The Templar Reprisals (The Best Thrillers Book 3) James Best (best books to read all time .txt) 📖

“Oh, we had our successes. Our proudest achievement was the Enlightenment.”

“The Enlightenment?” Baldwin exclaimed. “You’re taking credit for the Enlightenment?”

“Of course. We led it. The Templars. As a scholar, you must be aware that Scots were the intellectual leaders. We broke the hegemony of the Catholic Church, lifted Europe out of feudalism, instigated a revival in art, science, philosophy, and politics. In fact, the culmination of the Enlightenment was the creation of this nation and the United States Constitution.”

“Are you saying the leaders of the Scottish Enlightenment were Templars” Baldwin asked, obviously intrigued.

“David Hume, Adam Smith, Robert Burns, Thomas Reid, the lot of them, all Scottish Templar Knights.” Smith took a sip of his Scotch whiskey. “Listen, because this is important. The Enlightenment ushered in the modern world. The Ikhwan prefers a feudal society. We are not at odds due to ancient wars to control the Holy Land. Our respective vision for mankind is diametrically opposed. It always has been.”

“Good versus evil?” Evarts asked.

“That’s over simplistic,” Smith said. “We believe in a single Supreme Being that has endowed man with free will and certain unalienable rights. Islam believes in a single Supreme Being, but man must submit to the will of God, living every aspect of their lives by faithfully following a strict set of rules.”

“Sharia?” Baldwin asked.

“Of course. To their way of thinking, if they get you to submit to Sharia, they saved your soul. If you resist, then death is the only proper punishment.”

Evarts didn’t want philosophy, he wanted useful intelligence, so he changed the subject. “If you were waiting for a clean hit, what about Pont Neuf?”

“What about it?”

“Your society intervened in a relatively small operation,” Evarts said. “Why did you thwart that particular attack?”

Smith nodded. “Actually, a good question. Once we learned about the plans for an attack in Paris, our French chapter was unwilling to let that strike go unchallenged.” He shrugged. “It was also an intelligence operation.”

“How so?”

Smith said, “I’m sorry, I can’t disclose that.”

Evarts could guess. They wanted to flush out Ikhwan agents and sympathizers in the French government and national police. Evarts decided not to probe further. He shifted to a different tact.

“Your intelligence is shoddy … and possibly compromised. Think about it. Do you really believe it was coincidence that you were selected to distribute copies of The Vault?” Evarts paused to let that sink in. “You’re blown; the Ikhwan is toying with you.”

“You don’t know that,” Smith said forcefully.

“I do … and so do you.” When Smith didn’t respond, Evarts added, “If they know who you are, then good spycraft requires you to question all the information they have fed you.”

Smith still didn’t answer, so Evarts decided to push harder.

“Let’s review. You didn’t know the books were fragmentation bombs. We did. You didn’t know the exact location of Ali as-Saad in Jakarta. We did. You were unaware that Ali as-Saad was only the backup caliph. We did. You don’t have a clue about the other Ikhwan cells here in D.C. We have a solid lead. You didn’t know that a direct marketing tycoon was indebted to the Ikhwan. We did.” Evarts let him think about everything. “Your intelligence operations are in shambles. You failed achieving your Paris counterespionage objectives, so you threw us to the wolves to salvage something from the operation. The Ikhwan probably know I’m not a Templar Knight. That’s why they sent rent-a-thugs after me instead of their own people. The bounty might even be disinformation to throw you off.”

Evarts gave Smith an even stare. “John, I shouldn’t tell you this, but O’Brian knows the identity of your source at the Pentagon. You only get the information he wants you to have. Yet you’re unaware that your Pentagon source has been blown. If O’Brian can ferret out your mole, why not the Ikhwan? You make light of Ikhwan capabilities, but they beat you at every turn. Why? Because you made the worst error a commander can make … you underestimated your enemy.”

Smith appeared crestfallen and Evarts wondered if he had gone too far.

Then Smith soulful eyes cleared. “Everything you say may be true, but I know something you don’t.”

“What’s that?”

“Lieutenant General Jim O’Brian is a Templar Knight.”

Chapter 71

O’Brian surprised Evarts by bringing someone to dinner. He introduced his companion as Jeffrey Hudson but failed to convey who he was or why he had brought him along to their meeting. O’Brian and Smith had never met, but both knew each other by reputation. O’Brian took them immediately to a table he had arranged in a private room. Once they were seated and ordered drinks, O’Brian told them that the two Ikhwan had been stitched up and assigned rooms on different floors. The hospital was maintaining no records of them, and they were under heavy guard. The two captured Templars were also isolated and so far, remained uncooperative. Finally, O’Brian looked pointedly at Evarts and informed him that the lead he had provided had been productive. He didn’t elaborate.

After O’Brian finished, they ordered dinner and waited for the wait staff leave.

O’Brian asked Evarts, “What have you learned from Mr. Smith?”

“You want me to tell you in front of him?” Evarts asked.

“Yes. All of it.”

Evarts nodded. “About seven hundred years ago, the Templars escaped King Philip IV with the equivalent of over two hundred million dollars. The fortune has grown and remained intact. It’s dispersed and disguised. The Templars intelligence capabilities are poor. Smith had been selected as one of the distributors of The Vault. The Templars like to plan and think big but seldom act. At least that’s true for our domestic breed. Lastly, we learned that you’re a Templar Knight.”

Evarts watched O’Brian closely. He showed no apparent reaction.

“Patricia, do you have anything further to add?” O’Brian asked.

“Mr. Smith has an odd belief structure. For example, he believes the Templars are a nation-state without territory. Methow believed the same. Gouverneur Morris wouldn’t trust either of them.”

Hudson looked puzzled at the reference to Morris, but O’Brian