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As the vehicle was brought around the back, Harper turned in his badge, retrieved his favorite Sig, and stood outside the open rear door.
“It’s just the way I do things, Admiral. And I need to make sure it wouldn’t impact my father’s situation at the Veterans care facility. I still like to sleep on it in my own bed first before I make any important decision.”
“Understood.”
“If you like, I won’t mention the names to my LPO, but I would prefer discussing it with him and showing him the prospectus. As far as anybody else on your list, I haven’t glanced at it, so I have no idea who you’ve got there. But I would like to discuss this with Kyle since he is my current boss. Only being respectful of our chain of command.”
“That’s acceptable to us, Harper. How much time do you need?”
“I’d say give me a week.”
“A week?” His eyes squinted, and the edges of his mouth rolled down, clearly negatively affected by Harper’s answer. “I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that time is of the essence. As you know, these types of individuals move around a lot, and while we don’t have a current actionable terrorist plot, these things do pop up rather quickly, and I would hate the delay. I wouldn’t want to cause any loss of property or life. We’re not trying to force you into something; we’re just trying to avoid some kind of an international incident, if we can.”
“Understood. I promise I will get back to you either way. In the meantime, feel free to text or call me. We don’t have to be out of touch. If I have further questions, I will go through you. If in my discussions with Kyle he comes up with some questions, would you mind if we talk to you jointly?”
“Of course. Feel free.”
“So unless I can’t get a plane out tonight, I’d like to be taken back to the airport and put on the next flight to Coronado.”
While Admiral Patterson worked the details, Pierce raced back to Dulles Airport, just in time for him to catch a connecting flight with a layover of several hours in Houston. It wasn’t Harper’s favorite spot, but he wanted to get out of D.C. as quickly as possible. With a special Club Card, he had use of the phones and the facilities there—even a room for taking a nap or a shower if he needed it. He didn’t feel like hanging out in the terminal any longer than he needed to. He took the flight to Houston then walked through the automatic glass doors of the Club and waited in a short line to register.
Checking his ticket, he noted he was going to land by 0100. He’d book his return home to Santa Rosa when he was done, but he needed to let Sally know, since she was watching Venom for him again. He checked in and decided to give her a call with a possible ETA.
“Delayed again? You’re not going to make me wait up for you this time?”
“I’ll make sure not to. I only need a day in San Diego, and I’ll text you when I make the return flight reservations. Once I know, you can bring him over to wait at my place, if you want.”
“Well, that would depend on when you get in.” She sounded annoyed.
“That’s fine. If he gets restless, just bring him up to my house and let him in. And text me so I know he’s there by himself. I’ll leave it up to you, Sally. And I’m so sorry for this inconvenience.”
“I hope it was successful and important. You sure took off quickly. Must’ve been something last minute. I hope everything’s okay, Harper.”
“Oh, yes, I had an interesting conversation with some people I’ll tell you about later. But again, Sally, I sure do appreciate you taking care of Venom and, of course, taking care of me.”
“Just call me Mom. I’m old enough to be.”
Harper chuckled. “And I never got to thank you before for getting me hooked up with Evie, the yoga teacher, but you probably ought to stop doing that. I don’t seem to do well around women these days. And I’d really like not to have to play that game. But I appreciate your concern for me. I’m just not ready. She’s beautiful, but she’s just not my type. And I don’t think anybody would be.”
“I understand. And I’m sorry. She’s very nice, but that’s all I can say.”
Next, Harper dialed Kyle, but all he got was Kyle’s voicemail, so his message was brief and rather cryptic.
“I’ll be back down there early this morning and was going to crash at Hamish’s house. Maybe if you’re up and free, we can grab some breakfast together. I got some things I need to show you about my meeting.”
Next, he called Hamish.
“Well, this is going to be a record. I usually only talk to you once or twice a month. This is twice in the same week. Everything okay?” Hamish asked him.
“I have some things I need to discuss, and I’m going to be getting into Coronado early this morning, between one and two. Can I crash at your place or do you want me to catch a hotel near the airport?”
“You don’t have a car? Where are you flying from?” Hamish asked.
“I’ll get a cab to your house, and don’t offer to pick me up. That’s just too ridiculous. I took a last-minute trip to D.C. for an important meeting I want to tell you about.”
“I’m going to have a hard time sleeping with all this intrigue. But, yeah, just come on in. I’ll leave the back door open and pillows on the couch in the living room. I have no returnees this weekend.”
Hamish used the term “returnees” to refer to his teenagers and older kids, who had a habit of coming home for the weekend and bringing several friends.
