FORTY-ONE
Gallagher was like a hunting dog listening for the whistle. He was straining to hear Abigail’s voice on the phone over the sound of traffic. “’Blast from the past’? Somebody in the Russian camp used that phrase?”
“Yes,” Abigail said. “Victoria was very precise about it. Maybe it means nothing, but I thought you ought to know.”
Gallagher was still in Richmond. He had tried a few of his local FBI contacts, fishing for information, but came up dry. He’d been standing in line at an espresso shop, with coffee and baked goods in hand, when Abigail’s call came. So he had to set the cup and bear claw down on a table and headed outside.
To Gallagher, the assignments were clear. “Okay, I’m in Virginia now Abby. I need to know that Pack McHenry’s folks can handle New York while I work the Washington angle from here.”
“I’ll call Victoria. I don’t think she’s boarded yet.”
“Oh, and for what it’s worth, ask Cal if he’s got any brilliant information for me.”
“Cal?”
“Yeah. Hope it’s okay, but I threw him a little research bone. He wanted something to do. So I had him look up some stuff for me.”
“John, I think Josh wanted to keep him out of this …”
Gallagher smelled a family feud. “Sorry, Abby, hope I didn’t interfere.”
“No, it’s okay.” Abigail sounded upbeat. “Bless you, John, for wanting to include him. I’ll talk to Cal.”
After they hung up, Gallagher called Ken Leary, who was back at his office. He was put on hold. Finally Ken picked up.
“Ken, I need everything you’ve got on the plans of the old Soviet guard and their plans for nuking the United States.”
“Gee, thanks. You got a warehouse or two? I’ll need ‘em so I can fill them with everything we’ve got on that. Really, John …”
“I don’t want the entire history of the Cold War. We’re talking the suitcase-nuke scenario.”
“I’m not an expert on Soviet stuff. But I’ll see what I can do.”
Just then Gallagher’s call-wait light flashed on his Allfone. He put Ken on hold and took the call.
“John, this is Cal.”
“Right. Hey, I’ve got a call going here. Can this wait?”
“I don’t know. I’ve got something interesting — ”
“Interesting is not what I need. We’re up against it here, Cal.”
“Well, you wanted research on Soviet plans for portable nukes inside the U.S. Well, this thing popped up …”
“Quickly …”
“Well, a former KGB agent wrote a book years ago about Soviet plans to hide nukes in Virginia — ”
“Whoa, hold up, cowboy; I’m going to loop someone in.” Gallagher clicked back to Ken Leary and said he’d patch him into a three-way but reminded Ken that this would be a young civilian doing the talking.
“Okay, Cal, keep going.”
“Well, the former KGB guy’s name is Stanislav Lunev. He defected to the U.S. in ‘92. His book was published by Regnery in ‘98. He says the Kremlin had plans to plant nuclear weapons within driving distance of the Capitol, in a remote area of Virginia.”
“Like where?”
“Shenandoah Valley.”
“Okay. Good work, Cal. You passed the test. Thanks. Now I got to go. Good talking with you. Bye.”
After clicking off with Cal, Gallagher went into his jackhammer routine with Leary. “Ken, get everything on this Lunev. See about the backstory. Get the debriefings.”
“I vaguely remember this guy.”
“Me too. Some of my compatriots at the Bureau thought he might be a master exaggerator, but this Shenandoah Valley stuff is news to me. Maybe this is the ‘blast from the past’ that the Russians are talking about.”
Ken Leary’s voice went up an octave. “I think the debriefing interviews would be in the archives at the Counterproliferation Center at the Agency. I’ll need information about the places where the Russians scouted out nuclear hiding spots.”
“Exactly. Now, go, go, go.” Gallagher clicked off and fished in his pocket for a prescription bottle. He popped a pill in his mouth. He’d finally given in to the doctor’s orders to deal with his acid reflux. His chest was burning like a bucket of molten steel.