retribution day by andrew christie

8/13/2019 Retribution Day by Andrew Christie

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After a career in business, Andrew and his partner Deb travelled

extensively, staying for a while in the States. He then built a new

career as an artist, exhibiting in France, the USA and England.

However, having always been a prolific reader, he decided to

write. his is his second novel. He now divides his ti!e between the

U", where he has a ho!e near #ath, and France, where he is

renovating a ho!e, studio and gallery. Andrew $hristie is his penna!e.


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R E T R I B U T I O N D A Y


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o !y daughter, Sa!.


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A n d r e w C h r i s t i e

R E T R I B U T I O N D A Y


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$opyright Andrew $hristie

he right of Andrew $hristie to be identified as author of this wor%

has been asserted by hi! in accordance with section && and &' of the

$opyright, Designs and (atents Act )*''.

All rights reserved. +o part of this publication !ay be reproduced,

stored in a retrieval syste!, or trans!itted in any for! or by any

!eans, electronic, !echanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,

without the prior per!ission of the publishers.

Any person who co!!its any unauthoried act in relation to this

publication !ay be liable to cri!inal prosecution and civil clai!s forda!ages.

A $-( catalogue record for this title is available fro! the #ritish

ibrary.

-S#+ *&' )'/*01 /1/ 2

www.austin!acauley.co!

First (ublished 324)/5

Austin 6acauley (ublishers td.

27 $anada S8uare

$anary 9harf

ondonE)/ 7#

(rinted and bound in :reat #ritain


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his novel is entirely a wor% of fiction. he na!es, characters and incidents

portrayed in it are a wor% of the author;s i!agination. Any rese!blance to

actual persons, living or dead, or events is entirely coincidental.


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PART I

CONSEQUENCES


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Chapter 1

he !eeting was strange, and left 6ichael feeling a little be!used.

A !onth after returning to +ew ichard sat either side

of a corpulent !an of !iddle age in a dar% grey suit and club tie. After

preli!inary greetings fro! Stella and >ichard, the un%nown !an was

introduced to hi! as 6ister #ettinger, and 6ichael gained the i!pression that

he was >ichard;s boss and that he would rather be so!ewhere else.

He also felt so!e tension in the at!osphere.?So, 6ister Angelus, >ichard believes we have a lot to than% you for,;

#ettinger began, after studying hi! for a few certain seconds following their

introduction.

And you dont, 6ichael thought, noting the condescending loo% on his face

and the grudging tone in his voice. He shrugged.

?And he believes you have certain talents that would be useful to us. - ad!it

-;! not fully persuaded@ perhaps you can help !e out;

6ichael !anaged a glance at >ichard and caught his pleading loo%. He

reined in his i!pulse to stand up and wal% out.?-;! not sure what you want !e to say.;

?-;d li%e to %now if you thin% the way the 6urtagne situation was handled

was satisfactory, and whether you thin% your role in it was at all helpful.;

?- was brought here to help stop 6urtagne fro! inflicting a catastrophe on

this country, and,; he spread his hands expansively to include Stella and

>ichard, ?we did. -f your opinion is that !y contribution !ade no difference to

the outco!e then perhaps we;re all wasting our ti!e here.;

?-;! not saying that, 6ister Angelus. 6y concern is how - Bustify spending a

not inconsiderable su! on the pre!ise that you !ight, and - e!phasie might,be of so!e use to us in the future.;

?6y thin%ing, sir,; >ichard interrupted politely, ?is that 6ichael would not

Boin us on a fullCti!e salary but would be retained on a %ind of consultancy

basis.;

?6eaning what; #ettinger as%ed, his bushy eyebrows steepling upwards.

?6eaning that we pay hi! a !onthly retainer that you and he agree upon

and we use hi! on an as and when basis.;

?hat see!s rather wooly. Surely we already have enough people who

provide us with a wide range of both expertise and experience.;?9ith all due respect, sir, - don;t thin% 6ichael fits into any particular

category. 9hat - believe is that he possesses an innate ability to find a way to

the heart of a proble! and his own uni8ue !ethods to bring it to a conclusion.;

?


