Stone and Freeman sat down again.

“Well, Stone, what do you really think?”

Stone laughed. “I think that Lance Cabot is someone who can never be completely trusted, and I would not want to see the reputation of Strategic Services in his hands.”

“Is that the only reason you’re against it? I mean, dealing Al Qaeda a serious blow is an attractive goal.”

“Mike, if this job were as easy as Lance makes it sound, he’d have his own people do it. The Agency is not short of people with the requisite skills for such an operation, so why doesn’t he use them? And I very much doubt that the president would ever put his signature to a finding on such an operation. That might very well be grounds for impeachment.”

“Good points, all,” Freeman said.

“Mike, I can see you’re attracted to this. Why?”

“For personal reasons, I suppose. I’ve always believed that the greatest benefits derive from operations with the greatest risks.”

“Then, if you were a poker player,” Stone said, “you’d always try to fill an inside straight.”

“Not always,” Freeman replied, “but sometimes.”

“If you gamble for thrills, that’s a good position to take,” Stone said. “But if you have to make a living playing poker, you’d soon find yourself on the street, broke and hungry.”

“What you say about poker is true,” Freeman replied. “But in this kind of operation you make your own odds.”

“You’d need to know everything to make your own odds, and with an operation like this you can never know everything; you’ll only know what Lance wants you to know. Also, Mike, if you undertake this, you’d be dabbling in politics, and that’s a dangerous arena for a business.”

“All valid arguments,” Freeman said, “and I’ll take them all into consideration.” He smiled. “I wouldn’t mind having Lance Cabot in my debt; that might come in useful sometime.”

“Mike, I’ve had considerable dealings with Lance, and I can tell you it can be profitable to deal with him. But you must remember that, in any situation, the safety of Lance’s ass is Lance’s most important priority, and any benefits from dealing with him will come only after Lance has first benefited, if then.”

Freeman took an envelope from his desk and handed it to Stone. “Here’s the check for your old airplane,” he said. “I trust it’s correct.”

Stone glanced at the check. “Entirely acceptable,” he said.

Freeman handed him another envelope. “These are the sales documents and the request to the FAA to keep your old tail number. The process will take a few weeks.”

Stone signed in the relevant places and handed the papers back to him. “Fly it in good health,” he said. “It’s always served me well.”

Freeman handed him another envelope. “And these need your signature for your new airplane,” he said.

Stone walked home with a spring in his step, the check burning a hole in his pocket.

ELEVEN

Stone hired a driver and went to pick up Adele Lansdown at her apartment at 71 East Seventy-first Street. He knew that this was the side door for a more famous address, 740 Park Avenue, said to be the most prestigious in the city.