Chapter 21 #2
‘No, it would have been more like a burst water pipe in the Chelsea house or something along those lines.’
I drew in a sharp breath. They knew everything. Whoever they were. But I was glad they hadn’t flooded my house. I loved that house – I still do.
Trudy slid her cuff up her arm to check the time. Something flashed behind her eyes, but she remained outwardly calm.
‘I’ve thrown a spanner in the works, haven’t I?’
She regarded me with a measured look. ‘Look, we’d always planned on using Julian to get to Kovalec – letting the guppie go free to bag the bigger fish. Your request… it just changed how we executed that plan.’
‘Did I cause trouble for him?’ I asked, not entirely sure I wanted the answer.
‘Julian? No, he pounced on our offer. Once I told him who I was – who we were – he seemed relieved and fell right into line. He’ll give us what we need.’
‘That’s reassuring – about Julian,’ I said, even though it drove home how close he’d been to being arrested. ‘But that’s not… I meant Tommy – Tom. I don’t want him to get into trouble.’
‘Oh, I see. That’s a little more complicated, because—’
‘Excuse me.’ A steward arrived, carrying a cloche-covered plate.
I smiled at her. ‘Thank you. Just here’s fine,’ I said, indicating a nearby cocktail table.
She set it down, then left us.
I stared at the cloche, my mind elsewhere. That’s a little more complicated… That didn’t seem to bode well for Tommy – or me.
‘You going to…?’ Trudy asked, and I came back to the present. She tilted her head towards the cloche.
‘Schrodinger’s sandwich,’ I quipped. ‘If I don’t lift the lid, there’s a fifty-fifty chance of a toasted cheese and Marmite sandwich, and if I do—’
Obviously not one to play games, Trudy lifted the lid and the pungent, delicious aroma of warm Marmite wafted over.
‘Fuck me, I’m starving.’ I reached for one half of the sandwich and took a huge bite. ‘Mmm, heaven,’ I said through my mouthful. ‘Want the other half?’ I offered.
‘God, no. That stuff looks like axel grease and tastes even worse.’
After swallowing, I started laughing.
‘What’s so funny?’ she asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.
‘Nothing,’ I replied through my laughter. ‘And everything.’ It wasn’t exactly a laugh-or-I’ll-cry moment. More of a release – days of pent-up tension bursting out.
My laughter lessened, changing to sighs and I looked skyward, catching sight of the most incredible array of stars. ‘Oh, wow – look.’
‘That is beautiful,’ she agreed.
I stared at the stars a few moments longer, then watched Trudy, who was still gazing up, a wistful smile on her face. How often is she able to appreciate something as simple as a starry sky? I wondered.
‘Have you always worked for… whoever it is you work for?’ I asked.
She dragged her eyes away from the sky and fixed her potent gaze upon me. ‘More or less.’
‘And Dale?’
I could tell how seriously she considered the question. Would she answer? Should she?
‘He joined later,’ she said.
It was vague – a mere morsel – but it was enough. They’d made it work, Trudy’s career in intelligence. They’d made it work, and Tommy and I had lasted less than two years.
‘What happens now?’ I asked. ‘To Julian, I mean.’
‘He’s to go to Lyon for questioning. It’s in his best interest not to screw us – he’ll be arrested if he does – so we’re trusting him to show up under his own steam.’
‘Oh god.’
‘It’s… serious, what he was planning to do – selling to Kovalec. It could have had terrible ramifications. Globally.’
I blanched and she observed me with a scrutinous eye. ‘You do know what his proprietary tech does, right, Ally?’
Did I? I knew Julian was brilliant and had invented a technological game changer, but beyond that… no. I shook my head.
‘Well, you should ask him about it,’ she replied, that softness in her eyes waning.
Fuck, Jules. What were you thinking?
The sound of the tender’s motor cut through the still night air and I half-stood to peer over the railing. Two decks below, a handcuffed Kovalec was being guided onto the tender by Elsa and a man I hadn’t seen before. The man took the helm, then drove the tender towards the shore.
‘It’s done.’
I spun around at the sound of Tommy’s voice. God, he looked good in that uniform – even with the sombre expression.
‘Greek authorities are meeting Elsa onshore,’ he continued. ‘They’ll transport Kovalec to Athens as planned.’
‘Good. Dale and I will be there tomorrow to escort him to Lyon for quest—’
‘Um, sorry,’ I interrupted, ‘but should you be discussing this in front of me?’
‘Hah! Hell no,’ said Trudy with a wry laugh.
Tommy started to apologise but Trudy raised her hand to stop him and he fell silent, his expression inscrutable.
‘Look,’ she said to me, ‘these operations, they can span months, even years, and quite often people get caught up in them, like you have – civilians.’
‘Which means?’ I asked, my mouth as dry as if I’d eaten sand. All I could think of was that cliché from spy films: I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you. Was I about to be disappeared?
‘Which means, you will be signing the most iron-clad non-disclosure agreement you’ve ever seen,’ she replied, and I expelled a ragged sigh. ‘And Julian’s freedom will depend not only on his cooperation, but yours. You understand?’
Incapable of a verbal reply, I nodded – vigorously, so there was no possibility of being misunderstood. I didn’t want to be disappeared.
‘Good,’ she said with a warm smile.
It was near-impossible to keep up with the many facets of Trudy, which was rather terrifying. And I’d thought we were becoming friends.
She slapped her hands onto her thighs, then stood. ‘Great work,’ she said, patting Tommy on the back as she passed by. ‘I’ll go find Dale and Julian, then we can get the hell outta here.’
When she was gone, Tommy looked over, his mouth stretching into a thin line – not quite a smile.
‘Thank you,’ I said. ‘For helping Julian.’
He shrugged off my thanks. ‘Trudy wouldn’t have agreed if it didn’t suit our purposes. And with Julian as an informant from the start, building the case against Kovalec should go smoothly.’
Informant. Julian had been so close to ending up in custody with Kovalec. It was horrifying even as a thought experiment, so I ousted the idea entirely. No sense in dwelling on hypotheticals.
Tommy’s gaze dropped to my supper. ‘Is that…?’
‘It is, yes.’
‘Could I possibly…?’ he asked, looking at me with pleading eyes.
‘Yes, yes, of course,’ I replied with a soft laugh.
I handed him the uneaten half, and he sat beside me. ‘Thank you. I haven’t eaten since lunchtime and that was a protein bar.’
He took a big bite, staring out at the view, and I watched his profile for a moment. He truly was the most beautiful man.
Will he ever be mine again?
As if he’d read my mind, he looked over and smiled, and my insides turned molten.
Then I took a bite of my half, and we sat together in companionable silence, our knees almost touching, munching on what had been our favourite sandwich, especially on wintry Sunday mornings.