Last Chance to Die by Noah Boyd (good books for 8th graders TXT) 📕

was born in Bulgaria and would probably have an accent, since he spoke Eastern European languages well enough to be a translator. The voice on the recording is definitely American, maybe upper Wisconsin or Minnesota. And he’s talking about some very classified technology. Not something a translator would have access to.”

Bursaw said, “Let me see if I got this right. The Preston recording is not this guy Petriv, but someone working in technology, selling it to the Russians.”

“Right.”

“That means that the recording is the evidence?”

“It’s not as prominent as the others, but that’s what it looks like. That’s part of the reason we skimmed over it and missed him.”

“So how are you supposed to identify him?”

“I don’t know. The whole thing was a sham so I’d wind up in prison and out of Rellick’s way. It didn’t have to be flawless. It just had to move us along the chain of spies until it got to me.”

Vail said, “For it to be convincing, there had to be enough information contained in the phone message for us to identify him. That’s the only possibility.”

“Play it again, Steve,” Bursaw said.

Vail started the recorder and set it down on the table between them. When it finished, Bursaw smiled. “Did you hear it?”

“Hear what?” Vail asked.

“ ‘Level and true.’ Did you notice how it’s emphasized slightly? Just like ‘Preston.’ ”

Vail played it again, and he and Kate listened more closely. “You’re right,” he said.

Bursaw went over to the desktop computer and queried “level and true.”

“ ‘The Air Force Song,’ ” he said. “Fourth verse, second line: ‘Keep the wings level and true.’ ”

“Our guy is in the air force,” Vail said. “That makes a lot more sense with the ‘infrared facial-recognition schematics.’ And who knows what else he has access to and is selling to the Russians right now? Someone with this kind of access could do a ton of damage.”

Kate said, “There’s a lot of air force personnel within a hundred miles.”

“Not with access to classified documents about cutting-edge technology,” Vail added.

“The Pentagon,” Bursaw said.

“That’s where I’d start.”

“But why did they make it so hard to recognize the clue?” Kate asked.

“They were all hard to recognize. Remember how long the code on the edge of the DVD took, how we thought it was a dead end. This one was just a little too hard, a little too easy to step over. We were looking for codes. This one was audio. They probably figured better too hard than too easy. Too easy might have tipped us off. And if we did miss one, the next clue was provided. Which is what happened.”

“Okay,” Bursaw said, “what do we do now? There’s got to be twenty thousand people working at the Pentagon. It’s not like we can just walk in and start demanding answers.”

“You’re right, Luke, but there is someone who can,” Kate said.

“Who?” the two men asked at the same time.

“Tim Mallon.”

“The Reston PD chief?” Vail asked.

“I told you he worked nothing but applicant and security clearance cases for twenty-five years. He knows more people at the Pentagon than anyone in the Bureau. And I believe he owes you a favor or two.”

“Can you call him?”

Kate picked up the phone and dialed information.

While she was talking to Mallon, Vail said to Bursaw, “Have you had a chance to do any checking on the last two of Sundra’s files?”

“Actually, I’ve been going over her phone records again. Seeing if they matched anything we’ve run into yet.” Bursaw glanced over at Kate, who was still on the phone. “Not to change the subject, but I don’t suppose there’s any chance of you accepting the director’s offer.”

“Why?”

“Purely selfish reasons. Maybe it’s the philosopher in me, but I too like chaos.”

“I’m afraid it would create more problems than it would solve.”

“The worst thing that could happen is you’d get fired or quit. That’s hardly virgin territory for you.”

“Walking away doesn’t end all problems.”

“Is it Kate?”

“She is certainly part of the geometry.”

“Maybe if you were around here permanently, your problems would solve themselves.”

Vail laughed. “A man so understanding of the complexities of the fairer sex, how come you never got married?”

“Steve, you’ve just asked a question that contains its own answer.”

Kate finished her call. “Your luck’s holding, bricklayer. Tim’s downtown at a lunch meeting. He’s going to stop by in a half hour.”

“I’ll get cleaned up.”

When Vail reappeared freshly shaved and showered, Kate was introducing Tim Mallon to Bursaw. The two men shook hands, and then Mallon made his way over to Vail, offering his hand. “Steve, how are you?”

“I’m good. I haven’t been shot since New Year’s. How are those two boys?”

“The Walton boy is fine. Hardly broke stride. And Eddie Stanton is getting along with his parents. He’s seeing a therapist, too. They’re very optimistic.”

“I’m glad. Has Kate briefed you about what we need?”

“Just what she told me on the phone. That you needed to make a few, very discreet contacts at the Pentagon, specifically with the air force.”

“Tim, I’m going to tell you only the minimum you need to know. Not because you’re no longer with the Bureau, but because we’re not telling anyone else in the FBI about this, not even the director. I hope you won’t feel slighted.”

“I’m a little embarrassed to say I’m still eating free lunches off what you did. I don’t think it’s possible for me to feel anything but gratitude.”

Vail told him that they were working a counterintelligence matter and then played the Preston tape for him. “We believe that this man is a member of the air force working at the Pentagon. We need to identify him without him getting wind of it. We’re hoping you’ll be able to narrow it down by the information he mentioned on the tape. That technology has to be singular in nature. Of course, the fewer people at the Pentagon that you have to tell, the better.”

“Will I be able to play them the tape?”

“Yes, but again, the more people who hear it, the