State of the Union by Brad Thor Read Free Book Online

what you should do. Besides, won’t the FBI be watching his house just in case he comes back?”
    “Probably,” answered Harvath. “Where’s that container Rick Morrell dropped off for me?”
    Though Harvath had originally had his differences with the CIA paramilitary operative, he and Morrell had grown to respect each other and had even developed a tentative friendship. As Scot removed the odd-looking suit from the black Storm case, he reflected on how it was good to have friends who could get their hands on the latest and greatest equipment.
    A note was pinned to the outfit, which read, “I expect this back within two days and don’t get any blood on it.” Morrell was all heart .
    “What is that thing?” asked Meg as she reached out to touch the alien fabric.
    “It’s a next-generation infrared camouflage suit. Not only is the visible pattern extremely effective against detection by the naked eye, but the material itself can reduce a person’s thermal signature by over ninety-five percent.”
    “Making you virtually invisible to any Forward Looking Infrared or Thermal Imaging devices.”
    “You got it,” said Harvath who had to remind himself from time to time of the comprehensive training Meg had received during their hunt for the terrorist brother and sister team of Hashim and Adara Nidal.
    “Gary lives in a nice, well-to-do part of Fairfax. You think the FBI is sitting in front of his house with night vision devices?”
    “It’s not the guys in front that I am worried about. It’s the guys in the back where Gary’s property borders the woods. Those are the guys I want to be prepared for,” said Scot as he slid a fresh magazine into his .40-caliber SIG Sauer P229.
    Meg’s eyes widened in surprise. “You’re taking a weapon with you?”
    Harvath glanced at the pistol for a moment and then placed it in the black duffle bag with the rest of his gear for the evening. “Ten men have already been killed,” he said as he threw in two more clips of ammo.
    “What do you expect to find there?”
    Scot stopped his packing and looked up to meet Meg’s gaze. “To be honest, I have no idea. I don’t even know what it is I’m looking for. All I know is that none of this makes any sense. Somebody has a very deadly list and I need to make sure Gary’s name is not on it.”
    “But you said yourself that neither the FBI nor the CIA know if Gary’s a target.”
    “Meg, I know what you think, but I owe this to Gary.”
    “Why?”
    “What do you mean why? ”
    “He’s a grown man. I love him too, but he can take care of himself.”
    “What if he can’t?” asked Harvath as he slid the remaining items he thought he might need into the duffle and pulled the zipper shut.
    “You don’t even know for sure that he needs saving.”
    “Meg, I don’t want this to—” began Harvath, but he was interrupted.
    “And even if he is in trouble, why should it be you who saves him?”
    “How about the fact that he’s my friend?”
    “Are you going to tell me this is something friends do for each other?” she asked as she pulled out a chair on the other side of the table from Harvath and sat down.
    “In my world, yes,” answered Scot.
    “But Gary didn’t do that for you.”
    Harvath knew what she was talking about. When President Rutledge had been kidnapped and Harvath implicated as the only surviving Secret Service agent, Gary had seemed more concerned with getting him to turn himself in, than in helping him figure things out. “That’s not fair,” he responded. “He came through for me. Maybe not right away in the beginning—”
    “No, Scot, not at all. It wasn’t until the bitter end. Not until you had provided him with enough evidence did he finally feel safe enough to help you. He didn’t do it just because you two were friends. He did it because he was finally convinced that you weren’t guilty. There’s a big, big difference.”
    “I don’t agree,” said Harvath as he began walking