Origin - Season Two (23 page)

“Sorry?” Susan said, sure she had misheard him.

“The two of you,” Mason said. “Are you both ready? It’s not a trick question. No man or woman ever entered politics on their own. It’s never been easy, and it’s never been harder than it is today. Nor have we ever been in more dire need of good people on the Hill. It’s a team effort, and the core of that team is the home. I only wish my wife were still here to tell you. She understood that long before I did, and she was a much better talker. So unless the two of you are in this together, you’ve already lost. Mike here might win an election with the help of his friends and neighbors, but he’ll be as much use as balls on a cow if you’re not in it together.”

Susan took Mike’s hand and said, “If it’s what he wants, I’m behind him all the way.”

Mike, who hadn’t realized just how badly he
did
want it until that moment, felt a surge of determination unlike anything he had ever experienced.

“I do,” Mike said, then turned to Mason. “We do.”

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Mason said, holding up his beer.

“So do you think it could actually be done?” Susan said. “I mean, I don’t really know how it works, but—”

Mason nodded to indicate he understood the problem. “Nobody knows him. No one in Phoenix, much less Arizona, has ever heard of Mike Banner. I’d say that was pretty much an insurmountable obstacle under normal circumstances, but these are far from normal.”

“They are?” Susan said.

Mason regarded her for a moment, seeming to size her up for what he was about to say.

“I told my wife a lot of things over the years that I probably shouldn’t have,” Mason said. “Not because she needed to know them, but because
I
needed her to. A friendship can only handle so many secrets, and it doesn’t seem to matter what they are. I don’t know if that’s just how God made us, or if it was something peculiar to the two of us, but I’m guessing it’s probably the first. So I’m going to tell you something that I shouldn’t and I need you both to promise me you’ll keep it between the two of you. Can you do that?”

They both nodded.

“Alright,” Mason said. “Senator Richmond is stepping down because he’s been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. All the talk about letting someone else have a shot is just that; talk. He’s been asked to endorse the party’s candidate for the seat before the election. But he’s not going to. He’s going to endorse Mike instead.”

When this bombshell failed to produce the effect Mason had clearly expected, Mike nodded and said, “Governor Kelly stopped by my office last week.”

“Kelly’s a good man,” Mason said. “A little less discreet than I’d like, but a good man all the same.”

“And why is he endorsing Mike?” Susan said.

“Because I’ve asked him to,” Mason said. “Although it’s not quite that simple.”

Mason was about to go on when Mike said, “You can’t let him endorse Redman because Redman’s about to end up in jail. Probably in a cell next door to Ortega.”

This time is was Mason who looked surprised. Susan, for her part, was completely lost.

“Wentworth showed me the file,” Mike said.

“What file?” Susan said. “And who the hell is Wentworth?”

Mason and Mike both looked at each other, but said nothing.

“I need to tell her,” Mike said.

“It’s up to you,” Mason said.

Susan listened to this exchange with growing incredulity. When it was over she stood up and said, “Don’t sit there and give me a speech about secrets and then act like I’m not even here. If you want to know the truth, I’d sooner not have anything to do with politics if this is what I’m in for. As for what a friendship can and can’t handle, I’ve never asked Mike about his work and we’ve done just fine up to now. Maybe because he doesn’t bring his work home with him, I don’t know. But I’ll tell you one thing, I’m not spending the next ten years smiling at cocktail parties and fancy dinners being treated like a witless moron. I’m not Nancy fucking Reagan.”

Mike took a long sip of beer and closed his eyes for a moment. When he looked up at Susan he said, “Charles Wentworth is Peter’s boss. He came to see me at the office a couple of weeks ago to ask if I’d consider running.”

“A couple of weeks ago?” Susan said.

“Let me finish,” Mike said. “I didn’t go to DC for work, I went to accept the offer. And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“Go on,” Susan said.

“When I told them I didn’t see how I could possibly win an election like this, Wentworth showed me something—a file. Both the Republican and Democratic nominees for Richmond’s seat have accepted illegal campaign contributions from a syndicate of companies operating in the state.”

