Near Miss

Stone patted his jacket pockets. “Sadly, I seem to have left that information in my office. If it helps, I trust Fred has everything well in hand.”

“That will have to do.”

Fred was right where he’d said he would be, and soon they were on their way.

Stone called Mike Freeman. “I’m not sure if you heard yet, but there are a couple of unwanted admirers camped out in a car, near my house.”

“I just received the report,” Mike said. “Gromyko’s people?”

“That would be my assumption. I think it’s time to do what we talked about.” That afternoon Stone had called Mike and discussed the possibility of beefing up the security detail watching the house, and providing bodyguards for when Stone went out.

“I thought you’d say that. I’ve already contacted additional resources and they will be in place within thirty minutes. If that doesn’t get Gromyko’s people to leave, we’ll take more direct action. Are you home now?”

“No. I’m on the way to Clarke’s.”

“I’ll have another car meet you there.”

“Thank you, Mike.” Stone hung up.

Stone and Carly were first to arrive and were shown directly to their table and placed their drink orders. Stone had had an idea that day, and asked, “Carly, do me a carlysearch on your memory.”

“For what subject?”

“Teddy Fay.” He spelled it for her.

“Got him,” she said. “Former CIA tech expert, with an unproven reputation as an assassin.”

“I’m thinking of asking him to join our little anti-Gromyko campaign.”

“Well, if the rumor that he is still alive is more than a rumor, sure, why not?”

“He has an alias,” Stone said. “Billy Barnett.”

“Producer at Centurion?”

“You are quick.”

“He was mentioned in a review of your son, Peter’s, recent film.”

“And that was enough for you to store his memory?”

“I don’t have a lot of control over what sticks in my memory. Teddy Fay did. And Billy Barnett, too.”

“Need I tell you that, should you meet, you are never, never, to speak his real name aloud?”

“Okay, got it.”

“For our purposes, your memory is now a vault, and only you have the combination.”

“Agreed.”

Stone checked his watch. “He should be here momentarily.”

A man appeared at their table.

“Your martini, m’amselle,” the man said, removing the drink from a silver tray.

“Carly Riggs, may I introduce Billy Barnett?”

“How do you do?” Carly said. “And how did you...”

“A waiter was already approaching with your drink,” Billy said and sat. “I’m not a real magician.”

“Then who choreographed this little scene?” she asked.

“Stone did.”

“All the elements for a flush were at hand,” Stone said. “I just dealt the cards.”

“From the bottom of the deck,” Carly said.

“I believe you intentionally asked Dino to come half an hour later,” Billy said.

“That’s right. Shall I begin?”

“Please.” Someone set a Knob Creek before him, and before Stone, as well. “Shoot.”

Stone delivered a three-minute disquisition on Alexei Gromyko. “Have I left out anything?”

“You left out me,” Carly said.

“I filled in Billy on the subject of you this afternoon.”

“And you got here from L.A. in time for dinner?”

“I was in Miami, on the way to the airport for a flight home. I canceled that one, and I caught the next plane to JFK.”

“Of course.”

“People always underestimate Billy, Carly. It’s a trait you might adopt for yourself.”

“I already have,” she replied.

“Then you might leave out a few chapters, next time. You don’t need to be completely knowable at first glance,” Billy said. “There’s value in mystery.”

“Tried it, and it didn’t work for me.” she replied. “There’s a lump of compulsion at the center of my psyche.”

“And you must learn to control it, now and then.”

“Okay,” Carly said to Stone. “He’s smart; smarter than I.”

“You used the proper pronoun in that sentence,” Billy said. “It’s a start.”

“Finally, I scored,” Carly said.

Dino arrived.

“Good evening, Carly. And, Billy, nice surprise.”

“Thank you, Dino,” Billy said. “I’ve been getting to know Carly.”

“Good luck with that,” Dino said. “She’s a bundle of surprises, wrapped around a stick of dynamite.”

“I like that description,” Carly said. “Even if it is rampant hyperbole.”

“Hyperbole must be near the truth, to be effective,” Stone interjected.

“Touché,” Carly replied.

After they finished eating, the group lingered over coffee and brandy.

“I have an idea or two,” Billy said, lowering his voice.

Dino looked at his watch. “I think that’s my exit line,” he said. He shook Billy’s hand again and departed.

“I’ve never seen Dino leave early like that,” Carly said.

“There are things he doesn’t need nor want to know,” Stone said.

“Of course,” she replied.

“It occurs to me,” Billy said, “that I’m the only one in this little cabal that Alexei doesn’t know on sight. I think it is to our advantage to preserve that little edge, since it seems to be the only one we’ve got.”

“And you have lots of faces,” Stone said. Teddy was a master of disguise.

“I brought a little case with me,” he replied. “I’ll see what I can cook up that will preserve my unfamiliarity with the little file of faces in Mr. Gromyko’s brain.”