The Aquitaine Progression Part 1

The Aquaintaine Progession.

by Robert Ludlum.

PART ONE.

Geneva. City of sunlight and bright reflections. Of billowing white sails on the lake st.u.r.dy, irregular buildings above, their rippling images on the water below. Of myriad flowers surrounding blue-green pools of fountains duets of exploding colors. Of small quaint bridges arching over the gla.s.sy surfaces of man-made ponds to tiny man-made islands, sanctuaries for lovers and friend sand quiet negotiators. Reflections.Geneva, the old and the new. City of high medieval walls and glistening tinted gla.s.s, of sacred cathedrals and less holy inst.i.tutions. Of sidewalk cafes and lakeside concerts, of miniature piers and gaily painted boats that chug around the vastsh.o.r.eline, the guides extolling the virtues and theestimated value of the lakefront estates that surelybelong to another time.Geneva. City of purpose, dedicated to the necessity of dedication, frivolity tolerated only when intrinsic to the agenda or the deal. Laughter is measured, controlled glances conveying approval of sufficiency or admonishing excess. The canton by the lake knows its soul. Its beauty coexists with industry, the balance not only accepted but jealously guarded.Geneva. City also of the unexpected, of predictability in conflict with sudden unwanted revelation, the violence of the mind struck by bolts of personal lightning.Cracks of thunder follow; the skies grow darkand the rains come. A deluge, pounding the angry waters taken by surprise, distorting vision, crashing down on the giant spray, Geneva's trademark on the lake, the jet d ear, that geyser designed by man todazzle man. When sudden revelations come, thegigantic fountain dies. All the fountains die andwithout the sunlight the flowers wither. The brightreflections are gone and the mind is frozen.Geneva. City of inconstancy.* * *Joel Converse, attorney-at-law, walked out ofthe hotel Richemond into the blinding morning sunlight on the Jardin Brunswick. Squinting, heturned left, shifting his attache case to his righthand, conscious of the value of its contents b.u.t.thinking primarily about the man he was to meetfor coffee and croissants at Le Chat Botte, asidewalk cafe across from the waterfront. "Re-meet"was more accurate, thought Converse, if the manhad not confused him with someone else.A. Preston Halliday was Joel's Americanadversary in the current negotiations, the finalisingof last-minute details for a Swiss-American mergerthat had brought both men to Ge neva. Althoughthe remaining work was minimal formalities,really, research having established that theagreements were in accord with the laws of bothcountries and acceptable to the International Courtin The Hague Halliday was an odd choice. He hadnot been part of the American legal team fielded bythe Swiss to keep tabs on Joel's firm. That in itselfwould not have excluded him fresh observationwas frequently an a.s.set but to elevate him to theposition of point, or chief spokesman, was, to saythe least, unorthodox. It was also unsettling.Halliday's reputation what little Converse knewof it was as a troubleshooter, a legal mechanicfrom San Francisco who could spot a loose wire, ripit out and short an engine. Negotiations coveringmonths and costing hundreds of thousands had beenaborted by his presence, that much Converserecalled about A. Preston Halliday. But that was allhe recalled. Yet Halliday said they knew each other."It's Press Halliday," the voice had announced over the hotel phone. "I'm pointing for Rosen in the Comm Tech-gem merger.""What happened?"Joel had asked, a mutedelectric razor in his left hand, his mind trying tolocate the name; it had come to him by the timeHalliday replied."The poor b.a.s.t.a.r.d had a stroke, so his partnerscalled me in." The lawyer had paused. "You musthave been mean, counselor.""We rarely argued, counselor. Christ, I'm sorry,I like Aaron. How is he?""He'll make it. They've got him in bed and on adozen versions of chicken soup. He told me to tellyou he's going to check your finals for invisible ink.""Which means you "re going to check because Idon't have any and neither did Aaron. This marriageis based on pure greed, and if you've studied thepapers you know that as well as I do.""The larceny of investment write-offs," agreedHalliday, "combined with a large chunk of atechnological market. No invisible ink. But since I'mthe new boy on the block, I've got a couple ofquestions. Let's have breakfast.""I was about to order room service.""It's a nice morning, why not get some air? I'm at the President, so let's split the distance. Do you know the Chat Botte?""American coffee and croissants. Quai du MontBlanc.- "You know it. How about twenty minutes?""Make it a half hour, okay?""Sure." Halliday had paused again. "It'll be goodto see you again, Joel.""Oh? Again?""You may not remember. A lot's happened since those days . . . more to you than to me, I'm afraid.""I'm not following you.""Well, there was Vietnam and you were aprisoner for a pretty long time.""That's not what I meant, and it was years ago.How do we know each other? What case?""No case, no business. We were cla.s.smates.""Duke? It's a large law school.""Further back. Maybe you'll remember when wesee each other. If you don't, I'll remind you.""You must like games.... Half an hour. Chat Botte."As Converse walked toward the Quai du MontBlanc, the vibrant boulevard fronting the lake, hetried to fit Halliday's name into a time frame, theyears to a school, a forgotten face to match anunremembered cla.s.smate. None came, and Hallidaywas not a common name, the short form "Press"even less so . . . unique, actually. If he had knownsomeone named Press Halliday, he could notimagine forgetting it. Yet the tone of voice hadimplied familiarity, even closeness.It'll be good to see you again, Joel. He had spokenthe words warmly, as he had the gratuitous referenceto Joel's POW status. But then, those words werealways spoken softly to imply sympathy if not toexpress it overtly. Too, Converse understood whyunder the circ.u.mstances Halliday felt he hadto bring up the subject of Vietnam, even fleetingly.The uninitiated a.s.sumed that all men imprisoned inthe North Vietnamese camps for any length of timehad been mentally damaged, per se, that a part oftheir minds had been altered by the experience,their recollections muddled. To a degree, some ofthese a.s.sumptions were undeniable, but not with re-spect to memory. Memories were sharpened becausethey were searched compulsively, often mercilessly.The acc.u.mulated years, the layers of experience . .. faces with eyes and voices, bodies of all sizes andshapes; scenes flashing across the inner screen, thesights and sounds, images and smells touching andthe desire to touch . . . nothing of the past was tooinconsequential to peel away and explore. Fre-quently it was all they had, especially atnight always at night, with the cold, penetratingdampness stiffening the body and the infinitelycolder fear paralysing the mind memories wereeverything. They helped mute the sharp reports ofsmall-arms fire, which were gratuitously explained inthe mornings as necessary executions of the unco-operative and unrepentant. Or they blocked out thedistant screams in the dark, of even moreunfortunate prisoners forced to play games, tooobscene to describe, demanded by their captors insearch of amus.e.m.e.nt.Like most men kept isolated for the greater partof their imprisonment, Converse had examined andreexamined every stage of his life, trying tounderstand . . . to like . . . the cohesive whole. Therewas much that he did not understand or like buthe could live with the product of those intensiveinvestigations. Die with it, if he had to; that was thepeace he had to reach for himself. Without it thefear was intolerable.And because these self-examinations went onnight after night and required the discipline ofaccuracy, Converse found it easier than most men toremember whole segments of his life. Like aspinning disk attached to a computer that suddenlystops, his mind, given only basic information, couldisolate a place or a person or a name. Repet.i.tionhad simplified and accelerated the process, and thatwas