CHAPTER NINE

Bain Madox suggested a short break, during which everyone, except Scott Landsdale and Harry Muller, left the room.

Landsdale stood at the end of the table, away from Harry, and they sized each other up. Landsdale said, "Don't even think about what you're thinking about."

"I can't hear you. Come closer."

"Cut the macho bullshit, Detective. The only way you're getting out of here is if we let you out."

"Don't bet your silk CIA panties on that."

"If you answer a few questions for me, we can work something out."

"That sounds like what I used to say to suspects. I was lying, too."

Landsdale let that slide and asked, "When Tom Walsh gave you this assignment, what did he tell you?"

"He told me to dress warm and save my gas receipts."

"Good advice. And thanks for confirming that it was Walsh." He asked, "What were you supposed to do with your digital disks?"

"Find a CIA guy and shove them up his ass."

"Were you supposed to go to the Adirondack Airport as part of this assignment?"

Harry realized that Landsdale was good at what he did. CIA guys were pricks, but they were highly professional pricks. Harry replied, "No, but that's a good idea. I bet I'll find your name on the arrivals manifest."

"Harry, I've got more IDs than you have clean socks in your drawer." He asked, "Who else at 26 Fed knows about your assignment?"

"How the hell do I know?"

"I didn't mention this before, but one of my friends at 26 Fed tells me you were talking to your cubemate, John Corey, in the elevator lobby, and you were carrying a metal suitcase from Tech. Did Corey ask you what you were doing?"

"Why don't you go fuck yourself?"

Landsdale ignored this suggestion, and said, "I'm trying to help you, Harry."

"I thought you were CIA."

He asked, "Do you want a piece of this, Harry?"

"Yeah, sure. I'm with you."

"You may not mean that now, but after this is over, you'll see that this was the only way to go."

"Don't you have to go take a piss or something?"

"No, but here's a question for you to think about: Do you think you might have been set up?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, Walsh was told by somebody, probably in Washington, to send a guy up here-an NYPD surveillance guy-to take pictures of people arriving at this club. It sounds like no big deal, right? But the people who ordered this-and maybe Walsh himself-knew you weren't going to get within a mile of this lodge before you were caught."

"I got a lot closer than that."

"Congratulations. So, what I'm thinking, Harry, is that you're the sacrificial lamb. Follow?"

"No."

"I mean, this is so clumsy that the only reason you could have been sent here is to scare the hell out of us and make us put Project Green on hold. Or maybe put it on the fast track. What do you think?"

"I've worked with CIA, and what I think is that you people see a conspiracy in everything, except the things that are a conspiracy. That's why you've been fucking up."

"You may have a point. But let me share my paranoia with you. You were sent here by higher-ups, through Walsh, for the purpose of spooking us into action or for the purpose of the FBI's getting a search warrant to come looking for you and finding four atomic suitcases that they might believe are here."

Harry didn't reply, but he thought about that.

Landsdale continued, "Let's assume, first, that someone wants to spook us into action. Who could that be? Well, maybe my people. Or, maybe the White House itself wants an excuse to launch Wild Fire."

Harry thought about that, too, but again didn't respond.

Landsdale went on, "But it could be the other thing-that you were sent here to disappear so that the FBI could swoop down on this place with probable cause and a search warrant. Actually, the only really incriminating things here at the club are the four nukes and you, and neither the nukes nor you will be here much longer. The ELF transmitter is not illegal, just hard to explain. Right?"

Harry Muller felt as if he'd stepped into one of the upstate psychiatric hospitals, and that he'd arrived ten minutes after the patients took control. And what the hell was an elf transmitter? How do you transmit an elf? And why would you want to ... ?

Landsdale asked him, "You know about ELF?"

"Yeah. Santa's helpers."

Landsdale smiled and stared at Harry. "Maybe you don't." He explained, "Extremely Low Frequency. ELF. Does that mean anything to you?"

"No."

Landsdale started to say something else, but the door opened, and Madox and the other three men entered the room.

Landsdale caught Madox's eye and nodded toward the door.

Madox said to the others, "Excuse us a moment."

He and Landsdale left the room, and Madox said to Carl, who was standing near the door, "Keep an eye on Mr. Muller."

Carl went into the room and shut the door.

Landsdale moved down the corridor, and Madox followed. Landsdale said, "Okay, I spoke to Muller, and he seems honestly clueless about anything, except his assignment. Muller was not briefed by Walsh or anyone, which is standard procedure when sending a low-level surveillance guy on a sensitive assignment."

Madox replied, "I know that. What are you getting at?"