Once they found AJ, Janice asked him to set up a secure call. He nodded and led them to another door, this time by the café. He unlocked it with his thumb and let them in. They walked down another short corridor to a small room and entered it.

“Hang on, I'll get a phone to use,” AJ said as he rifled through a small closet on the side. A few minutes later he pulled out a phone which he plugged into the wall and placed on the lone table in the room.

He pulled out a cell phone, pressed a button and said, “Secure call, Conference Room 16, recorded.” Then he waited for a moment. After the short pause, he said, “Got it.”

“Go ahead,” he said indicating the phone to Catherine. She reached out for the receiver, but Janice stopped her by covering her hand with her own.

“I just want to make sure you understand. We will record every word. We want a permanent record of the call. Do you agree?” she asked Catherine pointedly.

Catherine nodded.

“Good,” Janice said. “Now, one more thing. What do you plan to say to your boss?”

“What do you want me to leave out?” Catherine asked back without hesitation.

“All of it. I don't want you to report anything to him. I just want you to get him talking about Justin Knight.”

“He won't accept it. If I don't provide some details, he will know I'm holding back.”

“What do you suggest?”

Catherine remained silent a long moment before replying, “Well, I have to tell him about the call with Justin's uncle. Our original agreement stipulated I could share that information, so he expects to receive a copy of the recording.”

“Reasonable. What else do you plan to tell him?”

“I should report finding my father.”

“Out of the question at this point.”

“You don't understand. We expected to find stuff out about my father. It's one of the reasons the Director assigned me to this case. He expects me to report what I find.”

“Perhaps, but not today,” Janice said shaking her head. “He does not know you found your father alive. I see no need to tell him about it just yet.”

Catherine considered this. “Okay, but I have to tell him something more than just the Knight conversation.”

Janice shook her head. “I don't care. Tell him we arranged the call, and that we limited you as to how much you can tell him.”

“Speaking of which, have you no concern that the FBI will trace the call?”

Janice smiled. “Not really. The call will appear to originate from a randomly selected pay phone somewhere in the five boroughs. They might try to trace it, but they can never figure out our location. We're pretty good at this.”

Catherine shrugged and said, “All right.”

Janice removed her hand, and Catherine picked up the receiver and punched the number. A moment later, she heard the Director's voice.

“Regan reporting, sir.”

“Regan! I didn't expect to hear from you so soon after your last report.” Janice, listening on a second ear piece, smiled broadly at Catherine but said nothing.

“Yes, sir,” Catherine replied, grimacing slightly. “I have new information about Justin Knight. We recorded a video conversation between him and his uncle. I will forward a copy of the recording to you soon.”

“And did the conversation reveal anything useful?”

“Well, that depends upon what you consider 'useful', sir. David Knight let slip a comment about a secret federal investigation of Justin Knight regarding wire transfers. He suggested that the Bureau planned to investigate Justin for possible terrorist activities. I don't remember reading anything like that in my briefing report. What can you tell me about that, sir?”

“Nothing.”

Catherine gave him a long moment to say something else, but she realized the silence wouldn't break at his end.

“Sir,” she said finally, “if you are dissatisfied with my performance, please tell me. If not, I don't see how I can carry out this assignment effectively if you withhold key information from me. Otherwise, I can have no way to avoid treading on other cases inadvertently.”

“Unfortunately, I must dismiss you, Regan. The incident in lower Manhattan created quite a firestorm here in the District. The President himself called me into his office to explain why we lost both the Knights and the tutor. I put the video disk in his hand and tried to use that as leverage to distract him from the other matter, but apparently David Knight beat me to him, and my leverage disappeared. The President ordered me not only to remove you from the case, but also to fire you from your position with the Bureau.”

“I see.” Catherine said, not knowing what else to say.

“No, you do not, but it does not matter. Or rather, it matters that while I must fire you, I also still retain some influence to do things that even the President need not know about. You will find an undocumented deposit in your account when you next check your bank statement. The amount of the deposit will total roughly five years salary, tax free. I wish I could make it more, but my discretionary funds have limits.”

Catherine sat speechless, and this revelation even shocked Janice. She stared at Catherine, who stared right back, mouth open.

“Why, sir?” she finally asked.

“The present administration leaves office in January. We all know that change is in the air, and the opposition party's candidate is leading in the polls, particularly because of the economic crisis. Rightly or wrongly, the electorate will blame the current administration's party. When the new administration takes office, my career in the FBI almost certainly will end. Retirement looms as my only option.”

“I don't understand, sir.”

“Regan, the reason I assigned you to this case has not changed. You remember the briefing report?”

“Yes, sir, establishing contact with the AU ranked at the top of the list, if I remember correctly.”

