From a Position of Strength by Sean Heary

Author:Sean Heary
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd
Published: 2021-09-10T00:00:00+00:00

17

Resisting the urge to rush back to the safe house to brief Novak, Rossi and Cathy spent the best part of an hour ensuring they weren’t being followed; a job made easier by the dawn hour and the empty streets.

Novak was sitting on the sofa with her arms crossed when they returned. At Rossi’s insistence, they had not brought her into their offensive gambit to trap Pirlo. While he trusted Cathy’s judgement, he wasn’t quite ready to accept everything Novak had to say. Who knows what tall stories those manipulating bastards at Langley had spun her?

“Thank goodness,” Novak said, sounding like a mother waiting for her teenage daughter to arrive home after a night out. “I thought something terrible had happened.”

Cathy smiled. “We saw an opportunity, and we took it.”

“After Sherman Kent, I should be accustomed to you disappearing without explanation.”

“We spoke to Pirlo,” Cathy added. “He confirmed what you said.”

“Which part?”

“He took a pop at Rossi. And if his gun hadn’t misfired, we’d both be dead.”

Novak’s jaw dropped. “No way. That’s outrageous. Pirlo was only trying to scare you, unless he’s gone rogue. Langley would never sanction the hit. It’s just not done.”

Cathy shrugged. “Langley did warn you they’d take care of business if you couldn’t persuade me to stand down.” Pause. “I guess we now know what that means. It’s game on.”

“Let me speak to them again. Someone’s screwed up. There must be another explanation.”

“No,” Cathy said, her demeanour emphatic. “Return to London cursing and swearing. Tell them I wouldn’t listen. That I’ve fallen under the influence of that shaman, Rossi, and you’ve washed your hands of me.”

“But—”

“No buts about it, Barbora. We need to put distance between us. That way you can monitor events there without raising Langley’s suspicions. Fly below the radar, find out what the blazes is going on.”

“What about your ex-fiancé?” Rossi asked. “Can I go home too? Cursing and swearing, I’m good at that.”

“Afraid not, Apollo. You’re staying with me.”

While Cathy took a shower, Novak rescheduled her London flight and Rossi sneaked outside to buy half a dozen cornetti. On his return, he ground the arabica beans he’d brought from his apartment and brewed a large pot of coffee.

Exhausted, they sat on the sofa in silence, sipping dark roast and chewing on the pastries.

Novak spoke first. “My flight’s in five hours, Cathy. If I’m going to help, you’d better bring me up to speed.”

Cathy spent the next few hours briefing Novak. She explained how news of Trusova’s near-fatal accident on the road to Rossi’s family farm had set off a red light in her head. She told the story of how Rossi had unearthed the improbable relationship between Trusova and Lucy Dirkwell, the wife of the commanding officer of the USS Mount Whitney. Which, perhaps by no small coincidence, was at that very moment racing engines full ahead to Yokosuka to assume the role of flagship of the US Navy Seventh Fleet.

Then, with time running out, they turned their attention to the intelligence on Trusova’s phone.

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