“The division secretary is putting together the list.”
“Can I have it?”
“No. I’ll turn it over to the FBI. But I want you to know it exists in case it gets ignored there.”
“You do realize how paranoid you sound,” said Leighton.
“Yes, sir,” said Reuben. “And if they never do any of this stuff I’m anticipating, then I’ll have to agree with you. But which of you would have been paranoid enough to think the President and Vice President might be killed within minutes of each other—that the President could have been blown up right through a West Wing window?”
“I’ll give you this,” said Leighton. “You two are the only people who even tried to stop this assassination when there was still time to have a chance to stop it. I didn’t like this President, but I didn’t want him dead. He was the President. So you’ve earned a fair hearing on your completely wacko account. Does everybody understand that?” Leighton looked at his editor. “I don’t want us to screw around with the headline or the captions to paint this guy as guilty.” He turned back to Reuben and Cole. “Unless we get evidence confirming that you really did collaborate with terrorists.”
“Of course you’ll get evidence like that,” said Cole. “It’s being planted even as we speak.”
“Evidence that satisfies me,” said Leighton. “I don’t think you’re crazy, Major Malich, and you’ve proven you’ve got brains and guts. The way you tell it, this is all part of a larger plan. And if you’re right, do you know what that smells like to me?”
They didn’t.
“It smells like war. Somebody wants America’s military to be humiliated and demoralized before the war.”
“Who?” asked one of the other reporters. “Who’s going to dare to attack us?”
“I guess we’ll find out when they’re through crucifying Major Malich,” said Leighton.
One of the editors spoke up. “Leighton, it looks to me like these guys are just trying to use us to spin the story.”
“Everybody tries to use us to spin the story,” said Leighton contemptuously. “And when we like them or their cause, we follow their spin. I don’t know if I like these guys. But I also don’t know but what they’re telling the truth. So my story is going to report their claims neutrally. Then we’ll see who jumps on it.”
“Or on us,” said the editor. “I don’t know if I’m going to be able to let them use us this way.”
“That’s honest enough,” said Reuben, getting up. The other soldiers also rose to their feet. “We’ll go to the Washington Times, then, and hope the truth seeps out somehow.”
Several of the reporters laughed nervously. Leighton grinned. “You’re right—telling the Times isn’t a leak, it’s seepage.”
“Thanks for coming back to the office so late at night,” said Reuben. “Now I’ve got to go wake up the Times.”
The editor looked annoyed. “We want the exclusive. That’s what you promised us.”
“We wanted a fair hearing,” said Reuben. “You’re already planning to spin it against me.” He headed for the door.
Load said, in Farsi, “Can’t we bruise them a little bit, as long as we’ve got them all in the same room?” Reuben’s team laughed.
Reuben had to walk past Leighton to get to the door. Leighton winked at him. “You watch,” he said. “You’ll have your fair hearing.”
Reuben paused and studied Leighton’s face. He didn’t know this man. Did the popularity of his column give him so much power at the paper that he could override his editor? Or did he simply trust in his powers of persuasion? Or . . . was he lying right now, to keep Reuben from going to the Times?
Reuben made his guess, and bet his future on it. When he and Cole and the rest of the team got back to their cars, he told Mingo the combination to the keypad on the door of his car back in the Reston Town Center parking garage. “The keys are above the visor,” he said. “I need to take your SUV, if you don’t mind my borrowing it.”
“I made some modifications,” Mingo answered. It took him only a few minutes to show Reuben where the weapons and ammunition were hidden.
“I hope I don’t need this,” said Reuben. “I’ll surrender before I shoot at Americans.”
“So you’re not going to the Times?” said Cole.
“I’m betting on Leighton,” said Reuben. “But in the long run, we know it’s going to go against me. Because they’ll have evidence. And they’ll have some Jack Ruby wannabe waiting for me.”
“That’s why I’m coming with you,” said Cole.
“Then we really will look like a conspiracy.”