Termination Orders(46)

“It’s on the planner, sir.”

“All right, then.” He shrugged. “Send her in.” He placed the receiver back in the cradle, picked the draft bill up again, and put his feet on his desk, pretending to be engrossed in the document. He looked up nonchalantly as the door opened, and he nearly upset his chair when he saw who it was.

He knew her only from photographs, and they did not tell the whole story. She was tall and in her late thirties with slight wrinkles around her eyes but still a knockout in her sleek business outfit that was perhaps slightly too flattering for the part. Her walk was naturally seductive, a rhythmic gait that accentuated her sensuous curves. Hers was a striking, murderous beauty, with high cheekbones and sleek, light blond hair. But most of all, it was her eyes that were frightening, deep blue eyes that betrayed nothing but casual pitilessness, like that of a tiger regarding a baby antelope that had stumbled into its lair.

Natasha. “Wh-what are you doing in my office?” he demanded, trying to be intimidating but not convincing even himself.

“Come now, Senator,” she responded, with honeyed undertones in her barely accented speech. “Surely you wouldn’t turn away the person who has been doing your dirty work.”

“How did you get in here?”

She shrugged. “The door. You saw me come in.” She ambled slowly around the office as if she owned it, touching this and that, running her hands along various surfaces. “You seem to think you’re a lot safer than you really are. Like a handful of fat, middle-aged security men will keep someone like me out of here. I barely even had to try.” She had made her way around the office and now stood in front of him. “Good thing I work for you, no?”

“You can’t be here,” he said through his clenched teeth. “What if you’re seen?”

“What of it?” she said, casually. “Do you think I care? I don’t exist. I’m not the most trusted politician in America. Isn’t that right, Senator Nickerson?” Her voice dripped with sarcasm. She looked up at a crucifix he had nailed to the wall. “Are you a religious man, Senator?” She was mocking him, with just a hint of a threat. “Or is that only a show for the voters? Or”—she grinned maliciously—“do you truly believe you will go to a better place when you die?”

“What are you, a reporter? How about we cut the small talk and you tell me why you’re here?”

“My, you are all business, aren’t you?” She gave him a cool smile. “Okay, then. I am here for two reasons,” she said. “First, I wanted to see your face when you saw me. Men like you, they do not face the truth of their actions. They sit in their fancy cars and big offices and let people like me do their dirty work. Well, here I am. The face of all your sins. And I must say, it gives me pleasure to see you squirm.”

“I’m glad you’re having fun,” he said, losing his patience. “But I’m not the one who failed to kill Cobra in Afghanistan. I’m not the one who let him escape with the goddamn photographs and I’m not the one who let the Agency spook take the goddamn pictures in the first place. So instead of coming in for this very pleasant meet-and-greet, maybe you should be out there trying to fix your own screwups.”

She eyed him menacingly; her tone became ice-cold. “Cobra was more slippery than I expected. I underestimated him. But that is a mistake that I will rectify soon.”

“You’d sure as hell better, or—“

“The second reason I am here,” she said, interrupting him, “is that I want you to know that our relationship is going to change. As of now, my fees are doubled, and you are no longer entitled to secrecy. You will tell me what I want to know when I want to know it. Do you understand?”

“You think you can come in here and tell me what to do?”

“The alternative is to come in here and slit your throat.” She pouted seductively. “Do we have an understanding, Senator Nickerson?”

“Yes,” he said, gritting his teeth. “We do.”

She chuckled. “Of course you say ‘yes.’ But you are a coward at heart, and like any coward, you will turn back on your word as soon as I walk out the door. But it is of no matter, because I will be enforcing our little agreement.”

He glowered at her.

“I want to know what your plan is. The master plan. What are you in for, Nickerson? What are you trying to accomplish here? And don’t give me that bullshit about doing important things away from government oversight. You don’t give a shit about improving humanity.”