name Abelard Boutin was not only at the top of that list but his apartment was located not far from the incident.
“I have a few ideas on how to set up overwatch outside Boutin’s place,” said Ames, glancing up from his computer.
“Can I stop you right there?” said Gillespie from her perch behind the seat. “If Sam went to see the forger, then he did so deliberately. He doesn’t make mistakes like that.”
“Oh, and you’re the Sam Fisher expert because he spent, what, about two weeks of his life training you?” asked Ames. “The guy’s getting old… and he’s old school. He’s stressed out. He’ll make mistakes.”
“Sam Fisher, stressed out? Are we talking about the same Sam Fisher, the guy who also trained you?”
“The world’s changed. Sam knows that. And maybe he can’t deal with it anymore.”
“Wow, that’s all heady and philosophical and—”
“Kim, what’re you trying to say?” asked Valentina.
“I’m saying I don’t like this. I’m saying that maybe Nathan was on to something when he asked Moreau why we were picked for this job. Maybe they didn’t want operators with more experience because we’re not supposed to capture Sam.”
“Oh, don’t give me that BS,” said Ames. “We’re new. We’re unconventional. We’re unpredictable. That’s why we got picked.”
“I have to agree with that,” said Hansen. “But it does worry me that Fisher confided in Boutin and the man turned on him so quickly.”
“Maybe they trusted each other, but Fisher screwed him over somehow, and he turned,” said Valentina.
Hansen sighed. “That’s a possibility.”
“Sam went to the forger because he knew the guy would talk. He wants us to come to France,” said Gillespie.
“Oh, yeah?” asked Ames. “Why? So you can sleep with him again?”
Everyone fell silent. Valentina blinked. A mental switch was thrown. And suddenly she burst from her seat and threw herself on the little bastard, wrapping her fingers around his throat. “Haven’t you had enough with that mouth? Haven’t you had enough!”
Hands dropped onto her shoulders and wrenched her away from Ames, who panted and cried, “I’m just getting started, baby!” He cocked a thumb over his shoulder at Gillespie. “You don’t see her getting all upset. Why? Because it’s a fact! Maybe we ought to get that out in the open right here!”
Gillespie lowered her gaze and shook her head. “You bastard.”
Ames pushed himself up and turned to Gillespie. “They need to know — because you could compromise this mission.”
“I don’t want to go there,” snapped Hansen. But then he glanced up at Gillespie. “But did
“Tell him, Kim. We don’t have a choice,” said Ames. “She slept with him. She’s got feelings for him.”
“I don’t have feelings,” cried Gillespie.
“Kim, you really slept with him?” asked Valentina.
Gillespie moaned through a sigh. “I’m an idiot, okay? It was months after he trained me. He was in a bad place, and I took advantage of that. He didn’t want to… but I… I just… I don’t know what happened.”
Hansen pursed his lips, thought for a moment, then swore under his breath. “When we get to Paris, Kim, you stay on the plane. You’ll fly back. I’ll tell Grim. We can’t have you here.”
“Don’t do that, Ben. I’m telling you, this whole thing is bigger than we think. They put me here for a reason… They put all of us here. And I’ll promise you, right here and right now, that if it comes down to it, that if I have to kill him, I will. I’ll do it.”
“I’m unconvinced,” said Ames. “Me, on the other hand, I’d whack him in a heartbeat. I never liked the bastard. He was a crappy teacher, and he’s got the weirdest sense of humor.”
“A team of rookies, and a woman personally involved with the target,” Hansen began through a groan. “Like sending hamsters after a rattlesnake.”
“I am a special- forces operator,” said Noboru, his tone steely. “I am nothing else.”
“We’re happy for you, Bruce,” said Ames. “Now, shut the hell up and let us figure out what to do with the slut back here.”
This time it was Gillespie who was ready to strangle Ames, but he slipped back into his seat and said, “I’m just kidding! I’m kidding!”
Gillespie swore at him and looked to Hansen for help.
“Who’s got the terrible sense of humor?” Valentina asked Ames. “And you know something? I’ve been dealing with guys like you all my life. You wind up miserable and alone.”
“Not really. I wind up on a private jet, with a hot blonde, drinking champagne.” He winked.
Hansen hardened his voice. “Ames, I’ve had enough of you, too.”
“I’m just here for your entertainment pleasure — since you’re not here for mine.”
Hansen snorted. “Show’s over. Back to work. Now, we’re going to go see this guy Boutin. Maybe Fisher’s paid him a visit.”
“Ben, if Fisher is as good as everyone says he is, he may be long gone,” said Noboru. “Maybe all we can do is follow his trail. Maybe he’s not even in France anymore.”
“Good point. Why would he stick around?”
Valentina thought about that. “Maybe there’s something he needs to do. Someone he’s waiting for?”
“Like us,” said Hansen. “Why do I get the feeling that we’re being baited?”
“Still no word from Grim?” asked Valentina.
Hansen shook his head.
“Look, guys, stop worrying,” said Ames. “Like I said before, I’ve got some ideas for overwatch on Boutin’s place. Let’s talk about those, catch a few z’s, then wake up and have breakfast in Paris.”
Valentina took a deep breath and folded her arms over her chest. “What makes you so confident?”
“I’m more excited than anything else,” answered Ames. “We take down Fisher and we’ve really done something. We’ll be the guys who brought in the traitor. Then his legend becomes ours… ”
15
The flight to Paris took about six hours, and Reims was exactly six hours ahead of Baltimore, so while the team seemingly arrived at Paris-Charles de Gaulle International Airport at midnight their time, it was 6:21 A.M. by the local clock. Between yawns and the rubbing of red eyes, they rented a blue Opel and a green Renault and drove to the east side of Reims, to the Grand Hotel Templiers, where the agency had already booked two rooms. The five-story hotel was on rue des Templiers, a narrow street lined on both sides by subcompact cars. The place was about a ten-minute drive from Boutin’s apartment, affording them enough distance for security yet reasonable proximity to the target.
Much to Hansen’s chagrin, Ames decided he was bunking with Valentina, who drove her heel into the short operative’s foot, and that was the end of that. Ladies in one room, men in the other, thank you. When would that guy ever let up?>
Hansen stared through the window at a courtyard whose landscape swept outward like a chessboard, its walkways cutting at right angles through perfect squares of sod and trees. The image was fitting, as the game was, indeed, afoot.
He wrung his hands and checked his watch. He and Ames decided that after breakfast they would reconnoiter Boutin’s place to be sure there wasn’t anything surprising they hadn’t seen on the maps. They would do a hasty drive-by, as Hansen felt certain that Fisher, if he was still in Reims, would be keeping a close eye on the forger. Hansen decided, though, that they wouldn’t make their move on Boutin until 11:00 P.M. at the earliest, when they could be more certain that the streets would be deserted and the forger himself had settled down for the evening.
