Contents ( 84)
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- SEVENTY-FOUR
- SEVENTY-FIVE
- SEVENTY-SIX
- SEVENTY-SEVEN
- SEVENTY-EIGHT
- SEVENTY-NINE
- EIGHTY
- EIGHTY-ONE
- EIGHTY-TWO
- EIGHTY-THREE
- Acknowledgements
Quilty nodded.
‘Now tell me about the spooks. What have you seen?’
‘Just what I said. Couple . . . of them. Grey Sedan, parked in . . . in different spots up and down . . . the road. Arrogant shits didn’t . . . didn’t even have the . . . the respect to change cars.’
‘How long?’
‘Four days.’
Dempsey nodded. After reading Quilty’s file, he had no doubt in the man’s ability to spot a tail. Even one Dempsey had missed himself. It looked like Kirk’s worst fears had come true; Quilty had put himself on someone’s radar.
But who? And did they have a connection to President John Knowles?
Quilty took another hit of oxygen. The increased flow seemed to be helping.
‘Sorry . . . about this,’ Quilty gasped out. ‘Emphysema. That’s what you get . . . from a forty-a-day habit.’
Another intake of oxygen.
‘But I blame . . . the job . . . for that. Never touched the things . . . before . . . Afghan . . . Afghanistan.’
‘Your file says you were an analyst first, then you moved into the field during the Russian–Afghan war.’
‘On and off. I did my time as a . . . as a field . . . operative. But mainly I was an analyst. Specialised in . . . in . . . following the money.’
‘So Elizabeth Kirk said. She said you knew more about what went on in Afghanistan than any man born west of Zaranj.’
‘For a time, yeah. That was true.’
‘And now?’
‘Some contacts, son . . . some contacts you keep . . . you keep for life. People trust me. Men I’ve . . . fought with. Suffered with. Not much I can do for them any more, but . . . but sometimes . . .’
Quilty’s voice was growing weaker with every word, but Dempsey already understood. He placed a hand on Quilty’s knee, passed him his water glass and smiled. He needed no more explanation.
Dempsey waited for him to recover, but he wasn’t sure how much Quilty had left in him; it was time to get to the point.
‘Tell me about the president, Tom. Dale Victor thought he had something damaging on Knowles. Tell me what it was.’
Quilty did not answer immediately. He held Dempsey’s gaze, his breathing growing deeper through the mask. Dempsey could see his guard was back up. A dangerous subject had been raised, and Quilty was ready to defend himself.
‘You said . . . you said Elizabeth had sent you.’
‘She did.’
‘Then she wouldn’t have sent you blind, son. You want what I . . . what I know, you tell me what you know first.’
Dempsey nodded. It was a fair request.
‘OK. Elizabeth told me that you contacted her shortly before John Knowles’ inauguration. That you’d heard rumours about his time in Afghanistan, when he was leading SEAL Team Six.’