The Project 04 - Black Harvest

D.C., an apartment and a town house. There are neighbors. There's a house and grounds by itself near Alexandria. If I wanted to interrogate someone, that's where I'd take them. We've used it in the past."
    "Where is it?"
    "Give me fifteen minutes. Meet me in your parking lot. I'll pick you up." Lucas hung up.
    "He's on his way." Nick repeated what Lucas had told him.
    Harker picked up her pen. "Nick. You, Korov and Selena." She paused. "This could go bad. Try not to kill anyone. I don't think Lodge will be there, but if he is, for God's sake don't shoot him."
    "If he hurt Steph, you might want to tell that to Lucas," Nick said.

CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

    Nick ran it down for Lucas on the drive. When he told him about Korov, Lucas gave the Russian a hard look in the mirror. As he talked about Lodge, Monroe's face tightened.
    Lucas Monroe had made it from the mean streets of Washington to the sixth floor at Langley. He was one of the most successful field agents in CIA history. For a black man in a culture rooted in the old WASP Ivy League, it was a hell of an achievement. He'd earned it, every hard step of the way.
    "That bastard. You should have told us before. Hood could have helped." His tone was accusing.
    "I couldn't, Lucas. We didn't know if Hood was part of it. We couldn't be sure. Stephanie couldn't tell you. You know how it is."
    "Yeah. Need to know." He focused on the road. "If Lodge has hurt her..." He didn't finish.
    The safe house was a two story colonial set behind a high brick wall. A heavy steel gate blocked the entrance to a blacktop drive. A small guard shack stood outside the gate. A man wearing a sport jacket and sunglasses came out of the shack as they pulled up. He didn't wear a tie and his shirt was open at the collar. There was a bulge under his jacket.
    "Can I help you," he said.
    Lucas showed his ID. With Alpha clearance he had access to any CIA facility anywhere in the world.
    "Sir, I don't have you on my list. I need to call it in."
    "Do you recognize my clearance?"
    "Yes, sir."
    "Then you know I don't need to be on your list. Open the gate."
    "Sir, Director Lodge..."
    "You like guard duty?"
    "It's okay, sir."
    "Open the damned gate, or you're going to be doing it in Afghanistan."
    "I'm sorry, sir. I have orders from the DCI himself. I need to call it in."
    The movement was casual. Korov opened the rear door and got out of the car. He stretched.
    "Beautiful day," he said.
    He moved so fast Nick barely saw it happen. Korov drove stiffened fingers into the man's solar plexus and slammed his elbow into the side of his head. The guard collapsed. Korov dragged him into the shack. He pressed a switch. The gate slid open. Korov ripped wires from the wall. He came out of the shack and got back in the car.
    "What was that?"
    "Feeds to the cameras." Korov nodded at a camera by the gate. "Perhaps they know we are coming, perhaps not."
    "You kill him?"
    "No."
    Lucas shook his head. "I hope you're right about this."
    They drove up to the entrance and got out of the car.
    Lucas took out his pistol. "I know the house. There's a foyer and then a long hall down the middle. Front to back, you pass a living room, dining room and kitchen on the right. Music room, library, den on the left. Doors to each opening on the hall. Four bedrooms upstairs. The interrogation rooms are in the basement. If they have her, that's where she'll be. The entrance is past the kitchen, on the right. One flight of steps."
    They drew their weapons. Lucas went in front. Carter, Selena and Korov stood to the side. Lucas pulled open the front door, using it as a partial shield. Nothing happened. They entered the house and fanned out across the foyer. Korov left the door open behind them.
    Nick signaled with his hand, pointing fingers. Korov, Selena to the left. Lucas and himself to the right.
    Selena was about to enter the music room when a man came out.
    "Who..."
    Selena moved in a blur, three strikes, the last to the base of the skull. The man fell unconscious to the floor. Korov followed her in. They cleared the music room and entered the library. The room was a window into past centuries, floor to ceiling shelves filled with hundreds of volumes. A large world globe rested in a cradle on a polished mahogany table. Prints of English country scenes hung on the walls. A sliding ladder ran on tracks along the shelves. Sunlight streamed through French doors opening onto a patio and garden. An oriental rug covered the floor. The room would have