Дэвид Балдаччи - King and Maxwell

As they walked to her Land Cruiser after the White House ceremony Michelle said, “You look nice in a suit. You should wear one more often.”

Sean smiled and shook his head. “Had enough of that in the Service. My battle armor was a Brooks Brothers off-the-rack, tie, and wing tips. And sunglasses. The rest of my life will be spent in casual mode.”

She held up the medal the president had bestowed on them. “Except when you get one of these, you mean.”

“Except then. How’re the shots feeling?”

Michelle and Cole had undergone a series of antibiotic treatments, some of which had been by injection. They had both been in the Potomac and had swallowed some of the water. And while the river was cleaner than it had been decades ago, when it had been semi-radioactive, one still wouldn’t want to drink it.

“My butt has felt better, let’s leave it at that.”

They climbed into her truck.

“Been meaning to ask you something.”

“Okay,” said Sean.

“How did you think of blowing the oxygen tanks to get us out of the Beast? I can’t believe you guys practiced that scenario when you were on protection detail.”

“We didn’t,” Sean admitted as he put on his seat belt. “Nothing close. Air Force One has water-landing scenarios, but not the Beast.”

“So how, then?”

“Can we leave it at my brilliantly incisive mind that can size up any critical situation and move like a laser to the solution?”

Michelle belted up and then started the truck. “Don’t make me get physical with you, Sean.”

He sighed. “Okay, but this is only for your ears.” He paused. “I remembered it from Jaws .”

She leaned on the steering wheel and stared at him. “ Jaws ?”

“Yeah, the movie Jaws . Roy Scheider’s character is the small-town sheriff stuck in the middle of the ocean and the shark is bearing down on him. But the shark has an oxygen tank wedged in its mouth from where it sank a dive boat. Scheider just happens to have a gun. He shoots, hits the tank. Boom. No more shark.”

“So I’m sitting here talking to you instead of lying in the morgue because of a Spielberg flick?”

“What can I tell you? It made an impression on me when I first saw it.”

She patted him on the shoulder. “Well, thank God it did.”

Once they got out of the city she said, “So what will happen to Sam Wingo?”

“Nothing. They know he was set up. They know he’s innocent. They know his son was kidnapped to keep him in line. Hell, the guy deserves a medal like us, and the military knows that. He’ll be just fine. And Tyler got his dad back.”

“Well, I think Cole is both happy to be alive and thrilled that the missing euro scandal has disappeared at least for now.”

“All you need is a bigger story to cover. Remember Chandra Levy and the congressman some thought had killed her?”

“No, not really.”

“That’s because it was ‘the’ story until nine-eleven happened shortly thereafter.”

“So the missing piece is–”

“Alan Grant, yeah. His wife has been questioned, of course. From what Littlefield could tell me she’s as stunned as anyone else. But his guilt is pretty well established.”

“And Dan Marshall, his presumed leak and partner in this?”

“He’s been questioned and will no doubt be questioned some more.”

“By the cops?”

“Yes. But also by us.”

“What?”

“We were hired to do a job, Michelle. We have not finished that job, at least not to my mind.”

“I didn’t think you wanted any piece of this case to begin with.”

“It’s grown on me. And I take great exception to anyone who tries to kill the president.” He turned to look at her. “Or you.”

“So we go and see Marshall?”

“Yes, but I want to talk to Edgar first.”

“He figured out how Grant hacked into the satellite used for the Beast.”

“I know. The stuff they found at that old radio station was state-of-the-art equipment. I bet that’s where some of the billion euros went. In addition to leasing a satellite. And the guy who leased it to him recognized a picture of Grant. He just had no idea what he was going to use it for.”

“Then he needs to screen his customers better,” she said.

“I’m betting Grant did not do this alone. He must have had serious computer hacking talent in place. The FBI is checking out movements of known bad guys with computer skills.”

“They’re probably long gone.”

“Probably,” conceded Sean. “But I really hope they find Grant. He was the one who shot Kathy. She identified his picture too. And that tells me he had no intention of letting either of them go.”

“How about our old pal Trevor Jenkins?”

“Gone like a ghost by the time HRT got to the station.”

“You think he and Grant are on the run together?”

“I wouldn’t bet against it. But they’re going to have a hell of a time getting out of the country. Everybody’s looking for them.”

She put the truck in gear and hit the gas. “God, it’s good to be back on dry land.”

“I’M VERY GLAD THAT YOU lived, Ms. Maxwell,” said Edgar with as much emotion as he was apt to show.

“I am too, Edgar, thanks. And you know you can call me Michelle.”

They were seated around the kitchen table at Edgar’s farmhouse.

“You figured this out before anyone,” said Sean. “And we told the president that. Don’t be surprised if you get a call.”

“I already did,” said Edgar. “He wanted me to come to the White House, but I told him I had to feed the chickens.”

Sean blanched. “Edgar, please tell me you did not tell the president of the United States that you couldn’t come to the White House because you had chickens to feed.”

“Actually, I didn’t.”

“Thank God for that.”

“I told his chief of staff, who I presume told the president.”

Sean wearily shook his head while Michelle bit her lip to keep from laughing.

“Chickens take a lot of time to care for properly, Sean,” explained Edgar. “It was just a question of timing. I’ll get by the White House at some point.”

Sean asked, “How did you track down what Grant had done?”

“It was more by chance than anything intentional. But your asking me to find Grant’s car by using the GPS chip in it made me think about things from that angle. Cars these days have a great deal of computer hardware and software to make them function the way people need them to. There’re approximately one hundred megabytes of binary code in high-end models that runs over fifty computer units. But this also allows hackers numerous points of entry. Telematics, Bluetooth, keyless entry, even tire sensors that utilize wireless connections. Or you can be hacked through your CD or DVD player. But most hackers will attack a vehicle through something called the On-Board Diagnostics port. It’s an access port where repair shops hook up their diagnostic computer to a car’s computer so they can talk to each other.”

“Sounds like a patient and his doctor,” said Sean. “Not a car.”

“We’ve apparently come a long way since the 1966 Mustang,” added Michelle. “I drove my brother’s hand-me-down in college. It had something called an eight-track player.”

Sean stared at her. “These are the moments where I realize how much older I am than you.”

She smiled sweetly. “You’re not in bad shape for a man of your advanced years.”

Sean turned to Edgar. “The FBI’s having their guys tear the Beast apart to see where the attack came from,” said Sean.

“It started with a commercial satellite that had once been leased to the government,” said Edgar. “They’re supposed to be scrubbed of any sensitive material once they’re no longer used by the government, but Grant apparently found some remnants. He used those remnants as a way to infiltrate the satellite that is devoted to the GPS navigation and control functions of the presidential limo. I’m betting that the FBI technicians will find malware placed on there that allowed Grant to remotely control all functions of the car.”