“Yes.”
“Why isn’t Whetstone responding?”
Big Mike said, “If he ever responds, I’ll ask him that question.”
“Do I detect insubordination?” the young woman asked, her eyes locked on Scardino.
“You detect frustration,” J.W. said, speaking for Mike. “We have one active asset, and we still have targets to attend to.”
Scardino said, “And I’m having Gauntlet units exposed in ways we never agreed to.”
Gracie paused a beat, then said, “This has been a difficult operation, conducted under less-than-ideal circumstances. But do not be concerned. My superiors are extremely satisfied with the work you both have been doing for us.”
J.W. said, “That’s good to hear.”
Gracie said, “We have decided to remove all the remaining names on the original list.”
The two men looked at one another. Confused.
“Marigold is complete?” J.W. asked.
“Not entirely,” she said. “The Russian cell in New York will be eliminated by Gauntlet. The Russians will be blamed for all the targets killed; Gauntlet will be lauded for its part in stopping the threats.”
She added, “And we are assigning some new targets. Gauntlet will have to help with this, as well.”
Scardino said, “Let’s not get greedy, we’ve already accomplished a lot.”
The young Chinese woman said, “Getting greedy is not necessarily a bad thing, when the result warrants it.”
Westwood looked into the woman’s eyes in the poor light. As usual, he could read nothing from them. “Who are the targets, then?”
Gracie turned to him. “One of the targets is Paula Kerr.”
Westwood blinked once. Once again. Finally, softly, he said, “SenatorPaula Kerr?”
Gracie said, “I shouldn’t think I would need to specify. She is the junior senator from New Hampshire.” Gracie added a little smile, which was incongruous with her personality. “Yourhome state, James. Her tragic death will lead to a major investigation, needless to say, but if your team executes the mission correctly, then her tragic death will also lead to something else, won’t it?”
J.W. glanced to Scardino, whose own eyes were open wide. J.W. said, “Bill Farrelly, our governor, would appoint someone to take her place for the remaining five years of her term.” He looked back to Gracie, fully understanding what she was inferring. “You think he will appoint me to the Senate?”
“I know he will.”
“I mean…I have an excellent relationship with Bill, have since college. But there’s no way to be certain that he would appoint—”
The young woman interrupted. “Thereisa way to be certain. Don’t worry. If you execute the first half of the operation successfully, then I am told my organization and its contacts in the United States government will execute the rest of it. You will become a United States senator.”
Chinese intelligence was telling James Westwood and Mike Scardino that the governor of New Hampshire was, or could be, under their control.
J.W. said, “Is there some tie between Paula and the intelligence community, some other reason besides installing me as a senator that—”
Gracie shrugged, a gesture that conveyed she neither knew nor cared. “I’m not told these things. Perhaps something will come out in the press afterwards, perhaps not. Obviously, if the death could be made to look like an accident, that would suppress a deep dive into any connections she might have had to Marigold, and that would only expedite your rise to the Senate seat.”
Big Mike confirmed. “This target…you are giving it to us now.”
“You are a green light for Paula Kerr. I was going to suggest you use Whetstone, but since you seem to have misplaced him, perhaps you should employ Masquerade.”
“And the other new targets that you mentioned?”
“Not assigned yet, but you need to begin immediate preparations. If it happens, just know it will be in the D.C. area, it will be in the next few days, and it should be carried out by a plainclothes Gauntlet field team. It will require significant paramilitary skills, and military weaponry that we can help provide.”
