LUE MAN AND SHANE CONNORS were sitting at the small table in the conference room when Robie walked in.

Connors and Robie made eye contact, exchanged a brief nod, and then Robie sat next to him.

Blue Man said, “I’ve just congratulated Agent Connors on a job well done.”

“Got me out from behind a desk,” said Connors. “That was reward enough.”

Robie eyed Blue Man. “What did Van Beuren tell us?”

“Pretty much everything.”

“Why did he turn on his country?”

“Basically money and morals.”

“The money I get. Explain the morals.”

“Well, the money was not exactly what you would have imagined. It was going to pay for medical bills, with plenty left over for Van Beuren to retire on. Even though they had insurance through the government, it didn’t cover some of the experimental treatments that they used to try and save Elizabeth Van Beuren. Without this money, they were going to have to declare bankruptcy. And without the money she wouldn’t have gotten the treatments. Unfortunately, they didn’t work.”

“And the morals?”

“George Van Beuren blamed the U.S. government for his wife’s cancer. He said it was exposure to the toxins in the battlefield that led to her illness and death. He wanted his revenge. And the president and one of the leaders of Saudi Arabia were excellent targets for his rage.”

“He must’ve talked to Gabriel Siegel,” said Robie. “He thinks the same thing.”

“It doesn’t excuse treason,” commented Connors.

“No, it doesn’t,” agreed Blue Man.

“And Van Beuren’s daughter?”

“Knew nothing about any of it, her father said. And we believe him. Nothing will happen to her.”

“But she’s lost both her parents now,” said Robie.

“Yes, she has.”

“Why was Van Beuren knocked out?”

“The original plan had been to leave him completely blameless. You discovering what you did made this impossible, of course, but they didn’t know that. So Lambert knocks him out and steals his gun. Van Beuren was going to hang around for a while longer in his job, then retire, and go live somewhere else.”

“And all the deaths leading up to that?” said Robie. “George Van Beuren screwed up. He told his wife what he was planning. Maybe he actually didn’t even think she was listening or lucid. Maybe he just wanted to get it off his chest. But she had heard him and, being the patriot she was, the lady was pissed. When she was visited by Broome or Wind or Getty, she told them. Van Beuren found out and action had to be taken. Scorched earth. Killed them all.”

“You’ve pretty much nailed what happened,” said Blue Man. “It was actually Leo Broome who had visited her. Broome later confronted Van Beuren about what his wife had said. Van Beuren tried to claim that his wife was simply hallucinating. But Talal’s people had Broome put under surveillance. Broome told both Rick Wind and the Gettys. That signed their death certificates. They dialed you up to kill Jane Wind because they were terrified her ex had told her something. And it was also the catalyst to set you in motion along the course Talal had planned for you.”

“And they put the tube down his wife’s throat so she couldn’t talk again,” noted Robie.

“They actually wanted to kill her, but Van Beuren said he wouldn’t go through with it if they did. When the plan was set and about to go off, he took her off the ventilator and she died naturally.”

“What about Gabriel Siegel?” asked Robie.

“They wanted us to think he was involved. They called him at work, told him his wife would be killed if he didn’t meet with them. I’m not sure we’ll ever find his remains. They had no reason to keep him alive.”

“The attack at Donnelly’s?”

“The Saudis interrogated Talal. He wanted you to suffer. Wanted you to blame yourself for what happened. He was certain you would figure out that you were the real target in all of this. They used a Secret Service van Van Beuren got for them. Stupid on Talal’s part because it would naturally swing suspicion that way. But I guess he thought no one was smarter than he was.”

“Broome’s money?”

“We did some more digging. It apparently was stolen Kuwaiti antiquities. He and Rick Wind were involved. Broome invested well. Wind did not Curtis Getty was clean.”

Blue Man paused and studied Robie. “But even though the president and the crown prince were the actual targets, you were at the center of this, Robie.”

“I didn’t kill Talal and he decides to find out who I was and then to come after me. When Elizabeth Van Beuren talked Talal saw a way to involve me in all of it. My handler orders the hit on Jane Wind and I’m off and running from one orchestrated event to another.”

Connors said, “It was a win-win for them. If you killed Wind and her son and later found out she was innocent they probably figured that would screw you up. And if you didn’t pull the trigger on a mother and son, that’s why they had the backup shooter. They’d learned of your exit plan on the bus. And they made sure Julie would be there too.”

Robie said, “And they probably figured whether I pulled the trigger or not I’d most likely get on the bus with Julie after I figured out who Jane Wind really was.”

