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“It doesn’t matter. If you want to get on that plane you are going to tell me the name of this mystery senator.”
“Sir, I gave my word.”
“I’m losing my patience, Joel. I’m your boss. This isn’t the Cub Scouts, it’s the FBI, and we have rules and laws that we are duty bound to follow. A personal promise you made to a politician holds no water with us. You are going to tell me everything you know right now, or I will call Dulles and pull your flight plan and then in about four hours I’ll be having breakfast with the director and I will brief him on your most recent activities. When I’m done, he will ask me for my recommendation as to your future as acting director of Counterintelligence.” Hargrave paused and stared at Wilson for an uncomfortably long moment. “Based on your refusal to follow the most simple of orders I’m fairly certain my recommendation will be less than stellar.”
Wilson had been fairly certain this was how this little drama would play out, but in order to make it convincing he had needed to follow his script. He blurted out the name. “Carl Ferris.”
Hargrave nearly choked. “You mean to tell me you launched an investigation based on innuendo from one of the biggest partisan hacks to ever serve in the United States Senate?”
Wilson played dumb. “I have no opinion on the man, sir. When a sitting U.S. senator asks for a private meeting I take it very seriously.”
“Good God, you fool,” Hargrave said haltingly. “I don’t believe for a second that you are that naïve.” Hargrave was on his feet pacing now—his brain struggling for a way to unwind this potential mess before it saw the light of day. Carl Ferris was a master manipulator of the media and the supposed facts they reported.
Wilson offered an additional piece of information. “He told me you had it in for him.”
“Excuse me?”
“Senator Ferris told me that you didn’t like him. He wouldn’t get into specifics, but he said it had something to do with your days on the FISA bench.”
Hargrave turned to Wilson and said, “The issue he is alluding to is sealed and not up for discussion, but I can tell you that the senator did not comport himself well.”
“I don’t want to get in the middle of a pissing match between you two. What happened is none of my business.”
“There is no pissing match.” Hargrave didn’t like the way Wilson had turned this into a personal matter. “What’s at issue here is that you have once again failed to keep me informed of what you are up to and now you are about to get on a plane with one of my Go Teams and insert yourself into an extremely delicate situation.” Hargrave grabbed the back of one of the chairs and said, “Let me ask you something. Have you bothered to think of how our friends at the CIA are going to react when you show up and start sticking your nose in the middle of this mess?”
“Personally, I couldn’t care less what those Neanderthals at Langley think.”
Hargrave had encountered this type of behavior in others before and he knew how destructive it could be. “We are on the same team,” he said flatly.
“And my job is to make sure we stay on the same team.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“In my department no one is above suspicion. My job is to stop the enemy from penetrating our national security apparatus, and the easiest way for the enemy to do that is to get one of our people to turn on us.”
“What are you implying?”
“I’m implying nothing. The facts are that Joe Rickman is one of the darkest spooks this country has. He’s a walking, breathing encyclopedia of things that are so wrong it’s ridiculous. If he has been kidnapped it is our duty to offer Langley our capable assistance if for no other reason than that we need to get a handle on the breadth of the damage. We should be the coordinating agency, because God knows Langley will want to admit only a fraction of the possible damage. We need a full accounting of our exposure.”
Hargrave didn’t want to but he had to concede the point. Six months from now it might look very bad if he forced Counterespionage to sit this out. “I see where you’re coming from, but I want you to play nice.”
“I will be there to offer assistance in finding Rickman, and if along the way I see that any laws have been broken I will consult you before I move my investigation in a new direction.”
“That’s what I wanted to hear.”
Wilson smiled. There was no need to report his other concerns at this point. As Senator Ferris had already warned him, Hargrave wouldn’t believe them anyway. Wilson stood, saying, “Thank you, sir. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get moving.”
“One more thing, Joel. I want you to check in with me every day. I need to know what you’re up to.”
“I was planning on it, sir.”
Hargrave walked Wilson to the door and watched him leave. He didn’t believe for a second that Wilson was planning on keeping him informed, and he found it even less believable that Wilson was planning on simply aiding the CIA in finding Rickman. All things considered, though, he had to let him go. Rickman was a valuable asset and the FBI needed to make sure the broader national security interests were being looked after. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something else going on here. Something that Wilson was keeping from him.
CHAPTER 5
JALALABAD, AFGHANISTAN
HUBBARD was clearly agitated. He’d gone over to the window to watch Zahir and his men leave. Rapp ignored him and took a moment to discuss something he wanted Coleman to follow up on. Rapp was just finishing his point when Hubbard approached them.