condensed master
Will Bonner distance between them and the office, in the shortest possible time. He had been watching Alec throughout and his demeanour had been comparable to that of going on a Sunday afternoon picnic. Margaret's description of him was on the ball. There could be no expectation of panic from this man. Entering the stairwell Will began to feel better, but as they approached the second floor landing he could hear someone coming up from the first floor. His heart skipped a beat but without speaking he opened the door to the corridor and pushed Alec through. The first inclination was to run towards the rear of the building but the corridor continued, seemingly as far as the eye could see, so with a superhuman effort he controlled the thought. The old self closing door rattled it's way mechanically to the closed position signalling their presence, and they had only travelled a few yards before it opened again and a voice called out. "What are you gentlemen doing up here?" Will felt his skin tighten with apprehension. He turned to see a work's policeman. He could feel Alec staring at him. "Well I'm damned, it's Will Brenner!" Will practically collapsed with relief. It was Charlie Masters, one of the policemen that had been involved when the long playing records were being stolen. "Are you back working with us?" "No Charlie, I've just attended one of Larry Cappel's lectures and I thought I'd show my friend the office where I used to work and then grab a bite to eat before we leave." Charlie looked at his watch. "You'd better hurry, they'll soon be winding up down there and I'll be seeing that everyone is off the premises." There were only a half dozen people left in the buffet-room and Alec tucked in with the gusto of a man who hadn't eaten in a decade. Ten minutes later Charlie came back down and ushered everyone out through the front door. Within seconds of the door closing behind them and the sound of a key turning in the lock, they were walking alone, back to the parked car. "That was a stroke of genius getting us out of trouble back there Will." "No Alec, we were just lucky." There was no conversation on the drive home but Will relived the evening many times before arriving in Vermont. "Could you call in and see Margaret on Friday evening? She will have had 312
The Reluctant Agent A Compelling Story of Espionage sufficient time to evaluate the information by then. By the way, everything went first-class tonight, would you consider working with me in the future?" Will smiled. "You know I'm not a member of the organization so the answer has to be "no." "Pity, the other blokes she's got working for her are in the main part unreliable. At the first sign of trouble they're off like a shot!" "Yes I know, I won't work with them either. Did you know Ed Blake?" "Yes, he visited me in prison and paved the way for me to work for them when I got out. He was good to me, it was unfortunate that he got killed in an accident." "Who told you that?" "One of the agents." "I thought so, that's what they want you to believe." "What do you mean?" "It tantamounts to what you've just said about them. He was on a dangerous surveillance job and they didn't cover him. If they had done their job properly, Ed would be alive today." "Thanks for telling me that Will, I know exactly where I stand now. I'll keep away from them when there's a risk involved, like tonight for instance." Will got out of the car, he had only the few minutes walk to the house to pull himself together and try to put the events of the evening behind him, but he knew it would be impossible. The following Friday evening he called on Margaret, as arranged. She was on her own. "Where's your boy friend?" "What boy friend?" "Alec." "Don't start that again Will Brenner, but talking about Alec, he has been singing your praises, and wants me to call on you for the more critical jobs." Will felt a cold shiver pass through him. The last thing he wanted was to get hooked into any ongoing schedules that they were concocting. "Our arrangement is that we negotiate any work on a job to job basis." "I'm perfectly aware of our arrangement and don't need to be reminded." Will detected the sharpness in her voice. "I don't give a damn. I'll always bring it up if I think it's in danger of being misinterpreted." 313
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The Reluctant Agent<br />
A Compelling Story of Espionage<br />
sufficient time to evaluate the information by then. By the way, everything went<br />
first-class tonight, would you consider working with me in the future?"<br />
Will smiled. "You know I'm not a member of the organization so the answer<br />
has to be "no."<br />
"Pity, the other blokes she's got working for her are in the main part unreliable.<br />
At the first sign of trouble they're off like a shot!"<br />
"Yes I know, I won't work with them either. Did you know Ed Blake?"<br />
"Yes, he visited me in prison and paved the way for me to work for them when<br />
I got out. He was good to me, it was unfortunate that he got killed in an accident."<br />
"Who told you that?"<br />
"One of the agents."<br />
"I thought so, that's what they want you to believe."<br />
"What do you mean?"<br />
"It tantamounts to what you've just said about them. He was on a dangerous<br />
surveillance job and they didn't cover him. If they had done their job properly, Ed<br />
would be alive today."<br />
"Thanks for telling me that Will, I know exactly where I stand now. I'll keep<br />
away from them when there's a risk involved, like tonight for instance." Will got<br />
out of the car, he had only the few minutes walk to the house to pull himself<br />
together and try to put the events of the evening behind him, but he knew it would<br />
be impossible.<br />
The following Friday evening he called on Margaret, as arranged. She was on<br />
her own.<br />
"Where's your boy friend?"<br />
"What boy friend?"<br />
"Alec."<br />
"Don't start that again Will Brenner, but talking about Alec, he has been singing<br />
your praises, and wants me to call on you for the more critical jobs." Will felt a<br />
cold shiver pass through him. The last thing he wanted was to get hooked into any<br />
ongoing schedules that they were concocting.<br />
"Our arrangement is that we negotiate any work on a job to job basis."<br />
"I'm perfectly aware of our arrangement and don't need to be reminded."<br />
Will detected the sharpness in her voice. "I don't give a damn. I'll always bring<br />
it up if I think it's in danger of being misinterpreted."<br />
313
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