Blue Man added, “But when they learned Julie came up with the idea of questioning other squad members, the game suddenly became too risky. That could lead to Van Beuren. They would kill Julie, and you too if necessary. Nothing could jeopardize the assassination attempt.”

“Guess it all makes sense,” said Robie slowly.

Blue Man said, “And Annie Lambert was an even earlier plant. After Talal escaped the attempt in Tangier and found out you were the shooter, he had her move into your building. This was before any of Elizabeth Van Beuren’s old squad members found out what her husband was up to. Talal evidently had certain plans for the two of you,” he added quietly.

Robie looked down at his hands. He had not brought himself to think about Lambert since the night he had killed her. “She was better than me,” he said at last. “Faster, steadier. Never seen anyone that calm in a situtation like that.”

“She was also drugged,” Blue Man pointed out. “Have you ever drugged yourself to carry out a mission?”

“No, but I’ve never gone into a mission where I absolutely knew I was going to die either,” Robie countered.

More uneasy silence followed until Connors asked, “How does an Ivy League–educated young woman from Connecticut end up being a traitor willing to die?”

Blue Man said, “We’ve done a lot of digging on that and the Saudis were able to get some information from Talal. Her adoptive father was English, the mother Iranian. They had emigrated to Iran while the shah was still in power. Apparently they were brutalized by members of the shah’s regime and even lost family members during the course of it. They appealed to their home government and to our government for help but apparentely were turned down. Back then the shah could do no wrong. As you know, we helped keep him in power. After the revolution in the late seventies, the shah was deposed and we lost all of our influence in that country. The Lamberts hated the West, obviously, and apparently America in particular. They returned to England, adopted Annie, moved to America, and raised her as their daughter.”

“But they were brainwashing her, programming her the whole time?” said Connors. “For something like this?”

“Apparently for all of her life. There was no guarantee, of course, that she would get a position at the White House. But one can attempt to kill the president in other places as well. Her parents were wealthy and politically active. She was a brilliant student and she was clearly a superb actress. We haven’t interviewed one person who had any inkling she was a ticking time bomb. Not one. She led the perfect life. Was able to interact socially, perform outstandingly at work. There was no flaw, no warning sign. It was as though she was two different people residing in the same body.”

She was, thought Robie. She had to be.

Blue Man paused and looked over at Robie. “She fooled the best we had,” he continued. “She was the most remarkable cell plant in my experience. Sort of a true-life Manchurian candidate, only better.”

Robie asked, “And where are her parents now?”

“Talal didn’t know. Perhaps back in Iran. If so, we can’t touch them.”

“There’s no place we can’t touch,” said Robie sharply. “And there’s a Russian and a Palestinian out there who need to be addressed as well. They were the ones who brought this thing to Talal.”

“I know. We’re working on that.”

The three men fell silent as Robie brooded, Blue Man looked equally pensive, and Connors merely seemed curious.

“There are many ways to hurt people, Robie,” said Blue Man finally. “I know you know that.”

“Yeah,” Robie said brusquely.

“She was trained for this her whole life. And we’re all terrified because she didn’t fit any profile we have. What if there are more Annie Lamberts out there?”

Connors said, “We have to find them and stop them.”

Robie smacked the table with the palm of his hand. “She was the puppet, her life taken from her by her parents. She’s dead and they get to live. Tell me what’s wrong with that picture?”

“She was a cold-blooded killer,” said Blue Man.

“Bullshit! She was what they made her! She never had a chance.”

“You’re not the best person to make that determination.”

“Then who is, some analyst who never even met her? You got an algorithm for that?”

Blue Man said nothing for a few moments. “If it makes you feel better, Khalid bin Talal is no longer among the living.”

Robie said nothing, because this meant nothing to him.

“Then there is the matter of Julie,” said Blue Man.

“I’ve got that covered,” said Robie abruptly. He rose.

“How?”

“I just do.” He looked at Connors. “I owe you, Shane. More than I’ll ever have in the bank.”

“We’re square. Like I said, got me out from behind the desk.”

Robie looked at Blue Man. “There are maybe five men I know who could have made the shots Shane did that night. And two of them are in this room. You might want to keep that in mind.”

“Rules are rules,” said Blue Man.

“No, rules, as we’ve seen, are made to be broken.”

He turned to walk out the door.

“Robie?”

He turned to look at Blue Man, who held up a manila folder. “This was delivered to us by messenger. I believe you received a set too. I think you should take this and do what you want with it. It’s of no use or concern to us.”

Robie took the package, opened it, and glanced at the photos inside. The first one was of him and Lambert on the rooftop bar. The next was of her kissing him in front of the White House. He didn’t look at the rest. He closed the package back up.

“Thanks.”

He walked out the door.