them in, if that’s what you mean. But I suspect they’ve all been deactivated by now. David would have been a fool not to.”
“He’s been distracted lately.”
“Yeah.”
“I want you to go out there tonight, right now. If you get in talk to the guys on the Watch and find out if they’re seeing anything developing in China, or Hong Kong, maybe Taiwan or the Strait. Chinese naval maneuvers, missile readiness drills. Anything involving Beijing, and especially their intelligence services, military and civilian.”
“Where are you going with this, Mac?”
“Right now I’m just fishing. But Foster has people inside the Pentagon. See if we’re planning anything in the region. Something that only the Watch might have been warned about.”
“Right,” Adkins said. “I’ll try to find out where David is. If he’s off campus I’ll try to get into his office. Maybe he hasn’t changed his passwords.” Adkins chuckled. “Maybe I’ll get lucky, or maybe someone will send for security and they’ll shoot me.”
“David’s at Foster’s right now,” McGarvey said. “He showed up a half hour ago in a Company helicopter, and he’s got one of your Gulfstreams standing by at Andrews to take them down to St. Croix.”
“It’s going to happen tonight?”
“I don’t know,” McGarvey said. “But I have a feeling that I’ve forced their hand and ready or not they’re going to launch.”
“Launch what?”
“I’m going to ask Foster and David just that.”
“Seriously, watch your back,” Adkins warned. “The Bureau and the U.S. Marshals are gunning for you. And I mean that literally. Comes from Justice through the White House. Langdon has developed a personal interest in you, and he wants you stopped no matter how they do it. The body count is just way too high.”
“Yeah,” McGarvey said. “Todd, Katy, and Liz. Way too high.”
“I’m sorry, Mac.”
“If you get into Whittaker’s office forget his main computer, but if his laptop is there, and you can get online, send a message to Otto, and just walk away, but leave the computer on.” McGarvey gave him Otto’s untraceable e-mail address.
“What if his laptop is password protected, which I’m sure it will be?”
“Call Otto,” McGarvey said. And he gave the phone number.
“I’ll try,” Adkins said.
SIXTY-SEVEN
Two cars had passed in the last hour. Boberg had seen the flash of the headlights through the woods below, and watched as they moved away. The night was still, except for the cry of a distant night bird, and at regular intervals he spotted the glow of a cigarette from inside the parked helicopter. Typical government service, he thought. Just like the military: hurry up and wait.
He looked over his shoulder as another set of headlights approached, these from the east, but instead of passing, the lights slowed and suddenly went out. It had to be McGarvey. According to Foster’s sergeant, no one else was expected out here tonight.
Taking care to make absolutely no noise, Boberg moved to a position from where he was still concealed and yet had a decent view of the driveway, the open field up to the house, and the edge of the woods leading around to the helicopter on the pad.
He called the house and Sergeant Schilling answered on the first ring. “What is it?”
“Someone pulled up and parked just below on the highway. It’s probably McGarvey.”
“Do you have decent sight lines on the possible approaches?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Good. Take him out if you have a chance.”
Boberg was about to say that was the idea, but the sergeant had already rung off. “Prick,” he said under his breath.
It would be tough to keep Admin together with both Sandberger and Remington gone. There would be no problem organizationally, it had been his job from the beginning to attend to the day-to-day details of the firm. Nor was Admin so large that it couldn’t be handled by one man and a dedicated office staff. The trouble would come from the field commanders who might not be willing to put their loyalty on the line for a new headman. It was possible that Admin would fall apart because several of the field guys might feel that they were more qualified to run the company, and an internal fight might take place.
If that were the case, Boberg decided, he would take what money he could grab and bail out. His loyalty was to himself, as it always had been and always would be.
He caught a movement out of the corner of his eye, at the edge of the woods at least one hundred yards to the east. He grabbed