The Last Patriot

“Never mind,” he ordered. “Just get me copies of everything right now.”

“Right away,” replied Beard.

Ozbek hung up the phone and screwed the cap back on his bottle of Makers Mark.

Not only did the Lord work in mysterious ways, he thought to himself, but He was also incredibly fast. He would have made an exceptional CIA operative.

CHAPTER 64

Harvath returned to Bishop’s Gate and found the professor in his office. “You’re still up?” he asked.

“Lots to do,” replied Nichols, who then nodded at the manila envelope and soft canvas bag Harvath was carrying.

Approaching the desk, Harvath set the envelope down, opened the mouth of the bag, and withdrew a beautiful wooden box similar to the one the Don Quixote

had been kept in at the Bilal Mosque in Paris.

It was crafted from the same hardwoods and included Thomas Jefferson’s inlaid initials. Harvath set it on the desk. “The president said you would know how to open it.”

“One of Jefferson’s many secrets,” replied Nichols as he delicately went to work. He noticed Harvath admiring the box. “A piece of art, isn’t it?”

“It is,” said Harvath.

“Are you familiar with puzzle boxes?”

“I had a few of them as a kid,” he replied. “My father and I even made a couple of our own together. Nothing as beautiful as this, though.”

“What was he like?” asked the professor as he slowly unlocked one of the side pieces and then proceeded to the next link in the sequence.

Harvath smiled. “He was tough as hell. But my mother and I knew he loved us-a lot.”

“He passed away?”

“A while ago,” said Harvath. “Just after I got out of high school. He was a SEAL instructor. He died in a training accident.”

The professor looked up from the box. “I’m sorry about that.”

“So am I.”

Moments later, Nichols depressed the inlaid initials and tilted open the lid. The interior of this box was lined with velvet and upon it sat Jefferson’s wheel cipher.

Nichols removed the device, set it reverently upon the desk next to the Don Quixote, and then, almost as an afterthought, handed the box to Harvath to examine.

For several minutes, neither of the men spoke. At last, Harvath broke the silence. “So you’ve got everything you need now. It should be simple from this point forward,” he said as he handed the puzzle box back to the professor.

Nichols laughed. “We’ve come a long way, but I’ve learned that nothing about Thomas Jefferson is ever simple. He has been referred to as the Great American Sphinx. It’s one of the best descriptions I ever heard of him. The same author also made a brilliant comment that when you study Jefferson’s face on the nickel he always looks to the left. As a Democrat, I take great pride in that.”

This time Harvath laughed. Though they had met under less than ideal circumstances, he had grown to like the professor a lot.

“Anything new on Tracy?” he asked.

Harvath shook his head. “Not really.”

“I’m sorry to have dragged you both into this.”

“It’s not your fault. What matters now is that you decipher the Sphinx’s code,” said Harvath with a grin. “If he really did discover missing texts from the Koran and those texts could help moderate Muslims to reform Islam, we need to find them.”

“Speaking of which,” replied Nichols, “I received an e-mail from Marwan Khalifa.”

There was that name again, thought Harvath. Even though the president had vouched for him, Harvath had his reservations. “What did he want?”

“He just got back from the project he was working on overseas. We were supposed to meet Monday at the Library of Congress to put our heads together on everything, but Marwan thinks he has found something useful in his research and wants to meet tomorrow instead.”

Harvath was apprehensive. “Where?”

“That’s the thing. Marwan is worried that someone may be following him. He doesn’t want to come into D.C. He doesn’t even want to go home. He’s staying in a hotel and wants to meet near there; where he knows the area and feels comfortable.”

“Where’s that?”

“Annapolis.”

Harvath knew Annapolis pretty well. “Where exactly does he want to meet?”

“In typical Marwan fashion,” said Nichols, “he has chosen a location rich with symbolism and more than a hint of irony.”

CHAPTER 65

ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND

SUNDAY MORNING

The United States Naval Academy was located across the Severn River from the Naval Surface Warfare Center along the banks of the Chesapeake Bay.

Referred to by some as The Boat School or Canoe U, The Academy, as it was more appropriately called, was the undergraduate college responsible for educating future Naval and Marine Corps officers. It was also home of the Navy football team.