Adrienne took the butt from her and snuffed it out. ‘Very well, dear. Will you talk?’
The Eurasian girl remained silent.
Adrienne went to the door, opened it and beckoned.
The Deacon came into the room, wearing a mask. He halted, flexed his left hand and stared at it until the prisoner looked, too. Scars marked the tips of his fingers, where no nails grew.
Nancy shuddered.
‘The young lady prefers your company to mine,’ Adrienne said. ‘Do try not to maim her too badly.’
The Deacon turned towards Nancy, and as he slowly walked forward he continued to flex his mutilated fingers.
‘Dinner was splendid, and I’m sorry I couldn’t do it justice,’ the
Director said as he and Franklin Richards settled down with their brandy in the industrialist’s library. ‘I’m so sedentary these days that I’ve cut down on my food. This is the first time in months I’ve travelled farther than the eleven miles between my office and my house.’
His host offered him a cigar, then took one himself. ‘I must admit I was surprised when your office telephoned to say you were on the way out here and were already in the air.’
‘Frank, this may be the most delicate mission I’ve ever undertaken. I had a meeting with the President before I left, and both of us felt this was something I had to do myself.’
‘I realized at once that Project Neptune faces a new crisis, Charles,’ Richards said.
‘Not necessarily.’ The Director looked at the glowing tip of his cigar and sighed. ‘I’ve spent my career in the wrong business for this assignment. I’m no diplomat, and I scarcely know how to begin.’
‘If you’re trying to tell me that detente has gone into a higher gear and Neptune is being called off, I’ve been afraid of it from the beginning.’
‘No, nothing like that, Frank. We need the results of Neptune to solidify detente and make it work. We’re totally committed to the project. In fact, the President was saying just today that after you put out to sea he intends to give the leaders of Congress a secret briefing.’
‘Good. Then the problem can’t be all that serious.’
‘Frank,’ the Director said, ‘you don’t need me to tell you that no one has ever questioned your patriotism. Never mind the role you’re playing in Neptune. Your past record speaks for itself, and I doubt if any man has ever demonstrated his loyalty more convincingly. That’s what makes this situation so distressing.’
Richards accepted the compliment graciously, and it was evident he had no idea what was coming.
The Director took a deep breath. ‘Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion, too.’
The industrialist was stunned; then, as he began to recover from his initial shock, his eyes hardened. ‘Are you implying—’
‘I imply nothing. To be candid, some of my colleagues have been apprehensive about Marie from the outset. Partly because of her French background. Partly because of her reputation as a hostess, which led them to fear she might be an irresponsible social butterfly. And partly because the activities of any attractive woman not under the direct control of the Corporation make them nervous. Sooner or later everyone in the intelligence community becomes paranoid, I’m afraid. It’s a highly communicable occupational disease.’ The Director spoke soothingly.
But Franklin Richards was not mollified. ‘This is outrageous. I have every right to resent it, Charles, and I do.’
‘Of course you do. I just ask you to hear me out. We’ve put everyone directly or indirectly connected with Project Neptune under a microscope as a precautionary measure. That includes Marie. In the very recent past we’ve investigated her, and she comes out one hundred per cent clean. Not a blemish, not even a shadow of doubt. I’m emphasizing that point.’
‘So I gather.’ Richards was still angry.
‘This very morning, Frank, there was an incident that upset many of us, including me. It could mean pothing, as I myself am inclined to believe, but so much is riding on Project Neptune that I’m compelled to check it out.’
‘I’m listening.’
‘We’ve been playing a tricky game with a double agent, someone we know to have been on the Russian payroll. This morning the agent was making a drop. That is, passing along supposedly secret information to a messenger. The exchange took place at a shopping centre not far from here, and was carried out. Now. The agent went into a snack bar and sat two places from Marie, who happened to be having a cup of coffee there.’
Richards’ knuckles turned white as he gripped the arms of his chair. ‘Are you suggesting that this agent was using Marie as a messenger?’
‘By no means,’ the Director said. ‘There was no communication of any kind between them. All I’m presenting to you is a fact. Marie – of all people – was present at a critical time. When a known foreign agent was passing data to a courier.’
‘I’ll stake my own honour on Marie’s integrity!’
‘Naturally,’ the Director said. ‘Her presence may have been nothing but a coincidence. One of those extraordinary, freakish things that makes my job a nightmare. But put yourself in my place, Frank. I needn’t tell you the importance of Project Neptune. I’m sure you understand its potential significance far better than I do. Nevertheless, I’m responsible to the President, and through him to the American people, for the security of this operation. I’d be remiss in my duty if I failed to make a new check.’
‘Shall we call Marie in and put it to her?’
‘With all due respect, Frank, that’s the very last thing I want to do. I share your conviction that Marie happened to be a totally innocent bystander this morning, and that she had no idea of what was happening just a few feet from her. But the first rule of the intelligence business is that even a conviction doesn’t become a hard fact until it has been proved.’
Richards’ anger began to subside. ‘I sympathize with your position, Charles, and I even feel a bit sorry for you.’
‘Anglo-Saxon justice rests on the foundation that one is innocent until proved guilty. The Corporation – of necessity – must assume that every individual is guilty unless conclusive evidence demonstrates his innocence. I live in an upside-down world.’
‘I know of no way you could possibly prove that Marie knew literally nothing about this agent’s activities!’
‘I believe there is a way, Frank, and the President joins me in the hope that you’ll consent to co-operate with the Corporation in making a simple test. The very suggestion is degrading, and I hope you’ll forgive the insult.’
‘I’ll do anything to clear Marie!’
‘Thank you.’ The Director breathed more easily. ‘Keep in mind that the double agent may know nothing of Project Neptune or your connection with it. The test itself will be simple, but our approach to it must be cautious.’
‘Just tell me what you want done!’
‘I shall, Frank, as soon as I hear from Porter, who is trying to set up the arrangements. With any luck I’ll hear from him late tonight or early tomorrow morning. I realize I’m trying your patience, but Neptune is the most important operation of its kind ever undertaken, so every risk must be reduced to a minimum. Sometimes the Corporation is too zealous, but in anything that concerns this project, the end does justify the means,’
Porter came into the bare room and snapped on the overhead light.
Nancy Wing lay crumpled in a heap, and did not move.
‘I had hell’s own time finding you and getting in here,’ he said as he knelt beside her. ‘Are you okay?’
She moaned, then made an effort to pull herself together. ‘That bastard was careful not to break any of my bones. But what a workout he gave me. I’m still not sur.e if I’m alive or dead.’