Abuse of Power - Michael Savage [113]
“What about the shipping container? Did you find it?”
Wickham nodded. “We did. But it was clean. So either the device has already been taken or it never existed at all.”
The “already been taken” part caused Jack some distress. “Has the President been apprised?”
“Yes, but he’s playing it cautiously. He doesn’t want to jump until we have concrete evidence. That USB key will help. Do you have it on you?”
Sara took it from her pocket and handed it across to him.
Wickham turned it in his fingers. “Amazing how much the world has changed, isn’t it? In my day it would have been a simple slip of paper left at a designated drop zone. Now we can transfer all the world’s secrets with the touch of a key. Something that WikiLeaks bastard learned to our great detriment.”
“What about Hassan Haddad?” Jack asked. “Have you located him?”
“We have evidence he came into the city a couple days ago on a diplomatic visa, but we haven’t been able to find him so far.”
That was a second bit of bad news.
“Senator,” Jack said, “with Haddad on the loose and an empty container, shouldn’t they be thinking of canceling the gala tomorrow night?”
Wickham scoffed. “Not a chance.”
“But—”
“I know what you’re gonna say, Jack, but I don’t think you understand the magnitude of the situation. The Legion of Honor is having a black-tie gala to celebrate the art of Islam.”
“How touching,” Jack said.
“You see the problem,” Wickham said. “It’s open only to high-end museum patrons and the whole damn point of the exercise is to demonstrate solidarity and acceptance among people of all cultures, to put all this anti-Muslim sentiment behind us. If we jump the gun and accuse the Hand of Allah of a terrorist plot that doesn’t exist, we’ll have more PR damage than we’ll know what to do with.”
“And if it does exist, we may have more real damage than we know what to do with, including a dead President.”
“Not gonna happen,” Wickham said. “That place will be sealed up tight. No way anyone who even smells of trouble will make it through those doors without being fully scanned. Even the big museum patrons and politicians.”
Jack still didn’t like it. His gut told him they were thinking too small, too locally. And there was still the unexplained reference to the “twins.” “What about the British government? Any progress on that front?”
Wickham balked. “Come on, Jack, this is a very delicate matter. We have to move slowly and with deliberation before we can determine who’s friend or foe over there. Trust me, we’ll be looking into this Zuabi character and any ties he might have to MI6 or the Home Office. It’ll all come out in the wash.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I think our first concern,” Wickham said, “is finding Hassan Haddad. Even if the legion is secure, I’m not particularly comfortable with him running around in the wild.”
“I agree with that. So what’s the plan?”
“My man in Homeland Security is trying to get something out of Allied about this character, but he’s playing by the rules so who knows how much luck he’s having? In the meantime, I’ve put together a small team to look at this thing. People who can be trusted. We’ve taken over the bed-and-breakfast at a little island lighthouse station for the night to work out a strategy. Sent the caretakers on a short vacation so we can talk freely.” He looked at Jack and Sara. “I’d like you two to join us. I’m sure the others would love your input. Especially you, Sara, since you seem to know the most about who and what we’re up against.”
Jack and Sara exchanged a glance, then Sara said, “Absolutely. Count us in.”
Senator Wickham smiled that charming Texas smile of his, then took a fond, parting look at the arena and got to his feet. “Glad to hear it,” he said. “Why don’t we head on out there now?”
32
The East Brother light station was practically unknown outside of the Richmond–San Rafael area. Established in 1874, it was located just off Point San Pablo in the northern part of the bay, perched atop one