It was all some kind of sadistic trick, Jan knew that. His body, his neck, ached where he had been kicked, but he had no time to consider the pain, he ignored it, fought it away so that he could order his thoughts. He had to use intelligence, not raw emotion. Though he had no regrets over the anger that had hurled him at his brother-in-law; how he had enjoyed the animal pleasure of actually laying his hands on the one person that he hated the most! But what was the man up to now? This had to be a plot of some kind; Thurgood-Smythe was incapable of any straightforward action. But whatever he was planning could not be uncovered at the present moment. Should he play along? Pretend to believe him? Did he have any choice? If the identification were real then there might be a chance to escape from the Security net. So it did not matter what he said if he managed to leave this room alive. He had no compunction about lying to his brother-in-law; it was almost an obligation. Therefore it was of no importance what he promised, but what he did. Promise anything, get away to safety. That was a good deal better than the certain death that awaited him if he refused. Jan watched with unbelief as Thurgood-Smythe carefully levered the cork out of the bottle, then poured two glasses of champagne without spilling a drop. He turned and smiled as he crossed the room and handed one to Jan. Who repressed the desire to smash in that smile now that the gun had been laid aside for the moment.
“That’s a good deal better,” Thurgood-Smythe said. “Just resist the urge for violence and you will stay alive. You are not the suicidal type.”
“All right. I’ll work along with you. Do what you ask. But I will betray no one, give you no information.”
“Very good. I ask no more. So we can drink to the future and hope that it will be a bright one for mankind.”
He raised his glass in salute; they drank.
“What must I do?” Jan asked.
“Go on a mission for me. To Israel. Now do you see the trust and faith behind my offer? If you doubt what I say, why you can defect and simply stay there — and none the wiser.”
“I can’t believe that. You proved to me that you had liaison with the Israeli government, to keep track of their agents.”
“Liaison, yes. But I have no say over what happens in that sovereign state. As you will discover, they are a very strong-willed people. And now I will tell you a secret, one that is proof of my sincerity in this matter because it puts my life in your hands. Under the code name Cassius, I have been supplying the Israelis with classified Security information. They are very grateful, since I have asked nothing in return other than the knowledge that I am working for the benefit of the human race. They think very well of Cassius, so will trust you implicitly when you reveal that you are Cassius. I will give you the identification code, also a copy of all the information I have sent them in the past few years. What happens next is up to you. If you reveal this fact in the right quarters here, you will find that there are any number of Security people who would love to topple me and take my place, to destroy me. Or you can go to Israel and pass on what could be the most important message you ever carried in your entire lifetime. The choice is yours, Jan.”
Choice? Jan could not believe that there was one. He was sure that any attempt to convey information to another Security officer here would only end in his instant destruction. Thurgood-Smythe was incapable of allowing a thing like that to happen. No. He had to go along with the plan. Take the message to Israel and let them decide what his brother-in-law was up to. The world was turning upside down. A portion of Thurgood-Smythe’s story might be true. He might very well be deserting the sinking ship for his own benefit. Jan knew that he was out of his depth.
“All right,” he said. “Tell me what I have to do.”
“Good man. You’ll not be sorry.”
Thurgood-Smythe went to the desk and took up a thick plastic envelope. He handed it to Jan.
“I’m going to put you on a plane to New York now. You’re not very safe here since everyone in California and Arizona is still on the lookout for you. But I did not let the alarm go out nationwide. A room has been booked for you at the Waldorf-Astoria. Get some rest, buy some clothes, eat a few good meals. Then, when you feel up to it, open the package and memorize the basic material it contains. No need to be word perfect, you just want to be aware of everything here. It contains the security information I passed on to the Israelis. Very incriminating for me, so don’t leave it lying about. You’ll have about eight hours to read it before the paper disintegrates. Then phone me at the number on the outside of the envelope so I can take the next step. Any questions?”
“So many that I wouldn’t know where to begin. This all takes a bit of getting used to.”
“I realize. Welcome aboard, Jan. It’s nice to have someone to help me, to confide in after all of the years of working alone.” He extended his hand.
Jan looked at it and, after a long moment’s hesitation, shook his head.
“I can’t forget that easily. There is too much blood on that hand for me to touch.”
“Aren’t you being a little over-dramatic?”
“Perhaps. I’ll work with you since I have no choice. But that doesn’t mean that I have to like it or like you. Understood?”
Thurgood-Smythe’s eyes narrowed slightly, but when he spoke there was no anger in his voice.
“Whatever you say, Jan. Success is more important our personal feelings. It’s time for you to leave now.”
Ten
During the night the thudding of distant explosions had woken Jan, he had clearly heard them here, on the thirtieth floor, despite the soundproofing and the double-glazed windows. He had opened the door and stepped onto the balcony outside. Something was burning brightly across the city. Sirens and warblers wailed as police and lire equipment tore by in the streets below. The fire burned for a long time. It was muggy and hot outside the air-conditioned room and he did not watch long. He was still tired and fell asleep again as soon as he was back in bed.
Bright sunshine poured through the windows in the morning when he touched the button to open the curtains. An apparently original Rembrandt painting hanging on the far wall became a screen as he switched the television on. Jan scanned the news headlines, punched for LOCAL NEWS, then brought up EXPLOSION AND FIRE. The list vanished and was replaced by a scene centered around a park bench. There were green grass and trees behind the bench, while a few pigeons pecked on the path before it. A man and a woman sat at opposite ends of the bench, both radiant and healthy, good-looking and suntanned. All over, for they were both nude. They smiled at him with glowing white. teeth.
“Good morning,” the man said. “I’m Kevin O’Donnell.”
“And I’m Patti Pierce. Would you like me or Kevin to bring you the news today?”
Then they waited, frozen and unmoving, the pigeons motionless as well, even the breeze-tossed leaves were still. The computer control waited for him to decide.
“Patti, of course,” Jan said, and the camera moved in slowly on the girl who stood and smiled in his direction. Whether she was real or only a program in the computer was unimportant. She was both beautiful and desirable and certainly made the news more interesting. Though he could not understand what nude announcers had to do with the news.
“The Apple was busy last night,” Patti said, standing and pointing over her shoulder. The park vanished to be replaced by a burning building, flames billowing high against the black sky. Fire equipment was drawn up in the street before it and men with hoses were fighting the blaze. Patti, rotating her behind sweetly, walked over and climbed into the driver’s seat of a hook and ladder.