‘Tell me, Jason,’ he went on. ‘If you were the Chief Executive of Dandy Advanced Electronics, and you wanted the best deputy that money could buy to handle the weaponry division, what would you do?’
‘I’d get in touch with the best executive personnel recruitment agency and let them handle the selection for me,’ I returned insolently.
‘And then you receive curriculum vitae of the applicants, and take on the interviews to narrow down the field. Then what would you do… bearing in mind that the weaponry division is something very secret, very confidential, and ultimately special.
‘I’d check on every applicant thoroughly by means of a private detective. Every past record would be investigated.’
‘But how could you be certain that everything the private detective told you was absolutely authentic. Would you know, for example, how any one of the applicants would react under certain kinds of pressure or crisis?’ Or how loyal they would be to the organisation over an extended period of time?’
‘Impossible to tell,’ I told him flatly. ‘I would hope that the selected person would have a track record in the field of operation proving that they could take such pressures and handle crises without difficulty. With regard to loyalty, people respond to promotion, remuneration and rewards. Executives tend to switch from one organisation to another if they can achieve something better.’
‘Exactly!’ he concurred. ‘You see, we selected you for recruitment some years ago. Your background, temperament, obstinacy, and analytical mind made you a prime choice for the role that needed to be filled. For a long time we needed an executive to run the British end . We had many people look you over and check you out in the past five years. Penny Smith was one, Primar was another. We checked you out in terms of credentials but we had no idea whether you had zeal , audacity or spirit. So we set you difficult tasks but the plans went wrong through the ambitions of certain individuals within our ranks. Unfortunately, that is the way of the world. It was by the grace of God you weren’t killed. Apparently Primar and Chedda were waging some kind of vendetta against each other. You were caught up in the cross-fire. Chedda believed that you were important to Primar so he tried to kill you and Miss Smith. He intended to parachute to safety over Crete leaving a bomb on board the aircraft. No one would ever know what had happened but he was no munitions expert. This caused a multitude of problems because his colleague, Tomar Duran, was waiting for him in Crete. Penny Smith was working for us and she used all her ingenuity to have you moved to safety by getting you arrested by the police. However, I would not return there if I were you because you are still wanted by them for questioning.’
‘But there were no bodies!’ I exclaimed. ‘No one was killed! The duplicate Jason Scott turned up in Turkey. Tomar Duran was working in the weaponry division of Dandy Advanced Electronics.’
‘Not Tomar Duran. Miss Smith shot him with his own gun in Crete but substituted blanks for the real cartridges later on. The man you thought was Tomar Duran who ended up on the electrified fence was actually his twin brother trying to get the plan for his Muslim colleagues. In due course, Schmuel Musaphia, our strategist and adviser, insisted that he met you. It was then Primar decided to go independent on his own account. He started working for MOSSAD, the Israeli intelligence agency as did Penny Smith but he wanted to sell the laser gun to the highest bidder.. He used you, as he did Kemal in Istanbul, when the man was about to shoot you over the Galata bridge. Yes… it was arranged for you to see the Mahdi and then steal the laser gun plans You succeeded commendably. For that reason we’re awarding you with the Purple Ribbon of Valour. The highest honour of the 21st Century Crusaders for your audacity. It was well and truly won!’
‘Are you saying that everything I did was a test of my courage and ability?’ I asked, feeling my temperature rising as I thought of all the pain and suffering I had endured. ‘And that my wife was never abducted but merely kept in the background as a blackmail threat in case I wouldn’t play!’
‘That’s rather a simplified way of looking at it but fairly accurate,’ he responded coolly.
I stared at him angrily gritting my teeth. ‘When I think what I went through to get the plans of the laser gun and you didn’t really need them, did you?
‘They were useful up to a point,’ he admitted. ‘Our intelligence is very extensive. We needed to know how far they had got and, indeed, some of the information was helpful.’
‘Well let me tell you a thing or two,’ I uttered irately. ‘Penny Smith is dead… murdered by Primar! And there’s more. I killed Primar myself yesterday!’
‘We know all about that,’ he returned as though it hardly mattered. ‘Naturally we moved the bodies so there would be no trace of either of them. It served our purpose. You see we removed everything relating to Primar and left a letter, written by you, to say that you discovered Miss Smith was two-timing you with another man and that you would kill her if you caught her with him. Now that she’s missing, the police will want to question you and they may even have a warrant for your arrest. You’re going to have a very rough time if they catch you.’
‘I see.’ I suddenly realised the game plan. ‘You’ve made sure I’m wanted by the police in Britain and Crete to force we to work for you organisation. I suppose you intend to set me up with a new name, a new passport and a new home, More blackmail! Who smashed up my house… you or Primar?’
‘We did,’ he told me smoothly. ‘We wanted to make sure you had no papers, documents or material relating to any other organisation or agency. We cannot afford double agents in this enterprise, not when one mistake could lead to world war. We had to check you out very thoroughly.’
‘And the function of the doubles?’
‘They were brought in to fill your places whenever we needed you to be elsewhere. Winston Churchill and General Montgomery had them in the Second World War. The bridge tournament in Istanbul was a typical example. There was nothing sinister in finding and training doubles although we did have some difficulty finding a man similar to you with a high standard of bridge. At the time, we learned of Tomar Duran’s brother’s interested in stealing the laser gun plans so we had to rush you back.’
‘What if I’d been caught at the complex stealing the plans? All your work to recruit me would have come to nothing.’
‘I don’t think so. Mr. Devon’s not the man you think he is. He’s a person with a brilliant mind in the field of electronics. You know he took weapons with him in case he was caught. Well let me tell you that he would sooner shoot the whole of the security team at Dandy Advanced Electronics than eat his lunch. Your only danger was the electrified fence. But then it’s only ten feet high.’
‘You bastard!’ I swore angrily. ‘You had no right to set me up like that!’
‘I disagree,’ he returned firmly. ‘We simply investigated you thoroughly. ‘Now… when you accept your appointment, you’ll want to check out recruits of your own. Think hard on how you’ll do that before criticising me.’
‘Who wrote the note: ‘Don’t fly to Turkey if you value your life. Don’t fly to Turkey if you value you wife!’’
‘We did that to test your resolve. Some people would have backed out in the face of such a threat. We needed to find out what you would do. We were delighted you ignored the threat and recognised your commitment. You came through with flying colours.’
‘What about the man who attacked me in my hotel room?
‘He had nothing to do with us. He was a genuine thief and you caught him in the act.’
‘I suppose I made a real fool of myself at The Golden Peacock, showing up there like an idiot when Jan was merely a guest.’