Covert One 4 - The Altman Code (60 page)

“Settle down?” he repeated. “You’re making me shudder. Why would anyone
want to settle down?” “Why, indeed?” asked David Thayer. “Take it from
me, people put too much stock in it. Footloose and fancy free, that’s my
idea of life now.” He grinned, his crevices rearranging themselves in a
face that shone with curiosity and eagerness. His thick white hair was
combed neatly back, and he had new tortoiseshell frames for his glasses.

“Goodness, I’ve been settled down more than fifty years. I’ve decided to
spend the rest of my life on the go.

The three smiled at one another as the jet touched down and sped along
the runway. They were dressed in casual trousers and shirts supplied by
the U.S. embassy in Beijing. David Thayer had been surprised by plastic
zippers, which he had never seen. Velcro fascinated him. He had ripped
open and closed the Velcro straps that fastened his new athletic shoes
several times. He had never ridden in a jet. The air force pilot gave
him a thorough tour of the cockpit, trying to explain how much of the
craft was computerized these days until he finally realized Thayer had
no real understanding of computers. Thayer assured him he would buy a
book and figure it out himself. After Jon had reunited with Thayer at
the embassy, Jon demanded he have a thorough physical exam. But Thayer
did not want to take the time, explaining politely he would rather watch
television, which was also new to him. Still, he was persuaded, and the
doctor found healed bones indicating past traumas, what appeared to be
an iron deficiency, an eye that should have cataract surgery soon, and
obvious dental needs. Then Jon, Randi, and David Thayer had piled onto
the jet, heading home to America. The events of the past week remained
very fresh–raw–in Jon’s mind. That would not change for a long time.

When he returned to Fort Detrick, he would write a full report for Fred.

That often helped.

Jon had noticed that Randi had been studying the president’s father from
the time she first met him. At last, as the jet rolled to a stop, she
asked, “Aren’t you bitter, Dr. Thayer? They stole your life. Doesn’t
that make you even a little bitter?”

He gazed back from the window, where he was leaning forward so he could
see Air Force One clearly. “Of course I’m bitter, but I’ve got other
things on my mind, too. There he is!” He pressed his face against the
glass. “I see him! My son. My son. There’s my daughter-in-law! There are
my grandchildren! I can’t believe it. They all came. They all came to
see me!” His body trembled with excitement.

The jet stopped, and David Thayer unsnapped his belt and headed for the
door. Jon and Randi did not move. As he waited for the stairway to be
rolled up and the copilot to unlock the door, he turned and came back.

There were pink spots on his sunken cheeks. His eyes sparkled. He shook
their hands, thanking them again.

“I hope you can understand, Ms. Russell.” He patted the top of her hand
as he continued to hold it. He glanced back occasionally, eager for the
door to open. “I never would’ve survived if I’d allowed myself to be
full of hate every second. There were a few good things among the bad.

For instance, I learned the price for hubris was humility, and I learned
I didn’t have all the answers. Still, if I could go back and change what
I did that got me into that mess, I would. But since I can’t, I’m going
to make the most of what time I’ve got left. The Chinese have a proverb
that goes something like this: ‘ a caterpillar calls the end of life,
wise men call a butterfly.’ ”

“That’s beautiful,” Randi said.

He nodded. “I know.” He squeezed her hand, punched Jon’s shoulder, and
hurried back to the door. He glared at the copilot. “Are you ever going
to open this damn thing?”

“Right now, sir.” He spun the lock, and the pneumatic door lifted and
swung out.

The stairwell was there. The old man moved onto it without another look
back. Jon and Randi watched him descend and brush away an aide who
obviously had planned to escort him over to Air Force One. The
president, his wife, son, and daughter were waiting in its shade. Thayer
moved straight toward them about ten steps and suddenly stopped.

“Look at his face,” Randi said.

“He’s afraid,” Jon agreed.

“It’s hit him all at once. He doesn’t know whether they’ll like him.”

“Or whether he’ll like them. Whether he can live such a different life.”

The president and his family gazed at one another, some sort of message
passing among them. Without a word, they hurried across the tarmac to
Thayer. He slowly opened his arms. The president reached him first,
stepped into his embrace, and wrapped his own arms around him in return.

They held each other a long time. The president kissed his father’s
cheek. Soon everyone was there, too, talking, laughing, introducing
themselves, hugging.

As their jet backed up, Jon and Randi turned away from the windows.

“Back to Washington,” she said with a sigh.

“Yes. It’ll be good to go home for a while.”

?ROBERT LUDLUM is the author of more than twenty internationally
bestselling novels, including The Bourne Identity– the basis of the
international hit movie-and The Scarlatti Inheritance. His books have
been translated into thirty-two languages and, with over two million
copies in print, are the standard by which all works of international
suspense are judged.

GAYLE LYNDS is the coauthor of two previous Covert-One novels, The Hade
Factor and The Paris Option, as well as several bestselling thrillers of
her own Masquerade, Mosaic, Mesmerized, and the forthcoming The Coil.