by Matthew Dunn
While they were going about their examination of her home and surroundings, Haden went to her room and made a call. “What the hell is going on? I could have been killed!”
Silence on the end of the line.
She added, “Cops are here. I pretended to be scared when the man came. He told me he’d call me soon to arrange a fake meeting.”
Howard Kane replied, “You and I agreed, we have to use a sledgehammer to get to your husband. I couldn’t tell you about my men coming. I worry about Cochrane’s capabilities. You had to be surprised about the assault.”
“So what should I say when Cochrane calls again?”
“Don’t use his name on the phone! Just play along. We’ll take care of things.”
“And my husband? How are you going to take care of that?”
“It’s like we talked about. People won’t thank us when this is done, because they won’t know what’s been done. But at least we’ve made our world a better place.”
“If we succeed. No more surprises.” She hung up and walked downstairs.
The lead detective approached her. “Ma’am, we’re pretty much done here. Forensics has a good picture of what happened. Your gardener attacked at least one man. But in total we think there were five armed men in and around your property.”
“Mr. Bartlett was such a good man.”
“Are you going to be okay here or can you go somewhere until the mess is cleaned up?”
“I . . .” Haden looked at the yard. “The worker bees will be unsettled. I need to attend to them. I’ll stay.”
“The bees?”
“In my hive.” Haden watched forensics bag up Bartlett’s body and put it on a stretcher. She turned and saw Kane’s man being removed. Cochrane had barged in here and caused this mess.
Like Kane, she wanted this to end.
Chapter 25
Four hours later, Will pulled up to the front door of Ash’s property in Virginia. Shaking with pain, he struggled to get out of the vehicle and collapsed on the gravel driveway. Kay opened the door, held her hand to her mouth, and ran to him.
“Help!” she screamed.
Hessian Bell bolted out of the house. Both helped Will get to his feet and supported him as he limped inside. They placed him in a chair. Urgently, Kay ripped off his shirt.
She said, “Gunshot wound. One inch deep, twelve inches long. The bullet exited. Lots of blood loss. Will, describe the symptoms!”
Between gritted teeth, he said, “I’m not light-headed. Pain excruciating. Possibility of infection. Check for shrapnel and cloth. No hospital or doctor.”
Bell shouted, “What medicines have you got?”
Ash kept her eyes on the wound. “Wicker basket on top of my fridge. They won’t be enough.”
Bell returned with the basket and a glass of water. He gave Will four aspirin and the water and handed Ash disinfectant, Q-tips, and gauze. “Patch him up. I need to make a call.”
“No doctors!” shouted Will.
Six minutes later, Bell returned to the room. “Help is on its way.” He sat in front of Will. Will’s wound was cleaned and covered. He remained shirtless. “Color has come back to your cheeks. The painkillers are working but are temporary. The wound needs stitches.”
“I know.”
“Neither Ash nor I are qualified to administer that procedure. I’m hazarding a guess that the bullet went through a nerve. That’s why you’re in so much pain.”
Will didn’t care about the pain. What he cared about was getting mobile. “It’s nice to meet you again, Mr. Bell.” He patted his wound. “This is an inconvenience.”
“It’s a scratch.” Bell smiled. “A big one, though.”
“I’d love a cup of tea.”
Bell stood.
“Not you. I’d like Miss Ash to make it for me.”
Bell nodded. “Interesting.”
Will replied, “Yes.”
Ash went to the kitchen to make the tea. She knew why he’d wanted her to make the tea. It was the same reason he’d wanted her to shave him. He wanted her. The thought made her feel unusual and special. Her entire life she’d been lacking love. Even her dear brother couldn’t articulate his emotions due to his medical condition. Often, he didn’t know who she was. And adult love was remiss in her bizarre choice of career. She went undercover in the misguided belief it would give her something she didn’t have in normal life. The tactic hadn’t worked. When Will confronted her in her D.C. apartment, he was the first person ever to make her truly unsettled, just by his presence. Now she was making him a cup of tea.
