Page 85 of Edge of Honor

This was where having Nicholas on board really could have made a difference. Not only would he have been aware of what the Willis family had opted to purchase, but he would have also known how to turn it all off. Had he wanted, with a handful of keystrokes, Nicholas could have opened up a hole in the Willis security net big enough for Harvath to drive Haney’s Bronco through.

At the same time, such a request might have run the chance of offending him. Nicholas was not the same thieving, mercenary man he had once been twenty years ago. Finding a purpose greater than himself had changed him and it was Harvath who had led him to that greater purpose.

The Carlton Group had become Nicholas’s family—the most precious thing in the world for a person abandoned by his own parents. The stability and purpose it provided had, in turn, led to a real, true family of Nicholas’s own via Nina and their new baby. It was a life he had never allowed himself to dare dream of.

But as happy as Harvath had been for his friend, there were days when he missed the old Nicholas—a man willing to do the most expedient thing regardless of the costs.

Nevertheless, he had to come up with something and pushed a series of arguments around in his head.

Could he create an appeal to family that would sway Nicholas? Scot and Sølvi, the godparents of Nicholas’s daughter, had both come under attack. Hale was looking like he could have been behind the siege on the Secret Service motorcade, as well as Ambassador Rogers’s house. He might have even orchestrated the attack on the protesters and police outside the Naval Observatory that had spilled into Ambassador Hansen’s residence, killing two of her security agents and critically injuring the chef. Shouldn’t Nicholas want to help Harvath ascertain if Hale was involved?

What about the Willis family? If Hale was guilty of all the things Harvath suspected him of, what responsibility did the Carlton Group have to the Willises, even if the company hadn’t consulted on his being hired as their chief of security? If any other sort of threat ever came to Nicholas’s attention, would he bury it? Or would he find a way to get to the bottom of it?

It was a thorny issue, one that Harvath didn’t enjoy wrestling with. The older he got, the more he both understood and disliked the ambiguity of his former profession. It required a certain moral flexibility that took a lot of energy to justify.

Ultimately, however, if he wanted Nicholas’s help, which he did,he was going to have to shoot him straight and let the chips fall where they may.

Excusing himself, he got up from the table and told McGee he needed to make a call.

As he walked back to his office, he texted Nicholas and asked if he was free for a quick chat. He needed a favor. A serious one.

CHAPTER 43

FBI HEADQUARTERS

So much forThe X Files,” Fields quipped as she and Carolan sat outside the FBI director’s office, waiting to see if they’d be called in.

“The wholeX Filesthing and putting us down in the basement was Gallo’s idea. He’s not going to burn us with any mentions of Russia. He understands what’s at stake,” replied Carolan.

“The reason we moved down to the basement was to stay off his radar. Now look at us. We’ve got a dead neo-Nazi in Baltimore, whom I shot, and a request to rope one of the largest bureaucracies in the United States government into a massive sting operation.”

“Listen, I don’t like this any more than you do, but it’s not like we have a choice. Besides, Gallo wouldn’t have kicked this upstairs if he didn’t think it had merit. And for the last time, this isn’t a sting operation. I don’t want to lie to Russell. He may be a scumbag, but that’s not his kid’s fault. I want him to walk in, of his own accord, and for us to be able to talk with him without worrying he’s going to go psycho like Weber did.”

Fields shook her head. “There’s no telling if he’ll go psycho or not. All we’re doing is making sure he doesn’t have a gun in his waistband if he does.”

“As long as he doesn’t have a gun, we’ll be safe.”

“Do you have any idea how many other weapons can make it through a magnetometer?”

“A few,” Carolan replied.

“Tons, actually. So, unless you’re planning on conducting full pat-downs, which I know you’re not because it would be too suspicious, stop saying ‘we’ll be safe,’ okay?”

“There’s going to be an FBI SWAT team in the next room.”

“I could kill half the Bureau’s senior leadership, without a pistol, before the first SWAT team member made it through that door. You want to give this asshole the same opportunity?”

“Of course not.”

“Then don’t give him the benefit of the doubt. Expect the unexpected. He’s a piece of shit, just like Weber. Having a sick kid doesn’t change that. Don’t feel sorry for him. Don’t you dare.”

“For fuck’s sake, Jenny, I get it. Okay?” he replied.

Fields chuckled. It wasn’t often that she got a rise out of him, even with his renowned temper. It was less often still that she caused him to utter a grade-A curse word.

“What’s so funny?”

“Apparently, shit’s finally getting real. Sugar Bear just dropped the f-bomb.”

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