condensed master
Will Bonner Tensions rose another notch, the man was now sitting up. The two men were staring at each other and it looked as though things were about to get violent. The woman entered the conversation for the first time. "You're not rejecting things out of hand then?" "No, I've always been able to work something out with Ed or Tony, but this man is crude, I want no more discussion with him. Either he leaves the room and we carry on, or we leave and start afresh elsewhere. I'd prefer that we left, the atmosphere in here is tainted." Tony scrambled in the confined space to allow Will to get by. With the door half open he spoke to the man on the bed before leaving. "One move toward upsetting my family and you'll wish you'd never been born." Finding himself back on the fourth floor landing Will walked over to a recess nearby and leaned into the corner, his body reacting like a giant spring, unwinding. He was expecting to wait for some time as there would no doubt be some discussion by the others but within the minute Tony and Margaret appeared. She was much taller than he had envisaged standing several inches above Tony. At first they didn't see him because he was out of their line of sight and it appeared that they were at a loss, probably thinking that Will had left permanently. Stepping into view, Tony ran forward, a look of relief on his face. "We thought you'd left to find your own way home." "No, I wouldn't leave you up in the air." "There's a coffee shop five minutes walk from here, could you spare some time for Margaret? There was so much confrontation back there that she didn't get the chance." "I'm sorry Tony, but I did warn you what could happen." The mere act of walking out of the building and into the fresh air was like a tonic and Will began to feel better with every stride. There was only one customer in the coffee shop and he was seated at the counter. Tony went over to order as Will and Margaret found a booth in the corner and sat opposite each other. She looked across at Will a wry smile on her face. "That was quite a performance back there, are you always that aggressive?" "No, only to people that I think deserve it, but I'm glad about one thing." "What's that?" "If you had joined in with your friend I don't think I could have coped." 248
The Reluctant Agent A Compelling Story of Espionage Margaret laughed. "He's no friend of mine, we'll be glad to see the back of him when he leaves this weekend. He comes from the old school, they always think they can get things done by threats. Those methods were dispensed with years ago." Will glanced across at the counter. Tony was still standing there waiting for his order. "Before Tony get's back I'd like to make one thing clear." "You're not going to order me about are you?" "No, if you're taking over from Ed I won't go through a third person. Don't use Tony as a go-between, I'll only deal with you." "What about the surveillance equipment?" "Tony can drop that off, but where there's discussions to take place it's just you and me. Tony will tell you how to contact me." "I agree, it's a relief to know that Derek Bates didn't foul everything up. I'll be straight with you and after tonight I know that you'll be straight with me." She reached over the table and they shook hands. Tony returned with a tray. He had bought himself a giant size four and twenty meat pie and he proceeded to attack it like a man possessed. Will and Margaret sat watching him, waiting for him to come up for air. "Well Margaret, what did you want to ask Will?" "There's no need for any more talk at the moment, it's all sorted out." Tony looked from Will to Margaret and then back to Will again waiting for some sort of explanation, but no one offered. He shrugged his shoulders and commenced attacking his pie again. During the drive home Will tackled Tony about what had happened immediately he had left the room. He was curious why things had terminated so quickly. Margaret had told Bates in no uncertain terms to stop the use of threats and leave her to do what was necessary. She had also told him that if he implemented anything when he got back to the U.K. she would see to it that his bungling of the affair was made known to his superiors. Will felt better, but once blackmail had been proffered as a possibility, it could rear it's ugly head again sometime in the future, and he would still have to carry the burden. Margaret wasted no time and with information from Tony she was waiting outside the General Store in Vermont when Will got off the bus one evening. It had 249
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The Reluctant Agent<br />
A Compelling Story of Espionage<br />
Margaret laughed. "He's no friend of mine, we'll be glad to see the back of him<br />
when he leaves this weekend. He comes from the old school, they always think<br />
they can get things done by threats. Those methods were dispensed with years<br />
ago."<br />
Will glanced across at the counter. Tony was still standing there waiting for his<br />
order. "Before Tony get's back I'd like to make one thing clear."<br />
"You're not going to order me about are you?"<br />
"No, if you're taking over from Ed I won't go through a third person. Don't use<br />
Tony as a go-between, I'll only deal with you."<br />
"What about the surveillance equipment?"<br />
"Tony can drop that off, but where there's discussions to take place it's just<br />
you and me. Tony will tell you how to contact me."<br />
"I agree, it's a relief to know that Derek Bates didn't foul everything up. I'll be<br />
straight with you and after tonight I know that you'll be straight with me." She<br />
reached over the table and they shook hands.<br />
Tony returned with a tray. He had bought himself a giant size four and twenty<br />
meat pie and he proceeded to attack it like a man possessed. Will and Margaret<br />
sat watching him, waiting for him to come up for air. "Well Margaret, what did you<br />
want to ask Will?"<br />
"There's no need for any more talk at the moment, it's all sorted out."<br />
Tony looked from Will to Margaret and then back to Will again waiting for<br />
some sort of explanation, but no one offered. He shrugged his shoulders and<br />
commenced attacking his pie again.<br />
During the drive home Will tackled Tony about what had happened<br />
immediately he had left the room. He was curious why things had terminated so<br />
quickly. Margaret had told Bates in no uncertain terms to stop the use of threats<br />
and leave her to do what was necessary. She had also told him that if he<br />
implemented anything when he got back to the U.K. she would see to it that his<br />
bungling of the affair was made known to his superiors.<br />
Will felt better, but once blackmail had been proffered as a possibility, it could<br />
rear it's ugly head again sometime in the future, and he would still have to carry the<br />
burden.<br />
Margaret wasted no time and with information from Tony she was waiting<br />
outside the General Store in Vermont when Will got off the bus one evening. It had<br />
249
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