Nick took a glass from her. "No, I guess not. I've thought about it. A lot. At least when people weren't shooting at us."
"Bad joke."
"Yeah." He drank some wine. "I don't think it's a good idea, that's all."
"Neither do I."
"You don't?" She'd surprised him.
"You still aren't over Megan."
"Megan's gone."
"Not in your head, she isn't."
"I don't compare the two of you, if that's what you mean. I don't do that."
"I know. But she's still in there. I can feel it."
"It's just different with you. I love you, but it's different."
"It should be. It has to be. But you have to choose."
As she said the words she wished she hadn't.
"Choose? Between you and Megan? Selena, Megan's dead."
"Yes. She is. So maybe you need to get over it."
"You don't know a damn thing about Megan."
"I know enough to know she's a ghost between us. I know it would be a mistake to pretend she's not there. I know I love you but I need more back. Until you can do that, I don't see what point there'd be in moving in together."
Selena felt herself getting angry. Damn it, this isn't how I wanted it to go.
Nick set the wine on the end table and got up. He began putting on his clothes. He put on his shirt, strapped the shoulder rig on. Put on his jacket.
"I'm sorry. I'm working on it."
"Let me know when you've figured it out." Her tone was bitter. She heard the door close behind him.
Damn it! Damn it to hell!
She refused to cry.
CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT
President Rice looked at Harker and steepled his hands together. He had deep shadows under his eyes.
"The Pentagon?"
"Yes, sir. We went back in. Someone has removed all traces of Black Harvest from their computers. The scenario no longer exists. There's no trail, nothing to suggest it was ever contemplated."
"It could be CYA time on their part. Just in case someone made a connection in the press."
"I don't think so, Mr. President. Black Harvest was buried deep. No one outside the Pentagon could have found it. I suspect very few people over there even knew it existed."
"That is a very disturbing thought, Director."
"Yes, sir."
"It's very convenient, Lodge's suicide." Rice watched her.
"Yes, sir."
"That's all?"
She hadn't told him Hood had killed Lodge. Plausible deniability was sometimes more than a convenient phrase, regardless of the opinion of the media. Rice had created the Project to keep him informed, but in this case it really was something he didn't need to know.
"As you said, sir, it's very convenient."
Rice didn't pursue it. She didn't think he ever would.
"What do you think about Hood as the new DCI?"
That surprised her. "I think he would be an excellent choice, sir. He's up to speed on everything. He's well respected at the Agency. He's one of theirs. The transition would be smooth under him."
Elizabeth had briefed Rice on Hood's suspicions of a wider conspiracy crossing international borders. It hadn't made the President's day. She thought it was probably a factor in Rice's consideration of Hood as the next DCI.
"Director, it seems that every time you solve a problem something else turns up."
"Yes, sir, it does seem like that. I have a very good team. When you turn over rocks, things crawl out."
"I want you to pursue this. This possible conspiracy. You said Dansinger promised Lodge the White House."
She said nothing.
"Even in the current funding climate, that is not an easy thing to do. It takes more than money and influence. You still have to convince the American public."
"Apparently someone believes that's possible, Mr. President. Dansinger and Lodge were ready to kill millions of people to get what they wanted. Whoever is behind this didn't care much about that. I don't think anyone they tried to put in this office would care much either."
Rice rose. Elizabeth stood and waited.
"Find out who they are, Director."
"Yes, sir."
As she left the Oval Office she glanced back. Rice stood at the windows looking out over the White House lawn. Suddenly he seemed much older.
CHAPTER SIXTY-NIINE
This time when Nick saw the armored Cadillac waiting he simply got in when the driver held the door for him. The same back seat. The same luxury. The same black glass partition down the middle. The car moved silently into Washington traffic. The overhead halo lights cast a soft glow on the black leather interior.
"You've been busy." Adam's electronic voice came through the speaker grill.
"You could say that. How much do you know?"
"All of it. Well done."
"Who are you?"
"Think of me as an interested party."
"Interested in what?"
"In making sure AEON doesn't succeed."
"AEON?"
"The group behind Dansinger."
"So there is an organization."
"There definitely is an organization."
"Who are they?"
"A group of powerful men. AEON has been in existence for a long time. Their goal is control."
"Control?"
"Of everything. World domination."
"You're not going to start talking about the Illuminati or secret Masons are you?"
Laughter from the speaker. It sounded bizarre with the electronic distortion. "No, of course not. Those are convenient distractions to divert attention from the truth. But AEON is real. They mean business. You remember that little band of Nazis you broke up?"
"That was AEON?"
"One tentacle of it. They are not pleased with you and Harker and the others."
Nick leaned back in the leather. He waited. The car rolled through the streets, quiet, soft.
"Did they kill Dansinger?"
