“I want to thank you both for the way you’ve worked with Kate, the NSA, and the Secret Service concerning this visit.”
“We haven’t done much, except listen,” Mike said.
“I find it reassuring when all the relevant groups are agreed on the threat and the way to proceed. It makes it easier for me to make decisions. Stone, I’m grateful to you and your partners in the hotel for making the facilities of The Arrington available for this meeting. Our respective staffs have done a great deal already, but President Vargas and I still have a thorny point or two to negotiate, starting at tonight’s dinner, and we’re both appreciative of the solitude and beauty of this place, not to mention all you’ve done to make it secure.”
“It was the great pleasure of all concerned to do what we could, Mr. President,” Stone replied.
Will Lee sat back in his chair and sipped his ginger ale. “Now tell me bluntly-bluntly, please-what you think is going on with this nursery-rhyme trio,” he said.
Stone and Mike looked at each other, and Stone nodded to Mike.
“Mr. President,” Mike said, “as you pointed out, all the relevant parties are in agreement on the information we have so far. We think there is an active al Qaeda team in California, probably in Los Angeles, whose mission it is to disrupt your talks with President Vargas.”
“And perhaps kill both of us and a great many prominent people, as well,” Lee pointed out. “You’re going to have an extraordinary grouping of entertainment, business, and media folks gathered in one place, and that has to be an inviting target for them. It was suggested to me that I should cancel the event, but I decided to go ahead for many reasons, not the least of them that to cancel in the face of a mere threat would put our government in a bad light.”
“I can’t disagree, Mr. President,” Mike replied, “and I’m impressed with the way the government agencies are cooperating. Interagency rivalry has been put aside.”
“That’s something I’m trying to engender all the time,” Lee said, “and not always with success.”
Stone spoke up. “Felicity Devonshire at MI-6 has been very helpful, too.”
“Yes, I understand they’ve connected one of the names to the subway bombings in London a few years back. That’s very disturbing.”
“And that information has caused a redoubling of all our efforts,” Mike said.
“My wife and I appreciate that,” Lee said. “Has there been anything new while I was sleeping?”
“No, sir,” Mike replied.
“Then let’s rejoin the others,” Lee said. “Since it’s a special occasion, I think I’ll stand myself to a second ginger ale.”
They went back to the living room. “This is a beautiful house,” Kate Lee said to Stone.
“Thank you. Arrington worked with the architect on the design until shortly before her death,” Stone replied.
“We saw her portrait in the reception area,” Kate said. “I loved it.”
“I hadn’t seen it before today,” Stone said, “but I loved it, too. How did the intelligence summit go?” he asked, indicating Felicity and Holly.
“I wish all my intelligence were so smooth and cordial,” Kate said, and the others laughed.
A young woman wearing a Secret Service button in her lapel approached. “Mrs. Lee, you asked me to remind you when it was time to return to the residence for dinner.”
“Thank you, Agent,” Kate said. “Will,” she called across the room. “Dinnertime. I hope you haven’t had too much ginger ale.”
Lee set down his drink and joined his wife. “I’m still steady on my feet,” he said. Good-byes were exchanged, and the presidential party left.
“I hope we can all get together before this weekend is over,” the president said, as he led his party out of the house.
“Wow!” Peter exclaimed. “I can’t believe I just met the president of the United States!”
35
That night Felicity and Mike stayed for dinner, and everyone was in a good mood, in the afterglow of their brush with the president. Almost everyone turned in early, tired from their cross-country travel.
Felicity left by the front door, then, half an hour later, parted the curtains of the master suite and stepped in from the patio.
“Haven’t we met somewhere before?” Stone said.
Felicity sat down on the bed, released a silk stocking from her garter belt, and rolled it down her beautiful leg. “Yes, and you know very well that the man you call Mike Freeman and I have met before, too.”
“I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re talking about,” Stone replied, pushing back the covers for her. He was already in bed, naked. “Who else on your side of the pond thinks he may have met Mike before?”
“I believe myself to be the only one. Of course, I’ve done everything I can to paper over that crack in the history of my service.”
Mike Freeman, when younger and under his original name, had been a rising star in MI-6, until an episode in his private life made him a target of people who wanted to see him dead. He built an identity for himself in the United States and was brought into Strategic Services by its founder, Jim Hackett. Stone and Felicity had both been instrumental in seeing that he was not exposed.
“I’ll tell Mike that,” Stone said.
“Please don’t, I’d rather that only you and I shared the details of that episode. There are still people in high places who would feel great resentment toward us, if they knew. Let sleeping dogs snore.”
Stone laughed. “My lips are zipped.”
Felicity went into the second bathroom with a small bag she had brought. Stone dimmed the lights and waited for her to emerge, naked, and get into bed with him.
She snuggled close. “One of these days I’m going to retire from the service, and when I do you are going to be in big, big trouble,” she said.
“I could use some of that kind of trouble,” Stone replied, turning to her and slipping a leg between hers, where he found her to be already wet. He kissed her eyes and her face, then bit her softly on a nipple. “I believe this is the start button?”
“Yes, and it’s in perfect working order,” she breathed. She pulled him on top of her and brought him inside her. “There,” she said, “that’s where you belong.”
And he remained there for some time.
Before dawn, Felicity dressed and slipped out onto the patio, then let herself out of the garden and strolled down the pathway to her nearby cottage, passing a Secret Service agent on the way. He gave her a little salute, but they did not speak.
It was eight hours later in London, so she called her office on her encoded cell phone.
“Aren’t you up very early?” her secretary asked.
“I couldn’t sleep-jet lag,” she lied, “so I thought I’d check in.”
“Do you want your messages?”
“Just e-mail them to me. I’d be interested to know, though, if there’s anything from GCHQ?”
“Nothing,” the woman replied.
“If they should call, get in touch with me without delay,” Felicity said. “And now, I’m going to try to get a couple of hours’ sleep.” She hung up, undressed, and was out as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Stone slept soundly until he heard voices from the living room. He showered and joined them for breakfast. “Everybody sleep well?” Stone asked.
“I was too excited to sleep well,” Hattie said. “I get to play on a movie sound track today.”
“That’s wonderful, Hattie. By the way, I’ve arranged for a hotel car to take the four of you to Centurion and wait to drive you back. The great bulk of the guests won’t arrive until the day after tomorrow, so they won’t need
