page7 (1/2)

“Keep going,” encouraged Weaver

“The suit was checking out a statue and took a long time to do it Then he made his move toward Decatur House at the sa started they were both out of er, as running toward the Jackson statue He seemed to simply vanish, but now I know he actually jumped in the hole to avoid the bullets”

Weaver said, “And got blown up for his troubles”

“That doesn’t ht were also not involved”

Weaver shook his head “I believe that’s a stretch You got raking automatic fire in the park and then a boered probably accidentally by the poor sucker trying to duck the bullets I think the guy did us a favor Ferreted out a boure out who, how and why on the gunfire and the bo you’d care to add to the mix? Because quite frankly, I’ht you were hot stuff and you’ve really given ured out on my own”

“I didn’t think it was my job to do your job But here’s another observation for free” Stone added, “The ganger was really a cop, right?”

On that, the screen went immediately to black

CHAPTER 8

WITHOUT ANY INSTRUCTIONS FROM HIM the car dropped Stone off at Mt Zion Cemetery This was intentional, Stone knew It was as if to say, “We know exactly where you live We can come for you anytime ant”

Stone walked past the wrought-iron gates that enclosed the cee that was his hos were spartan and secondhand and fit Stone’s personality and lie rooainst one as a large shelf of books on esoteric subjects in es that he’d collected over decades In front of that was Stone’s scarred wooden desk that had coe A few threadbare chairs sat in front of a blackened brick fireplace In an alcove behind a tattered curtain was the army cot he slept on That and a tiny bathroom formed the extent of the premises

Stone took three Advil, washed thelass of water and sat down in the chair behind his desk while he rubbed his head Whether he was still leaving for Mexico or not he didn’t know But for now at least he would proceed on the assu until the men came for him

He held up four fingers on his right hand and stared at them

“Four people,” he said to hih perhaps now only three since the video hadYet they still didn’t knoho he was or why he was there So Stone kept the fourth finger up

“So was the jogger in the classic wrong place, wrong time or was he involved?” he asked himself “And where are the suit and the woman? And are they connected?”

And there was the ganger as probably a cop Stone had realized that was the only reason the e and authorization to be there ar black on him back at NIC was all the affirmation Stone needed Riley Weaver didn’t play any nicer with people than Carter Gray had

What was bothering Stone was that both the suit and the woan Coincidence? Both just as lucky as the jogger was unlucky?

He closed his eyes and pushed his ht before His te and his scalp still burned fro a pointy tooth rammed into it, but slowly the pictures and sounds returned

“MP-5s or possibly TEC-9s,” he said out loud In reality there could be lots of possibilities for the hardware “Set on full auto Probably thirty-round ured for fifty or more So how many shots had been fired? He had not been able to count every round, of course, but he could make an estis, two to three seconds to e lasted about three to four times that, or twelve to fifteen seconds Hundred rounds or so But only if there was only one weapon being fired Ifhundreds of rounds A lot of firepower Since s had apparently ended up in the dirt, the FBI would be able to get a fairly precise number But that didn’t answer the far otten that close to deliver that level of attack?

Stone rose and looked out theand asseraphy of the area around the park To the north and west along H Street were the United States Cha and the venerable Hay-Adams Hotel To the northeast was St John’s Church Behind all these locations were federal governs He recalled that the Hay-Ada than the church And height was important here to explain the trajectory of the bullets

He moved on to the next question Why did they take me to NIC? Just for my observations? There were other people there who could have told thes I did There had to be another reason Fair winds and following seas?

Stone looked out theand saw the black Town Car pull up to the gates As the occupants clients tended to spend a little more on their clothes Stone doubted that they were here to escort him to a plane destined for Mexico The president would not have involved the FBI in soal roadblocks The Bureau tended to follow the letter of the law And the FBI director had the clout to tell the president no So perhaps the equation had changed once more

And maybe this time in my favor

As the four people drew closer, Stone could see that his initial observation was correct He had just spied an FBI Acadeers There was also a wo every feature from her teeth to her facial structure to her walk, she was a Brit, he concluded MI6 ence, security and investigations

This certainly et She was either in country traveling with hi at around two and getting in at about the same time By the looks of it Stone opted for the latter

And it was very clear why they were here The bullets were one thing, but that bomb had been meant to blow soer And they thought Stone could somehow help them find the truth

Ironic, he thought The truth