Washington, DC – Monday, Feb. 24, 3:30 p.m. EST Anna and Tanner reached the end of the Reflecting Pool and paused by the foot of the Lincoln Memorial. Anna detected a twinkle in Tanner’s eye. “Is it about the Mirror article?” she asked. “Yes, indeed,” Tanner said, nodding and pursing his lips again. “Turns out Steven Brown, Senator Caleb’s flack, admitted to planting the smear campaign about you. You’ll never guess who put him up to it.” “I couldn’t say,” she replied. “Sasha

Greenbelt, MD – Monday, Feb. 24, 6:30 a.m. EST “Thanks for coming with me,” Anna said, as Mel barreled north up Rhode Island Avenue toward Maryland. “And for driving in this crappy weather.” The windshield wipers on Mel’s new electric car throbbed. Shaw’s turn-of-the-century row houses shone in the sleet and headlights. “No problem,” Mel said. “The crack of dawn is my time. Did this bozo say why he wanted to meet way out there—at the scenic Greenbelt metro station, the prover

Bangkok – Monday, Feb. 24, 7:30 a.m. local time (7:30 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 23 in DC) Despite the warm breeze, Mr. Gold shuddered as he waited on bench number twenty-three near the lake in King Rama IX Botanical Garden. Morning joggers trotted down the sandy paths. The spire of the park’s central pavilion glimmered in the distance, and by all accounts the weather was perfect. Nevertheless, Mr. Gold broke out in a cold sweat. He lowered the brim on his baseball hat and star

Bangkok – Friday, Feb. 21, 6:30 p.m. local time (6:30 a.m. EST in DC`) Giovanni finished packing and called his car service for a ride to the airport. The flight through Tokyo didn’t leave until late. Earlier in the day, he had informed his employees he needed to fly to the States at sudden notice to court a heavy-hitting client, who would simply not be satisfied without a face-to-face meeting. The cover story, which reflected the reality of his company, Cutting Edge Forex, w