The Templar Reprisals (The Best Thrillers Book 3) by James Best (read any book txt) 📕

“I only told him news. Nothing more. I gave him a few hours heads-up. That’s it.”

“And he got you party endorsements and support for your run at lieutenant governor.”

“You know a lot.”

“I know more.”

“Greg, you might feel you have a right to be pissed, but it had nothing to do with you.”

“It had everything to do with me. He asked you to report regional news as camouflage. O’Brian was only interested in an ex-Army intelligence officer who owed him big time for his help on alleviating a flood. Everything else you reported was beside the point.”

“Are you implying that I was played for a fool?”

Suddenly, Evarts had a flash of insight.

“We both were,” he muttered almost to himself. “We both were,” he repeated in a stronger voice.

Chapter 39

Evarts and Baldwin had used a car service to make the early morning trek from Dulles International Airport to the Watergate Hotel. Evarts had made his own travel arrangements and picking a hotel had not been easy. He certainly didn’t want to return to the Ritz-Carlton where he had first met Jim Lewis. Other hotels had mixed features from a security perspective. General O’Brian had previously picked the Watergate of Nixon fame, so he must have felt the unfashionable icon possessed the right attributes for clandestine meetings. His previous visit had been short, so the odds were slight that someone would recognize him as a previous guest, especially with an attractive woman beside him. If anything, they would assume an affair. Something not unusual in Washington, D.C.

Captain Baker had come through with driver’s licenses and an array of credit cards. The passports would take more time because they needed to be coordinated with the Los Angeles FBI field office. Baker’s cover story had been that the passports were needed for an undercover couple who had infiltrated a cartel and needed to pass freely between Mexico and the United States.

His light-handed blackmail of the mayor had worked. Walsh had cancelled the special council meeting and assured Evarts that she would protect his position as chief. He didn’t feel remorseful about his ploy, although when this was over, he would have fences to mend. As would she, he thought, still irritated.

Hotel check-in had been uneventful. He stayed away from the desk clerk as Baldwin registered. No one appeared to recognize him or give him any notice. Still, he decided not to tempt fate, so they ordered breakfast from room service. Neither had slept well on the airplane and the king bed looked inviting. Evarts was thankful that he had put off O’Brian until evening.

After a solid six hours of sleep, they had showered and dressed. Evarts assumed an extended stay in the nation’s capital and wondered how long he would need to adjust to the new time zone. He had found that red eye flights elongated his adjustment period. At least he felt fresh at the moment. He would need a sharp mind when he met O’Brian.

They took the elevator down to the lobby and as the door slid open, Evarts spotted an unwelcome sight in a lounge chair with a view of the elevator bank. He walked directly up to the person.

“Sergeant, I won’t say it’s a pleasure to see you.”

“Nor am I pleased to act as your chauffeur again.”

“Trish, this is Sergeant First Class Diane Wilson. Sergeant, my wife, Patricia Baldwin. The Sergeant is General O’Brian’s daughter-in-law.”

Baldwin shook the sergeant’s hand. “Pleased to meet you. If you’re here to fetch us, you can tell the general we’ll find our own transportation.”

“Ms. Baldwin, ma’am, the general believes it’s in your best interest for me to escort you to the meeting. Un-vetted conveyances can be dangerous.”

“We’ll take our chances,” Baldwin said. “How did you find us?”

Wilson was not in uniform but had dressed more formally than their previous encounter. She pulled a pair of photographs from a blue blazer and displayed them briefly before returning them to her pocket. They were close-up photos of them.

“Surely you didn’t drive around showing them to every reception clerk,” Baldwin said.

“I came here first and hit a bullseye,” she smiled and pointed to a computer tablet sitting beside an empty coffee cup. “Allowed me to relax and catch up on the news.”

“Why here first?” Evarts asked, afraid he had been careless.

“The general said you wouldn’t return to the Ritz-Carlton but might come here because he had chosen it for your first rendezvous. He thought you would presume it was relatively safe.”

He had been careless.

“If you found us so easily, then I presumed wrong,” Evarts said.

“Sir, I found you because I brought you here. This is a relatively secure site. We have a direct feed on cameras throughout this hotel, indoors and out, and we have access to the hotel computer systems. We also have a dedicated rooms that we can staff with intelligence people if the need arises.”

“Did you see us register on the security cam?” Evarts asked.

“You mean, did we see your wife while you remained turned away from the cameras? Nicely done by the way. As for your wife, we didn’t recognize her at first. She has done a good job of altering her appearance.”

“Very well,” Baldwin said. “Take us to your leader.”

Wilson laughed, then whirled around and marched out of the lobby. Again, she didn’t look back to see if they followed. She was a woman used to being obeyed.

Another surprise awaited at the curb. Wilson had left her Korean hatchback at the Pentagon and checked out a four-door sedan from the carpool. And she was not alone. A capable looking man sat behind the wheel. Wilson signaled Baldwin to sit in front and Evarts got in the rear with the Sergeant.

“Coupling us up isn’t much of a disguise,” Evart said. “This car screams government issue.”

“In a city clogged with government issue vehicles,” Wilson answered.

“Point taken,” Evarts said.

He admired their professionalism. Wilson had had him slide in behind the driver so one of their protective detail sat to either side of