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1109 Words
“Could it have been deliberately sabotaged?” asked Anthony.
Sykes looked at her in amazement. “Why would someone want to kill that tree?”
Herbert explained, “Well, if the tree didn’t die, there would have been no need to replace it. No new tree, no bomb in the tree.”
“Oh,” said Sykes, looking thoroughly appalled. “You mean they killed the first tree and then blew up the second? Those bastards.”
Herbert could sense he was far more upset about the demise of the trees than the human being who had been blown up.
“Well, thank you for your help,” Herbert said.
Anthony and Herbert walked back to her car. She said, “Clearly the bomb was in the root ball before it got here. And the fact that the hole wasn’t covered up isn’t that significant. Even with dirt in there the remote detonation presumably would have worked. Radio signals can certainly penetrate a few feet of dirt.”
“So it seems, despite my misgivings, that the tree farm was the key and any connection there was lost when Kravitz died.”
“They’ve certainly tidied up the trail behind them,” noted Anthony. “Wait a minute, were these nanobot things found at Kravitz’s trailer?”
“Not to my knowledge, no.”
“Well, wouldn’t they have been?”
“I don’t know. But that’s something we have to find out.”
Anthony checked her watch. “I need to go report in and also debrief Sir James.”
“I’m going to the Library of Congress to talk to Caleb.”
“Your intrepid researcher?”
Herbert smiled. “He is quite good if you know his strengths.”
“How about dinner tonight?” she asked suddenly.
Herbert turned to look at her. “All right,” he said slowly. “Where?”
“Restaurant on Fourteenth Street called Ceiba. Been wanting to go there. We can compare notes. Say around seven?”
Herbert nodded and walked off while Anthony hurried back to her car and drove not to the British embassy but to a hotel in Tysons Corner, Virginia. She rode the elevator to the sixth floor. She opened the door to a room and went in. It was a large suite made up of a spacious living room, bedroom and dining area. She looked out at the views from the window, took off her jacket and shoes and rubbed her feet as she sat on the couch. She pulled her g*n and studied it. When the knock came she put the Walther away.
She padded across the room and opened the door.
The man entered and she resumed her seat and looked up at him.
“I don’t b****y well like this,” she snapped. “Not at all.”
NIC director Riley Weaver stared down at her. “It doesn’t really matter what you like or not. And the authorization goes to the top on both sides.”
“How do I know that for sure?” she snarled.
“Because it’s true, Mary,” said James McElroy as he limped in from the bedroom.
Herbert MADE A STOP FIRST at the hospital to check on Reuben. He heard his friend’s voice long before he got to his room. Apparently from the little Herbert could make out, Reuben wanted to leave but the doctors were unwilling to release him for several more days.
Mirabel met him at the doorway to Reuben’s room. “Maybe you can talk some sense into him,” she barked.
“I doubt it,” said Herbert. “But I’ll try.”
“I’m fine,” bellowed Reuben as Herbert came into his line of sight. “It’s not like this was the first time I’ve been shot. But I’ll take a damn bullet over Nurse Ratchet here poking me with needles in places I don’t want to be poked.”
The nurse taking his vitals merely rolled her eyes at Reuben’s comment. As she turned to leave she whispered to Herbert, “Good luck.”
Herbert looked down at Reuben. “I take it you want to leave?”
“What I want to do is get the assholes who did this to me.”
Herbert pulled up a chair and sat down at about the time Caleb wandered in with a vase of flowers.
“What the hell are those?” snapped Reuben.
Caleb frowned at the man’s ungrateful attitude. “They’re peonies. Very hard to get this time of year.”
Reuben looked mortified. “Are you saying you brought me flowers?”
“Yes. To brighten up this very depressing room. Look, it’s all gray and blah. You’ll never get well because you’ll be too depressed.”
“I think they’re beautiful,” said Mirabel as she took the flowers from Caleb and smelled them.
“You would think that. You’re a girl,” said Reuben. “But guys don’t bring guys flowers.” He suddenly leveled a ferocious gaze at Caleb. “Did anyone see you bring those in?”
“What? I… Well, I suppose. A few. The people at the nurses’ station were admiring them.”
Reuben, who had been sitting up in bed, collapsed back. “Oh great. They probably think we’re dating.”
Caleb exclaimed, “I’m not gay.”
“Yeah, but you look like you are,” shot back Reuben.
Caleb scowled. “I look like I am? How exactly do gay people look, Mr. stereotyping Neanderthal?”
Reuben moaned and put a pillow over his face. From under it they heard him grumble, “Next time bring me a beer, for Chrissakes. Or better yet, a Playboy.”
While Mirabel went in search of a vase for the flowers, Herbert turned to Caleb. “I received your list of events coming up at Lafayette Park. I wanted to see you about it.”
Reuben took the pillow off his face and said, “Where are you going with that?”
Herbert quickly explained things to him and added, “But there are a lot of events.”
“There are,” agreed Caleb. “But I’ve been doing some digging and I’ve been able to narrow it down.” He pulled some slips of paper from his pocket and laid them out on the end of the bed as Herbert leaned over to see them.
Caleb explained, “I started with the assumption that this must be really big. Otherwise why go to all the trouble at Lafayette Park.”
“Agreed,” said Herbert.
- Writer
