Detective Danny Cavanaugh 01 - The Brink

clearly and with more conviction that King Edward just had.
    The King has just thrown down the gauntlet.
    Although the scene on TV erupted into a shouting match between the reporters trying to get the King’s attention as he left the room, Lars shut off the TV. He didn’t want to cloud his own judgment with the rambling analysis regarding the King’s words that would be broadcast for the next few hours.
    Lars paced around the room as questions stung his mind. Had Fantroy informed the King about the presence of British nuclear material in the bombs found inside Washington, D.C.?
    “Whether you are part of a cowardly terrorist cell or are carrying out orders from even the most powerful government on the planet, it does not matter.”
    Was the King’s threat directed at President Butcher? Did King Edward think the United States was behind Fantroy’s death?
    There was no doubt that the rest of The Group’s members had heard King Edward’s address. Lars had to get their thoughts. He grabbed his cell phone off the nightstand and punched in a number.
    “Yes,” the baritone voice on the other end answered.
    Lars cleared away the morning mucus from his lungs. “We need to get everyone together. Now.”

Chapter 70
    A lesser man would be paranoid by now. A lesser man would be worrying about someone having seen him emerge from the Potomac and scramble to the waiting Jeep Grand Cherokee parked in the Kennedy Center’s parking garage. A lesser man would have considered taking the scuba gear in with him to his room at the Willard Hotel instead of stowing it in the Cherokee. A lesser man would even go as far as visualizing the police finding the gear and obtaining DNA samples from it.
    But Stefan Taber’s mind didn’t work like that. He strolled into the hotel lobby confident that his mission was completed flawlessly. He was certain that after spending most of his adult life completing impossible missions his DNA was on file somewhere in the world, but not in any databases used by law enforcement organizations or intelligence agencies inside the United States. Plus, in the off chance that the Cherokee was actually searched while it was tucked safely inside the parking garage of one of the most prestigious hotels in the world, Stefan Taber had no ties to it. He was also sure that the boat he had used to carry out his mission, the one that had been waiting for him at the Georgetown Marina and was now probably being examined by teams of experts, would not divulge any information about his real identity.
    As he approached his room on the fifth floor clothed in black Brooks Brothers slacks and a black mock turtleneck, he passed an elderly couple dressed to the nines. The man was trying to open their room door with a keycard. Taber saw the pair of opera glasses clutched in the woman’s liver-spotted hand.
    “Back from the opera?” Taber guessed, using an American accent.
    The woman turned toward him. “They canceled it because of the news.”
    Taber gave his best blank stare. “News?”
    “You didn’t hear? The prime minister of Great Britain…his plane was shot down by a missile.”
    “Shot down?” Taber replied, an Oscar-worthy look of shock on his face. “Where?”
    “Here,” the woman answered. “Just before it landed at Reagan National.”
    Taber shook his head. “My God. What’s this world coming to?”
    The old man swerved his eyes at Taber. “Fortunately, we won’t have to worry about that much longer.”
    Taber smiled politely. He motioned at the keycard. “Need some help with that?”
    “Yes, would you?” the old woman replied. “Walter, let him try.” She gave her husband a nudge, and he stepped aside.
    Taber slid the keycard in and out of the lock in one swift motion. It beeped, and a green light came on. Taber twisted the handle and the door opened. “There you are.”
    “Thank you, young man,” the woman said.
    “My pleasure. Have a good night.”
    Taber stopped down the hall in front of his own suite. He used his keycard to open the door. By the time it was halfway open, he realized his room was already occupied.
    While Taber recognized the scent of his guest’s cologne, his body still reacted to the unexpected surprise. He clenched his fists and stepped through the doorway on the balls of ready feet. He used the closet’s mirrored doors to see into the suite’s sitting room.
    Taber unclenched his fists and dropped his hands to his side as soon as his eyes confirmed the identity