday with George," Pam said.
He knew there was still a lot on her mind. They hadn't talked much about what had happened in the library.
"You all right?" he asked.
"I killed a man. He was a sorry piece of crap, but I still killed him."
He said nothing.
"You stood up," she said. "Faced him, knowing I was back there. You knew I'd shoot."
"I wasn't sure what you'd do. But I knew you'd do something, and that's all I needed."
"I've never fired a gun before. When Haddad gave it to me, he told me to just point and shoot. He knew I'd do it, too."