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The Doomsday Conspiracy :: Sheldon Sidney
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The driver appeared to be somewhere in his eighties, with an old, wrinkled face.
“I could have sworn I saw a balloon in the sky a little while ago. Did you see it, mister?”
“No,” Robert said.
“Visiting?”
“Just passing through. I’m on my way to Rome.”
The driver nodded. “I was there once.”
The rest of the ride was made in silence.
When they reached Portoferraio, the capital and only city of Elba, Robert stepped down from the car.
“Have a nice day,” the driver said in English.
My God, Robert thought, Califomians have been here.
Robert walked along Via Garibaldi, the main street, crowded with tourists, mostly families, and it was as though time had stood still. Nothing had changed; except (hat I’ve lost Susan, and half the governments in the world are trying to assassinate me. Otherwise, Robert thought wryly, everything is exactly the same.
He bought binoculars in a gift shop, and walked to the waterfront and sat at a table outside the Stella Mariner Restaurant, where he had a clear view of the harbour. There were no suspicious cars, no police boats, and no policemen in sight. They still thought they had him bottled up on the mainland. It would be safe for him to board the Halcyon. All he had to do now was wait for it to arrive.
He sat there sipping procanico, the delicate native white wine, watching for the Halcyon. He went over his plan again. The yacht would drop him off near the coast of Marseilles, and he would make his way to Paris where he had a friend, Li Po, who would help him. It was ironic. He heard Francesco Cesar’s voice saying: I’ve heard you’ve made a deal with the Chinese.
He knew that Li Po would help him, because Li had once saved Robert’s life, and according to ancient Chinese tradition, he had become responsible for Robert. It was a matter of win yu – honour.
Li Po was with the Guojia Anquanbu, the Chinese Ministry of State Security that dealt with espionage. Years earlier, Robert had been caught while trying to smuggle a dissident out of China. He had been sent to Qincheng, the top security prison in Beijing. Li Po was a double agent who had worked with Robert before. He managed to arrange for Robert to escape.
At the Chinese border, Robert had said, “You should get out of this while you’re still alive, Li. Your luck won’t last forever.”
Li Po had smiled. “I have ren – the ability to endure, to survive.”
One year later, Li Po had been transferred to the Chinese Embassy in Paris.
The driver appeared to be somewhere in his eighties, with an old, wrinkled face.
“I could have sworn I saw a balloon in the sky a little while ago. Did you see it, mister?”
“No,” Robert said.
“Visiting?”
“Just passing through. I’m on my way to Rome.”
The driver nodded. “I was there once.”
The rest of the ride was made in silence.
When they reached Portoferraio, the capital and only city of Elba, Robert stepped down from the car.
“Have a nice day,” the driver said in English.
My God, Robert thought, Califomians have been here.
Robert walked along Via Garibaldi, the main street, crowded with tourists, mostly families, and it was as though time had stood still. Nothing had changed; except (hat I’ve lost Susan, and half the governments in the world are trying to assassinate me. Otherwise, Robert thought wryly, everything is exactly the same.
He bought binoculars in a gift shop, and walked to the waterfront and sat at a table outside the Stella Mariner Restaurant, where he had a clear view of the harbour. There were no suspicious cars, no police boats, and no policemen in sight. They still thought they had him bottled up on the mainland. It would be safe for him to board the Halcyon. All he had to do now was wait for it to arrive.
He sat there sipping procanico, the delicate native white wine, watching for the Halcyon. He went over his plan again. The yacht would drop him off near the coast of Marseilles, and he would make his way to Paris where he had a friend, Li Po, who would help him. It was ironic. He heard Francesco Cesar’s voice saying: I’ve heard you’ve made a deal with the Chinese.
He knew that Li Po would help him, because Li had once saved Robert’s life, and according to ancient Chinese tradition, he had become responsible for Robert. It was a matter of win yu – honour.
Li Po was with the Guojia Anquanbu, the Chinese Ministry of State Security that dealt with espionage. Years earlier, Robert had been caught while trying to smuggle a dissident out of China. He had been sent to Qincheng, the top security prison in Beijing. Li Po was a double agent who had worked with Robert before. He managed to arrange for Robert to escape.
At the Chinese border, Robert had said, “You should get out of this while you’re still alive, Li. Your luck won’t last forever.”
Li Po had smiled. “I have ren – the ability to endure, to survive.”
One year later, Li Po had been transferred to the Chinese Embassy in Paris.