First Daughter - Eric van Lustbader [71]
"Then you've got a problem, my friend." The voice was tight, whispered.
"How serious?"
"That BMW is a Dark Car."
"What the hell is that?" Jack said.
"There's no registration attached to that particular tag, no info in the data bank whatsoever." There was a slight pause. "Which means it belongs to a government black ops division. They have no official oversight."
Jack's mind was racing. "Which means they can do pretty much whatever they want."
"And here's why: Only four people are authorized to send out a Dark Car," Bennett said. "The president, the National Security Advisor, and the Secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security."
"How would you know that?" Jack asked.
"Same way I know that all Dark Cars are foreign because no one would think of U.S. government agents using anything but an American vehicle." Bennett chuckled. "I guess the time when you thought you knew everything about me is over."
"Thanks," Jack said.
"For what?" his contact said before hanging up. "We never spoke about this."
"What?" Armitage said. "Who can do whatever they want?"
"Whoever was in the car." Jack paused for a moment, thinking the situation through. "It's not registered. Officially, it doesn't exist. Neither do its occupants."
Armitage moaned. "This really is a nightmare."
"Not if you keep your head." Jack turned to Armitage. "I'm going to tell you what this is all about. At this point, I think you deserve some context."
Armitage's eyes were wide and staring. Jack wondered whether he'd be able to keep his wits about him.
"A few days ago, two Secret Service agents were murdered. The E-Two logo was found at the scene of the crime. That's why Garner and his people came down on you. This is the opening they've been praying for to discredit the entire missionary secularist movement. I'm afraid this Administration is going to do its best to paint your people as criminals—worse, actually, they'll say you're homegrown terrorists. They want to destroy you." Jack paused. "But there is a way out."
Armitage's bitter laugh dissolved into a sob. "You must be seeing something I'm not."
"Very likely," Jack said. "If you can marshal your resources to help me find the killer, you'll have the best weapon you can hope for to fight the media firestorm the Administration is planning to rain down on you." He watched a speeding car pass by. "The problem, as you can see, is that you don't have much time. I can hold these people off for a day, maybe three, but that's it."
Armitage groaned. "What d'you need from me?"
"For starters, a list of your defectors," Jack said. "Then you and I are going to have to run them down."
Armitage stared out the window at the low sky, the driving sleet. "I don't have a choice, do I?"
"You tell me."
Armitage pointed. "We'd better get to my office then, as quickly as possible, so I can access the encrypted database."
"Where are we going?" he asked.
"Kansas Avenue. Just south of the junction of Eastern and New Hampshire," Armitage answered. "You ever heard of the Renaissance Mission Congress?"
Jack said he had.
"Back in the day, before it moved to larger, more luxurious quarters, it was known as the Renaissance Mission Church. We moved into its original building two years ago. Ironic, isn't it?"
Armitage didn't know the half of it, Jack thought.
His phone beeped. It was Chief Bennett.
"How did the stop 'n' shop go?" he asked with no little apprehension.
"It didn't," Bennett said. "I don't know what the hell you've gotten yourself into, Jack, but I got an official reprimand and a strict 'stay clear' order from the commander."
"Sorry, Chief, but you also got them off my tail."
A blur at the corner of Jack's eye made him reach for his Glock. There was a loud crack, the car swung on its shocks as the bullet entered the car's metalwork, and Armitage screamed. A second gunshot shattered the windshield, and Jack used the butt of his gun to punch out the crazed sheet of safety glass. Wind and sleet filled the interior, half-blinding him. But his mind had already formed the three-dimensional picture