"Right now, it's just Liz Gordon, our staff psych at Op-Center," Hood said. "Liz is getting a little trust going. Hopefully, in a week or two, we can bring in some specialists."

Megan Lawrence smiled warmly. "Paul, maybe there's something we can do to help each other. Are you free for lunch tomorrow?"

"Sure," he said.

"Good. I'll see you at twelve-thirty." The First Lady smiled, turned, and went back to her table.

That was strange, Hood thought. Hood thought. "Maybe there's something we can do to help each other." "Maybe there's something we can do to help each other." What could she possibly need his help for? Whatever it was, it must be important. A First Lady's social calendar was usually well-booked months in advance. She would have had to move her engagements around to make room for him. What could she possibly need his help for? Whatever it was, it must be important. A First Lady's social calendar was usually well-booked months in advance. She would have had to move her engagements around to make room for him.

Hood sat back down. The table had been joined by Deputy Secretary of State Hal Jordan and his wife Barri Allen-Jordan as well as two diplomats and their spouses who Hood did not know. Mala Chatterjee did not introduce him, so he introduced himself. The secretary-general continued to ignore him, even after the president rose at his table to offer a toast and say a few words about how he hoped this dinner and its show of unity would send a message to terrorists that the civilized nations of the world would never yield to them. As the White House photographer took pictures and a C-SPAN camera un.o.btrusively recorded the event from the southwest corner of the hall, the president underscored his faith in the United Nations by announcing officially, and to great applause, that the United States was about to retire its nearly two billion dollar debt to the United Nations.

Hood knew that paying off the debt had very little to do with terrorists. The United Nations didn't scare them, and the president knew it, even if Mala Chatterjee didn't. What the two billion dollars did was get the United States out of the doghouse with poor countries like Nepal and Liberia. With thawed economic relations in the Third World, we could then convince them to take loans with the provision that they buy American goods, services, and military intelligence. That would become a self-perpetuating source of income for American companies, even when other nations started putting money into those countries. That was the great thing about a government budgetary surplus and a politically expedient moment. When they came together, an administration could look benevolent and score points on the stock exchange.

Hood was only half listening to the speech when the president said something that drew him back in.

"Finally," the president said, "I am happy to inform you that American intelligence leaders are presently earmarking personnel and resources for a vital new initiative. It is their intention to work closely with governments around the world and guarantee that attacks against the United Nations cannot, do not, and will not will not happen again." happen again."

There was mild applause from tables where there were delegates. But the statement had caught Hood's attention because he knew something that the president apparently did not.

It wasn't true.

SIX.

h.e.l.lspot Station, the Caspian Sea Monday, 3:01 A.M.

The white Cessna U206F flew low over the dark Caspian Sea, its single engine roaring loudly. Its only occupants were a Russian pilot and the man seated beside him, an Englishman of average build and average appearance.

This trip had started out off the coast of Baku. After taking off, the seaplane had headed northeast and had traveled nearly two hundred miles in the past ninety minutes. It had been a smooth, quiet ride. Neither the pilot nor his pa.s.senger spoke a word the entire time. Though forty-one-year-old Maurice Charles spoke Russian-along with nine other languages-he did not know the pilot well and did not trust even those people he did know well. That was one reason he'd managed to survive as a mercenary for nearly twenty years.

When they finally arrived, all the pilot said was, "Below, four o'clock."

Charles looked out his window. His pale blue eyes fixed on the target. It was a beautiful thing. Tall, brightly lit, majestic.

And alone.

The semisubmersible offsh.o.r.e oil drilling platform stood approximately 150 feet above the water and was surrounded by sea. There was a helipad on the north side of the platform, a 200-foot-tall derrick beside it on the northwest side, and a network of tanks, cranes, antennae, and other equipment in the oil processing area.

The rig was like a lady standing on a deserted avenue under a streetlamp late at night by the Mersey back home. Charles could do what he wanted with it. And he would.

Charles picked up a camera that was sitting in his lap. He popped the b.u.t.ton on the tan leather carrying case and removed the top. The camera was the same thirty-five-millimeter reflex that he had used in his first a.s.signment, back in Beirut in April 1983. He began snapping pictures. A second camera, the one he had taken from the CIA operative on the beach, lay on the floor of the cabin between his feet along with the man's backpack. There might be names or numbers in there that would prove useful. Just like the operative himself would be useful, which was why Charles had left him alive.

