The Sum of All Fears.pdf - Delta Force

een such a time as this, the Commander would do what must be done. Russell paid
for the breakfast with cash, leaving a large tip because the waitress looked
like a Native American.
Qati was pale when they got back to the rooms, and wiping his face after a long
bout of nausea.
'Can I get you something, man?' Russell asked. 'Milk, something good for your
stomach?'
'Not now, Marvin. Thank you.'
'You say so, man.' Russell opened his paper. There was nothing to do for the
next few hours but wait. The morning line on the game, he saw, was Minnesota by
six and a half. He decided that if anyone asked, he'd take the Vikings and give
the points.
***
Special Agent Walter Hoskins, Assistant Special Agent in Charge (Corruption and
Racketeering), of the Denver Field Division knew that he would miss the game
despite the fact that his wife had given him a ticket for Christmas. This he had
sold to the S-A-C for two hundred dollars. Hoskins had work to do. A
confidential informant had scored at the annual NFL Commissioner's party last
night. That party – like the ones preceding the Kentucky Derby – always
attracted the rich, powerful, and important. This one had been no exception.
Both U.S. Senators from Colorado and California, a gaggle of congressmen, the
states' governors, and approximately three hundred others had attended. His CI
had been at the table with Colorado's governor, senators, and the congresswoman
from the third district, all of whom were targets of his corruption case. Liquor
had flowed, and in the vino had been the usual amount of veritas. A deal had
been made last night. The dam would be built. The payoffs had been agreed upon.
Even the head of the Sierra Club's local branch had been in on it. In return for
a large donation from the contractor and a new park to be authorized by the
governor, the environmentalists would mute their objections to the project. The
sad part, Hoskins thought, was that the area really needed the water project. It
would be good for everyone, including the local fishermen. What made it illegal
was that bribes were being made. He would have his choice of five federal
statutes to apply to the case, the nastiest of which was the RICO law, the
Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act that had been passed over
twenty years before without a thought about its possible scope of coverage. He
already had one governor in a federal penitentiary, and to that he would add
four more elected officials. The scandal would rip Colorado state politics
asunder. The confidential informant in question was the governor's personal
aide, an idealistic young woman who had decided eight months earlier that enough
was enough. Women were always best for wearing a wire, especially if they had
large breasts, as this one did. The mike went right in the bra, and the geometry
of the location made for good sound quality. It was also a safe spot, because
the governor had already sampled her charms and found them lacking. The old saw
was right: hell really did have no fury like a woman scorned.
'Well?' Murray asked, annoyed to have to be in his office on another Sunday.
He'd had to ride the subway in, and now that was broken down. He might be stuck
all day here.