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“So we know the players,” said Paul. “We know their strategy. They dealt the hand and they’re blaming you for the result. What do we do about it?”
Bunting said, “She’s poisoned the well against me. I have no allies left on the government side. I’m a pariah.”
“You said she visited the president?” asked Paul.
“Yes. It was an off-schedule meeting, so it must have been important because the president squeezed the time in.”
“Who else was there?”
“National security advisor.”
“Is he in Foster’s pocket too?”
“I believe they have an understanding,” replied Bunting. “One of mutual assured cooperation.”
“You don’t do an off-schedule with the president for anything less than the most critical reasons.”
Bunting said, “That’s right. What???s your best guess?”
Paul said, “She needed authorization for something. Something highly out of the ordinary that she was unwilling to stick her neck out for in the ordinary course of business.”
Bunting nodded. “I think you’re right.”
Sean said, “She’s DHS Secretary. According to you she’s already had four people killed, including an FBI agent. Hell, isn’t that out of the ordinary enough?”
“That was window dressing, Sean,” said Paul. “And don’t think I’m being callous. I know there are four people dead who shouldn’t be. But the blame for those deaths will be placed elsewhere, so in her mind they don’t even count. What Foster was probably going to the president for was explicit authorization for her to take extraordinary action on her own.”
Bunting added, “In other words, she asked for permission to terminate certain people.”
Sean looked incredulous. “Terminate certain people? Who?”
Paul said, “Eddie, Peter, and probably me.”
“Three American citizens?” said Sean. “You really think the president of the United States would ever authorize that?”
“Mr. Clean again,” said Paul. This time she didn’t smile.
“Bullshit. Okay, I know the government has people killed. Terrorists, known enemies of the country, the occasional rogue dictator.”
“We’re a problem for the country, Sean,” said Paul. “A serious problem. Eddie will never go to trial. Not with what he knows. If the president has bought the lie that Peter has had people killed, it’s not a stretch to believe he would lean toward termination. He wouldn’t want a murder trial where certain facts come to light which would be disastrous for America’s security. The president is the commander in chief. He has to wear many hats, but that’s the most important one. His number one priority is to keep America safe from her enemies. Wherever they might be.”
“So let’s assume that’s the case,” said Bunting. “Foster will get her answer. Let’s also assume it’s a go. She’ll waste no time executing the plan. What does she do first?”
“There’s little question in my mind about that,” said Paul.
“What then?” asked Sean.
“Eddie will not be at Cutter’s Rock much longer.”
Sean snapped, “You can’t possibly be thinking of breaking him out?”
“Oh, I won’t be the one doing the breaking.”
CHAPTER
68
MASON QUANTRELL’S AIDE UNLOCKED the door to the warehouse and Quantrell stepped through. Automatic lights came on and Quantrell blinked to adjust his pupils. The Mercury Group owned this facility, but the chain of ownership was buried so deep that not even an army of lawyers and accountants would be able to dig through to the truth. Every substantial private contractor to the government, particularly those operating in the defense and intelligence fields, had such complex business structures in place. It was a necessity. Prying eyes were everywhere, and all contractors had secrets they didn’t want either the government or their competitors to know about.