what bewildered him now. Unless Halliday wasreferring to a time so far back as to have been onlya brief, forgotten childhood acquaintance, no one ofthat name belonged to his past.It'll tee good to see you again, JoeL Were thewords a ruse, a lawyer's trick?Converse rounded the corner, the bra.s.s railing ofLe Chat Botte glistening, hurling back tiny explosionsof sunlight. The boulevard was alive with gleamingsmall cars and spotless buses; the pavements werewashed clean, the strollers in various stages ofhurried but orderly progress. Morning was a time forbenign energy in Geneva. Even the newspapersabove the tables in the sidewalk cafes were snappedwith precision, not crushed or mutilated into legiblepositio"And vehicles and pedestrians were not atwar; combat was supplanted by looks and nods, stopsand gestures of acknowledgment. As Joel walkedthrough the open bra.s.s gate of Le Chat Botte hewondered briefly if Geneva could export its morningsto New York. But then the City Council would votethe import down, he concluded the citizens of NewYork could not stand the civility.A newspaper was snapped directly below him onhis left, and when it was lowered Converse saw aface he knew. It was a coordinated face, not unlikehis own, the features compatible and in place. Thehair was straight and dark, neatly parted andbrushed, the nose sharp, above well-defined lips. Theface belonged to his past, thought Joel, but the namehe remembered did not belong to the face.The familiar-looking man raised his head; theireyes met and A. Preston Halliday rose, his shortcompact body obviously muscular under theexpensive suit."Joel, how are you?" said the now familiar voice,a hand outstretched above the table."h.e.l.lo . . . Avery," replied Converse, staring,awkwardly shifting his attache case to grip the hand."It is Avery, isn't it? Avery Fowler. Taft, earlysixties.. You never came back For the senior year,and no one knew why; we all talked about it. Youwere a wrestler.""Twice All New England," said the attorney,laughing, gesturing at the chair across from his own."Sit down and we'll catch up. I guess it's sort of asurprise for you. That's why I wanted us to meetbefore the conference this morning. " mean, it'd bea h.e.l.l of a note for you to get up and scream"Impostort' when I walked in, wouldn't it?""I'm still not sure I won't." Converse sat down,attache case at his feet, studying his legal opponent."What's this Halliday routine? Why didn't you saysomething on the phone?""Oh, come on, what was I going to say? "By the way,oldsport, you used to know me as Tinkerbell Jones.'You never would have showed up.""Is Fowler in jail somewhere?""He would have been if he hadn't blown hishead off," answered Halliday, not laughing."You're full of surprises. Are you a clone?""No, the son."Converse paused. " Maybe I should apologize.""No need to, you couldn't have known. It's whyI never came back for the senior year . . . and,G.o.dd.a.m.n it, I wanted that trophy. I would havebeen the only mat jock to win it three years in arow.""I'm sorry. What happened . . . or is it privilegedinformation, counselor? I'll accept that.""Not for you, counselor. Remember when youand I broke out to New Haven and picked up thosepigs at the bus station?""We said we were Yalies ""And only got taken, never got laid.""Our eyebrows were working overtime.""Preppies," said Halliday. "They wrote a bookabout us. Are we really that emasculated?""Reduced in stature, but we'll come back. We'rethe last minority, so we'll end up getting sympathy....What happened, Avery?"A waiter approached; the moment was broken.Both men ordered American coffee and croissants,no deviation from the accepted norm. The waiterfolded two red napkins into cones and placed onein front of each."What happened?" said Halliday quietly,rhetorically, after the waiter left. "The beautiful sonof a b.i.t.c.h who was my father embezzled fourhundred thousand from the Chase Manhattan whilehe was a trust officer, and when he was caught,went bang. Who was to know a respected, if trans-planted, commuter from Greenwich, Connecticut,had two women in the city, one on the Upper EastSide, the other on Bank Street? He was beautiful.""He was busy. I still don't understand the Halliday."After it happened the suicide was coveredup Mother raced back to San Francisco with avengeance. We were from California, you know . .. but then, why would you? With even morevengeance she married my stepfather, JohnHalliday, and all traces of Fowler were a.s.siduouslyremoved during the next few months.""Even to your first name?""No, I was always "Press' back in San Francisco.We Californians come up with catchy names. Tab,Troy, Crotch the 1950's Beverly Hills syndrome. AtTaft, my student ID read "Avery Preston Fowler,' soyou all just started calling me Avery or that awful"Ave.' Being a transfer student, I never bothered tosay anything. When in Connecticut, follow the gospelaccording to Holden Caulfield.""That's all well and good," said Converse, "butwhat happens when you run into someone like me?It's bound to happen.""You'd be surprised how rarely. After all it wasa long time ago, and the people I grew up with inCaiifornia understood. Kids out there have theirnames changed according to matrimonial whim, andI was in the East for only a couple of years, just longenough for the fourth and fifth forms at school. Ididn't know anyone in Greenwich to speak of, and Iwas hardly part of the old Taft crowd.""You had friends there. We were friends.""I didn't have many. Let's face it, I was anoutsider and you weren't particular. I kept a prettylow profile.""Not on the mats, you didn't."Halliday laughed. "Not very many wrestlersbecome lawyers, something about mat burns on thebrain. Anyway, to answer your question, only maybefive or six times over the past ten years has anyonesaid to me, "Hey, aren't you so-and-so and notwhatever you said your name was?' when somebodydid, I told them the truth. "My mother remarriedwhen I was sixteen.' "The coffee and croissants arrived. Joel broke hispastry in half. "And you thought I'd ask the questionat the wrong time, specifically when I saw you at theconference. Is that it?""Professional courtesy. I didn't want you dwellingon it or me when you should be thinking aboutyour client. After all, we tried to lose our virginitytogether that night in New Haven.""Speak for yourself." Joel smiled.Halliday grinned. "We got p.i.s.sed and bothadmitted it don't you remember? Incidentally, weswore each other to secrecy while throwing up in thecan.""Just testing you, counselor.I remember. So youleft the gray-flannel crowd for orange shirts andgold medallionsP""All the way. Berkeley, then across the street toStanford.""Good school.... How come the international field?""I liked traveling and figured it was the best wayof paying for it. That's how it started, really. Howabout you? I'd think you would have had all thetraveling you ever wanted.""I had delusions about the foreign service,diplomatic corps, legal section. That's how itstarted.""After all that traveling you did?"Converse levered his pale blue eyes at Halliday,conscious of the coldness in his look. It wasunavoidable, if misplaced as it usually was. "Yes,after all that traveling. There were too many liesand no one told us about them until it was too late.We were conned and it shouldn't have happened."Halliday leaned forward, his elbows on the table,hands clasped, his gaze returning Joel's. "I couldn'tfigure it," he began softly. "When I read your namein the papers, then saw you paraded on television,I felt awful. I didn't really know you that well, butI liked you.""It was a natural reaction. I'd have felt the sameway if it had been you.""I'm not sure you would. You see, I was one ofthe honchos of the protest movement.""You burned your draft card while flaunting the Yippie label," said Converse gently, the ice gonefrom his eyes. "I wasn't that brave.""Neither was I. It was an out-of-state library card.""I'm disappointed.""So was I in myself. But I was visible." Hallidayleaned back in his chair and reached for his coffee."How did you get so visible, Joel? I didn't think youwere the type.""I wasn't. I was squeezed.""I thought you said "conned.'""That came