The Third Option

chapter 28
It took Gus Villaume less than two hours to decide on a course of action. Despite Mario's death, he felt almost himself again. There was a chance that Iron Man was working for the Professor, but Villaume doubted it. The assassin he had seen operate in Paris could not tolerate a man as amateurish as the Professor. No, Villaume had decided, Iron Man wanted the Professor as much or even more than he did.

And what sweet justice it would be to point Iron Man in the direction of that phony, smug double-crosser. If the man was as connected as he liked to claim, he would wet himself when he found out that Iron Man was onto him.

Villaume caught the city bus on New York Avenue and 11th Street near the convention center and found a seat near the back. He counted seven other riders. Rush hour wouldn't start for another hour. When the bus started moving, Villaume punched in the number. After three rings, a deep voice said hello.

"Iron Man?"

"Yes."

"Do you have something to write with?"

"Yes."

Villaume hunched over and spoke in a soft tone. "The man's called the Professor. He's about five eleven, and I'd guess he weighs around two thirty. Hazel eyes, black hair and beard... probably around fifty, give or take a couple of years. I'd guess from his accent that he grew up around D.C. Probably on the Virginia side but definitely not as far south as Richmond."

"What else?"

"I've got a number." Villaume gave Rapp the number he used to contact the Professor.

"Anything else?"

Villaume thought about it for a second. "Up until Colorado, I would have guessed that he had never got his hands dirty before, but he insisted on taking them out himself."

There was a moment of hesitation on the other end. "From how far?"

"About two hundred meters. He had a really unique piece of hardware."

"What was it?"

Villaume looked up. No one was paying any attention to him. "A Stoner SR-25."

"Anything else?"

"Unfortunately, no."

"Come on. You can do better than this!"

"I'm sorry, but it's all I've got for you. Believe me, I wish I knew more."

"How am I going to get hold of you?"

"You aren't going to."

"Come on, Gus, I need your help."

"I'm sorry, but I need to disappear for a while."

"You can trust me. We both want the same thing now." Rapp was pleading.

"That's the problem with this job, my friend. Everybody tells you to trust them right up to the moment they put a bullet in your head."

There was a long period of silence while Rapp thought of the position Villaume was in. He knew if he were in his shoes, he would run. He would trust no one, and he would live to fight another day. Finally, he said, "Gus, I understand. You take care of yourself, and call me if you think of anything else."

"I will. And good luck. I hope you get him." Villaume turned off his phone and closed it. As he looked out the window, the bus rumbled over a decaying bridge, the National Arboretum off to the right. He felt like a coward, but he knew he was doing the right thing. If Iron Man was sincere, Villaume had no doubt the Professor would be joining Mario in the afterlife in the not so distant future.

THE OTHER TWO men watched Rapp and waited for him to speak. He left his phone on and set it in the charger stand, then handed Scott Coleman the notepad with the information Villaume had given him. After a second, Rapp looked at Marcus Dumond, who was sitting in front of his desk. The surface was covered with mouses, keyboards, and three computer screens.

"Can you track him the next time he calls?"

"Villaume?"

"Yeah."

Dumond grimaced. "I don't think so. I can maybe get you in the right area of the city, but that's about it." Dumond paused and thought of something. "How cautious do you think he is?"

"Right now, I'd say very."

"Do you think you could keep him on the line for ten minutes?"

Rapp tried to think what in the world he could say to get Villaume to take such a risk. "No way. I'd be lucky to get him to stay on for five."

"Then I can't track him."

"Can you at least get me the number he's calling from?"

"That's going to be tough. I'll see what I can do, but I'm not going to make any promises."

Coleman handed the notepad back to Rapp and said, "It sounds like the guy I saw out in Colorado. What else did Villaume tell you?"

Rapp gave a brief summary of the discussion, making special mention of the fact that the Professor was the man who had taken the shot in Evergreen. While he did so, Dumond looked over the notes and began typing away at one of his keyboards. "This Professor has to have a past," started Rapp. "You don't just fall into this line of work. He either works in the intelligence community or used to. Marcus, can you take that description and see how many matches you get for current and former Agency people?"

"Yeah, but I'm afraid it's going to be a big number."

"That's fine. Just pull all the photos so Scott can see if he recognizes anybody. If we come up blank at the Agency, we'll move on to the NSA and from there to the DIA." While Dumond worked, Rapp thought of something Villaume had said."If we could get a voice print on this guy, would it help?"

