Chameleon

Chapter 22

Warlord was not a happy man.

Christina Laker shifted uncomfortably as he slammed the newspaper onto the desk in front of her.

'Quickly and quietly!' he roared. 'Were those not my instructions as to how this operation should be run?'

The banner headline stared up at her accusingly.

'CLUB OWNER SLAIN', it read.

Christina shuddered. 'With all due respect, Sir,' she began. 'I still feel we can contain the damage.'

'Respect be damned!' Warlord cut her off. 'This whole affair is a fiasco. I want to know what you're doing about it.'

Christina cleared her throat. She'd rarely seen Warlord this angry. Does he feel responsible? she asked herself. After all, Chameleon was, almost literally, his baby.

'Payne is in situ at the moment,' she said. 'The local police have been instructed to provide him with every co-operation. It's just a matter of time.'

'We don't have time.' Warlord's voice was calm now. Beneath the red flush of anger he looked grey and old. Funny. Christina thought, I'd never considered him mortal enough to age like the rest of us.

'Does Payne have any back-up?' Warlord asked.

'None requested, Sir. If he needs any, he usually makes his own arrangements.'

'But you can contact him?'

'I have a location and he has a personal communicator with a secure line.'

Warlord grunted. 'At least that part of the operation is by the book.' He picked up the offending newspaper and dumped it in the bin. As he resumed his seat his manner was brisk and business-like once more.

'Get down there,' he ordered. 'I want you to hold Payne's hand on this one.'

'Sir?'

'I can't explain why, but it's imperative that once Payne has made a positive identification of the subject, you are to take control of the retrieval exercise.'

'If you feel that's best, Sir.'

'I do. And don't send him back to Denby either. I've made arrangements with our cousins across the pond to baby-sit for a while. Somewhere pleasant in Washington State, I believe. Our people to supervise, of course. Just a holding operation until the dust settles. Payne will have no further involvement in this case once this operation is over, not even on Chameleon's return. Is that clear?'

'May I ask why, Sir? Payne has been remarkably effective with Chameleon in the past.'

'I'm well aware of that, Tina, but I have my reasons. Just do as I say.'

There was a strange look in Warlord's eyes that Christina had never seen before. A look almost of pleading.

'Very well, Sir,' she said. 'I'll be in situ by lunchtime.'

***

She was sitting cross-legged on the hotel bedroom floor.

Her eyes were closed, her breathing shallow, her naked body damp with a cold, clammy, sweat. Payne sat in an armchair and watched her. Sonia really was proving to be a most remarkable student. He had had several over the years. Some burnt out early, some never reached their true potential, most proved disappointing in some way or other. In Sonia, it seemed, he had found someone almost as hungry as he was himself.