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here was silence in the roo! until 6ichael leaned forward. ?- ad!it that

%illing 6urtagne was an act of vengeance, and -;! not going to apologise to

you, or anyone else for that, but do you seriously expect !e to believe that you

wanted hi! brought bac% here to be tried in a $ourt of aw

Firstly, you;d have had a helluva Bob to pin anything on hi! because there

was only a tenuous lin% to the terrorists and his lawyers would have tied you upin %nots for !onths over that and secondly, even if you;d got the evidence,

would you have wanted the third wealthiest !an in this country on trial for

plotting to !a%e a large area of the East $oast, including the capital,

uninhabitable for years to co!e; he leaned bac% in his chair. ?And would you

have wanted to provide hi! with a national !edia platfor! and allowed hi! to

explain all the reasons why he hated A!erica, and why he planned to exact such

frightening retribution on his own country;

-n the ensuing silence, #ettinger too% off his glasses and wiped the! slowly.

?- suppose what you did saved ti!e, !oney and so!e e!barrass!ent,; hegrudgingly agreed, ?but who is to say you won;t go off halfCcoc%ed and do that

sort of thing again;

?#ecause - have no one else - want to avenge !yself upon. For the record, -

didn;t go off halfCcoc%ed, as you put it. - %new exactly what - was going to do

to 6urtagne and his thugs the !o!ent - realied he was behind the %illing of !y

son and his grand!other.;

?So you used us to carry out your own personal vendetta;

6ichael shrugged. ?+o !ore than you used !e to get close to 6urtagne.;

#ettinger eyed 6ichael closely, as though his original assess!ent had beenway off the !ar%. ?- can see you;re a !an who isn;t afraid to say what he

thin%s.;

?-t saves a lot of ti!e and !isunderstanding.;

?How would a two thousand dollar a !onth retainer suit you;

For the first ti!e since entering the house, 6ichael was ta%en abac%. ?hat

see!s very generous when you !ight only need !e once in a blue !oon.;

#ettinger allowed hi!self a s!ile. ?- suspect given the current world

situation it;ll be !ore than that. However, - reserve the right to review our

agree!ent every twelve !onths.;?hat see!s fair.;

?:ood, >ichard will see to the details.; He closed the file, slipped it into a

briefcase, and stood up. ?- have a young son to ta%e to baseball practice and a

wife who -;ll catch hell fro! if -;! late, so -;ll bid you all a good wee%end. -t;s

been illu!inating to !eet you, 6ister Angelus.; And with that he swept out of

the house, leaving a stunned silence behind hi!.

>ichard was the first to find his voice. ?9ell, if that doesn;t beat all@ - felt

certain he was going to refuse !y reco!!endation to use you.;

?- thin% for a !o!ent we all did,; Stella said, spea%ing for the first ti!e

since 6ichael had arrived.

?hat was Bust the bean counter in hi!,; 6ichael said, ?everything and

everyone has a price to the!.;

?How do you %now he was an accountant;


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?ichard said ruefully, ?a political appoint!ent li%e a lot of the!.

Unfortunately it;s who you %now, not what, and the favours you;ve paid for.;

?- thought that would;ve changed under ba!a.;

?So did a lot of us, but we were wrong. here are certain sacred cows in thiscountry you Bust don;t !ess with gun laws, the =ewish lobby, the buying of

political favours and influence, etcetera@; he sighed, ?nothing ever changes.;

?ichard shoo% his head. ?+o. he F#- still hates the $-A, the Secret Service

hates the $-A and the $-A hates everyone else@ they all fight to protect their

own turf.;?And they put people li%e #ettinger in charge to !anage their invest!ent,;

6ichael said, sarcastically. ?-t Bust see!s wrong that they don;t appoint so!eone

who;s experienced in this particular field.;

?hat;s what Donaldson, our previous boss was@ an old school -ntelligence

type. Unfortunately, it didn;t stop the! getting rid of hi! after he %ept the $-A

off our bac%s while we 8uestioned #ashir.;

?He was sac%ed because of that;

?+ot in so !any words, but we all %new that was the reason behind it.;

?So what;s happened to #ashir and his fa!ily; he as%ed.?He;s been given a new identity and relocated. hat;s all -;! allowed to

%now, and at least we !anaged to %eep hi! out of the $-A;s clutches,; >ichard

replied. ?Anyway, let;s not be too hard on #ettinger, it wasn;t his fault

Donaldson was sac%ed, and he hasBust given you a Bob.;

?hat;s true@ and - would have been happier with a far s!aller retainer,; he

s!iled wryly. ?9hat with the !oney Angelus left and !y current salary, -;ve

got !ore than - %now what to do with.;

?Are you going to stay wor%ing for the 6urtagne corporation;

?-;ve said -;ll stay on until everything;s sorted out.;?#ut that could ta%e years. - understand he didn;t leave a will.;

?+o, he didn;t. #ut his !other, two uncles and about fourteen cousins all

want a share, plus an everCincreasing nu!ber of distant relatives fro! his

father;s side in France and ouisiana who are suddenly popping out of the

woodwor%. At the !o!ent it, all see!s set to go to his !other.;

?#ut what will happen to his businesses; Stella as%ed.

