Patriot games - Tom Clancy [248]
"Wow," Robby said. "Here it comes. This one's going to be a beauty." In the space of ten minutes, the wind had changed from gentle breezes to gusts that made the high-ceilinged house resonate.
"It was a dark and stormy night," Jack chuckled. He went into the kitchen. Three agents were making sandwiches to take out to the men by the road. "I hope you guys have raincoats."
"We're used to it," one assured him.
"At least it will be a warm rain," his British colleague thought. "Thank you very much for the food and coffee." The first rumble of distant thunder rolled through the house.
"Don't stand under any trees," Jack suggested. "Lightning can ruin your whole day." He returned to the dining room. Conversation was still being made around the table. Robby was back to discussing flying. The current war-story was about catapults.
"You never get used to the thrill," he was saying. "In a couple of seconds you go from a standstill to a hundred fifty knots."
"And if something goes wrong?" the Princess asked.
"You go swimming," Robby answered.
"Mr. Avery," the hand-held radio squawked.
"Yeah," he answered.
" Washington 's on the line."
"Okay, I'll be there in a minute." Avery walked down the driveway toward the communications van. Longley, the leader of the British contingent, tagged along. Both had left their raincoats there anyway, and they'd need them in a few minutes. They could see lightning flashes a few miles away, and the jagged strokes of light were approaching fast.
"So much for the weather," Longley said.
"I was hoping it would miss us." The wind lashed at them again, blowing dust from the plowed field on the other side of Falcon's Nest Road. They passed the two men carrying a covered plate of sandwiches. A black puppy trotted along behind in the hope that they'd drop one.
"This Ryan fellow's a decent chap, isn't he?"
"He's got a real nice kid. You can tell a lot about a man from his kids," Avery thought aloud. They got to the van just as the first sprinkles started. The Secret Service agent got on the radiophone.
"Avery here."
"Chuck, this is Bill Shaw at the Bureau. I just got a call from our forensics people at that house in Howard County."
"Okay."
At the other end of the connection, Shaw was looking at a map and frowning. "They can't find any prints. Chuck. They have guns, they have ammo, some of the guns were being cleaned, but no prints. Not even on the hamburger wrappers. Something feels bad."
"What about the car that got shot up in western Maryland?"
"Nothing, not a damned thing. Like the bad guys jumped in a hole and pulled it in behind them."
That was all Shaw had to say. Chuck Avery had been a Secret Service agent all of his adult life, and was normally on the Presidential detail. He thought exclusively in terms of threats. This was an inevitable consequence of his job. He guarded people whom other people wanted to kill. It had given him a limited and somewhat paranoid outlook on life. Avery's mind reviewed his threat briefing. The enemy here is extremely clever
"Thanks for the tip, Bill. We'll keep our eyes open." Avery got into his coat and picked up his radio. "Team One, this is Avery. Heads up. Assemble at the entrance. We have a possible new threat." The full explanation will have to wait.
"What's the matter?" Longley asked.
"There's no real evidence at the house, the lab people haven't found any prints."
"They couldn't have had time to wipe everything before they left." Longley didn't need much of a hint either. "It might all have been planned to-"
"Exactly. Let's get out and talk to the troops. First thing, I'm going to get the perimeter spread out some. Then I'll call