Read Tommy Carmellini 02 - The Traitor for Free Online Page B

long before it's time to reveal Intelink-C."
    "He'll never buy it."
    Grafton waved that away. "Corrupt people think everyone's cor-rupt.
    I felt nauseous. My forehead was covered in perspiration. I swabbed at the sweat and wiped my hand on my trousers. "They're going to smell a rat. This could be the biggest intelligence debacle ever. What I'm trying to say, Admiral, is that if we live through this, we could go to prison. Like, forever."
    Now he smiled at me.
    I tried to reason with him. "The frogs will be all over me like stink on a skunk. And through some tiny bureaucratic oversight, I don't have diplomatic immunity." I waved a hand at the door. "They gave all the embassy spots to those security people combing the crowds for terrorists going to the G-8 meeting." I couldn't believe I had the bad luck to fall into a mess like this. The head of the DGSE! God almighty! "If Rodet doesn't buy what we have to sell, what then?"
    The admiral turned his hand over. "The Veghel conspirators were going to blow up the New York Stock Exchange. A half dozen Middle Eastern fanatics living on welfare in the Netherlands don't go charging off to America with passports and credit cards and traveler's checks to rent trucks and make bombs without some serious help. Henri Rodet has some questions to answer. Our job is to convince him to do the right thing." "You, me and Sarah."
    Grafton grinned. "Have faith, Tommy."
    "It's going to take more than faith, dude. No one in France is going
    to want us digging up smelly little secrets. Not a single solitary soul."
    "I have faith in you," Jake Grafton said firmly.
    "It'll take a couple of weeks to scope out those two places and bug
    them. I'll need a couple of vans, all the good people we can get—and
    I mean real damn good—and a whole lot of luck."
    "We got the vans in Italy. They are in Paris now. I've raided the warehouse in Langley, and they used the diplomatic pouch to send us everything I thought you might need. And we don't have a couple of weeks."
    It took a moment for the implications of that remark to sink in. Grafton didn't come up with this caper last night. When the guys at the very top start scheming, it's time to run for cover. "Oh, man!"
    "I want you to go to France tomorrow, rent this apartment"—he passed me a slip of paper with an address on it—"and wait for a telephone call. The caller will give you a place and time. Subtract four hours from the time. Two guys you know will pick you up in a Citroen precisely at that time. If you're followed, don't go there. They won't make the meet if they are under surveillance." He removed a cell phone from a desk drawer and slid it across the desk.
    I didn't touch it. "It's sort of funny," I said, "how people talk. For instance, you don't say, 'we want,' you keep saying, 7 want.' "
    "I'm the man they gave the job to," Grafton said curtly. "I'm responsible for results. You could assume that I've discussed with my superiors how I intend to get the results they want. On the other hand, if your view of my character is a little darker, you might assume that I'm some sort of idiot rogue, that if my actions wreck the Franco-American alliance, it won't bother me. Make any assumption you like—doesn't matter an iota. Your job is to do what I tell you to do. You can bet your ass on that. Got it?" "I am betting my ass. That's the problem." His features softened. "That's the job, Tommy." "You made any arrangements to get us some luck ?"
    "You're going to supply the luck. Be careful, professional. Think every move through, keep your brain engaged and don't get sidetracked. We'll peel the onion one layer at a time. I want to know what you're doing and when you're doing it and what the results are. Keep me advised, keep your eyes open and you'll be lucky."
    The last twenty-four hours of my life had been rocky. Now, faced with the prospect of another Jake Grafton adventure, the gloom was setting in, which was why I said, "When they told me you were getting