The airplane circled the oil platform twice, once at 600 feet and once at 300 feet. Charles exposed three rolls of film, then indicated to the pilot that it was all right to leave. The seaplane swung back to its cruising alt.i.tude of 2000 feet and headed to Baku. There, Charles would rejoin the crew of the Rachel, Rachel, which by now would have removed the white banner with the fake name. They had ferried him to the plane and would be his partners in the next part of the undertaking. which by now would have removed the white banner with the fake name. They had ferried him to the plane and would be his partners in the next part of the undertaking.

But that would only be the start. His employers in America had very specific goals, and the team Charles had put together were experts in achieving those goals: turning neighbor against neighbor, nation against nation, through acts of terrorism and a.s.sa.s.sination. Before they were finished, the region would be awash in fire and blood from around the world.

And though he had already made a lot of money in the terrorist game, he had spent a lot of that wealth buying weapons, pa.s.sports, transportation, anonymity. With this job, he would be richer than he had ever dared to imagine. And he had a fertile imagination.

When he was growing up in Liverpool, Charles had often dreamed about wealth and how he might obtain it. He thought about it when he swept the train station where his father sold tickets. He thought about it when he slept with his two brothers and grandfather in the living room of their one-bedroom flat, a flat that always smelled of perspiration and trash from the adjoining alley. He thought about it when he helped his father coach the local men's football team. The elder Charles knew how to communicate, how to strategize, how to win. He was a natural leader. But Maurice's father, his family, his working-cla.s.s people were held down by the upper cla.s.s. They were not permitted to go to the better schools, even if they could have afforded them. They weren't allowed to work in the upper levels of banking, of communications, of politics. They had funny, common accents and brawny shoulders and weather-beaten faces and weren't taken seriously.

Charles grew up feeling bad that the only outlet, the only joy his father had was football. Charles also idolized the Beatles because they had made it out-the same reason, ironically, his father and so many of his contemporaries hated "those young punks." Charles realized that he could not escape poverty musically because he had no talent for that and it had already been done. He had to get out his way, make a mark that was uniquely his own. How could he have known that he would find his hidden skills by joining the Royal Marines, 29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery, and learning to work with explosives? By discovering the pleasure and genius involved in tearing things down?

It was a glorious feeling to put events like this in motion. It was the creation of art: living, breathing, powerful, bleeding, changing, utterly unforgettable art. There was nothing else like it in the world, the aesthetics of destruction. And what was most rewarding was that the CIA had inadvertently helped him by sending that man to watch for him. The agency would conclude that it couldn't be the Harpooner who had attacked their man. No one had ever survived an encounter with the Harpooner.

Charles settled comfortably into his seat as the Cessna left the lights of the rig behind.

That was the beauty about being an artist, he told himself.

It gave him the right and privilege to surprise.

SEVEN.

Camp Springs, Maryland Monday, 12:44 A.M.

Throughout the Cold War, the nondescript two-story building located near the Naval Reserve flight line at Andrews Air Force Base was a staging area for pilots and their crews. In the event of a nuclear attack, their job would have been to evacuate key officials from the government and military to a safe compound in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

But the ivory-colored building with its neat, green lawn was not just a monument to the Cold War. The seventy-eight full-time employees who worked there now were employed by the National Crisis Management Center, familiarly known as Op-Center, an independent agency that was designed to collect, process, and a.n.a.lyze data on potential crisis points domestically and abroad. Once that was done, Op-Center then had to decide whether to defuse them preemptively through political, diplomatic, media, economic, legal, or psychological means or else-after gaining the approval of the Congressional Intelligence Oversight Committee-to terminate them through military means. To this end, Op-Center had at its disposal a twelve-person tactical strike team known as Striker. Led by Colonel Brett August, Striker was based at the nearby Quantico FBI Academy.

In addition to the offices upstairs, a secure bas.e.m.e.nt had been built into the facility to house the more sensitive intelligence retrieval systems and personnel. It was here that Paul Hood and his top advisers worked.

Hood came directly from the White House affair. He was still dressed in his tuxedo, which earned him a "Good morning, Mr. Bond" greeting from the Naval officer at the gate. It made him smile. It was the only thing that had done that for days.