later." Converse raised his cup andsipped his black coffee, uncomfortable with thedirection the conversation had taken. He did notlike discussing those years, and all too frequently hewas called upon to do so. They had made him outto be someone he was not. "I was a soph.o.m.ore atAmherst and not much of a student.... Not much,h.e.l.l, I was borderline-negative, and whateverdeferment I had wasabout to go down the tube. But I'd been Hying sinceI was fourteen.""I didn't know that," interrupted Halliday."My father wasn't beautiful and he didn't havethe benefit of concubines, but he was an airlinepilot, later an executive for Pan Am. It was standardin the Converse household to By before you got yourdriver's license.""Brothers and sisters?'"A younger sister. She soloed before I did andshe's never let me forget it.""I remember. She was interviewed on television.""Only twice," Joel broke in, smiling. "She was onyour turf and didn't give a d.a.m.n who knew it. TheWhite House bunker put the word out to stay awayfrom her. "Don't tarnish the cause, and check hermail while you're at it.'""That's why I remember her," said Halliday. "Soa lousy student left college and the Navy gained ahot pilot.""Not very hot, none of us was. There wasn't thatmuch to be hot against. Mostly we burned.""Still, you must have hated people like me backin the States. Not your sister, of course.""Her, too," corrected Converse. "Hated, loathed,despised furious. But only when someone waskilled, or went crazy in the camps. Not for what youwere saying we all knew Saigon but because yousaid it without any real fear. You were safe, and youmade us feel like a.s.sholes. Dumb, frighteneda.s.sholes.""I can understand that.""So nice of you.""I'm sorry, I didn't mean it the way it sounded.""How did it sound, counselor?"Halliday frowned. "Condescending, I guess.""No guess," said Joel. "Right on.""You're still angry.""Not at you, only the dredging. I hate the subjectand it keeps coming back up.""Blame the Pentagon PR. For a while you werea bona fide hero on the nightly news. What was it,three escapes? On the first two you got caught andput on the racks, but on the last one you made it allby yourself, didn't you? You crawled through acouple of hundred miles of enemy jungle before youreached the lines.""It was barely a hundred and I was G.o.dd.a.m.nedlucky.With the first two tries I was responsible for killingeight men. I'm not very proud of that. Can we get tothe Comm Tech-Bern business?""Give me a few minutes," said Halliday, shovingthe croissant aside. "Please. I'm not trying to dredge.There's a point in the back of my mind, if you'llgrant I've got a mind.""Preston Halliday has one, his rep confirms it.You're a shark, if my colleagues are accurate. ButI knew someone named Avery, not Press.""Then it's Fowler talking, you re morecomfortable with him.""What's the point?""A couple of questions first. You see, I want tobe accurate because you ve got a reputation too.They say you're one of the best on the internationalscene, but the people I've talked to can't understandwhy Joel Converse stays with a relatively small ifentrenched firm when he's good enough to getflashier. Or even go out on his own.""Are you hiring?""Not me, I don't take partners. Courtesy of JohnHalliday attorney-at-law, San Francisco."Converse looked at the second half of thecroissant and decided against it. "What was thequestion, counselor?""Why are you where you're at?""I'm paid well and literally run the department;no one sits on my shoulder. Also I don't care totake chances. There's a little matter of alimony,amiable but demanding.""Child support, too?""None, thank heavens.""What happened when you got out of the Navy?How did you feel?" Halliday again leaned forward,his elbow on the table, chin cupped in his hand theinquisitive student. Or something else."Who are the people you've talked to?" askedConverse."Privileged information, for the moment,counselor. Will you accept that?"Joel smiled. "You are a shark.... Okay, the gospelaccording to Converse. I came back from thatdisruption of my life wanting it all. Angry, to besure, but wanting everything. The nonstudentbecame a scholar of sorts, and I'd be a liar if Ididn't admit to a fair amount of preferentialtreatment. I went back to Amberst and racedthrough two and a half years in three semesters anda summer. Then Duke offered me an accelerated program and I went there, followed bysome specializations at Georgetown while Iinterned.""You interned in Washington?"Converse nodded. "Yes.""For whom?""Clifford's firm. "Halliday whistled softly, sitting back. "That'sgolden territory, a pa.s.sport to Blackstone's heaven aswell as the multinationals.""I told you I had preferential treatment.""Was that when you thought about the foreignservice? While you were at Ceorgetown? InWashingtonP"Again Joel nodded, squinting as a pa.s.sing flash ofsunlight bounced off a grille somewhere on thelakefront boulevard. "Yes," he replied quietly."You could have had it," said Halliday."They wanted me for the wrong reasons, all thewrong reasons. When they realized I had a differentset of rules in mind, I couldn't get a twenty-cent tourof the State Department. ""What about the Clifford firm? You were a h.e.l.lof an image, even for them." The Californian raisedhis hands above the table, palms forward. I know, Iknow. The wrong reasons.""Wrong numbers," insisted Converse. " Therewere forty-plus lawyers on the masthead and anothertwo hundred on the payroll. I'd have spent ten yearstrying to find the men's room and another tengetting the key. That wasn't what I was looking for.'What were you looking for?""Pretty much what I've got. I told you, themoney's good and I run the international division.The latter's just as important to me.""You couldn t have known that when you joined,"objected Halliday.But I did. At least I had a fair indication. WhenTalbot, Brooks and Simon as you put it, that smallbut entrenched firm I'm with came to me, wereached understanding. If after four or five years Iproved out, I'd take over for Brooks. He was theoverseas man and was getting tired of adjusting to allthose time zones." Again Converse paused."Apparently I proved out."" And just as apparently somewhere along theline you got married.Joel leaned back in the chair. "Is this necessary?""It's not even pertinent, but I'm intenselyinterested.""Why?""It's a natural reaction," said Halliday, his eyesamused. "I think you'd feel the same way if youwere me and I were you, and I'd gone through whatyou went through.""Shark dead ahead," mumbled Converse."You don't have to respond, of course, counselor.""I know, but oddly enough I don't mind. She'staken her share of abuse because of that what-l've-been-through business." Joel broke thecroissant but made no effort to remove it from theplate. "Comfort, convenience, and a vague image ofstability," he said."I beg your pardon?""Her words," continued Joel. "She said that I gotmarried so I'd have a place to go and someone tofix the meals-and do the laundry, and eliminate theirritating, time-consuming foolishness that goes withfinding someone to sleep with. Also by legitimisingher, I projected the. proper image.... "And, Christ,did I have to play the part' also her words.""Were they true?""I told you, when I came back I wanted it all andshe was part of it. Yes, they were true. Cook, maid,laundress, bedmate, and an acceptable, attractiveappendage. She told me she could never figure outthe pecking order.""She sounds like quite a girl.""She was. She is.""Do I discern a note of possible reconciliation?""No way." Converse shook his head, a partialsmile on his lips but only a trace of humor in hiseyes. "She was also conned and it shouldn t havehappened. Anyway, I like my current status, I reallydo. Some of us just weren't meant for a hearth androast turkey, even if we sometimes wish we were.""It's not a bad life.""Are you into it?" asked Joel quickly so as toshift the emphasis."Right up with orthodontists and SAT scores.Five kids and one wife. I wouldn t have it any otherway.""But you travel a lot, don't your""We have great homecomings." Halliday againleanedforward, as if studying a witness. ""So you have noreal attachments now, no one to run