Dead Edge
Page 39
The Ambassador smiled cloyingly. ‘I always think that gratitude is an overused and somewhat pointless sentiment. Thanks is what we do in our actions, not in our words. But I have no doubt you’re sincere, and therefore I’m quite certain that when the time comes we can rely on your assistance as a way of showing your gratitude.’
Tightly, Brent said, ‘I thought we were good now.’
‘So we’re good, rather than grateful?’
‘What I mean, Ambassador, is we’re even. Chuck and I helped to coordinate the release of Bin Hamad. Of course it was unfortunate how events turned out, but I did as requested. Then you in turn helped me get rid of Chuck by asking Woods to get rid of him. And as we both knew, the US government would have no choice but to agree to the request. After all, once they’d discovered Bin Hamad was released they were desperate to take action, but they couldn’t afford a diplomatic incident or your country pulling out of multi-billion dollar deals… That, Ambassador, is what I call even.’
Ambassador Shaheen stayed silent for a moment. ‘Do you know what stalemate is, Brent?’
‘Yes.’
‘Well, that’s where we all find ourselves. The whole world is at an impasse. Where no progress can be made and no advancement is possible. One minute it’s your turn, the next it’s mine…’
Brent turned to walk out of the room but the Ambassador stood and blocked his way. ‘I think Chuck underestimated you. He let down his guard. He let you take a turn when it was his move.’
Before answering, Miller took a gulp of his oxygen. ‘I just needed to get rid of him before he brought me down with him.’
‘That’s right. Always get rid of the people who know too much… Don’t you think, Brent?’
Brent’s manner spelt unease. He muttered and shuffled and strained. ‘I do.’
‘You know what Chuck’s real mistake was? He really did believe he was doing what was right for the country. You, however, are much more straightforward…Power and greed. The eternal flames of desire.’
‘I take offense to that. I love my country, Ambassador.’
‘Don’t fool yourself. Never do that. We’re all the same. You don’t need to apologize for it… But Brent, don’t make the same mistake as Chuck… Never let down your guard.’
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA
USA
115
½ – ½
‘What the hell? Are you kidding me? You better be Goddamn kidding me. Get out of here. I don’t want to see you.’ The wind blew and the rain fell and Cooper stood, wet and swaying with the effects of the pills and booze. ‘Do you know what time it is, Cooper?’
‘I know and I’m sorry but I really need to speak to you. You got to listen to me.’
‘Where you’re concerned, I don’t have to do anything. Now get the hell off my porch. You hear me? I said, go! You want me to get my gun?’
‘Granger, hear me out.’
‘And why would I want to do that?’
‘I promise I’ll go. I’ll leave you the hell alone once I’ve told you what I came here to say… I saw that man.’
‘What man?’
‘I saw Officer Rowling.’
Granger growled. ‘You’re talking gibberish. Now go on, get! I haven’t got time for any of this.’
From inside the house, Granger heard his wife calling him. ‘It’s no-one, honey… Go back to bed.’
Wrapping his robe tightly round his grey pajamas, he stepped down the porch stairs. Poked Cooper hard in the chest. ‘I already told you, you’re finished, and you turning up here has just put the seal on it.’
Wide eyed and still high and desperate to say what he needed to, Cooper stood his ground. ‘Please, hear me out… Officer Rowling. He was a helicopter pilot on the day of the accident. Served on board the ship. He told me that a few days after it happened, Beau ordered a secret search and rescue operation to Mogadishu. Officer Rowling said the reason he ordered it was because Beau knew there were three skiffs, not two, but he kept it quiet due to mistakes made during and immediately after the accident. So he tried to make it right by getting a small team to follow up some intel reports. By all accounts, a woman had been seen in Mogadishu with a group of known pirates. She fitted the description. Blonde. Blue eyes… Beautiful…
‘But when they got there and were ready to execute the rescue, the situation quickly became too dangerous because of a counterterrorism mission operating at the same time in the same area. So they were ordered to pull out, even though they had visuals… They left her there. Never went back. Beau told them to bury the report, he never wanted anyone to find out he’d ordered a search… But what he didn’t bank on was Woods digging out the report years later, so he pretended he didn’t know anything. I don’t know, maybe over time he felt guilty, and wanted to tell me, so I’d stop torturing myself… But he just didn’t know how to.
‘But that’s why Officer Rowling came to find me. He couldn’t live with it. He says that day of the operation, and leaving her there, still haunts him. The look in her eyes gives him sleepless nights… But he was certain it was Ellie. I showed him a photo of her… Granger, it was Ellie… She’s alive. Your daughter’s alive.’
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