Page 51 of Licence To Howl
‘Indeed.’
A spasm of sharp pain assailed Devereau’s gut. He winced.
‘What is it?’
He rubbed his stomach. ‘Those damned laxatives.’
Scarlett pulled a face. ‘Still no sign of the ring?’
‘Not yet.’ He sighed. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘Hey, at least we know where it is.’
‘I wasn’t referring to the ring.’ Devereau shifted on the chair. ‘Well, I am sorry about the ring but what I really meant was that I’m sorry for getting you involved in all this. I shouldn’t have done it.’
Scarlett snorted. ‘You didn’t force me, Devereau. I am the master of my own fate, and perfectly capable of making my own decisions. I chose to come along and help out. I didn’t have to.’ She paused. ‘Although I did kind of think that being a spy meant more time hanging around casinos and jumping out of planes to ski down mountains.’
‘I know, right? I’ve not had a single Martini yet. Neither have I been given an Aston Martin to drive.’
Scarlett winked at him. ‘You do have a femme fatale by your side.’
‘You’re telling me,’ Devereau said.
The smile dropped from Scarlett’s face. For one long, outstretched moment, they both stared at each other. ‘Dev,’ she said. ‘Listen, I …’
‘Mr Webb?’ Sarah Greensmith’s tinny voice broke in. ‘Are you there?’
Damn it. Scarlett and he seemed fated to endure eternal interruptions. He stood up and returned to the laptop. ‘I’m here.’
Greensmith gazed out at them. She didn’t look remotely happy. ‘Okay, Mr Webb. I have booked you onto the next available flight out of Rome.’
Devereau stiffened. That was not what he’d been expecting.
‘Miss Cook,’ she continued, ‘will have to make her own arrangements.’ Greensmith’s eyes were flinty. ‘But we would appreciate it if she is included in the debrief when you return to London.’
‘This isn’t over,’ Devereau said. ‘We don’t know who murdered Solentino. We don’t know what’s happening with his terrorism plans.’
‘You also don’t know what those plans were, Mr Webb. You were tasked with infiltrating Solentino’s gang. With his death, alongside the deaths of the other known members of his cell, your role is now over. Other sections of MI5 will take up the baton from here. Those murders have escalated the situation and this is no longer merely about information gathering. We will liaise with the Italian security forces and then decide how to proceed.’ She paused. ‘But thank you for your efforts thus far. For your first assignment you did an excellent job.’
Devereau clenched his jaw. ‘I thought this was my second assignment,’ he said pointedly. ‘I dealt with the blackmail situation involving Alexander Carruthers, remember?’
Greensmith didn’t miss a beat. ‘I meant international assignment. Someone from the embassy there will transport you to the airport and somebody else will collect your things from your hotel room and ensure they are forwarded to your home address in London. In the meantime, I will send a car to pick you up at Heathrow and then we shall meet after that. Understood?’
He understood alright. ‘You’re shutting me out.’
Greensmith sighed. ‘That’s not what’s happening at all.’ Her expression, however, told otherwise.
‘I have a good grasp of the situation here in Rome,’ he lied. It was as good a grasp as anyone else had anyway. ‘I’ve met Solentino. I know how the man worked. I’m best placed to look into who killed him and what’s going to happen next.’
‘We have other agents and you’re very inexperienced, Mr Webb.’
‘I’m already here on the ground. Returning to London is stupid when things could already be in motion to put Solentino’s plans into action. Whoever killed him could already be making their move.’
‘You told me it would be after December 21st.’
‘That was when Solentino was in charge. Now that he’s gone, the time line may well have changed.’ Devereau could feel his frustration growing.
‘We are aware of that and will factor it into what we do next,’ Greensmith told him. ‘I appreciate that you think of yourself as a lone wolf but MI5 is a large organisation. We require different services now and there are other people more suited to them. Not to mention that your new status as potential suspect for the murders makes it difficult for you to continue.’ She softened her voice. ‘It’s not a snub or any kind of rebuke, Devereau. Don’t treat it as such. You’ve provided us with great information so far. You remember you mentioned Bartan? The one who Avanopoulos was supposedly going to replace?’
