At ten minutes before 20:00 hours, Helen sat on a stone wall near a phone booth in a suburb east of Paris, waiting to place her call. As a security measure she’d left the train a stop early. She’d then spent the next half hour strolling residential streets as she wound her way toward the city’s outskirts. Her role was that of a happy-go-lucky Canadian tourist—from Toronto, not Montreal—keeping to herself and annoying the occasional passerby with questions in English. Now she would finally learn if she still had an ally in Paris.
A teenage girl darted into the phone booth five minutes before the hour, but the girl finished her call with two minutes to spare. Helen practically ran over to secure her spot. At precisely 20:00, she dropped in a few coins and dialed. CDG picked up on the first ring. No static this time.
“I had a feeling I’d hear from you tonight. I’m also guessing that your first name is Helen.”
“I guess they’ve sounded the alarm.”
“Full alert to all stations, I’m afraid. A matter of greatest urgency is how my COS put it. Apparently they’re even worried you might be one of them. I’m guessing you’re not or you wouldn’t have called. So in that sense I suppose I should be relieved to be hearing from you.”
“Is that your way of saying you shouldn’t even be talking me?”
“It’s a risk. I won’t deny it.”
Helen wondered if this would be their last contact. CDG didn’t sound nearly as friendly, or as eager to help, as she had during their first call. Understandable, given the nature of their profession. And if the woman’s wariness extended to letting someone from the Agency listen in on their call, then she was finished.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have expected you to even answer.”
“I guess I had too many questions not to.”
“That’s only fair. Ask away.”
“If you’re not one of them, then what are you, exactly?”
“The same thing I’ve been all along. A girl in over her head. They canned me this morning for my curiosity about you know who. Sent me home to pack my bag for a flight to the States. I slipped out the fire escape while my handler was watching TV. And now here I am, a glorified clerk who decided to go it alone. My operational debut and swan song, rolled into one, with only one target in mind. Which is why I called. For help and advice. And, yes, I know I’m being indiscreet, but frankly right now you’re all I’ve got left. Oh, and I’m in France, by the way.”
She expected a reaction of shock, or even horror. Or, worse, a quick recalibration in which her would-be savior would cagily lure Helen into a trap. The good employee protecting her career. Instead, Helen heard laughter.
“I have to say, none of what I’ve ever done before could have prepared me for that answer. You ditched your handler out the fire escape?”
“He thought I was in the shower.”
“Splendid!”
“Yes. But now I’m completely at your mercy. If you’re planning on turning me in, at least let me know now so we can do this as gracefully as possible.”
“It crossed my mind. But if you’re still truly interested in taking down that certain someone, then I can hardly say no. That is still your main interest?”
“Yes. I just don’t know if I’m up to it.”
“Look, you’ve had the same training I did, and now that you’re here it will be that much easier for me to help. Makes it far less likely this call will be screened, for starters. Although I still won’t utter your last name, or his, because God knows what sort of filter this conversation might be passing through before the night is over, especially if French intelligence has decided to cooperate.”
“That hadn’t even occurred to me.”
“Sometimes you luck into things, even in this business, and it sounds like so far you’ve been fairly lucky. But from here on out we’d better start banking on a little more skill, agreed?”
“Agreed.”
“I’m going to need some time to figure out what we should do next. Do you think you’ll be able to keep moving and call me back in two hours?”
“Yes. Same number?”
“God, no. Let me give you another one.”
“For another phone box?”
“Of course. You don’t think I’d have you calling the office, I hope?”
“No. Sorry.”
“It’s all right. In your shoes, I’d be thinking the same thing. It’s a wonder you can trust anyone at this point.”
“The bigger question is why you’re trusting me.”
“Who says I am? Maybe you’re a mental case, the office malcontent.”
“Oh, I’m definitely the latter.”
“Same here. But I also know your motivation. Ever since I saw what I saw, I’ve been wanting to hang his scalp on my saddle. So let’s make the most of this while we can. Ready for the number?”
“Yes.”
Helen wrote it down, even though she knew she should have committed it to memory.
“Oh, and I’m Claire. Claire Saylor. So when they flutter you later with the lie detector, I suppose that’ll be the first thing that pops out. But if we’re smart it won’t come to that, because I’m going to arm you with the information you need and send you on your way for more. For a day or two, at least, we’re going to beat him and all the rest of them at their own game. How does that sound?”
“Better than anything I’ve heard all day.”
“Splendid. Talk to you in two.”
Helen hung up and looked around. No one was watching. She strolled a few blocks, already feeling calmer. Then she caught another bus and crept closer to Paris. The sky on the horizon shined with the glow of the city.
She didn’t fret as much about picking a phone box for the second call. Stay alert, but stay loose. She dropped in more coins and punched in the number.
“Hello there,” Claire answered. “How about lunch tomorrow, and a little shopping?”
“Shopping?” For cover, of course, which Helen should have realized right away. “Sounds great. Where would you like to meet?”
“Le Bon Marché. Rue de Sèvres, on the Left Bank. A grand old department store, and for your purposes what could be better?”
Helen knew exactly what she meant. During their counter-surveillance training on the streets of Baltimore and Washington, department stores had always been the toughest places to maintain contact with a target. Too many mirrors. Too many racks of clothing, nooks and crannies, exits and entrances. Then there were the dressing rooms and all of that easy-to-grab apparel for disguising yourself on the fly, if necessary.
“The store’s name means ‘the great deal.’ The prices are anything but, although it’s definitely worth the trip. The cosmetics counter alone is a floor show. You’ll be wishing you were French within half an hour. After you’ve had a nice look around, go next door to the food hall, La Grande Épicerie. I’ll be on the second floor in the main café. Is noon all right?”
“Perfect. How will I know you?”
“You won’t. But I’ll know you. Just look over at the tables and I’ll wave.”
“See you at noon.”
“In the meantime, bon chance.”
Oui, Helen thought. Bon chance, indeed.