Free The Lazarus Moment by J Robert Kennedy Page A

man who looked to him like death warmed over,
rather than a man free of cancer. It wasn’t for him to judge, though, it the
President’s prerogative to invite whomever he wanted. But now a report had just
arrived that the family of one of the Air Force members staffing the plane was
missing and foul play was suspected. Whenever something like this happened it
was always a concern, though when it was a member of the military dealing directly
with the President, it raised all kinds of red flags.
    “What
evidence is there?”
    “Mrs.
Lennox didn’t show up for a baby shower and missed a meet-and-greet with her daughter
the night before. Her purse and cellphone were found in the house, and a neighbor
reported seeing a black SUV in the driveway the day before that they didn’t
recognize.”
    “So they
might have been missing for over twenty-four hours.”
    McNeely
nodded. “Which means they might be halfway around the world by now.”
    “More
likely close by.”
    “Agreed.”
    “But
more than enough time to have made contact with the Airman if it were a ransom
situation.”
    “Again
agreed.”
    “Any
evidence he’s been contacted?”
    McNeely
shook his head. “Not yet. Homeland is pulling his cellphone records and beyond
a room service call to his hotel room, there’s no record of any calls.”
    “What’s
his roommate have to say?”
    “He’s
sitting next to Airman Lennox so we haven’t been able to question him yet.”
    Dawson
didn’t like the sound of what he was hearing. A man’s family is taken for only
three reasons that he could think of. One, a random act having nothing to do
with the specific family; two, a specific act of violence, perhaps revenge with
no end game other than harming or killing the family; or three, as leverage
over another member of the family.
    His
money was on number three.
    “What
does he have access to?”
    “Everything.”
    Dawson
cursed. “I recommend we isolate him immediately. If they’ve already made
contact with him, there’s no telling what he might do. The President’s life
could be at risk.”
    McNeely’s
shoulders squared. “You’re right, delaying is too risky. I’ll go down, make it
look like a routine security sweep, then pull him away from his terminal.” He
nodded toward two of his men. “You two come in when you hear me yell. Our aim
is to keep him away from that keyboard before he has a chance to do anything.”
    Dawson
stepped toward McNeely, lowering his voice. “I’d like to volunteer my men.
We’ve got a little more experience in this area.”
    McNeely
looked at the two men he had chosen, one of them shrugging his shoulders. “Okay
with me, boss, we both know who these guys are.”
    “I don’t
mind piss in my cornflakes,” said the other, everyone chuckling.
    “Okay.
But just two of you. I’ll still go in, it will look less suspicious.”
    “Roger
that.” Dawson motioned for Niner to join him.
    “Whassup?”
    “Time to
get to work.”
     
     

 
     
    CIA Headquarters, Langley, Virginia
     
    “Chief, priority call for you.”
    Morrison
hadn’t even left the cubicles before Marc Therrien flagged him down, holding up
a phone. He debated taking the held up phone or heading back to his office.
    Priority
call.
    He
pointed to Leroux’s enclosed office. “I’ll take it in Chris’ office.”
    “Yes,
sir.”
    Morrison
strode toward Leroux’s office then closed the door, dropping into the high back
chair behind the desk. He lifted the receiver and hit the blinking Line 1
light. “Morrison here.”
    “Director,
is this line secure?”
    He
didn’t recognize the voice, though the accent was unmistakable.
    Russian.
    He hit a
button on the phone, checking the status. “On this end, yes.”
    “Good.
This is Katya Dudnik. We met in London once, a couple of years ago.”
    Morrison
searched his memory then smiled as he remembered the unhappy couple of FSB
officers he had met at a reception after a security conference dealing with
Islamic