"It might. The NSA keeps some pretty intense files on that stuff."

Rapp pointed to the number he had written down. "What about getting a line on that?"

Dumond slid his chair over to a second computer and accessed a reverse listing service. He punched in the phone number, and the computer went to work. Five seconds later, it came back with bad news. The number was not in the system.

"What does that mean?" asked Rapp. "Is it a bogus number?"

"No. Not necessarily. The directory is constantly changing. It's impossible to keep up with."

"So what do we do?"

Dumond leaned back in his chair and chewed on the end of a Bic pen. "It's got to be a mobile number, right?"

"I'd be shocked if it wasn't." Rapp looked at Coleman. "Scott?"

"Yeah. It has to be."

Dumond continued chewing. "If we call this number, I can figure out who the provider is, and I might be able to get you pretty close to him."

Rapp and Coleman looked at each other. "How?" asked Rapp.

"Once I find out who his carrier is, I can get into their records and track his tower usage."

"What do you mean, tower usage?"

"The call has to be relayed by a tower. We track the towers that his phone is using."

"How close can you get us?"

"Usually within a zip code or two."

"Can you do any better than that?" asked Coleman.

"Yeah, but I'd need to get one of the special vans from the Agency, and you'd have to keep him on the phone."

"For how long?" asked Rapp.

"If we got lucky and were close when he took our call, we could have it narrowed down to the right structure within a minute or two. If not, it might take several calls."

"What if he's on the move?"

Dumond shook his head. "Not good for us."

"Why can't you do this with Villaume?"

"I'd have to get his number first. He calls us, and it's blocked, and then he only stays on for a minute or two. That's not enough time to crack it."

"But you might be able to with the Professor?"

"Might be able to."

Rapp rubbed his chin for a second while he thought about making the call. "So what do you suggest we do?"

"I think we should call this number and see what we can find out." Dumond looked eager.

"Any chance it can be traced back here from the other end?"

Dumond scoffed at such an idea. "Not with my gear. I'll have this baby bounced off six different satellites and twice as many ground stations before I'm done with it."

"What about the NSA picking it up?"

"Big Brother." Dumond shrugged. "It's hard to say. Sometimes I think they are all-knowing, and other times I think they know nothing. I always recommend keeping it short and staying away from details."

Rapp and Coleman both nodded. They had lived by the exact same philosophy for years. Rapp glanced over at the former SEAL. "What do you think?"

Coleman looked down at the notepad, and he thought about the man he'd seen in Colorado. The man they now knew as the Professor. He didn't strike him as a killer. He also didn't strike him as a leader. He was working for someone, and if Coleman had to guess, that someone was a big hitter.

Coleman tossed the notepad back on the desk and said, "We need some backup. In fact, I'd recommend we move this whole operation to a safe house."

"Marcus says this place is fine. What's bothering you?"

"This Professor is working for someone. And whoever that person is, he or she has the type of pull that put them in the know about that little op you were running over in Germany." Coleman raised an eyebrow. "That worries me."

Rapp hadn't spent a lot of time dwelling on this obvious fact. He was leaving that up to Kennedy and Stansfield. He could tell by the look on Coleman's face that he suspected someone at the NSA. He could very well be right, but the last thing they could afford right now was to become incapacitated by fear. "I trust Marcus on this one. Lf he says they can't trace us, I believe him."

Coleman looked over at Dumond. "This is no time to be cocky. Give me the straight poop. Can Big Brother track this call or not?"

Dumond thought for a moment. Finally, he answered,"I don't think they can trace it, but just to be safe, we should keep it under two minutes."

"You're sure?"

"At two minutes or less, I'm positive."

"Are you satisfied?" asked Rapp of Coleman.

Coleman nodded slowly. "Yes, but I think it would be a good idea if we brought some more people to the party."

"Who do you have in mind?"

"A couple of my men. You've worked with them before."

"All right."

"What are you two talking about?" asked Dumond.

"We're going to get a few more guns over here just in case," answered Rapp.

Dumond's expression soured in an effort to show he didn't like the idea.

"Take it easy, Marcus. It's for your own good." Rapp pointed to the computers. "Do you have everything ready to make this call?"

"Give me a minute."

"All right." Rapp turned to Coleman. "What's bothering you?"

"I don't know if l like letting him know we're onto him just yet. I'd like to get some more info."

"I'd like to spook him into doing something stupid. Besides, there's a chance I might know this guy. Get a hold of your guys and make the arrangements. Then we'll make the call."