Deception Point Page 67

As they walked to the elevator, the old man say, Sometimes all it takes to unravel something is a single strand. Perhaps we can find a way to eat away at NASAs victory from within. Cast a shadow of distrust. Who knows where it will lead? The old man locked his tired eyes on Sexton. I am not ready to lay down and die, senator. And I trust nor are you.Of course not, Sexton said, mustering resolve in his voice. Weve come likewise far.Chris Harper lied about fixing PODS, the man said as he boarded the elevator. And we need to know why.I will get that information as fast as I can, Sexton replied. I turn out just the person.Good. Your future depends on it.As Sexton headed back toward his apartment, his step was a teentsy lighter, his head a little clearer. NASA lied about PODS. The only question was how Sexton could prove it.His thoughts had already turned to Gabrielle Ashe. Wherever she was at the moment, she had to be pinch like shit. Gabrielle had no doubt seen the press conference and was now standing on a ledge somewhere getting ready to jump. Her proposition of devising 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 knack for obtaining NASA secrets. She has a contact, Sexton thought. Shed been scoring privilegedr information for weeks now. Gabrielle had connections she was not sharing. Connections she could pump for information on PODS. Moreover, 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 bodyguard nodded. Evening, senator. I trust I did the right thing by letting Gabrielle in earlier? She said it was critical she talk to you.Sexton paused. Im sorry?Ms. Ashe? She had important information for you earlier tonight. Thats why I let her in.Sexton felt his body stiffen. He looked at his apartmen t door. What the hell is this guy talk about?The guards expression changed to one of confusion and concern. Senator, are you okay? You remember, right? Gabrielle arrived during your meeting. She talked to you, right? She must have. She was in at that place 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 then departed without a word? Sexton could only imagine what Gabrielle might have overheard. Swallowing his anger, he forced a smile to his guard. Oh, yes Im sorry. Im exhausted. Had a span 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 complicated were my darned directions? No visitors He had to assume if Gabrielle had been inside for any length of time and then s nuck out without a word, she must have heard things she was not meant to hear. this night of all nights.Senator Sexton knew above all he could not afford to lose Gabrielle Ashes trust women could become vengeful and stupid when they felt deceived. Sexton requisite to bring her back. Tonight more than ever, he needed her in his camp.79On the fourth floor of the ABC television studios, Gabrielle Ashe sat alone in Yolandas glass-walled office and stared at the fraying carpet. She had always 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 bring up her gaze from the carpet. Reluctant, she picked up. Gabrielle Ashe.Gabrielle, its me.She recognized 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 P residents 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 figure 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 hardly the reply she had expected.I had a meeting tonight, Sexton said, with representatives from private blank space 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, but these guys are touchy 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 immoral?Illegal? Hell no All the donations are under the two-thousand-dollar cap. Small potatoes. These guys barely make a dent, but I listen to their gripes anyway. Call it an investiture in the future. Im quiet about it b ecause, 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 several seconds, although Sexton was still talking, all Gabrielle could hear was the blood rushing in shame to her face. Without the slightest challenge from her, the senator had calmly admitted tonights meeting with private space companies. Perfectly legal. And to think what Gabrielle had almost 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 months? I assume you still have access?Marjorie Tench. Gabrielle cringed knowing she could never tell the senator that the informant had b een manipulating her all along. Um I think so, Gabrielle lied.Good. Theres some information I need from you. Right away.As she listened, Gabrielle completed just how badly she had been underestimating Senator Sedgewick Sexton lately. Some of the mans luster 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 stopping point 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 giving her a chance to give birth 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 nonaged navy escort ship, training to become a navigator. Her ship had been anchored in safe harbor on a sunny afternoon when a camp-made dory loaded with explosives and powered by two suicide terrorists motored slowly across the harbor and exploded on contact with the hull. Diana Pickering and thirteen former(a) 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 known cell whom the CIA had been tracking unsuccessfully for years, Pickerings sadness turned into rage. He had marched into CIA headquarters and demanded answers.