A strange uneasiness had settled over Hood after the president made his comments. He couldn't imagine why the president had said the United States would offer intelligence a.s.sistance to the United Nations. If there was one thing many member nations feared, it was that the United States was already using the international organization as a means of spying on them.

The president's short speech had pleased some people, most notably delegates who were targets for acts of terrorism. But it struck some other attendees as odd. Vice president Cotten appeared surprised, as did Secretary of State Dean Carr and America's United Nations Amba.s.sador Meriwether. And Mala Chatterjee had been openly bothered by the comment. So much so that she'd actually turned to Hood and asked if she had understood the president correctly. He told her that he believed she had. What he didn't tell her was that Op-Center would almost certainly have been involved in or briefed about any such arrangement. Something might have been arranged during the time that he was away, but Hood doubted it. When he visited his office the day before to catch up on business he had missed, he saw no reference to a multinational intelligence effort.

Hood didn't bother talking to anyone after the dinner. He left promptly and went to Op-Center, where he did additional digging into the matter. This was the first time he had seen the weekend night crew since his return. They were glad to see him, especially weekend night director Nicholas Grillo. Grillo was a fifty-three-year-old former Navy SEAL intelligence expert who had moved over from the Pentagon around the same time Hood had first joined Op-Center. Grillo congratulated him on the fine job he and General Rodgers had done in New York and asked how his daughter was. Hood thanked him and told him that Harleigh would be all right.

Hood began by accessing the files of the DCI-the Director of Central Intelligence. This independent body was a clearinghouse of information for four other intelligence departments: the Central Intelligence Agency; Op-Center; the Department of Defense, which included the four branches of the military, the National Reconnaissance Office, the National Security Agency, and the National Imagery and Mapping Agency; and Department Intelligence, which consisted of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of State, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Treasury.

Once Hood was into the DCI database, he asked for recent agreements or initiatives pertaining to the United Nations. There were nearly five thousand listings. He eliminated those that did not involve intelligence-gathering for the United Nations and its members. That reduced the list to twenty-seven. Hood browsed those quickly. The last was filed a week before, a preliminary report about the failure of the CIA field office to catch Annabelle Hampton's terrorist-support activities in New York. Blame was placed on New York field office head David Battat and his supervisor in Washington, Deputy a.s.sistant Director Wong. Wong was given a written warning, which was not entered into his record. Battat was given a sterner reprimand, which did not become part of his permanent dossier. But Battat would be hung out to dry for a while, doing what Bob Herbert had once described as "sewer rat-a-tat" jobs-dirty work in the line of fire. The kind of work that freshmen agents usually had to perform.

There was nothing about a United Nations operation involving any of the fourteen intelligence agencies. Given the new detente the president was trying to establish with the United Nations, it wasn't surprising that Lawrence would look for a way to help them. But presenting a desire or opportunity as a done deal was mystifying.

The president would have needed the cooperation of the head of at least one of these agencies just to undertake a study study for such a proposition, and that wasn't anywhere in the files. There wasn't even any correspondence, electronic or otherwise, requesting such a study. The only answer Hood could think of was a handshake deal between the president and the CIA, FBI, or one of the other groups. But then one of those persons would have been there at tonight's dinner, and the only representative from the intelligence community was Hood. Perhaps the president was trying to force the issue, the way John F. Kennedy did when he announced, publicly, that he wanted Congress to give NASA the funds to put a man on the moon. But United States involvement in international intelligence-gathering was an extremely sensitive area. A president would be reckless to attempt a wide-ranging operation like this without a.s.surances from his own team that it was possible. for such a proposition, and that wasn't anywhere in the files. There wasn't even any correspondence, electronic or otherwise, requesting such a study. The only answer Hood could think of was a handshake deal between the president and the CIA, FBI, or one of the other groups. But then one of those persons would have been there at tonight's dinner, and the only representative from the intelligence community was Hood. Perhaps the president was trying to force the issue, the way John F. Kennedy did when he announced, publicly, that he wanted Congress to give NASA the funds to put a man on the moon. But United States involvement in international intelligence-gathering was an extremely sensitive area. A president would be reckless to attempt a wide-ranging operation like this without a.s.surances from his own team that it was possible.

