q’hat’s a big word for a special agent.’
‘Whatever, I don’t want independent action.’
Reacher nodded. ‘Noted,’ he said.
309
Bannon smiled. ‘You done the puzzle yet?’
‘What puzzle?’
‘We’re assuming that Vaime rifle was in Minnesota on
Tuesday and North Dakota yesterday. Now it’s here in D.C.
today. They didn’t fly it in, that’s for damn sure, because putting
long guns on a commercial flight leaves a paper trail a mile
long. And it’s too far to drive in the time they had. So either one
guy was on his own with the Heckler & Koch in Bismarck while
the other guy was driving all the way from Minnesota to here
with the Vaime. Or if both guys were in Bismarck then they
must own two Vaimes, one there, one stashed here. And if both
guys were in Bismarck but they own only one Vaime, then
somebody else drove it in from Minnesota for them, in which
case we’re dealing with three guys, not two.’
Nobody spoke.
‘I’m going back to see Swain,’ Reacher said. ‘I’ll walk. It’ll do
me good.’
‘I’ll come with you,’ Neagley said.
It was a fast half-mile west on Pennsylvania Avenue. The sky
was still cloudless, which made the night air cold. There were
some stars visible through the faint city smog and the orange
glow of street lighting. There was a small moon, far away. No
traffic. They walked past the Federal Triangle and the bulk of
the Treasury Building came closer. The White House roadblocks
had gone. The city was back to normal. It was like
nothing had ever happened.
‘You OK?’ Neagley asked.
‘Facing reality,’ Reacher said. ‘I’m getting old. Slowing up,
mentally. I was pretty pleased about getting to Nendick as fast
as I did, but I was supposed to get there right away. So in fact I
was terrible. Same with the thumbprint. We spent hours boxing
around that damn print. Days and days. We twisted and turned
to accommodate it. Never saw the actual intention.’
‘But we got there in the end.’
‘And I’m feeling guilty, as usual.’
‘Why?’
‘I told Froelich she was doing well,’ Reacher said. ‘But
I should have told her to double the sentries on the roof.
310
One guy on the edge, one in the stairwell. Might have saved
her.’
Neagley was silent. Six strides, seven.
‘It was her job, not yours,’ she said. ‘Don’t feel guilty. You’re
not responsible for everybody in the world.’
Reacher said nothing. Just walked.
‘And they were masquerading as cops,’ Neagley said. hey’d
have walked through two sentries just the same as one.
They’d have walked through a dozen sentries. Fact is, they did walk through a dozen sentries. More than that. They must
have. The whole area was crawling with agents. There’s
nothing anybody could have done different. Shit happens.’
Reacher said nothing.
Fwo sentries, they’d both have gotten killed,’ Neagley said.
‘Another casualty wouldn’t have helped anybody.’
‘You think Bannon looks like a cop?’ Reacher asked.
‘You think there are three guys?’ Neagley asked back.
‘No. Not a chance. This is a two-guy thing. Bannon’s missing
something very obvious. Occupational hazard with a mind like
his.’
‘What’s he missing?’
‘You think he looks like a cop?’
Neagley smiled, briefly. ‘Exactly like a cop,’ she said. ‘He
probably was a cop before he joined the Bureau.’
‘What makes him look like a cop?’
‘Everything. Every single thing. It’s in his pores.’
Reacher went quiet. Walked on.
‘Something in Froelich’s pep talk,’ he said. ‘Just before
Armstrong showed up. She was warning her people. She said it’s
very easy to look a little like a homeless person, but very difficult
to look exactly like a homeless person. I think it’s the same with
cops. If I put a tweed sports coat on and grey flannels and plain
shoes and held up a gold badge, would I look like a cop?’
‘A little. But not exactly.’
‘But these guys do look exactly like cops. I saw one of them
and never thought twice. And they’re in and out of everywhere
without a single question.’
‘It would explain a lot of things,’ Neagley said. They were
right at home in the cop bar with Nendick. And with Andretti.’