In the living room, Bell said to Will, “I need you to remain lucid.”
“I’m always lucid.”
“I suspect so, but your body is in shock.”
“I got shot by a random bullet.”
“Life is full of ups and downs.”
Will laughed, then winced. “So true.” His expression serious, he said, “Is he going to come here?”
“He said he would. He’s en route now. He should arrive any moment.”
“Be very careful with him.”
“We must all be careful, should we not?” Bell clasped his hands together. “You know what I now do for a living?”
“You misdirect and teach the Agency.”
“I hadn’t thought of it like that, but yes, you’re right.”
“But you do other stuff as well. You run a private foreign army.”
“Ash told you that. My army is street urchins and dispossessed adults. It’s hardly an army.”
“And yet you are the most successful CIA officer that has ever served.”
“You might give me some competition.” Bell studied the huge man in front of him and tilted his head toward the kitchen. “She is a good person, lost perhaps.”
“I know.”
“Maybe she won’t want you.”
“That’s been the theme of my life.”
“Kay needs a way out. You and I can give her that,” Bell said.
The doorbell rang as Kay brought Will his tea. Bell braced himself. “To your stations! Let’s see what mood he’s in. I will get the door.”
Will and Kay withdrew their firearms and placed them on their laps. Will glanced at her, just briefly, but enough to show his concern.
Antaeus walked in, the dog Mr. Peres on a lead. The former Russian spymaster looked around the room. “Hessian Bell, I came up against you many times. And you, lady, I don’t know, but I can tell you’re a deep-cover officer with the CIA. Mr. Cochrane, you continue to cause us all problems. Put your guns away. They won’t be needed tonight.” He said nothing as he withdrew a tobacco tin. “You’ve disinfected the wound?”
Ash nodded.
“Used tweezers to remove any debris?”
“Yes.”
Cochrane grabbed Antaeus’s forearm as the Russian removed items from the tin and slid thread through a needle. “What do you know about treating injuries?”
“I was a vet before joining the KGB. Shut up, keep your tongue away from your teeth, and bear the pain.”
He stitched Will’s wound.
The pain was excruciating but Will made no sound.
After disinfecting the surgery, Antaeus said, “I’m expecting a guest.”
Bell said, “That wasn’t part of the deal!”
“There was no deal. You asked me to come here. I did.” Antaeus looked at Ash. “What’s your name?”
“Don’t answer that!” exclaimed Bell.
“I could find out in one minute.” Antaeus kept his eyes on Ash.
“Kay Ash. I’m CIA. For now.”
Wind blustered into the house as Michael Stein entered. The tall Israeli assassin laughed as he looked at Will’s stitches. “I never took you to be someone who couldn’t dodge a bullet.”
Will didn’t move. “Random shots are always the worst.”
“Ah.”
Stein patted his dog and addressed Antaeus. “I came as quickly as you asked. How is Mr. Peres?”
Antaeus replied, “I’ve removed benign tumors. He will live longer.” He turned his attention to Will. “But who knows for how long?”
Bell surveyed the room. The intelligence within it was palpable. “Who are you?” he asked Stein.
Stein told him.
“It’s okay,” said Will. “He’s with me.”
Stein said to Will, “You don’t seem surprised I’m here.”
Will shifted in his seat, trying to get comfortable. “Recently I was spotted on camera. I knew the sighting would be reported to Agent Marsha Gage at the FBI. I’d made it my business to know that you’d been in the States for a year, trying to establish if I was dead. After the sighting, I watched your apartment in New York. I saw you getting captured by Gage and three others.”
“I wasn’t captured! I surrendered.”
“Because of your dog.” Will stroked Mr. Peres. “I knew that you’d deduce you were snatched because there’d been a development about me. As a result, I thought it highly probable that you’d seek guidance from Antaeus. So, when I asked Hessian Bell and Antaeus to come here because I was injured, I believed there was a good chance Antaeus would ask you to also come.” Will smiled. “Mr. Bell and Antaeus are getting old. They’re not men of action. You are.”
