The King's Deception (35 page)

“You will not make it,” Pazan said. “Even if you do, look down. There’s nothing but open ground. We will shoot you dead before you get anywhere.”

She glanced left. Where were all of the people? The gardens should be crowded on a beautiful Saturday morning. The few who’d been there before were now gone. And where was Mathews? Two large boats were tied to a concrete dock below her, but no one was in sight there, either.

Pazan climbed the stairs and approached. “I need your gun. Slow and careful. Toss it down.”

She found the weapon and did as told. “Who are you?”

“Not who you think I am.”

M
ALONE HOPPED INTO
T
ANYA’S SMALL BOAT
. A
TEN
-
FOOTER
with a respectable outboard at the stern. Two life jackets and a paddle lay inside.

“Never had to use any of those,” she said. “Thank heaven.”

“You want me to start the engine?” he asked.

“Goodness, Mr. Malone, I’ve been yanking the cord of that old bully for years. I’m quite capable.”

He watched as she pulled the starter twice and the engine groaned to life. He untied the mooring line and she motored them away, turning back toward the palace grounds, heading downstream on the Thames.

“Stick to the far side,” he said. “Just in case.”

She maneuvered across the brown water, away from the palace. They were approaching another concrete dock, where two large boats were tied. He spotted a woman, standing atop the same brick wall that wound its way around to the Banqueting House. She stood where the iron fence that separated the gardens from the water ended and the high wall began.

Kathleen Richards.

Another woman, along with two men, stood to her right.

All held guns.

Richards was yanked down.

Tanya saw it, too.

“It seems Miss Richards has found some bother.”

No question.

And, considering what just happened in that tunnel, he may have been totally wrong about her.

A
NTRIM WAS BECOMING MORE AGITATED THE LONGER THE
conversation progressed. The same gravelly voice from Daedalus had answered his call and seemed to be enjoying the situation.

“Did you hear me?” he said into the phone. “The friggin’ head of MI6 is involved in this.
He
killed Farrow Curry, not you.”

“I heard you, Mr. Antrim. I simply choose not to believe what a street brat has told you. I know what occurred. We ordered it done.”

“Kathleen Richards is SOCA. I know her. What the hell is she doing involved? Did you know about that, too?”

“That is new information. But I hardly see a problem. Everything is about to end. You will have your money and be gone before dawn.”

You got that right. Sooner the better.

“If Thomas Mathews
is
involved here,” the voice said, “he could have been deceiving his listener with misinformation.”

True. But there was still the matter of Cotton Malone.

“What happened at Hampton Court?”

“I am awaiting word on that right now. The last I was told, Mr. Malone was being herded to a favorable spot where he would be eliminated. All was progressing without a problem.”

“I need to know when that happens.”

“What’s your interest in Malone?”

“I don’t have one. You do. He read the drive. He knows things. He’s your problem, not mine.”

“I truly doubt that. You are not an honest man.”

“Like I care about your opinion of me. You murder people. You can believe it or not, but MI6 is in this. That means containment is going to be a big problem.
Your
problem.”

“Yours, too. Once known, I imagine your superiors will be wondering what you are truly up to.”

“Which means this whole thing will blow up and you can kiss your little secret goodbye.”

Silence on the other end signaled that he was right.

“Do you have Ian Dunne in your custody?” the voice asked.

“Safe and sound.”

“Keep him there. In the meantime we need to speak, in person.”

Like he was going to do that. He wasn’t an idiot. He’d already realized that the safest course for Daedalus now would be to simply kill him, too.

“Not going to happen.”

The voice on the end chuckled. “I thought that request would concern you.”

He remained silent.

“All right, Mr. Antrim, to soothe your fears we’ll meet in a public place. One with security, so you might feel more at ease.”

“Why do we need to meet?”

“Because there is something you must see. And, look at it this way, you have Ian Dunne. He’s your security. I’m sure you’re about to hide him away in a spot only you know. He will be your insurance.”

“Why do you want the boy? It’s the flash drive you want.”

“He’s a witness to a death, and we detest loose ends.”

Made sense.

Unfortunately, he was out of men at the moment, so he’d take Gary with him and leave Dunne and the woman in the warehouse.

A location Daedalus knew.

So what? Who cared?