?hat;s for the lawyers to ha!!er out, but - understand that under US law a

foreign national can;t wholly own an organiation of this sie so it !ay well be

bro%en up and sold off piece!eal.;

?So will you stay on with one of the co!panies if that happens;

?+o. - thin% -;d li%e to try so!ething co!pletely different.;

She frowned. ?i%e what;

?- enBoyed wor%ing with !y hands bac% in England so - !ight try so!ething

in the construction line@ !aybe train as a carpenter.;


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?hat;s a hell of a change fro! being an accountant,; >ichard said.

?-t is but it;s so!ething - feel -;d li%e to do@ - thin% it would be very

satisfying to be able to create so!ething and get a real sense of achieve!ent out

of doing it.;

?And how does your young lady feel about it; he as%ed.

?Anna - haven;t said anything to her yet, but - thin% she;d want !e to dowhatever !a%es !e happy.;

?How;s she finding +ew ichard loo%ed 8uiical. ?#ut isn;t she fro! ondon;

?She is, but out in the suburbs, !iles fro! $entral ondon, and even there

the tallest buildings are !odest in co!parison to 6anhattan.;

?So what does she do while you;re at the office;

?Explore. She;s already been out to the Statue of iberty and up the E!pireState #uilding and to 6acey;s and 6adison S8uare :ardens places that -

haven;t even seen yet@ she;s enBoying being a tourist.;

?here can;t be !any around at this ti!e of year.;

?- would;ve thought so too but she co!es bac% and tells !e she;s spo%en to

English people and =apanese, so there !ust be a few around.;

?Sooner her than !e in this weather,; Stella said, shivering.

?She wraps up pretty war!.; 6ichael said, s!iling, ?9hen she goes out her

eyes and nose are about the only things - can see of her.;

?Do you thin% she;ll li%e it here;?-!pressions are favourable at the !o!ent, but who %nows.;

?9ell, if she li%es it now in the !iddle of winter,; >ichard shrugged.

?#ut,; Stella cautioned, ?it !ight be that su!!er;s the proble!@ it gets da!n

hot and hu!id at its height and it affects so!e people 8uite badly@ especially if

they;re not used to it. A lot of wealthy people get out of the city when it gets li%e

that.;

?- %now, - caught the tail end of it last year.;

?reat yourself to a couple of fans, or better still get yourself a !odern

condo you can afford it on your salary,; >ichard advised.?- doubt we;ll be !oving. Anna loves the apart!ent as !uch as - do, and the

area, but a couple of fans !ight be a good idea.;

?-;! going to put coffee on, - need war!ing up. Do you both want so!e;

6ichael nodded but >ichard shoo% his head and pushed his chair bac%.

?6uch as -;d li%e to stay and tal%, - have a wife and fa!ily that want !e to ta%e

the! out once we;ve had lunch,; he turned to 6ichael. ?Are you happy for !e to

Bust put you on the payroll and then we can agree your ter!s of reference once

that;s done;

?Sure@ -;ll leave it to you.;

?Fine@ anyway it;s good to see you again, 6ichael. Have a good wee%end.

-;ll see you on 6onday, Stella,; he yelled out to the %itchen.

Stella returned with two !ugs and a pot of coffee a couple of !inutes later

and poured the! each a drin%. For a !o!ent or two there was silence between

the!. hen she spo%e. ?Have you anything planned for this afternoon;


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?Anna wants to ta%e !e to the :uggenhei!@ it;s either that or iceCs%ating,;

he replied, !a%ing a face.

?Have you told her about us sleeping together that ti!e;

?


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?+ot necessarily. +either of the! deserved to live after what they did to you

and your fa!ily so - guess it was sort of cathartic for you, but it;ll feel a lot

different when you have to %ill so!eone you don;t hate, believe !e.;

?- hope that never happens.;

?


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Chapter 2

9hen he arrived ho!e he found Anna preparing lunch.

