Free The Bergamese Sect by Alastair Gunn Page B

look like a gangland shooting, planting a few witnesses. We’ll get our agents’ bodies back through diplomatic channels once the police release them. I’ll make sure it’s all smoothed over.’
    Sewell continued to watch him for a few moments. There was a hint of panic in his eyes. ‘And the subversives? What do you know?’ he said.
    ‘ Almost nothing. We think it’s the same group as before. But we have no names, no details of their hierarchy and no knowledge of their capabilities.’
    Sewell pulled back from the table and took a long breath. ‘Okay,’ he said.
    Daintry coughed. Walsh looked over; saw the man glaring directly at him.
    ‘ Dante, we are aware of the background,’ Daintry said. The pot-bellied bureaucrat turned to Sewell and continued. ‘Oberon, we should be discussing options.’
    Sewell held up his hand to concede the point and looked around at the stern faces. Daintry followed his gaze, silently asking for affirmation. There seemed to be a glimmer of agreement in the men’s eyes.
    ‘ Very well,’ said Sewell, ‘there are two options open to us…’
    Another interruption came, this time from Prospero. ‘Wait a moment,’ said the military man. ‘This is the worst possible scenario. Why wasn’t Sebastian intercepted? We’ve been expecting him.’
    Prospero was asking an obvious question. All heads turned to Walsh, inviting an immediate explanation. Walsh thought of Petersen. He was one of his most trusted agents. If Petersen said the message could not be intercepted, then it simply wasn’t possible. He’d defend the man’s professionalism to the last.
    ‘ Sebastian’s more capable than we thought,’ was all he said.
    ‘ Those responsible should be strung up,’ the gruff military man retorted. The others remained silent.
    ‘ Prospero,’ said Sewell, anxious to proceed, ‘this isn’t the time for recriminations. We must consider our options.’
    Prospero folded his arms, accepting the judgement, but mumbled something under his breath.
    Sewell went on, ‘we have two options. We leave them alone and let them lead us to Sebastian. Or we extract the target and his information, and then find Sebastian ourselves. I’m not sure which is the more dangerous route.’
    The chairman looked from face to face. There was no sign of reaction from any of them, their faces downcast. Icarus, the younger man, fumbled with a pen in his outstretched hand.
    Then Prospero sat up straight, uncomfortable with the silence and obviously keen to be heard again. ‘It’s vital we find him, and quickly. I suggest we lift the target and move on Sebastian immediately.’
    ‘ Eliminating the subversives?’
    ‘ Yes, it’s the only way of getting to him and ensuring things are kept tight.’
    Icarus stopped playing with his pen and placed it carefully on his papers. He ran four fingers through his hair, flicking the spikes upright. He sighed softly. ‘I’m not sure,’ he said, looking up at his colleagues. ‘How can we be certain of getting the information intact? We’ll only get one chance at retrieval and if we come away empty-handed or lacking a crucial element, we’ll have a catastrophe on our hands.’
    ‘ Yes,’ agreed Daintry, ‘and since we didn’t intercept, we’re not certain what we’re looking for. It would be a difficult stunt to pull off under the circumstances.’
    Walsh was glad to hear someone was thinking of the men under his control. The decisions of Daedalus weren’t always practical; especially those that landed on his desk. He knew better than anyone in the room what could be achieved on the ground. Argent, Walsh’s network of agents, was a formidable force. It could easily achieve the improbable, but the impossible was just that – impossible. No matter how crucial it was to national security.
    Walsh leant forward to speak but the chairman spoke first.
    ‘ I agree,’ said Sewell. ‘We can’t risk losing Sebastian’s communication.’
    Prospero was not satisfied.