Bill headed for the door. 'I'll be in my room,' he said.
'No reason for you to leave,' Jay countered.
'You guys have spy stuff to talk about. You'll let me know what I need to know.'
The Director of NSIS arrived at the third-floor room not long after Bill had left.
'Hi, Uncle Pat.' Jay extended his hand and Patrick Goodwin shook it.
'G'day, Jay. Good to see you're safe and sound.'
Sarah got up from a small lounge by the window and greeted her boss. 'Hello, sir.'
'Hello, Sarah. Good job keeping this one safe.'
'Thank you, sir.'
'Let's drop the formalities. Pat will be fine.'
Sarah nodded. Jay joined her on the lounge while Pat got comfortable on the edge of the bed.
'Where's Bill?' Pat asked.
'Gone back to his room. How did you know he was here?' Jay asked.
'I have my sources. I want you to fill me in on exactly what has happened.'
Jay recounted the events, from the initial torture to arriving at the hotel, leaving nothing out. Pat nodded and kept the same poker face throughout.
'I've been in this game for over forty years, and I have never seen or heard anything like this. I'm amazed you're still here, Jay.'
'I'm just glad you sent Sarah along.'
Pat nodded. 'My turn, I suppose. I spoke with the PM face-to-face this morning, that's why I'm here. He has given me the authority to brief you two.'
Jay nodded while Sarah took a swig of her drink.
Pat continued. 'After the previous couple of incidents of defence people trying to sell secrets, our allies got a bit anxious and put some pressure on us to tighten access. The Lazarau operation started as a standard operation and I briefed the PM as the information came in. The penny dropped when I informed him that the documents related to the commencement of operations in Iraq. He pulled me aside and told me about your interrogation of the Iraqi, Jay. Nice job, by the way.'
'Thanks, I suppose.'
'The PM thinks very highly of you.'
Jay shrugged. More likely the PM is worried about what I know, he thought. Valuable information that could literally destroy governments. Jay figured the PM would like to see him disappear.
'He asked me to put my best man on Lazarau. I suggested bringing your dad into it and he agreed. I sent Ed in to see Lazarau a couple of times and he made the Sub Rosa link from the tattoo. Don't worry that you missed it, Sarah. Jay's dad was the best agent to ever work for me. He doesn't miss a thing.'
Sarah reddened, maybe a little embarrassed at missing the tattoo; more than likely a little annoyed at the reminder.
'Lazarau gave Primrose up, and your dad started looking into it. Unfortunately, he requested some information through Major Bowen. That was his last report to me.'
'When was that?' Jay asked.
'Last Thursday.'
'That doesn't match up with when Bowen said he picked up Dad. He said Sunday morning.'
'Exactly what I thought when you told the story. That's why I think someone apart from Primrose has got your father. Bowen was played by Catherine Primrose and lied about the two men who turned up for you. And Primrose is a clear lunatic. If he had your father, Ed would probably be dead by now. My guess: whoever is pulling Primrose's strings was also running Bowen.'
'And Bowen was sent to dispose of Primrose, but failed,' Jay said.
'From what you said, the main link there is Catherine Primrose.'
'Whose father happens to be the shadow minister for defence.'
'Yes. An oversight on our behalf for not tracking her more closely. The PM smells a conspiracy from within the opposition ranks on this, but there is no direct link yet between Catherine and her father. As far as we can tell, they haven't been in contact since she took off for the hippie life.'
'Zinner and the PM parted ways on less than amicable terms, didn't they?' Sarah asked.
'Yes. Over the deployment of our troops to Iraq and the WMD thing.'
'No wonder he is bitter. After what Jay found out, seems Zinner has every right to be pissed off at the PM,' she said.
'Seems so, but that's not for us to judge just yet,' Pat replied.
Jay leaned forward. 'Logically, Catherine is communicating with her father through another person. This other person has my dad. Bowen was working for the same person as Catherine. Primrose may or may not know who this other person is, yet Catherine helped him against Bowen.'
'It may have been a way to dispose of Bowen and for Catherine to keep up appearances with her husband, like playing the double agent,' Pat said.
'If that's the case, Primrose won't last long after he hands over that document,' Sarah said.
'And neither will Dad.'
'Which brings me to my next point,' Pat said. 'Two contracts were taken out last night for you two.'
Sarah gasped. 'Professional hits?'
'Yes. I can't stop them. They are firm. A million per hit.'
Jay couldn't believe what he was hearing. Not only were the police after him, he now had to contend with professional hitmen chasing him down. He wasn't enjoying being a fugitive. 'Good to know we're worth that much. I assume there are only two hits because whoever is financing them is the same person who has my father.'
'A good assumption. I was contacted last night by representatives of a major underworld figure. This person bought options on the contracts.'
Jay was incredulous. It sounded like a game failed entrepreneurs play behind prison bars. 'What does that mean?'
'Means he gets first go at killing you two. Purely financial on his behalf. He offers to take off a percentage if he completes the job within a certain timeframe without having to compete with others.'
'Holy shit,' Sarah said.
Jay ran a hand through his hair, still finding the information hard to fathom. 'What sort of timeframe?' he asked.
'Usually 24 hours. For this job, they realised Sarah was one of my agents and contacted me. We have put some operations against this figure on the backburner in exchange for some breathing space. He got 48 hours on both contracts. He's given me 24 hours to get Sarah out of the country and before he sends someone for you, Jay.'
'So you bought out Sarah's contract but mine still stands?'
'In a way, yes. If Sarah remains in the country, the contract stands. If we send her away, it's overlooked. It's a business decision.'
Jay shook his head and rubbed his eyes. 'When does the 24 hours run out?' he asked.
'Midnight tonight. Sarah, you're on the next diplomatic shuttle out of here this afternoon.'
'I won't go,' she said.
The comment surprised and pleased Jay. He wanted to tell her to go and start a new life somewhere, but didn't.
'It's not a request, Sarah,' Pat said.
'I'm not going, sir. I'm not spending my life running. We'll find whoever is behind the contracts.' She stood up and removed her Glock and identification, and handed them to the Director of NSIS.
'Don't do this, Sarah. You can start with a new identity. Pick your assignment.'
'I'm not running.'
'How did they know about Sarah?' Jay asked. 'Her name hasn't been mentioned during this whole thing.'
'There's someone on the inside of NSIS,' Pat said.
'Who?' Sarah asked.
'I don't know, but Deputy Director Harper is looking into it for me.' He stood up, placed Sarah's Glock at the small of his back and her identification inside his jacket.
Jay wondered why Sarah didn't mention their suspicions about the Deputy Director. He figured she wouldn't want to accuse him of anything without real evidence. More importantly, he wanted to know what sort of backup he would receive from the government. 'What support are we going to get from here on in?' Jay asked.
'The Prime Minister will answer that question for you.'