back to.'" Talbot, Brooks and Simon might find thatoffensive. Also my father. Since Mother died we havedinner once a week when he's not flying all over theplace, courtesy of a couple of lifetime pa.s.ses.""He still gets around a lot?""One week he's in Copenhagen, the next in HongKong. He enjoys himself; he keeps moving. He'ssixty-eight and spoiled rotten.""I think I'd like him."Converse shrugged, again smiling. "You mightnot. He thinks all lawyers are p.i.s.s ants, me included.He's the last of the white-scarved flyboys.""I'm sure I'd like him.... But outside of youremployers and your father, there are no shall wesay priority entanglements in your life.""If you mean women, there are several and we'regood friends, and I think this conversation has goneabout as far as it should go.""I told you, I had a point," said Halliday."Then why not get to it, counselor?Interrogatories are over. "The Californian nodded. "All right, I will. Thepeople I spoke with wanted to know how free youwere to travel.""The answer is that I'm not. I've got a job and aresponsibility to the company I work for. Today'sWednesday, we'll have the merger tied up by Friday,I'll take the weekend off and be back onMonday when I'm expected.""Suppose arrangements could be made thatTalbot Brooks and Simon found acceptable?""That's presumptuous.""And you found very difficult to reject.""That's preposterous.""Try me," said Halliday. "Five hundred thousandfor accepting on a best-efforts basis, one million ifyou pull it off.""Now you're insane." A second flash of lightblinded Converse, this one remaining stationarylonger than the first. He raised his left hand to blockit from his eyes as he stared at the man he had onceknown as Avery Fowler. "Also, ethics notwithstandingbecause you haven't a d.a.m.n thing to win thismorning, your timing smells. I don't like gettingoffers evencrazy offers from attorneys I'm about to meetacross a table.""Two separate ent.i.ties, and you're right, I don'thave a d.a.m.n thing to win or lose. You and Aarondid it all, and I'm so ethical, I'm billing the Swissonly for my time minimum basis because noexpertise was called for. My recommendation thismorning will be to accept the package as it stands,not even a comma changed. Where's the conflict?""Where's the sanityP" asked Joel. "&To say nothing of those arrangements Talbot, Brooks and Simon will find acceptable. You're talking roughlyabout two and a half top years of salary and bonusesfor nodding my head.""Nod it," said Halliday. "We need you."" We? That's a new wrinkle, isn't it? I thought itwas they. They being the people you spoke with.Spell it out, Press."A. Preston Halliday locked his eyes with Joules."I'm part of them, and something is happening thatshouldn't be happening. We want you to put acompany out of business. It's bad news and it'sdangerous. We'll give you all the tools we can.""What company?""The name wouldn't mean anything, it's notregistered. Let's call it a govermnent-in-exile.""A what2"A group of like-minded men who are in theprocess of building a portfolio of resources soextensive it'll guarantee them influence where theyshouldn't have it authority where they shouldn'thave it.""Where is that?""In places this poor inept world can't afford.They can do it because no one expects them to.""You're pretty cryptic.""I'm frightened. I know them.""But you have the tools to go after them," saidConverse. "I presume that means they're vulnerable."Haliday nodded. "We think they are. We havesome leads, but it'll take digging, piecing thingstogether. There's every reason to believe they'vebroken laws, engaged in activities and transactionsprohibited by their respective governments."Joel was silent for a moment, studying theCalifornian. "Governments?" he asked. "Plural?""Yes." Halliday's voice dropped. "They're differentnationalities.""But one company?" said Converse. "Onecorporation?""In a manner of speaking, yes.""How about a simple yes?""It's not that simple.'"I'll tell you what is," interrupted Joel. "You'vegot leads so you go after the big bad wolves. I'mcurrently and satisfactorily employed."Halliday paused, then spoke. "No, you're not," hesaid softly.Again there was silence, each man appraising theother. "What did you say?" asked Converse, his eyesblue ice."Your firm understands. You can have a leave ofabsence.""You presumptuous son of a b.i.t.c.h! Who gave youthe right even to approach ""General George Marcus Delavane," Hallidaybroke in. He delivered the name in a monotone.It was as if a bolt of lightning had streaked downthrough the blinding sunlight burning Joel's eyes,turning the ice into fire. Cracks of thunder followed,exploding in his head.The pilots sat around the long rectangular table inthe wardroom, sipping coffee and staring down into thebrown liquid or up at the Bray no one caring to breakthe silence. An hour ago they had been sweeping overPak Song, firing theearth, interdictingtheadvancingNorth Vietnamese battalions, giving vitaltime to the regrouping ARVN and American troops whosoon would beunderbrutalsiege. They had completed thestrike and returned to the carrier all but one. Theyhad lost their commanding officer.. Lieutenant SeniorGrade Gordon Ramsey had been hit by a fluke rocketthat had winged out of its trajectory over the coastlineand zeroed in on Ramsey's fuselage; the explosion hadfilled the jet streams, death at six hundred miles anhour in the air, life erased in the blinking of an eye. Asevere weather front had followed hard upon thesquadron; there would be no more strikes,perhapsforseveral days. There would be time to thinkand that was not a pleasant thought"Lieutenant Converse. " said a sailor by the openwardroom door."Yes?""The ca plain requests your presence in his quarters,sir. " The invitation was so nicely phrased, mused Joel,as he got out of his chair, acknowledging the comberlooks of those around the table. The request was.e.xpected, but unwelcome. The promotion was an hotterhe would willingly forgo. It was not that he heldlongevity or seniority or even age over his fellow pilots;it was simply that he had been in the air longer thananyone else and with that time came the experiencenecessary for the leader of a squadron.As he climbed the narrow steps up toward thebridge he saw the outlines of an immense army Cobrahelicopter in the distant sky stuttering its way towardthe carrier. In five minutes or so it would be hoveringover the threshold and lower itself to the pad; someonefrom land was paying the Navy a visit."It's a terrible loss, Converse, "said the captain,standing over his charts table, shaking his head sadly."And a letter I hate like h.e.l.l to write. G.o.d knowsthey're never easy, but this one's more painful thanmost.""We all feel the same way, sir. ""I'm sure you do. " The pa plain nodded. "I'm alsosure you know why you're here.""Not specifically, sir. ""Ramsey said you were the best, and that meansyou're taking over one of the Amok squadrons in theSouth China Sea. " The telephone mng, interruptingthe carrier's senioroffeer. He picked it up. "Yes9Whatfollowed was nothingJoel expected. Thecaptain at first frowned, then tensed the muscles of hisface, his eyes both alarmed and angry. "What?" heexclaimed, raising his voice. "Was there any advancenotice anything in the radio roomy" There was apause, after which the captain slammed down thephone, shouting, "Jesus Christ!" He looked at Converse."It seems we have the dubious honor of an unan-nounced visitation by Command-Saigon, and I domean visitation!""I'M return below, sir, " said Joel, starting to salute."Not just yet, Lieutenant, "shot back the captainquietly but f rally. "You are receiving your orders, andas they affect the air operations of this ship, you'll hearthem through. At the least, we'll let Mad Marcus knowhe's interfering with Navy business."The next thirty seconds were taken up with the ritual ofcommand a.s.signment, a senioro"ficer investing asubordinate with new responsibilities. Suddenly therewas a sharp two-ra p knock the captain's door openedand the tall, broad-shouldered general of the ArmyGeorge Marcus Delavane intruded, dominating theroom with the sheer force of his presence."Captain?" said Delavane, saluting the ship's