Chapter 9
CHAPTER
NINE
Washington, D.C.
"I have to say, I was surprised when you called."
"Why? I'm often in Washington on business," Nicolaus Toles said.
"Mm. You haven't suggested we meet for dinner in two years," Admiral Brackett said.
"No."
Brackett lifted his wineglass and sipped slowly.
Nicolaus watched him closely. Bill Brackett calculated everything he did, from his morning routine to how he wore his uniform and led meetings.
Nothing was left to chance. He could improvise when needed but took pride in planning for every contingency.
His plans had backup plans with outlines.
He knew that while the shape of people rarely changed, their actions could still shape the world.
Brackett set his glass aside and sat back slowly in his chair. "So? Who can I thank for this invitation? Or perhaps I should ask, the cost of the bill." He lifted his knife and cut into his steak.
Nicolaus nodded. He had not come to exchange pleasantries or revisit old times. Few people made requests of the admiral; Nicolaus intended to make a demand.
"Alexis is likely to deploy."
Brackett chewed on his steak.
Nicolaus waited, his gaze unflinching.
Brackett finished chewing, sipped his wine, wiped the corner of his mouth with his napkin, and sat back. He took a breath and released it slowly.
"That is generally what happens when one becomes an Army officer," he said.
Nicolaus nodded. "I'd like you to ensure she's assigned?—"
Brackett raised a brow. "I'm a Navy admiral, Nick. You know that. I have no influence over where Army officers serve or whom they serve under."
"We both know that's not true."
Brackett's gaze narrowed. "What are you asking me, Nick? I can't wrap Alexis in plastic and stick her in Siberia."
Nicolaus was glad he hadn't sipped his wine.
Brackett's visual was deliberate. He wanted Nicolaus to know he suspected Jim McCollum was alive.
He'd never said it outright. Nicolaus sensed it in their brief discussions.
Brackett knew only the broker had access to the resources, human and monetary, to make someone like McCollum disappear without a trace.
He also knew there were few places on earth where men could survive their own death.
"I don't expect guarantees of her safety," Nicolaus said.
"Good," Brackett replied. "Because I don't offer fantasies."
"No. You manufacture them."
Brackett's mouth curved. "Careful, Nick. That almost sounded like resentment."
"It was an observation."
"Mm." Brackett lifted his wineglass again. "Observations without context often lead men to disappointment."
Nicolaus said nothing.
Brackett had always enjoyed silence when he believed he controlled it.
Nicolaus let him enjoy this one. He had not come to win a contest of temperament. He had come to collect on a debt.
"She speaks Arabic," Brackett said.
"I realize her skills are... useful," Nicolaus said.
"Useful is a dangerous word."
"I'm aware."
"And you believe I can make her less useful?"
"No," Nicolaus said. "But I believe you can ensure she is useful to the right person."
Brackett nodded.
Around them, the restaurant carried on with its usual air of discretion. Silverware clinked against plates, quiet voices drifted between tables, and men who thought they mattered leaned over expensive wine, pretending they were simply enjoying the company of friends.
Nicolaus had spent much of his life in rooms like this.
He had grown tired of them.
"She chose this," Brackett said.
"Not without unsolicited guidance."
Brackett shrugged and lifted his glass again. "Recruitment is part of the program. You know that."
"I do. That should not have extended to my children without my knowledge."
Brackett laughed. "I don't control what high schools Army recruiters visit."
Nicolaus wanted to reach across the table and throttle Brackett for his arrogance and deception.
"Perhaps not. You, more than anyone, wanted Alexis and Jonathan to choose the company. One way or another."
Brackett sipped his wine.
"Do you deny it?" Nicolaus asked.
"I deny very little. It saves time." Brackett cut another precise piece of steak. "Alexis is exceptional. You know that better than anyone. You knew people would notice her."
"I expected some respect."
Brackett looked up.
Nicolaus held his gaze.
A flicker of amusement crossed Brackett's face. "If memory serves, you always did have a flair for the dramatic,” he said.
"My memory is as long as yours.”
"Unfortunate for you."
Nicolaus remained still.
Brackett chewed, swallowed, and reached for his napkin. "What exactly do you want?"
"I want her assigned to a company commanded by someone who understands the game we play well enough not to mistake her for a convenient asset."
Brackett chuckled. "That narrows the field considerably."
"She does not get placed with a fool. And she does not get placed near anyone trying to reach me through her."
"You assume she won't be used to reach someone else."
"I assume everyone is used to reach someone else," Nicolaus said.
"She's capable, Nick. Don't you have any faith in her?"