Stein crouched before Will and said quietly, “You saved my life two years ago. Do you want me to take out the bastards who did this to you? I will.”
Will didn’t answer the question. He sipped his tea and addressed everyone in the room. “Three years ago I was tasked by a CIA officer called Unwin Fox to kill a terror financier called Otto Raeder. In the rural surroundings of Berlin, I shot him from distance. Raeder was being tailed by a man called Colonel Haden. I’d never met Haden, still haven’t. But on that day we had audio communications with each other. Haden’s role was to confirm I had the right target and to make the shot. I did so, then exited the area, as per protocols. Recently, Fox contacted me. He was poisoned by persons unknown. Before he died, he told me that two others were involved in the Berlin job. I’m trying to find out who they are.”
Antaeus asked, “Why?”
“Because they might lead me to the truth. The last thing Fox said to me was that Haden vanished immediately after the Berlin mission. I want to get to Haden.”
The room was silent for a moment. Bell broke the silence. “How much money was the financier carrying?”
“Five million dollars. He was traveling to give the cash to a terror cell in Munich.”
Bell and Antaeus exchanged glances.
Antaeus said, “We are dealing with theft. You took the shot. Haden was first on the scene after the killing. He took the money and vanished.”
“The problem is that Fox had his suspicions about Haden.” Will put his clothes back on. “Fox is dead. Haden is a ghost who I can’t get to. But I have one lead. Four men have been watching Haden’s wife’s house. I’m certain they don’t work for Haden.”
“They work for someone else involved in the Berlin mission,” said Bell.
“Yes.”
“That person is also trying to get to the truth. If you can establish who that person is, you might get closer to Haden.”
Will tried to stand but failed. Slumping back into his chair, he muttered, “I need to get fit fast.” He said, “I’m missing facts. I need the armed team to come after me again. They’re monitoring Mrs. Haden’s phone. That’s how I’ll get them close to me. A call to her. But I have a separate issue.”
“Agent Gage.” Antaeus pulled out a cheroot and lit it, not bothering to ask Kay if he was allowed to smoke. “She will be frustrated she can’t find you.”
“Partly frustrated. I made a call to someone else. I’m not going to tell you who. I knew that Gage was monitoring that person’s calls. Gage now has my cell phone number. She’ll be tracking me. The problem she has is she can only do so when I insert the cell’s battery.” He smiled.
Bell asked, “Why did you give Gage your number?”
“A tactic.” It was Kay Ash who was speaking. “Why did Will want you all here?” She addressed Bell: “You could deliver Antaeus.” She looked at Antaeus: “You could deliver Stein.” And finally Stein: “And the reason you needed to be here is because Will has plans for you, though they may not be what you expect.”
God, Ash is smart, thought Will. “Will you help?”
Stein nodded.
“Good. Miss Ash and Mr. Stein, would you mind helping me up and taking me to the kitchen? I need to see if there’s anything in the cupboards that might allow me to rustle up a meal.”
After they were gone, Antaeus and Bell sat side by side on the sofa.
Antaeus said, “You thwarted me in Vienna.”
“And you thwarted me in Tanzania.”
“Different days.”
“They were indeed.”
Bell looked at Antaeus’s cigar. “Ottoman tobacco. The best in the world. You are a man of refinement.”
“Or a pretentious fool.” Antaeus chuckled before turning serious. “You know what Mr. Cochrane is planning?”
“Yes.”
“As do I. But he will need help. Stein won’t be enough.”
“I agree. There will need to be another nudge, something else that can support the evidence that suggests Mr. Cochrane is innocent.”
Bell nodded. “I will plant the truth.”
“You know the truth about the murders?”
“Not all of it. But before I leave I will speak to Cochrane and get him to tell me everything.”
“And then it’s smoke and mirrors?”
