Blue with Black Dots (The Caprice Trilogy Book 2) (36 page)

              “France,” said Simone, “
Oui
, we are in France.  But my question was a little different.  I asked you if you knew where you were.”

              “You’re saying I’m not here,” said Georgia.

              “I’m saying we are here,” said Simone, holding her wine glass out to the side so she could study Georgia, “You’re in a situation all your own.”

              “How’s that?” asked Georgia.

              “How
is
that?” said Simone, taking another gulp of wine, making a slurping noise as it went down. 

              “
Project Full House
,” said Simone, “Are you aware it was Arthur Witt’s pet project?”

              “You mean Deputy Director Arthur Witt,” said Georgia, “Yes, I am aware it’s his project.”

              “Deputy Director,” said Simone, chuckling while gulping more wine, “You revere that man?”

              “I respect his position,” said Georgia.

              “Once again, that wasn’t my question,” said Simone, taking more wine, “Your agency has taught you well how to dodge questions or ignore them.”  Georgia noticed an increasing hostility in Simone.  Her motherly instinct seemed overcome by her own personal hardships.  Georgia thought she only let it out on people who knew her story, giving them a way of forgiving her.

              “Pay very close to my question once again
petite fille
,” said Simone, “Do you revere Arthur Witt?” 
Little girl
.

              “Yes,” said Georgia “I do.”  There was more laughter from Simone.  It was longer and harder than before.  She sat her wine glass down on the table but didn’t take her hand off it.  Her head bend down and her body shook as the laugh flowed.  She brought her head back up and Georgia could see the redness in her brown complexion.  She stopped laughing long enough to bring her wine glass to her mouth.  For Simone, the wine functioned as an anti-giggling agent.  She could stop herself from laughing long enough to drink.  But Georgia remembered her British manners.

              “I’m sorry but I don’t see the joke,” said Georgia, “I said I revere the man.  That’s it.  You’re acting like I said I want to have his babies.  Now, that would be funny and I would understand it.  He’s sixty-plus years old.  But you spoke of your father in the vineyard.  Wasn’t that reverence in your voice?”  Simone’s face went straight.  She spoke without sipping wine.

              “You don’t know anything about my father,” said Simone.

              “I know what you told me,” said Georgia.

              “You don’t know anything about my father,” said Simone.

              “Only what you told me,” said Georgia.

              “You’re not afraid of me are you, Georgia?” said Simone.

              “If you’re going to kill me then get on with it,” said Georgia.

              “That wasn’t my question,” said Simone.

              “I don’t care,” said Georgia.  Simone paused.  Her eyes scanned Georgia up and down, like a piece of meat or glass of wine.  Ironically, Simone had gone over a minute without her wine glass touching her lips.  Her taste for wine turned suddenly into a taste for Georgia.  Her eyes looked at Georgia hungrily.

              “You’ve got what I had at your age,” said Simone.

              “What?” asked Georgia.

              “Fight and
l’esprit
,” said Simone, “I’m sorry but the English word for
l’esprit
escapes me at the moment.  Must be the wine.”

              “Wit,” said Georgia.

              “What?” said Simone.

              “The English word for
l’esprit
,” said Georgia, “It’s wit.”

              “You’re good,” said, Simone taking her first sip of wine in over a minute, “I’m afraid I’m beginning to like you, Agent Georgia Standing.  That’s dangerous.”

              “Am I in danger?” asked Georgia.

              “Oh, you’ve been in danger for a very long time,” said Simone, “But I wasn’t talking about danger for you.  I was talking about danger for me.”

              “How’s that?” asked Georgia.

              “When I’m fond of someone that usually means harm will come their way,” said Simone, “And then I’ll go putting my fat ass in harm’s way trying to protect them.  It’s a vice for me.  Probably regret.  I was fond of my father but couldn’t protect him.  That’s why I did what I had to do to get back what was his.”  Simone took another gulp of wine then a second to finish off the glass. 

              “Guillame,” said Simone, “Le vin.”  Guillame came in and did his ritual, offering wine to Georgia first then topping off Simone.  Georgia looked at her glass, seeing she hadn’t touch it since Guillame’s last trip to the table.  She shook her head at Guillame who went and filled Simone’s glass.  The wine was beginning to affect Simone.  Georgia could see it in the slight slip of her eyes.  It wasn’t so much like she was sleeping, more like she was gambling.  Her eyes looked like they were working to work. 

              “You’re wrong,” said Georgia.

              “I’m never wrong, Agent Georgia Standing,” said Simone.  The word
Agent
was written the same in English and French.  But Simone said it with a French pronunciation.

              “Your ass isn’t so fat,” said Georgia.  Then came that laugh.  This time is was slightly drunken.  Saliva flew from Simone’s mouth at the shear force of the laugh, as it came up from her gut.  It was the kind of force that was difficult to control.  She didn’t control it.  She just waited for it to leave, almost two minutes after it came.  Georgia couldn’t sit still for two minutes while Simone enjoyed herself.  She joined Simone in laughter, as the second minute came around.

