Page 25 of Edge of Honor

“Of the Vice President? I don’t care either way. This isn’t about politics. It’s about privacy. We’d be happy to go and meet with him. I just don’t want it splashed all over the press.”

“Well, he’s a splash kind of guy. The bigger the better. It’s an attention economy out there. And he who commands the most attention wins.”

“Fuck,” Harvath repeated.

“Maybe I can make your day a little brighter,” Gaines continued. “Sølvi’s packet came through from the Norwegian Foreign Service office. I didn’t know she did close protection work.”

“She and the Prime Minister have a history together.”

“I made sure it went to the top of the stack and got approved right away.”

“Thank you,” said Scot.

“You’re welcome. Just understand that if you two get in a squabble and she reaches for her sidearm instead of a rolling pin, she’s covered by diplomatic immunity for as long as the Prime Minister is on U.S. soil.”

“I’ll do my best not to piss her off.”

Gaines laughed again. “Good luck. Knowing you, my money’s on two to your chest and one between your eyebrows before the summit even starts.”

“Speaking of the summit,” Harvath said, transitioning from a chuckle to a more serious tone, “whatever you can do to put your best people on her team, I’d really appreciate it.”

“In light of what happened at the Norwegian ambassador’s residence, the State Department has made the same request, so I’m already ahead of you. But I have to be honest, with all the cutbacks, we’re stretched pretty thin, especially with so many dignitaries coming to town. We’re working on it, though. We’re not going to let anything happen to Sølvi or the Norwegian PM.”

“Thanks, Russ. I appreciate it.”

“Any time,” Gaines replied. “If there’s nothing else you need, I’ve got to get ready for the hourly update call with the FBI.”

Harvath looked at his watch. There was fifteen minutes until the top of the hour. Gaines had been terrific, but they had not yet discussed the primary reason for his call.

“I do have one thing to ask you,” said Scot. “Completely off the record.”

“Go ahead.”

“I just met with Ambassador Brendan Rogers. He thinks the Iranians want to kill him.”

“They probably do,” Gaines agreed.

“He thinks it’s more than that. He thinks he’s an active target.”

“I know he does. The Ambassador has even more friends in Washington than you do.”

“Are you aware that two men chased him through Rock Creek Park last night?”

“No,” Gaines responded. “I was not. Is he okay?”

“He managed to find a park ranger and get away. He says the pair had been following him earlier in the day. He filed a report with U.S. Park Police and asked that it be forwarded to the Secret Service.”

“So they didn’t catch the guys.”

“No,” said Harvath. “They didn’t.”

“Were either of the men captured on video?”

“No idea.”

“Do you have a vehicle description or license plate number?”

“Negative.”