Free The Lazarus Moment by J Robert Kennedy Page B

terrorism. The sight of the husband and wife duo had been enough to
make him thankful his wife had never wanted to work for the CIA.
    I
wonder if Chris and Sherrie will make it.
    “Yes,
Mrs. Dudnik, I remember you. How are you?”
    “Please,
Director, call me Katya, I can’t stand the sound of my last name.”
    Morrison
detected trouble in paradise. It didn’t surprise him, the man was a drunk and
an embarrassment. He had looked up the file when he returned home just out of
curiosity. It wasn’t impressive, though hers was. “Katya. How can I help you?”
    “I have
troubling information that I felt you should be made aware of.”
    Morrison
felt his stomach tighten as he fished out his phone, quickly sending a text to
Leroux.
    Get
in here
    “What is
it?”
    “You of
course remember my ex-husband?”
    Ex. I
called that one.
    “Of
course.”
    “It has
come to my attention that he initiated an operation, completely unauthorized,
that may target your president.”
    The door
opened and Leroux stepped inside, his eyes questioning Morrison. He covered his
mouthpiece. “Get me Air Force One, now!”
    Leroux’s
eyes widened then he disappeared.
    Morrison
removed his hand. “Go on.”
    “My
husband, through his own volition, transferred a sizeable amount of money to a
Ukrainian freedom fighter named Igor Khomenko. This man blames your President
for the death of his family.”
    “Continue.”
    “We have
reason to believe that he intends to crash Air Force One.”
    Morrison
leapt from the chair, sending it smashing against the wall. “I need specifics.
How?”
    “My
ex-husband provided Mr. Khomenko with a virus capable of infecting Air Force
One’s computer system and crashing the aircraft. He has apparently kidnapped
the family of one of your Air Force personnel and already delivered the virus.
You need to ground Air Force One before it’s too late.”
    “Jesus
Christ! How long have you known this?”
    “Several
hours.”
    “And you
waited this long?”
    “This
was the first opp—”
    “Forget
it. I’ll call you back. Don’t you dare leave your desk!” He hung up the phone
and Leroux rushed back inside. “Line Two!”
    Morrison
hit the button. “This is National Clandestine Services Chief Morrison. There is
a verified threat to Air Force One. You need to land immediately!”
     
     

 
     
    Lower Deck Server Compartment, Air Force One
    Over Mozambique
    37,000 feet
     
    Lennox ran a routine scan of the comm system and found nothing out
of the ordinary. He wasn’t sure what to expect. They had been in the air for
quite some time and nothing had happened yet, at least nothing that he had
noticed. If the virus were indeed simply monitoring and relaying
communications, there might actually be nothing for him to see.
    And he
shouldn’t be looking.
    Yet he
couldn’t help it.
    What he
had done was gnawing at his gut and he was sick with guilt. He had to do it, he
knew that, otherwise his family would die. Yet he also knew he shouldn’t have
done it. What made his family’s lives any more important than the lives that
could be lost should the stolen classified information harm Americans or their
allies?
    He
glanced over at Cornel, wanting to tell him what he had done. He’d come clean,
tell them everything, and maybe they could find his family before they were harmed.
    Maybe.
Maybe. Maybe!
    What if
they couldn’t? He’d never be able to live with himself if anything happened to
Cecilia or Janice.
    Tell
him!
    It was
the right thing to do. It was what he had to do. He opened his mouth to speak
then snapped it shut when Agent in Charge McNeely entered the server room.
    He
didn’t like the way the man was looking at him.
    He
knows!
    The
smile was forced. Fake.
    It’s
time to come clean.
    He
pushed back from the terminal and stood, raising his hands. Cornel swiveled in
his chair and stared at him.
    “What
the hell are you doing?”
    “Step
aside, Airman.” Cornel swung to see McNeely approaching, one hand