“I guess that means we can sign the agreement then.” She smiled at Parker as he took her hand in his and buried a kiss inside her palm.
Ava had always scoffed at instalove but she had a sneaky suspicion that tender gesture was the final nail in the coffin. She’d fallen prey to the fabled myth as she soaked in his naughty boy smile.
Chapter Nine
“President Grayson, Madam Secretary,” Parker returned their formal greetings upon entering the Oval Office with Stone and Hawk for the meeting to discuss advanced security measures at the White House. The President was highly active insofar as his family’s safety was concerned and always attended these kinds of meetings personally.
“Thank you for accommodating us today. We’re just waiting on Adrian Duncan to join us, then we can start. Vice President Gallow is unfortunately out of town and won’t be joining us.” President Grayson waved them to be seated. He seemed tense and started pacing.
“Any word on David Yale, Mr. President?” Stone asked.
“Nothing. I’m hoping that hacker, Dancer, can find some trace of him on the deep and dark web.” He sat down, frustration was wrought on his face. “I can’t understand why they can’t find any trace of him. We don’t even know when or how he disappeared. It’s as if he’d been swallowed up by the atmosphere.”
“Parker also launched a search if that’s any consolation. I hope you don’t mind,” Hawk interjected.
“You should’ve discussed it with me first, Stone,” Sheila Maddern said sternly. She took her responsibility as the buffer to the president very seriously.
“No, Sheila, I’m happy they took the initiative,” President Grayson discounted her rebuff. “I trust them implicitly and if not for our concern that Stone and Ace had suffered major trauma, you know we would’ve approached them.” He glanced at Parker. “Have you managed to find anything?”
“I might have but we’re running due diligence at the moment to authenticate the information. I do have a couple of questions, though I hope you won’t be affronted by them,” Parker said as he flipped open his iPad and switched it on.
“If it concerns David, go ahead.”
“How long have you known each other?” Parker opened the research doc and typed in a command.
“We’ve been friends for close to forty years. He’s always been the best supporter I’ve had throughout my political career.”
“I can’t find any information about his family, not even on the dark web, social media, or any news article.” Parker hesitated for a brief second. “He lives in a mansion with seven bedrooms with no family. It doesn’t add up.”
“His wife and kids were kidnapped roughly ten years ago. Extortion. A terrorist group wanted one billion dollars for their release. They knew he was rich enough and would pay anything they asked. At the time, the U.S. and Cuban military had been working as a combined task team to eliminate a terrorist group that was believed to be under the protection of the militia. Before David could pay them, the village in Cuba where they were kept hostage was raided. It was a vicious attack and his entire family died in an aerial bomb that flattened the entire camp.” President Grayson ran a tired hand over his eyes. “It was an American F-15E Strike Eagle fighter plane that released it on order of the U.S. President at the time, John Wick.”
Parker’s brow furrowed. “There are no records of any of this on the web. Believe me, I dug deep and I didn’t find anything.”
“The loss was immense. For a man to lose his entire family in the blink of an eye … he was devastated. John Wick to this day carries the guilt that he’d been the one responsible. It didn’t matter that no one had been aware of their abduction or that David’s family had been held captive there; Wick still harbors the shackles of being the man who gave the order that killed five innocent American citizens. Because of that, the entire mission was iron locked. No one but a select few know exactly what happened and that’s how it’s going to stay.”
“Of course, Mr. President,” Parker assured him immediately.
“I tried to get David to move on and sell the house, but to him, it was the only place where he felt close to his family, where he could feel them in the emptiness … his words.”
“Did Mr. Yale’s loyalty to the U.S. Government change in any way after that?”
“Parker, that’s uncalled for,” Sheila interjected.
“But a reasonable question,” President Grayson said. “In the early years after their death, he was bitter and lashed out at every new policy. Because of his status in the corporate and financial world, his opinion carried a lot of weight but it simmered down very quickly. He apologized for his actions and for the past eight years, he’s been very supportive of political campaigns, policies, and finances numerous U.S. initiatives.”
“Would it be possible to arrange for us to do a search at his house? Have access to any electronic equipment at his home and his offices?” Hawk glanced at the door as it opened after a brief knock. He smiled at the Secretary of Homeland Affairs walking in.
“I’m sure we’ll be able to arrange it,” Sheila said.
“One last question, Mister President.” Parker offered an apologetic smile. “Who informed you of David Yale’s disappearance?”
“David was supposed to join us for dinner one weekend. He didn’t arrive, which is just not like him. When I couldn’t get hold of him for days, I became concerned and asked Adrian to have the Secret Service look into the matter.”
“To date, we have nothing concrete,” Adrian said. “What we do know is that he was last seen leaving his office on Friday afternoon exactly four weeks ago this week. The team managed to follow his movements on traffic cams until he turned into the private estate where he lives. Since then, there has been no sign of him.”
“Is it possibly an attempt at blackmail again? Against his corporations for money or even … the presidency?” Stone watched the reaction of the three people carefully.
“I hadn’t considered I would be the target,” Grayson said pensively, “but it could be either, I suppose.” He looked at Parker. “Does any of your intel hint at extortion of some kind?”
“Maybe, but it could also be linked to the recent attempt at the coup d'état the late Secretary of Defense was involved in.” Parker looked around the room, taking note of their expressions.
“Are you saying the intel we uncovered during that raid and what you obtained from Chad Nesser during his interrogation didn’t divulge all the involved parties?” Alarm was painted red on Sheila’s face.
“I’ve been digging around since we uncovered the plot. It points to a secret organization with irrefutable Russian association. At this point, we’ll achieve nothing by acting on it as I have nothing concrete.” Parker’s voice darkened. “Mr. Yale’s disappearance and the fact that he’s your friend, Mr. President, is just too much of a coincidence, especially this soon after the first coup attempt was foiled before they could implement it.”
“Which is why we have designed an advanced NanoT alarm system for your office and residence in the White House. Parker and Zeke also developed a micro NanoT system that detects explosive devices in vehicles, which we’d like to install immediately.” Stone didn’t miss the look that passed between Sheila Maddern and Adrian Duncan. “Would that be a problem, Madam Secretary?”