Chapter 37
Incirlik Air Base
Turkey
The VOQ building was within walking distance.
Katie went to the front desk and an airman basic explained that they didn’t have any officers checked in under the name of John Clark.
Not surprised, she explained that she was looking for a group of six men and one woman, all OGA, other government agency, who’d arrived the previous night.
The young man clearly knew to whom she was referring. He made a discreet call on the desk phone, providing her name and rank to whoever answered. The clerk hung up and gave her a room number.
It wasn’t a big building. Task Force 99 probably populated a quarter of the rooms available for visiting officers, most of whom would typically be aircrew overnighting for crew rest at the busy continental waystation.
Katie paused squarely in front of the viewing port on the door marked 15.
Conza’s half-serious suggestion had stuck.
Of course, she couldn’t say for certain who was going to open the door.
She had seen Task Force 99 operate from afar.
The first instance had been some months ago when they’d extracted a valuable asset, known as the Night Spider, out of China right under the noses of its Ministry of State Security.
Bookended by what had gone down last night, she could only imagine what they’d been up to in the interim.
The door rattled, pulled back, and the space was filled by the considerable presence of John Clark. He smiled broadly at Katie, in the way an uncle might regard a long-lost niece.
“Well, look at you…Lieutenant Commander.”
Katie smiled. “Nice to see you, Mr. Clark.”
He laughed. “Your dad made you call me that twenty years ago, but I think under present circumstances, John will suffice.”
“John it is.”
He waved his long arm, inviting her inside like a ma?tre d’ at a French restaurant. As he did, Katie heard a slight grinding sound from his shoulder.
What she saw inside surprised her…but only for a moment. The room was a veritable armory: weapons, ammo cans, plate carriers, night vision gear, multitools. A disassembled handgun lay on the table next to a grenade.
“Charming,” she said. “All of it yours?”
“There are seven of us. This is technically a Turkish base, and they have pretty strict rules about keeping firearms in private quarters. But I’ve got my own rules about that kind of thing, and also some heavy hitters backing me.
I was able to convince the base commander that there was no safer place for all this than my room. ”
“You always did know how to make a point. Guess you don’t mind the smell of gun oil.”
“At this point, it’s pretty much what’s running through my veins.” He looked her up and down. “You look great, Katie. Life treating you well?”
“It is. And you?”
“All good. A few aches and pains—my fault, mostly, for not ducking at the right time for so many years. I hear you’re tearing it up over at ONI.”
“Not sure about that, but I work with a great bunch.”
“Good answer. Reminds me of what Eisenhower said about leadership.”
Her gaze went to the ceiling in thought. “I’m paraphrasing, but something like ‘Leadership consists of taking responsibility when things go wrong and giving your subordinates credit for successes.’ ”
“That’s the one.”
“Did he tell you that in person?” she added mischievously.
Clark winced. “Touché.” His blue eyes then narrowed. “I’m guessing you came here to see JC?”
“Yeah, I was just at the clinic. He seems to be doing well.”
“Glad to hear it. I understand the two of you were in Bodrum helping with the accident investigation.”
“We were. Although at this point, we’re pretty sure it was no accident.” She went over the basic sabotage theory. “Now that you’ve recovered the hardware we can hopefully figure out who’s to blame.”
“Let’s hope.”
“Is it true you interrogated one of the perpetrators?”
Clark gave her a circumspect look. “Briefly.”
“And did he give up anything important?”
“I’ve sent that information up the chain, and I would guess it ended up on your father’s desk. I’m not sure how closely they’re holding it, so it would be better if you asked that question through formal channels.”
“Sorry…I didn’t mean to stick my nose where it shouldn’t be.”
“Sure you did. Which is exactly what I would have done. But in this case, I think it’s better that we both play by the rules.”
“Understood.”
“What are your plans now?” he asked.
“I’d like to spring JC out of the hospital.”
“I’m sure he would appreciate that. And then?”
“I guess I’ll head back to the crash site.”
The blue gaze sharpened. Clark pulled two chairs away from a small dinette and set them to face one another. He sat in one and waited. Katie tentatively took the other.
“No,” he said.
Her eyes narrowed. “No…what?”
“You can’t go back to Bodrum.”
“Why not?”
“I think you know.”
Katie felt her ire rise. “I’ll go where my commander sends me. And last I heard, that was to Bodrum to help with this investigation.”
“Look, let’s cut to the chase. You are an officer in the United States Navy, and by all accounts you are serving your country admirably.
But you are also the daughter of the President of the United States.
Your partner was just kidnapped by foreign nationals, a confirmed terrorist element who haven’t yet been identified, but who could conceivably have more manpower in the area.
Turkey is a predominantly Muslim country with marginal security, and it’s bordered by countries that are known havens for terrorists.
By the grace of God, you didn’t join JC on that chopper ride. ”
He paused as if waiting for an argument.
Katie had an impulse to do just that. But she fought it. Maybe it was her respect for Clark, or possibly doubts about whether she would really be of use in Bodrum. In the end, she realized it was neither of those things. She simply knew Clark was right.
He said, “As soon as JC gets the okay to travel, both of you need to get on the next flight stateside. There are C-17s, C-130s, and tankers passing through here all the time. Dover, Andrews, McGuire—just get Conza back. He won’t admit it, but he’s going to need some PT to get back up to speed.
For what it’s worth, that’s what I would do if he was one of mine. ”
She nodded, her eyes going to the floor.
“Okay…you’re right. My staying here would be more trouble than it’s worth, I get that.
And JC needs medical care, the kind he can only get back home.
” Her frustration then burst through. “John, I love my dad. I love who he is and what he does for our country. But it pisses me off that who he is…it’s always hanging over my head. It’s like a shadow I can’t escape.”
“Look, I get it. That stinks, but it’s reality. The key is how you deal with it, Katie. From all I’ve heard, you’re doing a damn good job for the Navy. This is just one of those times when you have to back off.”
She heaved a long sigh.
“In all honesty, I do have an ulterior motive for wanting you to go stateside.”
She looked at him questioningly.
“I’m not trying to put you out of the fight. I want you running it. Yesterday we were getting some shit-hot intel from a new DIA unit called Cyber Cell 6.”
Katie eyed him closely, but said nothing.
“I’ve heard a rumor your brother might be involved.”
“A rumor.”
Clark didn’t expand. He simply said, “I think we’re going to need more intel like that before this is done and dusted.”
“You want me to go back and work with Kyle?”
“I want you to discuss it with your commander. Tell him you’re up to speed on the situation here because you’ve been on the ground. Tell him there’s a critical need for intelligence, and that the crusty old commander of a classified task force has asked for your help in liaising with DIA.”
Katie studied Clark. She had been hearing about his exploits since she was a kid.
More recently, she’d watched him work from a distance.
She’d read the after-action reports from his ops.
Tales of daring, moments of valor; feats that made him seem almost superhuman.
John Clark was as close to a legend as a clandestine operator could be.
But what she saw in him now wasn’t any of that.
It was down-to-earth and human. It was a leader making solid decisions, even if they weren’t the easy ones.
“Okay,” she said, standing. “I’ll get JC on the next available flight. And after I get him back, and under proper care, I’ll bust my ass to give you whatever you need.”
He put on a roguish grin that made him look suddenly twenty years younger. “I can’t ask for any more than that.”