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Back Stealth Save as PDF
Chapters (71)
  1. Cover
  2. BOOKS BY STUART WOODS
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
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  66. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  67. Excerpt from TREASON
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  70. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  71. What’s next onyour reading list?

“You have no idea,” Holly replied.

35

Stone and Holly spent the next day on horseback, taking the horses and a picnic lunch down to the Solent. “This is the body of water that separates the Isle of Wight from England,” he explained. “We’ll be crossing it later on a little trip to Cowes, which is England’s yachting capital, for dinner at the Royal Yacht Squadron.”

“How are we dressing?”

“Black tie, as always, on a Friday night at the Squadron. Felicity Devonshire is hosting a dinner party for us. Fortunately, the weather forecast is good. The Solent can be a choppy place with a strong wind from east or west.”

“What time are we leaving?”

“Five-ish, in order to arrive in time for drinks before dinner.”

“Stone,” she said, changing the subject, “I’ve been thinking about Lance’s offer to you, and I’m inclined to advise you to take it.”

“Yes?”

“Yes, as long as you have a way out. I know that you see your own personal truth as self-evident, but in dealing with Lance you might find that at odds with what he wants you to do.”

“I can understand that.”

“As long as your contract reads that you can opt out anytime you’re uncomfortable.”

“I’ll be sure that’s in the contract. He’s faxing it from London today, so perhaps we can have a look at it together when we get back to the house.”

“You said he mentioned the rank of deputy director? Was there anything added to that?”

“He suggested ‘special operations,’ but he didn’t seem set on it.”

“That sounds too much like you’d be directing actual operations, and you have no experience with that.”

“True enough.”

“I’d suggest something vaguer, like ‘senior adviser.’ A mention of operations might ruffle other feathers.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“You’ll want to watch out for the deputy director for intelligence, Hugh English.”

“What’s he like?”

“In his sixties, wears British tailoring, gruff, but he can be charming when he wants something. He’s what the Brits call ‘clubbable.’ The Republicans in Congress love him because he’s been leaking to them for years. If they win the election and Lance gets bounced, Hugh English is likely to get his job. As I said, don’t underestimate him. He’s capable of low cunning.”

“What about the other DD? For operations?”

“That would be Finn McAdoo. He’s the young comer, and because of that, Hugh English hates him. If I’m elected, and if Lance wants to move elsewhere, I’d likely choose Finn to replace him. You’ll like him immediately.”

—

After lunch they rode back to the house, where Stone found a multipage fax waiting for him in the library. “Here we go,” he said. He read the pages, then handed them to Holly. It didn’t take long to get through them.