The Orchestration

Chapter Three

Darque watched silently as sunlight passed through a stained-glass panel creating colorful patterns that slowly crept across the floor like spiders in search of prey.

It appeared that the FSB, still better known as the KGB even after its evolution, had an interest in Davis becoming the next U.S. President, and Darque knew he had to determine what the Russian security agency was up to before he could allow Davis to become the next leader of the free world.

As head of the covert agency responsible for detecting and eliminating threats to the U.S. that were beyond the scope of known agencies, it was his responsibility to ensure Davis" motives for becoming President were in the best interest of the American people. If an ulterior motive existed that would endanger the country, Davis would have to be eliminated before he could achieve the Presidency.

Darque realized he would have to move cautiously. If his assessment of the situation was correct, there would be forces in place to ensure Davis’s ascension to power happened without interference: no one could carry out a plan of this magnitude alone. Davis as President might be a foregone conclusion, but he would not gain any real power until after his inauguration, and that was all the time Darque had to come up with a solution for the problem if one existed. With that thought in mind, he picked up his secure phone and called the Cave (the organization’s nickname for its headquarters) to notify the duty officer that he would be there shortly, and to have his staff assembled in his office.

Penny Miller, the Duty Officer and one of the team leaders at Olympus, was also his confidante and lover, and his face softened when he heard her voice.

“I thought you and your creature were enjoying your time away from here,” she said.

“We were, but something has come up that cut our vacation short.”

He told her about the contents of the package, and voiced his concern about how the man who would probably be the next President fit into the picture. He was rewarded with silence as he pictured her mulling over what he’d said.

“Are you sure about this?” she asked incredulously.

“As sure as I can be without having researched any of it.”

“This could be a bad one if you’re right,” she said apprehensively. “What do you want me to do?”

“Let Doc know I’ll be bringing in some stuff for the lab’s immediate attention. If Davis is a mole, his handlers wouldn’t have wanted him to do anything that would attract attention. Have the Research Department start checking him out, and let the people there know I want anything and everything they can find out about him. I’ll leave here shortly, and we can discuss the situation further at your place tonight.”

“It’ll be nice to have you home again,” she said softly before breaking the connection.

As he hung up the phone, he thought about Penny and wondered how they had ever been able to establish a close relationship. Both of them were loners and suspicious of others, and an abusive marriage was reason enough for Penny to avoid any intimate contact with males. Somehow, they clicked. Maybe it had something to do with two negatives equaling a positive. She was almost 10 years younger and 50 pounds lighter, and she was also the prettiest, blue-eyed blond he had ever seen. Bill just yawned and returned to his nap.

The fire was dying in the fireplace, but a loud popping noise coming from the ashes was enough to interrupt Darque’s reverie.

With the sun well below its zenith, he decided to pack some things and get on the road if he wanted to reach Penny’s by midnight. He took the last sip of beer, walked to the bookcase, and placed the empty bottle on one of the shelves … a commemorative souvenir of an unpublished international incident.

Darque completed his packing, and returned the items he had received in the mail to their carton … except for the other bottle of beer which now rested in the refrigerator.

He used the fireplace poker to stir up the remaining embers, and created a shower of sparks inside the hearth.

With the clothing bag dangling from his hand, and the box under his arm, he turned to Bill.

“Let’s go to Penny’s,” Darque said as he grabbed his jacket and pistol.

Bill was already tugging on the handle to open the door and get outside, and Darque followed closely behind.

The dog sniffed the air and looked around the area before walking across the yard to the pickup. Nothing had changed that caused him any concern.

After Darque opened the truck door, Bill jumped in and curled up on the passenger’s seat as Darque climbed behind the steering wheel.

It was a long drive to Penny’s, and Darque’s thoughts kept returning to Davis. The problems he thought he might encounter to resolve the situation were numerous, but he was sure of one thing: if Davis was a traitor, failure was not an option.