Agent X - Boyd Noah (серии книг читать бесплатно .TXT) 📗

After finally arriving at the office, she turned on her computer. Feeling-sorry-for-herself time was over. Back to the Bureau’s business. She checked her e-mails, and there was the usual overnight bureaucratic avalanche of meaningless memos and directionless directives. But there was one sender she didn’t recognize. It was simply entitled “A Favor.” She opened it.Kate,Leaving my gun and creds here at the off-site, plus a few other things, if you wouldn’t mind.Also check www.americanbusinessnews.comStan

That he’d signed the message “Stan” caused her to smile.

She felt a tear run down her cheek. He had risked his life to clear her, and she continued to expect so much from him—too much, she supposed. Instead of trying to understand his side of things, she’d lost her temper as quickly as he had. Maybe, deep down, she didn’t want to have to take any more chances, which was the exact thing she’d accused him of. She wondered if there was any chance that he was still in Washington. The time on the message was 5:14 A.M. Knowing him, she was sure he would have sent it just as he was heading out the door. As much as she wanted to race over there and find out, she had a late meeting. It was the only reason she’d come to work. Maybe it really was time to move on.

She clicked on the link and found the site’s generic quality curious. Since Vail had sent it, she suspected that there was more to it than met the eye. It was probably part of “plus a few other things” he’d referred to. There was something waiting for her at the off-site. She packed up her briefcase and headed for the garage.

It was past five thirty and already dark when Kate let herself into the off-site. The alarm was set, so she knew that Vail wasn’t there. She punched in the code and went upstairs to the workroom. Vail’s credentials and his Glock were on the desk in front of the computer. She checked the room that he had used for a bedroom and found that one of his suitcases was still there. She opened it and found his winter clothing. That’s right, she reminded herself, he was going to Florida.

Back in the workroom, she noticed that the computer was on. She turned on the monitor, and the Web page for American Business News appeared. The only difference was the “For Our Clients” windows for user ID and passwords were filled in. Carefully, she clicked on. When she saw the list of sixteen names, she half collapsed into the chair. She immediately spotted Radkay’s name and knew what she was looking at. Vail had pulled one last rabbit out of his hat, and his message was obvious: He was trusting her with this unprecedented trove of counterintelligence information.

After printing out everything, she picked up his gun and credentials. Taking one last look around the room, she noticed some new writing on the wall.

Walking over to it, she read:The Sixth WhyWhy would the CIA agent Rellick have to meet with Calculus three times in exactly the same place and in such a short period of time, knowing that the Bureau was tracking his movements?

What was that supposed to mean? Did it mean anything? Was it one of those philosophical or hypothetical questions that Vail had written for no one but himself? Or was he throwing something cryptic at her, just trying to show that these things were impossible to decode without him?

If there was something to it, Kate was not going to let Vail end this case being one up on her. She walked over to the wall and started reading Calculus’s itinerary, trying to find the answer to the Sixth Why.

She spent two hours making notes and cross-checking dates and locations. Writing theories on a pad and then angrily scratching them out as additional facts eliminated them. When she was done, there didn’t appear to be an answer to Vail’s last question, at least not one that she could find. Kate looked down at the list in her hand and decided that it had to be the priority now.

The CIA agent walked into the airport bar and spotted the man he thought he was looking for. “Vail?”

Vail gave him an appraising glance. “Sit down.”

The agent took out his identification and flipped it open. “Where is it?”

“You want a drink?”

“What I want is the list of our European sources that Rellick stole. That is why you called, isn’t it?”

“I never said anything about just giving it to you.”

“How much?”

“I would imagine right about now there’s quite a panic over at Langley, so it’s got to be priceless.”

“Then why do I get the feeling you’re about to put a price on it?”

“It’s nice to see that the agency didn’t send an idiot.”

“How do I know you have it?”

“Do you really want me to read it so I can give you a name? Why would I say I had it and risk being arrested if I didn’t?”

“Maybe we need to arrest you to sort this out.”

“Then I’d use the list to get free, plus get what I want, so why don’t I just tell you what I want?”

Kate knocked on John Kalix’s door. When he opened it, she said, “John, sorry to bother you at home, but Vail, believe it or not, has come up with another whole list of moles. And since that’s your division, I didn’t want to waste any time getting it to you.”

“Really? Come on in.”

She walked into the living room and sat down, opting for a chair by the window.

“Can I get you a drink?”

“You know, I think I could use one. Any kind of whiskey and water, if you have it.”

A few minutes later, Kalix brought her the drink and sat down in a chair opposite her. She took a sip and pushed the list of spies across the coffee table between them with a touch of drama.

He opened a drawer and took out a pair of glasses. “Wow,” he said. “And how do we know these are spies?”

She explained about the Web site and that Radkay’s name was on it.

“Yes, of course, how obtuse of me.” He continued to look at the list. “Wow. This is going to keep us busy for years. Where is Steve?”

“Scuba diving in Florida—I think. He’s turned in his creds, so as far as he’s concerned, he’s done. I don’t think we’ll see him again. At least I won’t.”

“Really? I thought you two had a little more going on than work.”

“Very briefly. But I guess it wasn’t meant to be. He left the list along with his Bureau property and cleared out of the off-site.”

“No explanation, no good-bye?”

“We had a discussion of each other’s character flaws that got kind of vicious,” she said, smiling sadly. “The only other thing he left was something he wrote on the wall. ‘The Sixth Why.’ ”

“What’s that?”

As briefly as possible, she explained the Japanese inventor’s process for getting to the root of a problem and how they had used it to discover the LCS’s role in the spy ring. “It’s called the Five Whys. In this case I guess Vail felt there was one more that needed to be answered.”

“What was the question?”

“ ‘Why would the CIA agent Rellick have to meet with Calculus three times in exactly the same place and in such a short period of time, knowing that the Bureau was tracking his movements?’ ”

“That is an interesting question. Maybe Calculus had to keep checking with him to make sure that whatever clue he was leaving wouldn’t cause Rellick any exposure.”

“The little bit of experience I’ve had with counterintelligence would indicate the opposite. Besides, we tracked down Rellick by the phone that he and Calculus used to contact each other. They didn’t need to meet. Meeting with your handler too often is probably the easiest way to be discovered. Hasn’t that been your experience?”

“Yes, I suppose you’re right. I guess I was just trying to play the devil’s advocate. Do you think there’s anything to this question, or is Vail just messing with you?” Kalix chuckled. “It’s no secret how much he loves management. From what you’ve said, I’m guessing that’s kind of how he sees you now.”