Fox Wilde - Variant Exchange - A Punk Rock Spy Fiction Novel

“So, in other words, a teenager?”

“Exactly!”

“I know you don’t quite see the potential yet,” William said seriously, as he moved a Bishop into position, ignoring the threat of Marcus’s Pawn. “but she’s only been at this a few months and she’s already more competent than Mr. York… certainly more trustworthy. Look past her age and you might see a bright future in intelligence for her. And she’s going to be a far better performer than Matt will ever be. You’ve seen her perform, and you’ve seen her channel . You’ve seen her speak with The High Voice . You know what an artist with that ability is capable of. You’ve seen the way it gets crowds fired up.”

“Yes, yes. I’ve seen all that. It’s impressive, but…”

“Don’t make the mistake of trivializing that ability, my old friend. In the right situation—provided an older and wiser mind has given her the necessary context—that ability could light a dangerous fire. It’s an ability that Dr. King had, it’s an ability that Kennedy had, and it’s the single greatest asset that every great revolutionist possesses: the ability to convict. ”

“But those men had substance backing it!”

“…which is the product of education and passion. She’s already halfway there—she just needs a good teacher, now.”

“But she doesn’t even know who The Velvet Underground are!”

“She also doesn’t know that Sid Viscous is dead. What’s your point?”

“She… are you… are you serious?” Marcus whined, teetering equally on the edge of either laughing or crying. “How can she call herself a serious punk and… it’s outrageous!!”

“For the same reason that she can be a serious punk and still like the mediocre junk they play on the radio: she’s behind the Berlin fucking Wall! What the hell is she supposed to know? To her, anything on that side is raging against the Establishment, purely by virtue of not being on this side. She has no sense of scale! She’s never heard of the Empire State Building, never been in a car more than three or four times in her life, has never read an issue of any fashion magazine, and has never seen a can of Campbell’s soup. Are you going to criticize her for not understanding the finer points of Warhol?”

“You don’t even understand that, old man!” Marcus laughed. “And all of that is well and good. But the fact that she is sheltered, naive, and completely without context or purview isn’t a benefit to me. As a matter of fact, those personality traits pose serious risks to any organization. I think that’s fairly obvious.”

“Just take me at my word on this one, Marcus. The girl will do nicely.”

“So, a Bishop, eh?” Marcus said, considering the implications.

“I choose my agents well, Marcus. You should know that by now.”

“I don’t doubt that,” Marcus replied as he knocked the knight off of the table with his pawn. “But Will, the girl volunteered to us that she worked for the HVA!”

“Oh, I very much doubt she intended to do that.” William replied, as he motioned to a rook that was now in a position to take Marcus’s knight, which drew a raised eyebrow from Marcus. “But I had expected her to, nonetheless. She accomplished her mission, and confirmed what you and Matt were up to.”

“ Were up to?” Marcus asked, honestly, as he left his knight in place, placing his fingers over a bishop and fondling it in place.

“Oh, don’t give me that shit, Marcus.” William complained. “You knew what I was up to the moment you saw her. Two of her band-members disappear within moments of their biggest show, on either end, and Matt just happens to be within earshot of Patrick practically announcing it?”

“Fine, fine.”

“Give me your bishop, Marcus. You knew what the consequences were of trying to jump that knight over my Wall.”

“Not so fast, Will.” Marcus said, as he continued to fondle the bishop in place. “You sent Vivika over as well. Why did you do that?”

“I wanted to see what Matt would do.” William smiled slyly.

Marcus paused for a second, considering the implications of that. He continued to fondle the bishop in place. He didn’t want to let it go, but he knew what the rook would do if he didn’t. His agent had been caught outright. Matt had gotten involved, and the consequences couldn’t be ignored. Still, it was unnaturally mean-spirited for the old man.

“Fine.” Marcus replied, as he moved his bishop. Seconds later, the bishop was knocked off the board by a pawn, much to his chagrin. Thus, he exclaimed, “The pawn, Will? Oh, come now.”

“It was a stupid thing to do, Marcus. Putting the poor girl back across the Wall knowing full well that the capture of Hans might very well get her killed.”

“But a pawn? It’s insulting.”

“Don’t you dare speak of insulting, Marcus. Your agent outed himself , and that’s your fault. Yes, I’ll admit that I was being cheeky with her, but you would do the same thing in my position.”

“You know what I think?” Marcus said, as he reached for a rook. “I think it was altruism. I think you were hoping that whichever case officer was on this side of the Wall, he would liberate the poor girl before all that nonsense happened.”

“It’s not altruism; it’s pragmatism. And you take your hand off of that rook right now. You and I both know you aren’t that stupid.”

“Fine.” Marcus said, removing his hand. “You do know I had no idea until a few days ago that… that … was going on, right?”

“I didn’t know it was you until a few days ago, Marcus. But I will admit, when I finally found out, I had hoped that you weren’t allowing such a thing. That’s beneath your constituents, let alone you.”

“Of course I wouldn’t, Will. You know me better than that.”

“Look me in the eyes, Marcus. Look me in the eyes and tell me that you knew nothing about Vivika and Patrick when you sent her back over.”

Marcus leaned over the table, and gave William a sad, nearly pleading look. They both knew the rules. They could play the game and deceive each other all they wanted to outside of the barn. But when treating in sacred places like this, where foes were allowed to be friends once again, lies would not do.

“William,” Marcus began, “I give you my word. On my honor, I give you my word. I don’t know what I would have done had I known sooner… but I can tell you that she is one of the main reasons we are meeting tonight.”

William stared back at Marcus. He believed him, but he was still very angry. Certain things all men must find distasteful—even men hard at work doing things that might be considered more distasteful on the international scale. The implications must be well understood for the friendship to continue. These were men of great import, but they must be men of moral fiber as well. To be any less was to sway influence in the other’s favor.

“You can move your rook now.” William said, plainly.

“Thank you.” Marcus replied contritely, as he moved his rook to the far end, taking William’s queen out of the game. “You are the bigger man in this.”

“Don’t be too quick to think that. I may have a soft spot for the youth, but I’m still out for blood. I know who your radio operator is now.” With that, he grabbed the bishop he had previously moved into position, and moved it two steps over. “Check.”

“Oh you discovered Bethany, did you?”

“Don’t try that game with me.” William said seriously. “That’s how you get common assets to talk—not how you befuddle men like us.”

Marcus leaned back in his chair then. He knew what this meant: he would have to relinquish his queen to William in order to get out of check. That was a painful loss that he wasn’t prepared to suffer.