Дэвид Балдаччи - Hell's Corner

They all drank and McElroy dabbed his mouth with his pocket kerchief.

“The PM?” prompted Stone, and Chapman drew a little straighter in her chair as she bit into a fat olive from her drink.

McElroy looked pained, rubbed his side and nodded in a perfunctory manner. “Yes, the PM. Solid chap. I actually voted for him. Between you and me he’s a bit dodgy on some things, but what politician isn’t?”

“Dodgy enough to be blown up?” asked Stone.

“Don’t think so, no. Not homegrown, in other words.”

“Lot of enemies out there.” Stone glanced at Chapman. “Our closest ally. It’s put a bull’s-eye on your little island.”

“Quite so, yes. But we soldier on, don’t we?”

“Who knew he’d be walking across the park?”

“Limited circle,” answered Chapman as McElroy continued to rub his side while finishing his scotch. “They’re all being checked out as we speak.”

McElroy looked uninterested in this detail, and Stone was quick to pick up on that. “Another theory?”

McElroy sniffed. “I’m not sure it actually rises to the level of a theory just yet, John.”

“I go by Oliver now.”

He looked chagrined. “Of course you do. I read the briefing papers. Afraid my memory’s just not what it was. Well, Oliver, it’s just a thought.”

“Which is?”

Just as Stone had done earlier, McElroy held up four fingers of his right hand. “A quartet of people in the park last night.” He lowered one finger. “Our man was the one whose tooth you were briefly in possession of.”

“Agent Chapman told me he was one of yours and that he was patrolling the park. But why, if the PM wouldn’t be there?”

“No elaborate explanation. He’d been assigned to patrol the park when the old walk-through plan was still in place. When the PM turned his ankle, we simply left him there to provide a wider berth of security.” McElroy held the three fingers up even higher. “But the bloody thing is, John — excuse me, Oliver — the bloody thing is my counterparts over here can tell me absolutely nothing about the other three.”

“I saw the video feed. One of them is dead.”

“Not particularly helpful. Then there’s the man and the woman. Perhaps they were just there by coincidence. But perhaps not. In either case, I need to know for certain.”

“Why were there any people in the park last night? I’m there at all hours, and the security detail knows me. But late at night the park doesn’t typically have visitors.”

“Good question. Happened to have asked it myself. Have you found an answer? Because I haven’t.”

“No, at least not a satisfactory one. No immediate threats against the PM?”

“Nothing particularly credible.”

“What line will you be taking, then?”

“Remove him from the threat.” McElroy checked his watch. “The PM should be wheels down at Heathrow in twenty minutes, in fact.”

“And after that?”

McElroy noticed a fleck of dandruff on his shoulder and brushed it away like he might an unappealing conclusion. “We can’t leave it, Oliver. It happened on American soil, so our reach is limited, but we really can’t leave it. Awful sort of precedent if we do. Can’t have folks taking potshots at our PM without any consequences.”

“If he was the target.”

“Have to assume he was until facts prove otherwise.”

Stone looked over at Chapman and then back at his old acquaintance. “Agent Chapman seems well capable.”

“Yes, she is, otherwise she wouldn’t be here. But I believe she will be infinitely more capable with you at her side.”

Stone was already shaking his head. “My plate is full.”

“Yes, your little trip to NIC. I understand Riley Weaver is marking his territory at an extraordinary clip over there. He’ll make mistakes, of course, and let’s just hope not too many people die when he does. And the FBI also wants a piece of you, I understand.”

“Popular gent,” added Chapman.

McElroy and Stone exchanged a knowing gaze. McElroy said, “I’m not sure ‘popular’ would be my first choice as a description. Short leash, Oliver?”

“Could be.”

Stone gave the older man a lengthy gaze.

I wonder if he knows about my meeting with the president, about me going back in?

Stone had no reason to think that McElroy wished him any ill will, but in this business simply saving someone’s life did not ensure a permanent allegiance. And Stone was also quite certain that the PM and hence James McElroy would sacrifice him if requested to do so by the Americans.

And then something else occurred to Stone. That’s why I’m here. McElroy was told to deliver the message directly to me from the president.

He decided to verify this speculation. “I already have an assignment. I’m supposed to leave tomorrow, in fact.”

“Yes. Well, plans are fluid aren’t they? One has to account for recent events.”

“Does one?”

“A new arrangement is possible because of what happened in the park,” McElroy said bluntly.

“Why? Simply because I was there?”

“Partly. Plus, in the circles in question, I’m not without influence. And I thought you could be better deployed here than in more southern parts of this hemisphere.”

So he does know about the Russians and the Mexican pipeline.

“You became my advocate? That’s dangerous.”

“So was Iran in 1977. Didn’t stop you, did it?”

“My job. You owe me nothing.”

“Actually, you’re not telling the truth.”

Stone cocked his head slightly.

McElroy continued, “I did some investigation afterwards. You had already been authorized to return home. In fact you were technically off duty. The actual team that was supposed to come to my aid was ambushed en route. Killed to a man. Why do I think I’m not telling you anything you didn’t already know?”

With this observation Chapman eyed Stone with even deeper interest.

“You were in trouble. I was there. You would have done the same for me.”

“Not, I’m afraid, with the same successful results.” He added quickly, “Not for lack of will. But I could never shoot that straight.”

“So just give me the basic outline.”

“You investigate. You succeed. Then...” McElroy shrugged. “What you were promised before will remain unchanged.”

“And if I don’t succeed?”

McElroy said nothing.

“Okay,” said Stone.

“Okay, you’ll do it?”

“Yes.”

“Excellent.”

“So how is this all going to play out?” asked Stone. “I’ve been on the outside a long time. You don’t just jump back in.”

“I pulled some professional strings, with the PM’s blessing. He and your president are wonderful friends. They golf, they go to war together. You know how that is.”

“So you’re saying?”

“I’m saying they decided it would be spot-on brilliant for you and Mary here to poke around a bit on this.”

“Just so we’re clear, I’m not what I once was.”

McElroy studied his old friend. “Some remember you only for your extraordinary feats of physicality, for the aim that never missed, the courage that never wavered. But I also remember you as one of the cagiest operatives that ever wore the stars and stripes. Many tried to get you, some close to home. But no one ever succeeded. I’d say you are just what the doctor ordered. And I think it would be personally beneficial for you too. And not just for the obvious reasons.”

“So keep my enemies closer?”

“ Friends and enemies closer,” corrected McElroy.

Stone looked at Chapman. “How do you feel about this?”

She said flippantly, “My boss has spoken. And I play by house rules.”