Page 54 of The Grey Wolf
He nodded. “I’m afraid that’s what it is. We’re looking into pollution by some mining or paper company, but the scope of this is too big. The planning too complete.”
“But that would harm thousands,” she said.
He wondered how far he should go, but realized she needed to hear the truth.
“They’d probably use a nerve agent, a neurotoxin. The anti-terrorist task forces have run the scenarios. Tens of thousands dead is on the conservative side.”
“Oh, dear God.” She clutched his arm. “You have to warn people.”
“I can’t. Not until I’m sure.”
“People have a right to know. You need to give them a chance to get out, to defend themselves. Their children…”
“You’re right, but if we do, the terrorists will know we’re on to them, and they’ll move up the attack.”
“Or stop it. Decide not to do it.” Her eyes were wide, imploring him to see reason. To see what she saw.
“That would be worse.”
“How?”
“This has been years in the planning. Too many people are involved, compromised. Too much money. If I’m right, probably hundreds of millions have gone into it. They won’t stop the attack, they’ll postpone it. Move it to another time, another place. One we can’t predict.Non, we got lucky, and have this warning. It won’t happen again. Our only hope is to catch them.”
He could see Reine-Marie’s mind working fast, twisting, sliding,trying to find an argument that would see him issue a public alert. But finally she closed her eyes.
He waited.
When she opened them again, she nodded.
“We’re on well water. I’ll call Annie and Daniel first thing in the morning and have them come down with the children.”
“But you can’t tell them why. This needs to stay between us. And we can’t warn anyone else.”
“The LaPierres?” He shook his head. “Your agents? Armand, the men and women in your department.”
Armand felt sick. All the way down he’d wrestled with this. Like a moth, he kept bumping into the light, knowing all the time that it was hopeless. And worrying it wasn’t a light but a flame.
“Non.Just the children.” He felt a lump fizz in his throat. He understood the terrible thing he was doing. Saving his own family, and leaving the rest behind.
Reine-Marie was about to argue, but seeing his face, she stopped herself. Together they sat on the porch, the swing now still, and stared at the stars.
“Can you maybe issue an alert to not drink tap water?” she finally said. “Just drink bottled water? Say there’sE. colior something. It happens.”
Reine-Marie was traveling down the same route he’d taken, desperately examining all the options. But again, they were illusions, delusions. There were no options.
“That would also alert the terrorists. I’m sorry, but they have to believe that Langlois told me nothing. That at worst we think it’s a toxic spill in some northern lake. There is one more thing.”
Putting down his mug, Armand turned to her fully. In the demi-light, he saw Reine-Marie’s eyes widen, then narrow as she steeled herself.
Armand hated, hated, hated having to do this. And he despised the person who’d made it necessary.
“I think Jeanne Caron might be behind this.”
Of all the things Reine-Marie expected to hear, that was not one.
“Caron?” Her voice was high. Not loud, but the voice of someone trying to tamp down panic. Henri raised his head, his gigantic ears swiveling toward her. “What makes you think that?”
Armand told her about the video from The Mission. Jeanne Caron deep in conversation with Charles Langlois.
