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"You look fabulous," he whispered, "and you smell great too."
If they were alone Stealey would have considered another blow to his groin, but this was obviously not the place for her to fully express the hate side of their love-hate relationship.
"It's too bad you brought your wife tonight."
Stokes stood there guardedly, knowing she was toying with him, but unable to help himself. "Why do you say that?"
Stealey leaned forward, her lips almost touching his ear. "Because I was going to bring you back to my place tonight and tie you up." Then leaning away from him she nonchalantly said, "Oh look, there's Valerie. Well, maybe some other time." And just like that she was gone, leaving her boss and former lover standing alone to sort out the mix of emotion and desire that was coursing through his brain and other parts.
* * *
Seventy-Three
WASHINGTON, D.C.
It was just after 9:00 when Reimer walked into CT Watch looking more than a little concerned. Rapp had just gotten off the phone with his wife for the second time today. He apologized again, and she said she understood, even though she didn't sound like she did. He didn't like disappointing her and promised he would catch the first flight out in the morning. She said she'd be waiting for him at the end of the dock in her bikini. He laughed, she didn't. She was sick of sharing her husband, and he couldn't argue with her.
The Virginia State police, along with the various county and local authorities, had set up a series of checkpoints around the area where the vehicles had last been seen. Now that it was nightfall they were stopping every vehicle that was headed in and out of the area. If nothing turned up they were prepared to start going door-to-door come morning.
Reimer opened the door to the bridge, and instead of entering, he motioned for Rapp and McMahon to follow him. He walked straight into McMahon's office and didn't bother taking a seat. When McMahon and Rapp had joined him he closed the door firmly and said, "I just got a call from one of my people, and you're not going to like this." Reimer looked extremely unhappy.
"Apparently the CDC in Atlanta called some dipshit over at the Department of Energy this afternoon and reported a death at one of the local hospitals due to radiation poisoning." The veins on Reimer's neck were bulging. "This jackass paper pusher was more worried about getting out of town for the holiday weekend than national security, so instead of picking up the phone and calling me directly, he sent me an e-mail One of seventy-eight that I received today, and the little idiot didn't even bother to mark it urgent."
Other than the wordradiation and the reference to the Centers for Disease Control, Rapp hadn't a clue as to what any of this meant. "Paul, I'm not following."
"This guy died from ARS Acute Radiation Syndrome. I just got off the phone with the hospital. The doctor who treated him thinks he was exposed to a minimum of twenty thousand rads."
"And what does that mean?" asked McMahon.
"It means he was in contact with something very hot. Something you don't just stumble across in everyday life."
"Is the guy Arab?" Rapp asked.
"No. He's a Mexican American from Laredo, Texas. Apparently he picked up a load in Mexico earlier in the week and drove it to Atlanta. He dropped off his load and then went to fill up on gas, and passed out at the pumps."
"Don't tell me he brought it to the warehouse owned by the two guys we've got sitting out in Fairfax."
"Not that we know of, but I doubt it. If something this hot was in that warehouse, the WMD Teams would have picked up a whiff. We do kn
ow where the cab is, though, and the CDC has a team on the way to check it out."
"And the trailer he brought across the border?"
"We're trying to get someone on the phone from the trucking company, but their offices are closed for the weekend."
"But we know where the truck is, right?" asked McMahon.
"Yes."
"Well, he should have paperwork in the cab." McMahon picked up the phone to call the Atlanta office. "I'm going to send some agents out there to look around. You got the address?"
Reimer handed over a piece of paper with the information on it.
Rapp asked him, "So are you trying to tell us that you think there's a second bomb?"
"I don't know that for sure, but I sure as hell don't like this coincidence."
"I thought your Russian counterpart was sure only one of the bombs was missing?"