Deception Game Read Free Page B

first conceived of this plan, he’d spent weeks learning every aspect of Hunt’s life and career, probing as deep as he could without being flagged by the Agency. By now he felt as if he knew the man as well as Hunt knew himself.
    Reaching into his jacket pocket, the divisional director produced a handkerchief and used it to wipe the perspiration from his brow. ‘You’ve done your homework. Bravo. What’s your point?’
    ‘My point is that everything I’ve learned about you so far tells me you’re a good man. You’re ready to stand up for what’s right, and you’re not afraid to risk your own arse to do it. And the fact you still wear that watch tells me you haven’t forgotten that. That’s why I took the risk to contact you. That’s why you haven’t walked away, and I think that’s why you want to believe in me now.’
    ‘A good man,’ Hunt repeated, snorting in derision. ‘That’s a real nice sentiment, but those things happened a long time ago. Things were different then. There were rules to follow, a code of conduct, a line between right and wrong. Sure, we might step over it on occasion, but it was always there, no matter what.’
    He sighed then. A weary sigh of a man fighting an unwinnable battle for far too long. ‘Then you get into...this line of work. And you realize the line you put so much faith in never really existed. It only existed in your mind, because
you
wanted to believe in it. You
needed
to believe in it. But all the belief in the world doesn’t make something true. The truth is, people can do just about anything they want and get away with it. All they need are three things – the will, the brains, and the right friends. And believe me, Marcus Cain has plenty of all three.’ He flashed a grim smile. ‘How do you think he became Deputy Director in the first place?’
    Drake clenched his fists as he regarded the man seated beside him. ‘So he gets away with everything he’s done? Is that what you’re saying?’
    Hunt shot him a piercing look, as if to remind him of who was the more senior here. ‘No, that’s what
you
’
re
saying.
I
’
m
saying that you don’t take on a man like Cain by making a few half-assed accusations and expecting the world to fall in line behind you.’
    ‘I don’t need the world behind me,’ Drake insisted. ‘But I do need you.’
    ‘To do what, exactly?’Again that weary smile. ‘Call the President and have him fire Cain this afternoon? Or maybe haul him up in front of a Congressional hearing, air all the dirty laundry in public?’
    ‘That would work for starters.’
    ‘I’m sure it would, but we both know that’s not going to happen. If anything at all is going to come of this, I need to know what you know. First, tell me what actual evidence you’ve got against Cain.’
    ‘Eyewitness testimonies. Field operatives and Agency personnel that have been coerced into silence by him. All of them are prepared to testify against him.’
    ‘Which means jack shit in situations like this,’ Hunt countered. ‘Witnesses can be discredited, blackmailed or just made to disappear. I need something real.’
    Drake said nothing for several seconds, weighing up how much he could reveal, how much to risk. There was one final card he could play, but it was the kind that could only be played once. There was no telling what reaction it might provoke, but he sensed this was a critical moment. Hunt’s faith in him was wavering, his initial interest giving way to scepticism and doubt.
    He had to offer something meaningful, and there was only one way to do that.
    ‘I’ve got Anya,’ he said at last.
    That was when Hunt’s demeanour changed. Like a lucky punch delivered in a losing fight, the tide seemed to turn at that moment. ‘She’s still alive?’ he asked, his voice hushed.
    Drake nodded.
    ‘Jesus Christ,’ he breathed, letting out a long sigh. ‘Where is she?’
    Drake gave him a look that made it plain he wasn’t going to give such