com-manderfirst despite the Navy man's lesser rank. Thesomewhat high-pitched voice was courteous, but notthe eyes; they were intensely hostile."General, " replied the pa plain, saluting back alongwith Converse. "Is this an unannounced inspection byCommand-Saigon?""No, it's an urgently demanded conference betweenyou and me between Command-Saigon and one of itslesser forces. ""I see, " said the four-striper, anger showing throughhis calm. "At the moment I'm delivering urgent ordersto this man ""You saw fit to countermand mine!" Delavanebroke in vehemently."General, this has been a sad and trying day, " saidthe captain. "We lost one of our finest pilots barely anhour ago ""Running away?"Again Delavane interru pled, thetastelessness of his remark compounded by the nasalpitch of his voice. "Was his G.o.dd.a.m.ned tail shot off?""For the record, I resent that!" said Converse,unable to control himself "I'm replacing that man andI resent what you just said General!""You? Who the h.e.l.l are you?""Easy, Lieutenant. You're dismissed. ""I respectfully request to answer the general, sir!"shouted Joel, in his anger refusing to move."You what, prissy flyboy?""My name is ""Forget it, I'm not interested!" Delavane whippedhis head back toward the ca plain. "What I want toknow is why you think you can disobey my orders theorders from Command-Saigon!I called a strikeforfifteen hundred hours! You "respectfully declined' toimplement that order!""A weather front's moved in and you should knowit as well as I do. ""My meteorologists say it's completely f gable!""I suspect if you asked for that finding during aBurma monsoon they'd deliver it""That's gross insubordination!""This is my ship and military regulations are quiteclear as to who's in command here.""Do you want to connect me to your radioroom?l'll reach the Oval Of dice and we'll see just howlong you've got this ship!""I'm sure you'll want to speak privately probablyover a scrambler. I'll have you escorted there.""G.o.dd.a.m.n you, I've got four thousandtroops maybe twenty percent seasoned moving upinto Sector Five! We need a low-alt.i.tude combinedstrike from land and sea and weal have it if I have toget your a.s.s out of here within the hour!And I can doit, Captain!. . . We're over here to win, win, and win itall! We don "t need sugarcoated Nellies hedging theirG.o.dd.a.m.ned bets! Maybe you never heard it before, butall war is a risk! You don "t win if you don "t risk, Caplain!""I've been there, General. Common sense cutslosses, and if you cut enough losses you can win thenext battle. ""I'm going to win this one, with or without you,Blue Boy!""I respectfuUy advise you to temper your language,General. ""You what?" Delavane's face was contorted in fury,his eyes the eyes of a savage wild animal. "You adviseme? You advise Command-Saigon! Well, you dowhatever you like Blue Boy in yoursatin pants b.u.t.the incursion up into the Tho Valley is on.""The Tho,"interrupted Converse. "That's the first legof the Pak Song route. We've hit it four times. I knowthe terrain. ""You know it9shouted Delawne."I do, but I take my orders from the commanderof this ship General. ""You prissy s.h.i.t-kicker, you take orders from thePresident of the United States!He's your commander inchief7And I'll get those orders!"Delavane's face was inches from Joel's, themaniacal expression challenging every nerve ending inJoel 's body: hatred matched by loathing Barelyrealising the words werehis, Converse spoke. "I, too, would advise the Generalto be careful of his language.""Why, s.h.i.t-kicker? Has Blue Boy got this place wired?""Easy, Lieutenant! I said you were dismissed!""You want me to watch my language, big fellawithyour little silver bar? No, sonny boy, you watch it, andyou read it! If that squadron of yours isn "t in the air atfifteen hand red hours, I'll label this carrier the biggestyellow streak in Southeast Asia! You got that,satin-pantsed Blue Boy, third cla.s.s?"Once moreloel replied, wondering as he spokewhere he found the audacity. "I don't know where youcome from, sir, but I sincerely hope we meet underdifferent circ.u.mstances sometime. I think you he a pig""Insubordination!Also, I'd break your back.""Dismissed, Lieutenant!""No, Captain, you're wrong!" shouted the general."He may be the man to lead this strike, after all. Well,what'll it be, Blue Boys? Airborne, or the President ofthe United States or the label?"At 1520 hours Converse led the squadron off thecarrier deck. At 1538, as they headed at low alt.i.tudeinto the weather, the f rst two casualties occurred overthe coastline; the wing planes were shot down at six hundred miles an hour in the air. At 15461 his right engine exploded, his alt.i.tude made thedirect hit easy. At 1546:30, unable to stabilise, Converseejected into the downpour of the storm clouds, hisparachute instantly swept into the vortex of theconflicting winds. As he swung violently down towardthe earth, the straps digging into his flesh with eachwhipping buffet, one image kept repeating its presencewithin the darkness. The maniacal face of GeneralGeorge Marcus Delavane. He was about to begin anindeterminate stay in h.e.l.l, courtesy of a madman. Andas he later learned, the losses were ink nitely greater onthe ground.Delavane! The Butcher of Danang and Pleiku.Waster of thousands, throwing battalion afterbattalion into the jungles and the hills with neitheradequate training nor sufficient firepower. Wounded,frightened children had been marched into thecamps, bewildered, trying not to weep and, finallyunderstanding, weeping out of control. The storiesthey told were a thousand variations on the samesickening theme. Inexperienced,untried troops had been sent into battlewithin days after disembarkation; the weight ofsheer numbers was expected to vanquish the oftenunseen enemy. And when the numbers did notwork, more numbers were sent. For three yearscommand headquarters listened to a maniac.Delavane! The warlord of Saigon, fabricator of bodycounts, with no acknowledgment of blown-apartfaces and severed limbs, liar and extoller of deathwithout a cause! A man who had proved, finally, tobe too lethal even for the Pentagon zealots azealot who had outdistanced his own, in the endrevolting his own. He had been recalled andretired only to write diatribes read by fanatics whofed their own personal furies.Men like that can't be allowed anymore, don "t youunderstand? He was the enemy, Otis enemy! Thosehad been Converse's own words, shouted in a feverof outrage before a panel of uniformed questionerswho had looked at each other avoiding him, notwanting to respond to those words. They hadthanked him perfunctorily, told him that the nationawed him and thousands like him a great debt, andwith regard to his final comments he should try tounderstand that there were often many sides to anissue, and that the complex execution of commandfrequently was not what it appeared to be. In anyevent, the President had called upon the nation tobind its wounds; what good was served by fuelingold controversies? And then the final kicker, thethreat."You yourself briefly a.s.sumed the terribleresponsibility of leadership, Lieutenant," said apale-faced Navy lawyer, barely glancing at Joel, hiseyes scanning the pages of a file folder. "Before youmade your final and successful escape by yourself,from a pit in the ground away from the maincamp you led two previous attempts involving atotal of seventeen prisoners of war. Fortunately yousurvived, but eight men did not. I'm sure that you,as their leader, their tactician, never antic.i.p.ated acasualty risk of nearly fifty percent. It's been saidoften, but perhaps not often enough: command isawesome, Lieutenant."Translation: Don't join the freaks, soldier. Yousurvived, but eight were killed. Were therecirc.u.mstances the military is not aware of, tactics thatprotected some more than others, one more thanothers: One man who managed to break out byhimself eluding guards that shot on sight prisoners onthe loose at night? Merely to raise the question bymOpening a specific file will produce a stigma thatwillfollow youfor the rest of your life. Back oft; soldier. We've got youby simply raising a question we all know should not beraised, but we'll