Staughton was making a supreme effort to follow his boss’s orders. The fat man’s bad mood was obvious, but Staughton couldn’t allow himself that kind of luxury. Even though he hadn’t slept all night, he had no subordinates available to relieve him. And he didn’t have any family nearby to relax with. His parents were happily retired in Boston, and women could never put up with his work patterns. Anybody who worked at the agency was so committed that, little by little, duty became all-consuming, eventually disrupting family ties, even close friendships. A true secret agent had no relationship with the outside world, and that facilitated his performance.
In this regard, Staughton was no different from the rest, although he did maintain some ties with his parents and other family members. Recently he contacted his mother to tell her he was doing fine. To her, Staughton was a software specialist in the London office of an American company, a cover containing a grain of truth. His childhood friendships had been shrinking over time. Concerning women, Staughton did make an effort. Twice he came close to putting a ring on his finger, with the usual marriage commitment before the laws of God and country. He failed the first attempt on September 11, 2001. His fiancée couldn’t be faulted, because Staughton spent three months without returning to his country after the World Trade Center attack, and he limited himself to a skimpy weekly phone call, always promising he would be back the following week. The same was to happen with another woman in 2003, before the second Gulf War. The wedding was scheduled for April 9, the same day the combined forces reached Baghdad. But Staughton was, in effect, incommunicado for five months, during which he mailed an occasional letter to report his mental and physical well-being, and to say that he would be back the next month.
When he finally returned, his sweetheart had moved to another city, so utterly crushed that she wouldn’t answer or return a single one of his many calls. He decided then to be done with long-term relationships, and now, at thirty-two, he lived just for work, hoping the day would come when he could have a family, with time to love and care for it. He lived in terror of becoming another Geoffrey Barnes, with no love life, no interests outside work, except to fill his stomach in any restaurant where he could eat well. To Staughton, Geoffrey Barnes was an insensitive, unscrupulous son of a bitch.
“Is it ready?” Barnes asked, leaning over the screen of the computer Staughton was using.
“Not yet, but almost.”
“Do you already have something?”
“What I have is in the printer.”
Barnes headed for the printer next to the window, and grabbed the handful of papers in the tray. There was a lot of information that would take hours to process. He looked toward the outer room, which was bristling with activity. Men and women moving from one side to the other. There were shouts, orders, phone calls. Three young agents were engaged in a very lively conversation.
“Hey, you three,” Barnes called out. “I want you to analyze this in full detail. And when you finish, there’s more.”
All smiles instantly vanished, but they promptly complied with the order.
“Keep Staughton posted on whatever you find.”
“Yes, sir,” one of them answered.
Barnes withdrew to his office. The day was flying by and there was no news.
The young men sat at a table to carry out the work order. One, the most outgoing, went over to Staughton.
“Haven’t you eaten today?”
“I haven’t eaten, or drunk, or slept, or fucked,” Staughton spat out, his eyes still glued to the computer screen.
“We’re ready.”
“Pray that we find them soon, because if we don’t, you can’t even imagine how ready we’ll be.”
The agent leaned toward Staughton, as if to share a secret. “I came in today, man. I haven’t the slightest idea what we’re looking for.”
“For Jack Payne, a traitor, and for Sarah Monteiro, a very skillful reporter. They want them alive.”
“Jack Payne? The famous Jack Payne?”
“The one and only.”
“I once worked with him. He saved my life.”
“Now you can be sure he wouldn’t do that anymore. Go on, Thompson, there’s no time to waste,” Staughton said, dismissing him.
“What are you doing?”
“Searching the lists of passengers who left the country this morning. An endless job.”
“Like looking for a needle in a haystack. They will have false documents.”
“I’m aware of that. But for the time being, it’s our only option. We’ve got to find that needle, by whatever means.”
“Let me make a call. I’ll be right back,” Thompson said, moving toward a secretary whose phone was free.
Sitting in his chair, Barnes observed the outer room through the window. He needed to have all those people working on the operation, but this, unfortunately, was impossible. It was a big world, and for the United States there were other priorities, or at least that’s what the president’s cabinet members thought. He considered requesting additional forces from Langley. They wouldn’t be denied, but it was like giving up, tantamount to admitting failure to headquarters. So, for now, he’d leave things as they were. If the fugitives hadn’t shown up by the end of the day, his decision would need to be reviewed. Meanwhile, something out there caught his attention. More precisely, the lack of something. He got up, heading at a furious pace for the main room, to the table with the two men analyzing the passenger lists for flights that left the United Kingdom before the airspace was declared closed.
“Any results?”
“Nothing. Have you considered the possibility they haven’t left the country?” one of the agents asked.
“They’ve left. I’m sure.” He looked at the spot that had caught his attention. “Where’s Staughton?”
“He left with Thompson.”
“With Thompson? Where’d they go?”
“They didn’t say.”
Barnes was returning to his office when his secretary intercepted him.
“Sir-”
“Have they brought my lunch yet?”
“It’s on its way.”
“They’re taking longer than usual.”
“Twenty minutes, as always, sir.”
Barnes shoved his office door. He was really on edge. “This is going to end badly for me,” he repeated obsessively.
SEATED ON THE STAIRS and concentrating on the PlayStation game, the little girl paid no attention to the two men going past her, headed for another floor. If not for her concentration on the game, the girl would have heard the man walking behind, scolding the first one that this was not acceptable and that this was not what he was supposed to do. There was nobody else around.
The girl was absorbed in the meteorite shower that she had to avoid with her spaceship. The earphones kept her from hearing the tremendous racket caused by a door being kicked in on the third floor. The tenant woke up, startled by the noise. He tried to flee through the window, but the gun held by the first man stopped him cold.
“Hans, my dear Hans,” Thompson greeted him gaily, closing in, with Staughton close behind, also holding a gun.
“How’s business?”