“Cobra?” said Lucas.
Finn sighed. “Do you get the feeling that he’s the only one who knows what the hell is going on around here?” He looked at Jean and jerked his head toward the door. “Get out of here.”
Jean jumped up and ran for the door, moving as fast as he could before they changed their minds.
“That kid’s going to grow up to be another Mongoose,” Lucas said.
Finn snorted. “For all we know, he might’ve been his ancestor. Maybe we should have killed him.”
“You can’t be serious,” said Fitzroy.
“That’s right, I can’t be,” said Delaney. “This whole thing’s a joke to somebody. If I could figure out the punchline, I might even laugh.”
7
True to his word, Mongoose delivered the Marquis de Leforte to Andrew Ffoulkes in Boulogne-sur-Mer. Ffoulkes naturally thought that it was Blakeney who had done it and the other members of the league believed that the whole thing had been the result of a last-minute change in plans. They were only disappointed that they had not been involved. They had been looking forward to torching the Place de la Revolution.
The arrival of the Marquis de Leforte in London further spread the fame of the Scarlet Pimpernel and both Ffoulkes and Dewhurst found that they had more social invitations than they could handle as everyone wanted to know more about this man of mystery. It became the fashion among aristocratic French emigres to wear a scarlet pimpernel in their lapels and this practice soon caught on throughout London society. Soon after Leforte’s rescue, Ffoulkes reported to Lucas that Lord Hastings desired to join the league; the well-turned-out scion of one of England’s foremost families was summarily recruited. At a dinner held at the Blakeney estate in honor of the Marquis de Leforte the week following his arrival, Finn was approached by a very handsomely dressed gentleman who looked vaguely familiar to him.
“Evening, Blakeney,” said the man, a tall and broad-shouldered dandy with flaxen blond hair and bright blue eyes. “I’d like to have a word or two with you, if you don’t mind?”
He took Delaney by the arm and gently steered him toward a small and unoccupied sitting room.
“How’s it going, Finn?” he said, softly. “Long time, no see.”
Delaney tensed and stared at him intently. It was a moment before he recognized the TIA agent. “Cobra!”
“It’s nice to be remembered,” said the agent. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Fit
zroy gave me that message from Mongoose. Same old Mongoose, eh? I thought I’d touch base with you and compare notes.”
“How did Mongoose know they’d send you?” said Delaney. “I don’t think he knew, I think he guessed. Still, it was an educated guess. The odds were pretty good that they’d assign me to the case. I was the logical candidate. The two of us have worked together often in the past and, after him, I was the senior field operative. I was pulled off another mission for this one. I can’t say I mind it very much. This certainly beats slogging through the New England swamps with Benedict Arnold.”
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking that this mission will be much easier,” said Finn. “It’s rapidly turning into a real nightmare.”
“Don’t get me wrong,” said Cobra, “I’m not underestimating what we’ve got here, but it may not be quite as serious as you think. At least, not yet.”
“No? What makes you think so?”
“Well, Mongoose delivered the Marquis de Leforte to the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel, didn’t he? I think that’s an excellent indication that he’s not out to sabotage your adjustment.”
“You neglected to mention that he got a bunch of people killed in the process,” Finn said.
“Ah, yes, the boy. We’re looking for him now. It seems that Mongoose was not really responsible for that. Nevertheless, evaluations is checking through on the effects of those deaths. Chances are that they won’t constitute a serious disruption. People are dying left and right in Paris, a couple more deaths won’t make much difference, especially since no one of historical significance was killed. We’re very interested in that boy, though.”
“I thought that your job was to find Mongoose.”
“It is and I’m anxious to do that as soon as possible. That’s why I came to see you.”
“What makes you so sure he’s not out to sabotage the adjustment?” Finn said. “You know something I don’t?”
Cobra smiled. “I know Mongoose. In a way, I even understand him, though that’s no mean feat. He wants to make you and Priest look bad, as well as Cross. The three of you are the ones who caught him with his pants down. This is just his way of getting even.”
“For saving his life?”
“Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? But you don’t know him like I do. Mongoose is a little crazy. Maybe recent events have made him more so. It certainly appears that way. He has a death wish. We’ve all got that to one extent or another-you, me, Priest-otherwise we wouldn’t be here. Mongoose is a bit more extreme that way. It’s part of what makes him so effective in the field. Death doesn’t bother him, he flirts with it. He’s always taken incredible chances and up until the Timekeeper affair, his risks have always paid off. I’ve seen him set himself up like you would not believe.”
“Oh, I think I’d believe it,” Finn said.