Stone - 25 - Collateral Damage

hear about it in a week or two.”
    “You’re in fine form, Felicity,” Stone said, smiling. “What have you been up to?”
    “I’ve been stacking sandbags in front of my service’s building all day,” Felicity replied dryly.
    “Personally?” Lance asked.
    “Figuratively. I reckon we’re next. I’m traveling in the FO’s upholstered version of a Bentley armored personnel carrier. I don’t like hunkering down and waiting—I’d prefer to be combing the hedgerows for her myself.”
    “I can just see that,” Stone said.
    “What are you lot doing, then?” she asked. “And is it possible to obtain a cup of tea in this establishment that didn’t come in a bag?”
    As if on cue, Ann Tinney opened the door and entered with a tray containing a china teapot and matching cups. “May I pour for everyone?”
    “Almost everyone,” Lance said.
    Ann poured.
    Felicity tasted her tea cautiously. “Ah, Fortnum’s Earl Grey,” she said. “Thank you, Mummy.”
    “To answer your first question,” Lance said, “we’re doing pretty much what you’re doing.”
    “Stacking sandbags?”
    “A little late for that, but we’re under the same investigative strictures your service is.”
    “I dislike strictures,” Felicity said.
    “Well, Architect, we’re flattered that you’ve ventured out onto the streets to come and see us,” Lance said. “Now, what may the government of the United States do for you?”
    “Let your worldwide network of stations know that Jasmine Shazaz is in the wind. That’s what I’ve ordered done, and we could use the help.”
    “You think she’s left the country?” Holly asked.
    “It’s what I would do,” Felicity replied. “It’s better than living in a spider hole.”
    “Any thoughts on where she might have gone?”
    “Langley, Virginia, I expect.”
    Holly and Lance looked at each other.
    “She’s out for revenge, isn’t she?” Felicity asked, rhetorically. “And she’s made a start. She’s too hot to continue here. She’ll be looking for something to blow up where she’s not expected.”
    “Thank you for that wisdom, Architect,” Lance said. “Now I’m going to curl up on that sofa over there and sleep for an hour, then I will start acting on Holly’s personnel recommendations. They were very good, Holly, I am in complete agreement. Now you and Stone go to a matinee, or something.”
    “Good idea,” Holly said.
    “The Gulfstream is arriving tonight with a couple of other people. The two of you can take it back to New York tomorrow morning.”
    “I’m relieved, then?”
    “No, I’m relieved that you’ve done a good job here, and I thank you. Felicity, you can curl up on the sofa with me, if you like,” Lance said by way of dismissal.
    “Thank you, but there’s a tank waiting for me downstairs,” Felicity replied. “Holly, can I drop you and Stone anywhere?”
    “Is there room in this vehicle?” Holly asked.
    “Oh, dear, yes.”
    “Then we’d be grateful for a lift to the Connaught.”
    “Done.”
    Lance hit the sofa, and the others left.
    Stone and Holly got out of the armored Bentley at the Connaught and bade Felicity good-bye.
    “Did Lance say we should go to a matinee?” Holly asked.
    “Perhaps he meant that we should have a matinee,” Stone replied, ushering her quickly through the lobby.
    “Good idea,” Holly replied.

Jasmine stood before an immigration officer at Kennedy Airport in New York and handed him her British passport, along with her most brilliant smile.
    The young man’s eyes lingered on her face, then flicked to the passport and back. “The purpose of your visit, Ms. Avery?”
    “Pure pleasure,” Jasmine replied, turning her smile into a laugh.
    He stamped the passport and handed it back to her. “Welcome to New York, Ms. Avery. I hope you enjoy your visit.”
    “Oh, I will,” Jasmine said, accepting the passport and tucking it into her bag. She rolled her bag through customs, unimpeded, and emerged into a large hall where a group of livery drivers held up signs with their passengers’ names on them, one for Ms. Avery. She handed the handle of her case to the driver and walked alongside him.
    “Good flight?”
    “Perfectly normal,” Jasmine replied.
    “Our people will be glad to see you.”
    “And I, them,” she said.
    She settled in the rear of the black Lincoln sedan and took a deep breath. She had slept remarkably well in first class and felt ready to greet the day.
    Two changes of cars later