my grave saying and believing that.”
“Hold on here, Yantzy!” Span bellowed. “You clods over there at the Bureau don’t know your asses from your elbows. You’re the goddamn laughingstock of this town.”
“That will be enough of that, Director Span! I will not tolerate anything but civility in this room. Children squabble; grown men discuss issues and negotiate. Director Frank, do you have anything to add?”
“Only that I agree with Director Yantzy. I have tried repeatedly to get information from the CIA, and none has been forthcoming. They do not share anything with the Bureau and Homeland Security. Our hands are tied, Madam President. I have our best agents on Jellicoe, as does Director Yantzy. The man has gone to ground. I for one have asked repeatedly for intel on those six brave agents. Nothing has been forthcoming. I agree with Director Yantzy’s assessment of Jellicoe and the CIA. The whole damn world knows he was at the helm and Span was his yes-man.”
“You burned Jellicoe, Span,” Yantzy said. “Did you really think he’d take that lying down? The guy is an expert at black ops, covert ops, and all other kinds of ops. Once you burned him and left him out in the cold, he went to ground just the way Frank said. Now he’s going to burn other agents, and I’m not taking the fall for you and your ego.”
“Once again, I agree with Director Yantzy,” Frank said.
“I think we all know what happened, gentlemen. You have left me no other choice; so listen closely to what I am about to tell you. I am giving you thirty days. T-h-i-r-t-y days to track down and capture Mr. Jellicoe. If on the thirty-first day that has not happened, I will expect your resignations on my desk at first light. Now, I suggest you all go somewhere and have a talk and agree to agree and start from there. That means whatever agency asks the other for something, it is to be given what it needs. All three of you can call here twenty-four seven to apprise me of failure or success on any agency’s part. Thirty days, not one second longer.”
Elias Cummings looked around at his colleagues, wondering what the hell he was doing sitting there. The three directors looked like they were wondering the same thing but wisely refrained from asking.
The president solved the problem by saying, “Mr. Cummings, I’m sure you are puzzled as to why I invited you to this meeting. Suffice it to say, I had a reason. Mitch Riley, your predecessor, who belonged to the previous administration, if I recall correctly, kept dossiers on just about everyone in the world, including Henry Jellicoe. My memory is telling me that Mr. Riley’s wife turned those files over when the special agents arrested him. Do you happen to know who has those files at this point in time, Mr. Cummings?”
Nellie is going to love this. Elias cleared his throat, aware of the eyes on him. Was that a smile tugging at the corners of the president’s mouth? It sure looked like a smile to him. “Actually, Madam President, I know who had them at the time. I can’t be certain of their whereabouts at this moment in time, however.”
“Do you recall seeing those files, reading them?”
“Yes, Madam President. However, I was not allowed to copy them. I have to admit I was impressed with the thoroughness of each and every one of those dossiers. I do remember a file on Mr. Jellicoe and it was thick, twice the size of the other dossiers. I remember thinking at the time that Riley put J. Edgar to shame with the thoroughness of the material he obtained. It was downright scary as I recall.”
Director Yantzy stood up and bellowed, “What the hell do you mean you weren’t allowed to copy those files? They are FBI property! I should have them. What? What? You let some creep bamboozle you? That creep let you look at them, then walked off with them, and you didn’t arrest that person! I don’t believe I’m hearing what I’m hearing.”
Elias shrugged. “You weren’t there at
“Hold on here, Yantzy!” Span bellowed. “You clods over there at the Bureau don’t know your asses from your elbows. You’re the goddamn laughingstock of this town.”
“That will be enough of that, Director Span! I will not tolerate anything but civility in this room. Children squabble; grown men discuss issues and negotiate. Director Frank, do you have anything to add?”
“Only that I agree with Director Yantzy. I have tried repeatedly to get information from the CIA, and none has been forthcoming. They do not share anything with the Bureau and Homeland Security. Our hands are tied, Madam President. I have our best agents on Jellicoe, as does Director Yantzy. The man has gone to ground. I for one have asked repeatedly for intel on those six brave agents. Nothing has been forthcoming. I agree with Director Yantzy’s assessment of Jellicoe and the CIA. The whole damn world knows he was at the helm and Span was his yes-man.”
“You burned Jellicoe, Span,” Yantzy said. “Did you really think he’d take that lying down? The guy is an expert at black ops, covert ops, and all other kinds of ops. Once you burned him and left him out in the cold, he went to ground just the way Frank said. Now he’s going to burn other agents, and I’m not taking the fall for you and your ego.”
“Once again, I agree with Director Yantzy,” Frank said.
“I think we all know what happened, gentlemen. You have left me no other choice; so listen closely to what I am about to tell you. I am giving you thirty days. T-h-i-r-t-y days to track down and capture Mr. Jellicoe. If on the thirty-first day that has not happened, I will expect your resignations on my desk at first light. Now, I suggest you all go somewhere and have a talk and agree to agree and start from there. That means whatever agency asks the other for something, it is to be given what it needs. All three of you can call here twenty-four seven to apprise me of failure or success on any agency’s part. Thirty days, not one second longer.”
Elias Cummings looked around at his colleagues, wondering what the hell he was doing sitting there. The three directors looked like they were wondering the same thing but wisely refrained from asking.
The president solved the problem by saying, “Mr. Cummings, I’m sure you are puzzled as to why I invited you to this meeting. Suffice it to say, I had a reason. Mitch Riley, your predecessor, who belonged to the previous administration, if I recall correctly, kept dossiers on just about everyone in the world, including Henry Jellicoe. My memory is telling me that Mr. Riley’s wife turned those files over when the special agents arrested him. Do you happen to know who has those files at this point in time, Mr. Cummings?”
Nellie is going to love this. Elias cleared his throat, aware of the eyes on him. Was that a smile tugging at the corners of the president’s mouth? It sure looked like a smile to him. “Actually, Madam President, I know who had them at the time. I can’t be certain of their whereabouts at this moment in time, however.”
“Do you recall seeing those files, reading them?”
“Yes, Madam President. However, I was not allowed to copy them. I have to admit I was impressed with the thoroughness of each and every one of those dossiers. I do remember a file on Mr. Jellicoe and it was thick, twice the size of the other dossiers. I remember thinking at the time that Riley put J. Edgar to shame with the thoroughness of the material he obtained. It was downright scary as I recall.”
Director Yantzy stood up and bellowed, “What the hell do you mean you weren’t allowed to copy those files? They are FBI property! I should have them. What? What? You let some creep bamboozle you? That creep let you look at them, then walked off with them, and you didn’t arrest that person! I don’t believe I’m hearing what I’m hearing.”
Elias shrugged. “You weren’t there at
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