"You had it all figured out, didn't you?" said Delaney. "You found out about Jack Bennett and you've probably had him under observation ever since, only it would seem that the terrorists got what they wanted from him and now he's out of the picture.

So why leave him around? Easy, because he would make a perfect decoy. You figured that out, too, because you made sure that he knew he was under observation, hoping to scare him enough to lead you to the terrorists. If he did, you'd move in, and if he didn't, the terrorists would think their decoy plan was working. Meanwhile you anticipated the potential disruption scenarios and you've been Johnny-on-the-spot. You made sure to give us instructions that would involve us with the principals, so that the terrorists would make us, just like Freytag did last night. The idea was to dangle a little bait in front of them, a couple of decoys of your own. Freytag was supposed to spot us, if not last night, then at some other point, whenever we happened to intersect with the key figures in this scenario. You or one of your people would have been right there, because you've had us watched constantly. We were supposed to get killed. With us dead, the terrorists would feel more secure, since they'd seem to have gotten away with it. They'd get careless and you'd trail them to their hideout where they keep the chronoplate. All very neat. Only Freytag didn't kill us. That's why it bothers you. Not because they've passed up an opportunity, but because they're not improvising. They didn't take your bait. They're sticking to their original plan and you don't know what that is. What's more, you had a chance last night, when you made Freytag. You could have followed him to this Taylor character, but you blew it. Freytag didn't know that he was being followed? I don't buy it. He knew and he shook you and it only took him a couple of blocks to do it. He and Taylor probably had a good laugh about it."

"Are you finished?"

"Not quite. How many people have you got on this mission? A dozen? Two dozen? More? You never even considered the possibility of an adjustment going down, did you? You brought enough people back here to spread a net, to cover all the possibilities. Only you needed someone the Timekeepers could spot, a target they could shoot at. As you said, someone to make them nervous. Agency personnel are too valuable to waste on something like that, right? A couple of soldiers would be just the thing. What did you do, go to the Referee Corps and requisition a couple of expendables? Sure, you can have Delaney. He's made a pain in the ass of himself before and he's up on charges now. He'll be just perfect. And Priest just happened to be there with me at the wrong time, so he got thrown into the deal. Is that how it went down?"

Mongoose regarded him with a steady gaze. "More or less," he said.

"Damn," said Lucas. "I can't believe that Forrester would go along with that."

"He had no choice," said Finn, "assuming that he even knew about it."

"If it's worth anything," said Mongoose, "I don't think Major Forrester was fully briefed. There was no need for him to know."

"Well, that pretty much fits in with standard operating procedure, doesn't it?" said Finn. "The pawns are the least significant pieces in a game. There's no need for them to know the reasons for the moves they are required to make. That's all this mission is for you, isn't it? A game. It's a game for Taylor and it's a game for you. Except Taylor controls the board.

He's got a gameplan and you don't. He's castled and he's got all his most important pieces functioning freely. You've got your pieces spread out all over the board. Every agent you've got back here represents one more chance for something to go wrong. You're out of control, Mongoose. The only way you're going to win is if you get damn lucky."

"You still only have part of the total picture, Delaney," said the agent. "To switch your chess metaphor to one of cards, I still have a few aces up my sleeve. Nor do I play a defensive game, as you imply. But that need not concern you. Granted, you've been used. But you can still be useful. Your survival depends upon the degree of your usefulness."

"Suppose we don't choose to play?" said Lucas.

"In that case, your usefulness will have ended," Mongoose said. "Freytag let you live, this one time. He obviously had a reason for doing so, although I confess that I'm at a loss to guess what that reason is. He could have killed you easily; Freytag is an accomplished assassin. He can and will do so whenever it suits Taylor's purpose. You're out in the open and extremely vulnerable."

"Thanks to you," said Lucas.

"Yes, thanks to me," said Mongoose. "You do have several alternatives, though. One is to refuse to cooperate. You could push the panic button. I can tell you now that it would bring no results. We're the Observers on this mission. You could desert, but I don't think you'll do that. I don't think it's in you. You'd still be vulnerable. The Timekeepers could get you or, for that matter, my people could get you. It would be simple. You have no idea who they are, where they are, or how many of them there are. Frankly, there'd be no percentage in my having you sanctioned. I wouldn't waste my time. I don't think you'll desert, because you want to stop the Timekeepers as badly as I do. You could tell me to go to hell and try it on your own, but then you wouldn't have the benefit of whatever information I choose to pass on to you and I don't think I need to remind you that, without me, there's no way for you to get back home. Which brings us to your final alternative. You continue to work with me and let me call the shots."

"Which means we've got no alternatives at all," said Lucas.

"I rather thought you'd come to that conclusion."

Simon Hawke

The Timekeeper Conspiracy

"All right, you bastard," Finn said, "you win. We'll play it your way."

"I'm so glad," said Mongoose. "And just to prove to you that I'm not ungrateful, I'll pass on a useful bit of information. What you do with it is up to you. Before Jack Bennett deserted from the Temporal Corps some ten years ago, he was a medical officer. Specifically, he was a surgeon. A specialist in cosmetology, something you gentlemen should be familiar with. So when you go back out and start interacting with the principals in this scenario, you may want to exercise a little caution. One of them may not be what he seems."

Moreau came quickly. The old ex-seaman asked no questions, simply accepting that Doctor Jacques and "his gentleman friend" were in some kind of trouble and needed help. When Bennett told him that he would have to be extremely careful if any of the "gentlemen from Flanders" inquired as to his whereabouts, Moreau grunted, nodding his head as if to say that he had thought as much, and then told him to say no more, that he would take care of everything.

"There is one thing more that I must say," Bennett told him.

"There is no need of explaining anything to me, Doctor Jacques," Moreau said.

"Yes, I know that, old friend," Bennett said, "and I love you for it. But I must give you a warning. Be especially wary of Milady de Winter."

Moreau raised his eyebrows. There were few people in the know in Paris who had not heard of the infamous "Milady."

"Merde," said Moreau. "What have you gotten yourself into, Doctor? No, on second thought, don't tell me. I cannot tell what I don't know."

"I think that would be wise," Jack Bennett said.

"What would be wise would be to find a safe place for you right now and arrange for you and Monsieur Andre to leave Paris as soon as possible."

Andre, still being in her male guise, did not correct Moreau in his misconception and, following her cue, Marie, Pierre, and Bennett kept silent on the subject as well.

Tags: Simon Hawke TimeWars Science Fiction
Source: readsnovelonline.net