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“I’m afraid it’s classified.” Williams looked from Wilson to the director.
Wilson wasn’t going to go down so easily. “My clearance is as high as yours.”
“Your clearance used to be as high as Lisa’s,” Director Miller said.
“What is going on here? I don’t get it. The fact that a few of you don’t like Senator Ferris doesn’t mean this information is false. You need to allow me to finish my investigation. Give me thirty minutes with Rapp. I’ll hook him up to a polly and we’ll get some answers.”
Miller shook his head. “I’ve decided to pull your clearance until an official review can be completed.”
“But . . . you have to let me take a shot at Rapp.”
Lisa Williams, the only woman in the room, looked at Wilson as if he was nuts and said, “Do you have any idea who you are talking about?”
“You mean Rapp? Yeah, I know who I’m talking about. He’s dirty and he’s corrupt and I don’t understand why everyone is so afraid of taking him on.”
Miller shook his finger at Wilson and said, “Let’s get something straight. First off, you could polly Mitch Rapp for the next year and you wouldn’t get a thing out of him.”
“I disagree, sir.”
“Stop interrupting me. You have no idea what you’re talking about. Rapp would eat you for lunch. Beyond that, you don’t know jack shit about the man. He’s a damn national hero. You’ve been played, Joel, and you’ve made the FBI look like a bunch of fools.” Miller hit the intercom button and said, “Pleas
e send her in.” Turning his attention back to Wilson he said, “You are on indefinite administrative leave until I say otherwise. If you are lucky enough to keep your badge, I can promise you that you will be assigned to some benign post where you can do as little damage as possible.”
Wilson was reeling. In his wildest dreams he hadn’t imagined it could get this bad, and then the door opened and it got worse.
Director Kennedy stopped directly across from Wilson. She placed a document on the wood surface and slid it across the table. After Wilson caught it, she said, “I assume you recognize the legal document in your hands.”
Wilson scanned the heading. It was a national security nondisclosure contract.
“If you flip to the last page, you’ll see your signature.”
Wilson went to the last page and noted his signature. He’d signed the document when he went to work for counterintelligence. He began to slide the document back to Kennedy. “I think we should be looking at your—”
Kennedy reached out and stopped him from moving the document another inch. “That copy is for you. I suggest you read it, and then you find a really good lawyer. A private one, who will more than likely be very expensive, because the FBI will not be supplying you with counsel on this little screwup.”
“What are you talking about? You don’t decide what the FBI does or doesn’t do.” Wilson looked to Miller.
“No, I don’t, but I do run the CIA, and we have a very good legal department, and we happen to have a very good working relationship with some federal judges who take national security issues quite seriously. We haven’t even begun to investigate you, and we’ve already come across three instances in which you are in violation of your national security contract. I’m no lawyer, Agent Wilson, but they tell me if we want to press the issue we could have your ass thrown in a high-security federal facility for months. You screwed up here big-time, and if you want to avoid jail you had better start to show some serious cooperation, or at a bare minimum shut your mouth and crawl under some rock, but this is your only warning. If you run to Ferris, or try to claim victimhood, I will have your ass thrown in jail.”
“You can’t intimidate me.”
Kennedy realized Wilson didn’t get it. “I’m not trying to intimidate you. I’m telling you the facts. You have screwed up like very few people in your position can screw up. You signed that document in your hands and we happen to take it very seriously. Do yourself a favor and find a lawyer who has had some experience with this type of thing. He will tell you that if I decide to push this, you will go to jail.”
“If you have everything all locked up, then why don’t you do it?” Wilson asked Kennedy in an overconfident tone.
Kennedy looked to Miller and said, “I’m done with him. The man’s a fool. If you can talk some sense into him by this evening, I’ll call the dogs off. If not, my people will be in federal court in the morning.” Kennedy turned and left without saying another word.
Wilson looked at his five colleagues and said incredulously, “Can’t you see what’s going on? She wants me to drop this because she knows I’m onto something.” When no one reacted, Wilson looked at David Taylor, whom he’d worked closely with for the last three years. “David, don’t you see what’s going on?”
Taylor spun his chair to his left. With his back brace it was the only way he could look Wilson in the eye. “Do you know what your problem is, Joel? You think you’re the only noble person in this town.”
“Come on.”
“I’m serious. The rest of us are all corrupt or greedy. Our motives are suspect, but not you. You’re above all of that. You’re a fucking martyr and you brought this all down on yourself because you’re an arrogant know-it-all. Even in the face of all of this, you can’t see that you’ve screwed up.”
Director Miller looked at him with pure disgust. “Maybe you’d gain a little more perspective from our field office in Bismarck, North Dakota.”
CHAPTER 46