The Hit by David Baldacci Read Free Book Online

reached a window where he could see the front door. There were people clustered out there. An argument was going on. Robie could see people he assumed were from his agency.
    And he could see other people who were not.
    They were easy to tell apart. The ones
not
from his agency were wearing blue windbreakers with gold lettering on the back.
    There were only three gold letters. But they were three letters Robie did not want to see.
    FBI.
    And when he saw who was heading up the FBI agents he turned and moved as quickly as he could toward the rear of the house.
    He was meeting Nicole Vance for dinner at eight.
    He did not want to meet her inside this town house in the next two minutes.

CHAPTER

8
    R OBIE KNEW HOW TO EXIT QUIETLY . He did so now, coming around the corner and watching from behind some bushes as Vance continued to argue with the other men.
    He pulled his phone and sent a text to Blue Man.
    A minute later Robie saw one of the men arguing with Vance touch his ear.
    Message communicated.
    He stopped arguing and Robie heard him say, “The place is yours to search, Agent Vance. We’ll leave you to it.”
    Vance halted in midsentence and stared at the man.
    Robie ducked down as she swiveled her head, looking in all directions. He could tell she knew exactly what had just happened. The dogs had been called off. The place was open to her now. That order had come from high up. Some condition had changed in the last few seconds.
    Robie was on the move, because he knew that Vance’s next tactic might be to send her men rushing in all directions to look for the source of the change on the ground. He didn’t want her to discover that the source was him. It would make dinner later even more uncomfortable than it was already shaping up to be.
    Robie reached his car and drove off. He punched in a number and Blue Man answered almost immediately.
    “Thanks for the assist back there,” said Blue Man.
    Robie snapped, “I’m meeting with Vance tonight. Agreed to it before I knew she was involved in this. Would have been nice toknow before. Getting blindsided like that out of the gate does not inspire confidence.”
    “We didn’t know she had been assigned to it. We don’t run the FBI. I suppose that her success last time has lifted her up in the eyes of the Bureau.”
    “Exactly how much does the Bureau know?” Robie asked. “Your guys being outside that building tells her that it’s not a routine murder.”
    “We couldn’t completely cover up what happened to Doug Jacobs. FBI involvement was inevitable. But it’s up to us to manage it properly.”
    “So, again, how much do they know?” Robie asked.
    “They know that Doug Jacobs was a federal employee. They do not and will not know that he works for our agency. He is officially a member of DTRA.”
    “Defense Threat Reduction?”
    “More specifically in their Information Analysis Center. The building Jacobs was in is leased by the Center. It provides good cover for us. Not that we ever expected Jacobs to be shot dead in his office.”
    “And DTRA will play the game?” Robie queried.
    “They think big picture, just like we do. They’re part of DoD, after all.”
    “Do they know what Jacobs was doing in that office when he was shot?”
    “There would be no possible good coming from my answering that question. Suffice it to say that ignorance is bliss.”
    “Meaning DTRA won’t have to technically lie to the FBI when they come calling?”
    “They have already come calling.”
    “And what is the official line?” Robie said.
    “Jacobs was shot while performing his mundane job, possibly by a rogue gunman targeting the federal government.”
    “And you think the FBI will buy that?”
    “I don’t know if they will or not,” replied Blue Man. “That’s not my concern.”
    “But you can’t let the FBI find out that Jacobs was actually orchestrating the assassination of a foreign leader.”
    “He wasn’t a foreign leader
yet
. We do our best to be