“Me? How is that possible?”
“You not only hold information dear to the Circle but you are also a precious commodity to Management. It’s brilliant really. It’s why Norman was allowed to leave the cell he was in and settle down with you in the suburbs. Enough, though, eyes are watching and I’m sure they’ve seen your car outside by now. You must go home. Talk to Norman and he will tell you the rest.”
“I have Bunko tonight,” said Wallis, almost to herself. “I have to go.”
Chapter Twenty
Twenty-five steps from the small basement office at the bottom of the B ring and a left turn to the wide stairs straight up near the entrance of the Pentagon. Heel, toe, heel, toe. Turn right and walk a hundred steps down the hallway, through the security turnstiles and out the glass double doors to the South parking lot. One minute flat, he thought, looking down at his watch, and he was standing by his car.
Fred Bowers counted each step, every time, willing himself to remember which role he was playing today.
Every year he thought it might get easier but after twenty years he realized he was at a baseline. Counting the steps, finding a pattern made the transition between the two worlds bearable. He was a mole within his own country, even within his own organization.
At the dawn of the internet the Circle became a little more like Management and grew wary of its own members. To quell the uneasy feeling the zwanzig created deeper cells within the structure that were hidden from everyone else.
Fred was tagged as the perfect recruit to be of service to the upper echelon within the Circle and overnight he was split into two distinct lives. One was spent as a forensic accountant located in the James Center in downtown Richmond, Virginia and the other was as an Assistant Director in the Department of Defense as a part of the Senior Executive Service corps with an office inside of the Pentagon.
The dual roles were like having an affair with a passionate, out of control woman and going home to her controlling, murderous sister. The two sides are related and both need you but there are boundaries. Beyond them he was very expendable.
The first role required him to be the good family man and capable lawyer who was always the follower attracting attention for the nervous fear that seemed to cling to him. In this persona he was the low-level member of the Circle who was never entrusted with anything of importance. Neither side saw him as much of a threat, only a pawn.
The other role was closer to the truth. He was serving in a top cell stripped of anything but the duties at hand. It was a role that measured every thought, every action and every word out of his mouth and always with a glance at the bigger picture.
He saw himself as a necessary part of the game at hand but he was also keenly aware that parts can always be replaced.
He had accepted that death was a likely part of the mission a long time ago when he was sworn in to serve the highest elements in government that belonged to the Circle. Over the years the strata fluctuated, sometimes within a few heartbeats of the oval office. Once again, though one of their own was elected president and it was Fred’s job to keep him informed.
Misinformation could advance an enemy plot far more than the threat of any missile and without the right kind of advisor at his side it would be very difficult for any president to know what to do.
Most of the struggle between the two giants was played out in the open. American members infiltrated both political parties, sat in both Houses and were sprinkled at the top of every major corporation. The lobbyists, however, were by far the most interesting group.
Their express purpose was to represent the will and intention of whoever was paying their tab but with a hard slant toward their team, Management or the Circle. They were the enforcers dressed up in very expensive suits who spent their days reminding legislators what happened to anyone who betrayed their cause. Management had the advantage in those moments and bared their teeth more openly. The Circle lobbyists always had to spin the story into what lives would be lost at the hands of the Management. But every Circle Senator or Congressman knew there were limits even within their own group.