do it because we've taken enough }yak.We'll cut it off wherever we can. Be ha ppy yousurvived and got out. Now, get out.At that moment, Converse had been as close toconsciously throwing away his life as he would everhave thought possible. Physically a.s.saulting thatpanel of sanctimonious hypocrites had not been outof the question, until he studied the face of eachman, his peripheral gaze taking in rows of tunicribbons, battle stars on most. Then a strange thinghad happened: disgust, revulsion andcompa.s.sion swept over him. These were panickedmen, a number having committed their lives to theircountry's practice of war . . . only to have beenconned, as he had been conned. If to protect whatwas decent meant protecting the worst, who was tosay they were wrong? Where were the saints? Or thesinners? Could there be any of either when all werevictims?Disgust, however, won out. Lieutenant JoelConverse, USNR, could not bring himself to give afinal salute to that council of his superiors. Insilence, he had turned, with no military bearingwhatsoever, and walked out of the room as if he hadpointedly spat on the Hoor.A flash of light again from the boulevard, ablinding echo of the sun from the Quai du MontBlanc. He was in Geneva, not in a North Vietnamesecamp holding children who vomited while tellingtheir stories, or in San Diego being separated fromthe United States Navy. He was in Geneva, and theman sitting across the table knew everything he wasthinking and feeling."Why me?" whispered Joel."Because, as they say," said Halliday, "you couldbe motivated. That's the simple answer. A story wastold. The captain of your aircraft carrier refused toput his planes in the air for the strike that Delavanedemanded. Several storms had moved in; he calledit suicidal. But Delavane forced him to, threatenedto call the macho White House and have the captainstripped of his command. You led that strike. It'swhere you got it.""I'm alive," said Converse Hatly. "Twelve hundredkids never saw the next day and maybe a thousandmore wished they never had.""And you were in the captain's quarters whenMad Marcus Delavane made his threats and calledthe shots.""I was there," agreed Converse, no comment inhis voice. Then he shook his head in bewilderment."Everything I told you about myself you've heardit before.""Read it before," corrected the lawyer fromCalifornia. "Like you and I think we're the best inthe business under fifty I don't put a h.e.l.l of a lotof stock in the written word. I have to hear a voice,or see a face.""I didn't answer you.""You didn't have to.""But you have to answer me now. You're nothere for Comm Tech-Bern, are you?""Yes, that part's true," said Halliday. "Only theSwiss didn't come to me, I went to them. I've beenwatching you, waiting for the moment. It had to bethe right one, perfectly natural, geographicallylogical.""Why? What do you mean?""Because I'm being watched.... Rosen did have astroke. I heard about it, contacted Bern, and madea plausible case for myself.""Your reputation was enough.""It helped, but I needed more. I said we kneweach other, that we went way back which G.o.dknows was true and as much as I respected you, Iimplied that you were extremely astute with finals,and that I was familiar with your methods. I also putmy price high enough.""An irresistible combination for the Swiss," saidConverse."I'm glad you approve.""But I don't," contradicted Joel. "I don't approveof you at all, least of all your methods. You haven'ttold me anything, just made cryptic remarks aboutan unidentified group of people you say aredangerous, and brought up the name of a man youknew would provoke a response. Maybe you're justa freak, after all, still pushing that safe Yippeelabel.""Calling someone a "freak' is subjectivelyprejudicial in the extreme, counselor, and would bestricken from the record.""Still, the point's been made with the jury,lawyer-man," said Converse quietly but with anger."And I'm making it now.""Don't prejudge the safety," continued Halliday in avoice that was equally quiet. "I'm not safe, andoutside of a proclivity for cowardice, there's a wifeand five children back in San Francisco I care deeplyabout.""So you come to me because I have nosuch what was it? priority entanglements?""I came to you because you're invisible, you'renot involved, and because you're the best, and I can'tdo ill legally can't do it, and it's got to be donelegally."" Why don't you say what you mean?" demandedConverse. "Because if you don't I'm getting up andwe'll see each other later across a table.""I represented Delavane," said Halliday quickly."G.o.d help me I didn't know what I was doing, andvery few people approved, but I made a point weused to make all the time. Unpopular causes andpeople also deserve representation.""I can't argue with that.""You don't know the cause. I do. I found out.""What cause?"Halliday leaned forward. "The generals," he said,his voice barely audible. "They're coming back."Joel looked closely at the Californian. "Fromwhere? I didn't know they'd been away.""From the past," said Halliday. "From years ago."Converse sat back in the chair, now amused."Good Lord, I thought your kind were extinct. Areyou talking about the Pentagon menace, Press it is"Press,' isn't it? The San Francisco short-form, or wasit from Haight-Ashbury, or the Beverly Hillssomething or other? You're a little behind the times;you already stormed the Presidio.""Please, don't make jokes. I'm not joking.""Of course not. It's Seven Days in May, or is itFive Days in August? It's August now, so let's call itThe Old-Time Guns of August. Nice ring, I think.""Stop ill There's nothing remotely funny, and ifthere were, I'd find it before you did.""That's a comment, I suppose," said.Joel."You're G.o.dd.a.m.ned right it is, because I didn't gothrough what you went through. I stayed out of it, Iwasn't conned, and that means I can laugh at fanaticsbecause they never hurt me, and I still think it's thebest ammunition against them. But not now. There'snothing to laugh at nowl""Permit me a small chuckle," said Conversewithout smiling. "Even in my most paranoid momentsI never subscribedto the conspiracy theory that has the militaryrunning Washington. It couldn't happen.""It might be less apparent than in othercountries, but that's all I'll grant you.""What does that mean?""It would undoubtedly be much more obvious inIsrael, certainly in Johannesburg, quite possibly inFrance and Bonn, even the UK none of themtakes its pretences that seriously. But I supposeyou've got a point. Washington will drape theconshtubonal robes around itself until they becomethreadbare and fall away revealing a uniform,incidentally."Joel stared at the face in front of him. You'renot joking, are you? And you're too bright to try tosnow me.""Or con you," added Halliday. "Not after thatlabel I wore while watching you in pajamas halfwayacross the world. I couldn't do it.""I think I believe you.... You menhoned severalcountries, specific countries. Some aren't speaking,others barely; a few have bad blood and worsememories. On purpose?""Yes," nodded the Californian. "It doesn't makeany difference because the group I'm talking aboutthinks it has a cause that will ultimately unite themall. And run them all their way.""The generals?""And admirals, and brigadiers, and fieldmarshals old soldiers who pitched their tents in theright camp. So far right there's been no label sincethe Reichstag.""Come on, Avery!" Converse shook his head inexasperabon. "A bunch of tired old warhorses ""Recruiting and indoctrinating young, hard,capable new commanders," interrupted Halliday." coughing their last bellows." Joel stopped."Have you proof of that?" he asked, each wordspoken slowly."Not enough . . . but with some digging . . .maybe enough.""G.o.dd.a.m.n it, stop being elliptical.""Among the possible recruits, twenty or sonames at the State Department and the Pentagon,"said Halliday. "Men who clear export licenses andwho spend millions upon millions because they'reallowed to spend it, all of which, naturally, widensany circle of friends.""And influence," stated Converse. "What aboutLondon, Paris, and Bonn Johannesburg and TelAviv?""Again names.""How firm?"They were there, l saw them myself. It was anaccident. How many have taken an oath I don'tknow, but they were there, and their stripes fit thephilosophical pattern."" The Reichstag?"More encompa.s.sing. A global Third Reich. Allthey need is a Hitler."Where does Delavane fit in?"He may anoint one. He may designate the Fuhrer."That's ridiculous. Who'd take him seriously?"He was taken seriously before. You saw the results."That was then, not now. You're not answeringthe question."