Die Twice (20 page)

I listened to Fothergill call his assistant and order a sandwich, and realized there was still plenty to think about. There was bound to be more to his situation than met the eye. But I’d never previously been able to see any kind of life beyond what I knew in the field. Now I was feeling something new. For the first time, I felt like I was maybe looking at a future version of myself.

“I think I’ll pass on a drink, too,” Fothergill said. “Just stick with the snack. Then I need to check that McIntyre’s description went out to everywhere that needs it. The U.S. is big enough, but having to chase him all over the world would be worse. If we can keep him from leaving the country, we might still have a chance.”

“How did he get into the country?” I said.

“We don’t know. He didn’t leave any trace.”

“So how do you expect to spot him sneaking back out?”

“No one was looking, before. Everyone is, now.”

“He could use the same route in reverse, and no one would know. Or try something else, completely different. He’ll have all kind of tricks up his sleeve. You can count on it.”

“Maybe. But don’t forget—something’s changed. We’re expecting him. He won’t have such an easy run this time.”

“Expecting him, how? He won’t use his real name, for a start. He’ll have a choice of IDs. And all of them will be indistinguishable from government issue. There’s no net tight enough to catch him. Not without a huge slice of luck.”

“We’re also distributing his photo. An up-to-date one, before you object. From the CCTV in this building, taken a few days ago.”

“There’s no point. No one’s going to recognize him from a picture. You’ll just have to accept it. If he wants to leave, he’s as good as gone.”

“We’d better hope he decides to stay, then.”

“That won’t help, either. If he goes to ground there’s no way
we’re going to unearth him. Not without enough feet on the street. London need to get over whatever’s been bugging them. Maybe I should fly over there and have a word, myself.”

Fothergill was shaping up to reply when there was a knock on the door. A woman I’d never seen before came in, placed a sandwich in a brown cardboard wrapper carefully on his desk, and left again without ever making eye contact with either of us.

“David, this negativity is getting tiresome,” Fothergill said as he unwrapped his food. “Sure you won’t join me? I could split it.”

I shook my head.

“Look, I know there are problems,” he said. “I’m doing my best to work around them. But right now we need helpful suggestions. Not criticism. So if you’ve got anything useful to add, let’s hear it.”

“OK,” I said. “If we’re going to catch him, we’re going to have to make him come to us. Trick him into breaking cover. We need to come up with a ruse.”

“Good. Interesting idea. Lure him out. I like it. How?”

“I don’t know yet.”

Fothergill grunted. Then he picked up half of his sandwich and moved to gaze out of the window, standing in the same spot he’d been in when I first saw him. I went over and stood next to him. The cars were sitting stationary on the bridges, but below them the city lights were starting to dance in the darkening water of the river. I watched them for a moment as the sun slowly sank, and decided that if I ever did end up in an office, it would need to have plenty of windows. And a view no less stunning than this one.

“You know, I need to talk to those techies again,” Fothergill said, after he’d finished chewing on the last morsel of bread.

“You don’t,” I said. “Leave them alone. You’ll only make them go slower.”

“No. You don’t understand. If we’re going to trick McIntyre, like you suggest, we’ll need a hook. There could be something we
can use on that laptop. Something weird, that the techies wouldn’t expect we’d need. I never told them to look for anything off-the-wall. So, I need to change their brief. Right now. Before they miss everything.”

“I guess that wouldn’t hurt. But be careful how you phrase it. No one works slower than a disgruntled engineer.”

“You’re right. Only, don’t worry. I’m the master of careful phrasing. But you know what? I won’t do it on the phone. That’s too impersonal. I’ll head down there and do it face-to-face. It’s much easier to fake sincerity, that way.”

Normally when I’m left alone in someone’s office I take that as a cue to nose around the place. Old habits die hard. But in Fothergill’s case, he had everything set up so minimally that there wasn’t much to get my teeth into. There was nothing on the glass desk. Only newspapers on the coffee table. And if there was a safe anywhere, it was so well concealed I certainly couldn’t find it.

