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Lance flipped through his notebook and picked out a scribble with a forefinger. “He requisitioned the explosive for use in the termination, with extreme prejudice, of one Valery Majorov.”
Dino spoke up. “So how’d he miss?”
“One is not always successful in these matters.”
“By ‘one,’ you mean Jack? Or just CIA officers in general?” Viv asked.
“In this case, Jack,” Lance said. “Though it pains me to tell you. Jack had always been successful in the past.”
“So,” Viv said, “what you’re telling us is, nobody’s perfect.”
“Well, not Jack, anyway. On this occasion.”
“What about the other stuff in the bag?”
“Everybody who leaves the Farm, having performedsatisfactorily, is given a sort of tool kit, the contents of which are tailored to the milieu in which the officer will serve.”
“What’s in this tool kit that wasn’t in Jack’s?”
“It’s hard to say. Jack may have used some of his tools, then discarded them. Absent fingerprints and DNA, of course.”
“Of course,” Stone said. “Now, what do we do with half a pound of military-grade plastique?”
“Well,” Lance said, “it’s a bit rich for a fireworks display, isn’t it?”
“I suppose so.”
“Perhaps if you just hold on to the substance for a while, a suitable opportunity will present itself.”
“I don’t really trust myself with this sort of thing,” Stone said. “Do you know who I trust with it?”
“Who would that be?”
“You,” Stone said, pushing the disabled bomb across the table.
Lance looked at it for a moment, checked the wiring again, then slipped it into a jacket pocket. “There,” he said. “All secure.”
“And if it turns out not to be,” Stone said, “I expect we’ll hear about it.”
49
They finished their breakfast.“Lance?” Stone said.
Lance dabbed at his chin with the linen napkin. “Yes?”
“Do you think we could lose the Coast Guard cutter?”
“It’s very good protection,” Lance said, “and they went to a good deal of trouble to get in here.”
“No more trouble than we went to,” Stone pointed out. “Also, it’s as though the cutter were waving a big banner readingvery important person aboard the adjacent yacht. Part of the trouble we went to getting here was remaining unnoticed.”
Lance sighed. “The cutter was in the neighborhood,” he said.
“Funny, our crew didn’t spot it until we found it present on our arrival.”
Lance made a phone call. “Captain? Lance Cabot. We are feeling secure, now, and no longer require your assistance. Yes, and thank you so much!” He hung up. “There,” he said.
Immediately the noise of the cutter’s anchor coming up was heard, and shortly it passed out of the lagoon and away from the fort.
