The Brethren (Page 72)

"How’s that?"

"Well, he drops in here from nowhere, and suddenly becomes our best friend. He does a magic trick with our money, gets it wired to a safer bank. Now he’s the point man for Aaron Lake. Keep in mind, somebody out there was reading our mail. And it wasn’t Lake."

"He doesn’t bother me," Spicer said. "Lake had to find somebody to talk to us. He pulled some strings, did some research, found out that Argrow was here and that he had a brother they could talk to."

"That’s awfully convenient, don’t you think?" Beech asked.

"You too, huh?"

"Maybe. Finn’s got a point. We know for a fact that somebody else got involved."

Who.

"That’s the big question;’ Finn said. "That’s why I haven’t slept in a week. There’s somebody else out there."

"Do we really care?" Spicer asked. "If Lake can get us outta here, fine. If somebody else can get us outta here, what’s wrong with that?"

"Don’t forget Trevor;" Beech said. "Two bullets in the back of the head."

"This place might be safer than we think."

Spicer was not convinced. He finished a drink and said, "Do you really think that Aaron Lake, a man about to be elected President of the United States, would order a hit on a worthless lawyer like Trevor?"

"No;" repliedYarber. "He would not. It’s much too risky. And he wouldn’t kill us. But the mystery man would. The guy who killed Trevor is the same guy who read our mail."

"I’m not convinced."

They wee together where Argrow expected to find them, in the law library, and they seemed to be waiting. He entered in a rush, and when he was sure they were alone, he said, "I just met with my brother again. Let’s talk."

They scurried into their little conference room, closed the door, and crowded around the table.

"Things are about to happen very fast,"Argrow said nervously. "Lake will pay the money. It’ll be wired anywhere you want it. I can help if you want; otherwise you can handle it any way you wish."

Spicer cleared his throat. "That’s two million each?"

"That’s what you asked for. I don’t know Mr. Lake, but evidently he moves fast." Argrow glanced at his watch, then looked over his shoulder at the door. "There are some people from Washington here to meet with you. Big shots." He yanked some papers from his pocket, unfolded them, and laid a single sheet before each of the three. "These are presidential pardons, signed yesterday"

With great reserve, they reached forward, took the papers, and tried to read them. The copies certainly looked official. They gawked at the bold letters across the top, the paragraphs of fussy prose, the compact signature of the President of the United States, and not a single word could be summoned. They were just stunned.

"We’ve been pardoned?" Yarber finally managed to ask, his voice dry.

"Yes. By the President of the United States."

They kept reading. They fidgeted and chewed their lips and clenched their jaws, and tried to quietly hide their shock.

"They’re gonna come get you, take you to the warden’s office where the big shots fiom Washington will deliver the good news. Act surprised, okay?"

"No problem."

"That should be easy"

"How did you get these copies?"Yarber asked.

"They were given to my brother. I have no idea how. Lake has powerful friends. Anyway, here’s the deal. You’ll be released within the hour. A van will take you to Jacksonville, to a hotel where my brother will meet you.You will wait there until the wire transfers are confirmed, then you will hand over all of your dirty little files. Everything. Understood?"

They nodded in unison. For two million bucks, they could have it all.

"You will agree to leave the country immediately, and not to return for at least two years."

"How can we leave the country?" Beech asked. "We have no passports, no papers."

"My brother will have all of that.You will be given new identities, with a complete set of papers, including credit cards. It’s all waiting for you."

"Two years?" Spicer asked, and Yarber looked at him as if he’d lost his mind.

"That’s right. Two years. It’s part of the deal. Agreed?"

"I don’t know," Spicer said, his voice shaking. Spicer had never left the United States.

"Don’t be foolish;"Yarber snapped at him. "A complete pardon, a million bucks a year for two years to live abroad. Hell, yes, we’ll take the deal."

A sudden knock on the door terrified them. Two guards were looking in. Argrow grabbed the copies of the pardons and stuffed them in his pocket. "Do we have a deal, gentlemen?"

They nodded yes, and all three shook hands with him.

"Good;" he said. "Remember, act surprised."

They followed the guards to the warden’s office where they were introduced to two very stern-faced men from Washington, one from justice, one from the Bureau of Prisons. The warden completed the stiff introductions without getting any of the names confused, then he handed each of the three a legal-sized document. They were the originals of what Argrow had just shown them.

"Gentlemen;" the warden announced with as much drama as he could muster, "you’ve just been pardoned by the President of the United States." He smiled warmly as if he were responsible for this good news.

They stared at their pardons, still in shock, still dizzy with a thousand questions, the biggest of which was, How in the world did Argrnw scoop the warden and show them the documents first?

"I don’t know what to say," Spicer managed to mumble, then the other two mumbled something else.

The man from Justice said, "The President reviewed your cases, and he felt that you have served enough time. He feels very strongly that you have more to offer your country and your communities by once again becoming productive citizens."

They stared blankly at him. This fool didn’t know they were about to assume new names and flee their country and their communities for at least two years? Who was on which side here?

And why was the President granting them clemency when they had enough dirt to destroy Aaron Lake, the man who was primed to defeat the Vice President? It was Lake who wanted them silenced, not the President? Right?

How could Lake convince the President to pardon them?

How could Lake convince the President to do anything, at this stage of the campaign?

They clutched their pardons and sat speechless, their faces drawn tight as the questions hammered away inside.

The man from the Bureau said, "You should feel honored. Clemency is very rare."

Yarber managed to acknowledge him with a quick nod, but even then he was thinking,Who’s waiting for us on the outside?

"I think we’re in shock," Beech said.

It was a first for Trumble, inmates so important that the President decided to pardon them. The warden was quite proud of the three, but uncertain as to how the moment should be commemorated. "When would you like to leave?" he asked, as if they might want to stick around for a party.

"Immediately," Spicer said.

"Very well. We’ll drive you to Jacksonville."

"No thanks. We’ll have someone pick us up."

"Okay, then, well, there’s some paperwork."

"Make it quick;" Spicer said.

They were each given a duffel bag to collect their things in. As they walked rather briskly across the grounds, all still very close together and in perfect step, with a guard trailing behind, Beech said, under his breath, "So who got us the damned pardons?"