Simon Hawke - The Timekeeper Conspiracy

"I can't allow myself to be arrested," Bennett said.

"Look, if Mongoose wanted to arrest you, he could have done so at any time," said Finn. "He knows all about you, who you are and what you do. He's had you watched."

"You were being used by both sides, Bennett," Lucas said. "Look, Mongoose isn't interested in your connection with the underground. He doesn't care. All he wants is to get Taylor."

"So I tell him what I've told you and he lets me go, is that it? You really expect me to believe that? I've told you men everything I know. There isn't anything further that I can-"

The door was kicked in and five men dressed in the uniform of Richelieu's guard burst into the room, knocking Delaney to the floor. Bennett reacted immediately, firing his laser. One of the men fell dead, another fired a laser of his own at Bennett, killing him instantly. There was a crash of glass as Andre dove through a window. From outside, someone shouted and there was the sound of several pairs of running footsteps. Mongoose entered the room, dressed in the uniform of a captain in the cardinal's guard. He glanced briefly at Bennett's body.

"The fool could have saved himself a lot of trouble," he said.

Bonacieux came hobbling out, looking like a startled chicken.

"What is it? What's the matter? What is the reason for this ruckus? Can't a poor man get some-" He saw the agents in the uniform of the cardinal's guard and instantly fell silent, eyes wide with terror.

"Back in your room!" said Mongoose. Bonacieux gave a little yelp, then ducked back into his bedroom like a frightened rabbit darting back into its hole. The door slammed and they heard the key turn in the lock.

"All right, get him out of here," said Mongoose, indicating Bennett's body. Two of the agents lifted Bennett's body from the chair, each draping an arm around their shoulders. They started toward the door when there was the sound of a door slamming upstairs and then D'Artagnan appeared, standing at the head of the stairs, shirtless and shoeless, holding a rapier in one hand while he attempted to fasten his trousers with the other. His drunken gaze fell on the agents and he gave a shout. "Hark! An invasion! To arms, my friends! One for all and one for-"

He lost his balance and fell headlong down the stairs to collapse in an unconscious heap upon the floor, his pants around his knees.

Mongoose bent over him for a moment, then straightened. "Well, he's alive," he said. "It's a miracle he didn't bust his head open." He glanced up the stairs toward D'Artagnan's room, then back down at the senseless Gascon. "Looks like Madame Bonacieux is going to have some explaining to do," he said. "You had the house bugged," Lucas said. Mongoose sighed. "Priest, you seem to be a master of stating the obvious."

"How did you know to bug D'Artagnan?"

"I had D'Artagnan's house bugged, I had Athos, Aramis, and Porthos bugged, I had Treville bugged, and I had Richelieu's private chambers bugged," said Mongoose. "The king and queen haven't been able to fart without my knowing about it and I've had Buckingham under surveillance in London. I'm not here to fool around, Priest, I'm here to stop a terrorist plot. Now if you gentlemen don't mind, we've got work to do. Let's go."

They were taken to an unassuming house on the Rue Servadoni, one of several places the agency had established as safehouses. There were no other tenants and the landlord had been given a long vacation in the country. One of the agents made them coffee and brought them cigarettes, which they gratefully accepted.

"Looks like you blew it, Mata Hari," Finn said. "You had everyone under surveillance except the one person who really mattered. Milady was a natural, right? A perfect pawn for the terrorists to use. It was so obvious, I'll bet you figured they wouldn't come within a mile of her."

"You're becoming very tiresome, Delaney," Mongoose said.

"I love you too, sweetheart."

"Your constant efforts to provoke me are not going to succeed," he said. "I have a job to do and, for that matter, so do you. When it's over, I'll be more than happy to accommodate your barroom instincts, but until then, put a lid on it."

Finn nodded. "You've a date, friend."

"And you've just bought yourself a long stay in the hospital, assuming you survive the next few days," said Mongoose. "As a matter of fact, you're wrong about Milady, or Taylor, as the case may be. I had her house bugged. You know what I got? A lot of stupid chatter with gentleman callers about the weather, fashion, court intrigue and other senseless babble. I had my men move in tonight. Know what they found?"

"A lot of prerecorded conversations," Lucas said. "Taylor anticipated you."

"Exactly. In that sense, I'm willing to concede your point, Delaney. I did blow it. Taylor put in an appearance every now and then and did some entertaining to keep up the illusion, but no real business was ever conducted in that house. I must admit, I never even considered the fact that he might have killed the real Milady de Winter and taken her place. It was a master stroke."

"What about Bennett?" Lucas said.

"What about him? He ceased being an important factor once we heard what we needed to know."

"I'm just interested to know what you would have done with him if he hadn't fired on your men. Or was that the whole purpose of busting in like that, to provoke him?"

"Now what would have been the point in that?" said Mongoose. "If he hadn't been a suicidal fool, I'd have placed him under arrest and clocked him out and he'd still be alive."

"You mean he'd be alive to be interrogated for the purpose of tracking down as many members of the underground as he kept in touch with," Lucas said.

"You surprise me, Priest. I wouldn't have thought that you had any sympathy for deserters. Besides, that would be none of my concern. It would've had nothing to do with the job at hand. Thanks to Bennett, it's almost over now. There's only one thing left for you to do."

"Let me guess," said Finn. "You want us to go along to London with the musketeers, just to make sure everything runs smoothly."

"That shouldn't be too hard," said Mongoose. "I'll have things covered from both ends. I've got my people in position both here and in London and you'll be covered from the air en route."

"From the air!" said Finn.

"That's right. I'll have two agents equipped with Airborne issue floater paks doing recon for you."

"That should work just fine so long as nobody looks up," said Finn.

"The risk is negligible. Suppose one of the musketeers does spot them? So what? You think anyone is going to take them seriously if they come back with stories about flying people? They're not exactly known for their sobriety. Our primary concern is to prevent the split. Everything else is of secondary importance. You'll be equipped with miniature comsets that will enable you to keep in contact with the recon party. Our man in London is prepared for your arrival there, so if Taylor doesn't make his move before then, he'll be picking you up and giving you your instructions. You will also be issued lasers. It should be a piece of cake."

"Except for just one little thing," said Finn. "Taylor still has that chronoplate."

Mongoose grinned. "Well, you didn't want it too easy, did you?"

"I was just wondering what you intended to do in case Taylor and company decided that they'd reached the point of diminishing returns and skipped out to another time period," said Lucas. "You've never quite answered that to my satisfaction."

"There's always that risk, of course," said Mongoose. "But from what I know of Taylor, I'm willing to bet that he'll take it right down to the wire. He'll exhaust every possibility before he gives up on his operation. He'll use that chronoplate to try and outmaneuver us in this time period before he attempts to escape to another one."