Page 105 of Nobody's Hero
‘Really?’ Draper said. ‘Because from my point of view, the Hoover Dam is an impressive target. The symbolism alone is huge, never mind the carnage destroying it would cause.’
‘Destroying the Hoover Dam doesn’t meet the protocol’s objectives.’
‘It’s the only theory Smerconish has.’
‘He’s wrong,’ Carlyle said.
‘What’s he planning to do?’ Koenig asked.
‘He’s sending in a SEAL team when it’s dark. They’ll board the boat and take Tas alive. He wants to know who bankrolled Margaret.’
‘And if Tas gets bored? Makes a run on the dam before it gets dark?’
‘He already has F-35s in the air. If Tas makes a run on the dam before the SEALs get to him, they’ll blow him out of the water.’
‘Which Tas will be very much aware of,’ Koenig said.
‘Aware or not,’ Draper said. ‘A dead terrorist poses no threat.’
Koenig said nothing. Not until the clunk of the Gulfstream’s landing gear kicked his brain into gear.
‘We can’t land then,’ he said. ‘We need to stay in the air.’
Draper didn’t hesitate. She didn’t ask why. She grabbed the Gulfstream’s internal phone and said, ‘Abort landing.’
The plane lurched. Koenig felt it in his stomach, as if they’d driven over a humpback bridge.
Chapter 113
‘F-35s in the air means everything else gets grounded,’ Koenig said. ‘That includes us.’
‘Smerconish has already done it,’ Draper said, nodding. ‘The entire West Coast is on the ground. It’s so the F-35s have manoeuvrability. He can’t cancel attack runs because some asshole in Vegas is flying his i hate fountains blimp over the Bellagio.’
‘Which is why we can’t land.’
‘Why is that, Ben?’ Carlyle asked. ‘I think the best thing we can do is try to talk sense into whoever is in charge down there.’
‘We can’t land because Tas is exactly where he planned to be, and right now, Smerconish is doing exactly what he wants him to. Grounding flights is an entirely predictable move. Tas has anticipated it. And if he’s anticipated it, it means he wants it. If we bench ourselves, we become irrelevant. Smerconish will never allow us to take off again.’
‘What do you suggest?’ Draper asked.
‘Wedon’tbench ourselves,’ Koenig said. ‘We stay in the air. Become a variable. Something Tas hasn’t planned for.’
‘We need to land somewhere, though. We can’t keep circling the airport like a fly buzzing a turd.’
‘How long to Lake Mead?’
‘An hour, give or take,’ she said. ‘But there isn’t a runway we could use at Mead. Smerconish has instructed the FAA to closeallairfields, not just the major ones. We’re only authorised to land at Harry Reid.’
Koenig looked blankly at her.
‘It’s what McCarran is called now. Flights scheduled to arrive in the next thirty minutes can still land, everything else has been turned around. And it doesn’t matter where we land, we have no way of getting to Lake Mead. Even the Grand Canyon choppers have been grounded. And yes, we can hire a car, but we wouldn’t get within ten miles of the lake. Smerconish is locking it down.’
Koenig’s brow furrowed. Draper was right. It didn’t matter where they landed; Smerconish wasn’t going to let them anywhere near where they needed to be. Maybe the best thing would be to force a landing in San Diego. Find Smerconish. Make him understand the Hoover Dam didn’t work as a target. Explain the whole thing was a game of chess. And Tas wasn’t just controlling the board; he was the only one who knew how the pieces moved. Which reminded Koenig of a famous quote:The best chess move is the one your opponent least wants you to make. And right now, Tas was in the middle of a lake where everyone could see him. Smerconish thought he had him in check. Didn’t realise Tas was ten moves ahead. That he was about to spring an elaborate trap.
And when he did . . . checkmate.
Carlyle was right: convincing Smerconish he was wrong about Tas was the best move. But was it the move Tas least wanted him to play? Koenig didn’t think so. He thought Tas wanted him grounded. Tas didn’t want to worry about Koenig being the spectre at his feast. He didn’t want him out there, somewhere. Still in play. Planning something . . .unorthodox. Something he hadn’t thought of.