condensed master

The Reluctant Agent
A Compelling Story of Espionage
vice, the knuckles showing white under the pressure and his arms were shaking.
It would be okay for him to breakdown, now that the danger had passed Will
thought, as he tried to relax.
Sitting on the beach under the palms was far better medicine than taking any
tranquillizer. Another clear blue sky, and a light mild breeze, coupled with the
sound of the surf soon had the desired effect. Will lay back on the sand and
allowed his body and mind to return to normal.
"There you go, Will." It was Gerald with the coke and sandwiches. His hands
were still trembling slightly, but Will was amazed that he was so composed. "Can
you tell me something? Would you have shot the fat man's brother?"
"No." A look of relief came over Gerald's face.
"Can I tell you why?" Gerald waited for his answer.
"I don't have any bullets for the derringer!" Both men burst into laughter.
"You know Gerald, I was more concerned with my own safety in the event
of you wielding that cannon of yours!"
Gerald chuckled. "Your concerns were well founded, I've never fired it
before!"
Both men were now relaxed enough to talk about the incident at the shop, and
Will outlined his reasons about the negative getting into the hands of the police.
"We had to frighten them back there to stop them from blackmailing us so you'll
have to find someone else to do your identity documents."
Gerald had made arrangements to meet his contact in the early evening, so it
was decided that they relax for the remainder of the afternoon and have a light
evening meal before the meeting. Will was clear about what he wanted from
Gerald's contact, enabling him to put things out of his mind until the time arrived.
It was dusk and they were now in Gerald's open coupe, having changed
vehicles at Aki's. Will felt the warm night air blowing on his face as they travelled
through unfamiliar scenery. "Where are we going?"
"To one of the western beaches in the Kahe area, not very far from Pearl City.
There's a beach house where we will not be disturbed, we'll be there in a few
minutes."
Dusk had turned to darkness and apart from the headlight's of the car Will
could just see the clear sky and the occasional twinkling of stars through the tree
tops. The area seemed devoid of other buildings, at least close to the road.
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