Ten minutes later I was back at the window, watching the traffic making no progress around the city center. It made me think of the cabdriver who’d picked me up at Midway when I first arrived, three days ago. He’d told me there were two seasons in Chicago—winter, and road construction. I was beginning to understand what he meant.

Fourteen floors below me I saw two cabs from rival companies—a red one and a yellow one—vying for position at an intersection. The sound-deadening glass they use in all consulate buildings made it impossible to tell if they were honking at each other, and I might have been too high up to hear anyway, even if I’d opened the window. I bet myself that they were, and was wondering how I could find out when a noise did reach my ears. A sound like an old church bell. It was coming from my pocket. I realized it was my
phone. Or rather, the one I’d inherited from Young. A new text had arrived.

u here yet?

I was intrigued. I didn’t know where Young was supposed to be but figured there was only one way to find out.

Where’s here?
I texted back.
What am I? A mind reader?

chicago, arsehole
, someone replied a minute later. Another Brit, judging by the insult.

I’m in a truck. Problems en route! Had to hitch the last part of the way. Nearly there, though. ETA twenty minutes. Where are you?

problems—tell me about it! but be careful! all safe houses blown. consulate not safe either. specially fothergill. avoid at all costs
.

Got that. Will avoid. Where are you? What’s happening?

eta chicago 30 minutes. meeting our friends 2moro night. should be last time, then free & clear. need you to watch my back, if youre finally there
.

Will do. No problem. Where & when do you want to rendezvous?

6.45 bench next to navy pier ferris wheel photo booth
.

Today or tomorrow?

you today. friends tomorrow!

Got that. Confirmed. Out
.

Fothergill returned five minutes after the final text had arrived. His face had changed, and I thought he was looking a little haggard again. Perhaps the technicians hadn’t been as easy to manipulate as he’d hoped.

“That went well,” he said. “I put them in the picture. They got it easily enough. But finding what we need will widen the search parameters, apparently. That means it could take longer to turn anything up.”

“That may not be a problem,” I said. “ ’Cause we just caught a break. In fact, it landed right in our laps.”

“Really? What did?”

“McIntyre just resurfaced. Via text, would you believe. Asking Young to meet him. In Chicago. In seventy-five minutes.”

“Seriously? How do you know?”

“Because I have Young’s phone.”

“Oh my goodness, you do. I never replaced your last one.”

“No, you didn’t. Very remiss. I was going to report you, only I thought, come on, the guy’s getting old, he’s banged up his arm . . .”

“You know, David, I could get used to working with you. You’re all right. whatever those other people say. So where does Tony want to meet?”

“Somewhere called Navy Pier.”

“Hmm. Good choice. Very public.”

“What is it? Literally a pier?”

“Yes. It sticks out into Lake Michigan. But it’s bigger than what we’re used to in England. Big enough to land planes on.”

“Yeah. Of course it is.”

“No, seriously. The U.S. Navy used it for training in World War II. New pilots had to practice there before being deployed. In fact, did you see a plane hanging from the ceiling at Midway, the other day?”

“I did. Some kind of Dauntless?”

“Right. That came courtesy of a guy who needed a little more practice. They dragged it out of the water after the war was over.”

“McIntyre mentioned a Ferris wheel?”

“Yeah. The place is all built on, now. There’s a big complex full of restaurants—and a cinema. Then a space with a few fairground things and the wheel. It’s not as tall as the London Eye, but you can still see it for miles. Then there’s another building with a garage and a theater.”

“So it’s not too hard to find this place?”

“Not at all. You can’t miss it. And it’s lit up like a Christmas tree. You go left out of the building. Right on Illinois. Down the steps. Past the cinema. Then keep on going past the big cloverleaf-shaped building near the water.”

“That doesn’t sound like a problem.”

“It shouldn’t be one. And it’s only a few minutes’ walk, which means . . .”

“Someone’s going to be meeting McIntyre tonight. Only it won’t be Young. It’ll be me.”

“It’ll be both of us. Oh, no—wait. Seventy-five minutes? That makes the rendezvous, what—a quarter to seven?”

“Yes.”

“Damn. There’s no way I can make it. I won’t be back.”

“Where from? You’re going somewhere?”

