Unintended Consequences

guy was carrying no identification, and his body contained no distinguishing marks. His dental work, however, was Russian and Eastern European. He’ll be in potter’s field by sundown.”
    “Very efficient,” Stone said.
    “How did the armored glass work?”
    “Like a charm. I hope they don’t come back with a bazooka.”
    “Lance will be thrilled to know,” she said. “Is Joan all right?”
    “She’s just fine. Her .45 is back in her desk, and I hear computer keys clicking.”
    “Give her my best,” Holly said. “You, too.”
    “I’ll do that.”
    She hung up.
    Stone found Marcel in the kitchen, sipping a glass of white wine. “I like your California wines,” he said. “Of course, if I served them to my guests in Paris, they would be outraged.”
    “No doubt,” Stone said.
    “The cars have reached the Javits Center,” Marcel said, “and they do not have any bombs installed. I have had them place your car on a revolving stand high enough so that the unwashed will not get so much as a fingerprint on it.”
    “Thank you.”
    “And Mike’s people took charge of my Maybach at the airport and drove it to God-knows-where to start work on it. I am very impressed with Mike and Strategic Services. Do you think I should buy it?”
    Stone laughed. “I warned Mike that you might try, but I don’t think he’ll want to sell. It’s privately held, but one of these days I suspect he’ll take it public and make a killing on his stock.”
    “Ah, well, I suppose there are some things I can’t own.”
    “You seem to do quite well at owning things,” Stone remarked. “How many companies do you have?”
    “About a dozen outright, major positions in about sixty others.”
    Helene served lunch.
    “Marcel, you’ve spoken of your son, but never of your wife.”
    “She never recovered from Blaise’s death,” Marcel said sadly. “She went into an immediate decline and died less than a year later. She was forty-six.”
    “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
    “You have had a loss, too,” Marcel said.
    “Yes, but my son is well.”
    “What does he do with himself?”
    “He will graduate from the Yale School of Drama soon, then go to California to work in the film business.”
    “Ah! I hear that is like swimming in a shark tank,” Marcel said.
    “He’s going to have to figure that out for himself, but his partner—Dino’s son, Ben—is going to be a very smart businessman, I think. The two of them together should make their way in Hollywood just fine, and Peter’s girlfriend, Hattie, will be there to keep their feet on the ground.”
    “I shall look forward to seeing their films,” Marcel said.
    “So shall I,” Stone said, glancing at his watch. Three more hours before Helga was due back.

44
    I t was three-thirty, and Helga had not returned from shopping. Stone was loath to take a taxi, given the events of the morning. He went upstairs to his dressing room, opened his safe, and removed a compact .45 automatic and its holster. It had been custom-made by Terry Tussey and weighed only twenty-one ounces, compared to the thirty-nine of the standard Colt.
    With the gun on his belt, he went down to the living room in time to see the Bentley pull up outside. Stone called the car and told Philip not to allow Helga out until they were in the garage with the door closed.
    He collected Marcel and went to the garage. Helga was emptying the trunk of many shopping bags, and Philip was taking them into the house.
    “I did much damage,” she said to Stone.
    Stone kissed her and motioned for Philip to get behind the wheel. “We’re running late,” he said.
    They arrived in the underground garage of the Strategic Services building and took the elevator to the top floor, where Mike Freeman greeted them. “I think we’re all ready,” he said.
    He led them into the conference room where Bill Eggers and two French lawyers awaited. Eggers was reading the last page of the contract.
    “Looks good to me,” he said.
    “I read it online this morning,” Marcel said. “I’m ready to sign if you are.”
    “We are,” Stone said.
    “I have the signatures of the board on a draft,” Mike said, “so you and I can sign for the company.”
    They sat down, and Stone took out his pen. “I think we’ll remember this moment for a long time,” he said, and signed three copies of the document. He passed it to Mike, who signed, then Marcel inked them, as well. The copies were distributed, then Marcel looked