Oscar #2
“I’m afraid he doesn’t want our relationship to change, and if I ask him to stay, I’ll lose him,” she admitted. “I’ll lose what we have.”
“You’ll never know how he truly feels until you talk to him,” Lambchop said.
***
Mac took the four-forty pm KLM flight out of O’Hare.
He liked this flight because it had a two-hour layover in Amsterdam, which was plenty of time for him.
Total travel time was eleven hours and thirty-five minutes.
He’d slept well when he landed in Lyon, France.
He called his Interpol contact after he’d checked into his hotel.
He stood at the fifth-story window, overlooking the city.
He could see the clear, light blue waters of the Sa?ne River from his room, just a block over.
“Bonjour,” Matheo Allard answered.
“Bonjour, Matheo. It’s Mac.”
There was a moment of silence. “Oui, I’ve been expecting your call. Are you checked into your hotel?”
Of course, they would have had a watch on his passports, both of them. Interpol already knew he was in Lyons. “Yes. Looking out at the Sa?ne River now. Should I come into the office?”
“Non, I’ll meet you at the café. One hour.”
“Okay, I’ll be there.”
Allard disconnected the call.
Mac stood at the window, gazing out at the city below, evaluating Allard’s words and tone of voice.
It wasn’t unusual that Allard would not want him to come into the office.
They often met at the café. But there was something in his few words that said more.
There was no warm greeting beyond the one word when answering the call, and Allard’s caller ID would have told him who was calling.
There was no small talk, such as, how are you today or, did you have a nice flight?
There was no preemptive discussion to foreshadow Mac’s status, such as, things are fine or you’re in hot water.
Mac feared this conversation with Allard would be his last. Well, he knew this could have been the ramifications of going after Ruiz.
He splashed water on his face and then left the hotel.
He’d walk to the café rather than take a taxi.
It was a beautiful day, and the exercise would do him good after the long flight.
He arrived at the café twenty minutes early and took a seat at one of the outside tables, with his back against the stone wall. A young woman came over to take his order. “Un café,” he said.
She brought his cup as Allard arrived. Mac stood and offered his hand.
Allard shook it and then took a seat, ordering the same beverage.
He waited for the server to move away before he spoke.
“You shook things up terribly. There are shockwaves still going through all levels at Interpol, in all the offices worldwide. The General Secretariat has questions to answer that he doesn’t have all the answers for. ”
“I didn’t shake things up. The fact that you had someone in your ranks protecting Ruiz is what shook things up,” Mac said. “He was a real piece of work in person, by the way. The world is a far safer place with him out of the game.”
Allard shook his head and scowled. “It’s also frowned upon that you brought the Americans into it.”
“They had the resources I needed, given that you’d give me none.
Are you even aware of how many people have been identified and will be arrested because of this operation?
And money has been seized, which will help pay for more human trafficking operations to be shut down.
Matheo, why is this not being celebrated as a win? ”
The server approached with Allard’s coffee in a to-go cup, as requested.
Once again, he waited for her to get out of hearing range before he spoke.
“It is a win, but it has come at a high cost. Ruiz was providing intel to both the American CIA and DEA, as well as to us, on cartels all throughout Latin America.”
“Cherry picked intel,” Mac said. “Nothing substantial against the heavy hitters, unless they crossed Ruiz. Ruiz was playing everyone and making a lot of money while causing a lot of misery in the process. He was a total rubbish human being. And at least we got intel out of him. Had we not, Dyer would have killed him anyway, and we would have gotten nothing.”
Allard held his hands up in a surrendering gesture. “All true, no doubt.”
“What is my status with Interpol?” Mac asked, opting for the direct approach.
“I think you need to proceed cautiously and not make any waves. I have not been instructed to collect your credentials or remove you from our payroll, and I think it will remain that way if your name does not come across anyone’s desk for a few months. Time is your biggest ally.”
Mac’s stomach did a flip, and his last drink of the coffee landed hard, making him nauseous. “Are you saying I need to completely stand down?”
Allard’s face scrunched up. “Can you go after a less notable Red Lister next if you insist on continuing?”
Mac laughed. “Would you like to pick one? If they’re on the Red List, they’re bad dudes and notable.”
“I know you freelance and work other gigs on the side. Maybe you should go that route for the next few months, unless a case overlaps. And then I’d say, reach out to me for guidance before you take anyone down.
I’ll know whose desk your name will flow across, and I’ll know the temperature of that person towards you at any given moment. ”
“Forget it, Matheo. I can’t operate under these conditions. I’ll bring down who I can, when I can, and Interpol’s internal politics can just suck it. This is about getting the bad guys behind bars, not tiptoeing around fragile egos.”
Allard rubbed his forehead where a headache had developed.
“It’s about giving time for the embarrassment this has caused to ease.
Keep your creds and use them wisely. Work other cases and think about what I’ve said.
I think in time this will be celebrated as a huge win, and you’ll be championed by those at Interpol who matter.
” He took a drink of his coffee. “Stay in touch.” Allard rose from his seat and took hold of his coffee. “I am not your enemy, Mac.”
Mac also rose and again offered his hand, which Allard shook. “Thank you, Matheo. I’ll be in touch.”