Ranger reached for the Advil bottle again but seemed to change her mind. Instead, she took a long sip of her coffee.
“You’re right. I did say that,” she conceded, setting her cup down. “But I believe Westcott is about to make a similar move in the Democratic Republic of Congo.”
“How come?” he asked.
“An hour ago, Prime Minister Bongonda was arrested in Kinshasa on embezzlement charges,” Ranger said. “Twenty million dollars were seized from one of his offshore accounts. The account in question is linked to the Congo River Alliance. The scandal has already splashed across four major media outlets. You see where this is going, right?”
“I’m assuming the National Assembly is in chaos,” he said.
“You got that right,” Ranger said. “President Mutombo is calling for unity, saying the arrest proves his administration’s commitment to transparency.”
“Of course he’d say that,” Caspian said. “You think Westcott did this?”
“He’s made it clear that his focus is now on the DRC with his Congo River initiative. Westcott used humanitarian aid to justify displacing populations in Kenya. And now, he’s using a political scandal to destabilize the National Assembly, the last serious obstacle to his vision.”
“And you believe that if we don’t act soon, we’ll be watching another land grab,” Caspian said.
“I do. One with the full weight of the United States government behind it.”
“What do you mean?”
“While I’m not privy to what was said behind closed doors, three days ago Everett Westcott met with the chair of the Senate AppropriationsCommittee to discuss the possible financial participation of the United States government in Hearts United’s venture in the DRC.”
Caspian thought about this for a few seconds, then said, “You think the members of the committee know it’s a land grab?”
Ranger sighed loudly. “Honestly, I don’t know. But if they do, and this ever comes out, it will erase all the progress we’ve made in Africa in the last decade.”
“The US government would be portrayed as an invader who doesn’t give a shit about the local population,” Caspian said, thinking out loud. “And that would open the door even wider for Chinese and Russian involvement on the continent.”
They remained silent for a moment, then Caspian asked, “You want me to find out what was said between Westcott and the chair of the committee?”
“No,” Ranger said. “I’ll take care of that.”
“Okay. What then?”
“When was the last time you spoke to your brother?” Ranger asked.
“Liesel and I had a half-hour-long FaceTime with him last month. Why?”
“Could you reach out to him again?” Ranger asked. “See if he can make his way here?”
“Here? Like DC?” Caspian asked.
Ranger nodded.
“I don’t think that’s gonna be possible, but if you want to go to Boston tomorrow, you can see him there.”
“Boston?”
“Logan is the closest international airport to Portland, where our parents live,” Caspian explained. “It’s our mom’s birthday next week, and Nelson’s supposed to spend the next week or so with our folks.”
“Okay, then. Let’s go to Boston.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
Boston, Massachusetts
Caspian stood by the double-panel glass window, looking at the Boston skyline from the eighth-floor hotel room he and Ranger had booked for the meeting with Nelson. Below, near the hotel’s main entrance, guests and conference attendees filtered in and out of rideshares and taxis, and a group of well-dressed Asian men smoked cigarettes, each with a matching conference lanyard around their neck.