?How did it go; she as%ed after giving hi! a hug and a %iss.

?%ay. - !et the boss !an.;

?Did you i!press hi!;

He s!iled. ?He thin%s -;! a loose cannon but he agreed to ta%e !e on

subBect to an annual review.;

She loo%ed up fro! stirring the contents of a pot on the hob. ?And what are

you going to cost the!;?wenty four grand a year on a consultancy basis,; he raised his hands and

!ade a 8uotation sign, ?which !eans as and when they need !e.;

?Sounds li%e !oney for old rope.;

?-t is until they want so!ething for their !oney.;

?And is that li%ely to happen often;

He shrugged. ?Hard to %now, but it;s certainly unli%ely to be every !onth,;

he paused, wondering if this was the !o!ent to explain to her exactly what he;d

signed up for and the possible conse8uences.

She glanced up at hi!. ?-;ve !ade soup for lunch the leftover chic%en withso!e peppers, chilies, onions, to!ato and aubergine, sorry - !ean eggplant, -;ll

have to get used to that and so!e sala!i@ will that do with so!e pu!p%in seed

bread;

And the !o!ent was gone.

He s!iled at her. ?Sounds delicious@ should help to %eep the cold out.;

?


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?9ell, are you going to stand there loo%ing at it all afternoon or are we

going to go inside; she as%ed hi!, s!iling at his expression.

?-t;s bigger than - expected.;

?h, sie i!presses you, does it


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He leaned bac% in the tub chair and watched her drin%@ her s!all, elfin face

lit by the table la!p and the alcohol that was flushing her chee%s. He s!iled at

the coating of crea! around her !outh.

?9hat; She said, seeing his loo%.

?+othing.; He replied.

She wrin%led her nose at hi! and went bac% to her drin%.He loo%ed out of the window to the street beyond, idly watching huddled

figures hurrying past, the cold east wind tugging at their clothes. He glanced

bac% at her, thin%ing that if only i! and Ada! were here life would be Bust

about perfect. Sadly, it could never be and he %new there was little point in

dwelling upon it.

?Seeing as it;s dry shall we eat out tonight; he said suddenly.

?-s this to celebrate your new source of inco!e;

He shoo% his head. ?+o, - Bust fancy going out. here;s a place not far fro!

here that does really good food. -f you don;t have anything planned for tonightwe could go there.;

?- pic%ed up a chic%en this !orning, but we can always have that to!orrow.;

?%ay. -t;s pretty popular so we;d best go and see if we can boo% a table

when we leave here. hen -;d li%e to visit that record store in the village on the

way ho!e.;

?So you can buy so!e !ore $Ds by weird, un%nown bands;

?


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?%ay, but you;re still a visitor@ you need a green card or so!e sort of wor%

per!it.;

?$an you find out for !e you !ust %now so!ebody at your office who

%nows how the syste! wor%s.;

He stro%ed his chin in thought. ?-;ll have a word with =ane@ she;ll %now what

to do.;She frowned. ?How would she %now;

?She !ust have been through the process when they first brought her here to

wor% so either she;ll %now or she can point !e at so!eone in the office who

does. #esides - need to spea% to her about so!ething else, so it;ll be a good

excuse,; he caught her 8uiical loo%. ?Do you re!e!ber !e telling you about

the guy who helped !e in France;

?


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She reached across and %issed hi!. ?-;! loo%ing forward to years and years

of this,; she grinned happily as she lay bac% and he could !a%e out the contours

of her swollen breasts in the little a!ount of light that filtered in behind the

drapes.

?- %now this is probably a stupid ti!e but - need to tell you so!ething,; he

said.?9hat;

?hat consultancy Bob - signed up to today, it;s nothing to do with business

or accountancy@ it;s a co!pletely different type of wor%.;

?- already guessed that. -f Stella was there it had to be so!ething to do with

espionage or so!ething.;

He raised hi!self up on one elbow and loo%ed at her. ?9hy didn;t you say

anything;

?#ecause it;s your business@ - figured you;d tell !e when you were ready.;

?


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whatever organiation - wor% for was for!ed postC*G)), and probably as a direct

result of that.;

?So what does this consultancy wor% involve because it;s already obvious to

!e that it;s an erroneous title;

?9hat !a%es you say that;

?#ecause aside fro! your training with the SAS and this 6urtagne businessyou have little experience of that type of wor%, so -;d guess that anyone sought

as a consultant has to be so!eone with lots of experience in that particular

field.; She explained.

