Maden Mike - Tom Clancy Firing Point

It was Arnie’s suggestion to meet in the Diplomatic Reception Room rather than the Oval. It was nearer the family residence so Jack wouldn’t have to walk so far at the late hour and it was still on the first floor for Logan’s convenience.

As always, Arnie thought of everything.

One of the double doors opened and an electric wheelchair rolled into the room.

Jack and Arnie stood as Buck Logan wheeled in their direction. Ryan watched Logan’s bodyguard, a six-foot-five slab of meat in a tailored suit, take a position outside next to the PPD agents stationed there before the door closed again.

“Mr. President, I’m so terribly sorry to inconvenience you,” Logan said as he pulled to a stop. He removed his gray felt Stetson. His bright blue eyes contrasted with his thick but short-cropped silver hair. He was five years younger than Ryan but the deep lines in his rugged face aged him considerably.

“I knew you had the smarts to figure out what I was trying to tell you. And I can’t thank you enough for allowing me to inconvenience you at this ridiculous hour.”

Ryan smiled. “It’s a little past Arnie’s bedtime, but I think it all worked out.”

Ryan shook Logan’s hand. The Texan’s grip was crushing. The former Naval Academy tight end had been nearly as big as his bodyguard when he played football. Tragically, a catastrophic spinal cord injury from a late hit by Notre Dame in his senior year put him in a wheelchair forever, ending both his collegiate football career and his dream of following in his father’s footsteps into military service.

As physically impressive as he still was, Buck Logan’s greatest strength was his first-rate mind. His father had built a great regional trucking firm after the Korean War, but it was Buck who transformed it into a global logistics operation, with land, sea, and air assets. To satisfy his longing for military service, Logan had also built a top-tier private military contracting outfit. All together, Buck had forged White Mountain Logistics + Security into one of the largest and most reliable private-sector contractors servicing the DoD and several other federal departments.

But despite his outsized achievements in business and academics—he finished his USNA degree in civil engineering with a 4.0—Buck still lived in the long shadow of his famous father.

Logan nodded at Arnie. “Then my apologies to you as well, Mr. van Damm.”

“Please, it’s just Arnie.”

“Can I get you something to eat? Drink?” Ryan asked.

“No, sir, I’ve already put you out. I’ll be brief.” Logan motioned to the two empty wingback chairs. “Please, don’t stand on my account.”

Jack and Arnie took their seats.

“So, Buck, what’s this all about?” Ryan asked.

Logan sat up straighter in his motorized chair. “First of all, let me get it off my chest. As you’ve already figured out, I lied to you this afternoon, Mr. President, and I can hardly forgive myself for that. But the truth of the matter is, I didn’t have much of a choice. I’m in one hell of a pickle, and I’m afraid my personal security situation has been compromised. I just didn’t feel comfortable speaking with you on an unsecured line. Lucky for me, I own a fleet of private planes, so arranging an unscheduled flight up here wasn’t a problem, and I wanted to look you in the eye when we spoke.”

“I can appreciate that, Buck. So, let’s get to it. What’s going on?”

“The bottom line is that one of my ships—technically, a ship I was leasing for a single transport—was sunk seven days ago in the South Pacific.”

“Why lie about it?” Arnie asked.

Logan reached around behind his chair, pulled a file folder out of his seat pocket, and handed a couple of e-mail printouts to Arnie.

“As you can read there, that sinking was no accident. I was sent that note seventy-two hours before it happened. I was told to transfer ten million dollars in Bitcoin to a Dark Web address or else they’d sink one of my shipments. What concerns me is that they must have known it wasn’t my ship—only my cargo. Not many people have that information.”

“And that’s why you believe there’s someone on the inside of your organization—and why you couldn’t speak on the phone.”

Logan grinned. “That’s why I’m your biggest supporter in Texas, Mr. President. Sharp as a tack, and blunt as a hammer.”

“Why didn’t you contact us when you received this threat?” Arnie asked.

Logan laughed. “Are you kidding me? What was I going to do? Come crying to you guys because somebody said something mean to me? A non-specific, non-credible threat? What could you have done to prevent it? I’ve got operations all over the globe. It’s not like you were going to put Marine detachments on all of my ships or provide me with destroyer escorts.

“Besides, for all I know, this was sent by some ‘Nigerian princess’ riding a laptop somewhere in Romania.”

Logan blew air through his bleached white teeth, his face reddening. “Nobody’s gonna push Buck Logan around—sure ’n hell ain’t gonna squeeze ten million U.S. government dollars outta his wallet with a goddamn e-mail!”

Jack and Arnie exchanged a look. Logan was losing it right in front of them.

Logan saw their reaction.

“Sorry about that, gentlemen. I’m a little off my game, as you can well imagine. I lost seventeen million dollars’ worth of civilian cargo—mostly drilling pipe, steel fittings, generators. Nothing for Uncle Sam, mind you. Not to mention the poor bastards who went down with the ship, whoever they were.”

“You have insurance, don’t you?”

“Flip over to the second page. After the sinking, I was contacted again. Told in no uncertain terms: Do not contact your insurance and do not contact the authorities or more sinkings will follow. Given the circumstances, I was inclined to believe them.”

Logan pointed at the pages again. “You can see there, they listed out every one of my scheduled shipments for the next thirty days, and each one of my flagged vessels. I lose a few more of those, and I’m ruined, no matter what I do.

“If I don’t file insurance claims on the Jade Star cargo, I’m out of pocket on the losses. And if I do file a claim, my insurance rates will skyrocket and then these bastards said they’d sink another one. If they sank a second boat, I’d have to file a second claim, and then my insurance would get canceled. And if that happens, then I can’t carry goods and I’m out of business. Either way, my pooch is royally screwed.”

“What are you going to do now?”

“Cross my fingers and pray. Three days ago, they sent me another letter demanding twenty million dollars—ten for the first letter, and ten for not believing them.”

“What did you do?” Arnie asked.

“I paid the bastards. What else could I do?”

“Have they threatened any more of your ships?”

“No, they said this was a one-time payment.”

Arnie pressed further. “And you actually believe them?”

“Whoever these shitheads are, they’re smart. I doubt I’m the first one they’ve done this to and probably not the last. It’s one thing to swipe a few apples from the neighbor’s tree but there’s no point in cuttin’ it down ’cuz then the apples run out.”

“You don’t know how right you are, Buck. There have been several other unexplained sinkings, along with yours,” Ryan said.

“I’ll be damned.”

“They must have been threatened the same way you were,” Arnie said. “Same conditions.”

Logan’s eyes narrowed. “Who else have they hit?”

“Big companies with deep pockets, like yours. All in the Pacific, just like yours.”

“And they haven’t said anything, either?”