Warren Primrose raised his head. Gaffer tape was pulled tight over his mouth. Dried blood flaked below his nose and across the tape. He looked like he'd been hit by a truck. But then again, that's how Jay thought he usually looked.
Bowen glared at Jay. 'Told you I had him here. Your father is elsewhere for the time being. Sit down.'
Shock froze Jay to the spot. Unable to fathom the circumstances – his boss involved and the betrayal. Shocked at seeing Primrose in the chair and not his father. His expectations dislocated once again. Bowen had played him like a fool. He felt like a fool.
Jay looked across to Catherine. She stood in the doorway and waved the pistol toward the vacant chair in the middle of the interrogation room. Bitch, he thought. He couldn't believe the mess he had got into for one night of foolishness with her. A total lack of foresight. He knew he was a fool.
He pushed off the wall and made for the chair. His feet felt like lead. He wished they were entombed in concrete and he was being pushed off a boat.
Primrose started moaning behind his gag.
'Shut up, Warren, or you'll get another one,' Bowen said, leaning forward with his hand raised in a backhand motion.
Primrose went silent.
Bowen strode toward the two-way mirror and turned, facing the two chairs. Catherine remained at the door, stone-faced.
'Figured it out yet, Jay?' Bowen asked.
Jay knew he had to fight now for survival – again. He needed to push aside the feeling of being beaten. His skills were being put forward for the ultimate test. Fight with what he had. He cleared his throat. His voice barely above a whisper, he said, 'I'm guessing you have a rose tattoo under your watch.'
Bowen removed his watch and held up his wrist toward Jay. 'Yep. NB written on the back of the watch too.' He put the watch back on with the face covering the tattoo.
A spark ignited inside of Jay. Years of training enabled him to cover any outward signs that he had picked up on the information instantly. He had a sniff at survival. Sarah and Bill were the only other two who knew he had checked the watches of Cliffe and Taylor. He searched for answers. 'What, NB like mine?'
'NB like yours and the two buffoons who paid you a visit.'
Jay paused and considered his response. 'Cliffe and Taylor. Hope they've warmed up somewhat,' he said. The confidence grew.
Bowen chuckled. 'I have to admit you did a good job there. They were packing their bags for home when I got to them. I think they preferred your style of interrogation to mine.'
Jay swallowed. He had to play the psychological game better than his boss. 'You should have known better than to send them after me.'
'I didn't send them. I wouldn't have sent those two. Let's just say it was an error on Warren's part.'
'And here I was thinking she'd set it up,' Jay said, nodding toward Catherine.
'Just being a good wife,' said Bowen. 'In fact, I never had any intention of those two making it to your house. Problem was they decided to pick you up early. Once we got wind of it, just went to plan B.'
Jay accelerated the questioning. He had been offered an inch and intended to take the mile. 'How did you know they came early?'
'Now, now, Jay. Got to have some secrets.'
Jay pushed on. 'Why did you let this psychopath torture me?' he asked, nodding toward Primrose.
'He went too far. Yes, he was supposed to recruit you with the tattoo thing. Wasn't supposed to threaten your father. We needed the DVD for blackmail. We needed you to collect some documents. That's all. Once Catherine realised it was getting out of hand, she called for the big guns.' He thumbed his chest. 'I paid your dad a visit.'
'Where is he?'
Bowen smiled. 'He's fine. No need to worry.'
'The message on the computer and the open safe – they were obviously from you. Why would you go back if you had already picked him up?'
'Last minute stuff. Catherine did your room over after she left here and I did your father's to try to put you off track while we worked out what to do with Warren here.'
'Lazarau?' Jay asked.
'A success story there, to a certain extent. Got a lot of good information before he got greedy. Dipshit here just wasn't handling him right.' He pointed a finger at Primrose.
Jay guessed where the story was heading. 'This is more than just your average espionage operation. Big risk trying to recruit me, even with the hidden video. What do you want?'
'I'm getting to that. Lazarau became dead wood. Just one more document we need that he couldn't get anyway. That's why we need you.'
Jay waited for Bowen to continue.
'We're the only two people with Top Secret–Tango code access in this facility. I'm already on the winning team. We need you for a certain document that even I can't access.'
'The Iraq interrogation report.' Jay knew that one day the interrogation would come back to haunt him.
'Spot on. The report that you password protected and sent straight to the Chief of Defence.'
'They were my orders.'
'No shit! Yet to this day, even though I was your immediate superior at the time, you've never mentioned the capture, interrogation or report of this anonymous Iraqi general.'
Jay knew he had a chance. Bowen had worked himself up. 'Tell me, boss, what do you know about that interrogation?'
'I have my sources too. I pieced bits of the puzzle together through the documents Lazarau provided and the information I learnt when I was there. Only a handful of people at the time knew that you were inserted with a black ops team to pick up a high-value target. You were taken out of my chain of command from Afghanistan for re-assignment. That's all I was told. Then all of a sudden, you were in Iraq before our advance party arrived. I heard some whispers that an Iraqi general had been snatched and interrogated. I started to get messages to back off when I looked a little deeper. Chief of Army rang me. I didn't take that call well. I don't like threats.' Bowen paused and rubbed his chin. 'Anyway, we're wasting time. I'll fill you in on the rest of it over a scotch some time.'
'I've got the feeling I've already had my last scotch,' Jay said.
'We'll see. I want that report now. I know where it is on the system. What's the password?'
Jay remained silent, calculating his options.
Bowen took out a mobile phone and dialled. 'Put him on,' he said. In the pause, Bowen glanced between Catherine and Jay. 'Ed, your son is here. Just say what we discussed and we'll all come through this just fine.'
Jay stiffened. Bowen brought the phone over and placed it against his ear.
Jay cleared his hoarse throat. 'That you, Dad?'
'Jay. Glad to hear your voice. You OK?' Edward Ryan asked.
'I'll be better once these lunatics let me go. At least you can talk ... what'd they do to you?'
'Don't worry about me, son. Just do what they ask and it'll be over soon enough. Just follow the director.'
'Where –'
Bowen ended the call. 'Password?'
'Scotch and dry,' Jay said.
'I'm starting to think you have a drinking problem. What's the password before you get hurt?'
'That is the password. Scotch in lower case. N for November in uppercase. Dry in lowercase – scotchNdry.'
Bowen looked dumbfounded. 'That's it?'
'That's it.'
'Holy shit. I should have realised. I'm going to go upstairs to try it. If I come back without that message, you get to choose which limb gets broken first.'
'On Primrose?'
'Nice try. On you.'
'It'll work. All this talk has made me thirsty. Any chance your lovely maid over there can get me a scotch and dry?' Jay asked.
'Fuck off,' Catherine said.
'That's enough,' Bowen said. 'Any more from you, Jay, and I'll gag you like Primrose.'
Bowen adjusted Jay's handcuffs so they locked around the chair. He moved toward the door and stopped to whisper something to Catherine. After a kiss on the cheek, he exited the room.
Elated that his father was alive, Jay considered the hidden message in their conversation. Follow the director; only director he knew was the Director of NSIS, Patrick Goodwin. A close family friend. Sarah's boss.
Follow the director. Easier said than done.