Wollerton tapped the lid of his coffee cup and checked the clock behind the counter. He’d been waiting for two hours. He drained his tepid flat white, exited the small Starbucks concession, and retraced his steps through the arrivals hall, weaving through crowds of travellers.
He’d regrouped in London, where his first instinct had been to go to Aberdyfi to see his children. He longed to hold them, to tell them he missed them and loved them, but his friends’ lives were at stake. He had to see the mission through, but once it was over, he and Esther would have to reach a new understanding. Shock and self-pity had led him to simply accept what she’d done, but she had no right to take his children away.
While in London, he’d got rid of the false identities Brigitte Attali had provided and had picked up a new passport from an old service contact. He hoped Leila and Pearce had heeded his warning, but had received no communication from them since the briefest of acknowledgements of his original email. It wasn’t unusual to go into lockdown if an asset was compromised but it was worrying that they hadn’t responded to the email he’d sent when he’d arrived in Seattle two hours earlier.
He reached a row of Internet terminals outside a gift shop and sat down at one that was tucked against a wall. He fed a five-dollar bill into the machine, which came to life. He used a proxy server to access the secure email address he, Leila and Pearce used, but the inbox was empty and there was nothing in the drafts folder. He tried to stop his mind going to dark places. Pearce and Leila must be occupied. There was no reason to think anything bad had happened to them.
No reason other than Brigitte Attali’s treachery, he thought darkly.
She was going to pay, no matter what, but if anything had happened to Pearce and Leila, the price would rise.
Wollerton looked around, pondering his next move. He couldn’t risk making contact with Huxley Blaine Carter or anyone who worked for him, and he didn’t have any connections in Seattle. He got to his feet and joined the flow of travellers heading for the exit. He’d have to figure out a way to find Leila and Pearce.