              “A charmer I see,” said Simone, “Is that what the men like about you? Men are easy.  It’s probably
les pasteques
.  Your charm is probably lost on them, but not on me.  Not on me.  Don’t think Arthur Witt chose you just because of your exam scores.  If he likes the look of you, he figures so will other men.  But what puzzles me is why he would waste you on
Full House
.”

              “
Full House
was an
elite
project,” said Georgia, “If you know about it, you know that much.”

              “
Full House
was a bluff,” said Simone, “You asked me if I want to kill you—No, not me.  It’s your revered Deputy Director Arthur Witt.”  Georgia was hit by the statement.   Her back collided with the back of the chair.  Simone seemed a little too drunk for games that didn’t involve drinking.

              “What do you mean?” asked Georgia.

              “I notice you haven’t really touched your wine,” said Simone, “I was hoping to have you drunk before this part.”

              “Before what?” asked Georgia.

              “Before telling you what
Full House
was really for,” said Simone.

              “What was it for?” asked Georgia.

              “Take a sip of wine Georgia and I’ll tell you another story,” said Simone.  Georgia took the requisite sip.

              “
Full House
was one of the best bluffs I’ve seen in
le jeux des espions
. 
Full House
was a very elaborate prisoner swap.  Despite your business in London and despite any of your elaborate training and any of the other agents in the training program,
Full House
only had one purpose.  And that one purpose was to hide an exchange between the CIA and KGB.  The whole point of
Full House
was to hide that exchange and hide money stolen for unsanctioned projects.   Unsanctioned projects run by your Deputy Director Arthur Witt.”

              “Director Witt was stealing money?” said Georgia, “How do you know?”

              “Because I was the facilitator of the exchange,” said Simone, “Witt’s job as counter-intelligence manager meant he was tasked with uncovering moles within the CIA.  He found such a mole but didn’t act immediately, which is a crime in and of itself.  He let the mole continue to feed secrets to the Soviets.  He did it as insurance for his own buried agent.  Witt was funding a Soviet intelligence agent with money he had illegally taken off the Agencys’ books. He has been stealing Agency money for years. Witt’s agent contacted him telling him the KGB was on to him.  Witt didn’t want the KGB to try to negotiate with anyone else about this particular agent because it could be discovered that the agent was being finance with stolen funds.  So Witt called the KGB directly and used his Ace in the Hole.  He told them about the CIA mole he had discovered but not reported.  Then he set up a swap—His mole for theirs.  That way he could cover himself.  I know because the swap was to take place on neutral territory, here in France.”

              “That doesn’t explain why Arthur Witt would want to kill me,” said Georgia.

              “Just to destroy evidence,” said Simone, “Nothing personal.”

              “What evidence do I have that needs to be destroyed?” asked Georgia.

              “You potentially know the identity of the mole,” said Simone, “The one Witt is trying to exchange with the Soviets.”

              “Who?” asked Georgia.

              “I’m not sure but it was one of your colleagues in the
Full House
program,” said Simone, “One of the boys.”

              “There were four boys,” said Georgia.

              “And you can identify them,” said Simone.

              “Why would that matter?” asked Georgia.

              “I don’t know exact amounts but Witt requested more money for
Full House
than he needed,” said Simone, “A lot more.  The money was officially requisitioned for the
Full House
project.  Witt planned to have all
Full House
agents killed and terminate the project early.  In fact, he used Paris as a killing field.  All
Full House
agents were individually summoned to Paris to be executed.  With everyone gone, he could work the remaining amounts back into the official ledger and falsify any of the
Full House
accounts to balance his books.  That’s why he picked special agents and gave you all special training.  It all had to start out as a legitimate project.  But he needed to get the money back into the official budget quickly.  The
Full House
project would fail but he can’t go to prison for a failure.  Why do you think you were all paid so little?”

              “Then why am I even alive?” asked Georgia.

              “Because you were the last one to be invited to Paris,” said Simone, “You were all sent to different locations while the mole was sent to Paris early to be here for the person-to-person swap.  Before he would make the swap, Witt ordered the mole to execute the other
Full House
agents, to cover himself.  Witt was having all of you come to Paris one at a time, but he didn’t finish before the agreed date for the swap.  You were the last one.  I insisted both sides make the swap and leave France, immediately.  But when we discovered the Soviets had cheated by putting a tracker on the Soviet mole.  We cancelled the swap and told Witt and the Soviets to leave France with each mole without making the swap.  The Soviets left but refused to take the Soviet mole.  Witt left but the American mole stayed and disappeared here in France.  Your
Full House
colleague was still in Paris along with the Soviet mole.  He escaped our surveillance and Witt called you to come to Paris where your colleague was supposed to kill you.  That’s why we had to get to you first.  I want no more CIA killings here.  France belongs to us—Not the Americans and not the Soviets.