John Grisham - The Associate

The second question was the most obvious one. “What happened?”

“I do not know, Roy. It’s confusing.”

Kyle was seated on the edge of the bed, briefcase still between his feet, trench coat still on, staring blankly at the floor and ignoring the two agents who were guarding him. Roy put a hand on his shoulder, then knelt down to face level and said, “Kyle, you okay?”

“Sure.” It was somewhat helpful to see a trusted face.

Bullington was on the phone. He slapped it shut and said, “Look, there’s a suite on the second floor. It’s easier to secure and much larger. Let’s make a move.”

As they filed out, Kyle mumbled to his lawyer, “Did you hear that, Roy? Easier to secure. I’m being protected now.”

“It’s okay, Kyle.”

The suite had three rooms, one of which would work well as an office — desk, fax, wireless Internet, several comfortable chairs, and a small conference area at the far end. “This’ll do,” Bullington said as he ripped off his trench coat, then his jacket, as if they would be there for some time, and Kyle and Roy did the same. They took their seats and settled in. Two younger agents stayed by the door.

“Here’s what we know so far,” Bullington began, very much the special agent in charge. “The room was reserved this afternoon by a Mr. Randall Kerr, who used both a bogus name and a bogus credit card. Around 8:45, Mr. Kerr shows up to check in, alone, one small carry-on and a black briefcase, and in chatting up the desk clerk tells her that he just flew in from Mexico City. We’ve watched the video. It’s Bennie, with no effort at disguise. He went to his room, and according to the electronic entry grid he opened the door to room 551 at 8:58. He opened it again eighteen minutes later, leaving evidently, because the door was never used again. No one remembers seeing him exit the building. There are some video cameras in the hallways and lobby, but so far nothing. He’s vanished.”

“Of course he’s vanished,” Kyle said. “You won’t find him.”

“We’re trying.”

“What did you download, Kyle?” Roy asked.

“The Category A documents. Five or six times. I didn’t touch anything else.”

“And this went smoothly?”

“As far as I know. There were no problems inside the room.”

“What time did you start downloading?” Bullington asked.

“About 8:45.”

“And what time did you call Bennie?”

“Just before 10:00.”

Bullington thought for a second, then stated the obvious. “So Bennie waited until they got your signal, and once he knew you were downloading, he checked into the room. Eighteen minutes later he fled. That doesn’t make sense.”

“It does if you know Bennie,” Kyle said.

“I don’t follow,” Bullington said.

“Someone informed Bennie of our little plan, that much is obvious. It wasn’t me. It wasn’t my lawyer. And the only other parties involved would be you, Mr. Bullington, the FBI, and Mr. Wingate and his gang over at Justice. We have no idea at this point, and we probably never will. Regardless, Bennie got the tip and decided to have some fun. He knew I would lead you here to catch him, so this is all a setup. Bennie’s probably down the street watching a hundred FBI agents swarm around the hotel and laughing his balls off.”

Bullington’s cheeks turned a dark red. He suddenly had a call to make and left the room.

“Take it easy, Kyle,” Roy said softly. Kyle locked his fingers behind his head and bent over. The briefcase was still wedged between his feet. He closed his eyes and tried to control his thoughts, but that was impossible. Roy watched him but said nothing. He went to the minibar and pulled out two bottles of water.

“We should talk,” Roy said, handing a bottle to Kyle. “We’ll have to make some quick decisions.”

“Okay. What do we do with this damned thing?” Kyle asked, patting the briefcase. “Scully doesn’t need it, because the documents are not confidential. I just stole a copy. They haven’t lost anything yet. Their files will appear to be untouched.”

“I’m sure the FBI will want it for evidence.”

“Evidence against who?”

“Bennie.”

“Bennie? Bennie’s gone, Roy, listen to me. They’ll never find Bennie, because he’s a helluva lot smarter than they are. Bennie won’t be arrested. Bennie won’t go to trial. Bennie’s on an airplane right now, probably a private one, looking at his fifteen passports and deciding which one to use next.”

“Don’t be so sure.”

“And why not? Bennie outfoxed us tonight, didn’t he? Bennie has pals in high places, maybe not here in New York, maybe in Washington. Too many people got involved, Roy. The FBI, the Department of Justice, and the network of gossip spread. Plans here, authorizations there, meetings at high levels, more and more intelligence people in the loop. It was a mistake.”

“You had no choice.”

“My choices were limited. Looks like I made the wrong one.”

“What about the law firm?”

“I’m sure I’ll screw that up, too. What’s your advice? God knows I’m paying for it, if even at a discount.” Both managed smiles, but very brief ones.

Roy gulped his water, wiped his lips with a shirtsleeve, and leaned even closer. The two guards were still in the sitting room, within earshot. “You could say nothing. Just report tomorrow for duty and act like none of this happened. The files are safe. Nothing has been compromised. Look, Kyle, you never planned to hand over anything to Bennie. You were forced to download some stuff to facilitate his arrest. The arrest didn’t happen. The firm has no clue. Assuming there won’t be a prosecution, the firm will never know.”

“But the plan was to bust Bennie, tell the firm everything, and beg for mercy. Sort of like the bank robber who brings back the cash and says he’s sorry, can’t we just forget about it. With a few more twists, of course.”

“Do you want to stay at the firm, Kyle?”

“My exit from Scully & Pershing was a foregone conclusion the day I walked into your office.”

“There might be a way to save the job.”

“I took the job because Bennie had a gun to my head. That gun has now been replaced by a different one, but at least the threat of blackmail is gone. There’s a chance the video may still cause some embarrassment, but nothing more. I’d like to get out of here.”

A radio squawked in the sitting room, jolting the agents. It came and went with no further news.

Kyle finally abandoned the briefcase and stretched his legs. He looked at his lawyer and said, “You’re a big partner in a big firm. What would you do if an associate pulled this stunt?”

“Fire him immediately.”

“Exactly. On the spot, with little patience for a lot of talk. How can the firm ever trust me again? There are a thousand rookies out there ready to replace me. And there’s something else here, Roy, something that Scully needs to know.” Kyle glanced at the sitting room, where his bodyguards were now watching TV.

“I’m not the only spy. Bennie knew too much. Someone else is planted there, passing along information to Bennie. I have to tell them.”

There was a commotion at the door, and the two guards quickly muted the television and hopped to attention. Kyle and Roy stood as Bullington swept in with a small, important group, the center of which was a man of about sixty with short gray hair, a fine suit, and the air of someone in complete control of all things around him. Bullington introduced him as Mr. Mario Delano, director in charge of the New York office of the FBI.

He addressed both Kyle and Roy: “Gentlemen, Mr. Bennie Wright has obviously left the building, and we have a serious problem. I have no idea where the leak was, but I assure you it was not my office. I doubt that’s very comforting right now. We are searching frantically around the city — train stations, airports, subways, heliports, toll roads. Every agent under my authority is on the streets.”