The Panther of Baracoa by Bayard & Holmes

Author:Bayard & Holmes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bayard and Holmes

Chapter Nine

The lights of the city passed by outside the bus window. Martin’s ankle throbbed and facts tumbled in his head, refusing to coalesce into a coherent picture. MI6 had fought for months to get him out of Pakistan and into Cuba. At least now he knew why they had ordered him back to Pakistan. He smiled grimly to himself. Much easier to kill him inconspicuously here than it would have been on the island. In Cuba, he was the honored guest from the UK Department of Business Innovation and Skills. There, he would have been missed. Here, he would only be another dead body among faceless scores.

But why kill him at all? Assassinating your own was popular in films but rarer than an honest politician in the field. It had to have something to do with the USB drive—that was the only thing that had changed, and Lewis’s thugs were specifically searching for electronics. What could possibly be on it?

In the past Lewis had expressed concerns to their superiors about Martin’s drinking and underworld friends, but Martin had laughed, putting it off to the man’s class prejudices. Was this a personal vendetta?

No. Lewis was a prig, but he was a good agent and a loyal Englishman to the core. He had to be following orders, but whose? And what was their agenda? Martin had to get the USB to safety until he could see what was on it.

He shifted, trying to get comfortable, but his leg was in agony. He needed help. He couldn’t go to anyone in MI6 until he knew what was happening. John would be at Martin’s flat by now. Lewis would have left someone there to watch who would surely report on the unknown American. Martin couldn’t risk blowing John’s cover to MI6 or making him a target by attempting to contact him again.

Martin considered contacting his own men—that army of friends outside of intelligence channels that every deep-cover agent cultivated . . . No. He didn’t want to expose them. Besides, if MI6 was after him, everyone in the shadow world would be targeting a six-foot blond, blue-eyed Englishman. He needed someone completely above suspicion and above the reach of the street—someone completely removed from that existence.

Only one person came to mind, but would she want to see him? He’d asked her to come with him to the Caribbean, offering to settle her in the Dominican Republic. She’d refused, unwilling to leave her medical practice. He could hardly blame her for that, especially since he hadn’t asked her to marry him. But had she moved on? Would she welcome his call?

Martin rode the bus for forty-five minutes while more and more people emptied out and the night set in. When it finally stopped outside of Hazara Town, he stepped onto the sidewalk. Favoring his ankle, he eased across the narrow, empty street toward an open corner shop selling dried fruit, phones, tobacco, candy, and hats. He took a prepaid mobile phone and some fruit up to the counter.

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