"Yes. He screwed up. Your raid in Texas told them he was exposed. They couldn't let him live. His public execution sends a message to everyone in their organization."
"What are they planning to do?"
"About Dansinger? Nothing. It's done."
"I meant now that their plan has been stopped."
"Their plan never stops. They simply move past failures to something else. When we know more I'll contact you."
"Who are they?"
"Their leader is Malcolm Foxworth."
"The media guy? With the newspapers?
"Yes. They are international. Dansinger was the newest addition to their ruling council. One of two Americans. They will replace him."
"Who's the other American?"
"We don't know. He may be highly placed in the Pentagon. We know they are embedded there, but we don't know if one of the council is directly involved."
"Jesus."
"Anatoly Orgorov is another member of the leadership council. The Russian Foreign Minister."
Nick thought about that. Harker was not going to be thrilled when he told her about this conversation.
"Henri Maupassant is the Minister of Finance in France. He has been part of the council for the last ten years."
"Maupassant? He's a key player in the European debt crisis."
"Exactly. You begin to see, I think."
Nick did. "Who are the others?"
"We're not sure of their identities. There is someone in Brazil, China, Japan. Germany. Possibly India. That is the leadership. The structure is a pyramid, with Foxworth at the top, the council below him. Below them is another layer of perhaps a hundred. Below them, thousands. We don't know how many."
The Cadillac moved like a silent omen through the unseen streets of Washington.
"What have they done in the past?"
"AEON worked carefully with Hitler to groom him for his role. He was a pawn, though he didn't know it. The assassination of Kennedy was engineered by them and we got Vietnam. The
y were quite active in the 60s. Napoleon received their backing. They arranged the death of the Archduke Ferdinand in 1914. They sank the Lusitania. Need I go on?""
"That's hard to believe."
"Of course it is. They count on that. Circumstances can be arranged, things made to appear different than they are. Look at how Rice covered up the events about Senator Greenwood."
"Are you saying Rice is part of this?"
"No. He is not. I merely bring it up as an example. Leaders and governments often conceal unpleasant truths from the public. Sometimes there's a legitimate reason. When there isn't, they make one up. In the case of something as public and high profile as the Kennedy affair, people who might actually upset things are eliminated. Others are labeled as misguided or as conspiracy nuts. There are plenty of those. It works quite well to deflect attention from the truth. Especially in our digital age."
The car slowed and rolled to a stop.
"Why have you told me this? What do you expect me to do?"
"What you and the Project do so well. You are uniquely positioned to stop AEON. We will help in every way we can. I advise you to be careful. They are certain to respond."
"We can't just go after someone like Foxworth or the Russian Foreign Minister. Jesus, Adam."
"You'll find a way."
The door opened.
"Who are you?" Nick asked again. There was no answer.
Nick got out and watched the car drive away. The street was deserted. He was suddenly cold, aware that he was alone. He didn't like the feeling. It felt as though the night was full of eyes. Sometimes it seemed like everyone was watching him. CIA. The Russians. Adam, whoever the hell he was. Maybe AEON. AEON raised the stakes beyond anything he'd run into before. If Adam was telling the truth.
He didn't like feeling alone.
He thought about what Selena had said about Megan. A ghost between them. It was almost nine years since she'd died. Nine years of living with a ghost.
He took out his wallet, took out the picture of Megan he kept there. The picture was creased and faded. It was just a picture, its only value the memories it stirred. Looking at it, he realized he felt nothing. No, that wasn't right. It was something, but it was distant, a memory of a memory. It wasn't Megan.
Everyone ends up in the same place.
He was still here. Selena was here. Megan was gone. He'd thought he'd gotten past it. He'd thought he'd let her go, but he hadn't. Selena was right about Megan. She was right about a lot of things.
He could have a ghost or he could have her. What kind of choice was that?
He'd told her he was afraid she'd be killed. Thinking about it, he felt that he was on the edge of something, some recognition he didn't want to see, some feeling he didn't want to have. It was true, what he'd said to her, but it wasn't that simple.
She loves me.
His mind opened a door.
It's her pain I'm afraid of, not mine.
I'm the one I think will get killed.
I don't want to hurt her.
I really do love her.
The realization was a physical blow to his chest. He'd been pushing away the deeper fear of his own death. Of causing her the kind of pain he'd felt when he lost Megan. It sent a shiver over his body, rippled down his spine. Selena had got past the barriers. It was too late to throw up the wall again.
He couldn't stop doing what he did to try and keep them both safe. Not after what Adam had told him. Now there was another, darker enemy.
AEON.
Now that I know, I can tell her. She'll understand.
He took out his phone and called her.
Look for Book Five in the PROJECT Series toward the end of 2012...
Blog: http://www.alexlukeman.blogspot.com
Website: http://www.alexlukeman.org
Black Harvest (The PROJECT) Page 18