condensed master

The Reluctant Agent
A Compelling Story of Espionage
They both left for the outer office closing the interconnecting doors behind
them. Margaret sat in the receptionist's swivel chair and swinging to face Will
prepared to speak, but he cut her short.
"What the hell's going on? No one's answering my questions! It looks as
though you're purposely keeping me in the dark. Our arrangement is that I am kept
informed, with as much information as your agents would have. I won't go forward
with any electronics or anything else for that matter until you open up. For
starters, answer my last question."
Margaret looked uncomfortable and a period elapsed before she answered.
"The truth is I don't know where the location is yet, and I wouldn't tell Alec
anyway until a day or so before he was needed."
"So you haven't completed your preliminary work yet?"
"More or less, but we don't know where the information is that we want to get
our hands on."
"If you don't know the location, how do you know that the safe combination
will be protected, or for that matter whether a safe is involved at all?"
"We don't, but it is better to be sure than sorry."
"Look Margaret I feel very vulnerable, and I don't want to proceed unless I
know more of what's going on. I realize now that Alec is not aware of what you
are planning, but he and I have entirely different agenda's. Alec probably has no
one to worry about. His only problem no doubt is keeping out of jail, and even if
he found himself back in there, it would be far from traumatic for him."
They stared at each other across the room. There was no sign of antagonism
on Margaret's face. It was blank, as though her mind was devoid of thought, but
Will knew that she would be logically going over the pro's and con's before
committing herself. Will was about to start speaking again to further reinforce his
feelings. A faint smile was beginning to appear and he held back.
She stood up and leaned against a filing cabinet and by this time the faint smile
had developed into a wide grin. "You're a devil for the details Will Brenner."
"That's one of the ways I survive!"
"I'll make a bargain with you."
The atmosphere was rapidly getting more relaxed and Will was beginning to
feel that things could now start to go in the right direction for him. "I suppose I'll
finish up giving a hell of a lot and get very little in return, but I'm willing to take the
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