Shadow Men – 8 – Rafe and Steele

"Gentlemen," Jensen said firmly, which brought a halt to the conversation. When Rafe took a seat in an overstuffed chair, with Steele sitting on the arm beside him, and Lou sat on the other end of the sofa, Jensen asked what exactly the Colonel had said.

"Basically," Steele replied, "that you had gotten in touch to say you were meeting with an informant, someone middle-European who came in on a fishing boat. He said this informant had information about 'the plan' but wouldn't say more than that."

"There was a bit more in the file. You came here after you'd talked to one of the Colonel's people in London, someone named Delango, who I, for one, have never heard of." Rafe smiled slightly. "Not that I know everyone on every team."

"Well, Delango you wouldn't know, he doesn't exist," Jensen said. "The Colonel sent me to London on the premise that he did. He gave me the name, location, proper recognition words, a description, the whole lot. It was damned lucky that I decided to arrive at the meeting place early. I don't know if you know Bluegate Pond in Wimbledon Common, but it's not exactly on the beaten path. Anyway, as I said I got there early since I didn't know the area that well. As they say in bad novels, imagine my surprise when I saw a couple of the Colonel's assassins talking to a man who matched Delango's description. They faded from sight a few minutes before I was due to arrive. Needless to say, I did a scamper."

"What made you think they were there to take you out?" Steele asked, then answered his own question. "Because they didn't stick around, I'd say."

"Precisely."

"What about this informant you were going to meet?"

"He doesn't exist, at least not the way the Colonel told you. Do you know the name Goranov?"

They both nodded and Rafe said, "He's a renegade from the organization. Supposedly took some secrets and sold them to the highest bidder about three weeks ago."

"Supposedly being the operative word there, Rafe. He and I were good pals before he vanished. He called me four days ago to tell me he'd run because he found out some information about the Colonel. Information our esteemed boss would kill to keep secret."

"How did the Colonel know you were going to be in touch with Goranov?" Steele asked.

"I stupidly told someone I thought was a friend that he'd gotten in touch with me. She passed the information on to the Colonel. At least that's what I'm presuming, given what happened with this so called Delango. She's the only one I told."

"Where is she now?"

Jensen smiled tightly. "A bit of poetic justice, she's deep in the middle of Bluegate Pond, hopefully keeping the fish well fed."