“That went well,” he said. “I put them in the picture. They got it easily enough. But finding what we need will widen the search parameters, apparently. That means it could take longer to turn anything up.”
“That may not be a problem,” I said. “ ’Cause we just caught a break. In fact, it landed right in our laps.”
“Really? What did?”
“McIntyre just resurfaced. Via text, would you believe. Asking Young to meet him. In Chicago. In seventy-five minutes.”
“Seriously? How do you know?”
“Because I have Young’s phone.”
“Oh my goodness, you do. I never replaced your last one.”
“No, you didn’t. Very remiss. I was going to report you, only I thought, come on, the guy’s getting old, he’s banged up his arm . . .”
“You know, David, I could get used to working with you. You’re all right. whatever those other people say. So where does Tony want to meet?”
“Somewhere called Navy Pier.”
“Hmm. Good choice. Very public.”
“What is it? Literally a pier?”
“Yes. It sticks out into Lake Michigan. But it’s bigger than what we’re used to in England. Big enough to land planes on.”
“Yeah. Of course it is.”
“No, seriously. The U.S. Navy used it for training in World War II. New pilots had to practice there before being deployed. In fact, did you see a plane hanging from the ceiling at Midway, the other day?”
“I did. Some kind of Dauntless?”
“Right. That came courtesy of a guy who needed a little more practice. They dragged it out of the water after the war was over.”
“McIntyre mentioned a Ferris wheel?”
“Yeah. The place is all built on, now. There’s a big complex full of restaurants—and a cinema. Then a space with a few fairground things and the wheel. It’s not as tall as the London Eye, but you can still see it for miles. Then there’s another building with a garage and a theater.”
“So it’s not too hard to find this place?”
“Not at all. You can’t miss it. And it’s lit up like a Christmas tree. You go left out of the building. Right on Illinois. Down the steps. Past the cinema. Then keep on going past the big cloverleaf-shaped building near the water.”
“That doesn’t sound like a problem.”
“It shouldn’t be one. And it’s only a few minutes’ walk, which means . . .”
“Someone’s going to be meeting McIntyre tonight. Only it won’t be Young. It’ll be me.”
“It’ll be both of us. Oh, no—wait. Seventy-five minutes? That makes the rendezvous, what—a quarter to seven?”
“Yes.”
“Damn. There’s no way I can make it. I won’t be back.”
“Where from? You’re going somewhere?”
“Yes. I have to. Didn’t I tell you? The establishment officer’s been on to me. She’s not happy about keeping the gas containers here overnight. In fact, she downright refused. She’s got herself all frothed up, worrying about the contents.”
“She might have a point, you know. They probably are too dangerous for the office. But what does she want you to do with them?”
“There’s a place out near the carpool that can handle them. A hazardous materials depot. I have to take them out there. They probably won’t know what to do either—this stuff is pretty new, apparently—but at least they can lock the containers down properly. Keep everything controlled and stable.”
“Maybe they can. But they should come and fetch them. You can’t transport them. Bringing them back from Gary was bad enough, but there wasn’t an alternative. Now there is. Don’t take them on your own. Not through the city. It’s not safe.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t be on my own. The depot’s sending one of their guys to ride shotgun. He’ll have special equipment to transport the flasks. And he’s a fully trained-up biochem expert. So it’ll be fine. I’ll be in good hands.”
“I don’t know. That doesn’t sound so bad, I suppose. But where was this guy before? Tell me he’s just been flown in from somewhere, or I’m not going to be happy.”
“Sorry, David. No. He hasn’t been flown in. He’s been at the center all along.”
“How come?”
“He’s based there. He’s the best guy in his field in North America, apparently. New York is always trying to poach him, but he’s too much of a Cubs fan. Which some folks around here would tell you is evidence enough to question any claims of intelligence. But that’s another story.”
“So Cubs fan or not, where was he this afternoon? We needed him in Gary.”
“That would have been handy. I did ask, but the place is very specialized. You wouldn’t believe the rules of engagement. They only come out to play when someone has a confirmed contact. And it has to be something on their Dangerous list. Until today, we just had a rumor. Now we have the gas. And its working name. Spektra. And that changes everything.”
“Bureaucrats. You’ve got to love them. And their rules. But still. Given your recent history, it’s probably a good thing your path won’t cross with McIntyre’s. That would be as dangerous a formula as the gas, I expect. Especially in public.”
“Maybe you’re right,” he said, lifting his bandaged arm. “And with this albatross, he would hardly be able to miss me.”
“It does stand out, a little,” I said, thinking about the impression the sling had first made on me.
“It does. But back to business. I’m puzzled. How’s this all going to work? Tony knew Young. And he’s seen you before. He’s going to know that you’re not the right guy.”
“If he sees me. I’m going to head down there now. There’ll be time. He hasn’t arrived in town yet. Then I’ll lay up near the rendezvous point and snatch him when he comes by for his initial recce.”
“That’s a tricky procedure. You’ll have to hope the place isn’t too crowded. But it might work.”
“It might. And if not, I’ll come up with something else. But here’s another thing to think about. When McIntyre texted, he said he was meeting friends again tomorrow night.”
“Friends? Who are they?”
“Must be the people from Gary. So either he doesn’t know they’re dead, in which case he’s going to get two nasty surprises, later. Or there are more of them than we thought. Which means more loose ends to tie up.”
Fothergill sighed.
“Like we don’t have enough flies in the ointment,” he said. “What do you think we should do? Go ahead with the hard arrest as soon as you get hold of McIntyre? Or cut him a little slack, and hope he leads us to more miscreants?”
“Well, I don’t know,” I said. “Option B is tempting. I could always use more contact with miscreants.”
“David, I’m being serious.”
“OK. This is what I think. McIntyre is so damn slippery that if we can get him in the crosshairs, we should pull the trigger there and then. Bring that chapter to a close. And worry about these other guys—who may not even show up—when and if.”
“I agree. That sounds like the way forward. Plus, if you could get hold of McIntyre’s phone, they might even get in touch to see where he is. If we’re very lucky.”
“I think we’re due a little luck.”
“You’re right. We are. But listen, here’s an idea. Talking about McIntyre’s phone, why don’t you give me the number he texted you from? I’ll get onto the network guys. Then we can at least get a GPS trace on him, in case he gets lost in the crowd tonight. Or, heaven forbid, slips the net again altogether.”
FOURTEEN
Toward the end of our training program the instructors really cranked up the pace.
Instead of setting one exercise and giving us the chance to complete it before moving on to another, they took to handing out three or sometimes four different tasks at the same time. Everyone was feeling the added pressure, but no one was prepared to buckle beneath it. We’d come too far for that. So we just worked longer and longer hours, juggling ever-increasing volumes of written work, physical training, practical assessments, and library research. Pretty soon a full night’s sleep had become nothing more than a distant memory.