Edge of Tomorrow (75 page)

Now, she was sitting next to him!

She was not surprised that he was
really alive—the CIA pulled those kinds of stunts all the time. She
was surprised about whom he had become, and was now
very
interested in finding out why
he was a CIA target. She had a quick wrestling match with her
conscience, and her duty to the CIA lost the battle quickly. This
man had saved her life.

She turned to the man behind her and said,
“Be a dear, David, and go bring me a drink. One of those pink fizzy
things. You know the one. Could I buy you a drink, Mr.
Lincoln?”

“Of course. How about a martini, shaken not
stirred, with three onions,” laughed Hatch.

“There you go, David. Run along now.”

David left, with a frown on his face, and
Lady Morley released Hatch’s hand and looked around. She didn’t see
any other agents she knew in the area.

She said quietly, “I see you have a nasty
scar on your hand. That must have hurt.”

“Oh, that. That was a long time ago. I caught
it on some barbed wire when I was mending fences on my ranch,”
replied Hatch.

Lady Morley retorted, “My, it looks as if it
could have been caused by a hatchet.”

When Hatch heard her say “hatchet,” the way
she said it, and the fact that it made no sense, he tensed. He
looked at her eyes, trying to see into her mind.

She continued, “Or even shrapnel. Shrapnel
makes nasty wounds, I’m told.”

She knows how I got the scar! But how can
she? And the reference to “hatchet.” Who the fuck is this?

“No, I’m afraid it was plain old barbed wire.
That can be nasty, too,” he said, his mind racing. She decided
things for him.

“Before David returns with our drinks, I need
to say this: I need to meet with you privately—as soon as possible!
Do not worry, I am a friend. We need to talk. Do you remember Judy
Beecher? Just nod if you do. I see David returning.”

Hatch’s mind was racing, trying to remember.
Hatchet Man. Shrapnel.

Ah, yes! The girl I saved when I got the
scar! She knows I’m Bob Hatcher! She must be CIA! Shit! What’s
going on?

He nodded. She smiled. He played cards for
another hour as she watched and chatted about London society. Syd
wandered over and said she had won $200 playing the slot machines,
then asked him how much longer he was going to play. He introduced
her to Lady Morley, and said he would make this his last hand. He
had $10,000 riding on it and a crowd had gathered. When he was
dealt the four of clubs and the five of hearts, the crowd murmured.
A perfect nine! He had won again!

He stacked his chips, threw a handful to the
dealer, and stood up. A man who worked for the casino rushed over
and collected Hatch’s chips and took them away to cash them in.
Hatch had won a little over $120,000. Hatch told the man to put it
on his account—he would gamble some more later. It was now 11:10
P.M.

Lady Morley and her escort left, but she
veered toward the restrooms. Hatch walked slowly away from the
table with Syd at his side. When he saw Lady Morley enter the
Ladies’ Room, he pulled Syd over to a potted palm.

“Do you have the key to your suite with you,
dear?” he asked Syd.

“I think so. Why?”

“Make sure.”

She opened her small clutch purse and looked
in it. The key was there.

“Yes, it’s here,” she said.

“Good. I want you to go to the Ladies’ Room,
and get Lady Morley alone, if possible. Slip her your key and tell
her to be there at midnight—alone. I’ll explain everything later.
Go!” said Hatch with urgency in his voice as he patted her on her
firm butt.

Syd gave him a questioning look, but hurried
to the Ladies’ Room. When she entered, Lady Morley was washing her
hands. Another lady adjusted her dress, then left. Syd was alone
with Lady Morley, except for whoever might be in the stalls. She
saw that all of the stall doors were open, so she approached Lady
Morley.

“So, we meet again,” said Syd as she took out
her lipstick and began to apply some to her lips.

“Oh, yes. How are you, my dear?” replied Lady
Morley as she dried her hands.

Syd took one more glance around, took
out her room key, and dropped it in Morley’s purse, then said, “I
hear things are still jumping around here at
midnight
.”

Lady Morley looked at her closely,
glanced at her purse, then nodded as she replied, “I heard that,
too. I’m afraid I’ll bloody well be in bed by …
midnight
. Well, nice seeing you again, dear.
Give my regards to your fiancé. Good night.”

Syd waited a moment, then she also left.

Royal Monterran Hotel, Monte Cristo,
Monterra

Friday, August 24, 2001

11:15 P.M.

