Read Retribution for Free Online

could care less about his reputation. He’ll move on one day, but in the meantime my responsibility is to the organization.’
    â€˜It could be a politically motivated scam.’
    â€˜And that’s just as bad. This could reflect badly on us for years to come.’ He glanced at Harry. ‘What do you think? Your gut feel.’
    Harry thought about it. Common sense told him this could all disappear with tomorrow’s newspapers, overtaken by something bigger and more newsworthy. But it could do the opposite and blow up in their faces. And if anyone wanted to smear the UN, drawing in one of their top officials with a rape scandal involving one of his bodyguards would be a good way to do it.
    â€˜I don’t know. I don’t really remember the others and I doubt they remember me; we were just a bunch of men thrown together for a couple of days. It wasn’t an opportunity to make lasting friendships.’
    â€˜Jesus, Harry.’ Deane looked disappointed, and Harry suddenly realized that there was something else to this visit. To this meeting.
    He gave Deane a hard stare. ‘I think you should cut to the chase, don’t you? What exactly do you want?’
    Deane toed the grass underfoot. ‘OK. To the chase, then. I need your help in closing this thing down.’ He sounded relieved now, as if he’d got something difficult out of the way. ‘I asked a few people and spoke to a guy called Ballatyne. He said you were reliable and knew your way around.’
    Richard Ballatyne was an operations chief in MI6. Harry and Rik had worked for him on a couple of occasions before, when non-attributables were required for tasks falling outside the scope of any specific government agency. Now, it seemed, Ballatyne was playing at being a part-time job finder, dropping Harry’s name in convenient corners.
    â€˜You know what he does?’
    Deane nodded. ‘Sure. MI6. Why – is it a problem?’
    â€˜It might be if he ever asks you for a favour in return. Just don’t agree to meet him in an Italian restaurant; the coffee’s rubbish.’
    Deane suppressed a puzzled smile, no doubt writing it off as British humour. ‘OK. Are we on?’
    â€˜Why me?’
    â€˜Ballatyne said you’d ask that.’
    â€˜Good. I’m choosy about the jobs I do. Still asking: why me?’
    â€˜What can I say?’ Deane shrugged. ‘I’ve got plenty of guys, but not for this. They’re too close. I need an outsider. I can arrange for a full UN ID card and whatever facilities you need short of a guided missile, but you’ll be outside the dome.’
    Harry figured that Deane would have many resourceful and skilled people on his staff, most if not all with military training. But organizations like the UN were rife with gossip, and speculation was a regular party game. Deane also had a secondary reason for calling on Harry: if the rumour about the dead girl was true and names began to come out, then Harry himself was going to be in the firing line. It was a great motivator.
    â€˜Let me think it over.’
    Deane’s face tightened. ‘Ballatyne said you’d say that, too. Trouble is, I need your answer now.’
    â€˜No.’ Harry began to turn away, but Deane put a hand on his arm.
    â€˜Wait.’ Deane scrubbed at his face, his eyes going walkabout with tension. ‘Just hear me out, OK? Two minutes.’
    â€˜All right. Two.’
    Deane breathed out and said quietly, ‘It’s not just rumours from the backwoods or some press hack driving this, Harry. We have credible intelligence that there’s an organized group behind it, and they intend blowing it wide open in a way that nobody will be able to ignore.’
    â€˜How can they guarantee that? The UN has dealt with accusations before and come out smiling.’
    â€˜I know. But this is different. Intel suggests they’re sending someone. Sounds crazy, huh?’ He