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Back The Frenchman
Chapters (76)
  1. COVER PAGE
  2. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  3. DEDICATION
  4. AMIN
  5. PARIS
  6. … TWO YEARS LATER
  7. CHAPTER ONE
  8. CHAPTER TWO
  9. CHAPTER THREE
  10. CHAPTER FOUR
  11. CHAPTER FIVE
  12. CHAPTER SIX
  13. CHAPTER SEVEN
  14. CHAPTER EIGHT
  15. CHAPTER NINE
  16. CHAPTER TEN
  17. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  18. CHAPTER TWELVE
  19. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  20. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  21. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  22. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  23. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  24. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  25. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  34. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  35. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  44. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  45. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  46. CHAPTER FORTY
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  49. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  53. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  54. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  55. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  56. CHAPTER FIFTY
  57. CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
  58. CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
  59. CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
  60. CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
  61. CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
  62. CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
  63. CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
  64. CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
  65. CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
  66. CHAPTER SIXTY
  67. CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
  68. CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
  69. CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
  70. CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
  71. CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
  72. CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
  73. CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN
  74. CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT
  75. CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE
  76. EPILOGUE

‘Milk or bread?’ he asked her.

‘Wine,’ she said, giving him a kiss on the lips. ‘Housewarming tonight. You’re invited.’

They peeled out in Romy’s VW Polo, and turned west as Patrick fiddled with the music player.

‘Dad, what’s a spy?’ asked Oliver.

‘Why are you asking?’

‘Because my friend wants to play spies at school, but I don’t know what it is,’ said Oliver, rearranging his sock around the shin guard.

‘Well, let me think,’ said de Payns, braking for a red light. ‘A spy is a person who finds out things for his or her country. Things they’re not supposed to know.’

‘Are spies secret?’

‘Yes, son,’ de Payns said with a chuckle. ‘You may know one, but you wouldn’t know they’re a spy.’

Oliver considered the answer, and Patrick piped up.

‘Play the moon song, Dad,’ he said.

De Payns searched Spotify and they sang ‘Bad Moon Rising’, even as his ribs ached. He was happy, as close to balancing his life as he could ever hope for.

The lights turned green, and de Payns floored the Polo. He had one eye on the road ahead, the other firmly on the rear-view mirror.

EPILOGUE

EPILOGUE

The hotel was smaller than the enormous Oasis Resort just along the coast. However, it provided to high-security-clearance employees such as Dr Yousef Bijar a place inside Pakistan where they could unwind and take a well-earned rest on the nation’s Arabian Sea coastline. The Mercedes pulled into the covered reception area and the driver—in reality an ISI security guard—lifted the Doctor’s case from the trunk and walked with him to the desk. This person would be living next door to Bijar’s villa for the next week, and he’d always be somewhere in the Doctor’s vicinity. It didn’t concern Bijar; he’d lived like this for many years and accepted the need for personal security.