AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Fournier’s eyes widened with disbelief. “Oh, my God.”
“What is it?”
“Who . . . who is it, you mean.” He shook his head. “This is a man I have not seen in some time.” Fournier looked out the window, thinking of one of his earliest assignments in Southeast Asia. “He is very dangerous.”
“Who is he?”
“Stan Hurley. CIA, or I should say, was CIA. I had heard he’d retired a few years ago.”
“He looks a little young to retire.”
Fournier nodded. “Hurley is like a shark. They only know one thing. Men like that don’t retire . . . they just simply die one day. I should have known better.”
“I assume he was on the operations side of the business.”
“Yes.” Fournier shook his head as he thought of the time he’d watched Hurley slice a man’s ears off in Vietnam. And then there were the stories he’d heard over the years involving the Soviets. “He was very good at his job. Drove the Russians nuts, or so I’ve been told.”
“So what is he doing in our fair city?”
“That is a very good question. Did your men follow him?”
“No . . . we didn’t know who he was and thought it was better to stay with the surveillance van.”
Knowing how thin they were stretched, Fournier couldn’t chastise Mermet. “Tell our people to check the customs database. Look for the name Stan Hurley and any other aliases we may have on file. The next time he shows up, I want him followed. I want to know every move he makes.”
“I assume they should exercise a fair amount of caution.”
“That is a very astute observation, Pierre. He is a man very comfortable with violence.”
“An ally, though?”
The idea made Fournier smile. France’s relationship with the United States was fraught with complications. “Traditionally yes, but we have no way of knowing who he is working for at the moment.” The truth was Fournier trusted no one, but he knew that position would sound a bit too paranoid to a pleaser like Mermet. “We shouldn’t assume he is still beholden to the CIA. Just find him and let me know as soon as you do.” Fournier reached for the door handle, assuming the meeting was over.
“There are two more things. Your friend, the Spaniard.”
Fournier let his hand fall to his knee. He was parked in front of the Balzac because he was going in to meet Max Vega. “Yes.”
“Well . . . his friend has not left the country.”
Fournier thought of Samir the idiot. He so disliked the man that he didn’t bother to hide his irritation. “You’re certain.”
Mermet nodded. “He’s upstairs in Vega’s suite right now.”
Fournier swore to himself. These fundamentalist morons were turning out to be more trouble than they were worth.
Mermet saw the frustration on his boss’s face and offered, “I can have him forcibly deported if you’d like.”
Fournier shook his head vehemently. “We don’t need to draw any more attention to these fools than they’ve done on their own.” He might have him killed, though, if the man continued to be such an irritant. “What’s the last issue?”
“Your old friend, Commandant Neville?”
Fournier smiled as he remembered the passionate sex they’d had. “Yes.”
“She had a forensics team on the roof of the hotel all morning.”
“There is nothing for her to find. You took care of that problem.”
“I removed the rope, but there is undoubtedly some evidence that was left beh
