Steve Martini - 1988 - Critical Mass by Steve Martini

Author:Steve Martini [Martini, Steve]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

“Whatever you want to call me is fine,” he told her. “If that’s the case, then for the moment I’ll just call you a bull-shitter.”

Gideon tried to maintain composure but could not. The red veins in his neck began to stick out, and he started to laugh. “What is it they say? Takes one to know one.”

“That’s what they say,” said Joss. He settled into one of the client chairs across from her desk.

“We know one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“There is clearly some connection between what happened in Sverdlovsk and whatever is going on with your grand jury down in Seattle.”

“Why’s that?”

“According to the prosecutor, your client, Mr. Belden or whatever the latest name he is using, was expert in the handling of certain large-scale weapons. It cannot be a coincidence that fissile materials are missing from a Russian storage facility, traced to the port of Vladivostok, and that forged waybills show a shipment to Belden Electronics. I would think the prosecutor knows something.”

“Maybe he does, but you can be sure he’s not telling us.”

“Perhaps not,” said Gideon. “But he might tell someone else.”

“Who?”

“His own government.” She looked at him quizzically. “We have some contacts in the intelligence community. I will call my director at the center and see if perhaps we can float some balloons, do some checking. If it is a matter of national security, the Justice Department might contact the National Security Agency.”

“What good would that do us?”

“At least we would know that intelligence agencies are, as they say, in the loop. And after all,” said Gideon, “we do have information to trade.”

She looked at him questioningly. “What I learned in Sverdlovsk,” he said.

He clearly had more confidence in government than she did. Joselyn was holding a single piece of paper in her hand, searching the surface of the desk for the appropriate file as he spoke. She had been looking at it intermittently, trying to find the file it belonged to. Suddenly she realized the file wasn’t on her desk. She stepped across the room to the filing cabinet that Gideon had straightened against the wall.

Joselyn opened the second drawer and thumbed through the files. She turned and looked at him, a troubled expression on her face. “What is it?”

“Are all the files back in the cabinet?”

“Except for the ones on your desk.” She retraced her steps and checked the surface of the desk one more time. It wasn’t there. “What is it?”

“It doesn’t make any sense,” said Joselyn.

***

SEATTLE, WA

Thomas McCally flipped through the pages of the report. Only three pages long, it was lean on many details. The FBI was still investigating, but two federal prisoners awaiting trial had escaped from the Kent jail. One of them was of particular interest to McCally. Oscar Chaney was a bank robber with no prior criminal history but a colorful military record. He had been trained by Army Special Forces in what was euphemistically called “special ops” and had participated in what the report called “operations other than war.” McCally was no military tactician, but he knew what this meant.

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