would be hidden in the event of an attack, and what the oral command was to initial the launching of the final flight of the squadron carrying ten atomic bombs. She also knew where these bombers were hangared and how long it would take them to be airborne. She was scrupulously careful with a story of an unexpected storm over the mountains blowing her flight over North Korea off course and causing their electrical system aboard the plane to be inoperative. Which was a lot of bull shit. . .if you’ ll excuse me, sir. ”
Foxhound nodded in assent; his cigarette had gone out between his fingers, but he didn ’t seem to notice. He motioned for Isaac to continue.
“Yes, sir, thank you, sir. It was during this ‘ short honeymoon ’ our Defense Secretary crammed for a final exam, so to speak. The Russian and Chinese highest-ranking linguists and foreign information specialists were waiting for her with concentrated computer files of questions for her to answer in code, immediately or later if she could memorize the material, and her heavy infusion of knowledge in both Russian, Chinese, and Korean stood her in good stead. She was the only high-ranking American with fluency in all three languages plus English and who also had a working knowledge of sensitive information including the maximum distance our striking power could reach. In return , they promised her the world’s best cancer specialists to care for her niece beginning immediately, plus a huge monetary bonus deposited into an off-shores account under an assumed name only she would know. They let her accompany her bed-ridden niece along with her adjutant and secretary and two male nurses trained in the latest cancer therapies to go along and she and this cortege were escorted by plainclothesmen and two uniformed policemen - North Koreans - to the research hospital in Vladivostok. Once her niece was ensconced in a private suite, our gullible Defense Secretary was whisked away on the rest of the scheduled journey, deliberately and elaborately staged to distract her from her niece who was mercifully and immediately killed with the same undetectable poison that recently killed Emma Soto herself. She had begun to grow suspicious and her niece still hadn’t returned her calls, so she had decided she had been duped and was planning on telling us about the whole thing, trying to make amends and salvage as much as she could of her reputation. But, as you have guessed by this time, they couldn’t afford to trust her anymore, so they eliminated her as well. I suspect the poison used was similar to the nerve gas, sarin, or to arsenic, which is tasteless and colorless and only 2/10s of a milligram, administered in water, is enough to be deadly in a matter of minutes. I’m sure Dr. Mason will find what I suspect was the culprit. . .”
“Someon e mention my name? ” Dr. Everett Mason reappeared in the anteroom from the lab where he had taken the tumbler. He sat down where he had been earlier and crossed his legs. “ No, don ’t look at me so expectantly. These things take time and we won’t know a damned thing for several hours. . .”
“I was just telling Foxhound. . .”
“Yes, I got the gist of it, there at the end. You may be correct, young man… we ’ll know soon enough…”
Foxhound stood up and sighed . “Okay, there’s nothing more we can do right now, but wait. I, for one, would like some bacon and eggs. If you two would like to join me, fine. If not, fine. I’ll meet you back here in an hour. . .”
CHAPTER
14
The three gentlemen talked softly among themselves as they made their way into the elevator, then through the lobby and out the heavy front doors into the eerie pre-dawn morning. The sound of their shoes on the terrazzo hall floors then on the concrete walk outside was strangely noticeable with no other pedestrians around. They turned to the right when they reached the street and walked about half a block to the bright neon
Foxhound nodded in assent; his cigarette had gone out between his fingers, but he didn ’t seem to notice. He motioned for Isaac to continue.
“Yes, sir, thank you, sir. It was during this ‘ short honeymoon ’ our Defense Secretary crammed for a final exam, so to speak. The Russian and Chinese highest-ranking linguists and foreign information specialists were waiting for her with concentrated computer files of questions for her to answer in code, immediately or later if she could memorize the material, and her heavy infusion of knowledge in both Russian, Chinese, and Korean stood her in good stead. She was the only high-ranking American with fluency in all three languages plus English and who also had a working knowledge of sensitive information including the maximum distance our striking power could reach. In return , they promised her the world’s best cancer specialists to care for her niece beginning immediately, plus a huge monetary bonus deposited into an off-shores account under an assumed name only she would know. They let her accompany her bed-ridden niece along with her adjutant and secretary and two male nurses trained in the latest cancer therapies to go along and she and this cortege were escorted by plainclothesmen and two uniformed policemen - North Koreans - to the research hospital in Vladivostok. Once her niece was ensconced in a private suite, our gullible Defense Secretary was whisked away on the rest of the scheduled journey, deliberately and elaborately staged to distract her from her niece who was mercifully and immediately killed with the same undetectable poison that recently killed Emma Soto herself. She had begun to grow suspicious and her niece still hadn’t returned her calls, so she had decided she had been duped and was planning on telling us about the whole thing, trying to make amends and salvage as much as she could of her reputation. But, as you have guessed by this time, they couldn’t afford to trust her anymore, so they eliminated her as well. I suspect the poison used was similar to the nerve gas, sarin, or to arsenic, which is tasteless and colorless and only 2/10s of a milligram, administered in water, is enough to be deadly in a matter of minutes. I’m sure Dr. Mason will find what I suspect was the culprit. . .”
“Someon e mention my name? ” Dr. Everett Mason reappeared in the anteroom from the lab where he had taken the tumbler. He sat down where he had been earlier and crossed his legs. “ No, don ’t look at me so expectantly. These things take time and we won’t know a damned thing for several hours. . .”
“I was just telling Foxhound. . .”
“Yes, I got the gist of it, there at the end. You may be correct, young man… we ’ll know soon enough…”
Foxhound stood up and sighed . “Okay, there’s nothing more we can do right now, but wait. I, for one, would like some bacon and eggs. If you two would like to join me, fine. If not, fine. I’ll meet you back here in an hour. . .”
CHAPTER
14
The three gentlemen talked softly among themselves as they made their way into the elevator, then through the lobby and out the heavy front doors into the eerie pre-dawn morning. The sound of their shoes on the terrazzo hall floors then on the concrete walk outside was strangely noticeable with no other pedestrians around. They turned to the right when they reached the street and walked about half a block to the bright neon
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