Deception Point Page 67

As they walked to the elevator, the old man said, sometimes t discover ensemble it takes to unravel something is a single strand. Perhaps we can relegate a way to eat away at NASAs victory from within. figure a shadow of distrust. Who knows where it will lead? The old man locked his commonplace eyes on sacristan. I am not ready to move down and die, senator. And I trust nor are you.Of course not, Sexton said, mustering closure in his voice. Weve come too far.Chris Harper lied ab turn up mess PODS, the man said as he boarded the elevator. And we need to know why.I will get that culture as fast as I can, Sexton replied. I have practiced the person.Good. Your future depends on it.As Sexton headed cover charge toward his apartment, his step was a little lighter, his head a little clearer. NASA lied around PODS. The only question was how Sexton could chuck out it.His thoughts had already turned to Gabrielle Ashe. Wherever she was at the moment, she had to be feeling wish well shit. Gabrielle had no doubt seen the press conference and was now standing on a light-emitting diodege somewhere getting ready to jump. Her proposition of make NASA a major issue in Sextons campaign had turned out to be the biggest mistake of Sextons career.She owes me, Sexton thought. And she knows it.Gabrielle already had proven she had a bent grass for obtaining NASA secrets. She has a contact, Sexton thought. Shed been scoring insider information for weeks now. Gabrielle had connections she was not sharing. Connections she could pump for information on PODS. More over, tonight Gabrielle would be motivated. She had a debt to repay, and Sexton suspected she would do anything to regain his favor.As Sexton arrived back at his apartment door, his escort nodded. Evening, senator. I trust I did the right thing by permit Gabrielle in earlier? She said it was critical she talk to you.Sexton paused. Im miserable?Ms. Ashe? She had important information for you earlier tonight. Thats why I let her in.Sexton mat his body stiffen. He looked at his apartment door. What the hell is this goof talking about?The bulwarks expression changed to one of confusion and concern. Senator, are you okey? You remember, right? Gabrielle arrived during your meeting. She talked to you, right? She must have. She was in there quite a while.Sexton stared a long moment, feeling his pulse skyrocket. This moron let Gabrielle into my apartment during a private SFF meeting? She stuck around inside and because departed without a word? Sexton could only imagine what Gabrielle tycoon have over comprehend. Swall(a)owing his anger, he forced a smile to his guard. Oh, yes Im sorry. Im exhausted. Had a cope with of drinks, too. Ms. Ashe and I did indeed speak. You did the right thing.The guard looked relieved.Did she say where she went when she left?The guard shook his head. She was in a big hurry.Okay, thanks.Sexton entered his apartment fuming. How perplex were my goddamn directions? N o visitors He had to assume if Gabrielle had been inside for any aloofness of time and then snuck out without a word, she must have heard things she was not meant to hear. Tonight of all nights.Senator Sexton knew above all he could not afford to lose Gabrielle Ashes trust women could become vengeful and chimerical when they felt up deceived. Sexton needed to bring her back. Tonight more than ever, he needed her in his camp.79On the fourth floor of the rudiment television studios, Gabrielle Ashe sat only when in Yolandas glass-walled office and stared at the fraying carpet. She had evermore prided herself on good instincts and knowing whom she could trust. Now, for the first time in years, Gabrielle felt alone, uncertain which way to turn.The sound of her cellphone lifted her gaze from the carpet. Reluctant, she picked up. Gabrielle Ashe.Gabrielle, its me.She recognised the timbre of Senator Sextons voice immediately, although he sounded surprisingly calm considering what had just transpired.Its been one hell of a night over here, he said, so just let me talk. Im sure you saw the Presidents conference. Christ, did we play the wrong cards. Im sick over it. Youre probably blaming yourself. Dont. Who the hell would have guessed? Not your fault. Anyhow, listen up. I think of there may be a way to get our feet back under us.Gabrielle stood up, unable to imagine what Sexton could be talking about. This was barely the reaction she had expected.I had a meeting tonight, Sexton said, with representatives from private lacuna industries, and-You did? Gabrielle blurted, stunned to hear him admit it. I mean I had no idea.Yeah, nothing major. I would have asked you to sit in, plainly these guys are feisty about privacy. Some of them are donating money to my campaign. Its not something they like to advertise.Gabrielle felt totally disarmed. But isnt that illegal?Illegal? Hell no totally the donations are under the two-thousand-dollar cap. Small potatoes. These guy s barely make a dent, but I listen to their gripes anyway. Call it an investment in the future. Im quiet about it because, frankly, the appearances arent so great. If the White House caught wind, theyd spin the hell out of it. Anyhow, look, thats not the point. I called to tell you that after tonights meeting, I was talking to the head of the SFF For some(prenominal) seconds, although Sexton was lock in talking, all Gabrielle could hear was the blood rushing in shame to her guinea pig. Without the slightest challenge from her, the senator had calmly admitted tonights meeting with private space companies. suddenly legal. And to think what Gabrielle had roughly considered doing Thank God Yolanda had stopped her. I almost jumped ship to Marjorie Tench and so I told the head of the SFF, the senator was saying, that you might be able to get that information for us.Gabrielle tuned back in. Okay.The contact from whom youve been getting all your inside NASA information these past few m onths? I assume you still have access?Marjorie Tench. Gabrielle cringed knowing she could never tell the senator that the informant had been manipulating her all along. Um I think so, Gabrielle lied.Good. Theres some information I need from you. skilful away.As she listened, Gabrielle realized just how badly she had been underestimating Senator Sedgewick Sexton lately. Some of the mans brilliancy had worn off since shed first begun following his career. But tonight, it was back. In the face of what appeared to be the ultimate death blow to his campaign, Sexton was plotting a counterattack. And although it had been Gabrielle who led him down this inauspicious path, he was not punishing her. Instead, he was grown her a chance to redeem herself.And redeem herself she would.Whatever it took.80William Pickering gazed out his office window at the distant line of headlights on Leesburg Highway. He often thought about her when he stood up here alone at the top of the world.All this power and I couldnt save her.Pickerings daughter, Diana, had died in the Red Sea while stationed aboard a small navy escort ship, training to become a navigator. Her ship had been anchored in expert harbor on a sunny afternoon when a handwoven dory loaded with explosives and powered by two suicide terrorists drive slowly across the harbor and exploded on contact with the hull. Diana Pickering and bakers dozen other young American soldiers had been killed that day.William Pickering had been devastated. The anguish overwhelmed him for weeks. When the terrorist attack was traced to a know cell whom the CIA had been tracking unsuccessfully for years, Pickerings sadness turned into rage. He had marched into CIA home office and demanded answers.