Dead or Alive - Tom Clancy [241]
Who else knows?” Dominic now asked his cousin.
“No one,” Jack replied. “Just who’s here. I figured you’d want to do it. Or if you want, I can—”
“No.”
Jack asked, “You wanna go home?”
“No. We got some stuff. You guys are going to want it. Let’s go back to the office. Hendley or somebody needs to get with Archie in Tripoli. If we want Bari back here, we’re going to have to—”
“Dom, you don’t have to worry about that stuff. We’ll handle it.”
Former President Ryan walked up, and he and Dominic embraced. “Sorry doesn’t quite seem to do it, son, but I am.”
Dominic nodded. To Jack: “Let’s just go, okay.”
“Sure.”
Jack turned and signaled to Clark and Chavez, who walked up and escorted Dominic back to the second Tahoe. Jack asked his dad, “Get a ride with you?”
“Of course.”
Jack gave Hendley a nod, then followed his dad to the Town Car.
They rode in silence until the cars cleared the main gate, then Ryan Senior said, “The hell of it is, we’ll probably never know what happened. As much as I want to, I’m not going to ask Gerry.”
“Ask me,” Jack said.
“What?”
“They were in Tripoli, Dad, chasing down something.”
“What’re you talking about? How do you know that?”
“How do you think?”
Ryan Senior didn’t answer right away but simply stared at his son. “You’re serious.”
“Yes.”
“Jesus, Jack.”
“You’ve always told me I gotta make my own way in life. That’s what I’m doing.”
“How long?”
“Year and a half. I kind of put two and two together and figured out there was more to Gerry’s shop than met the eye. I went in and talked to him. Talked my way into a job, I guess.”
“Doing what?”
“Mostly analysis.”
“‘Mostly.’ What does that mean?” Ryan Senior’s voice was harder now.
“I’ve been doing a little field stuff. Not much, just getting my feet wet.”
“No way, Jack. That’s done. I’m not going to have you—”
“Not your decision.”
“The hell it isn’t. The Campus was my idea. I went to Gerry and—”
“And it’s his show, right? I’m halfway sharp, Dad. I don’t need you watching over me. We’ve done some good work there. Same kind of stuff you used to do. If it was okay for you, then why not me?”
“Because you’re my son, goddamn it.”
Here Jack offered a half-smile to his father. “Then maybe it’s in my blood.”
“Bullshit.”
“Look, I did the financial world, and it was okay, but it didn’t take me long to realize I didn’t want to do it the rest of my life. I want to do something. Make a difference, serve my country.”
“So go teach Sunday school.”
“Next thing on my list.”
Ryan Senior sighed. “You’re not a kid anymore, I guess.”
“Nope.”
“Well, it doesn’t mean I have to like it, and I probably never will, but I suppose that’s my problem. Your mom, though, that’s going to be a different story.”
“I’ll talk to her.”
“No, you won’t. I will, when the time’s right.”
“I don’t like lying to her.” Ryan Senior opened his mouth to speak, but Jack quickly added, “And I didn’t like lying to either of you. Hell, if not for John, I might not have ever told you.”
“John Clark?”
Jack nodded. “He’s sort of my de facto training officer. Him and Ding.”
“Nobody better at this stuff than those two.”
“So you’re okay with this?”
“Sorta-kinda. I’ll tell you a secret, Jack. The older you get, the less you like change. Last week, Starbucks stopped selling my favorite roast. Threw me off for days.”
Jack laughed. “I’m a Dunkin’ Donuts kind of guy.”
“That’s good, too. You’re careful, right?”
“With the coffee. Yeah—”
“Don’t be a smart-ass.”
“Yeah, I’m careful.”
“So what’s he got you working on?”
Another smile from Jack. “Sorry, Dad, your need to know expired a while ago. If you win the election, we’ll talk again.”
Ryan Senior shook his head. “Fuckin’ spooks.”
Frank Weaver had spent four years in the Army, so he was well familiar with the maddening ways in which the government often went about its business, but he