The Escape (John Puller, #3)(70)

Susan Reynolds had testified about a DVD in his pocket. It had been found on his person after she had notified security, and Puller had no idea how it got there. The files on it had been classified. The clear implication had been that he was stealing secrets.

The other witness, Niles Robinson, had testified that he had seen Puller meeting secretly with a person who later turned out to be an Iranian agent. Puller had never met with such a man, but Robinson had apparently taken pictures showing otherwise.

Both witnesses and the physical evidence had been devastating. Yet he had never actually believed that he would be convicted, simply because he was innocent. Even when the incriminating files about the online gambling had been found on his computer, he had not wavered in his belief that he would be fully exonerated.

He was not na?ve enough to believe that innocent people did not go to prison. But in the military he did not believe that was possible. He had maintained hope throughout until near the end of the proceedings. He had been planning to testify in his own defense, to fight back against the allegations and offer some of his own theories for what had happened.

And then it had arrived.

The envelope had been under his pillow in the cell he was in during the court-martial. He had no idea how it got there.

He had opened it and read the brief contents. The message was clear: Do anything to save yourself and your immediate family will suffer. They will suffer the ultimate punishment.

Well, he had only two immediate family members left. His brother and his father.

He supposed he could have taken the letter to the authorities. It would have perhaps been proof of his innocence, although they could easily claim he had written it himself. But he had never considered doing that.

And thus Puller had not testified. He had accepted his fate. He had been convicted by a panel of his peers and been transferred to the DB. His automatic appeal had been unsuccessful and he had never tried to initiate any others. He had been resigned to living out his days in prison. He was an innocent man behind bars for life. Could there be a worse fate? He had sometimes thought the death penalty might have been better.

He had been rotting in prison for over two years. And now they wanted him dead. They had sent a killer inside the prison as part of an elaborate plan to make sure he was dead. They had failed. He had turned their plan to his advantage. And now he was free.

They could not communicate with him now. They could not threaten him with the ultimate punishment for his immediate family.

So Robert Puller had decided that this opportunity had come to him for a reason. What he had put away in the back of his head when the threats to his family had surfaced was the fact that if they were trying to falsely accuse him of espionage, then true espionage must have been going on at STRATCOM. And that could do, and might have already done, incalculable damage to America.

Why they had chosen him to implicate was still unknown to Puller. But he was going through the possibilities in his head. And he was certain an answer would emerge.

But he had already reached one conclusion. He had chosen his family over his country, sacrificing himself for their welfare.

Now he was going to choose his country over everything else.

And although his uniform had been taken away from him, he still considered himself a servant of the United States, forever sworn to protect its interests above all others.

And that’s exactly what he intended to do now.

And on top of that was an overwhelming desire to make these sonofabitches finally pay for what they’d done.





CHAPTER





36



NILES ROBINSON NOW worked at a defense contractor in Fairfax. Puller and Knox had met him at his office the next morning. He was a black man in his mid-forties, tall and spare with intelligent brown eyes. He answered their questions readily. He had worked with Robert Puller and thought of him as a friend.

That is until he had seen Puller talking with a man who turned out to be an Iranian agent.

“So you didn’t know he was an agent at the time?” Puller asked.

“No. But I did take pictures of them.”

“Why?” asked Knox sharply.

Robinson gave her a benign stare. “Not to be accused of profiling, but the man was Middle Eastern. And they did seem to be acting furtive.”

“They were in a car, on a public street?”

“Yes.”

“They could have picked a quieter spot,” noted Puller.

“Well, it was late at night and there weren’t many folks about. And they never got out of the car.”

“And it was just a coincidence you were there?” asked Knox.

“No, it wasn’t.”

“Oh?” prompted Knox.

“As I testified at the court-martial, I had followed Robert there.”

“And why was that?” asked Puller.

Robinson shifted his gaze to him. “Because, quite frankly, I had misgivings about him.”

“Based on what?” Puller said.

“At STRATCOM you’re taught to be paranoid. And I was. I can’t tell you specifically what aroused my suspicions, but I had them. That wasn’t the first time I had followed him. Other times nothing had happened. But this time, well, I wasn’t sure. That’s why I took the photos.”

“And gave them to your superiors?” said Knox.

“Not immediately. But I did after a coworker caught Robert leaving the facility with a DVD.”