London Twist: A Delilah Novella

could have gotten to him abroad. But under the circumstances, we didn’t have the luxury of time. Which meant he had to be gotten to in Riyadh, where he lived. And Riyadh, as you know, is a denied area to us. But, thankfully, not to the British. No questions asked, they put two bullets in Farid’s head as he made his hypocritical way home from the morning prayer service.”
    Other than a sense of mild relief and satisfaction that Farid was dead, Delilah felt nothing. The sex had been part of her job. She was good at her job. Good enough to feel something in the moment. But never after. And thank God for that.
    “No questions asked,” she said. “But a price to be paid.”
    The Director nodded. “Yes.”
    “Paid by me.”
    “It’s not a punishment,” the Director said. “You’re the right person for the job.”
    Actually, she was quite sure, it was both.
    The first deputy took a thumb drive from his shirt pocket and slid it across the table to her. “You’re going to London,” he said. “You’ll liaise with an MI6 operative—”
    “Liaise? This is how you protect my cover?”
    The Director shrugged. “Delilah, this kind of thing is inevitable. The longer you’re in the field, the more your cover gets scraped away. You’ve had an enviable run, a remarkable run, and we’ve all worked hard to keep you in the game. But we were faced with a difficult situation, and MI6 named its price. If we had someone else for it, we would use him. But we don’t. Yes, there’s a risk your cover could be compromised by this operation. But we’re in the risk business. And this is a risk we have to take.”
    She wanted to pick up the thumb drive and fling it in the Director’s face. Instead, she said, “What’s the assignment?”
    The first deputy cleared his throat. “MI6 is hunting a terrorist. And they think his sister is the key.”
    Delilah was confused. “You want me to develop the sister?”
    The first deputy nodded. “Yes.”
    “But she’s a woman.”
    The second deputy stubbed out his cigarette and offered a smile that was more a smirk. “Think of it as a unique challenge. Or a unique opportunity.”
    Delilah ignored his suggestiveness. “But you said I’m the right person for this. I don’t see how that is.”
    The Director said, “The target—Fatima is her name, by the way—has good instincts. Twice MI6 has tried to insert a man. Both British agents of Pakistani extraction, fluent in Urdu, mosque-goers, completely backstopped. Both times she smelled a rat. MI6 needs someone who can get under her radar. Who Fatima won’t see coming.”
    The second deputy smirked again. “Unless you want her to see you coming.”
    Delilah looked at him. “You know what, old man? If I wanted to, I could take your thumb drive and shove it up your nose into your senile brain. You’re lucky I’m not having my period or anything like that. PMS makes me so cranky.”
    The room went silent and the second director’s face grew scarlet. For a moment, Delilah wondered whether he was having a heart attack. She hoped so.
    “Do you have any idea who you’re talking to?” he exploded.
    Delilah looked at the Director and the first deputy. “Can you remind your colleague who he is? He seems not to be able to remember. Senile, as I said.”
    “Enough of your insubordination!” the second deputy shouted. “Enough!”
    Delilah found his outburst deeply satisfying, even soothing. He’d lost control of himself. When you’re not in control of yourself, someone else is, and right now they both knew the one in control was her. She smiled at him indulgently, as though he was an amusing, harmless child.
    “Enough,” the second deputy said again. He turned to the Director. “I’ve told you before. She’s disrespectful, insubordinate, and has terrible judgment. Most of all, she’s unreliable. She’s—”
    “Yes, I know,” the Director said, stopping the second deputy with an upturned hand. “And she also produces inarguable results. Your orders, Delilah, are to go to London. You’ll meet your MI6 contact there the day after tomorrow. Details are on the thumb drive. Do you have any questions? If not, this meeting is adjourned.”
    She wondered whether this was a deliberate game of good cop, bad cop. She supposed it didn’t matter. Even if there were some genuine fissures among these men, from her standpoint their differences were much less significant than their similarities.
    She scooped up the thumb drive