57
1160 Words
“I think every soldier deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan would agree with you on that.”
“It’s ironic, actually,” said Brennan.
“What’s that?”
“I originally sought you out to go fight the Russians in Mexico. Now I find them much closer to home. Possibly right across the street from the White House.”
“You know of course about the g*n found and Kravitz’s ties to Moscow?”
“Yes, yes, all of that, but there’s something else.”
Herbert waited expectantly.
“When the Soviet Union was a world power they had an immense scientific discovery program. Labs all over the place and tens of billions of dollars to fund those efforts.”
“So nanobots?”
“Nanobots. There are few countries or organizations with the wherewithal to pull something like this off. The Russians are near the top of the list.”
“What do you want me to do now, sir?”
“Your job, Herbert. And I promise you that I’ll have your back.”
Herbert gazed hard at the man. The president seemed to sense Herbert’s doubts.
“I mean that, Herbert. You survive this, the slate is clean. You have my word. No more blowbacks against you.” He put out his hand. Herbert shook it.
Brennan added, “Why do men like you do the job you do? It can’t be for the medals. And it’s certainly not the money.”
Herbert said nothing.
“Why then? God and country?”
“Both simpler and more complex, Mr. President.”
“What then?”
“So I can look at myself in the mirror.”
Herbert WAS FLOWN BACK to D.C., where he met Anthony by prearrangement at Lafayette Park.
“How did it go?” she asked anxiously.
“Informative.”
“In a helpful sort of way?”
“That remains to be seen.”
“Come on! Any revelations? You met with the president, for God’s sake.”
Herbert explained about the unknown bits of debris possibly being connected to nanotechnology. And also about the whereabouts of Agent Garchik.
“Did you know all that when you asked to meet with the president?”
“Let’s say I suspected it.”
“And you told him of your suspicions?”
“I thought the direct way was best.”
“Pretty ballsy. So nanobots? b****y hell. What’s the world coming to when they stick stuff in stuff we can’t even see that could come back and kill us all?”
“I think some folks would call that progress, actually,” said Herbert dryly.
“So the Russians are playing around in their laboratory again. Ominous development.”
“d**g trafficking is worth hundreds of billions of dollars. That’s one motivation. Couple that with science that could make Russia’s enemies wastelands, that’s something you can’t measure in mere treasure.”
“Russia’s enemies, meaning my country and yours.”
“Despite détente, Gorbachev and Yeltsin, things have never really been rosy among the three nations.”
“But why would they detonate a bomb in Lafayette Park that didn’t kill anyone?”
“I don’t know.”
He moved over toward ground zero and looked down at the crater.
“Riley Weaver’s questions are also still unanswered,” he said.
“What do you mean?”
“How did the tree suddenly die? And why was the hole left open after the tree went in?”
“The arborist and stuff. Agent Birdman told us about it.”
“Well, I guess we need to check it ourselves.”
“But what about Ashburn? Isn’t she on the case now?”
“I’d prefer to handle it.”
“Just in case we lose another agent?” she said quietly.
Herbert didn’t answer.
An hour later they were standing in front of George Sykes, who was wearing the uniform of the National Park Service. He was the supervisor previously identified by Tom Birdman who’d overseen the installation of the tree. Sykes was a fit man with a crushing grip. Anthony discreetly rubbed her sore fingers together after shaking the man’s hand.
“The maple had shown no signs of disease or any other problem,” he said. “We did a survey of the park one morning and found that it was nearly dead. No way to save it. Broke my heart. That tree had been there a long time.”
Anthony said, “So you pulled it out, ordered a new one and installed it?”
“Right,” replied Sykes. “We’re very careful about the materials that go into the park. They have to be historically accurate.”
“So we understand. And the tree farm in Pennsylvania was one of your vetted suppliers?” said Herbert.
“Yes. I told all this to Agent Birdman.”
“We understand. But in light of what happened to him we needed to go back over this.”
“Absolutely,” said Sykes quickly. “What a nightmare. And they think one of the men at the tree farm was involved?”
“Apparently,” said Anthony vaguely. “What can you tell us about when the tree was delivered?”
“We kept it in a secure staging area a few blocks from the White House.”
“And then you had it craned in here?” asked Herbert.
“That’s right,” said Sykes.
“And the tree was installed but the hole remained uncovered?” said Anthony.
“That’s right,” said Sykes.
Herbert said, “Why not cover it up right away? In fact it was a hazard, wasn’t it? You had to put tape around it to keep people away.”
“Transplanting a tree of that size creates a lot of stress for the specimen. You have to do it in stages and check the health of the tree along the way. Craning it in and putting it in the hole was only one step in a series of them that started when it was dug up at the farm in Pennsylvania. The key is to take it slow and easy. We put it in the hole and left it uncovered to measure its health. The maple was to be examined the following morning by our arborist. He’d give us a report and tell us the correct mixture of fill dirt and nutrients the tree would need for this transition period.”
“Sounds complicated,” said Anthony.
“It can be. You’re talking about a living thing that weighs tons. And proper watering is very important to help establish the roots.”
“Okay,” Herbert said slowly. “But you still don’t know what killed the first tree?”
Sykes shrugged. “It could be a number of things. While it is strange to see it die so quickly, it’s not unheard of.”
- Writer