It could all be the result of a series of misunderstandings. Maybe the president thought he had the support of the intelligence community. Confusion was certainly not uncommon in government. The question was what to do now that the idea had been presented to the world body. The United States intelligence community was sure to be torn. Some experts would welcome the opportunity to plug directly into resources in nations like China, Colombia, and several former Soviet republics where they currently had very restricted access. Others-Hood included-would be afraid of joining forces with other nations and being fed false data, data that would then become part of U.S. intelligence gospel with potentially disastrous results. Herbert once told him about a situation in 1978, just before the overthrow of the shah of Iran, when antiextremist forces provided the CIA with a code used by supporters of the Ayatollah Khomeini to communicate via telefax. The code was accurate-then. Once the ayatollah a.s.sumed power, the shah's files were raided, and the code was found to be in American hands. The code remained in the CIA's system and was used to interpret secret communiques. It wasn't until the ayatollah's death in 1989-when the secret communiques said he was recovering-that the CIA went back and took a close look at the code and the disinformation they'd received. Ten years of data had to be reviewed and much of it purged.

Hood could just imagine what Teheran would say about joining this new ant.i.terrorism network. "Sure, sign us up. And don't forget to use this new code to monitor the Sunni terrorists working out of Azerbaijan. " sign us up. And don't forget to use this new code to monitor the Sunni terrorists working out of Azerbaijan. " It could be a real code for real transmissions, or the Iranians could use false transmissions to create deeper mistrust of the Sunnis. The United States could not refuse to help them, because the president had offered; we could not trust the code; and yet what if it turned out to be real and we ignored it? It could be a real code for real transmissions, or the Iranians could use false transmissions to create deeper mistrust of the Sunnis. The United States could not refuse to help them, because the president had offered; we could not trust the code; and yet what if it turned out to be real and we ignored it?

The whole thing was a potential for disaster. For his part, Hood intended to contact Burton Gable, the president's chief of staff, to find out what he knew about the situation. Hood didn't know Gable well, but he had been one of Lawrence's think tank geniuses and was instrumental in getting the president reelected. Gable hadn't been at the dinner, but there was no policy undertaking in which he was not involved.

Hood went back to the motel, napped, then was back at Op-Center at five-thirty. He wanted to be there when his staff arrived.

Hood had spoken to psychologist Liz Gordon about Harleigh, and to attorney Lowell Coffey about the divorce, so both of them knew he was coming back. Hood had also informed General Rodgers, who had let intelligence chief Bob Herbert know.

Herbert rolled in first. He had lost his wife and the use of his legs in the American emba.s.sy bombing in Beirut in 1983. But he had turned that setback into an advantage: Herbert's customized wheelchair was a mini-communications center with phone, fax, and even a satellite uplink that helped to make him one of the most effective intelligence collectors and a.n.a.lysts in the world.

Rodgers followed him in. Though the gray-haired officer had played a key role in ending the terrorist standoff at the United Nations, he was still recovering emotionally from the torture he'd suffered at the hands of Kurdish terrorists in the Middle East. Since his return, there hadn't been quite the same fire in his eyes or bounce in his walk. Though he hadn't broken, some proud, vital part of him had died in that cave in the Bekaa Valley.

Rodgers and Herbert were happy to see him. The two men stayed long enough to welcome him back and for Hood to brief them on what had happened at the state dinner. Herbert was blown away by what the president had said.

"That's like the Goodyear Blimp saying it's going to watch the stands for rowdy fans instead of watching the Super Bowl," Herbert said. "No one would believe that. No one."

"I agree," Hood said. "Which is why we've got to find out why the president said it. If he has a plan that we don't know about, we need to be brought into the loop. Talk to the other intel people and find out."

"I'm on it," Herbert said as he wheeled out.

Rodgers told Hood that he would get in touch with the heads of Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine intelligence to find out what their knowledge of the situation was.

When Herbert and Rodgers left, Hood was visited by the only key members of the team who hadn't known about Hood's return, FBI and Interpol liaison Darrell McCaskey and press liaison Ann Farris. McCaskey was just back from a stay in Europe, working with his Interpol a.s.sociates and nurturing a romance with Maria Corneja, an operative he had worked with in Spain. Hood had a good sense about people, and his instincts told him that Darrell would be handing in his resignation before long to return to Maria. Since McCaskey was gone while Hood's retirement was briefly in effect, he had not missed his boss.

