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Hayes stared at the two photographs for a few seconds and said, “So … if I’m hearing you right this man is in D.C.”
“That photo is from early Tuesday morning, so we can’t be sure he’s still in town, but—”
“But we think he probably is,” replied Hayes.
“Yes, sir.”
“And are we thinking he might have had something to do with the explosion this morning?”
“As of right now, I would say yes.”
“Do we have any idea who this guy is?”
Kennedy hesitated. “I’m afraid not, sir.”
The president’s jaw clenched in frustration. “What are we doing to catch him?”
“We’ve checked all of our databases on known or suspected terrorists, as well as everything the Brits have and Interpol. For reasons that are obvious we have yet to check with either the French or the Israelis.”
“And we’ve come up blank,” stated Hayes flatly.
“Yes, sir.” Kennedy made no attempt to soften the truth.
Hayes looked away from Kennedy to his other advisors and asked, “Well then, what in the hell are we going to do?”
The national security advisor spoke first. “I think it’s time we bring the FBI in on this thing. And if we think this guy is still in the country we should alert all local, state and federal law enforcement officers. We have to cast a big net and hope we catch him.”
“Sir,” said Rapp a bit too forcefully, “I think that’s a bad idea.”
Everyone in the room looked to Rapp. Even the unflappable Kennedy, who knew what they were up to, was a bit caught off guard.
Rapp glanced at Kennedy and said, “Show him the fax.”
Kennedy set the last piece of paper down in front of Hayes and explained its significance.
Hayes studied the document and asked, “What are you trying to tell me?”
Rapp answered before Kennedy had the chance. “I think it’s pretty obvious, sir. Ambassador Joussard was bought.”
Hayes frowned. “Do we even know for sure if this account belongs to the ambassador?”
“We’re working to confirm it, sir, but it’s a pretty big coincidence.”
Sitting to the president’s right Secretary of State Berg was replaying in her mind a conversation she had had with her French counterpart. In an effort to get France to delay the vote, Berg had pleaded with the minister of foreign affairs to reconsider. As the conversation played out the minister had admitted something that was a bit unusual.
Berg decided it was time to share her thoughts. “Excuse me, Mr. President, but I’m inclined to agree with Mr. Rapp.”
Surprised by his secretary of state’s position, the president asked incredulously, “Why?”
“When I attempted to get the French to ease off of their position yesterday, the minister of foreign affairs admitted to me that even he was a bit caught off guard by what was going on in the UN. When I pressed him, all he would say was that Ambassador Joussard had acted without his approval. His excuse for this was that Joussard was a very eager politician and a close friend of the president. In addition to that, pushing for Palestinian statehood was nothing new. The entire country of France overwhelmingly supports the idea.”
Hayes stabbed the fax with his index finger. “I need this verified, and I need it done fast. If we’re going to get the vote delayed it will take some time.”
Kennedy said, “We’ve got our best people on it.”
“Now tell me why this”—Hayes waved the fax in the air—“should change my mind about alerting the FBI to this mystery man who seems to be in all the right places at the wrong time.”
“Because once we do that, sir, he’ll know we’re on to him.”
