Turning Point Read Free

a blind eye.’ His restless gaze flew round the walls, mimicking the action of countless students who’d been faced with an apparently insolvable problem presented to them by their tutors. For the brightest, those who got the answer correct, their reward was the chance to run for government or become a captain of industry. For the agent, success meant a handshake from the President and a brief
thank you
.
    â€˜Go on.’
    â€˜Haven’t heard from him since that business in Holland, when Bill got shot. I need you to find him and get him out.’
    Beau rose to his feet and stood by the window casually glancing down into the courtyard, its leaded windows and crumbling arches a testament to history. Very faintly, in the distance, the hum of cars and buses edging through the narrow streets could be heard. ‘Do I get given a safety rope or are you expecting me to scale the tower wall using only my teeth?’
    Terry glowered. ‘Aren’t you ever serious?’
    â€˜Naturally, if the occasion warrants. But so far this morning, life has been great. A good friend has come calling, and offered me a brilliant job even if it is only temporary. The sun has shone for a few hours and the coffee is excellent.’ He waved his hands at the tray ‘This new blend is first class and will definitely keep me awake all day. So – climbing gear – list of.’
    â€˜You’ll wear a trace – that’s it.’
    â€˜Like the one that was planted on Scott?’
    Terry took a sip of coffee before replying, idly staring round the room. Then, as if happy no one was listening…‘Better than that. This one’s decidedly hush-hush. Hardly anyone knows about it…’
    â€˜You mean
you, your boss, and the President
?’
    Terry’s saturnine expression dissolved into a reluctant grimace of amusement. ‘Now you’re getting it. It’s undetectable.’
    Beau slowly dragged his eyes up from his toes to his head, examining his body closely as if seeing it for the first time. ‘The mind boggles!’
    The agent barked a laugh. ‘Doug happened to mention you lost a couple of molars in that skiing accident. We were thinking of an implant.’
    â€˜Again, the royal we. I presume you’re still referring to: you, your boss, and the President? Would it be impolite to enquire why?’
    â€˜Because I had a snake in our organisation once, and it left me plenty shaken.’
    â€˜You mean Pete.’
    â€˜Yeah.’ The response was dull, still painful. ‘A rogue agent. You don’t forget that in a hurry. If it hadn’t been for Scott and Hilary, he’d have got away with it too.’
    â€˜So I’m to get myself arrested, hopefully adopted, and somehow track down your man. It all sounds a bit tame to me. I’m sure real spies have a much more exciting life.’
    â€˜I promise you, you’ll thank me when you hear the alternative.’
    â€˜Go on, I’m all ears.’
    â€˜Besides telling me what a great athlete you’d become, your father happened to mention you knew more about computers than anyone he’d ever met. Apparently, at school you were always being sent to the head for inadvertently
hacking into places you shouldn’t and, on one occasion, only his influence stopped a bank pressing charges.’
    â€˜You could say I was somewhat misguided in my youth,’ Beau’s grin was broad but lopsided, the damaged side of his face a little reluctant to join in. ‘So?’
    â€˜We toyed with the idea of you hacking into the Pentagon and having a warrant issued for extradition to stand trial in the States. With that sort of reputation, the bad guys would come running.’
    Beau collapsed into his seat, his laughter echoing riotously around the high-ceilinged room. ‘How long did it take you to cook up that little lot?’
    The agent grinned. ‘I told you, you’d thank me. This