- Men who thought he was right before, and don'tfool yourself, they're out there by the thousands.What's mind-blowing is that there are a few dozenwith enough seed money to finance his and theirdelusions which, of course, they don't see asdelusions at all, only as the proper evolution ofcurrent history, all other ideologies having failedmiserably."Joel started to speak, then stopped, his thoughtssuddenly altered. "Why haven't you gone to someonewho can stop them? Stop him."Who?""I shouldn't have to tell you that. Any number ofpeople in the government elected andappointed and more than a dozen departments. Forstarters, there's Justice.""I'd be laughed out of Washington," said Halliday."Beyond the fact that we have no proof as I told you,just names, suppositions don't forget that Yippielabel I once wore. They'd pin it on me again and tellme to get lost.""But you represented Delavane.""Which only compounds the problem byintroducing the legal aspects. I shouldn't have to tellyou that.""The lawyer-client relationship." Converse nodded."You're in a mora.s.s before you can make a charge.Unless you've got hard evidence against your client,proof that he's going to commit further crimes andthat you're aiding the commission of those crimes bykeeping silent."" Which proof I don't have," interrupted theCalifornian."Then no one will touch you," added Joel."Especially ambitious lawyers at Justice; they don'twant their postgovernment avenues cut off. As you say, the Delavanesof this world have their const.i.tuencies.""Exactly,' agreed Halliday. "And when I beganasking questions and tried to reach Delavane, hewouldn't see me or talk to me. Instead, I got aletter telling me I was fired, that if he had knownwhat I was he never would have retained me."Smoking dope and screaming curses while braveyoung men answered their country's call.'"Converse whistled softly. "And you think youweren't connedP You provide legal services for him,a structure he can use for all intents and purposeswithin the law, and if anything smells, you're the lastperson who can blow the whistle. He drapes the oldsoldier's flag around himself and calls you a vin-dictive freak."Halliday nodded. "There was a lot more in thatletter nothing that could damage me except wherehe was concerned, but it was brutal.""I'm certain of it.' Converse took out a pack ofcigarettes; he held it forward as Halliday shook hishead. "How did you represent him?" asked Joel."I set up a corporation, a small consulting firmin Palo Alto specialising in imports and exports.What's allowed, what isn't, what the quotas are, andhow to legitimately reach the people in D.C. whowill listen to your case. Essentially it was a lobbyingeffort, trading in on a name, if anyone remembered.At the time, it struck me as kind of pathetic.""I thought you said it wasn't registered,"remarked Converse, lighting a cigarette."It's not the one we're after. It'd be a waste oftime.""But it's where you first got your information,isn't it? Your leads?""4That was the accident, and it won't happenagain. It's so legitimate it's legal Clorox.""Still it's a front," -insisted Joel. "It has to be ifeverything or anything you've said is true.""It's true, and it is. But nothing's written down.It's an instrument for travel, an excuse for Delavaneand the men around him to go from one place toanother, carrying on legitimate business. But whilethey're in a given area, they do their real thing.""The gathering of the generals and the fieldmarshals?" said Converse."We think it's a spreading missionary operation.Very quiet and very intense.""What's the name of Delavane's firm?""Palo Alto International."Joel suddenly crushed out his cigarette. "Who'swe, Avery? Who's putting up this kind of moneywhen amounts like that mean they're people who canreach anyone they want to in Washington?""Are you interested?""Not in working for someone I don't know orapprove of. No, I'm not.""Do you approve of the objectives as I've outlinedthem to you?""If what you've told me is true, and I can't thinkof any reason why you'd lie about it, of course I do.You knew I would. That still doesn't answer myquestion.""Suppose," went on Halliday rapidly, "I were togive you a letter stating that the sum of five hundredthousand dollars to be allocated to you from a blindaccount on the island of Nfykonos was provided bya client of mine whose character and reputation areof the highest order. That his ""Wait a minute, Press," Converse broke in harshly."Please don't interrupt me, Please!" Halliday'seyes were riveted on Joel, a manic intensity in hisstare. "There's no other way, not now. I'll put myname my professional life on the line. You've beenhired to do confidential work within yourspecialisation by a man known to me to be anoutstanding citizen who insists on anonymity. Iendorse both the man and the work he's asked youto do, and swear not only to the legality of theobjectives but to the extraordinary benefits thatwould be derived by any success you might have.You're covered, you've got five hundred thousanddollars, and I expect just as important to you,perhaps more so, you have the chance to stop amaniac maniacs from carrying out an unthinkableplan. At the least, they'd create widespread unrest,political crises everywhere, enormous suffering. Atthe worst, they might change the course of history tothe point where there wouldn't be any history."Converse sat rigid in his chair, his gaze unbroken."That's quite a speech. Practice it long?""No, you son of a b.i.t.c.h! It wasn't necessary topractice. Any more than you rehea.r.s.ed that littleexplosion of yours twelve years ago in San Diego."Men like that can't be allowedanymore, don't you understand? He was the enemy,our enemy?' . . . Those were the words, weren'tthey?"" You did your homework, counselor," said Joel,his anger controlled. "Why does your client insist onbeing anonymous? Why doesn't he take his money,make a political contribution, and talk to thedirector of the CIA, or the National SecurityCouncil, or the White House, any of which he coulddo easily? A half-million dollars isn't choppedchicken liver even today.""Because he can't be involved officially in anyway whatsoever." Halliday frowned as he expelledhis breath. "I know it sounds crazy, but that's theway it is. He is an outstanding man and I went tohim because I was cornered. Frankly, I thought he'dpick up the phone and do what you just said. Callthe White House, if it came to it, but he wanted togo this route.""With me?""Sorry, he didn't know you. He said a strangething to me. He told me to find someone to shootdown the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds without giving them the dignity ofthe government's concern, even its recognition. Atfirst I couldn't understand, but then I did. It fit inwith my own theory that laughing at the Delavanesof this world renders them impotent morethoroughly than any other way.""It also eliminates the specter of martyrdom,"added Converse. "Why would this outstandingcitizen do what he's doing? Why is it worth themoney to him?""If I told you, I'd be breaking the confidence.""I didn't ask you his name. I want to know why.""By telling you," said the Califomian, "you'dknow who he is. I can't do that. Take my word forit, you'd approve of him.""Next question," said Joel, a sharp edge to hisvoice. "Just what the h.e.l.l did you say to Talbot,Brooks that they found so acceptable?""Resigned to finding it acceptable," correctedHalliday. "I had help. Do you know Judge LucasAnstett?""Second Circuit Court," said Converse, nodding."He should have been tapped for the SupremeCourt years ago.""That seems to be the consensus. He's also afriend of my client, and as I understand it, he metwith John Talbot and Nathan Simon Brooks wasout of town