condensed master
Will Bonner end of the sitting-room that opened into a small walk-in closet. "In here then?" "Wrong again." He flicked on the light switch and then a second switch alongside, which appeared to do nothing. He pointed to it. "That switch releases the mechanism that holds the safe cover in place, but there's more yet." It was becoming painfully apparent that Mr. Garner had gone to extreme lengths to protect the safe from being burgled. There's got to be vital information in there! They moved back into the sitting-room and Paul pushed on a section of the oak panelling and the whole section opened up, revealing a six foot by four foot movie screen. Paul turned and smiled as Will gasped, but still no safe. Pushing on the lower edge of the screen caused it to pivot at the centre and there it was - a small recessed wall safe! Will had, up to now, been totally absorbed in the process of getting to the safe but now he suddenly felt vulnerable. He quickly glanced across at the viewing window and felt as though he was standing in the window of a city store. His only desire was to get the hell out of there and his attention quickly centred on the safe. The size indicated it's use for small valuable items which could include highly sensitive documents. The final shock though was the presence of not one, but two magnetic devices. One over the tumblers, the other positioned to prevent the locking handle from being turned. Will's heart sank until he took a closer look. He recognized the workmanship. These devices represented the analogy of a landmine waiting to be triggered. There was no need for further inspection. They were the invention and manufacture of Maxwell Scrieber. He knew Max, and had worked with him on security devices in the past. A visit to Maxwell's Electronic laboratory was going to be essential. "Do you know the combination, Paul?" "No." "Have you seen what's inside this safe?" "Yes, quite recently, but not close up. Dad happened to be putting some papers back in one evening when I walked into the room. All the family know of the safe but only Dad knows the combination." "It just contains papers then? No money or jewellery?" "Yes, only papers." There was no doubt in Will's mind that this was what Margaret was looking 334
The Reluctant Agent A Compelling Story of Espionage for. Quickly shutting everything up again, Will and Paul retreated back through the maze of rooms towards the small entrance lobby where Will had first entered. "What about the alarm system?" "There's only a perimeter system apart from the safe but that's part of the system as well, but it's permanently turned on. Only Dad knows how to disarm it." "You can move throughout the house without setting anything off then?" "Yes. What's going to happen next?" "It may be a couple of weeks or so, but don't despair. I need to see you one more time, then when everything's finished I'll drop in to see you at the yacht club. If you get approached in the meantime, just play along and try to stall for more time. If you can't cope I'm in the phone book, but don't do anything foolish. If you do, everything could explode in your face." "I'll keep a low profile until I see you again." The door closed behind him and Will stood for a moment before moving off down the driveway. The surroundings had taken on a sinister connotation brought about by the fact that the next time he frequented this scene the mission would have taken on frightening proportions. A few details still had to be clarified, but it was now time to see Margaret again and also Maxwell Scrieber to extract from him details about his magnetic designs. An arrangement was made to meet Margaret at her house in Park Orchards. She pestered him for every minute detail, starting with his meeting with Paul on the yacht. Her reaction to the result, especially about the discovery of the safe could only be described as exuberant. "This is excellent! It puts us miles ahead of schedule. Your work could only be described as exemplary. You should come and work with me full-time. I can see to it that you'll have no worries financially." "My answer will always be 'no'. I don't consider applying mental coercion to an individual under a load of stress very commendable work, which leads me to get your assurance that Paul will be left completely in the clear - no ongoing problems." "That's easy to promise. You might as well know that we are only going to extract these documents from the safe. The Minister will be dead scared to report the nature of the contents to the police. He will stop gathering information, always fearful that the missing items will turn up to embarrass him." 335
- Page 284 and 285: Will Bonner said. "My husband has b
- Page 286 and 287: Will Bonner people that would cause
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- Page 292 and 293: Will Bonner Margaret turned to Tony
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- Page 298 and 299: Will Bonner Mr. Byer was still in t
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- Page 302 and 303: Will Bonner Will had not heard from
- Page 304 and 305: Will Bonner "That's more like it."
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- Page 314 and 315: Will Bonner "There's no need for us
- Page 316 and 317: Will Bonner Will furtively looked a
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- Page 328 and 329: Will Bonner "During the time that h
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- Page 336 and 337: Will Bonner "The two devices on the
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- Page 342 and 343: Will Bonner Alec was smiling. "I th
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- Page 358 and 359: Will Bonner "We'll leave you alone.
- Page 360 and 361: Will Bonner for you Adam!" He point
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- Page 370 and 371: Will Bonner Will felt the familiar
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The Reluctant Agent<br />
A Compelling Story of Espionage<br />
for. Quickly shutting everything up again, Will and Paul retreated back through the<br />
maze of rooms towards the small entrance lobby where Will had first entered.<br />
"What about the alarm system?"<br />
"There's only a perimeter system apart from the safe but that's part of the<br />
system as well, but it's permanently turned on. Only Dad knows how to disarm it."<br />
"You can move throughout the house without setting anything off then?"<br />
"Yes. What's going to happen next?"<br />
"It may be a couple of weeks or so, but don't despair. I need to see you one<br />
more time, then when everything's finished I'll drop in to see you at the yacht club.<br />
If you get approached in the meantime, just play along and try to stall for more<br />
time. If you can't cope I'm in the phone book, but don't do anything foolish. If you<br />
do, everything could explode in your face."<br />
"I'll keep a low profile until I see you again."<br />
The door closed behind him and Will stood for a moment before moving off<br />
down the driveway. The surroundings had taken on a sinister connotation brought<br />
about by the fact that the next time he frequented this scene the mission would<br />
have taken on frightening proportions. A few details still had to be clarified, but it<br />
was now time to see Margaret again and also Maxwell Scrieber to extract from<br />
him details about his magnetic designs.<br />
An arrangement was made to meet Margaret at her house in Park Orchards.<br />
She pestered him for every minute detail, starting with his meeting with Paul on the<br />
yacht. Her reaction to the result, especially about the discovery of the safe could<br />
only be described as exuberant.<br />
"This is excellent! It puts us miles ahead of schedule. Your work could only be<br />
described as exemplary. You should come and work with me full-time. I can see<br />
to it that you'll have no worries financially."<br />
"My answer will always be 'no'. I don't consider applying mental coercion to<br />
an individual under a load of stress very commendable work, which leads me to<br />
get your assurance that Paul will be left completely in the clear - no ongoing<br />
problems."<br />
"That's easy to promise. You might as well know that we are only going to<br />
extract these documents from the safe. The Minister will be dead scared to report<br />
the nature of the contents to the police. He will stop gathering information, always<br />
fearful that the missing items will turn up to embarrass him."<br />
335
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