Executive orders - Tom Clancy [563]
YES? THE ELDERLY woman wasn't wearing a surgical mask. Sissy Loomis handed her one. It was the new form of greeting in America.
Good morning, Mrs. Sloan. FBI, the agent said, holding up her ID.
Yes? She wasn't intimidated, but she was surprised.
Mrs. Sloan, we're conducting an investigation, and we'd like to ask you a few questions. We just need to clear something up. Could you help us, please?
I suppose. Mrs. Joseph Sloan was over sixty, dressed neatly, and looked pleasant enough, if somewhat surprised by all this. Inside the apartment the TV was on, tuned to a local station by the sound of it. The weather forecast was running.
May we come in? This is Agent Don Selig, she said, nodding her head to the techno-weenie. As usual, her friendly smile won the day; Mrs. Sloan didn't even put the mask on.
Surely. The lady of the house backed away from the door.
It took only a single glance to tell Sissy Loomis that something was not quite right here. For one thing, there was no Persian rug to be seen in the living room-in her experience people didn't just buy one of the things. For another, this apartment was just too neat.
Excuse me, is your husband in? The response was immediate, and pained.
My husband passed away last September, she told the agent.
Oh, I am sorry, Mrs. Sloan. We didn't know. And with that a fairly routine follow-up changed into something very different indeed.
He was older than me. Joe was seventy-eight, she said, pointing to a picture on the coffee table of two people a long time ago, one about thirty and one in her late teens.
Does the name Alahad mean anything to you, Mrs. Sloan? Loomis asked after sitting down.
No. Should it?
He deals in Persian and Oriental rugs.
Oh, we don't have any of those. I'm allergic to wool, you see.
* * *
57 - NIGHT PASSAGE
JACK? RYAN'S EYES clicked open to see that there was bright sunlight coming through the windows. His watch said it was just after eight in the morning.
What the hell? Why didn't anybody-
You even slept through the alarm, Cathy told him. Andrea said that Arnie said to let you sleep till about now. I guess I needed it, too, SURGEON added. She'd been in bed for over ten hours before waking at seven. Dave told me to take the day off, she added.
Jack jolted up and moved at once into the bathroom. When he came back, Cathy, in her housecoat, handed over his briefing papers. The President stood in the center of the room, reading them. Reason told him that if anything serious had happened he would have been awakened-he had slept through the clock-radio alarm before, but he'd never failed to be aroused by a phone. The papers told him that all was, if not exactly well, then relatively stable. Ten minutes after that, he was dressed. He took the time to say hello to his kids, and kiss his wife. Then he headed out.
SWORDSMAN is moving, Andrea said into her radio mike. Sit Room? she asked POTUS.
Yeah. Whose idea was it to-
Mr. President, that was the chief of staff, but he was right, sir.
Ryan looked at her as she punched the elevator button for the ground floor. I guess I'm outvoted, then.
The national-security team had clearly been up all night on his behalf. Ryan had coffee waiting at his place. They'd been living on it.
Okay, what's happening over there?
COMEDY is now one hundred thirty miles beyond the Indians-would you believe they resumed their patrol station behind us? Admiral Jackson told his Commander-in-Chief.
Playing both sides of the street, Ben Goodley concluded.
It's a good way to get hit by traffic in both directions, Arnie put in.
Go on.
Operation CUSTER is just about done. The 366th is also in Saudi, less one broke fighter that diverted to England. The 11th Cav is rolling out of its storage site to an assembly area. So far, the