Wild Fire by Nelson DeMille

Fire.”
    Harry thought about that, too, but again didn’t respond.
    Landsdale went on, “But it could be the other thing—that you were sent here to disappear so that the FBI could swoop down on this place with probable cause and a search warrant. Actually, the only really incriminating things here at the club are the four nukes and you, and neither the nukes nor you will be here much longer. The ELF transmitter is not illegal, just hard to explain. Right?”
    Harry Muller felt as if he’d stepped into one of the upstate psychiatric hospitals, and that he’d arrived ten minutes after the patients took control. And what the hell was an elf transmitter? How do you transmit an elf? And why would you want to . . . ?
    Landsdale asked him, “You know about ELF?”
    “Yeah. Santa’s helpers.”
    Landsdale smiled and stared at Harry. “Maybe you don’t.” He explained, “Extremely Low Frequency. ELF. Does that mean anything to you?”
    “No.”
    Landsdale started to say something else, but the door opened, and Madox and the other three men entered the room.
    Landsdale caught Madox’s eye and nodded toward the door.
    Madox said to the others, “Excuse us a moment.”
    He and Landsdale left the room, and Madox said to Carl, who was standing near the door, “Keep an eye on Mr. Muller.”
    Carl went into the room and shut the door.
    Landsdale moved down the corridor, and Madox followed. Landsdale said, “Okay, I spoke to Muller, and he seems honestly clueless about anything, except his assignment. Muller was not briefed by Walsh or anyone, which is standard procedure when sending a low-level surveillance guy on a sensitive assignment.”
    Madox replied, “I know that. What are you getting at?”
    Landsdale paused, then said, “I have no doubt that whoever sent Harry Muller here fully expected him to be caught. Correct?”
    Madox didn’t reply.
    Landsdale went on, “I’m fairly sure that the CIA knows what you’re up to, Bain, and so does the Justice Department and the FBI.”
    “I don’t think that’s true.”
    “I think it is. And I think—based on my information—that Justice and the FBI are about to shut you down.” Landsdale looked at Madox and continued, “But you have fans and friends in the government. Specifically, the CIA, who want you to go for it. Follow?”
    “I don’t think
anyone
in the government, except the people here, know a damn thing about Project Green, or—”
    “Bain, deflate your fucking ego a little. You’re being manipulated and used, and—”
    “Bullshit.”
    “Not bullshit. Look, you’ve got a great plan. But you’ve been sitting on it too long. The do-gooders in the Justice Department and the FBI have gotten on to you, and they want to do the right thing and bust this conspiracy. The CIA sees it quite differently. The CIA thinks your plan is absolutely fucking terrific, and absolutely brilliant, and taking entirely too fucking long.”
    Madox asked Landsdale, “Do you know all of this for certain? Or are you speculating?”
    Landsdale considered his reply, then said, “A little of both.” He added, “Look, as the CIA liaison to the White House, I’m not fully in the Langley loop. But I used to work in a Black Ops branch, and I heard about you long before you heard about me.”
    Again, Madox didn’t respond.
    Landsdale continued, “Every covert branch of the intelligence establishment has its legendary members, men and women who are looked on as bigger than life, almost mythical. I worked with a guy like that, and this guy once briefed me about Wild Fire, and that’s when your name came up, Bain, as a private individual who had the capacity to trigger Wild Fire.”
    Madox seemed uneasy with that information, and asked, “Is that how and why I got to make your acquaintance?”
    Landsdale did not answer directly but said, “It’s how and why I got posted to the White House.” He added, “Your little conspiracy here has triggered a similar conspiracy among