Abductors Conspiracy
Page 18
"He accepted it with honor, he said, sir. He wants the base for the special task force to be in the Seattle area."
"To be near Foster's organization," John said. "Smart man, General Hoffman."
"Actually, sir," Alan said, "I think he just likes it there."
John laughed, then got very serious. "So how do we stand, Alan? Are we going to see tomorrow morning?"
Alan smiled. "The Foster organization thinks that finding all the bombs and destroying one of the ships has set the Klar invasion plans back years. The Klar are so careful and conservative that it will take them a long time to come up with another attack plan they will dare to use."
"And Foster's people, along with General Hoffman, will keep them on the run in the meantime."
"That's the idea, sir," Alan said. "Maybe even find a way to stop them for good."
John picked up a glass of brandy and handed it to Alan. It felt cool in his hands.
"For the first time in days, I think that's something we can drink to," the president said, picking up his glass and holding it out. Then, before he took a drink, he got very serious. "Nice job, Alan. I can't thank you publicly, but I can thank you here, for the people of the country."
He saluted the vice president with his glass.
Alan raised his glass in acknowledgment. "I think they'd owe you a thanks, too," Alan said, saluting his president.
"We did win the first one," John said, smiling.
"That we did," Alan said, smiling in return.
Then both of them drank.
And it tasted wonderful to Alan, that flavor of victory.
Epilogue
It would be the height of idiocy to deny oneself wine merely to live a little longer.
—-ROBERT BARNARD
FROM UNRULY SON
8:1 0 P.M. JULY 8.
PORTLAND, OREGON
McCallum pushed himself back slightly from the table and tossed his cloth napkin on his empty plate. He felt full and very satisfied after one of the largest steaks he'd had in years.
Mr. and Mrs. Harris, with their daughter Tina, sat around the end of the cloth-covered table in Bristol's, one of Portland's finest restaurants. Tina's arm was still in a sling, but otherwise she looked healthy. McCallum could still see deep shadows under her eyes. He doubted those shadows would ever leave her.
Next to the Harrises on the left side of the table were Neda Foster, her father, and Dr. Cornell. They had flown down from Seattle especially for this dinner.
McCallum sat at the foot of the table facing Mr. Harris, with Claudia to his right, Henry to her right, and Mayor Osborne next to Mrs. Harris. They were all dressed up in their best evening wear. McCallum had on his best suit and had actually whistled at Claudia when he saw her. She was simply stunning in a long, gold evening dress. No other words for it.
Mr. Harris had reserved a private room tucked in the back of the restaurant. A room full of food, wine, and service that only money like Mr. Harris's could buy. It had been a wonderful dinner so far.
In the twelve days since the fight in the Sheepeater Caves, Neda's group, using McCallum's string method, had pinpointed eight possible locations of Klar ships. General Hoffman and his helicopter troops had destroyed two more Klar ships and sent the others they spotted packing into space, dented.
The press was still hounding the mayor about the "unexplained explosions," but no new leads were developing and there was always more news. And the article about the helicopter crash in eastern Oregon had made the third page of the paper and nothing more.
There were no signs of Albert Hancer or Tina's boyfriend, Jerry Rodale. Tina had gone to visit his parents with her father, and McCallum had no idea what she told them. The young student named Cobb, who dug the tunnel with her, lived, but was still in the hospital in Boise.
After the first night in Boise, McCallum had gone back to his office and had somehow managed over the last twelve days to get things in order and moving slowly forward. But he still hadn't repaired the bullet holes that Evan had put in his office wall. He was starting to agree with Henry that they added something to the office. He had also managed to read eight new detective novels, none of which he'd liked enough to put on the special bookshelf in his office.
"So," Henry said, looking around, "where's the dessert tray?"
Around the table, others laughed and McCallum said, "They'll bring it around when everyone's finished, you dolt."
Mr. Harris tossed his napkin on his plate and stood, smiling. "Maybe now, before dessert, would be a good time to give our announcement?"
He glanced at Tina and she nodded yes.
Mr. Harris faced the table. "I've thanked each and every one of you personally for finding Tina. And I want to do that one more time right now." He took a deep breath. "Thank you. One and all."
McCallum could tell it was thanks from the heart.
"Yes, thank you all," Tina chimed in.
There was a moment of uneasy silence as everyone smiled. McCallum was actually impressed that Henry didn't chime in with a smart remark.
"Tina has asked a favor of me," Mr. Harris said after a long moment of silence. "She asked me to allow her to drop out of college for the time being."
"You're sure, Tina?" Claudia asked. "College is important."
"Yeah," Henry said, "you might end up like me if you don't go."
"You have a college degree," McCallum said.
"Just trying to help," Henry said, and everyone laughed.
"Don't worry," Tina said. "I've promised that I will return when the time is right."
"She has also asked me for another favor," Mr. Harris said, smiling. "She's asked me to fund an organization like the Fosters' organization in Seattle, only based here in Portland. A second group focused on stopping the Klar. I've agree on two conditions."
"Wonderful," Neda Foster said, clapping. "Simply wonderful."
McCallum was shocked, but pleased. The more money behind the search for a way to stop the Klar, the better off they would all be in the long run.
"I'm glad, Neda, that you think so," Tina said, smiling a huge smile. "Because one of Father's conditions is that we work closely with your group and General Hoffman. Sort of a side branch down here. Would that be all right?"
"All right?" Neda said, laughing. "Better than all right. More like wonderful."
"Great," Tina said.
"So what's condition two?" Henry asked.
Mr. Harris stared down the table at McCallum. McCallum knew something was coming, but he was like a deer caught in the headlights of a car. There was just no place to run.
"The second condition," Mr. Harris said, "is that Richard McCallum work for the organization."
Tina had a worried look on her face, staring down the table at him.
McCallum was totally caught by surprise. "I have a going investigation business," McCallum said.
"I know," Mr. Harris said, still smiling. "I want to hire you and your firm to work with Tina and her organization. Full time or part time, your choice as you see fit. But I want you on board."
McCallum glanced at Claudia, who was smiling, then at Henry, who was also smiling and nodding yes.
McCallum turned back to Tina Harris. "You sure you want to work with me? I can be a real opinionated pain."
"He's noticed," Henry said. "I'm shocked."
Tina laughed. "More than sure, Mr. McCallum. I feel we need you to give us all a real fighting chance."
McCallum took a deep breath. He had been wondering what he was going to do in the coming fights against the
Klar. It had felt a little odd to him to just go back to being an investigator without being involved somewhere. Now, here was his chance.
"Okay," he said. "I'd be honored and pleased to be on board. Thanks for the offer." With that everyone cheered. And a half-dozen toasts later Henry finally got dessert.
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