“Tell Raymond Chalmont I’m coming for him too,” I said, and for the first time saw a flash of uncertainty cross Finch’s face.
He recovered his composure quickly and smiled again, but it wasn’t the same comfortable grin he had greeted me with.
Satisfied I’d achieved my objective, I pushed him out of my way and headed for the exit.
Chapter 72
The two men from his close protection detail were easy to spot. They followed me through the crowds gathered between the main grandstand and the winners’ enclosure. The first race was underway and the clamor was deafening. I weaved around groups of excited racing enthusiasts, some of whom were holding betting slips, others with drinks in their hands. Some racegoers were cheering the leading horse, which, according to the commentary being broadcast over the public address system, was called Graham’s Legend. Others were booing.
My two pursuers, a tall blond man with a closely shaved head, and a thick-set muscular man with a crop of dark wavy hair, were pushing their way through the throng of people, suit jackets flapping wide to reveal flashes of the holsters they carried at their sides. They couldn’t have guns, could they? Lawrence Finch wouldn’t be so reckless or so bold, would he? Sidearms weren’t legal for private security in Ireland.
I couldn’t run the risk of finding out when I wasn’t fully in control of the situation, so I veered toward the main grandstand and went through the nearest entrance, joining the crush of people heading for the concessions, bars and bookies.
I slipped into a corridor to my left, heading for a door marked “Toilets,” and when I went through it, found myself in another corridor. There was a line for the ladies’, but the men’s room had no wait. I loitered behind the door I’d just come through and the moment it opened, and my two pursuers stepped through, I attacked them. The women immediately around us scattered, looking bewildered as I drove the squat man’s head against the opposite wall and knocked him senseless. The taller, blond guy reached into his jacket, but I grabbed his arm and swung him back into the wall. The women in the line retreated and cried out. One started calling for help as the tall man and I fell over his accomplice’s motionless body and tumbled to the floor, rolling over and grappling together.
I scissored my legs and pulled him into a rear triangle chokehold to stop him struggling. I kept the pressure up until he fell limp. When he was unconscious, I reached into his jacket and freed a Beretta M9 pistol from its holster. These men were armed.
“Make sure the cops find their guns,” I told the three women who hadn’t fled into the ladies’ room.
I pushed the pistol toward them and it skidded across the floor. I got to my feet and left through the main door, joining the crowds of people in the corridor beyond. I peeled off once I was on the main thoroughfare and headed for an exit.
Outside, I caught a cab and used it to take me near the cottage on Pigeon House Road. I took every precaution to ensure I wasn’t followed and opened the front door with a sense of relief.
Lawrence Finch would act soon to neutralize the threat I posed, and with Mo-bot and her team tracking his comms, he was sure to make a mistake we could exploit. All I had to do was wait, and I intended to do so with a cup of coffee in my hand.
I walked into the kitchen and stopped in my tracks, my heart suddenly thundering in my chest.
There, sitting at the kitchen table, was Andi Harris, and she was pointing a Walther PDP pistol at me.
“Sit down, Jack,” she said nonchalantly. “And keep your hands where I can see them.”
I had no choice but to comply.
Chapter 73
“How did you find me?” I asked as I settled into my seat.
“Maureen Roth is the epicenter of all things digital, but she’s not as invincible as everyone thinks,” Andi replied.
“Key logger?” I guessed. “Spyware?”
These were two basic methods for tracking someone else’s computer use and stealing data.
She didn’t reply. She didn’t need to. It didn’t matter how she’d done it. The simple fact was she’d managed to compromise our technology lead without Mo-bot realizing, and she’d done it by being inside our organization.
“What now?” I asked.
“Raymond Chalmont is on his way,” she replied, indicating her phone which was on the table between us. “I messaged him when you put your key in the door. He isn’t very far away.”
I had no doubt the man was on his way to kill me.
“They know what you are,” I said. “My team know you’re a traitor.”
“I’d guessed you wouldn’t keep that to yourself. It doesn’t matter anymore.”
“It does,” I replied. “If something happens to me, they won’t rest until you’re behind bars.”
She laughed. “You think the threat of prison scares me? You felt our reach in Rome and Monaco. I’d never see the inside of a cell. Not for a single day. We have friends everywhere.”
The silence of the kitchen pressed in for a moment.
“No,” she went on. “You should worry about your team. What will happen to them once you’re gone.”
I bridled at the threat but tried to control the fury rising within me. The wrong move would get me killed instantly.
“Doesn’t it bother you?” I asked. “Breaking the law you once swore to uphold? Four innocent people died at that screening. Many more were injured.”
“Innocent,” she scoffed. “There’s no such thing. Morality is a question of perspective. You know that from your many years at this work, surely?”
I didn’t respond.
“Everyone believes they’re the good guy. Even when they’re doing bad things. So, we’re either all good or all bad.” She sat forward. “Or maybe morality is just a story we tell ourselves to ease our journey through a world that is actually about power.”
“I’ve heard the same rationale before. From people looking to justify evil,” I replied. “Tell me, when you gave Raymond Chalmont the details of the screening, how did it feel knowing he would use that information to kill us? Did you feel glee? Shame? Either answer tells you more about yourself than I ever could.”
She pondered my words for a moment. “I felt nothing,” she said at last. “Except perhaps a little pride that I was succeeding in my mission.”
Chapter 74
I stared at Andi, wondering at the layers of pretense and deception that had enabled her to pass for a trusted member of the team, at the way in which she had endeared herself to me, the meals we’d shared, the time we’d spent together. How could anyone be so callous and deceiving?
She was about to say something else when her phone rang.
“Yes,” she answered. “Yes. Still here. Waiting for you.”
She hung up and looked at me. “That was Raymond. He’s five minutes out and eager to see you.”
“You’re going to let them kill me?” I asked.
Her expression hardened. “Who knows? I might be the one to pull the trigger.”
I was about to respond when I was startled by the sound of a crash and splintering wood. Then came the tramp of footsteps and cries of, “Garda! Armed police! Armed police!”
The kitchen was invaded by a squad of armed Gardai from the force’s tactical unit in full body armor. The four men trained their pistols on Andi, who put her weapon on the table and raised her hands.
Two of the officers moved quickly to restrain her, pushing her head onto the table and snapping cuffs around her wrists.