Chapter 8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chris Carpenter bowed his head, putting his face into his hands.

“What do you mean, everything?” Trevor asked.

“All my notes, my ideas, my protocols, formulas,” he said “They’re all in there. This is awful.”

“If they kidnap you why would they even need the ledger?” Wolf asked.

“He’s double dipping,” Trevor said. “They want Mr. Carpenter for the Syrian government and intend to sell the ledger to the highest bidder.”

 “But the ledger…” Wolf began.

“It holds the whole truth,” Carpenter said. “If an enemy government were to obtain the ledger, they would instantly leap 10 years ahead of where they were in the space race.”

“That’s not good,” Wolf said.

“I’m afraid it gets worse… much worse,” Carpenter said. “Gentlemen, this is highly classified. For the last year, I’ve been working under contract with the Department of Defense to modify my propulsion technology for their use. Six months ago, I had a major breakthrough.”

“How bad is it?” Wolf asked.

“It’s bad,” Carpenter replied.

Trevor and Wolf looked at each other as what Carpenter said slowly sank in. Trevor looked at him, “Mr. Carpenter, are you talking about nuclear missile delivery?”

Carpenter bit his lip. Tears welled in his eyes. He nodded, “Yes. If my ledger falls into the wrong nation’s hands, that country could conceivably develop the ability to deliver a nuclear missile to any part of the world from any other part of the world in a single flight.”

“Meaning a country with nuclear capability could send a missile that reaches Washington D.C., or New York, or Dallas from the Middle East?” Wolf asked.

“Or from Korea,” Trevor added.

Carpenter nodded, “And they could probably do so within a year, perhaps two.”

“It all makes more sense to me now,” Trevor said.

“How so?” Caroline asked.

“When I first felt I was being tailed, I called Commander Hurt and asked him about the whereabouts of Ahmet Orfali. He told me that Orfali had been working with an ISIS splinter cell in North Korea. He’s working for the North Koreans. He doesn’t want to help Syria in the space race. He wants to sell Kim Jong-un the ability to reach and destroy the U.S. with nuclear missiles.”

“How could Orfali even know of the existence of the ledger?” Wolf asked.

“I think I know,” Trevor interjected. “Mr. Carpenter, did you ever tell Honor about the ledger?”

Carpenter blinked, “What?”

“I think you heard me, Mr. Carpenter,” he said.

He sighed and paused before speaking, “Yes.”

“Let me guess,” Trevor continued. “You told her in her apartment?”

“Yes, we were having dinner there and I had three glasses of wine,” he said. “It slipped out. She’s my daughter for crying out loud. She would never say anyth…”

“Relax Mr. Carpenter,” Trevor interrupted. “Orfali bugged Honor’s apartment. It makes sense. It’s how they knew I was there – that I was not with her the morning of her appointment. It’s how they knew her routine, when she came and went…”

“Orfali would know when her doctor’s appointments were and where,” Caroline added. “But if they could get a bug into Honor’s home why wouldn’t they take her then? Why would they wait?”

“It’s personal for Orfali,” Wolf said. “He wants Boot and I dead every bit as much as he wants Mr. Carpenter and the ledger. We foiled his original plan and his brother died. He waited until he knew Bootstrap was here. He knew I would get the call and come running to help. He knew we wouldn’t bring in the CIA. He figured he would kill Honor, Boot, and me. He’d hand Carpenter to the Syrians, then sell the ledger to North Korea. He had it all planned out. One nice tight little package.”

“Damn,” Trevor said. “You are so right.”

Carpenter nodded, “We have to call in the CIA now. The ledger changes everything. This is way over our heads.”

“No!” Trevor yelled. “Honor will be killed. I won’t let that happen.”

“Everyone stay calm,” Wolf said. “Mr. Carpenter, where is the ledger now?”

“It is in my office safe at Blue Horizons,” he said.

“Is it secure?” Wolf asked.

“Yes,” he replied. “The security is quite high. The ledger is well-protected, but I cannot allow for the possibility that the ledger will fall into Orfali’s hands. Not at any cost.”

“Of course not,” Wolf said. “No matter what the stakes, Boot and I would never risk information like that falling into enemy hands. We all agree on that point, but still, a man like yourself probably has used many ledgers over time. Is that true?”

“Of course,” he said.

“Mr. Carpenter, do you have any of those old ledgers here in the house?” Wolf asked. “Perhaps ledgers with old, outdated formula notes?”

Carpenter’s eyes widened, “Well… I… sure. Of course.”

“Do any of those ledgers look like the one they actually want?”

Carpenter thought for a moment and nodded, “Yes, I am a creature of habit. I use the Eccolo World Traveler ledger, black leather bound. I have several ledgers from more than ten years ago. None of the information in the older ones would hurt our national defense if they fell into the hands of the North Koreans or Syrians.”

“But to a layman, could those notes initially pass for the rocket fuel formulas they are looking to sell?”

Carpenter nodded again, “To a layman, they could, yes. I could even spend some time doctoring and updating one of them now, in the event someone scrutinizes it. Nothing sensitive of course. If put to the test by the right people the information would not hold up long.”

“Do it,” Trevor said.

Wolf looked at Trevor, “Gentlemen, we stick with the plan. There is no need to put Honor’s life at additional risk by informing the CIA. We will not actually bring Chris Carpenter to Orfali and we will not bring the actual ledger. If our plan goes south, Orfali will be unable to deliver anything to the North Koreans of use.”

“With an imposter and a fake ledger, we have only one shot to do this,” Trevor said. “We have to convince them Snake is Mr. Carpenter and the ledger we provide is legit. We just need to get in. Then, it’s all guns blazin.’ If we go forward, we are all in.”

“Has it ever been any other way?” Snake asked.

“Nope,” Wolf added. “It never will be.”

Trevor nodded, “I agree. This is our best shot to save Honor. Mr. Carpenter, are you okay if we proceed as planned?”

“There is no other way,” he said. “Yes.”