Marine One (37 page)

Authors: James W. Huston

Tags: #Thriller

BOOK: Marine One

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"Maybe if it had gone through, but now-"

"No! China had made concessions, to the U.S., to Japan, to Taiwan, in
writing
. Free access to their markets for twenty years and tariffs coming into our market, everything in the treaty. Now they'll get Taiwan for
nothing
. There
is
no treaty now. All because you had to win your case." Grosvenor pointed to my chest. "Think about that, lawyer boy. Think about your duties to your country and maybe the world next time, instead of tripping up the other side and showing everyone how clever you are."

I was taken aback. I looked directly at him. "I don't have to apologize for the truth. You should have told the FBI and the NTSB."

"I did! They all knew! You think the NTSB didn't find any tip weights? And they knew the implications if it leaked to the press. Now you've told the world. You really screwed the pooch, Nolan."

I looked into Grosvenor's eyes and understood. "You
wanted
all this to come out, didn't you? And probably just like this-a big drama with you dead center. You wanted everybody to know the president of Taiwan sold his country down the river because you thought it was wrong. And he's back in Taiwan right now pretending everything is fine. You wanted everyone to know that Adams had been willing to push Taiwan over the cliff as long as he got the right price. You despised President Adams, didn't you? Just like Collins did. Just like a lot of people who worked for him. And you wanted Adams to look bad, right here in this trial. You knew
exactly
what you were doing."

"You're full of-"

I leaned toward his menacing presence and lowered my voice. The press was trying hard to eavesdrop, but I didn't care. I even saw an arm extended with a tape recorder next to me. I said to Grosvenor, "I wondered about you when I saw you this morning. If you didn't want all this to come out, you wouldn't have come here at all. You would have had Justice fight your fight for you before you got on the witness stand. I mean, you weren't even supposed to
have
that treaty. You kept a copy just so it could get leaked. What better way to leak it than in a trial when you've been
subpoenaed
, where you've been forced, looking like the victim? You made sure Byrd got it to me."

Grosvenor looked over my shoulder at Packer, who was listening to every word, then said, "I've got nothing more to say to you," and walked out.

Jean Claude grabbed my hand and pumped it. Marcel stood behind him smiling. Rachel looked at me and nodded as Kathryn patted me on the shoulder.

I was exhausted. I gathered my papers and closed my briefcase. We walked through the mob toward our cars. People screamed questions at me from every direction. I didn't hear any of them. Debbie leaned against the Volvo with her arms crossed, shaking her head and smiling. Thompson stormed away in the distance, his neck visibly red. He wasn't done with me, I was sure of that. I wasn't done with him yet either.

We passed by a television production van. Through the open door I could see two of their monitors. I stopped to look, and Rachel stopped right next to me. One of the monitors showed people celebrating in Paris. The other showed a mob forming outside the presidential palace in Taipei.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

MANY PEOPLE HAVE been of inestimable help in putting this book together. But I would like to extend my particular appreciation and gratitude to my agent, David Gernert. I would also like to thank St. Martin 's Press, and in particular my editors, Marc Resnick and Peter Wolverton, who have guided this book to completion and made it better.

Last, I'd like to thank my wife, Dianna, for her undying patience and support, who together with our children-Stephanie, Paul, Shannon, Colleen, and Scott-make my life rich and full of stories.

– James W. Huston

James W Huston