from here?’
‘I’m not sure.’
‘Do you ever wonder what the world’s coming to, Dan? Down the john, that’s where we’re headed. Unless we do something about it.’
‘By “we”, who do you mean exactly?’ asked Shepherd.
‘You and me,’ said Yokely. ‘And those like us. We’re the only ones who stand between what we have and anarchy.’
‘That’s the job of governments. I’m a civil servant, working within government guidelines.’
‘Do you think your government is up to the job?’
Shepherd threw up his hands. ‘Who knows?’
‘I know,’ said Yokely. ‘The answer is, no, sir, they are not. You only have to read the papers to know that. You saw what happened to those sailors and marines who were taken hostage by the Iranians. Paraded in front of television cameras, saying they were sorry to have offended their Iranian hosts. Whatever happened to “Name, rank and serial number”? The Iranians are responsible for half the deaths in Iraq and they made the Brits look as if they were in the wrong. Your government’s weak and they’ve reduced your armed forces to a shadow of what they used to be. They’ve hamstrung your cops with rules and regulations and brought in so-called human-rights legislation that means terrorists and murderers can’t be deported, no matter what atrocities they’re planning to commit. I’m offering you the chance to make a difference, Dan. A real difference. To fight on the front line against the real villains in the world, and to fight on their terms.’
‘To kill them, you mean?’
‘If that’s what it takes, then that’s what it takes,’ said Yokely. He leant forward and stared at Shepherd with his pale blue eyes. For the first time Shepherd realised the American was wearing contact lenses. ‘Anyone close to you ever die of cancer?’
Shepherd shook his head.
‘You’re a lucky man. With all the bullshit about terrorist attacks and Aids and airplane crashes, you know what people die of?’
‘Cancer,’said Shepherd. ‘Cancer,strokes and heart disease.’
‘Damn right,’ said Yokely. ‘And cancer’s the big one. My father died of colon cancer. He was a big man, big and strong, but before he died I could carry him to the bathroom like he was a kid.’
‘I’m sorry,’ said Shepherd.
Yokely waved away Shepherd’s comment, as if it were an irritating insect. ‘My sister died of breast cancer a few years ago. Fought it right to the end. She let the doctors cut her, pour poison into her veins, zap her with radiation and she still died. Cancer’s a bitch. It puts everything else into perspective.’
Shepherd wasn’t sure where the conversation was going.
‘The thing about cancer is that it starts small, a single rogue cell. But once that cell has grown and spread and the tumours have taken hold, it’s too late to do anything about it. The trick is to take out the single rogue cell. Take it out before it becomes fatal.’
Realisation dawned. ‘I get the analogy.’
‘So you understand the logic?’
‘I understand that there’s a difference between a human being and cancerous cells. And I understand there are laws, and above laws there’s morality.’
‘Where’s the morality in flying airliners into office blocks, Dan? In chopping the heads off aid workers? Blowing up commuters?’
‘If we go down to their level, they’ve won,’ said Shepherd.
‘That’s what they want you to think,’ said Yokely. ‘That’s one of the great lies. The idea that because we meet fire with fire we’re somehow the poorer for it. That’s crap. All that matters is that our way of life continues, and we have the right, the God-given right, to do whatever’s necessary to preserve it.’ He shook his head. ‘Your talents are being wasted, Dan. What has the lovely Charlie got you doing now? Protecting IRA assassins? You do see how incongruous that is, don’t you? Back in the eighties, if they’d caught you in Northern Ireland they’d have pulled out your fingernails, broken your legs and put a bullet in the back of your head.’
‘Things change,’ agreed Shepherd.
‘Yeah, well, I don’t believe that one-man’s-terrorist-is-another-man’s-freedom-fighter bullshit. The IRA were terrorists. Now they’re terrorists who no longer kill people. But I don’t understand why the organisation you work for thinks it’s a justifiable use of your time to keep former terrorists alive.’
‘You and me both, as it happens. But ours not to reason why.’
‘The Charge of the Light Brigade mentality. The problem is that if you’re following orders issued by morons, it’s going to end in tears.’
‘What exactly do you want me to do? What are you offering me?’
‘As we’re sitting here drinking and chewing the fat, men and women all over the world are planning to kill and maim innocent civilians. Now, I don’t care what their motives are, I don’t care if they’re freedom-fighters or terrorists. All I care about is stopping them before they commit whatever carnage they’re planning.’
‘Pre-emptive strikes?’
‘Killing cancer cells before they form tumours,’ said Yokely. ‘Taking them out with surgical precision.’
‘You’re doing this already?’
Yokely nodded. ‘We started in Afghanistan and Iraq, but we’ve expanded our operations. Don’t get me wrong, we’re not some sort of vigilante group. Our operations are sanctioned at the highest level. But we’re not signed off by judges or district attorneys, there’s no paper trail, no recordings. Everything we do is deniable by those who sanction it.’
‘I thought assassination was specifically outlawed in the US? Didn’t Ronald Reagan sign Executive Order 12333 back in 1981?’
‘You and your trick memory,’ sighed Yokely.
‘It’s a gift,’ said Shepherd. ‘According to Executive Order 12333, “No person employed by or acting on behalf of the United States Government shall engage in, or conspire to engage in, assassination.” And then it goes on to say that “No agency of the Intelligence Community shall participate in or request any person to undertake activities forbidden by this Order.” Am I right?’
‘You are right,’ said Yokely. ‘But let’s not forget that Bill Clinton himself gave the CIA
‘Which, really, he shouldn’t have done,’ said Shepherd.
‘It’s a grey area, Dan. An executive order isn’t a law, it’s more a statement of political policy.’
‘Actually, it’s not,’ said Shepherd. ‘It’s black and white. Assassination is illegal. It’s murder.’
‘So is crashing a plane into an office block,’ said Yokely. ‘But it happens.’ He grinned. ‘I’m not here to argue politics or law with you. The world has changed since Nine Eleven. It’s like George W said back then – you’re either with us or you’re against us. If a country or an individual chooses to stand against us, they have to deal with the consequences.’
‘Let’s say I did work for you. Who would I . . .’ He hesitated. ‘What word do you use?’
‘“Kill” sounds good to me, Dan. Providing no one’s listening.’
‘So, who would I kill?’
‘You’d kill individuals who are working to kill others. Look, your own head of MI5 said a while back that there were some three hundred terror cells in the UK, all beavering away at getting guns, explosives or poisons, all preparing to kill for a place in Heaven. Your security services keep them under observation, but when it’s time to move in they have to hand over to the cops. And then what happens? The cops go charging in, local communities are up in arms about the heavy-handed response, and more often than not there isn’t even enough evidence to get a conviction. It’s a lose-lose situation. You might have averted one catastrophe, but the bad guys are still free to plot again. And, believe me, they will.’
‘And why me?
‘Because you’re good at what you do – you’re one of the most professional operatives I’ve ever met. You’re capable of looking down the barrel of a gun and pulling the trigger.’
‘You must have hundreds of men with those qualifications in the States,’ said Shepherd.
‘Agreed,’ said Yokely. ‘But there are times when it would be useful to have a Brit. And you’ve got undercover