“So it did. You may not realize the reason why that objective ranked so highly. I knew at the time that my own tenure here at the bureau will soon end, but the needs of the bureau will continue long after I leave. Your new role becomes my secret legacy, and it ultimately will benefit my predecessor and all others who follow. The Bureau cannot survive playing second fiddle to corporate intelligence agencies. If it does not regain top position in the next administration, it likely will end up closing its doors in the long run. That must not happen.”

“I still don't understand, sir.”

“You no longer work for me or for the Bureau, Regan, so instead I hope you will agree to work for your country as an unofficial patriotic agent. You have excellent skills, and more importantly you love your country beyond question. I believe the AU will want to recruit you to work for them. I want you to accept if they do. You can do nothing directly for the Bureau anymore, but if you work with the AU, you can do things unofficially that will ultimately benefit the Bureau. Also, as your new AU friends can tell you, a number of other ex-agents work with them. I have no doubt you will eventually make contact with them in your travels. In particular, eight of them have been placed within the AU by me. When you do meet them, I want you to give them a recognition signal. It is 'Avalanche'. Each of the eight will recognize this code; the others will not. It tells the eight that I designate you my captain in the field, so to speak.”

Catherine stared at Janice through all this, who stared back equally bemused.

Finally she asked, “Why 'Avalanche,' sir?”

“I should think it's obvious. An avalanche is a snow-based landslide. What you–what we–hope to accomplish amounts to a landslide of public opinion.”

Catherine hardly knew what to say.

“You deliberately chose me for this assignment because you wanted me to change sides?”

“No. You won't change sides. You will stay with the right side, the American side, the patriotic side. Rather, you must change your allegiance away from those who suck the lifeblood out of this country for their own gain. I expected the same kind of principled action from the current administration, but I was disappointed, and I have very strong doubts regarding the next likely administration. On the other hand, I have no doubt at all regarding your loyalties. I trust that the AU won't make any of this public. If they did, it would harm my position and make it impossible for me to help, should the need arise later on.”

Janice put down her ear piece and reached out for the phone, and Catherine gave it to her.

She said, “Mr. Director, why do you do this? What motivates you?”

“Who am I speaking with?”

“This is Janice.”

“Ah! My motivation should be clear to you by now, don't you think, Janice? Surely you don't believe that you and your band of revolutionaries are the only people in this country gravely concerned by the direction this country has taken, do you? If you act carefully and rationally over time, you will find yourselves gaining assistance from many people in positions of influence. In fact, you already have. You know how much support the AU receives from TST, UMA, and other sub-organizations. You know they have well-financed backing. Who do you think finances them? Surely you must realize that the people providing support for these efforts behind the scenes sit in positions of power and influence themselves. Where else might they come from?”

“Many don't trust them within the movement.”

“Yes. And rightfully so. In the long run, only consistent action proves loyalty. As these hidden, financially well-heeled activists continue to do their work, they will slowly, gradually gain acceptance and support. The truth always emerges.”

Janice said nothing to this.

“Janice, I have one other message for you. My contacts within your organization let me know that you plan to reunite former Special Agent Regan with her father today. I hope I haven't 'spilled the beans' so to speak. With Paul Regan and Justin Knight on your side, along with the various pieces of evidence you have collected so far, the AU now has enough ammunition to make itself known to the public. They MUST make a public statement! Their claims will get shot down by the media, the government, and the supporters of the Fed, and many will try to discredit them. The effort won't produce perfect results. However, the time has come to reveal the AU to the public, and I can think of no better way to accomplish it than to have Knight and Regan issue a joint statement. By making the AU known, you give fellow travelers who haven't yet discovered the AU the opportunity to join forces with you. You will find many more of them than you ever imagined.”

Janice hesitated. “I will pass your suggestion along, sir.”

“Very good. May I please speak with Catherine Regan once more?”

Janice handed the phone back to Catherine. “Yes, sir?”

“Do you have any remaining questions for me?”

“No, sir, except how will I reach you? How can I report to you?”

“You can't. In fact, you shouldn't. You must act as a free agent from now on,” he reminded her.

“Still, sir, your input, your intelligence, and your knowledge would prove invaluable. I don't want to lose that edge. The AU cannot afford to lose it.”

“You won't lose it,” he assured her.

“But how can I reach you?”

“You can't. But I know how to reach you. I will contact you when the time comes. In the meantime, trust your instincts, because they won't fail you. I selected you for this assignment for that reason above all others. You may not realize it, Regan, but you are the best damn agent that ever worked for me. That is why I have entrusted our country's future to you. Good luck!”

She heard a click, and the line went dead.