The Oracle Year(14)

Halvorsson cleared his throat.

“It’s done clandestinely, sir. It all takes place over the Internet, deep down, using custom-coded, onetime-use tools specifically designed to make monitoring all but impossible. Nothing’s recorded. We’re good, but we aren’t miracle workers. If we knew about a meet ahead of time, we might be able to do something, but we’re finding out about all this after the fact. With time, perhaps . . .”

Leuchten interrupted, his face darkening.

“More dogshit, Halvorsson. I’m getting extraordinarily sick of the smell. Call Sternfeld! Ask him how he managed to get in contact with the Oracle. It’s not brain surgery, man.”

Franklin interrupted.

“Say, Tony, here’s an idea. Give us a few minutes to tell you what’s going on before you jump in with your little suggestions. Don’t assume we’re idiots.”

Leuchten’s expression cleared. He turned to face Franklin, a small smile crossing his lips.

“I’ll assume you’re idiots until you prove otherwise, Director. And as for my suggestions, you may not enjoy hearing them, but I can assure you that the president does. For instance, I might suggest to him that the FBI could use a change in leadership. Shake things up a bit. In with the new blood, out with the old. From my lips to the man’s ear. Just something to think about.”

Leuchten peered at Franklin over the top of his glasses, his blue eyes cold.

“But please, continue. Tell me what’s going on.”

Franklin looked to Halvorsson for support, but the man had chosen to stare at a nearby tree.

Franklin took a deep, frustrated breath of wintry air and held it in his lungs. On the exhale, he looked back at Leuchten.

“Fine,” he said. “Here’s how it is. My people have heard about the Oracle meetings Director Halvorsson describes, but we can’t get any details. Either the Oracle’s clients are too frightened to talk, or he gave them something so valuable that our threats don’t outweigh it. I’m sure Linus has encountered the same difficulties.”

He glanced at Halvorsson. The man nodded, slowly, once, but didn’t say a word. Now Franklin wanted to hit him, too. This meeting needed to wrap up quickly, or he’d end up in court on assault charges.

He had hoped that Halvorsson’s NSA drones had figured out something spectacular, but it didn’t seem like that was the case. With every moment, it was becoming increasingly clear that Franklin would have to do something he really, truly did not want to do.

“We think the Oracle is selling predictions,” Franklin continued.

“Ahh,” Leuchten said. “I was worried this would happen. It’s what I would do if I had access to the future. What’s he selling? Specifically, I mean.”

Franklin gritted his teeth.

“Once again, we aren’t sure. As Director Halvorsson mentioned, the meetings take place over entirely secure networks, and our sources aren’t the people in on the discussions with the Oracle. We get everything secondhand—men’s room gossip; executive assistants overhearing bits of conversation, that sort of thing. We can’t get near anyone who has actually received the information. They paid a lot of money for it, and they don’t feel like sharing.”

Anouk bounded up to the men, spraying powdery snow with each step, and frolicked around the chief of staff’s legs. Leuchten reached down and yanked on a choke chain attached to the dog’s neck. She yelped and fell sideways, looking up with a wounded expression.

“Dammit, get this animal inside,” Leuchten said. He turned and motioned to one of the Secret Service men standing a few paces away. The man spoke quietly into his lapel mike, then came to lead Anouk away. Leuchten planted his hands on his hips.

“I refuse to accept this,” he said. “This person is creating a power base, allying himself with some of the most powerful men and corporations in the world. Why? Do you have a single useful piece of information for me? Anything?”

“There is one thing,” Halvorsson said.

Franklin looked at him, surprised.

“We have been able to cross-reference certain large payments made by the individuals and organizations we know have been in contact with the Oracle. The payments have all been to the same bank in the Cayman Islands, although each to a different numbered account.”

Leuchten pursed his lips.

“How much?”

“The payments vary, but never less than ten million dollars,” Halvorsson continued. “The largest are on the order of hundreds of millions. They total just over two billion.”

“Fine. What is he spending it on?” Leuchten snapped. “You can buy one hell of a lot of AK-47s with a couple billion dollars. You could set up terrorist training camps all over the Middle East. It’d get you pretty far down the road to building a nuclear bomb. What is he spending it on?”

Franklin and Halvorsson stared at him. Silence stretched over several seconds. Leuchten crossed his arms and turned away.

“All right, that’s it, then,” he said. “I’ve got other work to do. Find the Oracle. Get it done, gentlemen, or leave me your suggestions for who should replace you.”

Halvorsson inclined his head and turned to walk back across the South Lawn. Franklin hesitated.

“Tony, if I could have just another few minutes,” he said.