Simon Hawke - The Pimpernel Plot

“We only have Fitzroy’s word that there was ever such a person as Captain Jack Carnehan. Remember, we never saw him.”

“But that doesn’t mean that there was no Carnehan,” said Andre.

“No, it doesn’t. Which is why you’re going to Paris, to find out for sure. The really funny thing is that Jack Carnehan really does exist. There’s no open file on him as a member of the Observers or the Temporal Corps, which is why the new director drew a blank, but there is a classified dossier on a Lt. Col. Carnehan. Jack Carnehan is Mongoose’s real name.”

Andre looked at him with astonishment. “But that’s impossible! The new agency director would have known that. He had access to Mongoose’s records-”

“Which Mongoose had altered, “ Finn said, pointedly.

Andre frowned. “Yes, all right, it could have worked that way, but then the old director, the one who resigned-”

“Darrow.”

“He would have known because he knew the old dossier. He would have recognized Carnehan’s name!”

Finn nodded. “I’m sure he did.”

“Then, why…?”

“Because Darrow’s title as Director of the TIA was a cover. He really was the administrative director of the agency before he resigned, but he was also the head of covert operations, the agency within the agency.”

Andre sat down, shaking her head. “I yield,” she said. “It’s all too much for me.”

“Lucas and I felt the same way when Cobra laid it out for us,” said Finn. “Consider the fact that Darrow resigned his post as agency director. The official reason for his resignation was that the covert agency’s attempt to take over adjustment jurisdiction from the Temporal Corps failed. He took the fall for it and he also resigned in protest over the Referee Corps assigning control of the TIA to the Observer Corps because the agency had gotten out of hand. However, the fact that he resigned served to protect him from the investigation being conducted by the new administration. The director’s post is primarily an administrative job. When the new administration took over, they found out that the director had been little more than a figurehead for years. If it’s a known fact within the agency that the director doesn’t really run things, where’s the best place to hide the person who really gives the orders?”

Finn spread his hands out. “In the director’s office, naturally.”

Andre blinked several times and gave her head several quick, jerky shakes. “So the director who doesn’t really run things is actually the man-”

“Who really does run things, “ said Finn.

“What worries me is that I think I’m beginning to understand all this,” Andre said.

“Cobra realized that Darrow had to be the head man in covert operations, or one of the head men, when he found out that Darrow didn’t say anything when he found out about Jack Carnehan. Carnehan was a code-named agent and the head of field operations to boot. Darrow had to have access to his dossier when he was in the director’s office and he had to know his real name.”

“But then he would know that Cobra would also know-”

“No, he wouldn’t,” Finn said. “Spooks are ultraparanoid. Agents are supposed to know each other only by their designated code-names. Mongoose and Cobra worked very closely together and developed a special relationship. As a gesture of trust, they broke regulations and privately told each other their real names.”

“It seems to have backfired on Carnehan,” said Andre.

Finn shook his head. “No, it didn’t. How do we know about Carnehan? That was the name he gave Fitzroy, assuming that Fitzroy is genuine. Otherwise, it was the name Fitzroy gave us when he made up this fictitious pseudo-Observer. Either way, Mongoose or Carnehan was virtually certain that Cobra would be the one sent to bring him in. By using his real name, which he knew would be passed on to Cobra, he was doing two things. He was issuing an open challenge to Cobra, his old partner, and at the same time, he was warning him to watch out for Darrow.”

“But by doing that, he also gave himself away,” said Andre. “If he’s Fitzroy, he’d have to know that Fitzroy would be the first person Cobra would suspect.”

“That’s assuming he’s Fitzroy,” said Finn. “Even if he is, making himself the logical suspect is something that would amuse him. We’re really in no position to do anything without proof and he knows that.”

“If Mongoose really is Fitzroy,” said Andre, “what happened to the real one?”

“Maybe Carnehan has him stashed away somewhere,” said Finn. “Or maybe he’s killed him. Or maybe there never was a real Fitzroy. The problem is that he’s got that chronoplate. With all his years in the agency, he has to have his own contacts. Cobra might know some of them, but he wouldn’t know them all. If we start to get too close and Mongoose gets wind of it, all he needs to do is to clock out, visit some cosmetic surgeon he’s had an old arrangement with, get a new face, come back, and start again. You were complaining that you didn’t have enough responsibility on this mission. Well, you now have the most responsible job of all. You’re going to have to be the one to tell us the truth about Fitzroy.”

“That boy will be the key,” she said. “If he contacts Fitzroy, we’ll know. What do you want me to do about the boy?”

“Don’t do anything. Follow him, if you have a chance. He has a brother somewhere that he’s very protective of. You find me that brother.”

“St. Just can’t help us much this time,” said Fitzroy.

Finn and Lucas sat at the small table in his tiny apartment making a short meal of wine, bread, and cheese. Somewhere in that very apartment, most likely, Fitzroy kept his chronoplate. It was a tremendous temptation to overpower him then and there, ransack the apartment, find the plate, and take him prisoner. The only thing that prevented them from doing just that was the fact that Fitzroy could well be exactly what he represented himself to be. If that was the case, given the way he already felt about them, their court-martial would be a foregone conclusion. The chronoplate could also be hidden elsewhere.

“Le Comte de Tournay de Basserive has been condemned to death, along with his entire family,” said Fitzroy. “The comtesse and her two children are still relatively safe. They’re in Valmy, where they’re being hidden by trusted friends. De Tournay, however, is still somewhere in Paris. St. Just has no idea where he is. He was sentenced in absentia and St. Just did what he could to defend him, but he’s already in disfavor with the rest of the tribunal.”

“How did he know where the family was?” said Lucas.

“The Tournays and the St. Justs knew each other before the Revolution,” said Fitzroy. “They were hardly in the same social class, but the St. Justs were not exactly paupers. Armand St. Just sent word that the Tournays had close friends in Valmy, a merchant and his wife whose children used to go to school together with Suzanne de Tournay and the young vicomte.” Fitzroy smiled. “Citizen St. Just has been a great help to us, keeping me informed as a member of the league. However, now that de Tournay has been sentenced, it’s only a matter of time before the soldiers of the Republic trace his family. You must get them out first. We’ll get the old man out as soon as we locate him.”

“Well, at least getting them out of Valmy should be easier than getting someone out of Paris,” Lucas said. “They’ll still have checkpoints manned by soldiers of the Republic, but their security won’t be as tight, especially since the Pimpernel hasn’t been active in that area.”

“That’s true,” Fitzroy said, “but don’t allow that to make you overconfident. I don’t want any mistakes this time. I’ve devised a plan for you to follow. I want you to pass it on to the members of the league exactly as I give it to you. If Mongoose attempts to interfere again, I’ll make certain that agent Cobra will be ready for him.”