Both of them dead and gone would be preferable.

A harsh reality hit home.

Daedalus
was
the only friend he had left.

“Name the place.”

G
ARY STOOD WITH
M
ISS
M
ARY
.

“You look troubled,” she said to him.

“I need to speak with my mom or dad.”

He knew this woman carried a cell phone. She’d taken a call last night.

She laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I was told not to use my phone again. We have to respect their wishes.” She paused. “How difficult is this?”

“More than I thought it would be.”

She pointed at the artifacts. “Mr. Antrim’s stealing of all this makes me wonder about him.”

“He’s a spy. Sometimes you just have to do things. I had to do things a month ago.”

“Bad things?”

He nodded. “I saved a friend’s life.”

“That was quite brave.”

He shrugged. “I just reacted. He was in danger.”

“You know little to nothing of this man who says he is your birth father. And you seem so like the man who raised you as a father.”

“How do you know my dad?”

“I don’t. I only know what I saw last night. He is a brave soul.”

Yes, he was.

“Take this slow,” she said. “Don’t be rushed. A lot of truth is coming toward you. Our brains can only absorb so much, so fast. Be careful.”

She seemed sincere, which reminded him even more of his grandmother, whom he also wished was near.

“My mother could set it all straight,” he said.

Miss Mary nodded. “And it’s her job to do that.”

“She made this mess.”

“You have no idea what happened all those years ago.”

“Have you ever been married?”

She shook her head.

“Then how would
you
know?”

“Because I have been in love. And I have broken a heart and had my own broken. Never, ever, is it only one person’s fault.”

He considered what she said and realized he may have hurt her feelings. “I’m sorry.”

She smiled. “For what?”

“You’re just trying to help.”

“And not doing a good job at it.”

He heard the metal door open at the other end of the warehouse and saw Antrim reentering.

“I still need to talk to my mom,” he said again, his voice low.

“What will you say to her?”

He thought about that question, along with all of the conflict from the past couple of weeks, especially his mother’s unbending position that she would never reveal a thing.

“I don’t know.”

I
AN HAD WATCHED AS
A
NTRIM FINISHED HIS CALL AND REPLACED
the phone in his jacket pocket. Right side. Loose fitting. Perfect opportunity. He retreated to the toilet and waited until he heard the outer metal door open. He then exited, turned, and trotted back toward where Miss Mary and Gary stood.

Following Antrim.

He closed fast.

Five meters.

Two.

Antrim stopped and turned.

He bumped into the American, his right hand slipping into the jacket pocket and finding the phone.

He withdrew his hand.

All in a split second.

“Sorry about that,” he said, adding his usual sheepish look. “I didn’t see you.”

Antrim smiled. “It’s okay.”

He dropped the hand with the phone to his side and used his leg to shield it until Antrim turned back around. He then slipped the phone into his back pocket and hoped it didn’t ring. He’d have a tough time explaining why he stole it.

He kept pace with the American back across the warehouse.

“I have to go out,” Antrim said. “Gary, would you like to come with me?”

“Sure.”

Ian caught the look on Miss Mary’s face. One that said she did not agree with Gary’s decision, and that she knew what Ian had just done.

Yet she said nothing.

Which told him plenty.

“You two stay inside and you’ll be fine,” Antrim said. “We’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

He watched as Gary and Antrim headed for the exit door.

He stepped close to Miss Mary.

“I daresay,” she whispered, “he could not care less what happens to us.”

He agreed.

“What did you steal?”

He withdrew the phone.

She smiled. “Brilliant.”

M
ALONE STARED AS
K
ATHLEEN
R
ICHARDS DISAPPEARED OFF
the brick wall. Tanya was speeding the boat away, turning at a crook in the river, a long stretch of trees and grass now between them and Hampton Court Palace. If those men in the tunnel had come to kill him, had they also come to kill Richards? He’d set her up to see where she stood and she’d made her choice. But he wondered. Was that really
her
choice?

“I need to go back,” he told Tanya, who sat at the stern, gripping the outboard’s throttle.

“You think she might be in danger?”

“I don’t know. But I have to find out.”

He spied a golf course on the palace-side bank. The only course in England set within a royal park. He’d played it once long ago. He motioned and Tanya motored to shore and idled the outboard.