“Maybe. Depends on where.”
“Let’s assume a hundred-mile radius of Chicago.”
“OK. Then we could probably persuade them.”
“I would think so, too. Maybe by unsettling them? Suggesting that McIntyre might not be able to deliver?”
“We could do that. Make them afraid to have all their eggs in his basket. Or offer a much lower price. Or promise to provide a regular, guaranteed future supply.”
“Good. I like it. One of those should work. So we’re looking pretty good. Why don’t I head downstairs for a minute and prod the IT guys. It’s all hanging on them, right now.”
“Hold on. What about the infiltration part? How’s that going to work?”
“It’ll be easy. A few people from their crew had seen you, but they’re all dead now, remember. So you should have no problems with being recognized.”
“I’m not concerned about recognition. I’m worried about getting under their skin before tonight. Going from total stranger to inner sanctum in a couple of hours is a lot to ask.”
“It would be—if it wasn’t for one thing.”
“What?”
“I have an idea. I’ve got that part all figured out.”
“Hallelujah. What are you thinking?”
“Something like this. We let these guys choose whatever location they feel comfortable with. You show up, as agreed. You make like you’re itching to get down to business. Then, a couple of other guys appear. Maybe they’re drunk. Maybe they’re just idiots. But either way, they try to pick a fight. They pull guns, knives, whatever. Things are about to get really nasty and—boom. You step in, risking life and limb for your new friends.”
“That’s not an idea. That’s straight from cliché central.”
“There are no marks for originality, David. Only effectiveness. And this works. I’ve seen it half a dozen times.”
“I guess it might not be a complete disaster, if it was staged just right. Where would these rent-a-goons come from?”
“Leave that to me. I have contacts. People who’d be happy to help.”
“I don’t care if they’re happy. I care if they’re good. ’Cause I don’t want some Keystone Kop fiasco.”
“Don’t worry. They’re excellent. I’ve used them before, a dozen times. No one will ever know they’re staging it.”
“So assuming you can get them in, and I pull it off. I then have to convince the buyers to let me tag along when they hook up with Tony.”
“Right. But you could do that in your sleep, David. It’s more or less what you suggested before, with the Commissariat. Only more elegant. Food and drink for a guy like you, surely?”
“It’s next to impossible, is what it is.”
“Let’s be realistic. It’s not going to be easy. I know that. But it’s not out of the question, either. And here’s the thing—have you got a better idea?”
I didn’t answer.
“OK, then,” he said. “Right now this is the only plan that has legs. Shall I head downstairs? Turn the screw on our technical friends? See if we can get ourselves out of the starting gate?”
“I suppose you better,” I said. “I’m not thrilled with the idea. But we’ve got to do something. We need to get the gas back under wraps. And I want this business with McIntyre over and done with. I want to get back to some work that doesn’t leave a bad taste in my mouth.”
Fothergill offered to send some coffee up for me, but I declined. There was no way of knowing how long he’d be gone. I guessed the IT guys wouldn’t make him all that welcome, but he also said there were loose ends to tie up from yesterday’s accident. That sounded pretty vague, but the chances still were that he was going to be a while. And with the prospect of meeting another set of buyers, dealing with the fake fight and possibly having to finish things with McIntyre, the last things I needed were random strangers and office small talk. I felt like I needed some time to myself. I needed somewhere peaceful to prepare. So I took one more look around his office, found nothing of interest, and made my way back to the hotel.
I picked up some coffee of my own so I’d have something to drink as I walked. I went for cappuccino again, since I’d missed breakfast. It took five minutes to reach the counter, and the line of customers at Starbucks kept growing steadily as I waited near the wall for the barista to weave her magic. There was nothing to do but stand back and watch the people coming in. It seemed like there was an endless stream of them, and that sparked another image in my head. I thought about the people who were so desperate to buy this gas. I’d neutralized two of them at the abandoned apartment. Three at the Ritz-Carlton. Two more at the machine shop in Gary. One at the Commissariat. Fothergill had accounted for another pair. And yet more kept on appearing. I couldn’t help wondering what would be next. Would the whole population of their little country end up coming after me before we were done?
This thought was still floating around in my head when I arrived at the hotel. It wasn’t unusual to go up against people without knowing much about them. Sometimes it was even an advantage, despite what Sun Tzu might have said, because you weren’t bogged down with preconceptions. But this time, the longer things went on, the more it felt like I was missing something. And with nothing else to fill my time, it was turning into an obsession.
I took off my boots, lay down on the bed, and tried to focus on something else. Really hard. For ten minutes. And failed. The part that was eating me up was the geography. I knew the people who wanted the gas were from Equatorial Myene, but I had no idea where that was. I’d never even heard of the place until Young mentioned it the other day. That made me wonder about what else I didn’t know. Their history. Their culture. Their traditions and institutions. Whether they were seriously considering using illegal military weapons against their own population. And how a serving naval intelligence officer could come to be supplying them.
I reached for my phone and called Fothergill’s number. I wanted him to see what background information was available. If Chicago was like most other places I’d been to, the consulate archive would have plenty of detailed files on more or less everywhere in the world. I lay on the bed and listened impatiently to the slow, drawnout American ringtone. It went on for thirty seconds. Then the call tripped through to voice mail. I left him a message, but didn’t give up there. I called the switchboard and asked to be put through to the analysis team, directly. That seemed like a good idea, but it didn’t get me any further. The call diverted to Human Resources. The analysts were all out to lunch. Already. It wasn’t even eleven o’clock yet. At first I was annoyed. But then a smile spread across my face. Analyzing data couldn’t be that hard. And with hours like that, maybe I’d just found another possible future home for myself.
Fothergill had a lot on his plate that morning, so I didn’t expect he’d be returning my call anytime soon. It was possible that at least one of the analysts might venture back to his desk before the day was much older, but I wasn’t inclined to wait and see. The IT guys were allegedly pulling up trees in their quest to uncover some contact information. If they were successful I’d have to move pretty fast. And my itch needed to be scratched before that happened, which left me with only one option. Peace and quiet would have to take a backseat. I’d have to find out for myself. Even if it meant doing things the old-fashioned way.
I’d seen a branch of Borders at the far end of Michigan Avenue so I grabbed my coat, left the hotel, and started to walk in that direction. I needed an atlas. Then I’d at least be able to find Equatorial Myene on a map. And if I was lucky, pick up some basic data about the place. I had a memory of the Philip’s School Editions from my youth being full of charts and graphs and statistics that looked impressive, even if they were absolutely irrelevant to my life at that time. Beyond that, I’d have to find an encyclopedia. I was wondering whether bookshops still sold that kind of thing or whether it had all gone online when an alternative idea presented itself. I remembered passing an Apple store on my first day in Chicago. That was also on Michigan, in the same general direction as Borders. And Apple stores are stuffed full of computers, which they leave conveniently connected to the Internet. Computers that anyone can stroll in and use.