Run into Trouble

motel in an hour, driving an inconspicuous Ford sedan.”
    There was a click and the line went dead. Drake stared at the receiver. Melody did too.
    “Who was it?”
    “Slick. He’ll be here in an hour.”
    “That was fast. He must not be far away.”
    “Probably in the San Jose area. He’s been investigating Casey, just like we have.”
    ***
    “Casey can’t just mount a coup and take over the government. This isn’t some fifth-rate country with flies and bribable officials. We have a constitution. The president is Commander in Chief of the armed forces.”
    Drake had a lot more he could say, but he didn’t want to work himself into a state of apoplexy. Slick was driving them from the middle of nowhere to the middle of somewhere in the roomy Ford sedan. At least he didn’t have his Porsche. With traffic momentarily clear in front of them, he glanced at Drake and Melody, both sitting on the bench seat beside him. “What you say is theoretically true. But what if…”
    “What if what?”
    “What if the armed forces don’t obey the president?”
    “That won’t happen.”
    “What if the generals and admirals have an allegiance to a greater god?”
    “You mean Casey? Why would they?”
    Melody said, “Because the president is talking about ending the Vietnam War, or at least the U.S. involvement in it. He wants to downsize the military. Even if the Cold War continues, that doesn’t get nearly the support of a hot war. The military may see a diminishing role for itself in the world.”
    Slick nodded. “If Casey can manufacture another war and scare enough people along the way, there’s no telling what can happen. People may even support a temporary suspension of the Constitution.”
    Even though he was appalled at the idea, Drake knew Slick could be right. “Temporary usually becomes permanent.”
    Slick pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant. “My daddy told me never to eat at a place called Mom’s, but when the alternative is starvation, I think we can make an exception.”
    In fact, the sign over the entrance read, “Mom’s Café,” and underneath it, “Good Food.” The “F” was almost obliterated. It might just as easily have read “Good Wood” or even “Good Mood.”
    Once inside and seated, Drake asked, “What happens now?”
    There was a pause as a waitress showed up and took their orders. They tried to order the least bad alternatives from a greasy menu. The place didn’t have a liquor license, so Drake had to settle for coffee to drink.
    When the waitress left, Slick spoke. “We need to discredit Casey with the American people. To that effect, we’re leaking the story of Casey as a possible murderer, even though there’s no proof. If we do it right, the press will eat it up.”
    Melody said, “What about the fact that Giganticorp manufactured the submarine?”
    “That’s a tricky one, although we’ve verified that they did make it. The accusation would be that they sold it illegally to the USSR, but we haven’t been able to dig up any evidence that it actually happened that way, and we’ve got pretty good connections within the USSR. We need to do some more work on it. That’s where you two come in.”
    “Can you leak that it was manufactured by Giganticorp and let the press run with it?”
    “No, because it might backfire on the administration. The president could be accused of making deals with the enemy.”
    “Okay, what do you want us to do?”
    “You…” Slick indicated Drake, “…have one of the best connections to the military.”
    “You mean my father? He thinks of Casey as his long lost son.”
    “Look, I know that’s painful for you.” Slick actually looked empathetic, if a macho man wearing dark glasses is able to look empathetic. “It can also help us. Admiral Drake knows—or can find out—things that you can’t. The intelligence we’re looking for is the whole story behind the sub and the attack.”
    Drake felt miserable. “My father doesn’t confide in me.”
    “ Au contraire . He told you about Casey’s liaison with Grace.”
    Melody tried to come to Drake’s rescue. “If we go to Bakersfield to see Admiral Drake, we’ll have to quit Running California. That will blow our cover that gets us to Casey.”
    Slick smiled. “Blade doesn’t want you to quit the race. Of course, you’re getting paid to run also. There’s nothing like receiving money from the enemy, is there, as long as it doesn’t affect your judgment.