Bell replied, “Not on this occasion. It will be as it happened.”
Antaeus agreed. “I’m sorry about the loss of your wife.”
“Yours too. And yet here we are helping the man who killed your wife.”
Antaeus crushed the tip of his cigar, sending embers to the floor. He used his foot to extinguish any traces of burning. “Mr. Cochrane is not cooking. He is briefing Stein and Ash. He doesn’t want two vulnerable men, as we are—one still in the Agency, the other under scrutiny by the U.S. Secret Service—to be party to what he’s saying. Miss Ash is right—I am here purely because I delivered Stein.”
“With me it’s different. Will’s taking Ash and Stein into battle. But he won’t do so if you and I object.”
“Yes. And do we object?”
“No.”
“Even if it gets them killed.”
Bell bowed his head. “Too many people die.”
Antaeus stared at nothing and quietly said, “They do.” He smiled. “You and I have been lauded as spymasters. Now, we are just tired men who’ve seen too much. But there is one last gasp. Stein wants to help Mr. Cochrane. It would be wrong of me to hold Stein back. And you mustn’t hold Ash back. We are like their tutors.”
Bell looked up. “I’m betting you and I both wish we were younger and could do this ourselves.”
Antaeus nodded. He picked up his coat. “Let’s just make sure they get out of this alive.”
Chapter 26
The following morning at six a.m., a bleary-eyed Agent Gage hammered on her adjacent motel room door. Inside, she could hear fast footfalls. Duggan answered the door, wearing only boxer shorts. She said, “We need to move. Cochrane’s activated his cell. He’s heading west across Virginia.”
Within ten minutes, Gage, Duggan, Painter, and Kopański were in their two SUVs, hurtling west on a freeway. All of them were in communication via earpieces.
Duggan asked Gage, “Current location?”
Gage checked her telephone intercept. “He’s on Route 460. Eighty-seven miles ahead of us.”
Painter asked, “Why’s he activated his phone? I don’t like this. Feels like he’s drawing us into a trap.”
“I agree that’s one option. The other is he’s got no choice other than to activate his cell. He has to maintain open lines of communication with someone.” Gage checked her watch. “Either way, we’ve got to make up ground.” She ca
lled the chief of Virginia PD. “This is Agent Marsha Gage of the FBI. I have two Bureau SUVs heading west across your state.” She gave him the plate numbers. “We’re in unmarked vehicles and are going to have to break speed limits and probably a heap of other laws. Can you alert your officers and sheriff’s departments to leave us alone?”
“What are you doing in my state, Agent Gage?”
“We’re pursuing an international assassin. I can’t say anything more than that.”
“You need our help?”
“No thanks, sir. It would spook him. He’d go to ground.”
Kopański accelerated hard as Duggan’s vehicle in front picked up pace. “Cochrane has made his first calculated mistake,” Kopański growled to Painter, who was by his side. “It was always about inevitability. He’s in a situation we don’t understand. But one thing’s for sure, he’s leading us right to him.”
Alone now, Ash walked along the coastline outside her property, watching the sea swirl as if it were moody and petulant. The sky above was gray and carried a fine rain. Wearing jodhpurs, Wellington boots, and a fleece, she looked like a dog walker. Except there was no dog. Antaeus had taken Mr. Peres back to his home; Bell was now at CIA headquarters; Stein was gone, running errands; and meanwhile Cochrane was enacting his plan.
She understood why she liked Cochrane. He hadn’t needed to come out of cover to pursue Haden. Most people would have just laid low, saving their skins. But he did what was right because his friend Unwin Fox had been killed. She knew Cochrane trusted her. That meant a huge amount. Trust was a wafer-thin concept in her life and vocation. To have someone believe in her was a surprise.
But there was more to it than that. She just plain liked him.
The realization made her smile.
Cochrane’s wound had been expertly treated by Antaeus, but still she worried about him being on the move. He should be resting for a day or so.
