The First Commandment: A Thriller by Brad Thor

Author:Brad Thor [Thor, Brad]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, azw3
ISBN: 1439166307
Amazon: B003JTHT0S
Publisher: Pocket
Published: 2009-06-16T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 66

Harvath didn’t know what to think, or what to feel, for that matter. He’d figured that the president had been motivated to do the right thing for the country and that was certainly what he’d done in this horrible scenario, but it still didn’t explain why he’d sidelined him.

He didn’t know if Rick Morrell had the answers he was seeking or not, but he knew each piece of information he got would bring him one step closer to solving the puzzle. Harvath knew they didn’t have much time left, so he decided to hold his questions and let Morrell finish.

Morrell was obviously concerned with the time as well. He glanced at his watch for the third time and then said, “The secretary of defense suggested to the president that a highly classified tracking program be used to trace the five men once they were released from Guantanamo.”

“Via a radioactive isotope,” said Harvath, sensing where this was going. “I’m familiar with it.”

“The U.S. didn’t know who it was negotiating with. And it knew even less about the relationship among the men it was about to free. If they could track the men, it was believed they could locate the organization responsible for the bus hijacking and either bring them to justice or at the very least exact some sort of revenge.

“The only problem was that somehow the other side knew about the blood-spiking program and fully transfused the five detainees in flight. They then used the extracted blood to lead the CIA on a fucked-up chase. The blood wound up in several containers that were tossed in multiple dumpsters and the trunks of several cars.

“The DOD blamed the CIA for losing the men, and the CIA blamed the DOD for hanging their hat on a program that wasn’t as ultra-top-secret as they’d thought.”

“So the U.S. lost them. I know that much,” said Harvath.

“What you don’t know is that the terrorists placed a few conditions on the deal they struck with the president.”

“Such as what?”

“Such as the men we released were never to be hunted, harmed, or reincarcerated,” replied Morrell. “As an insurance policy, the terrorists provided surveillance photos of over a hundred school buses from across the country. The message was clear. If we welshed, they’d be back, and things would be a lot worse the next time. We’d be forced to suffer a gruesome attack against our children and this time there’d be no negotiating.”

“That’s why the president wanted me sidelined.”

Morrell put his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “He didn’t want you sidelined, he had no choice. You’ve put him in a very difficult position.”

“So what? He wouldn’t even fill me in on who he supposedly has hunting this guy down.”

“Would it have made a difference? Would the president’s personnel decisions have convinced you to sit by while this nutjob was targeting your friends and family?”

Harvath didn’t know how to answer that question. Finally he said, “Probably not.”

“Scot, the president knows you were in Mexico when Palmera was killed.”

“How would he know that?”

“The CIA has CCTV footage of you at the airport in Querétaro.

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