said, and handed it to Susan. ‘Better call your boss,’ he suggested. ‘Tell him we need help and a taxi for four.’
They all laughed together and Susan flipped the phone open and dialled Cavendish’s number.
TWENTY FIVE
Cavendish looked around the table at his guests. They were in the Ambassador’s residence in Kabul enjoying British hospitality and knowing they were reasonably safe from rogue CIA agents, Taliban warlords and Hellfire missiles. Susan, David and Marcus were the reason Cavendish was celebrating a remarkable success in his covert war against The Chapter, otherwise known to him as the CIA.
Lieutenant McCain was there as well because of the part he played in helping Cavendish to maintain a secret link to London. Without that they knew that Hudson and his crooked CIA agents there would have eavesdropped on all Cavendish’s traffic.
‘I think we’ve just about sewn everything up,’ declared Cavendish. ‘And now I think it’s time I retired. To bed I mean,’ he added hastily. ‘I just want to thank you all for what you’ve done. David,’ he said, turning to Susan’s brother. ‘It really is so good to see you. We’ll have a great deal to discuss when you’re back in London.’
David reached over the table and shook his hand. ‘Thank you, Sir Giles. And it’s been good to see you too.’ David knew that he would have to spend a lot of time with Cavendish being debriefed. He said nothing to Marcus or Susan of the intelligence he had gathered during his time in Afghanistan
McCain stood up and told them he would be leaving. He wished them all bon voyage and wondered if he might ever see them again in the future. There was an understandable chorus of denial from them.
Susan said she would be returning to the bank. Cavendish had assured her that her job was still waiting there for her. She had also been sworn to secrecy by Cavendish.
Marcus asked him why they had been targeted by the CIA. ‘How on earth were we worth being blown up by a missile? They could have picked us off any time.’
‘It wasn’t you they were after,’ he told Marcus, ‘it was David.’
The expression on Marcus’s face told Cavendish that his statement wasn’t enough, so he went on. ‘You see, we knew the CIA was involved up to its neck out here, but we had no names and nothing cast iron to pin on them. I’m afraid the senior politicians in America and in UK were in no mood to listen to my intelligence.’ He arched his eyebrows. ‘Now we know why; so many of them were lining their pockets. David had picked up a great deal of information, which he had been feeding back to me, but unfortunately we were using a military satellite which had been compromised by the CIA. They knew what David was up to and set out to stop him.’
‘The attack on the mission?’
Cavendish nodded. ‘Quite. And when Abdul Khaliq lifted him from the hospital, for his own ends mark you, not the CIA, it left them in a quandary, particularly when I made it known that David was alive.’
Susan sat up suddenly, shocked at that last statement. ‘You made it known?’
Cavendish turned towards her. ‘That letter from David was an absolute gift. I was able to use it to let the CIA know he was alive. I knew they would go after him. It was the only way I could draw them out into the open, don’t you see?’
Susan looked aghast at the MI6 man, and then at Marcus. ‘You used us?’ she said angrily. ‘Why didn’t you just tell them David was alive?’
Cavendish shook his hand at her. ‘They would not have believed me.’ He made an apologetic gesture. ‘I know how it must look, Susan, but I needed a spark; something that would open up the investigation further. You and Marcus were like manna from heaven.’
‘It very near got us killed,’ Marcus said drily.
Cavendish agreed. ‘But it got David out and back with us. And now I can wrap the whole thing up; kill the operation stone dead.’
‘What about Abdul Khaliq, what part did he play?’
‘Oh, he wanted David as a bargaining chip. The Americans were getting greedy and wanted him out of the way and their man in place. He needed some kind of assurance, and he believed David was the answer. He believed he could do a deal with us and get out before the CIA got to him.’
Cavendish then told Marcus that it was when he spoke of hearing that the ‘station chief’ was responsible for the shipment out of the country that confirmed it was the CIA boss who was orchestrating the whole affair. Randy Hudson was the CIA Station Chief in England and perfectly placed to oversee the operation on behalf of his paymasters back in the States. It was another piece of the ‘jigsaw’ that fell into place.
They spent some time talking about the devious and secretive work that intelligence services perform, and how it impacts on the public perception of what is happening in the hotspots around the world. But eventually Cavendish made his excuse and bid them all goodnight.
When the MI6 man had gone, Marcus told Susan and David that he was going back to his business; Guard Right Security. He said that Cavendish had assured him that his entire office would be refurbished at the expense of MI6. Or the taxpayer! Cavendish had also offered Marcus a job.
‘You’re not going to take it, surely?’ Susan asked in surprise.
Marcus shook his head. ‘No,’ he assured her. ‘I only have so much adrenalin, and I don’t want to waste it on Cavendish and his deceitful plans. And I won’t miss it either.’
They all laughed at that.
‘But there is one thing I will miss,’ Marcus said wistfully.
‘What’s that?’ Susan asked him.
‘My sessions in the gym with Maggot.’
Susan sat upright. ‘Really?’ Marcus nodded at her. She leaned back in her chair and studied him for a moment. ‘How come you beat Maggot, Marcus? You told me that he always got the better of you, no matter how hard you tried.’
Marcus smiled. ‘That’s true. But this time there was one difference: we were fighting dirty, and that meant no rules.’
He let it sink in. Then he shook his head gently, tears forming in his eyes.
‘You know, I shouldn’t say this, but I’m going to: Maggot would have been proud of me.’
