Senators Johnson and McNamara were on that list. The plan was to
blackmail them and others into using their committee positions to help
the CIA. Increased budgets for the CIA, greater responsibilities, less
congressional oversight. That sort of thing. In return, I would be
paid a large sum of money.”
Buchanan looked at Johnson and McNamara, men he had recruited so easily
ten years ago. They stared back at him with exactly the proper look of
shock and anger. Over the last week Buchanan had met with every single
one of his bribees and had explained what was happening. If they
wanted to survive, they would back up every word of the lie he was now
telling. What choice did they have? They would also continue to
support Buchanan’s causes, and they wouldn’t be getting a dime from him
for doing so. Their efforts would really turn out to be “charitable.”
There was a God.
And he had confided in Ward as well. His friend had taken it better
than Buchanan had thought possible. He had not condoned Buchanan’s
actions, yet he had decided to stand by his old friend. There were
greater crimes to punish.
“This is all the truth, Mr. Buchanan?”
“Yes sir,” Buchanan said, with the look of a saint.
Thornhill sat impassively in his seat. The man’s expression was akin
to the condemned walking alone to the gas chamber-a mixture of
bitterness, terror and disbelief. Buchanan had obviously cut a deal.
The politicians were backing his story. He could see it in Johnson’s
and McNamara’s faces. How could Thornhill attack their claims without
revealing his own participation? He could hardly jump up and say,
“That’s not how it happened. Buchanan was already bribing them, I just
caught him and used him for my own blackmail purposes.” His Achilles’
heel. It had never occurred to him. The frog and the scorpion, only
the scorpion was going to survive.
“What did you do?” Ward asked Buchanan.
“I immediately went to the people on the list and told them what had
happened, including Senators Johnson and McNamara. I’m sorry we were
unable to bring you into the loop at the time, Mr. Chairman, but
absolute confidentiality was the key. We collectively decided to set
up a sting of sorts. I would pretend to go along with the CIA’s plan,
and the targets would pretend to be part of the plan. Then, while the
CIA was gathering its blackmail material, I would secretly gather
evidence against the CIA. When we felt the case was strong enough, we
planned to go to the FBI with what we had.”
Ward took off his glasses and dangled them in front of his face. “Damn
risky business, Mr. Buchanan. Was this blackmail operation officially
sanctioned by the CIA, do you know?”
Buchanan shook his head. “It was clearly the work of one official
there.”
“What happened then?”
“I gathered my evidence, but then my associate, Faith Lockhart, who was
unaware of any of this, became suspicious of me. She thought, I
suppose, that I was actually involved in a blackmail scheme. I, of
course, couldn’t confide in her. She went to the FBI with her story.
They commenced an investigation. The man from the CIA found out about
this development and arranged to have Ms. Lockhart killed. Thankfully,
she escaped, but an FBI agent was killed.”
The entire room began buzzing at this.
Ward looked pointedly at Buchanan. “Are you telling me that an
official from the CIA was responsible for the murder of an FBI
agent?”
Buchanan nodded. “Yes. Several other deaths have also occurred,
including”-Buchanan looked down for a moment, his lips
trembling–“Faith Lockhart. That is what has prompted my appearance
here today. To stop the killing.”
“Who is this man, Mr. Buchanan?” Ward said with as much indignity and
curiosity as he could feign.
Buchanan turned and pointed directly at Robert Thornhill.
“Associate Deputy Director of Operations Robert Thornhill.”
Thornhill erupted from his chair, waving an angry fist in the air, and
roared, “That is a damnable lie. This entire event is a circus, an
abomination the likes of which I have never witnessed in all my years
in government. You bring me here under false pretenses and then