«I know. What do you want?»
«The question is, What do you want? Why are you in Paris? We were given to understand you were no longer active. Quite frankly, you were to be avoided.»
«And reported immediately if I made contact, right?»
«Naturally.»
«But you’re reversing the process. You’ve approached me. That’s a little foolish, isn’t it?»
«A minor risk worth taking,» said Gravet, standing erect and glancing about. «We go back a long time, Michael. I don’t for a moment believe you’re in Paris for your cultural rebirth.»
«Neither do I. Who said I was?»
«You were at the Louvre for exactly twenty-seven minutes. Too short a time to absorb anything, and too long to relieve yourself. But quite plausible for meeting someone inside a dark, crowded exhibit—say, at the far end of the third floor.»
Havelock began to laugh. «Listen, Gravet—»
«Don’t look at me, please! Keep your eyes on the water.»
«I went to the Roman collection on the mezzanine. It was filled with a tour from Provence, so I left.»
«You were always quick, I admired you for it. And now this ominous alarm: He’s no longer active. Avoid him.’»
«It happens to be true.»
«Whatever this new cover of yours,» continued Gravet quickly, dusting the elbows of his coat, «for it to be so radical can only mean you’re among very distinguished company. I’m also a broker with a wide range of information. The more distinguished my clients, the better I like it.»
«Sorry, I’m not buying. Avoid me.»
«Don’t be preposterous. You don’t know what I have to offer. Incredible things are happening everywhere. Allies become enemies, enemies allies. The Persian Gulf is on fire and all Africa moves in contradictory circles; the Warsaw bloc has lacerations you know nothing about, and Washington pursues a dozen counterproductive strategies matched only by the unbelievable stupidity of the Soviets. I could give you chapter and verse on their recent follies. Don’t dismiss me, Michael. Pay me. You’ll climb even higher.»
«Why should I want to climb higher when I’ve climbed out?»
«Again preposterous. You’re a relatively young man; they wouldn’t let you go.»
«They can watch me, but they can’t hold me. All I had to do was give up a pension somewhere down the road.»
«Too simple. You all have bank accounts in remote but accessible places, everyone knows that. Diverted contingency funds, covert payments made to nonexistent sources, fees for sudden departures or suddenly required papers. You had your retirement covered by the time you were thirty-five.»
«You’re exaggerating both my talents and my financial security,» said Havelock, smiling.
«Or perhaps a rather lengthy document,» the Frenchman went on, as though Michael had not interrupted, «detailing certain covert procedures—solutions, you might say—that must, perforce, describe specific events and personnel. Placed beyond reach of those most interested.»
Havelock stopped smiling, but Gravet persisted: «Naturally, that’s not financial security, but it adds to a sense of well-being, doesn’t it?»
«You’re wasting your time, I’m not in the market. If you’ve got something of value, you’ll get your price. You know whom to deal with.»
«They’re frightened second-raters. None of them has your direct avenues to the—centers of determination, shall we say.»
«I don’t have them anymore.»
«I don’t believe you. You’re the only man here in Europe who talks directly with Anthony Matthias.»
«Leave him out of it. And for your information, I haven’t spoken with him in months.» Suddenly Havelock stood up and turned openly to the Frenchman. «Let’s find a taxi and go to the embassy. I know some people over there. I’ll introduce you to a first-level attaché and tell him you’re selling but I don’t have either the resources or the interest to get involved. Okay?»
«You know I can’t do that! And, please—» Gravet did not have to finish the request.
«All right, all right.» Michael returned to the wall with the river below. «Then give me a number or a place of contact. I’ll phone it in and you can listen.»
«Why are you doing this? Why the charade?»
«Because it’s not a charade. As you said, we go back a long time. I’ll do you the favor and maybe you’ll be convinced. Maybe you’ll convince others, if they ask. Even if they don’t ask. How about it?»
The Frenchman turned his head while leaning over the wall and stared at Havelock. «No, thank you, Michael. As with all manner of Satans, better a second-rater I’ve dealt with than one I haven’t. For what it’s worth, I think I believe you. You would not reveal a source like me, even to a first-level attaché. I’m down too deep, too respectable; you might need me. Yes, I do believe you.»
«Make my life easier. Don’t keep it a secret.»
«What about your opposite numbers in the KGB? Will they be convinced?»
«I’m sure of it. Their moles probably got word to Dzerzhinsky Square before I signed the separation papers.»
«They’ll suspect a ploy.»
«All the more reason to leave me alone. Why bite into poisoned bait?»
«They have chemicals. You all have chemicals.»
«I can’t tell them anything they don’t know, and what I do know has already been changed. That’s the funny thing: my enemies have nothing to fear from me. The few names they might learn aren’t worth the price. There’d be reprisals.»
«You’ve inflicted a great many wounds. There’s pride, vengeance; it’s the human condition.»
«Not applicable. In those areas we’re even, and again I’m not worth it because there’s no practical result. Nobody kills unless there’s a reason. None of us wants to be responsible for the fallout. Crazy, isn’t it? Almost Victorian. When we’re finished, we’re out. Maybe we’ll all get together in a large black strategy room in hell and have a few drinks, but while we’re here, we’re out. That’s the irony, the futility, Gravet. When we’re out we don’t care anymore. We don’t have any reason to hate. Or to kill.»
«Nicely phrased, my friend. You’ve obviously thought about these things.»
«I’ve had a lot of time recently.»
«And there are those who are extremely interested in your recent observations, your conclusions—your role in life, as it were. But then, it’s to be expected. They’re such a manic-depressive people. Morose, then jubilant; filled with violence one minute, songs of the earth and sadness the next. And often quite paranoid; the darker aspects of classicism, I think. The slashing diagonals of Delacroix in a multiracial national psyche, so far-reaching, so contradictory. So suspicious—so Soviet.»
Havelock stopped breathing; he returned Gravet’s stare. «Why did you do it?»
«There was no harm. Had I learned otherwise, who knows what I would have told them? But since I do believe you, I explain why I had to test you.»
«Moscow thinks I’m still in?»
«I shall render the judgment that you are not. Whether they accept it or not is another matter.»
«Why won’t they?» asked Havelock, his eyes on the water below.