Detective Danny Cavanaugh 01 - The Brink

of a particularly daring smuggling operation, one for the record books, which happened before his time at the border. A small team of coyotes, men that helped smuggle people into the United States, had blown up several warehouses on the far northern side of downtown El Paso. Thinking it was a terrorist attack, all area law enforcement agencies were called to respond to the explosion. At the same time, as the story goes, somewhere between two thousand and ten thousand illegals simply walked out of a mile long tunnel that began in Ciudad Juarez onto the streets of El Paso’s east side.
    “Because I think your terrorists could have used the gas attack as a cover,” Danny said.
    The president’s eyes widened. “A cover for what?”
    “You said it yourself. CEOS ensures the continuation of government should a disaster happen in D.C. I believe the terrorists delivered more nukes underneath the city, and not just dirty bombs either.”
    The president turned white. “Jesus,” he murmured. “Hidden in plain sight.”

Chapter 78
    It was a first in the history of The Group: they were meeting in the same place twice. There was no time to make other arrangements. Lars Karlsson stood at the front of their private meeting room at the Westbury Hotel, held up his hand, and cleared his throat. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he announced. The hushed whispers that snuck around the room ceased. Lars tightened his back and slowly rolled his shoulders. He knew the room was clean. The Group could talk openly.
    “As I am sure everyone is aware, our great friend and colleague Anthony Fantroy was murdered. Our source inside the White House has assured me that no one in President Butcher’s administration is aware of our plans. Furthermore, there was no White House directive to kill the prime minister.”
    Our source inside the White House. Lars was well aware that most of the people present in the room had no idea who that was, and for good reason. The Group’s board of directors rarely wanted to expose names of their contacts for fear of someone leaking that name, either on accident or on purpose.
    “What about King Edward’s statement this morning?” the French foreign minister called from the back of the room. “It was a hostile, direct message to the Americans. Do we know if King Edward thinks that the president is hiding something?”
    Lars didn’t get a chance to answer the question before another concern was raised.
    “And what is the status of the hunt for Sydney Dumas and Danny Cavanaugh?” the finance minister of Luxembourg wanted to know.
    The whispers returned, weaving throughout the attendees. Lars again held up his hand and the room fell silent. “Prime Minister Fantroy was our link to the Crown. With him gone, I do not have an answer as to the King’s thought process. As far as Ms. Dumas is concerned, our White House contact has let me know that both she and Danny Cavanaugh are now at the White House.”
    Lars paused. The gap in his speech was filled with what he expected, a few concerned gasps and gruff whispers. “Ladies and gentlemen, if I may continue. Ms. Dumas has been placed under house arrest.”
    “And what of Cavanaugh?”
    Lars chose his words carefully. “All that our man knows is that he had a private meeting with the president and then was issued a White House vehicle. Our man is tracking that vehicle as we speak.” His explanation quieted the room. “I know that we all are concerned about the events that are unfolding, but we need explanations just as much as the president does. Why was Anthony’s plane shot down? Who did it? If White House officials have arrested Ms. Dumas, she either hasn’t told them anything about what she saw in Mexico or, if she has, White House officials do not believe her. We need to wait and see what happens with Cavanaugh. He may find out something that is vital to our needs as well. We need to be patient. Our operative Stefan Taber is also in Washington, D.C. Our White House man is keeping in contact with him concerning all relevant events. Taber has assured me that he will monitor Sergeant Cavanaugh and will get back to me with any pertinent information.”
    “What if Taber fails?” the French foreign minister asked.
    Lars smiled. “You all know as well as I do that our operations always have fail-safes. If Taber fails then we will follow our backup plan.” Lars cut off a Russian oil baron who was about to speak. He could read the man’s mind.
    What is