“They’re both in on it,” Mason said. “It doesn’t matter who wins. Either way they both go to work for the defense lobby; one in government, the other one gets a seat or two on the board of directors.”

Susan considered this for a moment and said, “And you’re keeping it out of the press so Mike can win. Isn’t that…?”

“Yes,” Mike said. “I’d be in a world of shit if anyone finds out I knew and didn’t report it.”

“We both would be,” Mason said. “We’d also have one less honest man on the Hill. It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

“And you?” Susan said to Mike. “Is it a risk you’re willing to take?”

“Yes,” Mike said.

“You’re willing to stake your marriage and your family on a gamble like this? Because that’s what you’d be doing, Mike. We’d lose everything. You do see that, don’t you, or has the idea of rubbing shoulders with the rich and powerful gone to your head already?”

“That’s got nothing to do with it,” Mike said.

“Really?” Susan said. “Then explain it to me, Mike. Because all I see is us risking everything we have.”

“Someone needs to stand up and do the right thing,” Mike said. “Even if it means breaking a few rules.”

“Great,” Susan said. “And where does it end? A few rules now. And what about later? How many rules will you have to break before—”

Mike stood up, his face now a deep red from the neck up.

“Alright,” Mason said. “Let’s all—”

“You want to know why I have to do this?” Mike said. “I’ll tell you exactly why. This country is falling to pieces. At this rate I’m not sure there will be anything left by the time our son grows up. That’s why. You want to know what really happened in New York? A man tried to stop the White House from killing whoever it wants to and it upset someone. There was no terrorist group involved, no cell operating in Vermont or anywhere else. The whole thing was a cover-up and I went along with it because I had no choice. I wasn’t kidnapped, Susan. And nor were you and Josh. You want to know why you were treated like you were on vacation rather than thrown in some cell to rot? Because the same man who saved
my
ass paid someone a lot of money to get you out of the country before a lunatic by the name of Norton Weaver at the CIA could have you both killed to shut me up. My transfer to the Phoenix office wasn’t a favor from Washington; it was my reward for playing nice.”

Susan was speechless. The look on her face was matched by the one on Mason’s, who had unconsciously crushed the can he was holding as Mike spoke. As for Mike himself, he had come within a split second of moving right on to the pictures on the hard drive and their meeting with Maxim in London. What stopped him was the realization that it would have been too much to take in, not to mention the fact that Wentworth would probably call the whole thing off if he found out.

“There,” Mike said. “No secrets. Now you know what I know. If it’s simply a question of right and wrong, I guess we should bring that one to the attention of the American people first. Or we could do what we have to and try to make a difference where it really matters.”

“My God,” Mason said. “I was on the committee that held the hearings on Vermont and the mess in Canada. I actually thought we gave Director Fairchild a run for his money.”

Susan stood up and put her arms around her husband. “I’m sorry, Mike. I never—”

“It doesn’t matter,” Mike said. “I’ve wanted to tell you. I just—I don’t know. It’s all so crazy.”

“Then you need to do something about it,” Susan said. “And I’ll do whatever I can to help you.”

The Pandora

Sunday 17 June 2007

1100 EEST

Francis’s second ride out to the Pandora was a considerable improvement on the first, a testament to both the merits of bed rest and the power of pharmaceutical intervention. Several times he caught Richelle stealing glances at him, all of which he politely pretended not to notice.

She had visited him in his room three times in the last two days, each meeting predicated on what seemed to Francis like trivial matters in light of all that was going on. Had it been anyone else, he might have read something into the visits beyond concern for his general well-being, but Richelle—and this seemed to be common knowledge—was not a woman inclined to sentiment.

“So is Jasper stateside yet?” Francis asked.

“Should be,” Richelle said.

“You
do
know you’ll have to bring him here, right?”

“Actually I’ve decided to have him shot.”

Francis laughed, something he could now do without instantly regretting it. “Seems like a bit of a waste.”

“Of what, an idiot?”

“Jasper’s not such a bad guy,” Francis said. “A little naïve, maybe. And not too bright for a wunderkind.”

