Target Read Free Page B

as if trying to make sure nobody could hear what was going on in the next room. “For years nobody’s been here but my mother, of course.”
    Nobody else in the bedroom said a word; they were all straining their ears to pick up any clues from next door.
    “So let’s have the girls down here and the boys upstairs. How about that?” Yannick was making a poor job of sounding cheerful. The only reactions he got were distracted grunts and nods.
    Then Jimmy noticed Saffron sitting on the furthest bed, turned towards the window. She was the only person who wasn’t trying to listen to the argument on the other side of the wall.
    “What’s going on?” Jimmy whispered. “Who is this guy, Uno Sto…whatever?”
    Saffron glanced over to make sure nobody else was paying attention. “He’s a French Secret Serviceoperative,” she explained. “They must have tracked us entering French airspace.”
    “I know that,” Jimmy interrupted. “I mean, how come Chris knows him, and what are they arguing about?” Saffron sighed and avoided looking into Jimmy’s eyes.
    “When Chris left NJ7 he needed to disappear. He hid in Kazakhstan for a while, but wanted to use what he knew about NJ7 to put a stop to Ares Hollingdale. So he went to the DGSE.” Her eyes scanned the room. Yannick and Jimmy’s mother were doing their best to stop Felix, Georgie and Eva pressing their ears up against the wall.
    “And that’s when he met this Uno guy,” Jimmy chipped in, to keep Saffron on track.
    “Uno Stovorsky,” Saffron whispered. “Remember his name. He could help us.” Jimmy nodded. “But Chris fell out with the DGSE too.”
    “Why? What happened?” Jimmy implored. “What aren’t you telling me?”
    Saffron stood up and pulled in a deep breath. “Jimmy, they’re arguing about me.”
    Moments later the door opened again and Yannick’s mother entered. “Jimmy,” she grunted in a thick French accent.
    He stepped forward, but so did his mother. “They can’t keep me in the dark,” she muttered.
    Saffron glided out of the room after them, as elegant as ever, to join the discussion.
    “Don’t forget anything, Jimmy,” Felix called out. Jimmydidn’t have to respond. Normally, Felix wouldn’t even have asked – Jimmy would always have filled him in. But the last few days had been far from normal and the information Jimmy would be sharing was bound to be extraordinary.
    “So this is your amazing automatic assassin?” Uno Stovorsky’s eyes seemed to pierce Jimmy’s skin. Jimmy opened his mouth to introduce himself, but before he could speak Stovorsky leapt from his chair. Jimmy’s eyes snapped wide open, catching the glint of a knife in Stovorsky’s fist.
    Jimmy didn’t have to think. With the minimum of movement, he swayed to one side and caught Stovorsky’s wrist. With the knife point millimetres from his face, he chopped his other hand into the agent’s stomach and threw him over his shoulder. Jimmy snatched the knife before it hit the floor, where Stovorsky lay gasping for air.
    “Enough, Jimmy!” shouted Viggo. “He was just testing you.”
    “I know,” Jimmy replied. “Why do you think he’s still alive?” Jimmy started at his own words. He hadn’t known what he was going to say. It seemed the urge to kill was still just below the surface. He pushed away the deep sickness in his gut and reminded himself to keep control at every moment.
    “Uno,” continued Viggo, “in return for your help, we are prepared to offer you a full display of Jimmy’s abilitiesand an inventory of the technology Britain is developing for use against France.”
    Jimmy shuddered. What did Viggo mean by ‘a full display of Jimmy’s abilities’? He wasn’t a scientific sample! For a second he wanted to protest, but he quickly calmed down. He had learned to trust Christopher Viggo.
    Stovorsky was still picking himself up off the floor. His expression was grim. “This information is as useless now as it was when you came to me