Stone snorted.
“Anything else I can do for you?” Mike said ironically.
“Does this hunk of junk have Internet service?” Teddy said.
“Not if you’re planning on committing a felony.”
“Forget I asked.”
20.
FAHD SNAPPED INTO the phone, “They what!”
“Flew to Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C. They’d landed before we even confirmed the flight plan.”
“What’s their next stop?”
“We don’t know. Stone Barrington has submitted no further flight plan. We’re looking, but we can’t find it.”
“I suppose a man with his amount of money could bribe someone to keep it off the books.”
“He can’t take off without filing a flight plan. It isn’t safe for other aircraft.”
“Is the plane still there?”
“We have men on the way to the airport. Confirming a flight didn’t take off isn’t as easy as confirming one did.”
“It’s a diversion. They knew we would be checking reservations at JFK, so they flew to Dulles. Check reservations on every plane leaving Dulles for France for the names Stone Barrington, Dino Bacchetti, and Billy Barnett.”
Fahd slammed the phone down, went to the door, and bellowed, “Joram!”
The techie looked up from his computer. “Yes, sir?”
“Get in here.”
Joram swallowed hard, got up, and went into the other room, wondering what he could possibly have done wrong.
“Sit at that computer. I need you to find some information, and I don’t want to keep yelling for you.”
“Yes, sir. What do you need, sir?”
“Find out where Stone Barrington stays when he goes to Paris.”
Joram looked up the question on the Internet. The answer came back almost immediately.
“Sir?”
“Yes?”
“Stone Barrington owns a house in Paris. He bought it fairly recently. It’s a modest house, but quite large enough to accommodate his friends.”
“Excellent,” Fahd said. He called Glenville, an independent agent he used sometimes in Paris. Glenville would have more flexibility than his other main contact in Paris, a carefully placed mole in the CIA office. “A man named Billy Barnett is en route to Paris. We’ve lost him along the way, but he’s traveling with two men: Stone Barrington and Police Commissioner Dino Bacchetti. Stone Barrington owns a house in town. Intercept Barnett there, and follow him wherever he goes. Don’t let him know he’s being followed, but don’t let him out of your sight. Let me know when you have him, and I’ll send further instructions.”
21.
YOU REALIZE I can’t stay at your house,” Teddy said.
Teddy, Stone, and Dino were having a cocktail served by an attractive flight attendant.
“I’ll try not to take it personally,” Stone said. “Why not?”
“Isn’t it a safe house you bought from the CIA?”
“Actually, it is.”
“Any connection to the CIA is bad for me.”
“Why? You’re doing work for them. You’re supposed to be an agent.”
“Not one who’s hanging out in a CIA safe house owned by a billionaire. That’s a dead giveaway.”
“If Lance’s phone was bugged and people are already trying to kill you, that ship has sailed.”
“That’s true.” Teddy paused. “Which makes this a suicide mission. I’m looking for a mole in the Agency, and the mole already knows I’m coming.”
“Exactly. So why even continue with this plan?”
“It’s risky, but I think it will still work. The other agents won’t know the truth. Since I don’t know who’s the mole, I have to keep up the pretense for everyone. If I do it well, the agent who’s not buying it will be the mole.”
“That’s your plan?” Dino said.
“I haven’t come up with a plan. At the moment, all I’m concerned with is not getting killed. Anyway, I can’t stay at the safe house. It’s not safe.”
“So what do you plan to do?”
“I’m going to rent an apartment that a spy on the run might afford. Actually, I can use a little help with that. Stone, you have some experience buying real estate. Do you mind a little intrigue?”
“I wouldn’t mind a little myself,” Dino said.
“Do you need an apartment immediately?” Stone said.
“Unless you’ve got a better idea. I don’t want to sleep on the street.”
“How about l’Arrington?” The Paris branch of the Arrington Hotels, named after Stone’s late wife, was one of the finest in the city. “What do you say we check in there for one night? The next day you can rent your apartment, and Dino and I will move into my house.”
“Works for me,” Teddy said.
“Great. I’ll call them and get the Royal Suite.”
“Can you get it on such short notice?” Teddy said.
“Hey,” Stone said. “I own the place.”
“Yeah,” Dino said sardonically. “And he busts my chops about Peter Luger.”
22.
JORAM JUMPED OUT of his chair. “Sir!”
Fahd looked up from this desk. He was clearly annoyed. “Yes?”
“Stone Barrington’s not going to his home.”
“What?”
“He’s not going to the address I gave you. He just made a reservation at l’Arrington Hotel.”
“What!”
“Yes, sir.”
“He’s staying at the l’Arrington?”
Joram didn’t point out that Fahd’s use of the word the was redundant. The French l’, meaning the, took care of it. “Yes, sir. The reservation just appeared, for a party of three.”
“Damn!”
“Sir?”
“Why is he staying at the l’Arrington? He has a perfectly good house.”
“He also owns the hotel, sir.”
“Oh?”