Nicolaus's jaw tightened.
Brackett noticed.
"You should be proud," Brackett said. "West Point. Languages. Leadership. Discipline. She has made herself into precisely the sort of officer every service claims to want, and every intelligence agency quietly studies."
"Is that pride?"
"No," Brackett replied. "It's an assessment."
"She is my daughter."
"She is also an officer in the United States Army."
"She is not yours."
Brackett stilled.
For one moment, the mask he had carefully crafted thinned.
Nicolaus saw the thing beneath it. Not anger exactly. Possession. Brackett disliked being told the boundaries of his reach, particularly by men who understood how often those boundaries had been ignored.
"No," Brackett said finally. "She is not mine."
"See that it remains that way."
"You overestimate me."
"No, Bill. I know you."
Brackett smiled again, but this time there was no warmth in it. "Then you know everything I do has a purpose."
"That's what worries me."
Brackett laughed.
"For thirty years, I have served the company,” Nicolaus said. “I have moved money, technology, medicine, people, information, and influence across borders that governments cannot. I have protected operations I disagreed with, men I distrusted, and secrets that deserved daylight."
Brackett's eyes remained steady.
"I have done what was required," Nicolaus said.
"Yes," Brackett replied. "You have."
"I am requiring something now."
The word hung between them.
Brackett seemed almost pleased. "There he is."
Nicolaus felt no satisfaction in the recognition.
"Don’t patronize me."
"I’m appreciating you. You forget your roots, Nick. Tonight, I glimpse the man who walked in the shadows, stole state secrets, and assassinated the French ambassador." Brackett lifted his glass and tipped it toward Nicolaus. "I wondered if he'd died long ago."
"He's not dead."
Brackett chuckled. "Perhaps not."
The waiter approached, sensed something in the air between the two men, and retreated before asking if they needed anything else.
Brackett folded his hands beside his plate. "There is someone."
Nicolaus waited.
"Capable. Disciplined. Well-liked by the men under his command, which is not always the same as being respected. In this case, both seem true."
"Name."
"John Merrow."
Nicolaus's expression didn’t change.
Brackett smiled. "Anthony's son," he said.
"I know who John Merrow is."
"Of course you do."
"Is he yours?" Nicolaus asked.
"No."
Nicolaus held his gaze.
Brackett smiled. "That is as close to an honest answer as you are going to get."
"Not close enough."
"Merrow is aware enough to be careful and ignorant enough to remain decent. For now." Brackett reached for his wine. "He will not understand the full value of Alexis. That may protect her better than assigning her to someone who does."
"Does he know about the Company?"
"He knows enough to recognize that certain names carry weight. He does not know enough to move that weight."
"And if someone attempts to move him?"
"Then he will do what good officers do."
"Which is?"
"What is required," Brackett replied.
Nicolaus studied him.
Brackett's gaze did not waver.
"She cannot know, Bill."
"That isn't for you to decide," Brackett said.
"It isn't for you to decide."
"Perhaps not. Our daughters have their own minds. We shape them, we do not control them—no matter what we may wish to believe." Brackett sighed. "She will follow the path she wishes, Nick."
"So be it. As long as that path is hers."
Brackett shook his head. "Eat your steak before it gets cold."
Nicolaus looked at the plate in front of him.
"I seem to have lost my appetite."
Brackett smirked.
Nicolaus stood and buttoned his jacket.
Brackett watched him with the faintest trace of amusement. "Merrow, if it can be arranged."
"It can."
"Yes," Brackett agreed. "It can."
"Alexis cannot know this came from me."
"She will know something did. And that is what you fear most. Not her safety. Your exposure.”
Nicolaus remained silent. Men like Brackett viewed everything and everyone as either an asset or a liability. Alexis might be an asset today. The slightest misstep would change Brackett’s calculation.
Nicolaus understood the admiral better than the admiral understood fatherhood.
"She is too much like you not to find her way to the truth," Brackett added.
“Let's hope that’s not true—for all our sakes.”
Nicolaus pushed in his chair. Around them, silverware continued to gently chime against porcelain, wine was poured into crystal, and men in suits traded power through polite words that let ruthlessness pass for civility.
"She is nothing like me," Nicolaus said.
Brackett smiled. "That is the lie all fathers prefer."
Nicolaus turned away before he gave the admiral the satisfaction of a reply.
Outside, the December air cut sharply against his face. He stood at the curb and looked toward the glow of the city, toward its marble structures and hidden corridors, toward all the machinery his daughter believed she had chosen freely to serve.