Dead Man Walking

  ‘I’ve worked for so many people, so many causes and ideologies … But in the end the Organization is family. They make us, they shape us, they hold the paperwork on our souls. Not surprising, really. It’s the nature of our job that we lead isolated lives. Always on the move, never a chance to put down roots or get close to anyone.’ He caught something in my expression. ‘Oh, you think you’ve found someone. Make the most of it, Ishmael. It won’t last.’

  I didn’t argue the point. ‘Is there really no one in your life? What about family, friends, lovers? Even people like us can’t move through the world without making some connections. Is there no one you’d like us to contact?’

  He smiled. ‘So you can check with them, to check up on me? No, there’s no one. There was someone once … She left me after she became pregnant, and I wouldn’t leave the spying game to be with her. How could I tell her it was all I knew? I could have tracked her down but she’d made her decision. And I didn’t want to endanger her or the child by drawing attention to them. She chose to go and I let her. It was for the best.’

  ‘There’s nothing about that in your file,’ I said.

  ‘Not everything gets into the files,’ he said. ‘You should know that, Ishmael. Why are you here? I mean, why you of all people? And why are the interrogators taking so long to get to me? Come on, let’s get this show on the road. I have so much to tell them, secrets like you wouldn’t believe. In return for being allowed to retire and put all this madness behind me.’

  ‘It’s not that simple,’ I said. ‘You must know that. First you have to convince us you are who you claim to be.’

  ‘Understandable,’ said Parker. ‘I often feel the same way when I look in the mirror. I’ve had so many faces, so many identities … How can I prove to you that I’m really Frank Parker?’

  ‘You tell me.’

  ‘I could tell you things about the Organization. Names, codes, protocols. Past and present.’

  ‘How would you know the up-to-date stuff?’

  ‘That’s part of what I’m offering to trade,’ said Parker. ‘I could tell you the names of the past two Colonels. Oliver Cranleigh, and after him James Belcourt.’

  I had to raise an eyebrow at that. ‘I didn’t know the name of my Colonel until he was dead.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Parker. ‘I heard about that. And now there’s a new Colonel. Would you like to know his name?’

  ‘Maybe later,’ I said.

  ‘I could tell you why they’re always called the Colonel.’

  ‘I’m not that interested.’

  ‘You would be,’ said Parker. ‘If you only knew.’

  ‘You’re tempting the wrong person,’ I said. ‘I have nothing to offer you.’

  ‘You could get me out of this cell. Arrange for better treatment.’

  ‘And why would I do that?’

  ‘Because if you did, I’d tell you what I found out about the Organization that made me leave. It’s too late for me, Ishmael, but you could still save yourself.’

  ‘Tell me why you went rogue,’ I said, ‘and I’ll think about it.’

  Parker shrugged heavily. ‘What I found out … didn’t exactly come as a surprise. Not after some of the things the Organization had me do for them. Maybe I was just tired of what my life had become. But in the end, the new life I made for myself wasn’t that different. Same puppet, different strings. Why do we do this, Ishmael? Why do we give our lives to shadows and lies?’

  ‘Because it’s a job worth doing,’ I said. ‘The Organization makes the work possible.’

  ‘But what exactly is the job?’

  ‘Keeping people safe,’ I said. ‘From all the things they don’t need to know are out to get them.’

  ‘I used to believe that,’ said Parker. ‘But … do we keep the general populace ignorant of all the dangers in the hidden world because they couldn’t cope? Because they’d panic or go crazy? I don’t think so. I think it’s because that makes them easier for our lords and masters to control. We deny them knowledge because they might use it against those in power. We should tell people the truth. Tell them everything. And then, what would we need an Organization for?’

  ‘Are we qualified to make a decision that big?’ I said.

  ‘If not us,’ said Parker, ‘then who? And if the Organization really are such saints and benefactors, with everyone’s best interests at heart, why isn’t anyone allowed to know who and what they are?’

  ‘Do you know?’ I said.

  He smiled.

  ‘Did you ever think you’d end up here?’ I said. ‘Deep in the bowels of the infamous Ringstone Lodge?’

