The Mask of Minos, Bruno's Inferno

Chapter 47 - Joining Forces

                                              

Just to be safe the President met with Reggie Toynbee - who had worked with him years ago during the Vietnam War - privately in the rose garden over beer and sandwiches.

The sun shone in a cloudless sky. The deep azure warmed the rich landscaping. A breeze blew sporadically. They discussed what was on Reggie's table, shared those concerns years ago in the Navy when Gardner served as administrative governor of the Western districts. Reggie wanted to confirm with the President his plans for the current mission, code named – Cerberus – the creature that guarded the entrance to the underworld with his master, Charon. The president knew the basics and that was enough for him to draw some of his own conclusions.

"But they are still alive," the President said. "They've managed to keep ahead of whoever it is trying to kill them?"

"I'm not so sure who wants them dead. Somehow they have managed to stay alive."

"Nicias has his claws in this and he may be the stumbling block. He's over reached his place this time. I don't think he has the balls to survive it. There's nothing I can do, however, to keep him off your back, except to keep you informed of his whereabouts. Arthur has a man, Drake Collins who is running things for him overseas. He's a real pit bull."

"He's dead. His whole team is dead. Murdered."

"How's that? Dead, you say?" He paused for a brief moment. "Too bad."

"The police found the girl, Sally in her car. Her throat cut from ear to ear. Two more found the same way in an apartment across the street from where Harry was staying. Collins was shot at close range execution style in Thursday's apartment.

"We're dealing with a lot of money here Stan. It could easily outnumber the sum of everything we did during the war and after, before the wall went up. The way I see it we have three factions at odds: One; Nicias, if what you say is right. Two; the Russians, or someone from Russia. Sara seems to think it's either a man called Illya Romanov the millionaire from the Soviet Union, or three; a group called The Hyperboreans."

"Well Reginald, you are wrong on one front. The Hyperboreans don't exist, they're a myth, a jabberwocky created to scare us off. A name only. That name came up when I was in Europe. It's all hooey."

Every time a servant or the secret service came by they would stop talking. "Can you trust them?"

"Don't worry. I have my own people here. Fiercely loyal to me. Arthur was a big help getting me elected, as I'm sure you know." He rolled his eyes. "But I'm getting tired of his meddling. Let him think what he wants. He thinks it's all his, but I fired them all and got my own and he's not happy about it." He frowned. Didn't smile; rarely smiled. His hair had greyed in the two years he was in office and the post dragged heavily on his shoulders. They drank their beers and enjoyed the time. A distant horn blew, and a siren could be heard on more than one occasion in the background, noises as commonplace as the sound of the waves at a beach side resort.

Stan cordially asked Reggie about his family, about the department, about his father who knew his own.

"Do you have anybody you can put over there, someone you can trust?"

"I'm not sure I want to show my hand just yet. In one hand, I could look like the savior of the world. The secret behind the big war, even the end of the Cold War could me my doing. The voters would love me, and the historians laud me with high praise. But if I screw it up, and things go wrong, I'll be fed to the lions. They'll crucify me and I don't want that.

"My hands are tied you see Regg. If I show them too early, then Arthur will chop them off. He could expose me as a fraud, destroy me politically and throw the whole country into upheaval. He thinks I'm stupid in this. He hasn't any idea." He drank his beer and ate more of the sandwich. "I had Sally working for me, a sort of double agent."

"I'm sorry Stan. Was she loyal?"

"She loves - loved her country body and soul, believed in what she was doing. She was fierce in her endeavors and strong in her convictions. Sally was on the last helicopter to leave Saigon."

Toynbee waited for the sound of a commercial airliner to fade before he spoke again. "If Collins is dead, then someone is on to Nicias. We have to take him out of the equation, but do it so he doesn't know who's doing it."

The President looked at Reggie in disbelief. "I think someone is already taking care of that for us Regg."

"Then it will be just Romanov."

"I can't think of the Soviets getting involved. You know they're watching him. That would escalate the Cold War, and we'd have another Bay of Pigs on our hands." He winced at that thought. "Remember what happened to Kennedy. Nicias wouldn't hesitate to do the same to me."

"It's different now. Not as easy to assassinate the President."

"Reginald, you should sell insurance. Okay, I'll do it. I'm putting you in charge of the whole operation. I'm letting Tony know about it. The CIA has to be my safety net. My hands are washed from here on out. My attorneys will nag the hell out of me."

"You might want to keep the attorneys out of it for now, but it's your choice of course Stan." Toynbee stood to leave without shaking hands. But before he went too far, he turned. "What are you going to do with Nicias?"

"I'm going to pull his teeth."

Toynbee left the White Hose and immediately headed for the airport and the private jet waiting there. His things already on board. His blood raced through his aging body. A new challenge. He couldn't wait to sink his teeth into it. And Greece is so nice this time of year.