WITH A PHONE to his ear, he said, “I don"t care what it costs. The result will be worth it many times over. We need to mix in the Arabs, so try the Eledorians. They"re already suspects. You know the rest. Get them ready. We"ll know when the time is right. And this time, get it done.”
* * *
I WAS HAPPY to get home that day with more stories for Linda. Ashley and Sandy came for dinner. The president had called to thank me again, and explained how he had figured out the puzzle of the portal. He had played the tapes of my desk a dozen times, he said. Frame by frame, he finally saw the lock on the drawer. The key. Ben Franklin. He said the realization was so clear to him, such an obvious clue, he wasn"t surprised we"d found it ourselves so soon after he had. “Fritz, between us, I"d love to ta
