Ryan paused. Mary Pat had always been able to read his moods like a book. But she, too, had her tells. And in this building, no one was more attuned to them than Ryan. He’d sensed something in her tone.
“The DIA?” he repeated.
She heaved out a weary sigh. “Last night a call came in from your son.” Before he could ask, she added, “Kyle.”
“Okay. Was he trying to reach me?”
“Not exactly. He said he wantedmyhelp with something. His team had cranked up its search for this missing passenger and found evidence that it was Hauptman.”
“What kind of evidence?”
“Passport information—they hacked into the Moroccan immigration system. The documents of fifteen passengers and crew were scanned during the boarding of SAM 719. They also uncovered surveillance footage to verify faces.”
“No Hauptman,” Ryan surmised.
“He was the only no-show. But strangely, hewasin the area. They got a single-frame capture from an exterior surveillance camera—he was on the curb in front of the terminal that night. Why he never boarded remains a mystery. CC6 is trying to figureout what went wrong. To that end, Kyle asked for help. He hit a wall when he tried to get Klaus’s real name from the agency.”
“And that’s why he reached out to you? A bit of pressure from the top?”
“He didn’t say it in so many words, but that would be my guess.”
Ryan grinned.
“What?”
“Subtle manipulation of human behavior? That’s not generally in Kyle’s skill set.”
“I’d hardly call it subtle.”
Ryan got back on track. “Did you see the photo?”
“I did. A bit grainy, but it was Klaus. For what it’s worth, Kyle seemed confident that MAADN can pick up his trail.”
“He never did lack confidence, that one. Did you give him Klaus’s name?”
“No, that’s your decision.” She paused before adding, “It seems like Katie and Kyle are coordinating closely on this investigation.”
“My children conspiring?”
“Yes, but not against you. They’re just doing their jobs.”
“That they are. Send Kyle the name. And then call Ben Stephens—I want the agency to give DIA whatever they need, full access.”
“Understood.”
Ryan got up and meandered to the window behind the Resolute desk. He looked out contemplatively at the Rose Garden. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this one, Mary Pat.”
“So do I. It seems almost certain that the downing of SAM 719 was an attempt to eliminate Klaus.”
“But why do it that way? Why not just gun him down on a street in North Africa? Taking down a diplomatic airplane seems so…risky.”
“Is it? Our investigators will probably find proof of a spoofing attack. But if Clark hadn’t tracked down these saboteurs and recovered the hardware, we might never have gotten close to attribution.”
“True. But still, I get the sense there’s something bigger in play.”
“Somebody took a massive risk to silence Klaus.”
Ryan turned back to face her. “And you know what that tells me? Whatever he’s selling…it’s got to be dynamite.”
