Matthew Dunn - Spycatcher

Roger crouched down beside the middle-aged Iranian. “He’s Gulistan Nozari. The deputy.”

Will walked across the room to Lana. She dropped the gun and fell into his arms. He held her for a moment and smoothed a hand over her face.

She looked up at him. “Did I do the right thing?” She began to shake and cry.

Will pulled her closer and spoke softly. “You probably saved my life.”

She shook her head. “You nearly died in here because I was forced into their vehicle in Boston. I did not know what to do.”

Will held her tighter. “You succeeded in everything I asked you to do, but I placed you in an intolerable situation by losing you in Boston. I made a mistake, and I failed.”

Lana shook her head vigorously. “You did not fail, Nicholas. I met him.” She rubbed her eyes. “I met Megiddo before I was brought here by his deputy. You might not be able to catch Megiddo, but you can still stop his men from carrying out his mission. Because I know what he plans to do.”

“The Camp David meeting?” Patrick folded his arms and exhaled.

“We were stupid.” Will looked at the seven police vehicles and three ambulances that stood stationary around them. Their flashing lights caught the heavy nighttime snowfall. Some uniformed men and women were moving in and out of the Hotel Monaco, while others were clearly tasked with preventing the small crowd of onlookers from trespassing on the scene. Will looked toward one of the ambulances and saw Lana standing at its rear. She had a blanket wrapped around her and was drinking something out of a plastic cup. He looked back at Patrick. “We assumed that Megiddo was going after high numbers. Not a small number of VIPs.”

Patrick nodded slowly. “The president of the United States, the British prime minister, the president of Egypt, the president of the United Arab Emirates, a senior Saudi royal, and the president of Syria. All premiers who stand in the way of Iran’s ambitions within the Middle East.” He raised his palms in a gesture of incomprehension. “Exactly why the Camp David meeting had to be made public in advance is beyond me.”

Will watched his own breath turn to steam in the icy air and said, “A public relations exercise.”

Patrick made a noise that sounded like a grunt. “Well, that exercise gave Megiddo his target.” He turned to look Will full in the face. “It’s a shame Lana could not find out how his men intended to penetrate the security surrounding the summit.”

Will shook his head. “One of the bombers assumed she was part of Megiddo’s team. The man let slip details of the target to her. But Megiddo walked in on the conversation and told the man to shut up. During the two days she spent with Megiddo, she never saw that man again.” Will smiled. “I guess Megiddo punished him for his indiscretion.”

“Where was she taken?”

“They rented a house on the outskirts of New York. But it’s empty now. Megiddo and his men left before his deputy took her here.”

Patrick nodded. “The summit was to take place in three days’ time, but it will now be canceled. That fact won’t be made public. And if Megiddo’s men are stupid enough to carry out their strike against Camp David, then they’ll meet a resistance they did not expect.” Even though Patrick’s expression was partially disguised by shadows and flashing lights, Will could see that he wore a look of deep regret. Patrick sighed and said, “You may think otherwise, but you have succeeded. You’ve identified the location of the attack.”

Will dug his hands into his coat pockets, looked at Patrick, and shook his head. “Preventing Megiddo’s mission from succeeding only ever had meaning to me if I had the man himself.” He smiled but felt hollow and angry. “He’s beaten me.”

He walked to Lana. Looking exhausted, she nodded at him and pulled her blanket tighter around her body. “I killed a man. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to get over that,” she told Will.

He sighed. “I of all people can’t tell you how to feel about taking another life. But I can tell you that the man you shot was a bad man who was very much involved in this terror plot.”

Lana nodded slowly, and Will could see that her cheeks were glistening with tears. He looked around. Patrick was talking to a uniformed police captain. Roger and his men had long since disappeared into the shadows. All emergency services personnel were busy at their tasks. Nobody seemed to be looking at them.

Will placed his arms around Lana’s waist. He pulled her close to him and held her still. He kissed her tears and her mouth. He leaned close to her ear and whispered, “I’m sorry that I never got Megiddo. I’m sorry that I couldn’t finally relieve you of your burden.”

Lana nuzzled her head against his shoulder. Her silky hair swept over Will’s chest and face. She held him tight. “What will happen now?”

“You must go home, Lana. Go home to Paris and take care of your mother.” He smiled, and the action caused him to feel the strangulation wounds on his throat. “You’ll be safe there. I’ll arrange for some men to watch over your house.”

A siren from one of the adjacent police vehicles briefly sounded. Will looked up and saw ambulance and police personnel emerge from the Hotel Monaco carrying bodies on stretchers. Snow fell upon the dead, upon Will and Lana and everything. He turned her away a little so that she could not see the cadavers.

“What about you?” Lana asked.

“I need to stay on here for a few days to tie up matters.”

She moved away from him. “I see.”

Will pulled her back close. “Then I’ll travel to Paris.”

Lana smiled and embraced him fully. “My mother’s in the hospital right now, undergoing further tests. She’s apparently making excellent progress, and the money you gave her has enabled her to afford accelerated treatment. I’m not needed at home for at least five days. Why don’t I book myself into a nice hotel somewhere in Washington and wait for you?” She squeezed him. “I would make sure the room is comfortable for two people.”

Will thought for a long moment. He thought about his life, the time when he’d had hope and innocence and joy, the moment when all that changed, the years he’d spent developing armor to shield himself from mental and physical injury and the knowledge that behind that shield there was still a man who wanted peace. He thought about his only true fear: his fear of doing anything that could lower his shield, to take steps toward happiness and love. He gazed at Lana. He saw that she still had hatred, but he also saw her love and her desire for happiness. He saw what he now understood to be bravery.

He pulled her close to him again and decided that this was finally the time, that this was the moment for him to make his own brave decision, a decision that would be his bravest of all.

He looked around. Snow was still falling, but now it looked gentle and serene.

He looked at Lana, nodded, smiled, and said, “I will see you there.”

Will called Roger. “There’s no role for us in repelling the assault on Camp David. Laith is discreetly keeping an eye on Lana and will make sure she’s safe in this city. Ben and Julian are stood down. But there’s one last thing I need to do, and you’re welcome to join me if you care to.”

“You have the lock-pick set?” Will slowed his vehicle and brought it to a stop on Messenger Lane, in the Sands Point suburb east of New York City.

“Of course.” Roger took out his handgun, checked its workings again, and placed it back in his jacket pocket.

“Okay.” Will looked at the clock on the dashboard. It was nearly 5:00 A.M. and still dark. He wanted to reach the place and complete his task before sunrise. “Then let’s go.”