Apex: Nexus Arc Book 3 by Ramez Naam Read Free Book Online

Pull out of Copenhagen. They couldn’t have timed it better.”
    She watched the President close his eyes. Watched emotions play across them. What was he thinking right now? Did he know Barnes’s reputation as a fixer? Did he know the rumors about him?
    Had he been at all suspicious when Warren Becker had died so suddenly, so conveniently?
    Why didn’t I look into it then? Pryce asked herself. Why did I just accept ‘natural causes’?
    “Barnes,” Stockton said, “I believe you. This isn’t what we do.” He took a breath. “But I need you to stay exactly where you are. Don’t leave your home. This is going to get… complicated. I’m going to send some Secret Service your way.”
    Barnes stayed cool as ice. “I understand, sir. There’ll need to be an investigation, of course. And the elections. Just tell me what you need from me.”
    Pryce watched as the President nodded. “Good man, Max. Sit tight. Don’t talk to anyone, unless they’re from my office. I’ll be in touch.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    Stockton ended the call, looked up, met Pryce’s eyes.
    The President looked down at the desk, drummed his fingers on it, looked back up at Pryce. “I need something from you,” he told her.
    “I’m not the right person for this, Mr President,” she replied.
    Stockton worked his jaw. “How long have we known each other, Carolyn? You saw how Greg responded. He just wants to make this go away. You care. You’re suspicious . You think it’s possible .”
    Pryce interlaced her long dark fingers, and looked him in the eye. “Mr President, I’m your National Security Advisor. Foreign security threats are my remit. This isn’t . This should be someone from FBI. Or Justice. The Attorney General maybe. Or an independent investigator the AG appoints.”
    “Carolyn, you’re the one I trust . That’s what matters here.”
    “You told Barnes you believed him,” Pryce said.
    “I do,” Stockton replied. “I have to trust the people who work for me. But I have to verify. Trust but verify. That’s how it works. And if you dig, and you verify, and you come up satisfied that there’s nothing to this story, then I’m gonna sleep just fine at night.”
    “Mr President, I don’t have the authority.”
    “Then I’ll give you the authority,” Stockton said. “Carte blanche. Besides, they’re all terrified of you…”
    That brought a small smile to her face.
    “… that’s your real authority.”
    The panel on the President’s desk buzzed. Pryce knew his secretary would only interrupt him if it was important. Stockton pressed to answer it.
    “Yes?”
    “Mr President, your daughter and grandson are here.”
    She saw his face light up. There had been a few terrifying hours when he’d thought Julie and one year-old Liam had died inside Westwood Baptist, before Julie had gotten through to him, told him that her plans had changed, that she’d been on the other side of Houston.
    Pryce remembered the look on his face this morning. That mix of devastation and rage.
    Family. That mattered to John Stockton. God help anyone who Stockton saw as a threat to those he loved.
    There had been hope of a family of her own once.
    Once.
    “Thirty seconds, Liz,” the President said into the phone. “Then send them in.” He clicked off.
    “So that’s a ‘yes’, then,” he said to Pryce.
    Pryce looked at him for a moment. “I want to talk to President Jameson.”
    Stockton frowned. “Miles is old, Carolyn. He’s tired. He had a second stroke.”
    “Miles Jameson was President during the dates those memos mention,” Pryce said. “His name is on them. I only take the job if I can talk to him.”
    Stockton frowned and shook his head. “Fine. Just go easy on the old man.”
    Pryce nodded. “Then that’s yes, Mr President. Carte blanche. With those terms, I’ll do it.”
    “Good,” Stockton said. “Go get to the bottom of this. Come back and tell me it’s all a pack of lies. Or tell me what the hell’s been