Local time – 4:45 pm, Sunday 17th June, 2011.
Prague, Czechoslovakia.
Much to Douglas’s relief, the next time the door opened, an anxious looking Leo walked in. Following close behind was an equally worried Adam Edelstein. But Douglas could tell his concern wasn’t for him.
‘What on earth is happening in here?’ Leo grasped Ryan by the wrist, belatedly intervening in an attack that was very much over.
‘It’s OK Leo.’ Douglas stood up. ‘It was just a pretend attack. See, no damage done. Just a bit of a furphy to get you to pay us a visit.’ Leo looked at his friend, then at Ryan, then back, with a look of confusion. Edelstein, who was much more used to being tricked, and therefore much quicker to understand, glared fiercely at Douglas and Ryan.
‘You don’t deserve our time. Do you have any idea what we are trying to arrange this afternoon?’
‘I thought I understood. But now I’m rather confused.’ Douglas spoke to Leo, but Edelstein responded on his behalf.
‘We don’t have time for this. We need to get back to our meeting.’ Leo followed Edelstein, who marched angrily towards the door.
‘Wait. I’ve got something to tell you! This young man has told me who he’s working for.’ Both men stopped.
‘Don’t you want to know who is looking for the weapon in Pakistan? I’m sure that’s useful information.’ From the look on Edelstein’s face, Douglas knew he had hit the jackpot.
‘You can’t withhold that information from us Douglas. Who is it?’ Edelstein’s face went red with fury.
‘I’ll tell you once you let me out of here.’ Edelstein looked ready to crack, and even Leo seemed desperate for Douglas to give them the name. The urgency of the situation was suddenly very clear.
‘OK. You can come with us, but only if you stay put. No more disappearing.’ Edelstein barked. Douglas let out a sigh of relief. He walked quickly into the hallway, without looking at Ryan, who seemed to finally be speechless. Edelstein followed and Leo strode close behind. The guard closed the door behind them. Ryan finally found his voice and his shouts of protest echoed into the hallway. Edelstein and Leo stood in front of Douglas, ready for him to speak.
‘It’s Edmund Maxwell.’ Douglas hadn’t even finished the words before he saw Edelstein’s jaw drop. Leo swore.
‘For fuck’s sake! I thought we had him contained!’
‘We did. He’s been very careful. The CIA has been watching him closely for months.’
‘Obviously not close enough!’ Leo hissed. Douglas hurried to catch up to the two men, who were marching back towards the conference rooms. He mustered any courage he had left and called out:
‘So you’ve killed Santos then? It’s done?’ Edelstein ignored him, but Leo stopped and turned on his heel. Douglas was sickened to see a strange smirk on his face.
‘Don’t worry about that my friend. We’ve got everything under control. Everyone is confused. Exactly how we need them to be. In this situation, perception is reality. That was my father’s favourite line.’ Leo winked, before following Edelstein down the hall. Douglas trailed behind them in bewildered silence.