Novel2

The studio was dusty, the windows grimy. Sunlight peeked through the full-length windows, providing enough light to see the carry-out boxes from last night�s dinner scattered across the floor. The smell of stale coffee was almost overwhelming. A few feet from the window, a Maksutov telescope focused on the windows of the apartment on the other side of the courtyard.
     Mark Kamford sat in a metal folding chair, his stocking feet balanced precariously on the edge of a folding card table covered with newspapers. The wall in front of him was lined with electronic equipment, a sound system, two televisions, and a laptop computer attached to a sat-phone. The televisions were both on, one tuned to the inevitable BBC WorldCom and the other showing four scenes: the outside of the building across the street, the front door of apartment 3B, the front door of this building, and the front door of the studio itself. A petite woman with dark brown hair bounded up the steps of the building across the street and let herself in.
     A few minutes later, the sound system clicked on, indicating someone had entered apartment 3B. The machine dutifully registered the sound of keys dropped into a dish, the mail tossed onto the table, and a coat being thrown over a chair.
     �Renaissance-� Her voice filled the small dark room where he sat. Mark smiled. The cat routinely hid whenever his mistress had been gone for more than a few hours.
     �Ren?! Come here baby...There you are, big fat kitty. Did you think I had forgotten you?�
Footsteps crossed the room and both apartments were flooded with the voices of Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman. Across the courtyard, the curtains were yanked back to reveal Audrey, silhouetted by the streams of evening sunlight pouring through the glass.
     �And now for a cup of tea,� Mark murmured softly, turning in his chair so as to get a better view. When he first started this surveillance he had felt almost like a voyeur, guilty in the enjoyment of intruding into someone�s life. As he watched, Audrey flicked a final glance out the picture window and turned to the kitchenette as he had predicted, to make her tea. He smiled. If there was one thing he knew, it was Audrey Johnson. Unless her boyfriend called tonight, she spend the evening ensconced in one of the afghan covered armchairs in front of the windows, with a book in her hands and a cat on her lap. Audrey enjoyed the simple pleasures of life, that was clear.
     Mark couldn�t remember what it was like to live so normal an existence. Since the formation of Alpha 18 months earlier, little had entered his life that could be called normal. He and Con had successfully penetrated the echelon and tracked the Cat. Then, in a strange twist of fate, Con had literally run into Katherine Richards and a new plan was formed. Within 3 months she had been recruited, inducted, and trained as the Cat. During the process of her training, Jason had also been successfully inserted, taking the place of Maxwell Silver as delivery boy extraordinaire for the organization.
     Since the coincidental appearance of Audrey�s boyfriend, Tony, in several cities key to the Alpha plan precisely at the crucial time, Mark had been assigned the task of getting closer to him. As always, the quickest way to do that was through the girlfriend. The fact that she was Katherine�s best friend and roommate just made the concurrent appearances of Tony more interesting. Katherine was more at ease knowing someone she trusted was watching out for Audrey. For all of her newfound talent and newly learned skills, she still had the tendency to be a bit of mother hen. Mark smiled.
     �Take care of her with your very life or you will have me to answer to� Katherine had said. Only a small smile revealing that she did mean to insinuate she would use her new skill in the art of assassination if need be. The woman was turning out to be quite a surprise.
     The telephone by his left hand clicked twice, before the end of the second click, the sound of the phone in Audrey�s apartment rang through the speakers and filled the room. Mark grabbed the phone and picked up, careful to time his entry on the line so neither party would hear it. Although more sophisticated equipment was available, it was easier to use the party line than risk detection. If Tony really was a member of the Echelon, he probably conducted routine sweeps of the phone. Mark just hoped he never actually swept the apartment. The bugs may have been cleverly disguised and blended into the large space, but they were still vulnerable to detection.
     �Hello sweetheart.� The voice was cultured, mid-range, very British. Tony.
     �Hi! I wondered if I would hear from you�when did you get back?�
     �Late last night. The trip was hell. Typical airline foul-ups at every turn and then my meeting with the exec at Nortac just turned into an absolute nightmare. The man wanted to have his fingers in every aspect of the project, from conception to production, even though the contract specifically says he has not license to do so.�
     �Im sorry it went so badly---were you able to patch things up a bit?�
     �Yeah, it came out fine in the end, was just stressful. How about you? Did you have an interesting week?�
     �Just classes and such.� Audrey crossed the room to stand in front of the windows. �Katherine is still gone on her concert tour and��
     �I ran into her in Salzburg airport.� Mark perked up at that. Tony was admitting seeing her only once? According to Jason�s report, Tony had been seen in the same city and hotel as Katherine for at least 4 stops on her tour.
     �Katherine? Really? She called yesterday to say her editor is sending her into Germany for a couple of days after the tour ends. I swear the girl hasn�t been home for more than a week at a stretch since spring!�
     �Perhaps she has found a lover who keeps her away. She couldn�t be working this much, could she? Or perhaps she is just taking holiday and charging her boss?�
     Mark tensed. Couldn�t Audrey hear how carefully that sentence poked into Katherine�s life? More than a friend should be able to poke, actually.
     �No, Im sure it isn�t that.� Audrey sounded troubled. �She doesn�t talk to me as much as she used to though.�
     �Are you feeling lonely?� His voice softened and the unseen listener rolled his eyes. How obvious can you get?
     �Not anymore.� Her voice dropped. �Would you like to come over for a while? We could order in.�
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     The lights in the apartment had been dim for a good hour. Mark drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair. What does she see in that bloody man, anyway. A square of bright light suddenly spilled into the apartment from the hall and he could see Audrey standing in the light, wrapped in a silk robe. He stepped quickly across to the Maksutov and focused it just as Tony stepped to the hall. The man leaned over the threshold for a lingering kiss and then Audrey closed the door. He waited until she had latched all the locks before training the telescope on the front door of the building. Behind him, the TV screens dutifully registered the image of his quarry descending the steps, but he was more interested in seeing it live. He stayed in the window until the taillights of Tony�s car disappeared around the corner, then glanced at his watch and recorded the incident in his diary. 11:20 pm.