I knock once and then enter the study. As usual Walter has hardly any lights on, just the small desk lamp that throws a soft yellow glow on the clutter of papers beside the laptop.
He tells me to shut the door, and I shut the door. He tells me to take a seat, and I take a seat. Then he sorts through the clutter of papers and comes away with a large surveillance photograph and hands it to me asking if I know who that is.
I look at it only for a moment before I say, “That’s Roland Delano’s assistant.”
The photo is one Nova must have taken last week, because it shows her and Delano coming out of the Luxor.
“That’s right,” Walter says, nodding slowly. Today must not have been a Pentagon day, because he’s wearing khakis and a dress shirt, the top two buttons undone. “Do you remember her name?”
“Alayna something.”
“Alayna Gramont.”
“Right. So what about her?”
“We’ve just gotten word that she is continuing with Delano’s work. In three days she will be selling Delano’s code.”
“His what?”
Walter opens his mouth but thinks twice and shuts it. He glances down at the clutter of papers, takes a breath, then looks back up at me.
“Remember Delano’s flash drive?”
I nod.
“Well, it’s impossible for us—for anyone—to access it without a code. That’s the way Delano designed it. The encryption is unlike anything we’ve ever seen.”
“So nobody knows what’s on it.”
“That’s right.”
“Who says there’s anything important on it at all? Could be the guy’s grocery list.”
“Could be,” Walter says. “But for practical purposes, let’s stay with the idea that it’s not.”
“Okay. For practical purposes what’s on that flash drive is a matter of national security.”
“No, no”—Walter holds up a finger, shaking his head—“a matter of global security.”
“Fine. A matter of global security. And nobody can access the information on that flash drive without a code.”
“Yes.”
“A code that this Alayna Gramont is going to sell in three days.”
“That’s right.”
“But that doesn’t make sense.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
“Why would anyone want to buy the code for something they don’t even have?”
“That,” Walter says, “is a very good question.”
For a moment neither one of us speaks as the rain outside continues, unabated.
I think of something and lean forward in my seat. “Be honest with me here. Is the U.S. one of the buyers?”
Walter’s face stays impassive. He gives a quick shake of his head and says, “No, it isn’t. From our intel, the buyers appear to be the same buyers Delano was meeting in Vegas.”
“So even though they don’t have the flash drive, they want to buy the code.”
“It appears that way.”
“And why are you telling me this?”
Walter doesn’t answer.
“I thought you said I was done.”
“I say a lot of things.”
“You said I’ve been on a gradual decline.”
“You have been. But unfortunately all I have right now are you and Nova, and I can’t send Nova into this by himself.”
“Where?”
“Paris.”
Another moment of silence passes, the two of us staring back at one another.
“Don’t send me,” I say finally.
“Why not?”
“You were right before. I’ve become … reckless. Irresponsible. I can’t be trusted.”
“This doesn’t sound like the Holly Lin I know.”
“The Holly Lin you know has changed.”
“Has she?”
“I’m through with it, Walter. I’m getting out.”
He stares at me for another moment, his dark eyes intense. Then he leans back in his chair, starts sorting through the clutter of papers again. Not looking at me, he says, “Fine. You want out, you’re out. But at least do me this one favor first.”
“Walter—”
“Do you still blame yourself for Scooter?” He glances up at me. “Do you? Because as far as I’m concerned, as far as the United States of America is concerned, as far as Scooter’s memory is concerned, the Vegas job is unfinished. The only way to finish it is go to Paris and stop the buy.”
“You want me to take out this Alayna Gramont?”
“If you have to. But at the moment she isn’t a threat. The code, however, is.”
“How so?”
“I don’t know. But that code cannot fall into the wrong hands.”
“What does it matter if it does? They can’t do anything without the flash drive.”
“At this point we’re not taking the risk.”
“But—”
“Tomorrow night you’ll fly to Paris. Nova will already be there. You will meet up with a team of foreign agents who have been watching Delano for the past two years. They already have surveillance on Gramont. The task here is to wait to see who the buyers are, then take them out if need be and secure the code. Understand?”
“How do you know there aren’t copies of this stuff? Whatever Delano had on that flash drive he probably has on one of his computers. The same with the code.”
“Tomorrow night, Holly. You want out, you’re out. But first this mission.”
I stare back at him, this aging man with his firm face and intense eyes. Always so calm, always so in control. Always giving orders, never taking any.
I wonder for an instant what things might have been like had I turned down Walter’s offer eight years ago when he walked into my prison cell in his uniform and his two general stars flashing gold in the light.
What my life would be like had I said no.
What I would be doing right this instant had
