on. In a matter of days, Congress will be pleading with him to accept my offer.”
“And if his answer is no?”
“Well, there’s an answer for that as well.”
#
Peacock packed her gear for her trek to kill Thomas Reed. She recalled every detail of her last encounter with the man. From the faces of her team members to the terrain surrounding the house, her mind reacted as though she was there. She visualized her son and holding him in her arms. Pain exploded deep inside her brain.
How she endured and defused the pain, she couldn’t explain. In her mind, thoughts traveled wildly bringing images from pleasure centers and from serene scenes to lustful encounters. Her emotions numbed the shocks and she recovered.
I can control Kolb’s attacks. She will not win.
#
Thomas Reed shut off the security system surrounding his communications equipment and slid underneath its platform. He replaced a key component. He hated repairs. He wasn’t a technician and worried about making mistakes. His new home north of A-199 near Haddington duplicated the old one in Lasswade right down to the bedspread. Sadly, he destroyed that home to keep Hercules from obtaining valuable equipment. Most unfortunately, he’d forgotten the diagrams in the damn file cabinet, and Hercules found out about the plans to shoot down Monroe’s helicopter.
Repairs finished , he phoned Alan Loomis. “Pendleton said, if Monroe doesn’t accept his proposal, kill him.”
“Things worldwide are ripping along. Are you sure he wants me to wait on Monroe?”
“That’s what he said. Apparently he’s given Monroe until tomorrow night to respond.”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“And that is?”
“Did you know Pendleton’s wife is my partner?”
“What!”
“Another agent was assigned at the same time I was assigned. Her name is Laverna Smythe. I remembered Van Meer mentioned the name of Pendleton’s wife. To be sure, I looked her up. She’s Pendleton’s wife or she’s a damn good imposter.”
“Let me call you back.”
Reed stumbled to a chair and dialed Pendleton.
“I’m having dinner, Thomas ,” Pendleton said. “This better be urgent.”
“Our agent on Monroe’s team tells me that your wife is his partner. Is it true?”
The long silence caused Reed’s hands to tremble. The world as he knew it was collapsing around him. Being on Pendleton’s bad side now could become a death sentence.
“You will keep my wife’s position secret. Tell Loomis if one hair on her head is harmed he’ll answer to me for it.”
Reed gulped, but spoke his mind. “With all due respect Sir, Loomis is our answer to the Monroe problem. If your wife interferes, what shall I tell him to do?”
He heard Pendleton excuse himself and leave wherever he was. “Two missed assassination attempts, accusing my wife of betrayal, and now asking me what Loomis should do. Protect her. Tell him to say, ‘Lovey, Arthur says, ‘Kill Kolb and let me do my job.’ Let me be very specific. Loomis is not to harm her.”
“ I’m sorry. I’m loyal to you, whether you fired me or not. I say what must be said.”
The click of Pendleton disconnecting the call startled him, and he remembered how his former boss had murder ed Throgmorton. A sickening pall fell upon him. He relayed the message to Loomis.
“Roger that,” Loomis said. “ But explain to me how I should manage this without her killing me. Handling her is messy and damned near impossible as it is. The woman is one tough cookie.”
Reed didn’t answer. He slumped down in his chair. All the money he’d made, the killings he’d authorized and carried out, and the cause he thought was right, now crushed him against the reality of the moment. The sound of his chair rattling on the tile floor played on his nerves. He was a dead man one way or the other. Either Pendleton would send Van Meer to kill him, or Pendleton’s wife would. His time on this earth was at an end.
Pendleton was about to take over
“And if his answer is no?”
“Well, there’s an answer for that as well.”
#
Peacock packed her gear for her trek to kill Thomas Reed. She recalled every detail of her last encounter with the man. From the faces of her team members to the terrain surrounding the house, her mind reacted as though she was there. She visualized her son and holding him in her arms. Pain exploded deep inside her brain.
How she endured and defused the pain, she couldn’t explain. In her mind, thoughts traveled wildly bringing images from pleasure centers and from serene scenes to lustful encounters. Her emotions numbed the shocks and she recovered.
I can control Kolb’s attacks. She will not win.
#
Thomas Reed shut off the security system surrounding his communications equipment and slid underneath its platform. He replaced a key component. He hated repairs. He wasn’t a technician and worried about making mistakes. His new home north of A-199 near Haddington duplicated the old one in Lasswade right down to the bedspread. Sadly, he destroyed that home to keep Hercules from obtaining valuable equipment. Most unfortunately, he’d forgotten the diagrams in the damn file cabinet, and Hercules found out about the plans to shoot down Monroe’s helicopter.
Repairs finished , he phoned Alan Loomis. “Pendleton said, if Monroe doesn’t accept his proposal, kill him.”
“Things worldwide are ripping along. Are you sure he wants me to wait on Monroe?”
“That’s what he said. Apparently he’s given Monroe until tomorrow night to respond.”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“And that is?”
“Did you know Pendleton’s wife is my partner?”
“What!”
“Another agent was assigned at the same time I was assigned. Her name is Laverna Smythe. I remembered Van Meer mentioned the name of Pendleton’s wife. To be sure, I looked her up. She’s Pendleton’s wife or she’s a damn good imposter.”
“Let me call you back.”
Reed stumbled to a chair and dialed Pendleton.
“I’m having dinner, Thomas ,” Pendleton said. “This better be urgent.”
“Our agent on Monroe’s team tells me that your wife is his partner. Is it true?”
The long silence caused Reed’s hands to tremble. The world as he knew it was collapsing around him. Being on Pendleton’s bad side now could become a death sentence.
“You will keep my wife’s position secret. Tell Loomis if one hair on her head is harmed he’ll answer to me for it.”
Reed gulped, but spoke his mind. “With all due respect Sir, Loomis is our answer to the Monroe problem. If your wife interferes, what shall I tell him to do?”
He heard Pendleton excuse himself and leave wherever he was. “Two missed assassination attempts, accusing my wife of betrayal, and now asking me what Loomis should do. Protect her. Tell him to say, ‘Lovey, Arthur says, ‘Kill Kolb and let me do my job.’ Let me be very specific. Loomis is not to harm her.”
“ I’m sorry. I’m loyal to you, whether you fired me or not. I say what must be said.”
The click of Pendleton disconnecting the call startled him, and he remembered how his former boss had murder ed Throgmorton. A sickening pall fell upon him. He relayed the message to Loomis.
“Roger that,” Loomis said. “ But explain to me how I should manage this without her killing me. Handling her is messy and damned near impossible as it is. The woman is one tough cookie.”
Reed didn’t answer. He slumped down in his chair. All the money he’d made, the killings he’d authorized and carried out, and the cause he thought was right, now crushed him against the reality of the moment. The sound of his chair rattling on the tile floor played on his nerves. He was a dead man one way or the other. Either Pendleton would send Van Meer to kill him, or Pendleton’s wife would. His time on this earth was at an end.
Pendleton was about to take over
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