“You got a taste for the killing, didn’t you?”
“Had it. Lost it. I’m not here to talk about me, or hadn’t you picked up on that?”
“What do you want?”
“You think it was the Gray Man who killed my Charlie?”
“I do.”
“Then I want every bit of information you have on the Gray Man. You give me that. Maybe you can give me some names who can lead me to him, and then I will leave, just as quietly and peacefully as I came.”
“Did you kill Maragos?”
There was no passion in the response, no reticence, either. “Aye. And I’ve more killin’ to do, but there’s no need for any of it tonight.”
The decanter of port was on the little table between Tully and Coyle. Coyle took it, stood back up, and walked to both other men, filling their glasses, nearly to the top. It was a faux pas to overfill a port glass, but this wasn’t Sir Allen’s chief concern at the moment. He took a sip, and his hand quivered a little.
“You’re after the man who killed your son,” Glazebrook said. “I understand. And you have my sincere condolences. Nothing worse than a parent losing a child.”
Coyle held a moment, then said, “But?”
“But…I’m afraid I don’t respond well to threats.”
“Don’t you go disappointing me, Sir Allen.”
“Look—”
“Youlook,” Coyle said. “I’m going to see this through, and until I do, I will consider everyone I encounter as either a help or a hindrance in my mission. Those that help have my thanks, and my leave, and those that hinder…well, God help those that hinder.
“Now,” Coyle said, “we was talkin’ about the Gray Man.”
The older man just sighed. Then said, “He’s American.”
“Of course he’s bloody American.”
“Former CIA. A special program, then a para.”
“Still not giving me anything useful.”
“His code name with the CIA was Violator. Nobody called him the Gray Man till he went into private contract killing.”
Tully spoke up now. “See there, Coyle? Sir Allenisbeing helpful.”
“How’s a ten-year-old code name gonna help me find him? Tell me why you think it was him and not this other knob you mentioned?”
“Lancer?”
“Not the one in prison in Havana. The other. The Saga.”
“Just Saga. If I were a betting man, I’d say Violator was the one who did the thing in Bulgaria, then again in Romania in October, then the thing in Russia last month.”
Tully looked dumbstruck. “Russia?Whatthing in Russia?”
“The prison raid in Russia. He was there.”
Coyle let out a surprised chuckle. “Meaning…what?”
“Yarovoy. The Russians think the Gray Man was already in-country, on the inside, helping with his escape. That’s all I know.”