  ‘I asked to be brought here,’ said Parker.

  I had to raise an eyebrow. ‘That has to be a first. Why?’

  ‘I have my reasons.’

  ‘Did you expect to find a friendly face here?’

  ‘Something like that. How do you feel about being here, Ishmael Jones? Are you sure that when the time comes they’ll just let you go?’

  ‘Why would they want to keep me?’ I said.

  ‘Because you’re the infamous Ishmael Jones.’

  I have a lot of experience when it comes to hiding my true nature from the rest of the world. I was aware of the irony involved in my quizzing Parker over who he really was. But then who better than someone like me, who knows all the tricks? Did the Organization know that, and was that why they’d sent me? So many questions, and so few answers. Or at least none I could trust.

  ‘Can you think of any way to prove conclusively who you are?’ I said.

  ‘No,’ he said. ‘I’ve destroyed my past quite thoroughly. First, when I joined the Organization; and then later, when I had to hide from them. It wasn’t difficult. It wasn’t like there was anything I wanted to hang on to.’

  ‘What about the child?’ I said. ‘We could always run a check on his DNA, to see if it matches yours.’

  ‘No,’ he said flatly. ‘I won’t put the child at risk by exposing him to our world. In the end, you people are going to have to decide just how badly you want the information I’ve got. You’re just going to have to trust me.’

  ‘Trust is a hard thing to come by in our profession,’ I said.

  ‘You should know, Ishmael.’

  He turned away from the bars, sat down on his bed, and stared at the wall opposite.

  ‘I have nothing more to say to you. Get out of here and send in the interrogators.’

  ‘You’re really prepared to tell us everything you’ve done?’ I said.

  ‘Everything.’

  ‘Even the bad stuff?’

  ‘Especially the bad stuff.’

  Was he looking to do penance, or just bargaining for his own safety? I couldn’t read his false face or his carefully controlled body language. He was an agent, after all.

  ‘Are you sure that’s all you want to say to me?’ I said. ‘Once I leave, the real questioning begins.’

  ‘That’s what I want.’

  ‘You must be the first man in your position to say that,’ I said. ‘You know it will get rough.’

  ‘Good,’ said Parker. ‘I deserve it.’

  ‘Are your sins really so bad?’

  ‘You have no idea.’

  I left him sitting on his bed, staring at nothing, and went back to join MacKay at the foot of the stairs.

  ‘Well?’ said MacKay. ‘What did he have to say?’

  ‘Nothing I didn’t expect,’ I said. ‘Nothing particularly useful.’ I looked at MacKay. ‘I take it there is a recording of our conversation?’

  ‘Of course,’ said MacKay. ‘Cameras and hidden microphones. I’m sure the two doctors are digging through your words for clues even as we speak. But if you knew that, why did you send me away?’

  ‘To give Parker the illusion of privacy,’ I said. ‘To make it easier for him to open up to me.’

  ‘And did he?’ said MacKay.

  ‘Hard to tell,’ I said.

  THREE

  Haunted by More Tha
n One Past

  I thought about what Parker said, and what he didn’t say, all the way back up the stairs. While MacKay maintained a respectful silence. Why had Parker decided to come back? What, precisely, had brought him back out of the shadows after all this time? And why had he asked to be brought to Ringstone Lodge, in particular? I had to smile, quietly, to myself. Parker had baited his hook very cleverly; even I was intrigued to find out what it was he had to tell us. But that wasn’t my job. I wasn’t here to learn the truth, just to keep the man alive while we figured out whether or not he really was Parker.

  I had no idea. He sounded like the real thing, but an agent is an agent whoever he works for. And no one’s more convincing than a con man with the very latest line in snake oil to sell you. The only way to beat the con is to not want whatever it is that they’re selling.

  Back in the entrance hall I found Penny had been left all on her own, sitting on a chair in the corner, one crossed leg idly swinging. She bounced up on to her feet, nodded to MacKay, and beamed happily at me.

  ‘Welcome back! How was the underworld?’

  ‘Not quite as illuminating as I hoped,’ I said. ‘Where is everybody?’

