Turbulence (Stone Barrington #46)(23)

“Thank you, Felicity,” he replied, easing her into Lance’s former chair near the fireplace. “It’s Susan Blackburn’s supernatural ability to read her client and replicate his imagination. May I offer you a hedge against the weather?”

“A brandy and soda,” she replied, “no ice, thank you.”

Stone mixed the drink, handed it to her, and resumed his seat. Lance had found the sofa. “Lance tells me that the two of you and others are involved in a conspiracy to subvert international law and that of several countries, as well.”

“That is undoubtedly an uncharitable view of what Lance said to you,” Felicity replied.

“It is,” Lance agreed.

“Sometimes one must stretch things a bit to cover an unconscionable situation,” she said.

“I couldn’t have put it better myself,” Lance said. “Is there any more of that whiskey?”

Stone handed him the bottle. “Would you like a straw?”

Lance rolled his eyes and poured himself another.

“I think, Stone,” Felicity said, “that when you have just a bit more information you may become less unenthusiastic about our proposed action.”

“Oh, I hope so,” Stone said. “One despises a lack of enthusiasm in oneself.”

Lance spoke up. “The use of the third-person singular doesn’t make you sound more British, Stone, just more arch.” He thought about that for a moment. “Or is it, ‘archer’?”

“Restrain yourself, Lance,” Felicity said, not unkindly. “I was about to sway Stone to our way of thinking, and now I have to collect my thoughts again.”

“I can’t wait to hear this,” Stone said.

“Contain yourself, Stone,” she said.

“I’m trying to, believe me.”

“I’ll be brief: Selwyn Owaki has gone nuclear.”

Stone blinked.





18



STONE POURED HIMSELF just a bit more of the whiskey. “All right,” he said, “tell me.”

Felicity sighed. “There’s so much to tell, with so little result, so far.”

“Start somewhere.”

“A few days ago—perhaps a week or ten days—a fully operational nuclear warhead for an artillery shell was . . . unlawfully removed from a NATO storage facility in eastern Germany, near Leipzig, which is about seventy miles south of Berlin.”

Stone blinked again. “Are they so casual with their inventory that they don’t know exactly when it was stolen?”

“That’s what I asked,” Lance said, pouring more whiskey into his glass.

“It hardly matters exactly at what day and hour it was taken,” Felicity said, in her best schoolmistress manner. “All that matters is reclaiming it without a mishap.”

“Selwyn Owaki wasn’t in a position to make this happen; he was in a New York City federal detention center for a good ten days, before being released two days ago.”

“Owaki didn’t pop over to Leipzig himself and walk away with it,” she said. “He could have ordered the raid.”

“And Owaki is the only person with the connections necessary to market it, worldwide,” Lance put in.

“Would you like to continue in my stead, Lance?” Felicity asked, acidly.

Lance spread his hands. “Please go on, Felicity.”

“Thank you,” she said. “Well, as you might imagine, we’ve had an all-hands-on-deck situation for several days, now. Every intelligence officer in every NATO country has been feverishly plying his trade with every conceivable source, and we’ve managed to put together some actionable information, at least we think so. Lance, you may speak now.”

“Well, we got word about Owaki’s celebratory dinner with Senator Box from a contact on the staff of La Bonne Nuit, and, as you might imagine, we nearly had a collective coronary when the reservation was canceled, then an hour later, reset for tonight, which, fortunately, gave us more information. It appears that Owaki has arranged things so that all he is selling is the location of the warhead, which appears to be in England or Germany.”

“There seems to be a lack of certainty in all this,” Stone said.

“Stone, you should be aware by now that there is little certainty in the intelligence business,” Lance shot back. “We’re giving you the latest, best information that we have. May I continue?”

“By all means,” Stone replied.

“What is to transpire during your evening is that a password will be spoken by someone in Owaki’s presence, and an exchange of envelopes will occur: Owaki will hand over one containing the location of the warhead, and will receive another containing a bank check drawn on an account at a Cyprus bank for a great deal of money. The check, you should know, is made out to Bearer and is irrevocable, which means that anyone can cash or deposit it at any bank in the world, no questions asked, and the sum will be paid or transferred with immediate effect.”

“I’ve always wanted a check like that,” Stone said.

“Who hasn’t?” Lance replied. “It’s a ticket to a new life anywhere in the world.”

“So what am I supposed to do?” Stone asked. “Pick Owaki’s pocket for the check?”