“I know,” Li groaned, the jet lag catching up with him. He’d been through enough background checks on his way to admiral that he knew the drill. “That’s why I called you right away, Isaac.”
“The Bureau guys are going to ask you this, so you might as well be thinking about it. Is there anyone on your team you don’t trust?”
“They’ve all got top-secret clearances.”
“So did Aldrich Ames,” Santos said. “And a pile of other assholes who spied against the United States. That’s not the question.”
“Honestly, the only person who has access to every aspect of all the projects is me. I made sure of that. We have a saying where I used to work,
“Like a nuke on board a sub or ship?” Santos observed.
“The aircraft we push software to carry nuclear armament. So yes. That’s a good analogy.”
“Think hard,” Santos prodded. “Anyone you wouldn’t want to be in a dark room with? Some member of your team you feel hairy about?”
“No.” Li leaned back in his chair. “I’m sorry.”
“There is one other thing,” Santos said, shifting uneasily in his seat. “The FBI is going to drill down on this much harder than I have.”
“That’s their job,” Li said.
“They’re going to want every minute detail, if you get what I’m saying.”
“I can only tell them what I know.”
Santos pursed his lips, looking Li directly in the eye. “What I mean, Peter, is that they are going to want to know everything you and this woman said — and did — to each other. It could get messy.”
Li laughed out loud. “I didn’t
Santos stood with a groan. “Well, good. Then we should have no problem.”
“Seriously,” Li said. “You keep forgetting that I called you. And anyway, I’m a little too old and too smart to bump uglies with some strange girl who propositions me at the same time she’s asking me about my top-secret government project.”
“Don’t be too sure,” Santos said. “It’s simple biology. A man will follow an erection into places he wouldn’t venture with a loaded shotgun.”
“Well,” Li said. “Not me.”
Santos chuckled. “Says the fifty-four-year-old guy who’s having a kid.”
As usual, reporters lined up behind the barricade, waiting for Ryan to walk out to Marine One. Jakarta was a long way away, even on Air Force One, and there was no point in going before his advance team and all the vehicles arrived. In any case, Ryan still had a country to run, which included a trip to address members of the North Atlantic Council visiting the United Nations in New York from NATO headquarters in Belgium. NATO countries usually had Russian aggression on their minds, but Ryan intended to keep his ears open for anything to do with China. There was always scuttlebutt, if one knew where to look. The UN was sovereign ground, but it was anything but neutral.
Van Damm stopped him in the Oval as he was getting ready to leave. As a rule, he liked to be empty-handed when he walked to the White Top. He was certain the media gaggle had a pool on when he’d turn to wave and fall on his face. There was a divot in the South Lawn, small, but large enough to catch the toe of his shoe if he wasn’t careful. His body man had his briefcase, and he, along with Gary Montgomery and the other agents who were traveling with him, were already on board Marine One. Ryan would be the last to board.
“What’s going on here, Arnie?” he asked. “You and I both know Pat West is an innocent pawn in some Chinese scheme to get their hands on some AI technology. I’m ready to kick the shit out of Chairman Zhao and let the chips fall where they may.”
“Are you done?” van Damm asked.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, it’s okay to feel that way, but you need to get it out of your system before you walk past that pack of reporters. They are ravenous for a bloody story — and half of them would prefer it was your blood.”
“I have the most powerful military in the world,” Ryan said. “A military that commands the land, the air, and the sea, at my fingertips. I have sophisticated satellites to study the dimples on golf balls from high above the earth, talented spies who could inveigle the wiliest soul — and yet I sit here, unable to do anything to help my friend.”
“I know,” van Damm said. “Have a pleasant trip, Mr. President. Senator Chadwick has asked to see you again, but I told her you’re too busy at the moment.”