“Yes. I have to. Didn’t I tell you? The establishment officer’s been on to me. She’s not happy about keeping the gas containers here overnight. In fact, she downright refused. She’s got herself all frothed up, worrying about the contents.”

“She might have a point, you know. They probably are too dangerous for the office. But what does she want you to do with them?”

“There’s a place out near the carpool that can handle them. A hazardous materials depot. I have to take them out there. They probably won’t know what to do either—this stuff is pretty new, apparently—but at least they can lock the containers down properly. Keep everything controlled and stable.”

“Maybe they can. But they should come and fetch them. You can’t transport them. Bringing them back from Gary was bad enough, but there wasn’t an alternative. Now there is. Don’t take them on your own. Not through the city. It’s not safe.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t be on my own. The depot’s sending one of
their guys to ride shotgun. He’ll have special equipment to transport the flasks. And he’s a fully trained-up biochem expert. So it’ll be fine. I’ll be in good hands.”

“I don’t know. That doesn’t sound so bad, I suppose. But where was this guy before? Tell me he’s just been flown in from somewhere, or I’m not going to be happy.”

“Sorry, David. No. He hasn’t been flown in. He’s been at the center all along.”

“How come?”

“He’s based there. He’s the best guy in his field in North America, apparently. New York is always trying to poach him, but he’s too much of a Cubs fan. Which some folks around here would tell you is evidence enough to question any claims of intelligence. But that’s another story.”

“So Cubs fan or not, where was he this afternoon? We needed him in Gary.”

“That would have been handy. I did ask, but the place is very specialized. You wouldn’t believe the rules of engagement. They only come out to play when someone has a confirmed contact. And it has to be something on their Dangerous list. Until today, we just had a rumor. Now we have the gas. And its working name. Spektra. And that changes everything.”

“Bureaucrats. You’ve got to love them. And their rules. But still. Given your recent history, it’s probably a good thing your path won’t cross with McIntyre’s. That would be as dangerous a formula as the gas, I expect. Especially in public.”

“Maybe you’re right,” he said, lifting his bandaged arm. “And with this albatross, he would hardly be able to miss me.”

“It does stand out, a little,” I said, thinking about the impression the sling had first made on me.

“It does. But back to business. I’m puzzled. How’s this all going
to work? Tony knew Young. And he’s seen you before. He’s going to know that you’re not the right guy.”

“If he sees me. I’m going to head down there now. There’ll be time. He hasn’t arrived in town yet. Then I’ll lay up near the rendezvous point and snatch him when he comes by for his initial recce.”

“That’s a tricky procedure. You’ll have to hope the place isn’t too crowded. But it might work.”

“It might. And if not, I’ll come up with something else. But here’s another thing to think about. When McIntyre texted, he said he was meeting friends again tomorrow night.”

“Friends? Who are they?”

“Must be the people from Gary. So either he doesn’t know they’re dead, in which case he’s going to get two nasty surprises, later. Or there are more of them than we thought. Which means more loose ends to tie up.”

Fothergill sighed.

“Like we don’t have enough flies in the ointment,” he said. “What do you think we should do? Go ahead with the hard arrest as soon as you get hold of McIntyre? Or cut him a little slack, and hope he leads us to more miscreants?”

“Well, I don’t know,” I said. “Option B is tempting. I could always use more contact with miscreants.”

“David, I’m being serious.”

“OK. This is what I think. McIntyre is so damn slippery that if we can get him in the crosshairs, we should pull the trigger there and then. Bring that chapter to a close. And worry about these other guys—who may not even show up—when and if.”

“I agree. That sounds like the way forward. Plus, if you could get hold of McIntyre’s phone, they might even get in touch to see where he is. If we’re very lucky.”

“I think we’re due a little luck.”

“You’re right. We are. But listen, here’s an idea. Talking about McIntyre’s phone, why don’t you give me the number he texted you from? I’ll get onto the network guys. Then we can at least get a GPS trace on him, in case he gets lost in the crowd tonight. Or, heaven forbid, slips the net again altogether.”

Toward the end of our training program the instructors really cranked up the pace.