and without revealing my client'sname, told them there was a problem that mightwell erupt into a national crisis if immediate legalaction wasn't taken. Several U.S. firms were involved,he explained, but the problem basically lay inEurope and required the talents of an experiencedinternational lawyer. If their junior partner, JoelConverse, was selected and he accepted, would theyconsent to a leave of absence so he could pursue thematter on a confidential basis? Naturally, the judgestrongly endorsed the project.""And naturally Talbot and Simon went along,"said Joel. "You don't refuse Anstett. He's tood.a.m.ned reasonable, to say nothing of the power ofhis court.""I don't think he'd use that lever.""It's there."Halliday reached into his jacket pocket and tookout a long white business envelope. "Here's theletter. It spells out everything I said. There's also aseparate page defining the schedule in Mykonos.Once you make arrangements at the bank how youwant the money paid or where you want ittransferred you'll be given the name of a man wholives on the island; he's retired. Phone him; he'll tellyou when and where to meet. He has all the toolswe can give you. The names, the connections as wethink they are, and the activities they're most likelyengaged in that violate the laws of their respectivegovernments sending arms, equipment, andtechnological information where it shouldn't be sent.Build just two or three cases that are tied toDelavanc -even circ.u.mstantially and it'll be enough.We'll turn it all into ridicule. It will be enough.""Where the hey do you get your nerve?" saidConverse angrily. "I haven't agreed to anything! Youdon't make decisions for me, and neither doesTalbot or Simon, nor the holy Judge Anstett, noryour G.o.dd.a.m.ned client! What did you think youwere doing? Appraising me like a piece of horse-flesh, making arrangements about me behind myback! Who do you people think you are?""Concerned people who think we've found theright man for the right job at the right time," saidHalliday, dropping the envelope in front of Joel."Only there's not that much time left. You've beenwhere they want to take us and you know what it'slike." Suddenly the Californian got up. "Think about.i.t. We'll talk later. By the way, the Swiss know wewere meeting this morning. If anyone asks what wetalked about, tell them I agreed to the finaldisposition of the Cla.s.s A stock. It's in our favoreven though you may think otherwise. Thanksfor the coffee. I'll be across the table in an hour. It'sgood to see you again, Joel."The Californian walked swiftly into the aisle andout through the bra.s.s gate of the Chat Botte intothe sunlight of the Quai du Mont Blanc.The telephone console was built into the far endof a long dark conference table. Its muted hum wasin keeping with the dignified surroundings. TheSwiss arbitre, the legal representative of the cantonof Geneva, picked it up and spoke softly, noddinghis head twice, then replaced the phone in its cradle.He looked around the table; seven of the eightattorneys were in their chairs talking quietly withone another. The eighth, Joel Converse, stood infront of an enormous window flanked by drapes andoverlooking the Quai Gustave Ador. The giant jetd'eau erupted beyond, its pulsating spray cascadingto the left under the force of a north wind. The skywas growing dark; a summer storm was on its wayfrom the Alps."Messieurs, " said the arbiter Conversations trailedoff as faces were turned to the Swiss. "That wasMonsieur Halliday. He has been detained, but urgesyou to proceed. His a.s.sociate, Monsieur Rogeteau,has his recommendations, and it is understood thathe met with Monsieur Converse earlier this morningto resolve one of the last details. Is that not so,Monsieur Converse?"Heads turned again, now in the oppositedirection toward the figure by the window. Therewas no response. Converse continued to stare downat the lake."Monsieur Converse?""I beg your pardon?" Joel turned, a frowncreasing his brow, his thoughts far away, nowherenear Geneva."It is so, monsieur?""What was the question?""You met earlier with Monsieur Halliday?"Converse paused. "It is so," he replied."And 9"And he agreed to the final disposition of theCla.s.s A stock."There was an audible expression of relief on thepart of the Americans and a silent acceptance fromthe Bern contingent, their eyes noncommittal.Neither reaction was lost on Joel, and underdifferent circ.u.mstances he might have tabledthe item for additional consideration. Halliday'sjudgment of Bern's advantage notwithstanding, theacceptance was too easily achieved; he would havepostponed it anyway, at least for an hour's worth ofa.n.a.lysis. Somehow it did not matter. G.o.dd.a.m.n him!thought Converse."Then let us proceed as Monsieur Hallidaysuggested," said the arbitre, glancing at his watch.An hour stretched into two, then three, the humof voices mingling in counterpoint as pages werepa.s.sed back and forth, points clarified, paragraphsinitiated. And still Halliday did not appear. Lampswere turned on as darkness filled the midday skyoutside the huge windows; there was talk of theapproaching storm.Then, suddenly, screams came from beyond thethick oak door of the conference room, swelling involume until images of horror filled the minds of allwho heard the prolonged terrible sounds. Somearound the enormous table lunged under it, othersgot out of their chairs and stood in shock, and a fewrushed to the door, among them Converse. Thearbiter twisted the k.n.o.b and yanked it back with suchforce that the door crashed into the wall. What theysaw was a sight none of them would ever forget. Joellashed out, gripping, pulling, pushing away those infront of him as he raced into the anteroom.He saw Avery Fowler, his white shirt coveredwith blood, his chest a ma.s.s of tiny, bleeding holes.As the wounded man fell, his upturned colla.r.s.eparated to reveal more blood on his throat. Theexpulsions of breath were too well known to Joel; hehad held the heads of children in the camps as theyhad wept in anger and the ultimate fear. He heldAvery Fowler's head now, lowering him to the floor."My G.o.d, what ha Opened ?" cried Converse,cradling the dying man in his arms."They're . . . back," coughed the cla.s.smate fromlong ago. "The elevator. They trapped me in theelevator! . . . They said it was for Aquitaine, that wasthe name they used . . . Aquitaine. Oh, Christ! Meg. . . the kids!" Avery Fowler's head twisted spasticallyinto his right shoulder, then the final expulsion of aircame from his bloodied throat.Converse stood in the rain, his clothes drenched,staring at the unseen place on the water where onlyan hour ago thefountain had shot up to the sky proclaiming this wasGeneva. The lake was angry, an infinity of whitecapshad replaced the graceful white sails. There were noreflections anywhere. But there was distant thunderfrom the north. From the Alps.And Joel's mind was frozen.He walked past the long marble counter of thehotel Richemond's front desk and headed for thewinding staircase on the left. It was habit; his suitewas on the second Hoor and the bra.s.s-grilledelevators with their wine-colored velvet interiorswere things of beauty, but not of swiftness. Too, heenjoyed pa.s.sing the cas.e.m.e.nt displays ofoutrageously priced brilliantly lit jewels that linedthe walls of the elegant staircase shimmeringdiamonds, blood-red rubies, webbed necklaces ofspun gold. Somehow they reminded him of change,of extraordinary change. For him. For a life he hadthought would end violently, thousands of milesaway in a dozen different yet always the samerat-infested cells, with muted gunfire and thescreams of children in the dark distance. Diamonds,rubies, and spun gold were symbols of theunattainable and unrealistic, but they were there,and he pa.s.sed them, observed them, smiling at theirexistence . . . and they seemed to acknowledge him,large shining eyes of infinite depth staring back,telling him they were there, he was there. Change.But he did not see them now, nor did theyacknowledge him. He saw nothing, felt nothing;every tentacle of his mind and body was numbed,suspended in airless s.p.a.ce. A man he had known asa boy under one name had died in his arms