Алистер Маклин - Time of the Assassins

‘The only one you’re getting,’ Graham replied then went back to cutting through the handcuff around her wrist.

‘I can take a hint,’ she said.

It took Graham another minute to cut through the handcuff. He plied apart the two halves and she pulled her wrist free.

‘Well, are you ready for a hot bath, a good meal and a long sleep in a warm bed?’ Whitlock asked her.

‘You bet,’ she replied, rubbing her chafed wrist.

‘Come on then,’ Whitlock said, helping her to her feet.

‘Thanks, Mike,’ she said softly then kissed him lightly on the cheek.

‘Get out of here,’ he said good-humouredly.

She followed Whitlock to the door then looked back at Graham. ‘Are you an undercover cop?’

‘Yeah, a sort of an undercover cop,’ Graham replied poker-faced.

She smiled. ‘Bye, Mike.’

‘See you, Rosie,’ Graham replied with a smile.

Sabrina waited until Whitlock and Rosie had been helped out of the helicopter before looking in at Graham. ‘You’re crazy, do you know that?’

‘Sure, I know that,’ Graham replied, nodding his head. ‘How come it’s taken you so long to realize it?’

‘Why didn’t either of you say anything before you went off like that?’

‘I’m sure the Colonel would have sanctioned what we had in mind, aren’t you? I take it he’s pretty pissed off about what we did.’

‘He’s only pissed off that neither of you told him what you were going to do. He actually seems quite pleased with the outcome. He wants to see you. Now.’

Graham moved to the door and was about to jump to the ground when something caught his eye on the floor in the corner of the cabin. He went over for a closer look.

‘What is it?’ Sabrina asked.

‘It’s a computer disc,’ he replied then picked it up and looked round at her. ‘Are you thinking what I’m thinking?’

‘Aha,’ she said, slowly nodding her head. ‘Bernard’s insurance policy.’

‘It must have fallen out of his pocket when we were fighting. This is quite a coup for UNACO.’

‘Especially as the CIA don’t even know we’ve got it,’ Sabrina added.

‘And knowing the antagonism that exists between the Colonel and Langley, you can bet your life he’s going to keep it that way.’

‘We’ll have to return it to them, of course,’ Philpott said, taking the disc from Graham.

‘Return it to them?’ Graham said in disbelief. ‘I don’t understand, sir. We could monitor all the operations on this disc for years to come without Langley’s ever knowing about it.’

‘We will,’ Philpott replied. ‘These covert operations are obviously very important to the company so it’s highly unlikely that they’ll be terminated after Bailey’s gone. They’ll just be assigned to a new controller, possibly Bailey’s successor. But if Langley know we’re monitoring these operations, they’ll want to make sure that none of their agents are compromised. And that’s where we can turn it to our advantage. Our silence will have a price. I think you’ll find that they’ll be a lot more co-operative in the future. And let’s face it, that can’t be a bad thing, can it?’

‘No, sir,’ Graham replied with a knowing smile.

Philpott slipped the disc into his pocket. ‘Now, about this little escapade of yours.’

‘It was my idea, sir,’ Graham said.

‘Strange, those were C.W.’s exact words as well. Whose idea it was is irrelevant. What does bother me is that neither of you said anything before you sloped off. I thought you’d have both learned your lesson by now about keeping things from Sergei and me. Obviously you haven’t.’

‘You wouldn’t have sanctioned it anyway, sir.’

‘That’s not the point, Michael,’ Kolchinsky said sharply. ‘We’re your superiors. Not that that seems to have made much impression on any of you these past few days, especially you. It’s because of your maverick tendencies that Strike Force Three is the subject of this internal investigation.’

‘Bernard killed my family, Sergei – my wife and my five-year-old son. What the hell was I supposed to do when I heard he’d been seen in Beirut?’ Graham held up his hand before Kolchinsky could answer. ‘Yeah, I know, tell you. Then you could have made the necessary arrangements to have him taken into custody. Then what? Would they have extradited him to face charges over here? You know they wouldn’t. He’d probably have been put on a plane bound for Libya and been given a hero’s welcome when he got there. I don’t expect you to understand the torment I’ve been through these last two years.

‘Hell, I’m not going to stand here and explain myself to you, Sergei. I did what I thought was right not only for the memory of my family but also for my own piece of mind. My only regret is that I had to drag Sabrina and C.W. into it as well. That’s why I resigned – to spare them any further trouble. And if you’ve got any sense you’ll accept my resignation and put an end to the matter.’

‘Your resignation is on my desk,’ Philpott said, holding Graham’s stare. ‘And it’ll be considered more carefully when the results of the investigations are known. Until then, you’re still part of this organization. And that means co-operating fully with the investigation. You’ll each be interviewed individually this afternoon. The panel will use my office as a base. So be there at two o’clock sharp.’

‘When will the results be known?’ Sabrina asked.

‘Late this afternoon. I’m dining with the Secretary-General tonight. We’ll discuss the findings then.’

Sabrina glanced at her watch. Three forty-seven a.m. She stifled a yawn. ‘Can we get some sleep now, sir?’

‘Yes, go on. I won’t see you this afternoon. I’ll be in Washington talking to Morgan Chilvers, the CIA Director. But Sergei will be at the UN. We’ll all meet again in my office at nine o’clock tomorrow morning to discuss the implications of the findings. By then I’ll also know how the Secretary-General stands on the issue. Sabrina, will you give Mike a lift back to his hotel?’

‘Sure,’ she replied. ‘Does C.W. know about the meeting tomorrow morning?’

‘Yes, I told him before he took Rosie home.’ Philpott’s eyes flickered towards Graham. ‘You did well tonight, Mike.’

‘Rosie’s safe, that’s all that matters now,’ Graham looked at Sabrina. ‘Ready?’

She nodded then said good night to Philpott and Kolchinsky before hurrying after him.

‘You got a tape deck in your car?’ Graham asked.

‘No, only a CD player. Why?’

He took the cassette from his pocket and showed it to her. ‘Bernard gave this to Rosie before they left the house. It’s for me. It has to be something about Carrie and Mikey.’

‘I’ve got a tape deck at the apartment. You can listen to it there.’

He looked at his watch. ‘You sure you don’t mind?’

‘Don’t be silly,’ she replied, unlocking the driver’s door.

‘Thanks, I appreciate it.’

She climbed into the car and opened the passenger door for him. He slipped the cassette back into his shirt pocket then got in beside her. She drove back up the approach road and rejoined the highway.

‘Thanks,’ Graham said, taking the cup of hot chocolate from Sabrina and placing it on the table beside him. ‘It’s a nice place you’ve got here.’

‘Liar,’ she said with a grin.

‘Sure, it’s a bit arty for my taste but it’s still a lot better than I thought it would be – seriously. I’ll tell what does impress me, though: your CD collection. You’ve got some good jazz there.’

‘You know how much I love jazz music,’ she said, glancing down at the row of compact discs on the shelf beside the player. Her eyes shot to the cassette on the table. ‘I’ll leave you alone to listen to the tape. I’ll be in the kitchen when you’re through.’