Home Invasion - J. A. Johnstone [27]
“Holy crap!” Ford exclaimed. “He’s not stopping!”
There was no time to move the SUV out of the way. All Ford and Parker could do was turn and run as the electric company truck continued toward the SUV, sparks shooting into the air now from the rims of the front wheels as they grated across the concrete.
The crash was spectacular. Both gas tanks exploded, sending a huge fireball into the air and making clouds of oily black smoke roll over the bay. The force was enough to shake the entire bridge and knock Ford and Parker off their feet.
As they picked themselves up, Ford said, “The laptop was still in there.”
“I know,” Parker said. “Nobody will get anything off of it now.”
“So they did what they set out to do. They just had to blow themselves up to do it.” Ford turned his head to look at the Lexington nearby, with its towering superstructure that had once been the target of Japanese pilots determined to crash their planes into it. “Like kamikazes …
In the underground bunker, a man sat in front of a computer, watching the flow of information from around the world. He leaned forward a little in his chair as a report about all the chaos in Corpus Christi, Texas, came in. He picked up a secure phone that rang in an office upstairs.
A man answered. The watcher told him what had happened, and then the man on the other end of the phone asked, “What about Trussell?”
“No word, sir. I assume he’s still out there somewhere.”
“Damn it. All they had to do was kill him and recover that laptop, then let those bunglers from the Agency take the blame”
“Yes, sir. But according to eyewitness reports, Parker and Ford didn’t have the laptop with them when they fled the scene of the crash on the bridge. It must have been in their vehicle. Our people have impounded the wreckage and are searching it now to confirm that. But I think you can tell the boss that part of it has been taken care of, at least”
“I’ll decide what to tell the boss,” the man on the other end said coldly.
“Yes, sir, of course.” The watcher took the chastisement in stride. Everything they did here was for the common good.
“Monitor the situation closely and keep me informed of any further developments. Any time, night or day, you understand”
“Yes, sir”
The watcher heard a sigh from the other end. “They may have destroyed the laptop, but Trussell knows everything that was on it. We have to find him, too, and shut him up for good.”
“Yes, sir,” the watcher said, but the connection was already broken. The other man had been talking to himself there at the end.
Upstairs, he left his office and went up another flight of steps to the second floor, to the residence. He went to a sitting room, where he knew he would find the man he was looking for.
He was there, all right, and he looked up and asked, “What is it, Geoff?”
“A report from Texas, sir. It appears that the laptop computer stolen by Earl Trussell has been destroyed.”
“What about Trussell himself?”
“I’m … sorry, sir. We had an operation set up to take care of Trussell in a manner that would provide culpability for Langley and deniability for us, but it was unsuccessful”
“Failure is unacceptable.” The voice was cold and hard. “I want that little weasel Trussell dead. I’ve got too much else on my plate right now to have to worry about him.”
“Yes, sir, of course, but you really shouldn’t, uh, put such sentiments into words.” He laughed. “Are you saying this place might be bugged, Geoff? This place?”
“Well, that’s not likely, of course, but it never hurts to be careful.”
“Don’t tell me about careful. I’ve been careful all my life. That’s how I got where I am today.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Take care of this Trussell problem. The world doesn’t need to know about Casa del Diablo”
“No, sir.”
“I trust you’ll take care of it. “ The President of the United States looked in a mirror and straightened his tie. “Now, I’ve got that state dinner to go to.”
“Yes, sir.”
The President shook his