"Steve White - The Prometheus Project" - читать интересную книгу автора (White Steve)

ordered another Irish on the rocks when I became aware that the barstool beside me had acquired an
occupant.
"Better go easy on that stuff, Bob," said George Stafford.
"You missed the meeting in Georgetown," I stated. Even on that day, I'd retained enough presence of
mind to check out the crowd. He hadn't been there.
"I know. I was unavoidably detained. There was a lot going on that day."
"Golly, George, thanks for telling me that. What would I do without you? I never would have known if
you hadn'tтАФ"
"Cut the goddamned sarcasm!" Stafford kept his voice low with an effort. He looked like he hadn't slept
in days. "It just happens that the present situation is especially difficult for the people I work for."
"About whose identity I've never been entirely clear." I was pleased with myself for being able to
navigate through that sentence. In fact, the accomplishment seemed to call for a drink. I suited the action
to the thought.
"You don't need to be 'clear' on it. All you need to know is that I represent people who sometimes need
certain services on an ad hoc basis, with no questions asked. The very fact that you've never shown an
interest in their identity is one of the main reasons you've gotten their business."
"Point taken. Okay, what do youтАФsorry, I mean the people you representтАФneed this time?"
Actually, I had a pretty good idea, if only in general terms. Stafford was something in the government, I
knew that much. I didn't know what agency he worked for, but it clearly wasn't the FBI or the CIA or


file:///K|/eMule/Incoming/White,%20steve%20-%20The%20prometheus%20project/0743498917___1.htm (4 of 7)28-12-2006 15:57:10
 - Chapter 1

anything like that. Those wouldn't have had any need for the services of a freelancer like myselfтАФthey
had their own people. No, his agency just had occasional, obviously somewhat irregular contacts with
some superspooky outfit or other . . . and it didn't want to use its own people to make those contacts.
Instead, it used intermediariesтАФindependent contractors like yours truly, who had no idea who they
were ultimately working for, and could be disavowed and forgotten like a bad smell if such became
necessary or convenient. (The English language hadn't yet become debased enough for a term like
"plausible deniability," but that was the idea.) Which was fine with me. The money was good, and since
I was expendable, they had no reason to be concerned about my background. A marriage made in
heaven, you might say.
"The matter concerning which we were supposed to meet in Georgetown has been canceled indefinitely.
But now there's something else we need you forтАФsomething related to the situation that has arisen over
the last few days." I patiently endured Stafford's circumlocution, knowing his inability to communicate
without it. "There's somebody coming to Washington. Several people, actually. But you only need to
worry about one of them. She'll be arriving at National Airport tomorrow." He passed me a typed
itinerary. "You're to meet her and bring her to the address in here." He slid a sealed envelope along the
bar. "Don't open it until you've actually picked her up."
My eyebrows rose. This exceeded even Stafford's usual capacity for cloak-and-dagger theatricality. But I
was perfectly willing to play his games as long as I was paid to do so. "How will I know her?"
For answer, Stafford handed me a wallet-sized photo. It showed a handsome brunette, not too much
older than me but too severe-looking for my taste.
"You will address her as 'Miss Smith'," Stafford went on, "and identify yourself to her as 'Mr. Jones'."
"While keeping a straight face?" I inquired, straight-faced. Stafford looked pained, and I raised a hand to
forestall him. "I know, I know: 'no questions asked.' I will ask one question, though. Are you expecting
trouble?"
"There shouldn't be any." Stafford's tone seemed oddly at variance with his words. It wasn't an
assurance, but a kind of desperate, almost truculent assertion, as though things were happening that had