The Aegis Solution Read Online Free Page B

must patiently wait their turns.
    With a sound more closely resembling the bleating of a goat than what it was, the ringing of a
telephone, Elias was shaken from his fugue.
    "Yes," he answered, his tone flat.
    "Elias, Faulk."
    "What is it, Richard?" Elias was aware that his question conveyed irritation, but did not care.
    "I need to see you. Can you come in?"
    "For what?"
    "It's" – Faulk paused for a moment, clearly attempting to phrase his next statement carefully – "a
special project we need you to do."
    "Who's ‘we'?"
    "Well" – Elias' erstwhile friend tried a soft chuckle to break the obvious tension – "me."
    "Why did you say ‘we,' Richard, if you meant it was your idea?"
    Ignoring the question, the man stated, "Elias, this job is perfect for you. I can't think of anyone
better."
    "So you still have to pitch it to somebody?"
    The voice on the other end paused momentarily, again in an effort to best frame his answer. "In
a manner of speaking. Look, Elias, they want me to take care of this…issue. I simply need to get them
to bless my choice, and my choice is you. There are no other candidates, as far as I'm concerned."
    Elias cradled the receiver against his shoulder and looked out at the snow, taking his time before
he said, "Richard, you know what I'm working on. I don't want any damn projects. I just want to be left
alone."
    His tone deepening, Faulk began, "I know, my friend…."
    "I'm not your friend!"
    "You've made that clear before. I'm sorry. Bad choice of words. Hear me out, will you? I think this
is something you'll want to do."
    Closing his eyes to block out the whitening vista outside, Elias swiveled in his chair to face the desk.
"What is it?"
    Seeing the opening, Faulk rushed his words. "I don't really want to go into much detail on the
phone, but it is about Aegis."
    Although he hated to admit it, Elias was startled by the last word spoken. "What about Aegis?"
    "There's something wrong there."
    "No kidding. There's been something wrong there since the day it opened."
    "I know. I mean, I know that you've been against it since it was first proposed when Walker was
in the Oval Office, but something new has come up. Something that changes things."
    "What?"
    "Elias!" Faulk almost barked, sensing that he had succeeded in hooking his former friend. "Not on
the phone. If you don't want to come in, I'll come there."
    Holding the handset away from the side of his head for a minute, Elias stared down at the black
blotter on his desk before saying, "No, I'll come in. What time?"
    "Now. I'll send a car."
    "No. I'll take the Metro. Pick me up at the station."
          
    
    The snow was falling faster than the taxi's wipers could brush it aside.
    Cutting through Elias' reverie, the cabbie asked, "So, do you think they'll ever finish the Silver
Line?"
    Without turning his gaze from the side window, Elias answered, "That would be too convenient."
    "It'll sure cut down on my fares if they do."
    "Well, there is that," Elias commented, reflecting on how different things might look to an
individual depending upon his personal, selfish perspective.
    The cab driver tried to continue the conversation, but the monosyllabic answers from his passenger
soon dissuaded him, and silence filled the taxi. Even with all of his years of experience in this weather,
Elias thought, it still intrigued him how even heavy snowfall could arrive with only a whisper of sound.
Were this rain, the inside of the cab would sound like a snare drum played during a performance of
"Taps."
    Thankful for the quiet, Elias thought about Aegis. It had been over fourteen years since President
Walker's daughter had killed herself, approximately twelve since the place had opened. Walker had
received the gift of a second term from the electorate, partially out of sympathy but primarily because
the unemployment rate had fallen to 4.6 percent during his first term.
    His successor, now in his second term, was definitely not the same kind of President or