As Syd exited the Ladies’ Room, she spotted
Hatch across the room talking with Bruno. Lady Morley was nowhere
in sight. Karen and Sara were chatting a few feet away from the two
men. She headed that way, intending to ask Hatch what was going
on.

Hatch asked Bruno, “Did you sweep the suites
when we arrived?”

“Of course. They were clean,” replied Bruno.
“Something up?”

“I don’t know. Probably. There’s a CIA
presence here.”

“Shit! I didn’t spot any of them! I’m
slipping,” remarked Bruno.

“Don’t feel bad. I didn’t either. The agents
are good. Go sweep the suites again, please. Start with mine, then
the others,” said Hatch.

“And if I find anything?”

“Disable them, but don’t destroy them. I want
to know what kind of technology they’re using. If we are bugged, it
could be anyone, and I want them to know we’re not a bunch of
amateurs. Go up now and call me after you’ve swept my suite.”

“Gotcha. I’m out of here.”

Syd arrived as Bruno left. “What’s going on,
Hatch?”

He said in a low voice, “Lady Morley is CIA.
She recognized me as Bob Hatcher. I saved her life back in 1983, so
I think she’s friendly. She wants to talk to me in private. Your
suite was all I could think of on the spur of the moment. I sent
Bruno up to sweep the suites again in case we’ve been bugged.”

“Shit! What’s with the CIA? What’s their
interest?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I need to talk to
Lady Morley. I also have to make sure she doesn’t tell anyone about
Bob Hatcher being alive!” replied Hatch. “Don’t mention any of this
to Sara or Karen until I hear from Bruno. Let’s go buy a nightcap
for the others while we wait.”

They wandered over and joined Sara and Karen
and Hatch led them to a table in the magnificent bar.

Karen asked, “Where’d Bruno disappear to? I
feel naked without my bodyguard!”

“He had to run an errand for me. He’ll be
right back,” laughed Hatch. “Order up, ladies!”

Before the drinks were delivered, Hatch’s
pager vibrated. He got out his Blue Phone and connected to
Bruno.

Bruno said, “Your suite had a bug in the
phone, one in the sitting room, and one in the bedroom. They’re now
disabled. Real high tech stuff. I’m going to Syd’s room now.
Later.”

Hatch hung up, then stroked his beard. He had
to tell Sara and Syd about this, but he wondered how much to tell
Karen. Since she was going to get involved with the Prince, he
decided she should know about all the dangers involved. She may
just decide to bug out and go home. He wouldn’t blame her if she
did.

Hatch told the women to grab their drinks and
follow him to a more isolated table. He offered Karen a cigarette,
which she took, and this time Syd asked for one, too. The three of
them lit up.

Hatch said finally, “OK, here’s what’s going
on, ladies. I need to tell Sara and Syd this, Karen, but I decided
that you are also entitled to know. It may affect your decision
about representing the Prince. Lady Morley—and probably her
escort—is a long-time CIA agent. I sent Bruno up to resweep our
suites for bugs. They were clean when we checked in, but so far he
has found three bugs in my suite. He’s checking the rest as we
speak.”

Sara said, “Shit! I didn’t spot any of
them!”

“Neither did Bruno nor I. It may not be the
CIA bugging us, but I’ll find out at midnight. I’m meeting Lady
Morley—Sara, for the record, her name is Judy Beecher—at midnight
in Syd’s suite. At 12:01, Sara, I want you to slip out into the
hall and make sure she comes alone.”

“You got it!” exclaimed Sara without
question.

Karen’s eyes were as large as saucers and she
puffed madly on her cigarette and took everything in. She looked at
her sister and saw that she was listening intently, but not
particularly alarmed.

Hatch continued, “Syd and I busted a tail in
Greece—he turned out to be CIA, but a careless rookie. I called the
DDI, James Gramble, and read him the riot act, but he obviously has
ignored my warnings. The CIA could be here only because of the
Monterra/Italy feud over the crown. That would make sense, but then
that would mean someone else is bugging my room. Maybe we’ll sort
that out at midnight when I talk to Lady Morley.”

He took a drag off his cigarette while they
digested his news. Karen stubbed out her cigarette, took a sip of
her brandy, then said with a smile, “You guys live in a world of
intrigue, don’t you? What do you want me to do? This sounds more
exciting than what I’ve been doing!”

