Inside Outt

in your way.”
    Ben wasn’t sure which would be easier. “Okay,” he said.
    “Larison should be calling in shortly. I’ll let you know how it goes. If this plan of theirs works out, I’d say you can expect him to arrive in Costa Rica in anywhere from the next six to twenty-four hours. It’s going to be an interesting day in San Jose.”

CHAPTER 21
Caught in the Crossfire
    U lrich was just heading into Trinity Methodist with his wife when he saw Clements standing by the entrance. Christ, were they watching him now? And was this their way of letting him know they were watching?
    No, he was probably just being paranoid. And even if they were watching, so what? Did they really think they could intimidate him? He had the recordings, and God help them if they pushed him.
    “You go ahead,” he said to his wife. “I just need to make a quick call.”
    She smiled understandingly and went inside. She knew he viewed church attendance mostly as a matter of keeping up appearances, both in the community, and, just in case, with the Almighty. More often than not, the pre-church calls he made lasted longer than just a minute.
    He raised his mobile to his ear and walked back out to the sidewalk, nodding at a few incoming parishioners along the way. By the time he reached the parking lot, he heard Clements just behind him. He dropped the mobile back into his pocket.
    Clements fell in alongside him. “I tried you at the office, but—”
    “What, are you watching me now?”
    “Please. It’s pretty easy to know where someone goes to church.”
    Clements’s denial did nothing to ease his suspicions. But it didn’t matter. The audiotapes were all the protection he needed. “What is it?”
    Clements glanced down at Ulrich’s hands. “You taping this conversation?”
    “I’ve got more than enough already. We’re already at mutually assured destruction, Clements. I don’t need more warheads.”
    Ulrich waited, giving Clements time to absorb the truth of Ulrich’s words. After a moment, Clements said in a low voice, “The national security adviser just ordered JSOC to stand down. Larison called in this morning, we told him we know who he is, we know everything, that if he doesn’t cough up the tapes, his lover and his lover’s family are fucked, one at a time. We think he’s on his way to Costa Rica right now.”
    Ulrich looked at him. “Your guys are there?”
    “On their way. The national security adviser made clear this is CIA’s op. Horton didn’t like it, but he doesn’t have the resources right now anyway.”
    “And you do? For a snatch?”
    There was a pause. “Yes and no. No, Ground Branch doesn’t have a snatch team in theater. But we were able to scramble a private team. Blackwater.”
    “Blackwater? We don’t want contractors getting hold of those tapes. Are you crazy?”
    “What were our alternatives? You want JSOC running the op?”
    Shit. Clements had a point. “You trust those guys?”
    “More than I trust Horton.”
    Another good point. “What about Horton’s guy? The one in the photo. Treven.”
    “Like I said, he’s been ordered to stand down.”
    “You really think Horton is just going to tell his man to walk away?”
    Clements stroked his chin. “I see what you’re saying. Well, I have two Ground Branch guys there now per what we discussed previously. They’re not equipped for a snatch, and two is too few anyway, but you’re right, it wouldn’t hurt to have them keep looking for Treven.”
    “Good. And even more important, make sure the contractors have the photo. If Treven shows up at the snatch point, they should assume he’s there to interfere. And you know, it’s not like they’d be expecting him, so it would be understandable if he accidentally got caught in the crossfire.”
    “You’re right. I’ll make sure the Blackwater operators know who to look for.”
    “And the Ground Branch guys. And what to do if they see him.”
    Clements nodded and turned to walk away. “They’ll know.”

CHAPTER 22
Big and Bad
    P aula came out of the bathroom, obviously done with her call. Ben said, “How’s the Bureau today?”
    She looked at him. “They say my role here is done.”
    “What does that mean?”
    “It means I’m supposed to return to Washington.”
    “Is that a bad thing?”
    “You know it’s a bad thing. It means that’s it for the law. The assassins are going to take over now.”
    Ben sighed. She was so earnest with the law-and-order