Matthew Dunn - Spycatcher

Will stepped back and pointed at Patrick. “You have no responsibility for me. You’re here because, while you know that I’m the one man who’ll stop at nothing to capture Megiddo, you also know that I’m the one man who’ll stop at nothing to kill him. And you can’t allow that to happen, because your priority is to keep him alive so that you can discover the details of his plot. You’re here to stop me from seeking my revenge.” He felt the anger raging through him. “You will fail in that task, and I will succeed in my task. When the time is right, I will do to him what he did to my father. I will make Megiddo beg me to kill him. I will ensure that there’s nothing left of the man who destroyed my father and ripped my family apart.”

Kljujic was executed by three men. The way he was killed by them clearly shows that they believed he was not working alone. They left a message intended to frighten off Kljujic’s associate or tell him that they were coming for him. Either way, you’ve got to take precautions to protect yourself.” Will looked at Harry to watch for the effect of his words.

“Can’t your organization protect me?” the agent asked.

Will shook his head. “I have people who could do that, but they are invisible.” He looked around the hill-situated tourist restaurant, Kibe. It overlooked Sarajevo and had good views of the city, although Will had chosen to meet Harry here because the route to it enabled excellent antisurveillance capabilities. “I need you to have visible security around you.”

“A deterrent?”

“Precisely.”

Harry nodded slowly but displayed none of his usual jocular or mischievous character. “I can arrange that, but it’s a big inconvenience. My business requires me to travel a lot.”

“Then keep traveling. Just make sure that you always take your men with you.”

“Sure. I’ll do it, but for how long?”

“Until I know that you’re no longer under any potential threat.”

Harry exhaled loudly. “My associate’s death must mean that the man in the HBF building is significant. Why don’t you just attack the place and finish this?”

“We can’t because we’d be attacking blind. If we had the photograph that Kljujic took, things might be different, but even then we can’t be certain that the man Kljujic spotted was Megiddo.”

The agent rubbed his face with two hands. He looked very weary.

“Is anything else troubling you, Harry?”

“Things could have gone much better for me in Finland.”

“A man like you always bounces back.”

Harry managed a weak smile. “Hey, does Megiddo have a price on his head?”

Will laughed a little. “If he does, I will never see any of the bounty.” He looked around the restaurant again. The place was beginning to fill with the breakfast crowd.

“Yeah, I heard you guys were underpaid and always in need of cash.”

Will shrugged and reached into his pocket. “I went to Kljujic’s house to find his photograph. It wasn’t there, but I came away with something else altogether. This belongs to you now.” He handed Harry the photograph of him and Kljujic.

Harry looked at the image and quickly secreted the photo into one of his own pockets. “Thank you for getting this. But when I’m home, I’ll burn it.”

He exhaled loudly. “Kljujic used to work with me in the war. He was my right-hand man, and he and his crew would do most of the. . heavy work I needed done.”

Will waited silently.

“The photograph needs burning because it was taken just before we went to that village, taken before Kljujic ignored my orders to get his men out of there and instead did something truly unimaginable. . But to my shame I’ve stayed in contact with him ever since.” He shrugged. “Men like him are always useful to men like me.”

Will kept his eyes fixed on his agent. “Harry, you did not kill those women and children.”

Harry looked at him sharply. “No, but I damn well profited out of people thinking I did.”

The two men shared a long silence.

“Only you know how long is your road to redemption, Harry, but I have a task for you which might shorten that journey.”

Harry frowned.

Will bent close. “During the wars in Bosnia, a woman was raped by five Bosnian Serbs fifteen kilometers outside Sarajevo. I want you to find out who those men were.”

Harry looked incredulous. “You are asking the impossible. Rape was commonplace then. How can you expect me to pinpoint this specific act?”

“The event would have happened a few days after a Bosnian Muslim unit fought and captured strongholds from the Serbs in Mount Vlasic. Find out when that happened, and you will have a fairly precise idea of the date of the rape. The five men who raped the woman belonged to a terror unit called the Panthers. The leader of the five men was a man called Captain Princip. Do you think you can trace that name and the men who were with him?”

Harry nodded. “Without the name it would have been impossible. But you know I have my connections, and that includes connections to”-he sighed-“former members of units like the Panthers. After the war many surviving members changed their names to avoid punishment for war crimes. But that does not matter, because some of my other contacts”-now he smiled-“were the people who arranged new identities for those kinds of men.” He shrugged. “But it is probable that some or all of those five men were killed in the war.”

“I know. But can you at least find out for me?”

Harry nodded again. “Leave it with me. If at least one of them is alive, I’ll track him down.”

“Discreetly, Harry. Just a name and location. Do nothing else.”

“Of course. Who was the girl?”

Will held up his hand. “We have enough secrets binding us already. Just focus on finding these men for me. Who knows, if you succeed, you might get a good night’s sleep for once.”

By lunchtime Will was back in Zagreb. He looked at Roger and frowned. “Thirteen men?”

Roger nodded. “They came into town this morning. Three of them have immediately taken up duties in the Iranian surveillance team to replace the men you killed. But the other ten don’t look like they’re here to monitor Lana.”

“No. They’re here to capture, interrogate, and kill me.” He swore softly and checked his watch. “I’m seeing Lana after this meeting. She’ll be sending a letter that we hope will heighten her value to Megiddo and stop him from trying to get to me without using Lana. But that letter may not reach Megiddo until tomorrow. Where are the men staying?”

“They’ve taken a rental home on the outskirts of the city.”

Will narrowed his eyes in thought.

“I’m not on surveillance for another fourteen hours,” Roger told him. “If you need my help, tonight might be the best time to resolve this problem.”

Will sat before Lana reading her words once again.

Dear Megiddo,

I met him yesterday, and he told me about Berlin. I did as you asked and said that I would do whatever I could to help him get to you. He told me that he had new information about your intentions.

But what have you done? He came to me again some hours ago and slapped me several times. He said that I had set him up and that he had been attacked by Iranian men. I was very frightened, but I told him the truth, that I had done no such thing. He seemed to believe me after a while, but he then told me that I must have been followed to my meeting with him. He asked me if I had done anything to cause Iranian specialists to be interested in me. I told him that I had done nothing.

I trusted you to leave Nicholas Cree alone until I was under your protection. I cannot allow you to use me like this again. I am confused and feel betrayed.