‘You could have told me about my dad before.’
‘I don’t know if your dad is my contact, Evan. And I wasn’t going to let anyone know I had a contact close to Jargo unless I had absolutely no other choice. We’ve reached that point. Tell me whatever your dad said. Word for word, if you can.’
Evan pulled the PDA from his pocket, unlocked it with his thumbprint, tapped the Voice Memo application. The conversation with Dezz, then Jargo, then his father, spilled out from the PDA, loud and clear. The two men stared at each other while Mitchell Casher’s voice filled the small room. When it was done, Bedford closed his eyes.
‘Look at me,’ Evan said. ‘Is he your contact? Is he?’
‘Yes.’
A tightness seized Evan’s chest. ‘If Mom and Dad had just trusted each other…’ He didn’t finish the sentence. Mom would have known Dad was helping the CIA. Dad would have known Mom had stolen Jargo’s client list as a shield to protect their son. They could have stopped Jargo without a shot being fired, and Mom would be alive.
‘Lies were integral to their lives,’ Bedford said. ‘I’m so sorry, Evan.’
Silence filled the room until Evan spoke. ‘Okay. So he’s your contact. He’s in trouble. What do you do to help him?’
‘Did he give you those Graham Greene novels?’ Bedford asked.
‘What?’ The question wasn’t what he was expecting. ‘Yes. Before I started at Rice. He said I should read really brilliant books before I had to wade into the crap you read in college.’
‘Did he ever mention the “if one loved, one feared” line?’ Bedford leaned forward.
‘I don’t remember it if he did. But Greene is his favorite author, so he always talked about the books with me. The line sounds vaguely familiar.’
‘The quote is from The Ministry of Fear. It’s a bitter truth. We always risk when we love. It’s also a code phrase I established with your father.’ Bedford folded his fingers over his lips.
‘Tell me what it means.’
‘It means, Forget me. I can’t be rescued. ’
Evan felt his poker face crack. ‘No. No. Your code doesn’t matter now. You have to help him.’
Bedford straightened his stance, with quiet confidence that suggested the battle between them was over. ‘Evan. In this business you lose people. It’s war. It’s sad. I would have liked to have met your dad face to face, to have known him. I believe that I might have even liked him. But he’s telling me to walk away. I don’t know if he believes Jargo, that the CIA killed your mother. It may not matter what he believes. He expected if the CIA caught you, you’d be brought to me, and I’d ask you about anything unusual that he said. Whatever Jargo is setting up in this meeting is a trap. I can’t risk it. My team is too small. We’ll have to wait for another chance.’
‘You can’t abandon him.’
‘I can’t risk resources to save a dead man. He’s warning me off. I’m sure to save you from being anywhere near Jargo.’ Bedford stood. ‘My sympathies. We’ll head to Washington instead of Miami. We’ll get you in a protection program. The government is extraordinarily grateful for what you’ve done.’
Evan stayed in his seat.
‘I know this is hard for you to hear. You’ve lost your mother. But, son, you have Carrie.’
‘I know.’ Evan stared at the warm mahogany of the tabletop.
‘I give you every assurance we can hide you successfully. Think about where you might want to live. Ireland, or Australia, or-’
Evan looked up at Bedford. ‘No. We’re going to Miami.’
‘I’m sorry, Evan, but no. Out of respect for your father-’
‘The laptop. Through my film connections, I found a very good hacker. We already removed and hid the files. You’ll never find them. You try and access the laptop without the right password, it reformats itself. Only I know where Jargo’s client list is. And I’m not telling you unless you get my father back.’
‘Evan, listen to me-’
‘The discussion is over.’ Evan stood. ‘Are we going to Miami or not?’
40
‘Y ou’re working a scam on me, Evan,’ Bedford whispered so he wouldn’t be overheard on the CIA jet. They flew miles above the Atlantic, arrowing south toward Florida. Evan sat in the back, Bedford next to him. Carrie sat at a front window. A fourth passenger, a beefy-necked older man who Evan presumed was a CIA officer Bedford trusted, chatted with her. He’d introduced himself as Frame, no first name mentioned, so Evan was unsure if Frame was a code name like Bricklayer or his real surname. Frame made small talk about the Washington Redskins, apparently his preferred subject. Carrie smiled and nodded and kept glancing at Evan. ‘I know a scam when I see it.’
‘Excuse me?’ Evan asked.
‘I don’t think you really have the files, at least, not all of them. You’re a responsible kind of guy. If you could take Jargo down in an instant, you would. So you’re not telling me everything you know about these files.’
Evan remained silent.
Bedford gave him a crooked smile. ‘You are a piece of work, young man. Blackmailing the CIA.’
‘Not the whole Agency. Just you, Bricklayer.’
‘Piece of work,’ Bedford repeated. ‘I could use a young man like you, Evan.’
‘No, thank you.’ He knew Bedford meant it as a compliment, but he wanted no more of this world. ‘I don’t think I’m conning you any more than you’re conning me.’
Bedford looked hurt. ‘I’ve been totally straight with you about our plan of attack.’ Bedford had outlined a simple scheme: get Evan to a safe house where he would call and arrange the meeting. He would take a laptop that looked just like Khan’s; Bedford assured him Jargo would never get close enough to it to spot any differences or check a serial number. Evan would suggest an immediate rendezvous at a secluded spot where Bedford and his team would take cover, not giving the Deeps time to set up their own counteroperation. Jargo and Dezz would be taken alive if possible, dead if required.
‘Yes, and your plan sounds thorough,’ Evan said. ‘Just like Pettigrew taking us around London was.’
Bedford leaned back. ‘Everyone on the team has been vetted. They’re clean. Pettigrew wasn’t a team member, he was a decorated field officer who wouldn’t ask too many questions.’
‘Jargo’s worried about his CIA contacts being exposed. He eliminated one by getting rid of Pettigrew.’
‘I suspect he was a client, not an operative. He was one of the most senior CIA officers in Europe,’ Bedford said. ‘You see the challenge I face. How deep Jargo’s reach can be. But I promise you, Evan, I’ll honor our deal. I’ll bring your dad home. This is the best chance we’ve ever had to get Jargo. We’ll have additional personnel in Florida to help us. I’m finally getting every resource I need.’
Evan glanced toward the front of the plane. Carrie watched him. Frame was reading the Guardian ’s headlines to her and commiserating about the state of the world.
Evan might not get another chance. He leaned in close enough to Bedford to smell the mints on the man’s breath. ‘There’s a reason Jargo’s been able to infiltrate you, and that’s because he knows you so well. The Deeps are a CIA problem, aren’t they?’
Bedford frowned.
‘Indulge me for a minute. Spy networks don’t spring up out of orphanages. They have to be cultivated. The Agency spawned them. Alexander Bast set up the Deeps for the CIA. You could have agents on American soil who you would never have to acknowledge. A ready-made group of agents you could use for all sorts of clandestine jobs you don’t have to explain to Congress, or to anyone. No paper trail of their involvement with the Agency. No blame if anything ever went wrong.’
Bedford said, ‘I think that’s an incorrect hypothesis.’