Ann Farris was a different story. The five-foot, seven-inch-tall divorcee had always been close to Hood and had hated to see him leave. Hood knew that she cared for him, though no one could have told that just by looking at her. The thirty-four-year-old woman had developed the perfect poker face for reporters. No question, no revelation, no announcement made her jump. But to Hood, her large, dark-rust eyes were more articulate than any speech-maker or television moderator he had ever heard. And right now, her eyes were telling Hood that she was happy, sad, and surprised all at once.

Ann walked toward the desk. She was dressed in what she called her "uniform," a black pantsuit and white blouse with a pearl necklace. Her brown hair was shoulder length and held back from her face with a pair of clips. Hood's office was stripped of his personal touches. He hadn't had time to put the photographs and mementos back. Yet after the struggles with Sharon and the coldness of his hotel room, Ann's arrival suddenly made this place seem like home.

"Mike just told me," she said.

"Told you what?"

"About Sharon," Ann replied. "About your coming back. Paul, are you all right?."

"I'm a little banged up, but I'll be okay."

Ann stopped in front of the desk. Was it only just ten days ago that she had stood there while I packed? Was it only just ten days ago that she had stood there while I packed? Hood thought. It seemed so much longer. Why did pain stretch time while happiness made it feel so short? Hood thought. It seemed so much longer. Why did pain stretch time while happiness made it feel so short?

"What can I do, Paul?" Ann asked. "How are Sharon and the kids?"

"We're all reeling. Liz is helping Harleigh, Sharon and I are pretty civil, and Alexander is Alexander. He's okay." Hood dragged a hand through his wavy black hair. "As for what you can do, I just realized we're going to have to send out a press release about my return."

"I know." She smiled. "A head's-up would would have been a big help." have been a big help."

"I'm sorry," Hood said.

"That's all right," Ann replied. "You had other things on your mind. I'll write something up and show it to you."

Ann looked down at him, her shoulder-length brown hair framing her angular features. Hood had always felt the s.e.xual tension between them. h.e.l.l, he thought. Everyone around them did. Bob Herbert and Lowell Coffey used to tease Hood about it. Hood's unwillingness to give in to that tension had always kept Ann at a distance. But he could feel that distance closing.

"I know you have a lot to do," Ann said, "but if you need anything, I'm here. If you want to talk or don't want to be by yourself, don't be shy. We go back quite a few years."

"Thanks," Hood said.

Ann's eyes held him for a long moment. "I'm sorry for what you and your family are going through, Paul. But you've done an amazing job here, and I'm glad you're back."

"It's good to be back," Paul admitted. "I think that frustrated me more than anything else."

"What did?" she asked.

"Not being able to finish the work I started," he said. "It may sound corny, but the teamwork of exceptional men and women built this nation. Op-Center is a part of that tradition. We have a great team here doing important work, and I hated leaving that."

Ann continued to look at him. She seemed to want to say something more but didn't. She stepped back from the desk.

"Well, I've got to get to work on the press release," she said. "Do you want me to say anything about the situation with Sharon?"

"No," Hood said. "If anyone wants to know, tell them. Otherwise, just say I had a change of heart."

"That's going to make you sound wishy-washy," she said.

"What the Washington Post Washington Post thinks isn't going to affect my job performance," he said. thinks isn't going to affect my job performance," he said.

"Maybe not now," Ann said. "But it might if you ever decide to run for public office again."

Hood looked at her. "Good point," he said.

"Why don't we tell them that the president asked you to return?" she said.

"Because he didn't," Hood said.

"You two had a private meeting when you came back from New York," she said. "He won't deny asking you to return. It shows loyalty on his part. Everyone benefits."

"But it isn't true," Hood said.

"Then let's just say this," Ann said. "After meeting with the president, you decided to reconsider your resignation. That's true."

"You really want to get the president in there."

"Whenever I can," Ann said. "It gives us weight."

"Weight?" Hood said. "You mean suction."

Excuse me?"

"Nick Grillo said that the word-de-jour is suction." suction."

"Actually, that's not quite right," Ann informed him. "Weight "Weight is when someone has credibility. is when someone has credibility. Suction Suction is when they have considerable influence. There's a difference." is when they have considerable influence. There's a difference."

"I see," Hood said. They smiled at each other. Hood looked away. "I'd better get to work," he said. "There's a lot of catching up to do."