Chapter 3 second quarter

The apartment near Salaria Street was on three floors and was neither too luxurious nor too shabby. "How about air travel?" asked the owner of the apartment.He spoke with a slight New England accent and sounded like the man on the phone. Decker shrugged and scanned the modest furnishings of the room. "You know that old joke, it's always the best that's lost." He said the last contact code. "I slept most of the time on the plane." "So you don't have jet lag?" Decker shook his head. "You don't need to sleep." Decker's heart skipped a beat.Why does this guy bring up jet lag?take a nap?Is there some reason he doesn't want me to be with him for the rest of the day?

The man speaking in front of him was someone Decker had never worked with before.His name is Brian McKittrick, he is 30 years old, 6 feet 1 inches tall, and has an athletic build.His cropped flaxen hair, muscular shoulders and a broad jaw made Decker associate him with college football.Indeed, there were many things about McKittrick that reminded Decker of college football players—the irrepressible energy, the eagerness to try, and so on. "I don't need sleep," Decker said. "I need to get things done quickly." He glanced at the lights and the wall outlets and decided he couldn't trust anything. "How do you live here? There are bugs in an old-fashioned apartment like this."

"Not here. I check every day for that thing, and I just checked before you came in." "Fine then." Decker was satisfied to learn that there were no electronic listening devices in the room.He continued: "Your report shows that you have made progress." "Oh, I found the bastards, yes." "You mean, it was discovered by your informant." "Yes, that's what I mean." "How did you find out?" Decker asked. "The rest of us have been poking around." "It's in my report." "Remind me." "Semtex." McKittrick was referring to an advanced plastic explosive. "My informant goes around where these bastards go and says anyone can buy Semtex for a good price."

"And how did you find your informant?" "In the same way. I let it out that I would be very generous to anyone who gave me the information I needed." "Italian." "Hell, yes. Isn't that what we want? Liaison personnel. Best way to get out of any way. An American like me has to start, but after a while, members of our ranks must We are nationals of the country we are in. That way, we won’t be tracked down after we take action.” "That's what the textbook says." "Then what do you say?" "These nationals must be reliable."

"Are you implying that my source might be unreliable?" McKittrick sounded agitated. "We might as well say that money might make them eager to join anyone." "For God's sake, we're hunting terrorists," McKittrick said. "Do you expect me to mobilize messengers to cooperate with us by invoking their sense of civic responsibility?" Decker smiled. "No, I believe in the old way—exploiting their weaknesses." "You've hit on the point now." "But I still want to meet them," Decker said. McKittrick looked uncomfortable.

"I just wanted to know who we were dealing with," Decker added. "But it's all in my report." "Your report was an enticing read. The problem is, I've always been a hands-on guy. How soon can you arrange this meeting?" McKittrick hesitated. "It's 11 o'clock tonight." "Where?" "I'll let you know." Decker hands McKittrick a note. "Remember this phone number. Remember it? Good." Decker took the specially treated piece of paper into the kitchen, poured some water on it, and watched it dissolve and disappear down the drain. "To confirm the meeting arrangement, you can call this number at 8 o'clock tonight, or every half hour thereafter until 10 o'clock. Do not call after 10 o'clock. At that time, I will think that You can't get your sources together. In that case, try again tomorrow night, or the night after. Every night, the schedule for calling is the same. Go to Baldwin, and my answer is Edward."

"Is this your hotel phone?" Decker looked him over. "You're starting to worry me. No, it's not from my hotel. You mustn't be calling this number from here." "I know the rules." "Call from a payphone you've never used before." "I said I knew the rules." "Nevertheless, there's no harm in reminding you." "Look, I know what you're thinking," McKittrick said. "Really?" "This is my first time commanding an operation, and you're trying to find out if I'm up to it."

"You're right, you do know what I'm thinking," Decker said. "Okay, you don't need to worry." "Really?" Decker asked skeptically. "I can handle it myself."