  ‘Security “R” Us decided they just had to go check out the grounds and the perimeter,’ said Penny. ‘In case we were followed here from the station.’

  ‘I think one of us would have noticed,’ I said.

  ‘Almost certainly,’ said MacKay. ‘But it is best to be sure, regarding such matters.’

  ‘Baxter and Redd didn’t try to bother you?’ I said to Penny. ‘Put on the pressure as to why we’re here?’

  ‘Oh sure,’ said Penny. ‘But I just went all girly on them and they didn’t know how to cope.’

  ‘What about Philip Martin?’ I said.

  ‘Gone back to his little hutch to keep his beady eye on everything.’

  ‘I am going to have to take a look at this security centre at some point,’ I said to MacKay.

  ‘Of course, sir.’

  ‘Doctor Hayley and Doctor Doyle are currently plotting together in the lounge,’ said Penny. ‘I was very pointedly not invited.’

  ‘They’ll be wanting to talk to you now,’ said MacKay. ‘About what you’ve learned from Mr Parker.’

  Penny raised an eyebrow at him. ‘They’d better not be planning to interrogate Ishmael. He really doesn’t take kindly to that.’

  ‘It’s true,’ I said. ‘I don’t.’

  ‘I am sure it is all in the name of sharing useful information,’ said MacKay. ‘We belong to the same team, after all.’

  ‘Really?’ I said. ‘I don’t think Hayley and Doyle got that memo. But by all means, let’s play nice and pretend we’re all here for the same reasons. I have questions of my own, for those two. Lead on, MacKay.’

  A few nicely appointed corridors later, MacKay ushered us into an extremely comfortable lounge. Big and airy, with the usual old-fashioned country-house furniture and a great bay window that looked out over the grounds. Fierce light from the overhead chandelier pushed back the growing darkness outside. Hayley and Doyle were sitting side by side on a large sofa, drinking tea out of delicate china cups. They looked up sharply as we entered, put their cups down on the coffee table before them and, ignoring both Penny and MacKay, fixed me with stern but anticipatory stares. For two such experienced interrogators, their faces and body language were surprisingly easy to read. Or maybe that was just me. Hayley was clearly brimming over with questions concerning things she thought she knew about me. Doyle was nervous about facing such an experienced field agent, and trying very hard not to show it. Both of them made a point of not standing up as I entered, partly to remind me of their doctorly authority but mostly because it would have been difficult for either of them to get up out of the depths of the sofa and still retain any dignity.

  An open laptop had been placed on the coffee table, next to a pile of old Country Life magazines. The sound had been turned down just before we entered. I caught a quick glimpse of the screen, showing me talking to Parker, before Hayley shut the laptop down completely. As though she didn’t want me to see which part of the interview she’d been so interested in. I gave her my best enigmatic smile, to show her I could play the secrets game too. Doyle had a fat official file perched on one knee. The closed cover had the three red diagonal stripes that meant ‘For your eyes only’. I dropped bonelessly into a chair facing the two doctors and arranged myself comfortably. Penny perched elegantly on the arm of my chair, crossing her long legs to show them off to their best advantage. But the doctors still only had eyes for me. I was their target. MacKay moved off a way to take up a position by the bay window, where he could watch us and look outside at the same time.

  Hayley stretched out an imperious hand to Doyle, who handed over the official file without a murmur. Hayley opened the file and leafed through it, taking her time. Penny looked at me, to see how I wanted to play this. I just smiled and sank back in my chair. I was in no hurry. Hayley wanted to talk about what I’d learned from Parker, which meant she had to come to me for answers. But she was putting it off so as not to seem too eager, too needy. Doyle split his attention between Hayley and me, waiting to see which of us would speak first. I was very interested in the file. The three red stripes on the cover meant it contained information on Parker that the Organization felt I didn’t need to know. And I wanted to know. I really don’t like it when people keep things from me. I could have snatched the file away from Hayley and taken a look for myself; but that would only have led to raised voices and tears before bedtime, and I still had to work with these people. So I just settled comfortably in my chair and smiled easily at one and all. I could always steal the file later, if I needed to. But I doubted there was anything in it to tell me why Parker had chosen to walk away from the Organization, or anything else I really wanted to know.

