“Okay, I’ve skimmed the lengthy transcript of your debriefing at Langley with Frank Mraz yesterday, so I understand you spent most of the flight back to Chicago talking with her. You then had lunch together and she saw you off?”

“That was it. She had caught a couple of naps on the plane and was pretty tired. So was I. That was pretty much it.”

“Do you think she likes you?” asked Lawlor as he placed his elbows on the table and leaned in toward Harvath.

“Likes me? What does that have to do with anything?”

“A lot, potentially.”

“I suppose so. But I think it was nothing more than appreciation.”

“I think it might be more than that.”

“Even if it was, which I doubt, so what?”

“Scot, we need Meg Cassidy on board immediately. The CIA wants to get her started with their File of International Terrorist Events right away. Their analysts are hoping that with her help, they can crawl a little bit deeper into Nidal’s head and forecast his future behavior.”

“Maybe they should try sending her flowers.”

“Nothing they do at this point is going to work. She doesn’t trust them. She thinks they used her as bait with that attack on the hospital.”

“In a sense,” said Harvath, “they did use her as bait.”

“There was no way they could have ever expected Nidal would come gunning for her. They figured he had gone to ground or was trying to make his way out of the country. On top of it all, they had reliable information from Ms. Cassidy herself that she had shot him.”

“They still should have expected it. I would have. You expect the unexpected in this business. By the way, did you get my message about protection for Meg Cassidy?”

“Yes, and we were already one step ahead of you. The Chicago field office is keeping an eye on her.”

“Good.”

“Listen, Scot, as far as all of this is concerned, we can’t change what the CIA has done. That’s in the past. What we need is to convince Ms. Cassidy to work with us now, and that’s what we want you to talk to her about,” said Lawlor.

“Me? What do you want me to tell her? I can’t stand Morrell and his people.”

“That’s precisely it.”

“Excuse me?”

“Think about it. Meg Cassidy knows you don’t harbor any warm and fuzzy feelings for the CIA. What’s more, you saved her life and saw that she was safely taken care of. You’re the perfect person to convince her. She’ll trust you.”

“You want me to use that trust against her?”

“Look at the bigger picture here. Thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of lives could be riding on this. We have no way of telling. We don’t want you to shanghai Meg Cassidy. On the contrary, she needs to participate of her own free will. We want her to see things from your perspective-why you’re doing this and what’s at stake for you personally.”

“I don’t think she’ll relate to my motives,” said Harvath as he reflected on them.

“We know that you’re motivated by a deep love and concern for your country. Most of the staff at the White House still joke that Mel Gibson had to come to you to get the rights to use the name The Patriot for his movie.”

Harvath hated that joke. He didn’t see himself as any more patriotic than any of the other people he had served with in the SEALs or in the Secret Service. Asking Meg to put her life on the line to prove her patriotism didn’t seem like a fair proposition.

“All we’re saying,” continued Lawlor, “is that you should be honest with her. If you don’t care for Morrell and his people, feel free to let her know. This is a woman who can smell a spin from a mile away. Just don’t go too over the top. We trust you to say what is necessary to bring her in.”

“As a civilian,” injected the president, “she would also be eligible for a portion of the reward on Nidal. It would be done quietly, but it would be available to her if she wanted it, nonetheless.”

“I don’t think that would matter to her,” replied Harvath.

“Whether it matters or not, she deserves to know it exists,” said the president.

Harvath thought about Lawlor’s proposal for a moment before asking, “Would I participate in her training?”

“As the president said,” answered Lawlor, “this is the CIA’s baby, but I can’t see why you wouldn’t participate, can you, Mr. President?”

“I can’t either,” replied the president. “There is nobody I trust more or who is more capable than you to see to her safety. Let’s not forget, this is a highly unprecedented and potentially explosive operation. We’re taking a civilian and fast-tracking her through training so that she can participate in a top-secret covert operation. When it’s all said and done, I want Meg Cassidy delivered home without so much as a scratch on her. This is an American hero we’re talking about here. The public would be outraged if any harm came to her. You do whatever it takes. We’re asking a lot from this woman, and I want you to protect her with the same degree of vigilance you would protect me. And, lest we forget why we’re even having this conversation, I want Hashim Nidal to cease being a problem for us, and the rest of the world.”

That was all Scot Harvath needed to hear. He had been given a direct order by his commander in chief. It was not a question of if he could convince Meg Cassidy to come on board. He absolutely had to. Hashim Nidal was to be taken out and Meg Cassidy returned home without harm. The president had handed him quite an assignment. The only question Harvath had at that point was, “When do I leave?”

“Tonight,” said Lawlor as he slid an envelope with cash and plane tickets across the situation room table to him.

31

Harvath’s ride into downtown Chicago wasn’t as fancy as it had been a couple of days before. He grabbed a Continental airport shuttle, which dropped him across the street from the Ambassador East Hotel. Once he was settled, he put in a call to his contact at the Chicago FBI field office. Nick Wilson was an old friend whom Harvath had worked with several times in the past. Wilson explained that Meg Cassidy was at her cottage in Lake Geneva and that he had new information he was sure Harvath would be interested in hearing. They made plans to meet for drinks, and then Harvath hung up and dialed Meg’s number in Wisconsin.

A few moments later, he had her on the phone. “You’re back in town?” she asked.

“Yes, and I need to see you,” replied Harvath.

Meg was guarded and realized he probably had not come back just to see her again. This was business. “I take it this isn’t a social call.”

“I’m afraid not.”

“Were you sent here to try and change my mind about things?”

“Believe it or not, my instructions were to explain to you what my motivation is, but for what it’s worth, I’m not sorry I got sent back.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I love Chicago. It’s the one town that won’t let you down.”

“Uh-huh,” she said, disappointed that he hadn’t cited her as the reason he was happy to be back. This was ridiculous. What was she doing? He was here to try and persuade her to team up with the CIA. He had been sent on official business, and she needed to get that through her head.

“How about dinner? It’s on me. What time will you be back in the city?”

“I’m spending the night up here. I won’t be back in the city until tomorrow morning.”

“Well,” said Harvath as he scribbled on the pad on his desk, “that’s going to make dinner a bit difficult then, isn’t it?”

“How about breakfast?”

“That would work. Do you want to eat here at the hotel? I’m staying at the Ambassador East.”

“Let’s meet at Mitchell’s on the corner of North Avenue and Clark Street around eight. This way I can drop my car at my place and meet you over there. It’s an easy walk for both of us.”

“Great, I’ll be looking forward to it.”

“I wouldn’t be too excited about it if I were you. I’ve already made my position on this very clear.”