The Charlemagne Pursuit by Steve Berry

The Charlemagne Pursuit by Steve Berry

Author:Steve Berry
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Fathers, Cotton (Fictitious character), Fiction, Malone, Science Fiction, Suspense, Thrillers, General, Booksellers and bookselling, Antiquarian booksellers
ISBN: 9780345485793
Publisher: Random House, Inc.
Published: 2008-12-02T01:34:06.362000+00:00


FIFTY

RAMSEY WAS THRILLED. EVERYTHING HAD PLAYED OUT PRECISELY as he’d predicted. Aatos Kane might or might not be the next president but, if he managed the feat, Ramsey’s legacy was assured. If Kane could not be elected, then at least he’d retire from the navy as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Definitely a win–win.

He switched off the lights and headed upstairs. A few hours of sleep would be good, as tomorrow would be a critical day. Once Kane made contact with the White House the rumor mill would crank up. He had to be ready to fend off the press, neither denying nor confirming anything. This was a White House appointment and he must appear awed simply by the consideration. By the end of the day, spin doctors would leak news of his possible appointment to test reactions and, barring any great upheaval, by the following day rumor would become fact.

The phone in his robe’s pocket rang. Odd at this hour.

He removed the unit and spotted no displayed identification.

Curiosity overtook him. He stopped on the staircase and answered the call.

“Admiral Ramsey, this is Isabel Oberhauser.”

He was rarely surprised, but the pronouncement genuinely startled him. He caught the aged, gravelly voice, the English tinged with a German accent.

“You’re quite resourceful, Frau Oberhauser. For some time now, you’ve tried to obtain information from the navy, and now you managed a direct call to me.”

“It wasn’t all that difficult. Colonel Wilkerson gave me the number. With a loaded weapon pointed at his skull, he was most cooperative.”

His trouble had just multiplied.

“He told me a great many things, Admiral. He so wanted to live and he thought that by answering my questions he might have the chance. Alas, it was not to be.”

“He’s dead?”

“I saved you the trouble.”

He wasn’t about to admit anything. “What do you want?”

“Actually, I called to offer you something. But before I do, might I ask a question?”

He climbed the stairs and sat on the edge of his bed. “Go ahead.”

“Why did my husband die?”

He caught a momentary flicker of emotion in her otherwise frigid tone and instantly realized this woman’s weakness. He decided truth would be best. “He volunteered to go on a dangerous mission. One his father had also taken long before. But something happened to the submarine.”

“You speak the obvious and haven’t answered the question.”

“We have no idea how the sub sank, only that it did.”

“Did you find it?”

“It never returned to port.”

“Again, not an answer.”

“It’s irrelevant whether it was found or not. The crew is still dead.” “It matters to me, Admiral. I would have preferred to bury my husband. He deserved to be laid to rest with his ancestors.”

Now he had a question. “Why did you kill Wilkerson?”

“He was nothing but an opportunist. He wanted to live off this family’s fortune. I shall not have that. Also, he was your spy.”

“You seem a dangerous woman.”

“Wilkerson said the same thing. He told me that you wanted him dead. That you lied to him. Used him.



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