“I like the secrecy part of things to end when people get here,” Richelle replied. “If anyone finds out he’s a wanted man, people will get nervous. So that means I have to lie, and
that
I don’t like.”

“To be fair to him, he didn’t exactly know who
we
are. Besides, by that reasoning you’d have to shoot me too, wouldn’t you?”

“Oh, I intend to,” Richelle said. “Just as soon as we get this little mess cleared up. In fact, with
robots
on the way, and Caroline complaining about expenses, I might just cut back on humans around here altogether.”

They both laughed at this. For just a moment their eyes met, and something passed between them in that gaze, nothing earth-shattering, or self-explanatory, but enough to silence them for a moment.

“Don’t worry,” Richelle said. “I’m sending Titov to DC in the morning to pick him up and bring him here. I don’t like it. But as you say, we don’t exactly have a choice.”

Everyone was waiting for them on the bridge of RP One. As soon as Francis sat down Mitch brought the two of them up to speed on what he had discovered.

“So the Chinese are buying the North Koreans mining equipment,” Richelle said. “I’m not really seeing a problem here. They’re neighbors, aren’t they? And they’ve got more in common than most countries in the region.”

“I think the more important question is why are they going about it in such a convoluted way?” Francis put in. “If they just wanted to help the North Koreans along, they could easily do it out in the open. If, like Mitch says, it’s all mining equipment, the Chinese build plenty of their own, and no one would bat an eyelid if they shipped it across the border in broad daylight.”

“So they don’t want anyone to know they’re doing it,” Mitch said.

“Sure,” Francis agreed. “But why? And more importantly, what did they need Jasper for? Again, they must have plenty of qualified people of their own.”

The picture Mitch had left on the laptop screen was of a truck entering the fenced compound at Nampo. He now turned their attention to the real-time image on the viewport and brought up the entire cluster of warehouses and buildings inside the perimeter.

“I’ve been tracking movement in and out of this building.” Mitch pointed at the apartment block at one end of the row. “Most of the people coming and going are clearly Korean, or at least Oriental, but I’ve also seen a Caucasian man. He’s not being escorted by guards or anything, but then there isn’t exactly anywhere to go, is there? At the moment only the four warehouses at this end seem to be in use. I haven’t seen anyone going into the others.”

Francis looked at the picture for a long time. When he finally turned to Mitch he said, “Where’s the ship now?”

Mitch changed the view again. “There. Probably on its way to Dubai.”

“To pick up the next shipment,” Francis said. It wasn’t a question. “You say all of this is being invoiced to a Chinese company tied to the navy?”

“That’s what it looks like,” Mitch said.

“Is there any way to dig a little deeper?” Francis said. “Find out where the money is originating?”

“I could try,” Mitch said. “Although Caroline’s people are in a much better position to go snooping around than I am.”

Francis looked at Richelle.

“I’ll call her,” Richelle said. “What exactly do we want to know?”

Francis considered this. “I think our best bet—other than keeping an eye on
this
place—is to find out where the money is coming from and where else it’s going. I have to admit, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me at the moment. That said, if they’ve decided they need to
steal
a geologist to help them, I’m inclined to be a bit worried, aren’t you?”

“You think they’re digging holes for nefarious purposes?” Mitch said.

“I think it’s a possibility, yes,” Francis said. “Their nuclear ambitions aren’t exactly a secret. Nor is the fact that they lack the expertise to do much about them.”

Zurich, Switzerland

Sunday 17 June 2007

1030 CEST

Caroline had barely stepped off the plane when her phone rang. The call was from her personal assistant.

“I’ll be at the office in half an hour,” Caroline said, still a little groggy from the nap she had taken on the flight.

“You may want to make it quicker,” the woman said.

Twenty minutes later Caroline stepped out of the elevator to find her assistant waiting for her, phone in hand. “It’s Richelle.”

Caroline took the phone, stepped into her office and closed the door.

“Caroline?”

“I’m here. What’s going on?”

Richelle gave her a considerably abbreviated version of what Mitch had found out.