Алистер Маклин: Time of the Assassins

She kissed him lightly on the cheek. ‘Night, Mike.’

‘Yeah,’ he muttered and closed the door behind him.

‘Hello, Mike,’ Sarah said as Graham entered the room.

‘Hi,’ he replied, closing the door behind him. ‘Are C.W. and Sabrina here yet?’

‘They’ve already gone through,’ Sarah replied then switched on the intercom and announced Graham’s arrival.

‘Send him in, Sarah,’ Philpott replied.

The door slid open and Graham walked into Philpott’s office. He greeted Philpott then nodded to Sabrina and Whitlock who were sitting on one of the black sofas.

‘I’m not late, am I, sir?’ Graham said, looking at his watch. ‘You did say nine.’

‘You’re not late. Sit down.’

Graham sat on the second sofa. ‘Is there any news from the safe house yet?’

‘Yes, word came through about an hour ago. The police have found something. Sergei’s over there now. I’m waiting for his call.’

‘Something, sir?’

Philpott turned his empty pipe around slowly in his fingers then pushed it away from him. ‘Human remains. I’ve arranged to have you driven out there as soon as we’re through here.’

‘Thank you, sir.’

Philpott tapped the folder in front of him. ‘These are the findings of the internal investigation. It’s highly critical of C.W. and Sabrina for withholding information from Sergei during the course of the assignment, especially you, Sabrina. You became involved in the politics of a foreign power, a point the Secretary-General raised on several occasions. I know it’s easy to fall into that trap when an assignment verges on the political, but you have to know where to draw the line. That’s what the Charter’s there for, to clarify those boundaries. And if you’re still not sure, you ask. We have enough enemies at the UN as it is without further aggravating the situation by blatantly taking sides as you did in Zimbala. What if it hadn’t turned out the way it did? What if Ngune had seized power? We would have been branded mercenaries. There are already whispers to that effect amongst some of the more radical African and Asian countries as it is. Why give them the ammunition they want to shoot us down? You’re here because you’re regarded as the best in the business. Let’s act that way, shall we?’

‘Yes, sir,’ Sabrina muttered guiltily.

Philpott’s eyes shifted to Graham and he shook he head slowly. ‘I don’t even know where to start with you. I’m not going to go through all the rules you’ve broken in these past few days, you know what they are already. And that’s what makes it all the more serious – your blatant disregard for your colleagues and for UNACO in general. And even when Sabrina went out to Beirut to bring you back you gave her an ultimatum that put her in an impossible position. She had no option but to go along with your plan. And that’s what got her into trouble in the first place.’

‘It was my decision, sir,’ Sabrina said. ‘I could have shopped Mike when I spoke to Sergei but I thought it best to work with him rather than against him. And I doubt Sergei would have understood that, do you?’

‘Your loyalty’s touching, Sabrina,’ Philpott said. ‘But the fact remains that Mike disobeyed a directive to return home with you.’

‘And can you blame him?’ she shot back. ‘What would have happened if he had come back with me? Bernard would probably have succeeded in killing President Mobuto. It was only Mike’s determination that eventually led us to Remy Mobuto and to ultimately preventing a serious embarrassment to the White House.’

‘But those weren’t Mike’s intentions when he went after Bernard, were they?’ Philpott said, glancing from Sabrina to Graham. ‘Your sole intention was to put a bullet in him, wasn’t it?’

‘Initially,’ Graham replied. ‘But when Sabrina agreed to work with me, my first duty was to prevent Mobuto’s being assassinated, not to put a bullet in Bernard. I’ve already explained all this at the hearing yesterday.’

‘Which brings me to another point. You were even abusive to the panel of investigators. Why?’

‘Four desk men: two ex-CIA, two ex-Feds. What the hell do they know about field work? All they’ve done is push pens all their lives. Their questions were loaded and misleading and my answers were twisted when I did try to explain myself. What was I expected to do, sir? Thank them?’

Philpott shook his head in dismay. ‘The Secretary-General wants you thrown out, do you know that?’

‘You have my resignation, sir.’

‘Yes, I do. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to accept it. I’m the Director of UNACO. You’re my operatives and I have the final say on whether anyone is to be dismissed from this organization. And the Secretary-General knows that.’ Philpott removed the letter from the folder and tossed it onto the desk.

‘Get rid of it before it falls into the wrong hands.’

Graham got up and took it off the desk.

‘That doesn’t mean I condone your actions for one moment, Mike. I had to do a lot of hard talking to convince the Secretary-General that you were worth a second chance.’

‘I appreciate it, sir.’

‘I should hope so,’ Philpott shot back. ‘I realize this was a one-off situation. And now that Bernard and Bailey are dead, perhaps we can expect a little more co-operation from you in the future. Believe me, Mike, you screw up again and you will be out. That goes without saying. There’s a black mark against your name right now and it’s up to you to prove to UNACO, and the Secretary-General, that you’re worthy of another chance.’

‘I won’t let you down, sir.’

‘No, you won’t, because I won’t be here.’

‘I don’t understand, sir.’ Graham said, frowning.

‘My doctor nearly had a heart attack of his own when he found out I was back at work. He thought I was resting at home. He’s told me that the next attack could be the big one. That’s why I submitted my resignation to the Secretary-General last night. I’ll be leaving as soon as I’ve handed over properly to Sergei. He’ll be taking over as the new Director.’

‘And who’s taking his place?’ Sabrina asked.

Philpott gestured towards Whitlock. ‘I know all the Strike Force teams will give him their full support.’

Sabrina was the first to congratulate him, kissing him lightly on the cheek. Graham pumped his hand firmly.

‘I know C.W. still has some reservations about the job, because, like you, Mike, he’s not a great admirer of the desk man. But let’s face it, C.W., you’re not getting any younger, you know.’

‘So Carmen keeps reminding me,’ Whitlock said.

‘How long have you known about this?’ Sabrina asked Whitlock.

‘A couple of months now. Look, I would have told you guys before but I was sworn to silence.’

‘Has anyone been pencilled in to take C.W.’s place yet?’ Graham asked.

Philpott nodded. ‘We’ve been grooming his successor for the last six weeks. You worked with him on your last assignment when he was still with the Italian anti-terrorist squad, the NOCS.’

‘Fabio Paluzzi?’ Sabrina said.

‘Yes. As you know he’s been with Strike Force Nine since he joined us from the NOCS. But that was just to let him get the feel of the organization. He’ll be taking over from C.W. in the next couple of weeks.’

‘That’s great,’ Sabrina said with a grin then quickly patted Whitlock on the arm. ‘Don’t take that the wrong way, C.W.’

‘I would if I didn’t know you better.’

‘I’ll be briefing Fabio this afternoon, so if you do happen to see him before that, don’t say anything.’

‘Drinks at my apartment tonight,’ Whitlock said. ‘I’ll invite Fabio after the Colonel’s had a word with him. Mike, I hope you can make it but I’d fully understand if you wanted to be by yourself tonight.’