bill. We got another crate. It’s out in the car. I hope the dogs get along. I’m sure they will. They’re both pretty easygoing.”
The handler was dumbfounded.
“So, I’ll take you to the airport this afternoon. You could go now, but it’s a little busy out there. And it’s the absolute wrong time to show up with a dog.”
Teddy smiled. “Enjoy your stay in Paris?”
92.
MILLIE MET LANCE on the White House lawn.
“Our friend is coming home.”
“Oh?”
“He found the mole.”
“Really?”
“Her name is Kristin Rowan. The Syrian agents brought her onto their payroll to ensure the CIA wouldn’t interfere with an international conspiracy taking place at l’Arrington Hotel.”
“At l’Arrington? Does Stone know that?”
“He will. It’s in no way his or Marcel DuBois’s fault. A convention for the preservation of endangered species turned out to be a front for a biological weapons deal. That’s why finding the mole was just the tip of the iceberg. The real mission was putting the terrorists out of operation.”
“And I couldn’t have been told this?”
“I didn’t know. He only tells me what he wants me to know. Or rather what he wants you to know. So, the good news is the Syrians have been neutralized and the threat of a biological weapon has been erased. Even if no one knows it. At least, no one but you.”
“Yet conveniently there’s no proof any of this occurred.”
“Well, there will be.”
“What!?”
“Our friend is sending the sample of the virus back to you for our scientists to study and create a vaccine. Along with the dog. Your friend’s dog is fine. The other dog needs an operation.”
“‘Other dog’?”
“Luckily the dog’s not infected. The virus is in a vial sewn into the lining of the dog’s stomach. A simple operation can remove the vial, and the dog will be good to go. Which is nice because Barkley seems to like him. Your friend may wind up with two dogs.”
Lance blinked. “Run that by me again.”
93.
TEDDY FINISHED SWIMMING laps. He climbed out of his pool, dried off, and relaxed in a deck chair.
His cell phone rang. He picked it up. “Hello?”
It was Lance. “Do you know who this is?”
“How did you find me? I have a new phone with a new number.”
“I’m head of the CIA.”
“I suppose you have some resources.”
Lance exhaled. “Do you do things just to annoy me?”
“Did I send you to Paris on a hopeless mission?”
“It wasn’t hopeless. You actually did it.”
“And yet you sound annoyed.”
“Well, why you couldn’t have done it without buying a half-million-euro rhinoceros is beyond me.”
“I don’t know what you’re grousing about. I saved you 275 million dollars on the dog.”
“Did I ask you to buy an infected dog?”
“He’s not infected.”
“So why am I reading reports of how the Paris police foiled an international arms deal involving bioterrorists?”
“You wanted the glory? I thought you guys didn’t deal in that. Well, you can blame Dino. He let the prefect take credit in exchange for doing all he wanted. It seemed a fair exchange to me, but you be the judge.
“What you can take credit for is the rhinoceros. The Tanzanian government is eternally grateful to the CIA for their generous donation of a rare black rhino. That gesture bought an awful lot of goodwill.”
“A half million euros’ worth?”
“Have you seen that rhino? He’s a real heartbreaker.”
Teddy could practically hear Lance gnashing his teeth.
“You have one more expense.”
“Oh, Christ, what else did you buy?”
“Agent Workman was collateral damage. You can’t acknowledge how he actually died, so you can make anything up. He was killed in the line of duty, and should be singled out for bravery. If he has a family, they should be generously compensated.”
“How did he actually die?”
“I shot him.”
Lance sucked in his breath. “Why are you telling me this?”
“So you’ll never ask me again. Hang on a minute. I’ve got another call.”
“You’re putting the director of the CIA on hold?”
“Because I’m a nice guy. A jerk would hang up on you.”
Teddy silenced Lance’s angry protests by pressing the hold button, and picked up the other call. “Hello?”
It was Peter Barrington. “Billy. I heard you were back. Want to make a movie?”
“Hell yes,” Teddy said. “Let me put you on hold a second, Peter. I’ve got to get rid of a pest.”
Keep reading for an exciting preview of the next Stone Barrington novel, CONTRABAND
1.
Stone Barrington lay, naked and dozing, on the upper deck of Breeze, the large motor yacht he co-owned with his business partners, Mike Freeman and Charley Fox. His friends, Dino and Vivian Bacchetti drowsed