Matthew Dunn - Spycatcher

Will’s fingers did their habitual drumming on the table. “So why do you need me?” He stopped drumming. “And please say that it’s not to do with some debt of honor to my father.”

“I’ll say that it is nothing of the sort.” Patrick’s voice was quick, loud, and stern. “I’ll say that the man you know as Megiddo is the Head of Western Directorate, because I know that the director was given his first major overseas challenge during the wars in the former Yugoslavia. I’ll say that you therefore have the start of something with this man Harry and this woman Lana. I’ll say that the man you have in your sights is the man I want.”

Will frowned. “Why do you think he calls himself Megiddo?”

“I don’t know if he chose that name or if the name was chosen for him. But I do know that the name refers to the ancient Palestinian site of terrible battles, battles that came to symbolize the wars of Armageddon.” Patrick’s gaze intensified. “He is called Megiddo because he is a man who exacts ultimate judgment and destruction.” He paused. “Just like you.”

Will breathed deeply. “Who else has seen the Hubble report?”

“NSA has shown it to everyone they think may care about its contents.”

Will looked surprised. “Everyone?”

“Oh, yes.” Patrick’s eyes flashed red. “The self-important fools have thrown a sanitized version of the report to all our European allies.”

“But that will create a feeding frenzy,” Will protested. “Even though the report only references Britain and America, every European country will assume that it could be the target for the attack. They’ll all deploy their intelligence and security services to try to counter the assault.”

Patrick nodded. “They have.”

“In that case there can be no operation against Megiddo. To try to conduct a precise mission against him while in competition with multiple other agencies will produce nothing but chaos.”

Patrick shook his head quickly. “The United States and its allies are completely within their rights to deploy every tool they have to stop this attack. And maybe some of these other operations will succeed. But no one else knows about Megiddo.”

“How on earth have you managed to keep that”-Will paused-“shall I say private?”

“Private? That’s a delicate word.” Patrick gathered up most of his files and papers. He stilled his hands and looked directly at Will. “We have the Hubble report, and you have the Megiddo lead. Therefore this has to be a joint operation. But Alistair and I have made certain that nobody else in the CIA or MI6 or any other organization can muddy our waters. And we’ve done that by very privately obtaining an Imperative Status for this operation.”

Will narrowed his eyes. “All normal chains of command,” he said slowly, “are circumvented?”

Patrick nodded. “As soon as the Imperative Status was granted, I was instructed that there was only one Western intelligence officer sufficiently experienced and capable to conduct an operation with such status.” He pointed at Will. “I understand that you are the ultimate resort for extreme operations such as this. And as much as your presence in this room gives me significant unease, I have accepted that there is no alternative to your deployment.” He huffed. “I cannot afford for our mission to be distracted or damaged by others. I need it to be completely autonomous. The Imperative Status means that only five officials currently know about your lead to Megiddo: me, Alistair, you, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, and the president of the United States.”

Will clasped his hands. “We don’t yet know if we even have a starting point to this mission. Harry and Lana have given us our target, but we still have no means to get to him.”

“You know we do.”

Will stared at Patrick. “I cannot do that.”

“You can and you will do so.”

Will shook his head as anger surged through him. “On whose orders?”

Patrick leaned close. “Alistair and I are in complete agreement on this, as are our respective premiers. It is our only option. You must use Lana to lure out Megiddo. You must use her as bait.”

Will banged his fist on the table in frustration. “Every instinct I have tells me that she should not be deployed in the field. It’s far too dangerous.”

Patrick smiled, but his eyes remained cold and penetrating. “No doubt you’ve deployed female agents in the past. What’s different about this woman?”

Will glanced away for a moment, recalling Lana’s haunted and hunted look and his urge to tell her that she would never suffer again. When he faced Patrick, he spoke with no effort to hide his anger. “Of course I’ve used female agents before, and they did courageous things in dangerous situations. But this mission will be in a different league. Dangling a woman like Lana in front of a ruthless mastermind like Megiddo is a risk too far. There must be another way.”

“If there is, then tell me.”

Will sat in silence.

Patrick nodded. “The stakes are the very highest. Believe me, none of us wants to put Lana at risk. It is”-he paused-“not a part of our work that either Alistair or I take pleasure in. But thousands of lives are at risk, and the imperative to stop their deaths must be paramount.”

Will cursed inwardly, shaking his head. “I cannot ask her to do this.”

Patrick sat still for a while. He then spoke quietly. “You are quite a contradiction. On one side, I can see that you are impeccably ruthless and will take inordinate risks with your own life, but on the other, it surprises me that you’re unwilling to sacrifice others for the sake of the greater good. Why is that?”

Will shook his head harder. “I’m willing to do what it takes and work with people who know the risks. A man like Harry, for example, knows exactly what he’s doing and I’m sure is no stranger to making hard decisions. But Lana. . Lana has seen enough. She’s done only good things in her life, and even for that she was brutally punished. She’s an innocent. I don’t put innocents at risk. I save them.” He repeated, “I cannot ask her to do this.”

Patrick observed him for a while, then nodded. “I understand. But you should understand that I have no choice other than to seize any opportunity to stop Megiddo.” He frowned. “Maybe you underestimate Lana.”

“What do you mean?”

“Maybe she would be willing to take this risk.”

Will shook his head again. “She wants revenge against Megiddo, and that emotion may blind her to potential dangers. But I’m not blind to those dangers. I can’t ask her to do something that would place her in jeopardy.”

“Maybe not, but you could ask her what she wants.”

Will frowned.

“Why not?” Patrick widened his eyes. “Be honest with her about the dangers. Then ask her whether she’s prepared to take the risk or whether she would rather remain safe but embittered for the rest of her life.”

“That’s just manipulation.”

“No, it’s a straightforward question and one that a woman like Lana should be able to respond to with her own mind and conviction. She has a right to define her own path in life. That’s her right, not yours.”

Will sighed. “She should not be given the choice.”

“Nor should you, but here we are confronting terrible decisions in the face of unimaginable dangers. So I’m making that choice for you. Ask her what she wants. I give you my word that if she refuses to help, I’ll honor that decision. And I give you my word that if she chooses to cooperate, I’ll afford you resources to protect her throughout the mission.”

Will thrust out his chin. “I don’t need any other shooters. I work alone. I am the shooter.”