  Doyle stirred restlessly, and leaned forward on the sofa to address me. ‘Now you’ve spoken to our man of mystery, Ishmael, do you think he really is the legendary Frank Parker?’

  ‘He sounds like the real deal,’ I said carefully. ‘But then if he’s been properly coached by the opposition, he would do. Wouldn’t he? He’s saying all the right things, and holding back when you’d expect him to. But I am a little surprised that he’s so insistent on talking to you …’

  ‘We’ve already had a brief word with the man,’ said Doyle. ‘Exploratory talks, you understand, opening gambits and all that …’

  ‘What did he have to say?’ I said. ‘Anything interesting?’

  ‘Not really,’ said Doyle. ‘A very close-mouthed man, our Mr Parker.’

  ‘I didn’t have any problems,’ I said. ‘But then, we have more in common. Have you got any useful information out of him yet?’

  ‘Nothing worth having,’ said Hayley. She slammed the file shut and glared at me. ‘We heard everything you said. The fascinating cut and thrust of clashing egos. He’s hiding something.’

  ‘Of course he is,’ said MacKay. ‘But not necessarily what we think.’

  We all looked at him, but he had nothing more to say. He looked out the bay window at the grounds, as though expecting an attack at any moment. Hayley studied me suspiciously.

  ‘Parker did seem to know an awful lot about you, Ishmael. Which is odd, considering the two of you have never met before. Officially. I wonder what he’ll tell us about you, once we get to work on him?’

  ‘I’m interested in that myself,’ I said. I slouched down a little more in my chair, just to make it clear I wasn’t intimidated by her tone. I looked thoughtfully at her, and then at Doyle. ‘I don’t know how high your security clearance goes, but I would advise you to be very careful over which particular cans of worms you choose to pry open. Apart from anything else, if there really are bad apples inside the Organization …’

  ‘We only have his word for that,’ Doyle said judiciously. ‘It could just be a bargaining ploy to make us take him more seriously.’

  ‘And encourage
us to make him a better deal,’ said Hayley.

  ‘But what if it isn’t?’ said Penny. ‘If you don’t know how far up the rot goes? Who can you trust?’

  ‘It does add a certain urgency to the situation,’ said Doyle. ‘But that could be the point. To hurry us into precipitous and unwise decisions.’

  ‘You did get some interesting information out of the man,’ Hayley said reluctantly. ‘We’ve already had Martin contact Headquarters, suggesting that they set their hounds on the trail of the woman and child.’

  ‘So you can access the child’s DNA?’ I said. ‘Or so you can threaten them in order to put pressure on Parker? Nothing like holding a knife to a loved one’s throat to bring a reluctant prisoner into line.’

  ‘Exactly,’ said Hayley.

  Penny looked at her as though she was some kind of poisonous insect. Hayley didn’t seem in the least concerned.

  ‘Parker had to know our little chat was being recorded,’ I said. ‘And that you’d be bound to go after the woman and child once he mentioned them. I don’t think anything he said, no matter how casual, was unintended. Perhaps he wants the Organization to find them for him, because he hasn’t been able to do so.’

  ‘Do you think that’s why he came back?’ said Penny. ‘Because of them?’

  ‘Possibly,’ I said. ‘But why now, after all these years? Doctor Hayley, Doctor Doyle, is there anything in Parker’s unexpurgated file that I ought to know?’

  Hayley’s mouth tightened into a flat line and she met my gaze defiantly. In this at least she had the advantage and wasn’t about to give it up. Then Doyle cleared his throat, and she shot him a glance of betrayal.

  ‘Nothing particularly earth-shattering,’ said Doyle. ‘Just more details, on the various cases he handled.’

  ‘Do you recognize any of these case names, Mr Jones?’ said Hayley. ‘The Inverted Pyramid in the Pacific, The Hidden Sixth Side of the Pentagon, The Occasional Cities of the Black Sun?’ She watched my face carefully as she ran through the titles.

  ‘You made those up!’ said Penny. And then she stopped and looked at me. ‘Those are real? Really?’