He reached over and flic%ed the bedCside light on, then turned bac% to her.

?


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Chapter 3

n hursday of that wee% the board of the 6urtagne $orporation !et. Douglas

(earson, now te!porary chair!an, sat at the head of the table flan%ed by

6ichael on one side and +or!an Shapiro on the other. 6alcol! 6iddleton sat

next to Shapiro and opposite hi!, next to 6ichael, sat Steven Schaeffer,

Director of echnical Services. Helen "rant sat at the far end of the table,

noteboo% open, pen poised.

?:ood !orning, gentle!en,; Douglas began, ?firstly, welco!e to Stephen

Schaeffer, who has been coCopted onto the board until we find a replace!ent for

Alex #ashir as Director of Foreign perations.;here followed nods and s!iles all round.

?-s there anything happening in that regard, +or!an; (earson as%ed.

?Following the board;s decision to see% a replace!ent, - contacted

recruit!ent agencies in five !aBor cities, ondon, (aris, >o!e, #eirut and

-stanbul. However, the two leading candidates have been headhunted by us

:eorge (apandrayos is forty two and of :ree% extraction but lives in >o!e. He

is a graduate of the University of Athens business school. He spea%s :ree%,

English, -talian and Arabic and currently heads the overseas distribution

networ% for a leading petroCche!ical conglo!erate who, - understand, will fightto retain his services.

he other is a wo!an, herese ttogalli, who currently lives in (aris. Her

!other is French and her father, a professor of languages at the Sorbonne, is of

ur%ish extraction. She is fluent in French and ur%ish, obviously, and also

English, Ar!enian and Arabic and was educated at the Sorbonne with a

6aster;s degree in business fro!


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e!phasie, however, that this is a ru!our, although we all %new that was the

li%ely outco!e.;

?Do we have any ti!escale for this; 6iddleton as%ed.

?9ell, as we don;t %now for certain that;s what going to happen, 6alcol!, a

possible ti!escale would be pure speculation. - suggest we wait until

6a%epeace Boins us in April. he one thing we don;t want to do is suggest anyti!escale, as that will only encourage people we don;t want to lose to panic

pre!aturely and push the! into Bu!ping ship, so to spea%.;

?nce our two candidates %now this, will they still be interested;

?


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?As they pay nothing for either food or acco!!odation, that salary, less tax,

is theirs. f course, that figure has been cut by three hundred and ninety

thousand since the de!ise of seven of the!.;

?9hy did he e!ploy so !any; Schaeffer as%ed.

?he one thing he was paranoid about was being %idnapped,; (earson

explained, ?he was certain that because of his personal wealth he would be atarget@ they were his insurance policy.;

?hey didn;t do hi! !uch good in the end,; 6iddleton said.

?+o, they didn;t,; (earson agreed.

?#esides their salaries, !y other concern is what they say about our

business. - have $Ks in !y possession for all of the! and even though - believe

their previous e!ploy!ent records have been cleaned up there is still enough

there to lead !e to believe !ost of the! are wanted in one country or another

for war cri!es and suchli%e.;

He pulled forth a sheet of A/. ?his is part of the $K for (ieter Kan Dorn,one of the seven %illed in France. After leaving the South African ar!y he

wor%ed as a security guard in the =ohannesburg dia!ond fields for two years

until he was sac%ed for an error of Budg!ent as he puts it here. He then Boined

!ercenaries wor%ing in Angola until he left the country and was recruited as one

of 6urtagne;s personal bodyguards. - had en8uiries carried out into several of

these people. Kan Dorn was thrown out of the South African Ar!y for an

unprovo%ed attac% on a blac% African which left his victi! brain dead. he

error of Budg!ent that caused hi! to be sac%ed fro! the dia!ond fields;

security force was setting a pac% of >hodesian ridgebac% dogs on to a suspecteddia!ond s!uggler. Apparently, they use these dogs in parts of Africa to bring

down lions they tore the s!uggler to pieces. As for his ti!e with the

!ercenaries in Angola, well, - thin% we;re all aware of the atrocities

subse8uently discovered there.;

He paused to let this sin% in. ?-;! also convinced that Nhu%ov, his security

chief, and -vanisovic, were both involved in death s8uads in $hech;nya and

#osnia respectively, although it can;t be proved categorically.;

?Did you ever ta%e this evidence to 6urtagne; Shapiro as%ed.