Hatch thought a moment, then answered,
“Karen, I want to emphasize that there could be some danger here.
We’re not sure exactly what’s going on. Until we do, I want to make
sure that you are safe. Would you mind if Bruno stayed in your
suite with you tonight? I would suggest Sara, but I have something
I want her to do.”

Karen got a wicked smile on her lips and
said, “Oh, pooh! The hunk instead of Sara? I guess I’ll put up with
him somehow! Will he have a real gun?”

Hatch smiled and said, “Absolutely. Now
…”

His pager went off and Hatch connected to
Bruno again.

“All the other suites are clean. Maybe they
haven’t had time yet to do them all.”

“OK. Come on down and have a drink and we’ll
set the procedures for the rest of the night.”

• • •

At 12:00 midnight, Hatch was with Syd in her
suite. Bruno was next door with Karen in her suite, and Sara was in
her own rooms, watching the clock, and waiting to check the
hallway.

On the first rap on the door, Hatch opened it
and admitted Lady Morley. She entered the room and saw Syd sitting
on the couch.

“I assume she knows,” said Lady Morley as she
handed Syd her key.

“Yes.”

“Well, Bob Hatcher! I thought you were dead!”
Morley exclaimed. “I cried for a week after I heard about it!”

“Did you tell anyone about me?”

“Of course not! I know the Company arranges
ruses like that for a reason.”

“They didn’t arrange it, I did. Come, sit
down, Judy. Who’s in charge here?” asked Hatch.

Judy Beecher sat in a chair facing Syd. Syd
was nervous and was smoking again.

“I am.”

“We found your bugs in my suite. Why are you
watching me?” asked Hatch as he lit a cigarette.

“I don’t really know. We were sent here to
watch the treaty battle. The President ordered it. Then all of a
sudden, you show up, and Gramble himself called me and told me to
have you watched around the clock. He didn’t say why.”

“That bastard! He’s getting too cocky! I
warned him about things like this!” fumed Hatch as he paced. “What
do you do now? Your people will know we disabled their bugs.”

Judy Beecher thought for a moment, then said,
“I’ll tell them the surveillance was called off when you found our
bugs. I’ll feed Gramble false reports to keep him happy. I saw a
report I wasn’t supposed to see. Did your visit to Don Tessitore
have anything to do with the bombing of Lucchese’s car?”

Hatch looked at her and said, “So, they’ve
been watching me for awhile, eh? Well, well. The answer to your
question is ‘I don’t know.’ He probably did, though. Why don’t you
retire, Judy? Come to work for me. Or I’ll send you anywhere you
want to go, set you up for life. Get out from under assholes like
Gramble!”

Judy stared at Hatch for a long beat, then
said, “I’m not ready to retire, Mr. Lincoln. I’ve been a spy all of
my life, trained in back-stabbing, double-dealing, throat-slitting,
and other dark, devious deeds. What kind of job could you give a
person like me?”

Hatch laughed, “Call me Hatch, Judy. Many of
my people are ex-Company people. Also, ex-military, ex-FBI, former
Secret Service. How do you think we found your bugs so
quickly?”

Judy shrugged and replied, “I see. Is this
young lady one of your agents?”

“No. She’s really my fiancée,” smiled
Hatch.

“Well, let me sleep on it, Hatch. In the
meantime, I owe you big time. What can I do for you?” replied Judy
Beecher, senior CIA agent in Monterra.

Syd interjected, “How many agents do you have
here, Judy?”

“Two besides me. My escort, David Wilson, and
a guy posing as a paparazzo, Pierre Le Blanc. There could be others
who are not on my team. The Company does that at times. They bloody
well don’t trust anyone!”

Hatch said, “Thank you, Judy, for wanting to
help me. You can do a couple of things. Tell your team we found
their bugs and call off the surveillance. I’ll keep checking for
bugs, since we don’t know who else is lurking in the shadows. Also,
tell your paparazzo to go take pictures of beaches and ruins. If I
catch him taking pictures of me or my people, he’ll be dealt with
very severely, and will need surgery to get his camera extracted
from his ass. You can warn them that I do not follow conventional
restraints when dealing with people who piss me off.”

He’s definitely Bob
Hatcher!
thought Judy.
I
wouldn’t want to piss him off!