Page 109 of The Shadow Friends

“How long?”

At last, he turned to look at Ingrid. “I only found out when he approached Argus, asking us to take on the mission. By then, the Agency had already identified the mole. They also knew who his GRU contact was, so they could feed Moscow strategic bits of information—or disinformation—in the mole’s name. Marcus wanted to take it a step further, use that conduit to lure and eliminate Moscow operatives, hoping he could finally draw out the fifth man. But such a mission would never be officially sanctioned.”

“No wonder it wasn’t sanctioned,” said Ben. “Exposing defectors? Putting them at risk?”

“They were never at risk. We saw to that. Both Willem Dekker and Beatriz Guerrero are safe and have already been relocated.”

“What about my safety?” said Ingrid.

“We had you protected the whole time.” He paused, then admitted: “At least, we thought we did.”

“Why did you even bring me into this mess?”

“Because I trust you. Because we always made a good team. And because you had a personal stake in the outcome, just as I did. Just as Gordon’s son did. We made a promise, remember? This was our chance to honor it. To honor them. I knew you’d want to join the hunt.”

“I did,” said Ingrid. “But you should have told me who Jon Marcus really was. And why he was involved.”

“Would it have made a difference?”

“It would help me understand how we got to this point.”

“Well, now you know the background. Why Marcus wanted Hannah Murray dead. I can certainly understand his reasons, and there are three of them: Gordon. And Simon. And Sophie.”

At the mention of their names, Ingrid nodded. Yes, she did understand. Justice did not always move in a straight line. Sometimes it took detours. Sometimes, those detours took one to dark places.

“What happens to Marcus now?” asked Maggie.

“He’s resigned from the Agency. As for where he goes next, that’s under discussion. He has options.”

“With Argus, you mean?” said Ingrid.

“I could find a place for him. Men like Marcus are few and far between. And he is Gordon’s son. Which is why I hope we can agree.” He looked around at the others. “All of us.”

“Agree on what?” asked Lloyd.

“What the truth is. About how Hannah Murray died.”

The truth. In the world they’d once inhabited, the truth was not necessarily absolute. It could be embellished or altered or even erased. What really happened in Maggie’s kitchen? Did Hannah aim at Jon Marcus, forcing him to shoot her in self-defense? In the bloody chaos of that room, could Lloyd and Ingrid and Rodrigo really remember how it had all gone down?

Perhaps not. Perhaps their memories would be as inconclusive as the statements they would later give to the FBI.

“Minnihan will be here any minute,” said Rodrigo. “What are we going to tell him?”

“To be honest,” said Ingrid, “I’m a little hazy about the events in Maggie’s kitchen. I don’t really remember, because it all happened so fast.” She looked at Lloyd. “Don’t you agree?”

There was a long silence as Lloyd mulled over his answer. “Well, as an analyst,” he finally said, “my job required me to strive for accuracy. That’s what I’ve always tried to do, stick to the facts. But this time . . .” He looked at his friends. “It’s a different sort of situation, isn’t it? With a different set of rules.”

Ben smiled and clapped his hand on Lloyd’s shoulder. “Welcome to our world.”

Chapter 44

One week later

They said their farewells at the same small airport where Ingrid had boarded a plane three weeks earlier. This time, though, she would not be leaving. While the Argus team climbed aboard the aircraft, Rodrigo lingered at the foot of the stairs, not quite ready to say goodbye to her.

“That job will always be there for you,” he said. “Think about it, Ingrid. You and I were good together. We’re still good together.”

“And this time, it almost killed my husband.”