Page 60 of Stuart Woods' Golden Hour

“I have two agents on standby a mile away, though they don’t know who they’re backing up. No one knows I left Paris.”

“You might want to recheck your definition of ‘no one.’ ”

“What do you mean?”

“Someone’s trying to sneak into the building. We should get out of—”

“He got the door open,” Vesna said. “He’s coming in armed.”

Teddy pulled out his pistol and began attaching his silencer to the barrel. “Too late to leave. One’s entering right now with a weapon.”

Rick retrieved his gun while Teddy crept to the office door.

“Would you like me to deal with his lookout?” Vesna asked.

“If it wouldn’t be too much trouble,” Teddy said.

“No trouble atall.”

21

Teddy crouched behind the mezzanine’shalf wall and rose just high enough to peek over the top.

Below, the shadowy form of the intruder was moving toward the stairs.

Teddy ducked back down and whispered, “Is there someone who wants you dead?”

“Iamthe CIA’s Paris station chief, so…”

“Hazard of the job?”

Rick nodded. “As far as I know, there’s no one actively pursuing me at the moment.”

A faint groan of metal drifted up from the stairs.

Teddy scanned the mezzanine. Jammed against the wall between the first and second offices were a pair of old file cabinets. They would work for what he needed.

“How do you feel about being bait?” he asked.

“Not my favorite role, but what do you have in mind?”

Teddy told him.

“If this doesn’t work and I get killed, I’m not going to be happy about it.”

“I’ll be sure to convey your sentiments to the appropriate people.”

Rick smirked, then reentered the office they’d met in and quietly shut the door, while Teddy repositioned himself to the other side of the discarded file cabinets.

Several seconds later, the stairs groaned again, this time from much closer to the top.

When Teddy heard the gentle tap of a shoe stepping onto the mezzanine, he sent Rick a text that read:

Now

A moment later, Rick began talking at a normal level, his voice muffled but understandable through the office door. “I’m not sure how feasible that’ll be. I’ll have to check with Washington to see if we can make it work.”

As the Paris station chief droned on, Teddy listened to the faint sounds of the intruder creeping along the mezzanine. When the steps reached the office door, they stopped.

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