Chapter 2: The First Meeting
Nyssa McBride sat in the passenger seat of a silver Audi watching the city pass her by as she and Jack Miller were on their way to meet a new client. Nyssa had been working with Jack doing odd jobs ever since she came back from Nigeria.
The last thing she remembered was being chased and shot at before getting on a plane scheduled for America. She woke up in a cheap hotel in London with nothing but the clothes on her back. No money, passport, driver's license, nothing to explain how she got there or who she was.
Somebody at the agency blacklisted her. Her accounts were frozen, her contacts denied she even existed. Even her old handler and mentor, Sam Walker, was not returning her calls. As far as anyone was concerned, she was out in the cold.
The last contact she could make was her old friend, a retired SAS soldier, Jack Miller. He and Nyssa were old friends who worked together when she was still in the American army, and again after she worked for the CIA.
Even though Jack did not make a lot of friends with the high brass in the service, the friends he still had were the ones that counted. Jack could find out anything with a phone call and a bottle of twelve-year-old Scotch. He was just the kind of friend Nyssa needed right now.
While Jack was explaining the features of his new vehicle, Nyssa kept a watchful eye on the blue Honda a few cars behind them. She watched from the mirror every time Jack turned a corner or changed lanes, that car did the same thing.
"I like the new car, Jack. Dare I ask how you got it?" Nyssa asked.
"Gift from my new lady," Jack smiled.
"I don't want to know what you do to get these elaborate gifts." Nyssa chuckled and went back to watching the Honda.
Nyssa always knew that Jack had only two weaknesses, booze and rich women. He had a decent pension from the army, but it was not enough to keep him in the lifestyle he was accustomed to. Hence, the rich widows and divorcees.
"You keep looking at that mirror. Is there something that strikes your fancy back there?" Jack asked in his thick Northern accent.
"We've got a tail. Blue Honda three cars behind us on your right. They've been on us since you picked me up from the pub."
"Who are they? FBI?"
"Could be. The Bureau's been following me for a couple of months now. Best way to know for sure is to get a picture of one of 'em. I've got an idea. Drop me off at that park just up ahead. I'll try to get one of them to follow on foot, so I could get a good look at him. I'll send you a picture, so you could forward it to one of your buddies at INTERPOL."
"Then what? We lose 'am?"
"Yeah, I don't want to meet our client with them on our backs."
Jack pulled over to the curb by the park to let Nyssa out of the car. Jack drove away to park a few blocks away to rendezvous with her later. As predicted, the blue Honda pulled over to let a tall man with black hair climb out.
Nyssa used the camera on her phone as a mirror to observe the man walking behind her. He was quite tall, wearing a blue buttoned shirt, blue jeans, and a long black coat.
No, he is most definitely not FBI.
She took a picture and texted it to Jack. While keeping an eye on him, Nyssa walked around the park a few times until her cell phone rang.
"What have you got for me, Jack?" she asked.
"Well, he is not with the American FBI. He's one of ours. He's with MI-5. His name is Lucas North."
"I wonder what they want with me?"
"Ya want to ask them?"
"Not right now. We have a meeting to get to first. Let's see how good he is."
Nyssa saw the Honda on the other side of the park. If the driver stays put, she could use it as a distraction.
"Change of plans. Head for the client's house. I'll meet you there in an hour. I'll travel by bus. If the Honda follows you, lose him."
"Copy that."
Nyssa continued walking until she saw Jack pull into traffic and drive away. The Honda stayed parked where it was while Lucas continued walking a few yards behind her.
Ahead of her was a policeman checking the cars by the curb for illegal parking. Some boys were playing balls several yards away. They would be perfect for the distraction.
"Hey, boys," she called out to them.
The two boys stopped their game and turned toward her. She quickly walked up to them with five pounds in her hand.
"Do you want to earn £5 a piece? I want you to tell that policeman that the man in the blue car," she said as she gestured to the Honda, "asked you to sit on his lap."
"Will ya pay £10?" the boy asked after much thought.
Nyssa sighed and pulled out some more cash from her pockets. These were a couple of little hustlers.
"I've got £15 here. You split it between you, but I want tears for that."
Nyssa handed over the money and watched as the boys walked through the parked cars up to the unsuspecting officer. They wiped the tears from their faces and pointed to the blue Honda.
The officer got on his radio to another officer from across the street and the two men approached the blue Honda from opposite sides.
Nyssa watched as the officers forced the young man out of the car. Lucas broke from his post to assist his partner. Nyssa took the opportunity to cross to the bus stop in time to catch the next bus.
She took her seat and looked out her window to see Lucas' blue eyes glare at her as she rode past them. She smiled and waved to him until the bus turned out of sight.
Lucas watched until the bus was out of sight before turning his attention back to the officers who were about to arrest Ben Kaplan. Lucas was forced to break cover to explain to the officers a cover story. By doing so, he took his eyes off of Nyssa and lost her.
She was very good. He would give her that, but rather than praise her, he wanted to choke her. She compromised their position. Words could not describe how angry he felt at that moment.
"Lucas… Report… What's happening down there?" a woman's voice spoke through the comm link in his ear.
While Ben continued with a story to explain their presence to the police, Lucas walked away to find more privacy.
"She's on a bus going north. We lost her," he said with defeat.
"What do you mean 'you lost her'? Why are you not on the bus with her?" Ros Meyers asked. The frustration was clear in her tone.
"Apparently, she told two police officers that Ben propositioned two young boys. They were about to arrest him if I hadn't stepped in. I told them we were undercover detectives doing surveillance on a potential suspect."
"Come back to the grid. We'll let her go for now. We need you and Ben on another matter."
After the police were finally satisfied with both men's answers, Lucas returned to the car. Both men were quiet driving back to Thames House.
What seemed like a simple job had now turned personal with Lucas. He imagined all kinds of things he wanted to do the next time he saw her. She would not get away from him again.
Lucas and Ben exited the pods and were greeted by Connie. The team was gathering in the conference room. Harry had another case to discuss.
With everyone waiting in the conference room, Lucas and Harry were the last to enter. Lucas stopped Harry at the door to talk.
"She used a diversion to get away. Let me find her," said Lucas.
"When Sam said that she's good, he wasn't joking. Nyssa McBride can wait for now. We have a more pressing matter."
Before Lucas could protest, Harry entered the conference room and took his seat at the head of the table. Lucas reluctantly followed keeping his opinions on Nyssa to himself for now.
Harry briefed the team on a secret Al-Qaeda cell operating in London. The suspected leader of the group was a man named Nadif Abdelrashid. The plan was to send a man in to infiltrate the group and gather intelligence.
Ben was the best agent for the job. Ros assigned Lucas as Ben's handler. Ben would join the group by befriending a young member.
After the meeting, Harry called Lucas into his office. Lucas wanted to finish what he had to say.
"Have a seat, Lucas. How have you been?" Harry asked.
"What do you want me to say, Harry?"
"Nyssa is a trained American operative. You would have done the same. Don't take this too personally. I want to know if you are sleeping at night."
"I am fine, and I can do the job."
"Try to understand that I am not questioning your abilities. I am asking you as a concerned friend."
Lucas slowly took a breath and nodded his head in a truce.
"I am fine, Harry. Please, just let me do my job."
"Alright, Lucas," Harry smiled. The answer was satisfactory, for now.
Harry passed a piece of paper across his desk to Lucas. On it was a name and a phone number.
"You can find Nyssa with this number. Find her and bring her here. It's time we introduce ourselves. If she resists, be persuasive."
Lucas grinned as he took the paper from Harry. Now, he will finally get to meet the American ghost.