?+o, because - had a feeling he %new exactly what these people werecapable of and that;s precisely why he e!ployed the!@ they !ade hi! feel

secure.;

?So what do we do with the!; (earson as%ed, ?dispense with their

services;

here were several nods around the table.

?#efore we do that,; 6ichael said, ?are there any that we should retain -s

there a case where any of our businesses abroad are li%ely to co!e under threat

and where we could Bustify using the! 9hat do you thin%, +or!an;

Shapiro steepled his fingers. ?he plant in AerbaiBan is li%ely to be the !ost

vulnerable, but the political situation there is, for the !ost part, stable,; he

shrugged. ?9e already use a local security fir! for night watch so they !ight be

a better bet and probably a lot cheaper. As for the six used at 6urtagne;s

co!pound outside #eirut, that;s his !other;s proble! now that her son;s dead@

she can;t expect the corporation to pay for bodyguards for her.;


24/27

?So how do we proceed; (earson as%ed, loo%ing around for guidance.

?9e get rid of the!,; 6iddleton said, ?their ter!s of e!ploy!ent guarantee

six wee%s; notice and a !ini!u! three !onths; severance pay, depending on

length of service, which - thin% is da!ned generous. - can send e!ails to all the

other sites instructing the local !anagers to dispense with their services.;

?-t !ight be better if - wrote personally to his !other explaining thesituation,; (earson said, ?that !ight be %inder.;

?-f she has half the !oney - suspect her son gave her, she;ll be able to

e!ploy the! herself or pay a local !ilitant group to do it,; 6iddleton added.

?


25/27

eyebrows at the ->S but that;s about as far as it will go. he other sixteen

!illion is abroad and was probably !oved there so!e while ago, although

where it ca!e fro! and how it was !oved -;ve not been able to discover, which

!a%es !e believe the ->S would have no !ore Boy than - have. As for the

co!puter file which holds the infor!ation, none of the transactions are dated so

it would ta%e an ar!y of accountants to trac% all the pay!ents but the safest betwould be to delete it,; he replied.

?


26/27

He pushed his seat bac%, left his office and too% the stairs down two floors

where he went into a large openCplan office, crossed it and %noc%ed on the door

ahead of hi! before pushing it open.

?Hi Ada!,; he said in greeting as the occupant loo%ed up at hi!.

?Hello, 6ister Angelus, what can - do for you;

?Do you !ind if - spea% with one of your staff for a !o!ent;?Uh, of course not@ who is it;

?=ane Swatows%i@ - need to as% her so!ething.;

?-t;s nothing - can help you with;

?han%s, but no, it;s a personal !atter,; he replied.

?%ay, go right ahead.;

?han% you.;

He duc%ed bac% out of the door and headed across the floor to where =ane

sat at her ter!inal. She loo%ed up at hi! in surprise as he grabbed a vacant chair

and pulled it alongside her.?How are you; he as%ed.

?Fine, than% you.;

?-nBuries all healed up; he as%ed in a hushed tone.

She nodded.

?:ood. - wanted to !a%e sure you were o%ay. -;! Bust sorry - haven;t been

in touch since - got bac% but it;s been a bit hectic here since 6urtagne;s death,

as you can i!agine.;

She s!iled sy!pathetically. ?- understand@ it;s probably a night!are.;

?-t is a bit, !ainly because no one %nows exactly what;s going to happen tothe business.;

?9ill we still have a Bob when it;s all sorted out;

He saw the concern in her face. ?- thin% so, but it;ll be at least a year until

it;s all sorted out so %eep that to yourself until it;s public %nowledge.;

?%ay,; she said, loo%ing so!ewhat relieved.

?- too% your advice, by the way. - went bac% to see Anna. -t too% so!e

thin%ing about but you were right about her she;s here with !e in +ew


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loo%ing forward to a 8uiet life in the future,; he said, %nowing it was !ostly a

lie@ but one !ade with the best of intentions.

She nodded understandingly. ?Having a wo!an bac% in your life will help.;

?As would a !an in yours. Has =ean (ierre been in touch;

She s!iled and reddened visibly. ?He called two days after we got bac%.;

?And;?He;s co!ing over next wee% for a few days.;

?Hey, that;s good news. 9e should get together one night for a drin% or go

out for a bite to eat. -;d li%e Anna to !eet both of you@ it;ll give her a chance to

put faces to na!es.;

?

retribution day by andrew christie

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