Near Miss

“Of course, you weren’t. By not telling me until now, you have put me at a disadvantage. I do not like being at a disadvantage.”

He turned back to the table and swept his plate onto the floor, then with his back to everyone said, “I want Barrington dead. Now.”

Chapter 37

Joan buzzed Stone. “Lance on one.”

Stone picked up the phone. “Why do you bother being announced?”

“Sometimes it’s convenient.”

“What can I do for you?”

“I want to meet Carly Riggs.”

“Why?”

“She sounds interesting.”

“She is interesting. That’s why you can’t meet her.”

“Don’t be that way, Stone.”

“You’re recruiting, and she’s not currently available.”

“When will she be available?”

“After she’s made partner at Woodman & Weld.”

“That’s too long to wait.”

“She’s done Yale, Yale Law, and she aced the bar exam.”

“That’s why I want to meet her.”

“She has a career in the law planned, and I don’t want you to screw it up for her by shipping her off to the Farm, then to God-knows-where.” The Farm was the CIA’s training facility in Virginia.

“That would be a good career for her.”

“It would be good for you, not her. Carly needs protecting from all that for a while, maybe for a long while.”

“Why don’t we let her be the judge of that?”

“Because I don’t know yet how good her judgment is.”

“We like them when they’re still a little malleable.”

“Lance, I can’t stop you from trying, but I’ll do everything I can to keep her where she is and doing what she’s doing.”

“Can you protect her from the Russians?”

“Yes.” Stone wished he were as confident as he sounded.

“We can protect her at the Farm.”

“We can protect her here, too.”

“You didn’t protect her last night,” Lance said.

Why did Lance know everything? “A minor slipup. It won’t happen again.”

“And how will you prevent that?”

“By shooting everybody who tries.”

“You might be able to trade her for peace with Gromyko,” Lance said.

“I already have peace with Gromyko. He’s being arrested this morning for income tax evasion.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“I’m expecting a call momentarily.”

“He’ll just bail out and disappear.”

“He won’t get bail.”

“You think he can’t get bail out of Tiffany Baldwin?”

“Yes.”

“And what happens if Tiffany doesn’t play?”

“I’ll shoot her myself,” Stone said.

“Bravado doesn’t suit you, Stone.”

“It’s courage, not bravado.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Content of character.”

“You don’t have it in you to shoot anybody.”

“I’ve done it before. I’ll do it again.”

“Face-to-face? In the head?”

“Twice.”

“Are you going to shoot me, if I recruit Carly?”

“Not you.”

“Why not?”

“Because, if I shoot you, there are too many people who would care. Nobody cares about Gromyko.”

“That’s true, I suppose. All right, I’ll give you a little more time with Carly.”

“You’ll stay away from her at all times, or you’ll make me mad,” Stone said.

“And why do you think I would fear you mad?”

“Because, if you think about it, you’ll realize how many ways I could screw you.”

“Such as?”

“Do you like your job, Lance?”

“Of course.”

“Would you like to keep it?”

There was a silence. “You’re threatening me with going to the president?”

“If I do, you’ll have a hard time working anywhere, ever again.”

“That’s a serious threat,” Lance said. “Can you back it up?”

“Try me.”

Another long silence, then Lance hung up.

Stone hung up, too, and his hand was trembling. Nobody had ever talked that way to Lance. Maybe he had gone too far.

Chapter 38

When Carly came down to the lobby of the Seagram Building, Stone was waiting for her in the Bentley.

“This is unexpected,” she said, sliding in the back seat next to Stone.

“It’s necessary,” Stone said.

“Is Gromyko in jail?” she asked.

“I’m still waiting for that call. In the meantime, there’s another threat to deal with.”

“Now what?”

“Lance Cabot.”

“The head of the CIA?”

“That’s the one.”

“What’s the problem with him?”

“He’s taken an interest in you.”

“What sort of interest are we talking about? Sex?”

“No, nobody’s sure whether Lance does that. He wants to recruit you for the Agency.”

“Well, that’s flattering. Does he always do that personally? I thought he had a nationwide network of recruiters at such places as Ivy League universities.”

“Oh, he does, but he always has an eye out for talent, and when he spots it, he wants it. And he’s spotted you.”

“Is he so hard to say no to?”

“He is, and there’s an element of danger in that.”

“How so?”

“Here’s how it works,” Stone said. “First, he’ll take you to a very good dinner, and he’ll talk the whole time. You won’t even have a chance to ask questions, until he’s finished.”

“Okay, I can handle a good dinner. What then?”

“Then he’ll take you down to a place called the Farm, in Virginia.”

“I’ve read about that; it sounds interesting.”

“Lance thinks you’ll think that, especially when he tells you about the kind of training you’ll get there.”

“For how long?”

“The standard is about twelve weeks, but he would likely pull you out before that.”

“Why?”

“Because he’ll have a special assignment that your training has shaped you for, and it will sound enticing.”

“Okay, then what?”