Stone - 25 - Collateral Damage

under the new National Security Act, sealing everything except what he had to say in his address last evening.”
    “Yes, I saw that. You may take it that I am following his wishes, though I have no legal necessity of doing so. I have not reported to my masters what I have surmised from the bits and pieces of information gleaned during my stay in your country, nor shall I. I believe that’s best for all.”
    “Thank you, Felicity. I will see that your position is known here in the places where it’s important.”
    “I’ve no wish to be a loose cannon in this,” Felicity said.
    “The loose cannon, in this instance, is Jasmine Shazaz,” Holly said. “Did you find anything at all in the house that might help us locate and identify her?”
    “I’m afraid not. She may have a place of her own, but if so, we haven’t found it.”
    “Do you think she’s still in London?”
    “If I were she, I would not wish to be traveling at this moment in time. I’d go to ground, perhaps for quite a while, until things are cool, even cold.”
    “This will not cool off for us, Felicity.”
    “Nor for us. Remember that our losses in this are greater than yours, but I understand your position completely, and I will see that any new knowledge of Jasmine reaches you.”
    “We are all grateful to you,” Holly said. “Good-bye.”
    “Good-bye.”
    Holly believed everything Felicity had told her, and she felt better for it.
    —
    Architect hung up her phone and looked at the photograph of the beautiful young woman on her desk. “Circulate this,” she said to the man across from her. “Find her and take her alive, if at all possible.”

Holly found Stone in his study, and he poured them both a day’s-end drink.
    “God, I need this,” Holly said, sinking some bourbon.
    “Rough day?”
    “A fairly fruitless day. It got rough when I had to issue some instructions.”
    “Dare I ask what instructions?”
    “Don’t ask. Suffice it to say that I gave someone permission—no, that’s weaseling. I very nearly ordered someone to commit murder.” She took another swig of the amber liquid.
    “Don’t you do that practically every day?”
    Holly looked at him sharply, then realized he was just kidding. “Normally, no more than three or four times a week.”
    “You didn’t see this sort of thing coming when you got your promotion?”
    “When I worked for Lance he was a little protective of me, and he would give some orders to operatives himself.”
    “He was probably just eliminating you as a witness at some congressional hearing.”
    Holly laughed. “That’s exactly what he was doing, but I also thought he didn’t want me to get my hands too dirty, maybe because he thought I couldn’t handle it.”
    “Was he right?”
    “Oh, I’m handling it,” Holly replied ruefully. “It didn’t take me long to rationalize the whole thing.”
    “That’s good self-protection.”
    “Maybe, but you know what I keep thinking? Somehow, during my meager childhood religious experience, I formed the view that when my life ended I would have to face God and… well, not confess the bad things I had done, because He would already know. I would just have to face Him knowing that He knows. That’s pretty scary stuff, because at that point I wouldn’t know where I was going to end up for all eternity.”
    “Scary stuff for a little girl,” Stone agreed. “God will also know why you did what you did, and maybe he’ll confirm your judgment, instead of drop-kicking you into hell.”
    “What an image! God coming down from his skybox and booting me between the goalposts, right into the flaming end zone seats!” She tossed off the rest of her drink and poured herself another. “Do you ever feel guilty about anything?” she asked.
    Stone sighed. “When Arrington died, one of my first thoughts was the irrational feeling that I was somehow responsible.”
    “But you didn’t do anything… .”
    “I know, I know. I repeatedly worked my way back through the weeks before her death, and the worst I could come up with was that, if she hadn’t married me, she wouldn’t have died.”
    “As you say, irrational. I mean, she would have eventually dumped the guy, even if you weren’t around, wouldn’t she?”
    Stone brightened. “Funny, I didn’t think of that. Yes, she would have, surely.”
    “And then he probably would have done what he did anyway.”
    “That’s an awful thought, but it makes me feel slightly less